Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[crazy4disney]

This is kind of like polishing a turd.

Hit the nail
On the head!

 

[Patcheslee]

I'm not sure it's that simple. Take me. Charge $50? I'll grumble but still do it. Charge $200? I'm out. But not only out from a Genie+ perspective, but out from a going to Disney perspective. I know several other people who are the same. So even if they make it revenue neutral from a Genie+ perspective, they risk losing out on people willing to go and spend money at the parks altogether.

At $200 I would expect it to be planning free i.e. no need to schedule rides. At $50 I would expect at least 1 prescheduled before beginning vacation, or 1 ILL per day included without needing to book.

 

[po1998]

The restriction of no re-rides is ridiculous. If I want to use Genie+ on Haunted Mansion 3 times instead of 1, why shouldn’t I be able to. Doesn’t that then open up slots for other attractions that I am not riding?

Idiotic is an understatement.

 

[Jrb1979]

I'm not sure it's that simple. Take me. Charge $50? I'll grumble but still do it. Charge $200? I'm out. But not only out from a Genie+ perspective, but out from a going to Disney perspective. I know several other people who are the same. So even if they make it revenue neutral from a Genie+ perspective, they risk losing out on people willing to go and spend money at the parks altogether.

I don't know what the solution is. They likely aren't going back to advanced booking. From what's been said Genie+ works best with 10% of guests. How do you eliminate that many guests without pricing people out?

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I don't know what the solution is. They likely aren't going back to advanced booking. From what's been said Genie+ works best with 10% of guests. How do you eliminate that many guests without pricing people out?

Well, you could just cap the number sold and lose out on total $ (obviously not happening)

Probably will be a combination of capping it, raising the price, and adding a "perk" so can spin it that getting more for your $ (maybe include 1 ILL or something)

 

[UNCgolf]

One of the major problems with the system is that it essentially treats all attractions as equal experiences.

Of course they aren't, and Disney knows they aren't (as ILLs show, for just one example), but getting Genie+ reservations for Little Mermaid, Tomorrowland Speedway, and the Carrousel isn't remotely as valuable as getting them for Splash Mountain, Jungle Cruise, and Peter Pan.

The FP+ tiering was an attempt to solve that issue. I don't think anybody liked the tiering, but it did help spread out availability for the busiest attractions.

Another issue is that different guests prefer different attractions -- being able to book a Jungle Cruise time isn't helpful to you if you don't care about riding Jungle Cruise, even if it's supposedly a high value get.

 

[Jrb1979]

One of the major problems with the system is that it essentially treats all attractions as equal experiences.

Of course they aren't, and Disney knows they aren't (as ILLs show, for just one example), but getting Genie+ reservations for Little Mermaid, Tomorrowland Speedway, and the Carrousel isn't remotely as valuable as getting them for Splash Mountain, Jungle Cruise, and Peter Pan.

The FP+ tiering was an attempt to solve that issue. I don't think anybody liked the tiering, but it did help spread out availability for the busiest attractions.

Another issue is that different guests prefer different attractions -- being able to book a Jungle Cruise time isn't helpful to you if you don't care about riding Jungle Cruise, even if it's supposedly a high value get.

I do get what you are saying and it is an issue. A lot of that has to do with lack of capacity. IMO a lot of the issues Disney is facing is their own doing. They try so hard to be different then every other park that it ends up being more complex then needed.

 

[MrPromey]

Absolutely. If they price the line skip system at more than I’m willing to pay, there’s no way I’m going and standing in lines. We would go on a non-theme park vacation.

The thing there is "more than I'm willing to pay" is a different threshold for everyone.

Where do you tap out? $50 a day? $100? $200? $300? $1000?

Where does the person next to you tap out?

If they weren't to do it strictly by price but also highly limit the number (I'm sure it would be both now that the "free" bandaid has already been yanked), how would that change things for you?

Say they sold them for only $30 but you had to fight with 50k other people to try getting your hands on one of a few thousand for the day at 7am.

What if you don't end up being able to get it?

