Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[Disney Dad 3000]

So, not that it was requested, but as a Disney vet, thought I'd share our recent experience with Genie+, thoughts, etc. from a recent trip (just returned 6/29). Note that we did like FP+ and had no issues (offsite or onsite) getting FP, but I also knew just about every trick to get what we wanted. I can't get my family to rope drop (though I did solo a few mornings), so a skip the line service is helpful, especially since I'm not a fan of lines

Most recent trips:
- July '21 - no FP+ or G+ was completely miserable, with everyone in SB lines, every line (even barnstormer) was insanely long and spilled into walkways and could be attributed some to Covid travel rebound I suppose
- Dec '21 (10-14th) - first experience with G+ was very frustrating, technical issues, inventory issues, learning curve, etc.

Current trip:
- We purchased G+ 1 day each at DHS/AK/Epcot and 2 days at MK (we had other days at the parks and did not utilize G+ where we popped in late in the evening for a meal and walked on a few rides at DHS and MK
- MK 1 5pm-1020pm- PP (LL), JC (LL), Dole whip, Tiki Room, PotC (LL), IASW (LL), QS meal, BTM (LL), Fireworks, Buzz (LL), PM, TLS (LL)
- HS 430pm-9pm - MMRR (LL), ST (LL), DB7 QS, SDD (LL), TSM (LL), (LL), MSFR (LL), MMRR at park close
- MK 2 3-740pm - FoF, QS meal, PP (LL), BTM (LL), Philharmagic (LL), Carousel, Barn (LL), Dumbo (LL), MILF (LL), Splash (LL), Space (LL). Note that Phil/Barn/Dumbo/MILF were immediate pull/availability (vs waits about 20-25 min) that I initially started with Phil due to storms in area

Note that I still am not 100% a fan of G+, but for nighttime park touring, the ability to walk in with a cache of passes is nice, with the caveat that you have to understand what the typical LL time cycle is going to look like for the park's attractions at various points in the day when your next window opens, and even then it takes some work/luck. From a research aspect this trip, I did similar or more viewing of Thrilldata, the Tip Board, etc. beforehand that I did with FP. I hate admitting it worked well for us on this trip as (1) I don't like the added cost to our trip, (2) they need a modify option, (3) selecting a time would be preferable and (4) getting a later timeslot than what I pick is a joke, but for the most part it worked.

I did find myself on my phone though more than I did with FP during the day. I'm not sure when/if we'll be returning with our AP's expiring in July (we've had out of state passes a good chunk of the last 8 years) and now even the wife/kid are frustrated in some fashion about Disney's management of the parks and resorts, so decided to go out with a bit of a bang.

 

[mikejs78]

The new plans meaning nothing other than journey of water? Yeah, no....

The new CommuniCore fits in much better with the park than the bar on stilts. That thing would have been a disaster and destroyed so many sightlines.

 

[KrzyKtty]

No matter your touring style, there are many, many flaws of Genie+ that make it awful (7am every morning being the worst of them)

Being up at 7 AM isn't necessarily that problematic for everyone. No matter what I'm always up at that time anyway even on vacation. So it is by far nowhere near the worst part of the system for me.

 

[Jeff4272]

Being up at 7 AM isn't necessarily that problematic for everyone. No matter what I'm always up at that time anyway even on vacation. So it is by far nowhere near the worst part of the system for me.

Well it is for a lot of people. And not only that, but you have to do it every day which is terrible.

What is worse?

 

[KrzyKtty]

Well it is for a lot of people. And not only that, but you have to do it every day which is terrible.

What is worse?

I don't know, it really didn't bother me. I have an inability to sleep in due to my kids and work. Being up at that time anyway, it really doesn't bother me to start planning out the day. Even on the days where we relaxed at the resort most of the time, my family really loved being able to stroll in to Epcot at 6 o'clock in the evening and have 5 LLs lined up for the rest of the night. I think the entire trip we only did 3 or 4 rides without a LL, And it was during the 1st 2 hours of the park when lines were low anyway.

I don't know, I've always been of the opinion that if somebody wanted a relaxing vacation they would go to a beach resort. Why would they ever come to Disney world to relax? A fun vacation it may be, but relaxing is not it.

