Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
Do you know for a fact FP didnt work? Im genuinely curious where you are getting that info from & how you are making that statement because i truly dk anyone who really had issues using FP as a resort guest. 1st the argument was people didnt like planning (not saying that was or wasnt your stance) now we are saying the parks couldnt support FP anymore….
And to follow up…how many people became “3 and out”??

What’s amazing is they didn’t complain more.

$100 for 3…with “standby lines” that didn’t move as they jacked the “fastpass” capacity to 80%…

And people think the lightning lane is expensive…
 

Vegas Disney Fan

Well-Known Member
That was only possible because more people had to wait more.

Including yourself when you aren’t using a FP, I still prefer the FP system though, if I can save an hour on 3 rides I’ll gladly give up 10 minutes on the other rides.

The end result is the same but it’s much easier to wait in a dozen different lines that are 30 minutes each rather than 9 lines that are 20 minutes each and 3 that are an hour and a half.

A half an hour line passes fast, an hour and a half feels like an eternity.
 

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
Including yourself when you aren’t using a FP, I still prefer the FP system though, if I can save an hour on 3 rides I’ll gladly give up 10 minutes on the other rides.

The end result is the same but it’s much easier to wait in a dozen different lines that are 30 minutes each rather than 9 lines that are 20 minutes each and 3 that are an hour and a half.

A half an hour line passes fast, an hour and a half feels like an eternity.
Which version of fastpass caused that?

Because it wasn’t 2.0

1.0 limited itself and didn’t bog down the standbys…not the same for the second
 

crazy4disney

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
And to follow up…how many people became “3 and out”??

What’s amazing is they didn’t complain more.

$100 for 3…with “standby lines” that didn’t move as they jacked the “fastpass” capacity to 80%…

And people think the lightning lane is expensive…
You have your thoughts i have mine. All o cansay is that FP worked like a charm and allowed me basically to never have to go standby with any real line. I know im not alone in that experience as well. So we can go back & forth but one thing i know is Genie is awful & by far awful. Probably had one of my worst trips in 20 years in November & Genie was definitely the major part of it when it came to rides and availability etc.
 

DisneyHead123

Well-Known Member
It's not a moralistic issue. However, when you gleefully embraced an arbitrary system that picked winners and losers because you happened to be a winner, don't be surprised (or expect much sympathy) when that arbitrary system shifts and you find yourself among the losers. There is one fair system, we all know what it is.
The idea of framing it as expecting sympathy and such seems like the wrong framing to me - again, if I and others wanted McDonalds to serve salads and they cut out nuggets to do that, I wouldn’t say “Hey, you consumers of nuggets were the winners in an arbitrary system that favored you. Don’t expect sympathy when that arbitrary system shifts!” I guess I take it as a given that this is how a consumer driven market works. Companies can’t give infinite options and the options they do offer are shaped by demand.
 

Chi84

Premium Member
You have your thoughts i have mine. All o cansay is that FP worked like a charm and allowed me basically to never have to go standby with any real line. I know im not alone in that experience as well. So we can go back & forth but one thing i know is Genie is awful & by far awful. Probably had one of my worst trips in 20 years in November & Genie was definitely the major part of it when it came to rides and availability etc.
We’re “edge cases,” so we don’t count 😂 Except maybe to Disney - we’ll have to wait and see. Maybe they’ll decide that all standby is the morally superior system.
 
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lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
Including yourself when you aren’t using a FP, I still prefer the FP system though, if I can save an hour on 3 rides I’ll gladly give up 10 minutes on the other rides.

The end result is the same but it’s much easier to wait in a dozen different lines that are 30 minutes each rather than 9 lines that are 20 minutes each and 3 that are an hour and a half.

A half an hour line passes fast, an hour and a half feels like an eternity.
It’s still a matter of perception. Ever just miss a show at the Enchanted Tiki Room or Country Bear Jamboree? That 20 minutes can be excruciating because you’re just sitting there. Set expectations and keep people engaged and even those longer waits can become more tolerable. Part of the problem with focusing so much capacity on reservations is that the physical queue space needed for Stand-By is actually reduced so it not only increases the actual time waiting but also the perception of waiting because you slowly pulse through a small space. Keep people moving through a variety of engaging spaces and there will be less awareness of a long wait.
 

Casper Gutman

Well-Known Member
The idea of framing it as expecting sympathy and such seems like the wrong framing to me - again, if I and others wanted McDonalds to serve salads and they cut out nuggets to do that, I wouldn’t say “Hey, you consumers of nuggets were the winners in an arbitrary system that favored you. Don’t expect sympathy when that arbitrary system shifts!” I guess I take it as a given that this is how a consumer driven market works. Companies can’t give infinite options and the options they do offer are shaped by demand.
Your McDonalds example doesn’t work because no one has paid to enter McDonalds. If everyone paid a hundred bucks to enter a McDonalds buffet and then an arbitrary group of those guests were forced to wait until all the desirable food had been consumed before serving themselves, your analogy might work.