Then you're already there on your vacation and your only choice is to wait in lines.

... This is a huge mess Disney's created.

They spent the better part of a decade training guests and setting expectations only to pull the rug on all of that in the interest of making a quick buck.

I've never hidden that I wasn't a fan of the last system but the only people that seem to benefit from this change are the executives running Disney+ who get a little extra cash to burn through, now.

I certainly don't see how this is working better for any guest.

 

[nickys]

One of the major problems with the system is that it essentially treats all attractions as equal experiences.

Of course they aren't, and Disney knows they aren't (as ILLs show, for just one example), but getting Genie+ reservations for Little Mermaid, Tomorrowland Speedway, and the Carrousel isn't remotely as valuable as getting them for Splash Mountain, Jungle Cruise, and Peter Pan.

The FP+ tiering was an attempt to solve that issue. I don't think anybody liked the tiering, but it did help spread out availability for the busiest attractions.

Another issue is that different guests prefer different attractions -- being able to book a Jungle Cruise time isn't helpful to you if you don't care about riding Jungle Cruise, even if it's supposedly a high value get.

MK never had tiering though. It didn’t need it because there were enough attractions that FP+ worked - because people liked different things.

 

[GhostHost1000]

The thing there is "more than I'm willing to pay" is a different threshold for everyone.

Where do you tap out? $50 a day? $100? $200? $300? $1000?

Where does the person next to you tap out?

If they weren't to do it strictly by price but also highly limit the number (I'm sure it would be both now that the "free" bandaid has already been yanked), how would that change things for you?

Say they sold them for only $30 but you had to fight with 50k other people to try getting your hands on one of a few thousand for the day at 7am.

What if you don't end up being able to get it?

Then you're already there on your vacation and your only choice is to wait in lines.

... This is a huge mess Disney's created.

They spent the better part of a decade training guests and setting expectations only to pull the rug on all of that in the interest of making a quick buck.

I've never hidden that I wasn't a fan of the last system but the only people that seem to benefit from this change are the executives running Disney+ who get a little extra cash to burn through, now.

I certainly don't see how this is working better for any guest.

I agree. Many people thought the charge for this now would be the big issue but it’s really the design. Take away the previous system most were able to do and enjoy while planning their day ahead of time and watch them start limiting this where some won’t be able to even use a LL. Talk about a guest relations nightmare and upset folks who may not return…but they don’t seem to get it. At all.

FP+ wasn’t perfect for sure, but I feel like they have taken a step back now, made things worse, and are really beginning to frustrate a-lot of vacationers, many of whom are beginning to say forget it, it’s just not worth the hassle anymore

 

[Chi84]

If they weren't to do it strictly by price but also highly limit the number (I'm sure it would be both now that the "free" bandaid has already been yanked), how would that change things for you?

Say they sold them for only $30 but you had to fight with 50k other people to try getting your hands on one of a few thousand for the day at 7am.

What if you don't end up being able to get it?

That's an easy answer for me. I hated starting the day not knowing whether we were going to be able to get the rides we wanted at times that would work for us. It was stressful dealing with the Genie+/ILL system, especially first thing in the morning. There's no way I would be willing to go through that kind of uncertainty just to be able to buy it at all. If Disney could not guarantee me that I would be able to buy their line-skip system, I would not go at all.

Same thing with price. If they charged something I was not willing to pay, we would just vacation elsewhere. (After our experience the last week of April 2022, we've already decided against WDW for our spring 2023 family vacation.) We wouldn't go knowing that we had to do all standby for the rides.

