Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[Disstevefan1]

What about it do you feel doesn't work when the parks are busy? We were there in late June -- definitely a busy time, though not as busy as holidays. We were a party of 11 (party of 4 in our immediate family unit) there for 8 days, had park hoppers, and pre-purchased G+ for the length of stay. We were FP+ power users and based on what I had read before we arrived, I was sure we were going to HATE Genie+. I watched a few videos on how to effectively use Genie+/ILL, watched a few message boards/FB groups to gather information, and practiced using Genie+ for a few days before we left. By day 2 of our stay, I was a fan. I found it easy to use and took advantage of both methods of use -- stacking for a later arrival and book/ride/book/ride to blow through things quickly. And I wasn't looking at my phone constantly. We hadn't been at Disney since 2018 (3 trips cancelled between 2020-2022) and we had a lot of catching up to do -- lots of new things to experience. I wasn't sure we were going to get to do everything we wanted to on this visit. I was wrong. Thanks to G+ and ILL, we did everything we hoped to and more by day 5. G+ and ILL allowed us to spend a lot less time standing in line and we could spend more time either relaxing at the resort or just stopping and smelling the roses in the parks...something I didn't think we'd get to do on this trip. And by combining Genie+ and ILL with 3 rope drop days and 2 late nights, we rode most of the headliners 2 or 3 times during our stay. We didn't need to rush from one thing to the next and we didn't wait more than about 10-15 minutes for any ride and most rides were less than 10 minutes. Meanwhile, standby lines were horrendous...even some of the "meh" rides had at least a 20 minute standby line (I know Disney inflates the posted standby times -- but even SSE had most of the outdoor queue filled so it certainly wasn't a 5 minute wait) and the headliners were 1-2 hours. We will definitely buy it again and will probably cut our length of stay back to 7 days because we now know we can accomplish a lot in a day with G+.

This is an amazing story. I am very happy and impressed all you did with such a large group. I have a million questions, but a few are:
What phone were you using?
Did you use the park WiFi or cell service?
If you used cell service, what cell service?

 

[crazy4disney]

Well, I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on the crowd levels at the parks the week I was there. We've been there the same week 9 times in the last 20 years...it was as busy as it's been in the past. Standby lines were relatively long (similar to other years) for most rides. But apparently you have better crowd level information even though you weren't there. That's fine. I know what we experienced and I know not everyone had the same success with G+ that week as we did -- read all about it on the message boards and FB groups.

I used Genie twice and i could not have had 2 different experiences and views on it… it was night and day from my November use vs end of August/ Beginning of September… crowds definitely played a factor and i think bc of that less people bought it as well and just dealt with what some feel are acceptable wait times…

 

[allgiggles]

Regardless of cost, did you like G+ better than Fp+ and if so what did you like better about it?

Much to my surprise, I did like it better than FP+. I absolutely loved the ability to overlap return times. That happened several times during our stay. Sometimes it was only a 5 minute overlap and sometimes it was almost an identical return window. I found it frustrating to not be able to have overlapping times in FP. And much to my surprise, I found it easier to schedule things for the times we wanted than when we used FP. And I thought that having to book things every day rather than being able to book 3 things ahead of time would be a pain, but I actually liked it (or at least tolerated it) because it gave us more flexibility. In the past, I had to guess what we'd want to do every day and what time we wanted to do it 60 days ahead of time if I wanted to get headliners. With G+ we would decide what we wanted to do the night before. On this trip, we only did rope drop 3 days as opposed to our usual 4-5 days of rope drop (8 day trip). We *planned* to do more than 3 days but after the first 3, we realized that we didn't need to because of our success with G+ those days. So we were able to have more sleep in days "on the fly" without potentially losing FP reservations. I know people complain about the 7:00 a.m. booking time but for me, I usually get up at 5:30 a.m. at home, so 7:00 felt like sleeping late. Even without an alarm, I would have been awake by then every day just because that's what my body is used to (I was awake before my 6:50 a.m. alarm on 7 out of 8 days). On the days we didn't do rope drop, I just lounged in bed a little longer and sometimes dozed off a bit. Overall, G+ just felt more flexible since we didn't need to know exactly what we wanted to do for the day until that day and we could adjust our plans based on what we accomplished earlier in the week. I know you could wait until the day of to make FP reservations, but that usually meant you couldn't get any headliners. I don't think G+ is perfect, but I did like it a lot more than I expected to.

 

[allgiggles]

This is an amazing story. I am very happy and impressed all you did with such a large group. I have a million questions, but a few are:
What phone were you using?
Did you use the park WiFi or cell service?
If you used cell service, what cell service?

