Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[mmascari]

This happened to be one if them and whats funny is again. Every insider has claimed FP biggest complaint was planning yet that still exist as today i had to choose where to eat 2 month inadvance. So if you felt choosing ridea were that important stay on property value is cheap enough to compare to other off site hotels.

There's a huge difference to planning a couple of meals and every single ride months in advance. We made exactly 1 dining reservation over 6 park days. Tried for 2, but I forgot at the 60 day mark and then it was gone.

We detested the park pass reservations on our trip. They were made all the worse by the 2:00 hopper restriction and the requirement to tap in at the reserved park first. My wife actually saw them turn someone away around 3:00 at DHS because they hadn't tapped in someplace else first. The guest was furious because they were meeting someone who was already there and now they needed to go on a pointless journey just to tap in and return to DHS 40 minutes later.

By the end of day 3 of our trip, we knew we didn't want to spend the day at the parks we had reserved for days 5 and 6. However, it was impossible to change them to anything else besides EPCOT, which was one we already had.

 

[Jeff4272]

Ok…fast pass + didn’t work.

That was 100% predictable…by the way.

Correct it is predictable because i am right and even you know that............

If you took a poll and asked if people wanted FP+ or Genie+, both for the same exact price, I bet it would be 90/10 in favor of FP+

 

[crazy4disney]

There's a huge difference to planning a couple of meals and every single ride months in advance. We made exactly 1 dining reservation over 6 park days. Tried for 2, but I forgot at the 60 day mark and then it was gone.

We detested the park pass reservations on our trip. They were made all the worse by the 2:00 hopper restriction and the requirement to tap in at the reserved park first. My wife actually saw them turn someone away around 3:00 at DHS because they hadn't tapped in someplace else first. The guest was furious because they were meeting someone who was already there and now they needed to go on a pointless journey just to tap in and return to DHS 40 minutes later.

By the end of day 3 of our trip, we knew we didn't want to spend the day at the parks we had reserved for days 5 and 6. However, it was impossible to change them to anything else besides EPCOT, which was one we already had.

My point i guess is. Disney/insiders claiming FP went away bc of the planning aspect of guests despising it yet every other reservation is still there. To me park pass was basically FP anyways for majority of guests as im confident majority went to park they had FP to 1st anyways.
Dining i may or may not be the norm but we have sit meals (characters each day) breakfast and dinner so ADR’s are pretty much needed.

 

[mmascari]

You dont have to plan on ADR’s? When was the last time you actually visited. I have an 11 day trip booked and there are places thats literally have ZERO availability my entire trip. If you dont book dining and want character dining Good Luck. Now granted ill admit things definitely pop up at times day before but do you really want to take that chance w children who want to experience that?!? Come on. Do i want FP back 100% or some version of it 100%. One of the major reasonswhy is bc Genie stinks. Its awful. If you provided a viable replacement so be it but they havent.

But, do you book 11 character meals?

For that matter, did you book 11 dinners or 11 lunches or both for 22 total reservations?

I was in the parks last week for 6 days and booked 1 "meal" at Olga's. I would have liked to book a Space 220 something, but missed it at 60 days out.

For people that wanted to book 3 rides a day ahead of time, FP+ and it's pre reservation was clearly better. That could be 33 rides plus 22 meals for you. For many, that level of pre planning is no longer a vacation.

 

[Disstevefan1]

No way.........its already happening.........second half of 2022 will be affected

I hope are right! Maybe it won't be so MOBBED in December, or does that not count as it's a holiday time?

 

[Jeff4272]

But, do you book 11 character meals?

For that matter, did you book 11 dinners or 11 lunches or both for 22 total reservations?

I was in the parks last week for 6 days and booked 1 "meal" at Olga's. I would have liked to book a Space 220 something, but missed it at 60 days out.

For people that wanted to book 3 rides a day ahead of time, FP+ and it's pre reservation was clearly better. That could be 33 rides plus 22 meals for you. For many, that level of pre planning is no longer a vacation.

we booked every meal for our 10 day vacation in April '21 for 10 of us.........We ate every dinner out at a table service and booked every one...........We booked 3 breakfasts and 4 lunches at table service restaurants.........It took 15 mins to book them and it was awesome knowing we had exactly what we wanted

ate at BOG, Topolinos, Cal Grille, Raglan Road, Yachtsmen, Via Napoli, Le Cellier, Sci Fi, Oga's, Brown Derby and Narcossees

 

[mmascari]

Dining i may or may not be the norm but we have sit meals (characters each day) breakfast and dinner so ADR’s are pretty much needed.

