Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[pdude81]

Agreed. While FP+ was not great for day of or off-site guests it did a better job of spreading people around the parks. Now it feels like most who use Genie+ only use it for top attractions.

I think there is ways to make Genie+ work. One would be to go back to the tier system. You can only hold 1 top tier ride at a time.

I don't understand why they didn't think people would want to buy it when it costs the same as a single ride on 7DMT but the marketing seemed to indicate we'd get one skip on almost every other ride. Tiers could certainly help but they pulled a bunch of the best rides out for ILL already. If they were to just raise the price for people buying it from here on and sold less of them to people, those who bought it would likely complain a lot less.

 

[Jrb1979]

I don't understand why they didn't think people would want to buy it when it costs the same as a single ride on 7DMT but the marketing seemed to indicate we'd get one skip on almost every other ride. Tiers could certainly help but they pulled a bunch of the best rides out for ILL already. If they were to just raise the price for people buying it from here on and sold less of them to people, those who bought it would likely complain a lot less.

I agree with that. The problem is that Disney guests have been so used to short waits due to FP going in a different direction with limiting that is going to upset a lot of people.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Isnt that exactly what Plaid's are for? and you get yourself a tour guide as well lol

If WDW started an express pass type of system, the Plaid's would be a "more affordable" option of a family depending on the size of your group

 

[Jeff4272]

Sounds like a home run to me if you are a single person going to the park. I know many people may not agree, but this is the type of pass that would be worth it to me. Tokyo Disney has premier access, so if this goes to Tokyo Disney it probably could be worth looking into since the lines inevitably will become crazy long.

I would buy this in a heartbeat....

 

[Chi84]

You're right. It doesn't for anyone now. IMO they always wanted to charge for FP and be like every other park out there. It feels like that's all they looked at. They didn't research on why or how they work at other parks.

For my family we have decided to not take our 2 year old anytime soon. Its not the prices as the reason. It's how complex it is to have a good time.

Probably a good decision. We started going to WDW in 1984 as adults with no kids, then continued through the years until our trip last April, which included 2 grandparents (us), our 2 kids and their spouses and 3 grandchildren (ages 3, 9 months and 3 months.) FP+ would have been a blessing because it would have allowed us to plan a few rides in each park at times we knew we could make work. Not having that opportunity caused us to miss out on the rides we really wanted. And those were not rides that would have "sold out" at 60 days using FP+.

In addition to not being able to plan in advance, we bought an ILL for Rise at 1:05 and then were "confirmed" for 3:40. That's a whole lot of difference in times and caused havoc with the little ones' schedules - I suppose we could have canceled it but then we would have probably missed the ride altogether. As it is, the 2 who stayed back with the kids were unable to ride because it went down yet again. ToT and FOP were also down during our reserved days for those parks and we were not able to switch. All in all, if Disney does not come up with a system that works for us, we won't return.

 

[Jeff4272]

I'm not a single visitor. We are a family of 3 and I don't always buy Express Pass when I go. The disconnect here seems to be that many have this mindset that you must buy a skip the line pass to enjoy the parks.

that's because you do need to have a skip the line pass to enjoy the parks

 

[Jeff4272]

I don't disagree with that. Right now people are filling resorts without any perks. If you want to give them perks give them access to the dining plan when it comes back

This is not sustainable though.......Its only due to a multitude of factors from the pandemic.......It will stop and it will stop very soon

 

[Jrb1979]

This is not sustainable though.......Its only due to a multitude of factors from the pandemic.......It will stop and it will stop very soon

Then they can offer discounts like they always do. I don't see Genie+ being offered to resort guests. Maybe a discount if they up the price a lot

 

[LittleBuford]

It's because it was "free." FP+ availability after resort guests had their selections made was dismal. People are also far more likely to make an undesirable selection when it's something they've directly paid for in order to get their money's worth.

It really was free, so I’m a little baffled by the quotation marks. And in my experience as a non-resort guest, selections were far from dismal.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I’ve had several friends ask me for advice on Disney vacations this summer.... I’m doing my best to convince all of them to go do Disneyland instead of world.

While a WDW vacation can still be enjoyable, it seems Disney is doing their best to stack the odds against that happening!

 

[Jeff4272]

I agree that Genie+ does not work. In fact, I don't believe Disney was being altruistic all those years in not charging for FP+. I think they knew full well that - in the unique circumstances of WDW - any skip the line system would have severe limitations and people are more likely to accept a free one on the theory that "you get what you pay for."

FP+ didn't work for everyone, but it worked very well for a great many people who were amenable to doing more than going from attraction to attraction. There's so much to see and do at the WDW theme parks, water parks, resorts and DS. A few rides at scheduled times allowed us to enjoy everything at WDW, including resort entertainment, boat rides, dining, shopping, water parks, parades, fireworks, etc. I know that FP+ didn't work well for those who were more centered on doing rides and didn't like to plan in advance, so I was willing to see what Disney would come up with that would satisfy them. With Genie+, the answer is "nothing."

I wish I had an answer to how Genie+ can be fixed. My family has decided to fix the issue by booking our first cruise on Royal Caribbean next year instead of taking our previously planned vacation to WDW. But I'm an optimist with a pretty good number of DVC points, so I'm following along and keeping an open mind as to whether Disney can come up with a system I can work with - something I've been able to do until the fiasco known as Genie+.

Same with us....I have 490 points at BLT and we aren't going this year or next year and wont be back unless it changes.........I'll just keep renting my points

 

[dreday3]

My point is that Disney knows about Express Pass, how it works and that it's free for people staying at Universal's deluxe resorts. The fact that no one here, including various insiders, has mentioned WDW adopting an expensive, unlimited pass that would be given free to resort guests (or even paid for by everyone) seems to indicate that they've considered this system and concluded that it won't work at WDW. But yes, if I could stay at a deluxe resort and get an unlimited skip the line pass, I would love it! (Oh, and I'm DVC so I stay on points. What does Universal do about their vacation club members?)

