Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[Disney Glimpses]

Genie+ revenue is basically funding guest recovery at the moment, as I understand it. It's not all fun and games. Things are bad.

 

[Jrb1979]

Genie+ revenue is basically funding guest recovery at the moment, as I understand it. It's not all fun and games. Things are bad.

It blows my mind how the supposed leader in theme parks seem to botch so many things lately. If feels like everything they do now is for short term gain. Like they are trying to recoup all the lost revenue quickly.

 

[crazy4disney]

Genie+ revenue is basically funding guest recovery at the moment, as I understand it. It's not all fun and games. Things are bad.

now i know you said that we have to wait a few weeks and @ToTBellHop already answered as best as he could..... but is there a possibility a simple paid version of the old FP+ system come back because i think we can mostly all agree it is a way better tool? even if they changed it from 60 to say 30 days or even less to book if a "complaint" was having to book so far in advance? honestly tho with park reservations now needed does it matter because you already know where you are gonna be and it would spread out availability thruout the day. Or is the FP+ system we knew is a dead stick and not even an option?

 

[Disney Glimpses]

now i know you said that we have to wait a few weeks and @ToTBellHop already answered as best as he could..... but is there a possibility a simple paid version of the old FP+ system come back because i think we can mostly all agree it is a way better tool? even if they changed it from 60 to say 30 days or even less to book if a "complaint" was having to book so far in advance? honestly tho with park reservations now needed does it matter because you already know where you are gonna be and it would spread out availability thruout the day. Or is the FP+ system we knew is a dead stick and not even an option?

I don't know and I'm not sure they do either. The immediate goal is to extinguish the current fire.

 

[Jrb1979]

IMO the best compromise would be to give resort guests the option to book 1 LL the night before and leave it as is for the rest. IMO if you give resort guests any more then 1 it would take away a lot of the daily availability.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

Sorry, I meant "enough" people do.

I'm not trying to be obnoxious...just trying to keep the discussion factual. I think the WDW hotels are fun, and clearly people stay onsite.

It is easy - I think- to see WDW through the prism of our own experience, and even sometimes what we think should be true. I mean, like BC appears to be close to HS, so we are inclined to think the walk is short. Whereas "OFF"site sounds far from WDW, so we are inclined to think offsite= takes longer.

I suspect a few folks posting here don't even know about the Bonnet Creek area.

In these discussions posters also tend to forget about WDW's many conventions and other convention-space events. A significant number of people stay at WDW with zero intention of setting foot in the parks. That business $ is also part of WDW's bread and butter. Convention goers don't care about ILL or G+. Disney just has to woo the person/organization that is hosting the event. Like it or not, the business bigwigs often get the big plushy suites at the deluxe WDW hotels.

WDW does not have to offer any vacation-type perks to that portion of the business. They probably do offer some perks, just not the ones we're discussing in this thread. If a big corporation spends $1 million on a WDW convention every year, would WDW want to keep that corporation happy?

 

[mikejs78]

now i know you said that we have to wait a few weeks and @ToTBellHop already answered as best as he could..... but is there a possibility a simple paid version of the old FP+ system come back because i think we can mostly all agree it is a way better tool? even if they changed it from 60 to say 30 days or even less to book if a "complaint" was having to book so far in advance? honestly tho with park reservations now needed does it matter because you already know where you are gonna be and it would spread out availability thruout the day. Or is the FP+ system we knew is a dead stick and not even an option?

I don't have any inside information, but if I had to guess, they'll keep the Genie Plus name and tweak it around the edges to make it more like FP+, or somewhere in between current G+ and FP+.

 

[crazy4disney]

I don't know and I'm not sure they do either. The immediate goal is to extinguish the current fire.

appreciate the reply.... if thats the case seems like bringing back a system that people know already and imo overall seemed to like would be a perfect solution

 

[Disney Glimpses]

appreciate the reply.... if thats the case seems like bringing back a system that people know already and imo overall seemed to like would be a perfect solution

I know I would love it and would be willing to pay for it. I don't think it's unreasonable for the company to want to charge for something that is an upcharge everywhere else. I liked when it was just part of the Disney experience for free but I can see their perspective.

 

[UNCgolf]

The park ticket was always going up. So today, you can spend $X+$15 or just $X. If you don't want G+, you save $15/day.

W/ FP+ the pass cost $Y and if you didn't use it, you still paid $Y. Everyone paid the same, regardless of wanting to use FP. Today, you get a choice.

But that's not a good choice -- they haven't added an option for guests. If anything, they've taken one away.

You're framing it like Disney is saving you money, which isn't the case. It's like arguing that it's somehow better value if your $25 movie ticket used to include popcorn and a drink, but now it's $25 just for the movie and and an additional $15 for popcorn and drink. Even if you don't want the popcorn and drink, you're still not gaining anything. It hasn't helped you; it's just costing other people.

 

[mikejs78]

IMO the best compromise would be to give resort guests the option to book 1 LL the night before and leave it as is for the rest. IMO if you give resort guests any more then 1 it would take away a lot of the daily availability.

That would be equally awful. What time would you have it done? MK is open till 11:00 - do you want to require people to get aisles before the parks closed? Or if someone turns in early to stay up late?