Also, I doubt many folks have the deep emotional attachment to McDonalds that folks on these boards have to WDW.
 
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solidyne

Well-Known Member
Crowds? Limited capacity and COVID. Yea those crowds lol
I meant compared to the ghost town of 2020. (I didn't want to suggest that my stand-by-only experience was during that very slow period.)
Crowds were not back as they are now. Not even close

Many were waiting for mask requirements to be lifted as well
Again, I meant they were "back" compared to 2020. I went the same week in 2021 and 2022, and, you are right. This year was indeed distinctly busier.
You truly believe lines will basically disappear if genie/fp or any other line skipping except plaid and das goes away?
Casper answered this already, but I have to add my two cents. When you say something like this, you either are deliberately misrepresenting others simply for the fun of arguing or are misunderstanding them completely. I hope it is the latter.
Neither I or anyone else I am aware of said lines would "basically disappear." They would move steadily, which they do not currently do. [...]

[...]Never stopped at merge to finish letting a batch of Stand-By guests through? Never had to wait a cycle or two to board? A big part of queuing and satisfaction is perception. [...]
These things are so true. I'd go so far as to say a 40-min line that moves is preferable to a 20-min one with mostly standing. That ratio may be a little off, but it's close.
 

Chi84

Premium Member
It’s still a matter of perception. Ever just miss a show at the Enchanted Tiki Room or Country Bear Jamboree? That 20 minutes can be excruciating because you’re just sitting there. Set expectations and keep people engaged and even those longer waits can become more tolerable. Part of the problem with focusing so much capacity on reservations is that the physical queue space needed for Stand-By is actually reduced so it not only increases the actual time waiting but also the perception of waiting because you slowly pulse through a small space. Keep people moving through a variety of engaging spaces and there will be less awareness of a long wait.
But in the end you’re slowly moving in an hour-long line when you could have been doing something else. If the people who loved FP+ need to face the reality that it’s not coming back, then the people who favor all standby need to face the reality that Disney is not going to adopt that system either. As far as I know, all major theme parks have some sort of line skip system, so that ship has already sailed.
 

solidyne

Well-Known Member
But in the end you’re slowly moving in an hour-long line when you could have been doing something else. If the people who loved FP+ need to face the reality that it’s not coming back, then the people who favor all standby need to face the reality that Disney is not going to adopt that system either. As far as I know, all major theme parks have some sort of line skip system, so that ship has already sailed.
I, for one, am under no illusion that all-standby will happen ever again.

I have faced the fact that nothing in WDW will be as it was. Things get worse. Period. (Good rule of thumb.)

Exception: The now free Frontierland Shooting Gallery. That flabbergasts me!
 

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
But in the end you’re slowly moving in an hour-long line when you could have been doing something else. If the people who loved FP+ need to face the reality that it’s not coming back, then the people who favor all standby need to face the reality that Disney is not going to adopt that system either. As far as I know, all major theme parks have some sort of line skip system, so that ship has already sailed.
The ability to do something else is a function of capacity. To work others are not doing something else or they just can’t be allowed into the park. Pushing too many people onto the system just pushes the waiting to those other things as happened at Volcano Bay.

Neither FastPass, FastPass+ nor Genie+ are line skipping systems. They are all reservation systems, more similar to a virtual queue. How they impact operations is different. No other park theme park has tried to make such systems a central component of a visit. Universal thought they could do it and backed off after Volcano Bay opened.
 

Chi84

Premium Member
The ability to do something else is a function of capacity. To work others are not doing something else or they just can’t be allowed into the park. Pushing too many people onto the system just pushes the waiting to those other things as happened at Volcano Bay.

Neither FastPass, FastPass+ nor Genie+ are line skipping systems. They are all reservation systems, more similar to a virtual queue. How they impact operations is different. No other park theme park has tried to make such systems a central component of a visit. Universal thought they could do it and backed off after Volcano Bay opened.
That’s all great, but people don’t want to stand in long lines at WDW when there are so many other things to do. Either Disney figures out how to make that work or it’s going to lose a lot of people. Maybe they don’t care, but there must be some reason they’re making changes to Genie+ instead of simply abandoning it.
 

crazy4disney

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
I meant compared to the ghost town of 2020. (I didn't want to suggest that my stand-by-only experience was during that very slow period.)

Again, I meant they were "back" compared to 2020. I went the same week in 2021 and 2022, and, you are right. This year was indeed distinctly busier.