Yes to all of this. And I suggest it should be implemented for 2023 stays.

 

[Jrb1979]

Yes to all of this. And I suggest it should be implemented for 2023 stays.

My hope is that whatever they end up doing is simpler then what is offered now.

 

[nickys]

I could see that -
* Sell a limited number of "Ultimate" packages at a high price point (maybe limit to onsite guests and (possibly) a limited # of APs per day
* For those that don't purchase ultimate, move everything to ILL - so that day guests can still purchase attractions that they want to skip the line for - but increase the price point so that things like Rise are $30 and normal attractions are $10-15.

Isn’t that just introducing tiers? Trying to determine how this differs from when you said you couldn’t see them going the “tiered” route at WDW.

This has:

- top tier of one entry to every ride
- a middle tier of ILLs for individual rides
- standby for everyone else

 

[mikejs78]

Isn’t that just introducing tiers? Trying to determine how this differs from when you said you couldn’t see them going the “tiered” route at WDW.

This has:

- top tier of one entry to every ride
- a middle tier of ILLs for individual rides
- standby for everyone else

I think there was a misunderstanding - I didn't think that there wouldn't be tiers, I thought that they wouldn't do something like here's a package of the Three mountains, or here's a package of fantasy land dark rides.

 

[nickys]

I think there was a misunderstanding - I didn't think that there wouldn't be tiers, I thought that they wouldn't do something like here's a package of the Three mountains, or here's a package of fantasy land dark rides.

Ah OK.
I still think they might do that for some, under the guise of a tour. A “Star Wars” tour that includes all 3 rides, some experiences in GE and finishing with Oga’s cantina.

But I can see the Premiere Access model coming. With date-based pricing it’s more akin to the UOR version, albeit limited to once per ride. And some booking advantage &/or discount for (select, possibly) resort guests.

I do remember the bundles being a feature being seriously considered at one point. So I’m still not ruling it out.

 

[Disney Glimpses]

It really was free, so I’m a little baffled by the quotation marks. And in my experience as a non-resort guest, selections were far from dismal.

It wasn't entirely free. You paid in some way, shape or form for that 60 day access. Complimentary doesn't mean free.

Selections on E-tickets or even D-tickets were pretty dismal. But again, when people pay for something, they are going to be certain they use it; even if it's on something they don't necessarily want to ride. People are way more likely to pass on a Pirates or Thunder Mountain FP when they haven't directly paid for it. Early reservations aside, FP+ was a very low stress environment. Genie+ is a very high stress environment that not only creates artificial demand but motivates people to take whatever they can get before there's nothing left.

I realize $15 sounds cheap but when you've just charged your card for $60 for your family and all you see is The Barnstormer, you're riding The Barnstormer (with FP+ you would not have).

 

[LittleBuford]

It wasn't entirely free. You paid in some way, shape or form for that 60 day access. Complimentary doesn't mean free.

Selections on E-tickets or even D-tickets were pretty dismal. But again, when people pay for something, they are going to be certain they use it; even if it's on something they don't necessarily want to ride. People are way more likely to pass on a Pirates or Thunder Mountain FP when they haven't directly paid for it. Early reservations aside, FP+ was a very low stress environment. Genie+ is a very high stress environment that not only creates artificial demand but motivates people to take whatever they can get before there's nothing left.

I realize $15 sounds cheap but when you've just charged your card for $60 for your family and all you see is The Barnstormer, you're riding The Barnstormer (with FP+ you would not have).

FP+ was free, and it offered perfectly good selections up to the last minute. Most of my trips were without 60-day access (and even the one exception was because I stayed at the Wyndham Lake Buena Vista after it became a partner resort), and I made very good use of FP+ each and every time. It’s something of a myth that only those who forked out to stay in a Disney-owned resort benefitted from the system.

 

[HauntedPirate]

Resort guests should be a top priority for sure. They are the ones experiencing a quintessential Disney Vacation and exactly the guest Disney wants returning as often as possible.

Resort guests except for those DVC people. To paraphrase the beliefs of some - They are scum less desirable, like AP holders, who don't spend money and just leech off the Mouse and expect things for their tens of thousands of dollars spent on a real estate interest. Or so I understand.

 

[Purduevian]

Going with the ILL on everything route... what if it was location based and you could only buy a ILL for right now and only if you were within a few hundred feet of the entrance to the attraction. $2 for every 15 min wait. As more people bought the ILL, the standby line would go up and the price would rise. A
Dynamic pricing based on the estimated current wait time. Also eliminate it on most of the smaller rides.
Basically at 1:30pm right now I would say

Ride	Current wait time	Price to enter the LL
Splash Mountain	45	$6
Space Mountain	50	$6
Pirates of the Caribbean	60	$8
Jungle Cruise	65	$8
Haunted Mansion	80	$10
Peter Pan	80	$10
7 Dwarf	120	$16
Big Thunder	Temporarily closed	Not available for purchase
Soarin	55	$6
Mission: Space	60	$8
Test Track	65	$8
Remy	70	$8
Frozen	80	$10
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster	50	$6
Toy Story Mania	55	$6
MMRR	60	$8
MFSR	95	$12
SDD	100	$12
TOT	110	$14
ROTR	Temporarily Closed	Not available for purchase
Dinosaur	45	$6
Everest	45	$6
Kali	50	$6
Kilimanjaro	85	$10
Navi	115	$14
Fight of Passage	165	$22