Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[MrPromey]

During Easter Week, I can understand the Resort rate being higher as demand allows for it. Disney Resorts always had seasons.

But food prices, Genie +, park tickets, etc should remain the same price throughout the year. These surges really stink!

Especially since the parks are an overcrowded mess.

Being expected to pay more to get into a park when crowds are awful and wait times are at their worst never made any sort of sense to me.

Disney's already making bank on those days vs. operational costs compared to a "normal" day on guest volume, alone and they're making people pay even more because they know they've got families over a barrel when it comes to when they're able to actually take their vacations.

And of course they'll pay more for Genie+ because how the he!! are you going to get anything done in the parks when they're like that after having spent so much money to be there?

 

[DCBaker]

Genie+ has once again sold out for the day.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Unless you're staying in a Universal deluxe resort (priced about like a Disney moderate) in which case, the cost per ride works out to be... carry the three... add the seven... umm... never was good at math... umm... $0.

That's who this system is really for. They'll sell it to you at that price you paid but they're strategy is really about using it to create "value" for the people paying a little more for their better resorts. So imagine it's $200 a person for a family of four but you stay at a deluxe resort and suddenly that's an $800 a day value for "free".

It works because I know people who have likened it to getting the room for free plus saved extra on top as if they would have otherwise plunked down the $2,400 they think they saved to get that feature for all three days of their stay.

They wouldn't have, of course, but that's how it worked out in their minds which is what Universal is after.

Either way, between re-rides and no schedule of any kind required, it's definitely miles ahead of Genie+.

They also heavily limit the sales so as not to hurt the perceived value for resort guests which is why it's not usually much of a line, if any on that side.

As a teacher, I have to travel when there’s a holiday or summer. Summer is dead at WDW so crowds are not an issue (but weather obviously is—we can handle that, though).

But during school-year breaks, I much prefer Universal at Hard Rock. It’s crowded but it doesn’t really impact us. The only actual line is Hagrid but that’s one ride and we can manage a single 90-minute wait when everything else is 10-15 min.

Presidents Weekend this year was bonkers at WDW. We will do Uni that weekend next year.

Genie+ has once again sold out for the day.

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[MrPromey]

As a teacher, I have to travel when there’s a holiday or summer. Summer is dead at WDW so crowds are not an issue (but weather obviously is—we can handle that, though).

But during school-year breaks, I much prefer Universal at Hard Rock. It’s crowded but it doesn’t really impact us. The only actual line is Hagrid but that’s one ride and we can manage a single 90-minute wait when everything else is 10-15 min.

Presidents Weekend this year was bonkers at WDW. We will do Uni that weekend next year.

Add Velosicoaster to your long line wait time...

But still, two rides ain't bad.

Also, there is a simple trick to make Hagrids more bearable that I don't want to share with the whole internet.

 

[MrPromey]

I think this becomes $50 by next year. Unfortunately. I hope I’m wrong

If that would start to limit usage, that wouldn't be a bad thing...

But we know they don't want it to and that it won't.

 

[MrPromey]

As crazy as that sounds, I think realistically they could easily go to somewhere around $75, and peak to $99.

It's like the original desert party at the Tomorrowland Terrace all over again.

 

[wdwmagic]

Genie+ has once again sold out for the day.

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Well, it lasted a few minutes longer than yesterday!

 

[JusticeDisney]

Unlimited express pass for park to park is $349.99 this Friday.

It really depends on luck/time of year since USO has no control over how many people jump into the Express Lane at a given time. The official stance is that EP should be half the wait of Standby or less. Crazily enough last time I used EP the worst offender was the High in the Sky Suess trolley. Standby 45 minute posted wait. I waited 25 minutes in express. On the other side, Forbidden journey was a posted 60, but was a walk on.

That is an insane price! Can you imagine if Disney charged that amount for such a feature? Certain people here would literally lose their minds. I guess it kind of dispels the notion that only Disney, and not Universal, charges ridiculously high prices for certain services.

 

[MrPromey]

Bob is listening… to the sound of cash registers ringing with Genie- sales? And thinking, “Why not sell for even more?”.

If they're able to keep this up, they might never have to worry about making Disney+ profitable!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Add Velosicoaster to your long line wait time...

But still, two rides ain't bad.

Also, there is a simple trick to make Hagrids more bearable that I don't want to share with the whole internet.