 

[Jeff4272]

I don't know, it really didn't bother me. I have an inability to sleep in due to my kids and work. Being up at that time anyway, it really doesn't bother me to start planning out the day. Even on the days where we relaxed the resort most of the time, my family really loved being able to stroll in to epcot at 6 o'clock in the evening and we have 5 fast passes lined up for the rest of the night. I think the entire trip we only did 3 or 4 rides without a fast pass, And it was during the 1st 2 hours of the park when lines were low anyway.

I don't know, I've always been of the opinion that if somebody wanted a relaxing vacation they would go to a beach resort. Why would they ever come to Disney world to relax? A fun vacation it may be, but relaxing is not it.

Well most people don’t like getting up early on vacation. That’s not debatable

We would sleep in until 10am every morning and stay out until the last park closed every night. That’s impossible to do with genie+. So it removes the reason we even go

 

[bhg469]

Well most people don’t like getting up early on vacation. That’s not debatable

We would sleep in until 10am every morning and stay out until the last park closed every night. That’s impossible to do with genie+. So it removes the reason we even go

That is exactly how I used to vacation there. Sometimes even took a break for a nap. And park close was a lot later too.

 

[KrzyKtty]

Well most people don’t like getting up early on vacation. That’s not debatable

We would sleep in until 10am every morning and stay out until the last park closed every night. That’s impossible to do with genie+. So it removes the reason we even go

Obviously enough people aren't bothered enough with it to not buy it. Because they're still selling it at record numbers.

Is the new system perfect, not by a long shot. But generally I really don't think it's that much worse than the FP plus system was either. That system had a lot of flaws as well.

 

[crazy4disney]

Obviously enough people are bothered enough with it to not buy it. Because they're still selling it at record numbers.

Is the new system perfect, not by a long shot. But generally I really don't think it's that much worse than the FP plus system was either. That system had a lot of flaws as well.

Imo its exponentially worse than FP was…. Im curious. What “flaws” did FP have as a resort guest. Im curious to what others feel about the issue with FP. You literally booked 3 excellent rides prior to getting there and all at the times you chose. Then were able to continue to book rides after using the 3…. And honestly there were always availability during your park days & not only for the “experts” who knew the ins and outs of the system. And booking 60 days in advance imo is not a flaw its the design to assure resort guests the best options they wanted to suit their needs. It was perfectly designed that way imo.

Example. Day you get there depending on flight etc everyone will
Get to park at different times. You can book 3 to suit your arrival.
Same with departure day some people will
Sleep in later and pack etc and check luggage & you can book 3 later ones there as well.

Alll impossible with Genie+

And those who claim “stacking”
Is great. Its nothing more than FP choosing later times. Yes i know you can have overlapping times but good luck getting 3 top tier choices ALL paired up within say 1.5 hours.

 

[KrzyKtty]

Imo its exponentially worse than FP was…. Im curious. What “flaws” did FP have as a resort guest. Im curious to what others feel about the issue with FP. You literally booked 3 excellent rides prior to getting there and all at the times you chose. Then were able to continue to book rides after using the 3…. And honestly there were always availability during your park days & not only for the “experts” who knew the ins and outs of the system. And booking 60 days in advance imo is not a flaw its the design to assure resort guests the best options they wanted to suit their needs. It was perfectly designed that way imo.

Example. Day you get there depending on flight etc everyone will
Get to park at different times. You can book 3 to suit your arrival.
Same with departure day some people will
Sleep in later and pack etc and check luggage & you can book 3 later ones there as well.

Alll impossible with Genie+

And those who claim “stacking”
Is great. Its nothing more than FP choosing later times. Yes i know you can have overlapping times but good luck getting 3 top tier choices ALL paired up within say 1.5 hours.