If you're going to book 2 ADR every day, then yeah, you're basically locking everything in anyway. I don't think that's the norm for most people though. I don't think 0 for the entire trip is the norm either. I would bet it's someplace in the middle.

My point i guess is. Disney/insiders claiming FP went away bc of the planning aspect of guests despising it yet every other reservation is still there. To me park pass was basically FP anyways for majority of guests as im confident majority went to park they had FP to 1st anyways.

The left hand is definitely not talking to the right hand across many aspects of changes going on and the operations around them.

People don't like planning everything months in advance. Eliminate pre reserve FP+ based on that. Then add back in Park Reservation completely negating the change. Worse, make it harder to use and more restrictive too.

Give resort guests an extra half hour early entry. This will incentivize everyone into the parks at rope drop, which should help with at least 1 ride being near impossible to get a LL for. Forget to tell bus operations they need to run more busses earlier in the morning making it near impossible to actually take advantage of those extra early hours. So, now you're up to get the early entry AND the LL at 7:00 too, but you're sitting at a bus stop cursing out that it's not there.

The subtle and not so subtle nudges they're giving guests for how they would like people to use the park are bad enough. That they aren't following through and making those work better is what creates the bigger annoyance.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

You dont have to plan on ADR’s? When was the last time you actually visited. I have an 11 day trip booked and there are places thats literally have ZERO availability my entire trip. If you dont book dining and want character dining Good Luck. Now granted ill admit things definitely pop up at times day before but do you really want to take that chance w children who want to experience that?!? Come on. Do i want FP back 100% or some version of it 100%. One of the major reasonswhy is bc Genie stinks. Its awful. If you provided a viable replacement so be it but they havent.

Just got back…while we have been trained to book reservations - which is dumb because priority seating was 100% better - I watched as almost every single location - all of them - released 24-48 or more in advanced.

Maybe the only one I didn’t see what topolino breakfast.

So as long as there’s no dining plan…this isn’t a requirement as it had been

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Correct it is predictable because i am right and even you know that............

If you took a poll and asked if people wanted FP+ or Genie+, both for the same exact price, I bet it would be 90/10 in favor of FP+

It’s not about a poll for preferences…it’s about what actually worked for operational use. Today and moving forward.

It didn’t work…watch this, please:




It’s a NUMBERS thing…you’re just not getting that

 

[mmascari]

we booked every meal for our 10 day vacation in April '21 for 10 of us.........We ate every dinner out at a table service and booked every one...........We booked 3 breakfasts and 4 lunches at table service restaurants.........It took 15 mins to book them and it was awesome knowing we had exactly what we wanted

ate at BOG, Topolinos, Cal Grille, Raglan Road, Yachtsmen, Via Napoli, Le Cellier, Sci Fi, Oga's, Brown Derby and Narcossees

I would say you are a power vacationer and not near a typical guest.

Disney would like you get a VIP tour. That will address all of your requirements to be sure to get the rides you want without the waits, no 7:00 AM time, and without having to reserve each ride individually. With 10 of you, it may not even be that expensive per guest.

 

[Jeff4272]

It’s not about a poll for preferences…it’s about what actually worked for operational use. Today and moving forward.

It didn’t work…watch this, please:




It’s a NUMBERS thing…you’re just not getting that

ive watched it.......it doesnt matter........FP+ worked and everyone knows it


and it 1,000,000% works better than anything else...................and thats the real point.............nothings perfect but FP+ is the best option

 

[Jeff4272]

I would say you are a power vacationer and not near a typical guest.

Disney would like you get a VIP tour. That will address all of your requirements to be sure to get the rides you want without the waits, no 7:00 AM time, and without having to reserve each ride individually. With 10 of you, it may not even be that expensive per guest.

It's $5k per day.........if we go on a 10 day trip we are in parks 6/7 days....$5k x 6 is $30k

thats the problem when people bring up VIP tours.........They are only for 1 day.........what happens my other 5 or 6 days?

 

[Jeff4272]

I would say you are a power vacationer and not near a typical guest.

