Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[GhostHost1000]

$24 is worth it to skip that line…but the queue show is great

We’ll probably need to pay extra for monorail and resort room AC soon too

restroom stalls cost extra too if you really need to go soon. Lighting Stalls

 

[larryz]

You did stop. But they had to start it again, and, they keep on going. Kind of ridiculous.

Cue Shari Lewis and Lambchop...

 

[JusticeDisney]

You did stop. But they had to start it again, and, they keep on going. Kind of ridiculous.

Totally agree with you. It was completely ridiculous how so many people went off because someone dared to make a point in this thread that didn’t concern capacity.

 

[Raineman]

We’ll probably need to pay extra for monorail and resort room AC soon too

restroom stalls cost extra too if you really need to go soon. Lighting Stalls

TBH, I could probably plan my bathroom visits to fairly specific times in the day-but I wouldn't want to pay for that many.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

You did stop. But they had to start it again, and, they keep on going. Kind of ridiculous.

Thank you…I did that deliberately as a test case…

but then I got confused this morning when it restarted (like a fast and the furious sequel)…I thought maybe I dreamed it or mistakenly hit my head and wrote it in French?

…I just got another ding while I’m typing this…

 

[wdwmagic]

While I haven’t seen any official word, good sources have indicated the “when can I next my next pass” part will work like MaxPass, which is the *shorter* of:
- when you check in for your pass ride, *or*
- 90 minutes after you *made* the pass reservation

This would mean if you can only get a late LL pass, you don’t have to wait until your window time to get another. You only have to wait 90 minutes from the time you made the pass reservation.

Obviously this is a HUGE difference. If it is run like MaxPass, it could be pretty good (except for the whole “but the most popular rides aren’t included” part). It was a good system at DL, but that’s a different environment and customer base. It will be interesting to see if it works as well at WDW.

One more unknown. If the rules are like MaxPass (max 90 mins between pass selections), how are the going to handle your second pass when you got up at 7am to make your first pass reservation? Can’t possibly be 8:30. Maybe park opening? Maybe after you use your first pass, regardless of how late it is? Who knows.

We don't have any confirmation on that so far, at least that I know of.

 

[larryz]

TBH, I could probably plan my bathroom visits to fairly specific times in the day-but I wouldn't want to pay for that many.

Complex, but it might work -- you'd need a countdown timer in each stall, and an automatic washer system that would force people to leave when their time was up.

 

[Chip Chipperson]

I don't love this new system but I suppose I hate it less than I feared I would. Maybe that was by design - show us how much worse it could be by announcing the DLP version first so people say, "Well at least it's not THAT!"

I remember several posters saying they hated FP+ because they don't like having to get up and be on their computer or mobile device at 7 AM 60 days out. Well now the "fix" for that is to have to get up and be on your phone at 7 AM every day of your vacation that you want to use Genie+, which means you'll likely also be spending some time the night before deciding what you want to aim for the next morning. Rather than 1 stressful morning in advance of your trip, you've got stressful mornings every day you are visiting one of the parks and lose the option to sleep in if you don't like being up that early on vacation - and pay extra for it. That sounds much worse to me.

If the rumored Tier 1 rides are correct, I likely won't miss anything at MK since 7DMT isn't as good as Big Thunder in my opinion and Space Mountain is fun but very uncomfortable for a tall skinny guy inching closer to being middle-aged. I've skipped it my last 2 trips and won't feel even a tingle of desire to pay for the Lightning Lane.

In Epcot, we usually skip Test Track so being able to ride both Soarin' and Frozen without long waits on the same day would be an improvement for us. I'd like to ride Rat when we go in December but will likely gamble on the Boarding Group and evening hours rather than pay even more for it.

In DAK, my wife and I don't live FOP, so no loss there for us and I feel like the Safaris should have enough capacity to prevent us from feeling like we need to skip the line.

DHS is where we'll feel the impact the most. With ROTR and Slinky being Tier 1, we may miss out on one or both rides, especially with the paid LL meaning fewer Boarding Group spots for ROTR. Theoretically, the paid option might help us finally be able to ride ROTR, but I'm assuming it won't be cheap even though we tend to visit during what was traditionally the "slower season" before dynamic ticket pricing helped spread out the crowds a little throughout the year.