Velocicoaster has Express pass now (was added end of February)

So really is just Hagrid's now

 

[MrPromey]

Velocicoaster has Express pass now (was added end of February)

So really is just Hagrid's now

I knew there was talk of it possibly being added.

Didn't realize they already had (and I've been since then but with a 10 year old that can barely stand to look at that one )

Thanks for the update!

 

[ToTBellHop]

Add Velosicoaster to your long line wait time...

But still, two rides ain't bad.

Also, there is a simple trick to make Hagrids more bearable that I don't want to share with the whole internet.

Velocicoaster is on Express now. Started several weeks back.

 

[MrPromey]

Velocicoaster is on Express now. Started several weeks back.

Max beat you to it but thanks!

 

[ToTBellHop]

Max beat you to it but thanks!

Should’ve refreshed the page!

 

[pdude81]

Genie+ has once again sold out for the day.

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It's the circle of hype, which behooves us all. We must buy this temporary digital asset... before it's gone.

 

[DKampy]

If you can afford a Disney deluxe, then $35 Genie+ should not be an issue.

The deluxe Uni hotels (with Express Pass) start at $400/night. Five nights there is $2,000.

A value hotel room at WDW is about $120/night. Add in Genie+ (at $35) for four is $140/night. Total is $260/night. Five nights is $1,300. A $700 savings.

I take issue with the idea that staying at Uni Deluxe hotels with free Express Pass is always 'cheaper' than staying at WDW and buying Genie+.

The only way that happens if you're going to stay at a deluxe at either park. And if can afford deluxe prices, the extras should be also affordable in comparison to the cost of the room.

For now.

I stayed at Universal in 2019…I did not find it all that much cheaper…it was pretty comparable to what I spend at Disney… but many people do see the express pass as a benefit…I ran into a few guests that complained about the price but said they paid just for the free unlimited express pass

 

[WDWFanRay]

I never fully understood the “Genie” game they’re playing. Disney of old would’ve just made everyone pay an additional $20- $30 a day more, by raising ticket prices by that much. I know they’ve raised tix prices, but the Genie thing seems like a long walk to a price increase.

 

[Tha Realest]

wow, very quick, and despite it being at a record price.

We know what this means...

“We’re going to listen to our customers.”

Unfortunately they’re talking with their wallets.

 

[pdude81]

I never fully understood the “Genie” game they’re playing. Disney of old would’ve just made everyone pay an additional $20- $30 a day more, by raising ticket prices by that much. I know they’ve raised tix prices, but the Genie thing seems like a long walk to a price increase.

Remember that there is a need to have an alternative wait system for guests requiring accommodations, and some mix of physical and electronic infrastructure (along with cast at merge points) to implement this. By allowing people to purchase similar access, it pays for that infrastructure and then some. I understand that higher ticket costs would also bring in more money, but in this case the only people paying are those who want the add on services. And TBH, it's much easier for them to show how these line skips enhance the bottom line when it's a separate revenue stream.

 

[MrPromey]

Remember that there is a need to have an alternative wait system for guests requiring accommodations, and some mix of physical and electronic infrastructure (along with cast at merge points) to implement this. By allowing people to purchase similar access, it pays for that infrastructure and then some. I understand that higher ticket costs would also bring in more money, but in this case the only people paying are those who want the add on services. And TBH, it's much easier for them to show how these line skips enhance the bottom line when it's a separate revenue stream.

It's obfuscation.

Ticket prices didn't go down when they rolled Genie+ out, they went up, anyway.

But when discussing annual price increases and comparing it to any other year, it doesn't seem as bad since that $15 price increase became "optional".

If you're of the mind that modern domestic Disney parks can't be done without some sort of fastpass-like system, that price increase on top of ticket price increases has now grown to as much as $35 but in mainstream discussion about ticket prices, especially historical increases, the ticket price will still be just the ticket price so it'll look like just a 5 or 6% annual increase or whatever, masking that in reality, it's more like a 15-20% annual increase in recent years when you factor back in what was taken out and how it has been going up in price right along side those ticket prices.

It used to be only cell phone carriers and cable companies that did business this way.


EDITED ON 1-5-2024 to add:

Wow!

To think I wrote that when it was just a flat $15 a day including park hopping and now just a little over a year later, it has hit an all time high of nearly $40 for that same "benefit"!