I used a Samsung Galaxy S9+. I used both WiFi and data. There were definitely times in the parks that Wifi was very spotty or weak so I'd turn it off and just use data. By about day 3 or 4 I was tired of turning the wifi on and off, so I just left it off and only used data. I have T-mobile and had good service everywhere in the resort and parks.

 

[Disstevefan1]

I used a Samsung Galaxy S9+. I used both WiFi and data. There were definitely times in the parks that Wifi was very spotty or weak so I'd turn it off and just use data. By about day 3 or 4 I was tired of turning the wifi on and off, so I just left it off and only used data. I have T-mobile and had good service everywhere in the resort and parks.

Well I am out, I got iPhone and ATT
I have never actually used Genie+ and I am looking at the app now.
There is NO standby for Haunted Mansion and the ONLY WAY TO RIDE IT IS TO PURCHASE GENIE+ ?

 

[TQQQ]

Much to my surprise, I did like it better than FP+. I absolutely loved the ability to overlap return times. That happened several times during our stay. Sometimes it was only a 5 minute overlap and sometimes it was almost an identical return window. I found it frustrating to not be able to have overlapping times in FP. And much to my surprise, I found it easier to schedule things for the times we wanted than when we used FP. And I thought that having to book things every day rather than being able to book 3 things ahead of time would be a pain, but I actually liked it (or at least tolerated it) because it gave us more flexibility. In the past, I had to guess what we'd want to do every day and what time we wanted to do it 60 days ahead of time if I wanted to get headliners. With G+ we would decide what we wanted to do the night before. On this trip, we only did rope drop 3 days as opposed to our usual 4-5 days of rope drop (8 day trip). We *planned* to do more than 3 days but after the first 3, we realized that we didn't need to because of our success with G+ those days. So we were able to have more sleep in days "on the fly" without potentially losing FP reservations. I know people complain about the 7:00 a.m. booking time but for me, I usually get up at 5:30 a.m. at home, so 7:00 felt like sleeping late. Even without an alarm, I would have been awake by then every day just because that's what my body is used to (I was awake before my 6:50 a.m. alarm on 7 out of 8 days). On the days we didn't do rope drop, I just lounged in bed a little longer and sometimes dozed off a bit. Overall, G+ just felt more flexible since we didn't need to know exactly what we wanted to do for the day until that day and we could adjust our plans based on what we accomplished earlier in the week. I know you could wait until the day of to make FP reservations, but that usually meant you couldn't get any headliners. I don't think G+ is perfect, but I did like it a lot more than I expected to.

I loved FP+, but that's because I am a planner. WDW wanted to get rid of that. SO, I guess I could adapt to Genie+, but it would have to fix what I think are the MAJOR flaws first:

- If Genie+ allowed you to book your first ride the night before so I would not have to get up at 7am
- limit sales so on busy days it's actually worth it
- allow you to choose available return times. People go to the parks at all different times, why limit it to 'next available' vs whenever it works best for guests?
- have a replace button

 

[TQQQ]

I used a Samsung Galaxy S9+. I used both WiFi and data. There were definitely times in the parks that Wifi was very spotty or weak so I'd turn it off and just use data. By about day 3 or 4 I was tired of turning the wifi on and off, so I just left it off and only used data. I have T-mobile and had good service everywhere in the resort and parks.

The busier it is, the worse Genie+ gets, on a compounding basis. More people feel the need to buy it the busier it gets.

for eg., (these numbers are arbitrary)

on a 1/10 crowd calendar day, Genie+ participation is prob 5%
3/10 is 25%
5/10 is 40%
7/10 is 60%
10/10 is 70%

So the participation rate increases the busier it gets, meaning it increases at a greater ratio, making it MUCH less effective as the parks get busier

 

[crazy4disney]

I used a Samsung Galaxy S9+. I used both WiFi and data. There were definitely times in the parks that Wifi was very spotty or weak so I'd turn it off and just use data. By about day 3 or 4 I was tired of turning the wifi on and off, so I just left it off and only used data. I have T-mobile and had good service everywhere in the resort and parks.

MK wifi was awful almost every day in the park

 

[GhostHost1000]

I loved FP+, but that's because I am a planner. WDW wanted to get rid of that. SO, I guess I could adapt to Genie+, but it would have to fix what I think are the MAJOR flaws first:

- If Genie+ allowed you to book your first ride the night before so I would not have to get up at 7am
- limit sales so on busy days it's actually worth it
- allow you to choose available return times. People go to the parks at all different times, why limit it to 'next available' vs whenever it works best for guests?
- have a replace button

This. Except for maybe the night before. A lot of folks are busy in the parks then too or asleep. I would say 15-30 days before. Allow us to book our first. We already planned park reservations so we know where we are going to be but leave some availability to open up for day of/ap guests possibly

 

[G00fyDad]

MK wifi was awful almost every day in the park

That is what happens when they have that many people bottlenecked on the wifi system. I've never understood how it even handled that load in the first place without crashing.