 

[Waters Back Side]

Obviously this is a HUGE difference. If it is run like MaxPass, it could be pretty good (except for the whole “but the most popular rides aren’t included” part). It was a good system at DL, but that’s a different environment and customer base. It will be interesting to see if it works as well at WDW.

One more unknown. If the rules are like MaxPass (max 90 mins between pass selections), how are the going to handle your second pass when you got up at 7am to make your first pass reservation? Can’t possibly be 8:30. Maybe park opening? Maybe after you use your first pass, regardless of how late it is? Who knows.

Agree completely it's a huge difference.

As for what rides fall under the genie+ category I'm not unhappy if it's TRUE what Touring Pland and the release mentioned. Potentially MFSR and MMRW as well Soarin and Navi seem to be part of Genie +. Strangely enough Safaris is not in AK and Space and 7DMT is not either.

As for the 7am first selection that is probably for anytime from park opening onward. So if the park opens at 9am, at 7am you can book your first ride from wjen the park opens at 9am if available. Some rides will be available right at opening so if you are not picky and know there will be other rides later to choose you ca grab the first at 9am. Then 9:01 am you make the next one. I just am unclear if all day I can book 90 minutes after I check in to my next selection. That's a huge factor in this.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

I don't love this new system but I suppose I hate it less than I feared I would. Maybe that was by design - show us how much worse it could be by announcing the DLP version first so people say, "Well at least it's not THAT!"

I remember several posters saying they hated FP+ because they don't like having to get up and be on their computer or mobile device at 7 AM 60 days out. Well now the "fix" for that is to have to get up and be on your phone at 7 AM every day of your vacation that you want to use Genie+, which means you'll likely also be spending some time the night before deciding what you want to aim for the next morning. Rather than 1 stressful morning in advance of your trip, you've got stressful mornings every day you are visiting one of the parks and lose the option to sleep in if you don't like being up that early on vacation - and pay extra for it. That sounds much worse to me.

If the rumored Tier 1 rides are correct, I likely won't miss anything at MK since 7DMT isn't as good as Big Thunder in my opinion and Space Mountain is fun but very uncomfortable for a tall skinny guy inching closer to being middle-aged. I've skipped it my last 2 trips and won't feel even a tingle of desire to pay for the Lightning Lane.

In Epcot, we usually skip Test Track so being able to ride both Soarin' and Frozen without long waits on the same day would be an improvement for us. I'd like to ride Rat when we go in December but will likely gamble on the Boarding Group and evening hours rather than pay even more for it.

In DAK, my wife and I don't live FOP, so no loss there for us and I feel like the Safaris should have enough capacity to prevent us from feeling like we need to skip the line.

DHS is where we'll feel the impact the most. With ROTR and Slinky being Tier 1, we may miss out on one or both rides, especially with the paid LL meaning fewer Boarding Group spots for ROTR. Theoretically, the paid option might help us finally be able to ride ROTR, but I'm assuming it won't be cheap even though we tend to visit during what was traditionally the "slower season" before dynamic ticket pricing helped spread out the crowds a little throughout the year.

I agree with a lot of what you said here…

only paid fop would make me testy…a lot of the “tier 1” that are speculated are skippable or can be worked around.

 

[LaughingGravy]

I did like MaxPass in DLR. But I think DLR pre-covid had a lot of AP holders as a larger percentage as part of their attendance on a regular basis compared to WDW, so the percentage of those buying MaxPass was much lower.
The value was definitely there for us for our trip, but there seem to be distinct differences with this Genie
The actual working it of playing with one's phone for the entire party while on the "fastpass" line to pick the next attraction worked out well. But, it was a huge battery hog.
There were also fastpasses to be booked for later in the day ( i.e World of Color viewing spot or Space Mountain later in the evening) in addition to the more immediate next ride maxpass. There were also no upcharges for certain attractions on top of the maxpass ( more nickel and diming, so to speak)
It just seems too involved for what should be a vacation.

 

[Captain Barbossa]

Not sure if this has been mentioned or not, but what will become of the single rider lines for Everest, RnRC, and Test Track? Staying or so long?

 

[Missing20K]

Your ticket grants you a fair shot not a result. l

I think this was the missing Key to the Kingdom that the Bobs uncovered on their trek deep into the Amazon rainforest. Or possibly in a meeting with Vanguard in NYC. One of the two.