My issue with the prior system was it locked you into that set schedule. Yes you got to select 3 rides, but it also removed any spontaneity from that day. When I would walk by a ride, I would have to tell my daughter, no we can't go on that right now, we have to walk halfway across the park to get to the fast pass ride. There was very little spontaneity. I had to figure out what restaurants we were gonna eat at 6 months beforehand. Then that would limit what fast passes I could reserve because at that point it was impossible to change my restaurant reservations. The new system is a lot less stressful and requires a lot less military level planning to handle. It was nice waking up the morning of, and asking my family what mattered to them that day. Those are the ones I would concentrate on. If we wanted to to do something else, there were multiple instances where I canceled a LL and rebooked it for a little bit later in the day. Under the new system we were able to ride Guardians 4 times during our trip, Rise 2 times, Slinky dog 2 times, and 7 Dwarves 2 times. We wouldn't have been able to do that under the old system.

I used to think I liked all the ridiculous amount of planning that went into a Disney trip. Then I took a universal only trip and realized how much nicer and easier they are. This was the 1st Disney trip I've had in close to a decade that felt even close to the level of freedom of Universal.

 

[crazy4disney]

My issue with the prior system was it locked you into that set schedule. Yes you got to select 3 rides, but it also removed any spontaneity from that day. When I would walk by a ride, I would have to tell my daughter, no we can't go on that right now, we have to walk halfway across the park to get to the fast pass ride. There was very little spontaneity. I had to figure out what restaurants we were gonna eat at 6 months beforehand. Then that would limit what fast passes I could reserve because at that point it was impossible to change my restaurant reservations. The new system is a lot less stressful and requires a lot less military level planning to handle. It was nice waking up the morning of, and asking my family what mattered to them that day. Those are the ones I would concentrate on. If we wanted to to do something else, there were multiple instances where I canceled a LL and rebooked it for a little bit later in the day. Under the new system we were able to ride Guardians 4 times during our trip, Rise 2 times, Slinky dog 2 times, and 7 Dwarves 2 times. We wouldn't have been able to do that under the old system.

I used to think I liked all the ridiculous amount of planning that went into a Disney trip. Then I took a universal only trip and realized how much nicer and easier they are. This was the 1st Disney trip I've had in close to a decade that felt even close to the level of freedom of Universal.

Guess everyones experience is different but under the new system you can only ride each Genie once… there were plenty if times during FP i was able to ride said attractions sans GoTG as it just opened multiple times a day using FP. I agree w the 180 days to me that was worse but in the end you booked around breakfast/dinner. As far as being married to times i agree in the beginning it was but if there was something that was relatively no line i would ride it & deal w the potential if missing a FP time as CM were very lenient within reason. Unfortunately. Spontaneous Disney has beenlong gone and Genie didnt really change that. As a resort guest you were basically guaranteed riding anything you wanted. Not the case with Genie. Again. Im sure thereare people who may prefer Genie moremaybe bc they want to justify paying for it and dont wanna admit it is inferior or maybe they truly feel its better. But imo that has to be a very low low numberof guests.

 

[Chi84]

But imo that has to be a very low low numberof guests.

It’s not just your opinion. Apparently Genie+ has resulted in the lowest guest satisfaction scores in WDW history. That’s why they’re talking about changing it before even a year has gone by.

 

[crazy4disney]

It’s not just your opinion. Apparently Genie+ has resulted in the lowest guest satisfaction scores in WDW history. That’s why they’re talking about changing it before even a year has gone by.

Agreed. For them to be tinkering already it was a complete disaster or as ive stated potentially an even more cynical plan where they did this semi intentionally knowing how bad it was gonna be to roll out some major up charge for a skip the line system where its extremely limited and high priced. Time will tell.

 

[UNCgolf]

Barely over 5 years old. It opened in May of 2017.

And when they replace attractions that aren't fully utilized with attractions that are, that affects capacity. Rise and Falcon, for example, are much more of a draw than LMA which was rarely filled.

Sorry, that argument doesn't cut it.

It affects capacity, sure, but it's still a bad move because it provides less additional capacity than would otherwise exist. Even if only a few hundred people per hour were using the replaced attraction, that's still helpful compared to not having the attraction at all.

The replacements are a significant problem and poor planning -- they have plenty of room to add without replacing.

 

[Jrb1979]

Agreed. For them to be tinkering already it was a complete disaster or as ive stated potentially an even more cynical plan where they did this semi intentionally knowing how bad it was gonna be to roll out some major up charge for a skip the line system where its extremely limited and high priced. Time will tell.