 

[TQQQ]

This. Except for maybe the night before. A lot of folks are busy in the parks then too or asleep. I would say 15-30 days before. Allow us to book our first. We already planned park reservations so we know where we are going to be but leave some availability to open up for day of/ap guests possibly

Even better.......But as a compromise.....

Meaning if I have a 8 day trip, 6 park days, I don't think Disney wants me to be able to book my first ride for all 6 parks days 30 days out.

SO, as a compromise, let me book my first ride for each of the 6 days the night before each park day and choose my return time instead of having to wake up before 7am every day and take whatever time it gives me, forcing me to go at a time when I might not want to be in the park

****ETA the following below****

for eg.,

1) day 1 i am in HS.....beginning at 8pm the night before, I can pick SDD for a return of 4pm because my flight doesn't land until noon and then i can add other rides on the 2 hour rule
2) day 2 i am in Epcot......at 8pm the night before let me choose Test Track at 4pm (because we aren't going to park until 2pm b its a pool day and we have Via Napoli ressies at 7pm that i don't want to miss)

I think this still accomplishes their goal of whatever they are trying to do with Genie+ while not making me get up early and letting me choose how I tour

 

[Tuvalu]

Well I am out, I got iPhone and ATT
I have never actually used Genie+ and I am looking at the app now.
There is NO standby for Haunted Mansion and the ONLY WAY TO RIDE IT IS TO PURCHASE GENIE+ ?

Based on the time you posted this, Haunted Mansion had not opened yet for the day. It opens at 9. And sometimes is delayed if there are tech issues at opening.

 

[crazy4disney]

That is what happens when they have that many people bottlenecked on the wifi system. I've never understood how it even handled that load in the first place without crashing.

worked pretty much fine in all the other parks..even in the troubled spots of the past for most part ie Soarin lol

 

[GhostHost1000]

Even better.......But as a compromise.....

Meaning if I have a 8 day trip, 6 park days, I don't think Disney wants me to be able to book my first ride for all 6 parks days 30 days out.

SO, as a compromise, let me book my first ride for each of the 6 days the night before each park day and choose my return time instead of having to wake up before 7am every day and take whatever time it gives me, forcing me to go at a time when I might not want to be in the park

I like the thinking there but it’s also a trade off of am I bothered at 7am the day of or the night before while on and during my vacation doing vacation things. That’s the part I don’t like. I’m up by 7 anyways but I prefer a little less stress while on my vacation

 

[TQQQ]

I like the thinking there but it’s also a trade off of am I bothered at 7am the day of or the night before while on and during my vacation doing vacation things. That’s the part I don’t like. I’m up by 7 anyways but I prefer a little less stress while on my vacation

Then split the inventory like they used to do with BG's? Make half available at 8pm the night before and if you miss that, the other half is available at 7am


There has to be something else they can do to improve it because it really stinks in its current state

 

[Disstevefan1]

Based on the time you posted this, Haunted Mansion had not opened yet for the day. It opens at 9. And sometimes is delayed if there are tech issues at opening.

Ah yes, I see standby now - THANKS for the clarification.

 

[Jrb1979]

Then split the inventory like they used to do with BG's? Make half available at 8pm the night before and if you miss that, the other half is available at 7am


There has to be something else they can do to improve it because it really stinks in its current state

It all comes back to that there is too many people buying it each day. None of these things would be an issue if less people were buying it. If less people bought it each day, you wouldn't have to get up at 7am to book something. There would be availability all day for the majority attractions.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Prebooked rides where a bad idea, they don’t work for Disney…therefore they are gone. It there’s an “answer”…that’s not it.

Think of it like the kraken…when Disney dumps it…you KNOW it’s bad

 

[Disstevefan1]

It all comes back to that there is too many people buying it each day. None of these things would be an issue if less people were buying it. If less people bought it each day, you wouldn't have to get up at 7am to book something. There would be availability all day for the majority attractions.

Then Bobby needs to raise the price... Unprecedented demand.

 

[TQQQ]

It all comes back to that there is too many people buying it each day. None of these things would be an issue if less people were buying it. If less people bought it each day, you wouldn't have to get up at 7am to book something. There would be availability all day for the majority attractions.

Agree....That was my original point