Disney would like you get a VIP tour. That will address all of your requirements to be sure to get the rides you want without the waits, no 7:00 AM time, and without having to reserve each ride individually. With 10 of you, it may not even be that expensive per guest.

well i disagree

b all those restaurants sell out the day they are available

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

If you're going to book 2 ADR every day, then yeah, you're basically locking everything in anyway. I don't think that's the norm for most people though. I don't think 0 for the entire trip is the norm either. I would bet it's someplace in the middle.



The left hand is definitely not talking to the right hand across many aspects of changes going on and the operations around them.

People don't like planning everything months in advance. Eliminate pre reserve FP+ based on that. Then add back in Park Reservation completely negating the change. Worse, make it harder to use and more restrictive too.

Give resort guests an extra half hour early entry. This will incentivize everyone into the parks at rope drop, which should help with at least 1 ride being near impossible to get a LL for. Forget to tell bus operations they need to run more busses earlier in the morning making it near impossible to actually take advantage of those extra early hours. So, now you're up to get the early entry AND the LL at 7:00 too, but you're sitting at a bus stop cursing out that it's not there.

The subtle and not so subtle nudges they're giving guests for how they would like people to use the park are bad enough. That they aren't following through and making those work better is what creates the bigger annoyance.

They just don’t have enough space, seats or employees to handle a 2019 level crowd comfortably. Didn’t I just see someone begging for 3 precooked rides and then launchbay?

So clicking the mouse like a hard-o 2 months…In advance is yielding such great things, huh?

What was the other comment “it was fine until this “ride all day” stuff”…

Like an amusement park? One that went to “ride all day” tickets in the 1980’s?

Sometimes I wish the dog would actually catch his tail…and choke on it.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

It's $5k per day.........if we go on a 10 day trip we are in parks 6/7 days....$5k x 6 is $30k

thats the problem when people bring up VIP tours.........They are only for 1 day.........what happens my other 5 or 6 days?

Don’t be a tightwad, dude…let your wallet back up your bluster

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

well i disagree

b all those restaurants sell out the day they are available

They never “sell out”…they precooked in the streamlined stupidity of the dining plan 5 years ago. That hasn’t returned yet…and it’s way better.

But “return to suck” is around the corner…I’m sure.

 

[crazy4disney]

Just got back…while we have been trained to book reservations - which is dumb because priority seating was 100% better - I watched as almost every single location - all of them - released 24-48 or more in advanced.

Maybe the only one I didn’t see what topolino breakfast.

So as long as there’s no dining plan…this isn’t a requirement as it had been

Even with the dining plan i did see places pop up just as you have stated i would agree w that statement for plenty of character meals... im just saying its a risky proposition to take & also forces you to look at phone & refresh even more.... This to me is yet another problem Disney created as altho you cant book multiple reservations everyone in your party of age can so at bare min you can have multiple reservations per day for same time slot and then decide as you are closer to the day and to me thats how you end up w all these places opening up.... sad part about this is it was suggested to me by a CM when it was said just leave the guests names blank other than the person booking it....

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

ive watched it.......it doesnt matter........FP+ worked and everyone knows it

You didn’t watch it…because it shows how the numbers were affected and even compared it to an actual day that they presented as a “model” up front.

Is your other hobby peeing into the prevailing winds?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Even with the dining plan i did see places pop up just as you have stated i would agree w that statement for plenty of character meals... im just saying its a risky proposition to take & also forces you to look at phone & refresh even more.... This to me is yet another problem Disney created as altho you cant book multiple reservations everyone in your party of age can so at bare min you can have multiple reservations per day for same time slot and then decide as you are closer to the day and to me thats how you end up w all these places opening up.... sad part about this is it was suggested to me by a CM when it was said just leave the guests names blank other than the person booking it....

It was possible before…it’s almost guaranteed now. Crowds were heavy for the times and there were spots all over the place. All ranges food. Characters are in short supply more because there are only 4 as it stands.

 

[crazy4disney]

They never “sell out”…they precooked in the streamlined stupidity of the dining plan 5 years ago. That hasn’t returned yet…and it’s way better.

But “return to suck” is around the corner…I’m sure.

No dining plan now and as i stated there definitely still some limited availability and even when i went in November w no dining plan had same issues as well & im only a party of 3 but i will agree things open up last minute still risky.... unlike FP where things would open up late and you missed it so be it... when it comes to meals you have 1 chance and cant miss it lol