Casper answered this already, but I have to add my two cents. When you say something like this, you either are deliberately misrepresenting others simply for the fun of arguing or are misunderstanding them completely. I hope it is the latter.



These things are so true. I'd go so far as to say a 40-min line that
I meant compared to the ghost town of 2020. (I didn't want to suggest that my stand-by-only experience was during that very slow period.)

Again, I meant they were "back" compared to 2020. I went the same week in 2021 and 2022, and, you are right. This year was indeed distinctly busier.

Casper answered this already, but I have to add my two cents. When you say something like this, you either are deliberately misrepresenting others simply for the fun of arguing or are misunderstanding them completely. I hope it is the latter.



These things are so true. I'd go so far as to say a 40-min line that moves is preferable to a 20-min one with mostly standing. That ratio may be a little off, but it's close.
So you rather wait twice as long bc the line “moves” thats just downright nuts & im not looking for an argument with that statement.

I wasnt looking to misrepresent anyone but people act like lines never existed before FP which is simply NOT the case. The parks added what? 20-25% attendance but did nothing in regards to adding capacity to help alleviate this demand.

So ill stick with my statement based on MY personal experience & countless others. That FP worked & worked well for resort guests & non resort guests. As been noted by insiders FP biggest complaint was the planning aspect of it not the fact it didnt work.

Genie stinks. Plain & simple FP may not have been perfect but it worked way better than Genie & was wayyyyy less stressful
Than Genie. Heck Genie is advertising only 2-3 attractions meanwhile w FP you were guaranteed that & most likely better attractions & at the times you wanted. Lets not even discuss the fact that adding day of was rather simple to find extra FP. Genie was abysmal for that. I go the same week every year & had a direct comparison. It wasnt even close.

You sadly hit the nail on head tho “mentally” you think a 40 min wait us better than a 20 min wait but 20 minutes longer even 10 min longer is in fact longer! So to suggest people rather wait in lines longer bc it is moving to me is crazy. 6-7 rides at say 10-15 extra is min hour to 1.5 hours extra in line during a day bc its moving. Good luck convincing me people would choose that over less time in line along w a skip the line system
 

crazy4disney

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
That’s all great, but people don’t want to stand in long lines at WDW when there are so many other things to do. Either Disney figures out how to make that work or it’s going to lose a lot of people. Maybe they don’t care, but there must be some reason they’re making changes to Genie+ instead of simply abandoning it.
Exactly. Why would anyone willingly choose to spend thousands & thousands of dollars to stand in hour long lines if this was the only option. People myself included are still buying Genie knowing how bad it is just hoping to get a decent amount if rides
 

matt9112

Well-Known Member
When there isnt enough capacity & parks being full walk on’s become non existent during most park hours. Im 47 & been going since i could remember & there was no such thing as walk ons growing up. Basically every ride had legit lines & that was with more capacity & less attendance.

I remember walk ons at park open and also late at night when regular park hours were longer.
 

crazy4disney

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
I remember walk ons at park open and also late at night when regular park hours were longer.
I agree hence why i said most park hours. Rope dropping is nothing new. Hitting up rides last 30-40 minutes is nothing newbut as you point out the longerhours 100% helped. Before i had my daughter and would be in parks a longggg time ago. You were able to walk on most of the non top tier attractions or have like 15-20 min waits for most of the big ones as the parks were a ghost town at times.
 

solidyne

Well-Known Member
So you rather wait twice as long bc the line “moves” thats just downright nuts & im not looking for an argument with that statement.
I am willing to admit I'm probably nuts.
[...] The parks added what? 20-25% attendance but did nothing in regards to adding capacity to help alleviate this demand.
I think we all agree there. Capacity is everything. It's probably the number one problem in the parks. (Except, that is, for the overall dumbing down, the artistic and aesthetic decline, oh and screenz.)
So ill stick with my statement based on MY personal experience & countless others. That FP worked & worked well for resort guests & non resort guests. [...]
I have acknowledged (in this thread) that FP, while not ideal and not my preference, was perhaps the favorite for most guests.
Genie stinks. Plain & simple FP may not have been perfect but it worked way better than Genie [...]
G+ sucks. Even Disney agrees.
You sadly hit the nail on head tho “mentally” you think a 40 min wait us better than a 20 min wait but 20 minutes longer even 10 min longer is in fact longer! [...]
I knew that ratio might trigger some, LOL. Seriously, though, is absolute wait time the only measure of a park experience? Is "wait" so inherently bad that less of it is always better? Isn't it conceivable that time could be a tradeoff for comfort? What if you could be guaranteed a 10-minute wait for any attraction but you had to be locked in a coffin upside down for the duration of your wait. Would you do it?
 

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