Lastly, design better. Design rides that can be duplicated to serve more riders. Why aren’t the dark rides built to scale out so more riders can ride? They added another track to toy story mania years after opening. Why not design rides that can be expanded. The R&D is paid for, just add capacity. You have the room.

They could absolutely design more appropriately for the number of customers they have but, but sorry, new capacity is immediately offset by new throughput. Classic case of one of the first rules of economics…

Demand > Supply

This is true regardless of how much one is able to increase supply.

(I anxiously await my DIS offer sheet)

 

[mightynine]

A Whole New World
Of Potential Revenue
We’ll Charge You Everywhere
No Dime Is Spared
Just So We Can Have A Great Q2

 

[lazyboy97o]

A Youtuber I watched called out Disney for ROTR and designing the queue for not having proper capacity. And he is right, Disney should have designed the ride with a big enough queue for people and instead they are relying on wallets to ride a ride. What a sad time to be a fan of Disneyland/ World.

I don’t think the design of the queue is the root issue. It’s fairly long but a queue is only as good as its ride’s throughout and Rise of the Resistance’s operational capacity is lousy, to say the least.

I'm in interested on what the push back will be like when say Rise has missing effects, and a family of four has just paid $80 for Lightning Lane access. They get off, and then express that they aren't happy to have paid $80 and have missing effects. Obviously Disney doesn't guarantee show quality, but that still doesn't stop then subsequent guest recovery that will be needed.

Seems like a great way to get free Lightning Lane passes.

 

[m steve]

I just watched that Disney introductory video that was included in yesterday's post. I found it offensive. This was nothing short of Disney propaganda attempting to mislead its guests into believing that Disney was doing us all a big favor by eliminating free Fastpass. Obviously, Disney has concluded we are dumb enough to accept this as being true. It is becoming increasingly difficult for me to pay money to a company that treats its guests this way. With respect to the Genie+ planning feature, I seriously doubt that many people on this website will need Genie to tell us what attractions we should visit and where we should eat.

 

[dreday3]

Help please -

Do we know yet how it works with friends/family? If I have everyone on trip linked to my account as friends/family - can I make the lightning pass for all at the same time on my phone?

Also, can someone else make an MDE account on their phone, link all of us, and also try to make a reservation for us or try for a boarding group at the same time I am?

Or can 2 of us be logged into my account while we both try for different rides?

So many questions.

 

[ChrisM]

It seems apparent to me that they were trying to puzzle out how not to completely enrage the "loyal fanbase" whilst removing the biggest complaint for the one-and-done guest (ridiculous 6 month planning requirements) as part of the overarching goal of implementing a pay-to-ride system.

They've sort of threaded the needle a bit with what they've announced, but I expect this to evolve to an even more extensive pay-to-ride system over time.

The loyal fanbase is saying "this totally sucks but it's not as bad as I feared" (but wait, it will get worse for you!).

The one-and-done guest can show up largely clueless and, instead of getting totally shut out (because who in their right mind schedules their vacation to the hour 6 months ahead of time?) will at least (theoretically) have the option to pay up for access.

In the end, Disney doesn't really give a damn about the loyal fanbase - they want the one-and-done (or every 3-5 year) whales. And they want those whales to tell their friends it was actually a pretty good time. They aren't terribly interested in the addicts who scrimp and save to visit 4-6 times a year. To them it's just further congestion from folks with a lower per guest spend - and they figure dumping some of those guests is a net positive and those that remain will keep coming even if they have to endure beatings to get through the gate.

 

[Raineman]

A Whole New World
Of Potential Revenue
We’ll Charge You Everywhere
No Dime Is Spared
Just So We Can Have A Great Q2

I just pictured that scene, with Chapek's head on Alladin's body and Josh D'Amaro's head on Jasmine's.

 

[Waters Back Side]

Genie + is also supposed to automatically navigate you with a customized itinerary tovmap out the park and not back track. But sometimes it might not be possible. If someone has a LP for Splash Mountain and then right after theh try to grab one for Thunder Mountain but it's not available until hours later, you might end up grabbing a LP for something further away in the park. So I guess Genie + can only do so much based on what's available. The video showed when setting up genie pass and selecting attractions youd like to do, I noticed it selected multiple genie + rides at once. I guess it only chooses 1 to start? Should be interesting to see.