Yes it's been a disaster but mainly due to how many people are using it each day. I don't think it's some cynical plan they did on purpose. If Genie+ worked similar to how your fourth or fifth FP each day worked the Genie+ I doubt many would be complaining.

 

[crazy4disney]

Yes it's been a disaster but mainly due to how many people are using it each day. I don't think it's some cynical plan they did on purpose. If Genie+ worked similar to how your fourth or fifth FP each day worked the Genie+ I doubt many would be complaining.

But again. MORE people used FP & thats a fact & i get inventory is less due to ILL than simply charge 25-30& include every ride but imo that isnt solving any problems. So the theory of how many people use it daily has no merit. Im sorry not selling me on that

 

[Jrb1979]

But again. MORE people used FP & thats a fact & i get inventory is less due to ILL than simply charge 25-30& include every ride but imo that isnt solving any problems. So the theory of how many people use it daily has no merit. Im sorry not selling me on that

Its not only minus those 2 attractions per park but they also don't release as many LL compared to FP.

 

[crazy4disney]

Its not only minus those 2 attractions per park but they also don't release as many LL compared to FP.

Its been a nightmare with only 1 ride per park & if they are releasing less LL vs FP the standby lines sure arent being relieved much…

 

[mikejs78]

It affects capacity, sure, but it's still a bad move because it provides less additional capacity than would otherwise exist. Even if only a few hundred people per hour were using the replaced attraction, that's still helpful compared to not having the attraction at all.

The replacements are a significant problem and poor planning -- they have plenty of room to add without replacing.

If an attraction is only handling 300 guests per hour due to low demand and they replace it with an attraction that can handle 1800 guests per hour in high demand (or, in the case of guardians, 2500) that's a huge win capacity wise for the park. Old stale attractions can't stay around forever - their cost ends up exceeding their value. Of the ones mentioned above, TSL replacing the shell of the backlot tour and Galaxy's Edge replacing LMA are obvious wins. As is Guardians replacing Energy. The only one I would quibble with is MMRR replacing GMR. That never should have happened as GMR was still popular. A better solution for that park would have been an updating of GMR and putting in MMRR somewhere else as a new build.

 

[UNCgolf]

If an attraction is only handling 300 guests per hour due to low demand and they replace it with an attraction that can handle 1800 guests per hour in high demand (or, in the case of guardians, 2500) that's a huge win capacity wise for the park. Old stale attractions can't stay around forever - their cost ends up exceeding their value. Of the ones mentioned above, TSL replacing the shell of the backlot tour and Galaxy's Edge replacing LMA are obvious wins. As is Guardians replacing Energy. The only one I would quibble with is MMRR replacing GMR. That never should have happened as GMR was still popular. A better solution for that park would have been an updating of GMR and putting in MMRR somewhere else as a new build.

You're acting as though the 1800 per hour attraction can't exist without the 300 per hour attraction closing, which is obviously not true -- Disney has to run out of expansion space before that makes any sense from a guest perspective. Doubly so since guests aren't interested in every attraction, but every guest needs attractions that interest them.

I never said attractions should stay around forever. But with the space they have, and the limited attraction capacity in every park but the MK, replacing attractions is short-sighted at best and moronic at worst. Ellen and TSL are the two exceptions -- Ellen because the ride content was so outdated it had to be overhauled, and TSL because the backlot tour no longer made any sense and actually did need to be replaced. Unfortunately, as discussed elsewhere, Disney bungled TSL and built what is one of the most poorly designed lands Disney has ever built anywhere. They took a space that could easily have 4 or 5 attractions along with multiple shops and dining options and put almost nothing there.

As for GE replacing LMA -- it's an obvious loss. GE could have gone elsewhere and kept that show, which DHS desperately needs for capacity. It has the least to do of any Disney park even after all their construction. Even if they did want to close/replace LMA, it could have continued to run while they built GE elsewhere. Intentional or not, it shows a lack of interest in the overall guest experience.

TL;DR: Disney has the space for both, so they should have both unless something has to close for other reasons.