 

[DisneyDreamer08]

I feel like if they raised the price to $50+ per day, the only people using it would be solo adults and couples. I can’t imagine families adding that much more per day to an already expensive trip. I know we wouldn’t. And kids are not the ones you want waiting in hours long standby lines

 

[GhostHost1000]

I feel like if they raised the price to $50+ per day, the only people using it would be solo adults and couples. I can’t imagine families adding that much more per day to an already expensive trip. I know we wouldn’t. And kids are not the ones you want waiting in hours long standby lines

and then it goes back to the more people stand in lines, the less they are spending elsewhere and families are the ones that spend a lot on snacks and merch

They need to go back to the old system and just charge for it and make a few tweaks instead of reinventing a wheel that is now square and flat. They won’t of course, and they are gonna end up paying for it more than we are

 

[Jrb1979]

I feel like if they raised the price to $50+ per day, the only people using it would be solo adults and couples. I can’t imagine families adding that much more per day to an already expensive trip. I know we wouldn’t. And kids are not the ones you want waiting in hours long standby lines

For my family $50 is cheap. Next week we are going to Cedar Point for 4 days and their fast pass costs $180 each day.

The thing is with any version of FP Disney uses, Genie+ still uses return times so it's another version of FP, it has be limited in someway for it to work.

I think one way to limit the sales of Genie+ so it works for those who buy it is raise the price to $30 a day. That should be enough to price a few people out. The other is to stop sales whenever the first park opens. I would also add in a limit of stacking to 2. No more stacking 3-5 attractions for later in the day. That would free up a lot of inventory.

 

[UNCgolf]

MK never had tiering though. It didn’t need it because there were enough attractions that FP+ worked - because people liked different things.

Right, I didn't specifically mention it but that was part of my point -- Disney doesn't have nearly enough capacity at the other three parks. Unfortunately they don't seem interested in rectifying that. They're rarely even willing to build a new attraction that doesn't replace something else.

 

[Patcheslee]

For my family $50 is cheap. Next week we are going to Cedar Point for 4 days and their fast pass costs $180 each day.

The thing is with any version of FP Disney uses, Genie+ still uses return times so it's another version of FP, it has be limited in someway for it to work.

I think one way to limit the sales of Genie+ so it works for those who buy it is raise the price to $30 a day. That should be enough to price a few people out. The other is to stop sales whenever the first park opens. I would also add in a limit of stacking to 2. No more stacking 3-5 attractions for later in the day. That would free up a lot of inventory.

Have you been to Cedar Point using the FastLane? There were times we still waited 45+ minutes.

 

[JD80]

Question; despite the stress of having to refresh and refresh and refresh, do you feel it actually saves you significant time on your trip or does it just make you go on more rides that you probably wouldn’t have wanted to go on unless they were a walk on?

I’m also more interested in using the system for park hopping days which I hear isn’t easy to do. Like I’m doing Epcot in the morning and MK at night so I want to queue up as many MK LL’s before I get there and have a blast. Anyone ever try this?

G+ works extremely well at saving you time. It's just hectic for the person running the show. The rest of your party will love you for it.

The worst parks to get it are Epcot and AK but G+ will help you get through the park faster so you can go back to your resort and swim or something. In Epcot, outside of Frozen/Test Track/Remy everything will be available and you basically get to skip a 5-20 minute line on most attractions.

I have a youtube video of a day where I did all four parks with the wife and I mention all the LL I get for the day. If you DM me, I'll give you the link for it if you're interested.

 

[Jrb1979]

Have you been to Cedar Point using the FastLane? There were times we still waited 45+ minutes.

Yeah every time we go we buy it. Yes there is times you still wait awhile but it still shorter then waiting in the regular line. Many times with Fastlane we are able to get in multiple re-rides. Being able to Dragster 14 times over 3 days makes it well worth it.

 

[mikejs78]

Yeah every time we go we buy it. Yes there is times you still wait awhile but it still shorter then waiting in the regular line. Many times with Fastlane we are able to get in multiple re-rides. Being able to Dragster 14 times over 3 days makes it well worth it.

I never waited 45 min in a Disney FP/LL. Longest ever was 30 min at Soarin.

 

[Jrb1979]

I never waited 45 min in a Disney FP/LL. Longest ever was 30 min at Soarin.

It rarely happens. The majority of the time it's 30 minutes or less.

For my family if we are paying for a FP or Fastlane we want to have multiple rides on attractions.