In my opinion, resort guests should be able to book length of stay ILL and 1 LL per day a week before they arrive.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

They really, really should just offer it only to resort guests and honor day tickets purchased with it already. And then do a single ILL at each park (7DMT, FOP, ROTR, GOTG).

That would help, but HS has been especially underserved by G+.

Two really important fixes though are:
1 being able to modify a pass (without losing it)
and
2. the G+/ILL time initially offered doesn't ever mysteriously change to a wildly different time when you go to book it (within a reasonable time limit).

and even better:
3. When major rides go down, hopping allowed before 2pm.

 

[DCLcruiser]

But that's not a good choice.

You're framing it like Disney is saving you money, which isn't the case. It's like arguing that it's somehow better value if your $25 movie ticket used to include popcorn and a drink, but now it's $30 just for the movie and and an additional $15 for popcorn and drink. Even if you don't want the popcorn and drink, you're still not gaining anything.

The ticket prices were always going to go up. You can't compare today to the old prices. Which would you prefer:

• $130 ticket (includes G+)
• $115 ticket (optional $15 G+)

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

No. The foundational reason for Genie+ was part of the effort to remove the need to plan every aspect of your vacation (6 months [dining] and 2 months [FP+]) in advance. They wanted to offer the ability for people to visit with minimal advance planning. The fee was designed to essentially target vacationers only; keep the local APs who are unlikely to pay the fee out of the FP queues. The miss was on demand in all 3 categories (resort, off site, local AP). Demand exceeded even their wildest expectations.

not with park reservations in place.

 

[crazy4disney]

I know I would love it and would be willing to pay for it. I don't think it's unreasonable for the company to want to charge for something that is an upcharge everywhere else. I liked when it was just part of the Disney experience for free but I can see their perspective.

Totally agree and i also understand disney should be head and shoulders above the rest and set standards not always follow them but thye are in fact still a business that also goes well beyond parks & resorts. and another comment which is definitely gonna be a hot take lol assuming someone stays value or even moderate i dont think disney is that expensive compared to other destinations on a per day basis... just my thoughts and literally factual analysis of my annual vacations or getaways. ive stated this in other chats before as well. with that being said the disney we grew up to love and heck may have still been here a decade ago no longer exists but as long as there still is magic and that feel when we go (there still was altho definitely reduced) they will still get my visits

 

[pdude81]

That would help, but HS has been especially underserved by G+.

Two really important fixes though are:
1 being able to modify a pass (without losing it)
and
2. the G+/ILL time initially offered doesn't ever mysteriously change to a wildly different time when you go to book it (within a reasonable time limit).

and even better:
3. When major rides go down, hopping allowed before 2pm.

The thing people don't get is that when the time comes, it doesn't really change on you. When you click the first time it shows you some value like a stock ticker that seems in the ballpark of what's available. When it actually goes to check inventory it comes back with an offer of a pass time. That time may be wildly different and you can either take it or leave it. For FP+ you'd pick a window and it would give 0-3 offers that were held for you, but this one only holds one and you don't get to choose. Still it sucks, but don't take the sandwich if you don't want to eat it. Hit back, click that same bs time again, and see what it offers next time. After 4-5 tries you often do MUCH better.

 

[Jeff4272]

IMO the best compromise would be to give resort guests the option to book 1 LL the night before and leave it as is for the rest. IMO if you give resort guests any more then 1 it would take away a lot of the daily availability.

What if they had another option for resort guests only, but it was also an additional charge........


Pay $69 pp for the right to book 3 Genie+ selections in advance and pick ride times

That way they monetize it while not taking up too much inventory

 

[UNCgolf]

The ticket prices were always going to go up. You can't compare today to the old prices. Which would you prefer:

• $130 ticket (includes G+)
• $115 ticket (optional $15 G+)

This argument only works if you think the ticket price is somehow tied to the Genie+ price -- there's no reason to believe that. I don't think there's any evidence to suggest that the ticket prices have increased less than they would have otherwise.

To frame this in Disney terms, it's a bit like suggesting that adding a parking fee for resort guests is a good thing because hotel room prices were going to go up anyways, so now guests have an option to not park their car there.

If there's evidence to suggest hotel room prices/ticket prices did not increase the way we'd have otherwise expected, then there's an argument there, but again, I don't believe there is any such evidence.

EDIT: It would be almost impossible to determine right now regardless because there are other factors at play in the pricing -- especially Disney being closed for months due to COVID.

 

[Jrb1979]

That would be equally awful. What time would you have it done? MK is open till 11:00 - do you want to require people to get aisles before the parks closed? Or if someone turns in early to stay up late?

In my opinion, resort guests should be able to book length of stay ILL and 1 LL per day a week before they arrive.

That would be awful. Why is everyone so insistent on going back to FP+ days? IMO it's no better then what Genie+ other then those who choose to stay on site get preferred treatment.

In all honesty the only system that works is a Universal system. Limit availability

 

[mikejs78]

That would be awful. Why is everyone so insistent on going back to FP+ days? IMO it's no better then what Genie+ other then those who choose to stay on site get preferred treatment.

In all honesty the only system that works is a Universal system. Limit availability

Because that system worked for a lot of people. I'd love a universal type system, but I don't think it will work at WDW because of the demand versus the attractions