Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[Trauma]

Hey drama… err i mean Trauma,

if you feel the need to buy at 7am one person can wake up and complete the work in probably 2mins and rollover and go right back to sleep.

besides if you are going to be using any morning lightning lane you are going to be up early anyway. Between getting your group ready, getting something to eat, getting through disney transportation… that’s hours.

and if it’s not for you… i am sorry you are so worried about being woken for 5mins

Hey Bob I mean Flynn,

My resort is a 5 minute walk to Epcot and 15 minutes to the studios.

I don’t wake up hours early to do anything except maybe a guided bass fishing tour.

Let me get some of that pixie dust your snorting though might help me wake up earlier.

 

[nickys]

Correct. From my FAQ:

Disney Genie+ [DG+$]

• Benefit: Lightning Lanes [LLs]
  • All guests can schedule their first LL at 7a at WDW. At DL, they can schedule their first LL once in the park.
  • You don't have to be in the park in which your next LL is scheduled (so, you can chose your LL at the resort, e.g., or at another park and then hop)

Individual Attractions Lightning Lanes $elect Experiences (IA$)

• Disney Resort Guests at WDW can purchase IA$ at 7am day-of.
• Non-resort-guests at WDW, and everyone at DL, have to wait until the park opens to buy their IA$.
• You don't have to be in the park in which your IA$ is scheduled
  • this way, you can chose your IA$ at the resort, e.g., or at another park and then hop

Your FAQ doesn’t support your answer that he is correct.

He suggested that only the IAS passes can be booked at 7am for resort guests and that Genie+ starts at park opening.

 

[SteveAZee]

Yes really. Nothing about Fastpass+ was best for operations or the guest experience

I liked FP+ because I knew what attractions I wanted and could reserve them 60 days in advance, which allowed me to relax while at the resort, not wondering if/when/how I'd ride my favorite attractions. G+/IAS doesn't provide that. I agree, wait and see... but the odds of being able to 'sleep in' knowing I can get to the park late morning, eat at a favorite restaurant, ride my preferred attractions in the order and time of my (previous) choosing seem low. If that comes to pass with G+/IAS, I'll eat my Mickey hat.

Perhaps it'll be better for overall guest experience... just not THIS guest's experience.

 

[flynnibus]

Hey Bob I mean Flynn,

My resort is a 5 minute walk to Epcot and 15 minutes to the studios.

oh you only goto those two parks? Good to know.

solo traveler too? Or does no one in family bathe?

meanwhile your post took longer than it will to book your passes. Thoughts and prayers for your great loss of 5mins .

 

[nickys]

Yes really. Nothing about Fastpass+ was best for operations or the guest experience

Why can’t you accept that some of us liked it? That our guest experience was great the way things used to be? Not everyone lies to do things the same way.

I liked knowing ahead of time that I had an FP for the top 3 rides per park that each person in my family really wanted to do. Anything else was pixie dust. I would plan our day around that. Now I have the stress of having to make sure that still happens but only being able to do so on the day.

I’ll adapt. And I can see that a) not everyone was so lucky b) not everyone feels the same way and c) that operationally perhaps it wasn’t the most efficient.

 

[doctornick]

Your FAQ doesn’t support your answer that he is correct.

He suggested that only the IAS passes can be booked at 7am for resort guests and that Genie+ starts at park opening.

Yes, I guess what I said was wrong. So regular Genie+ LL reservations (i.e. no IAS) can be scheduled by anyone (onsite or not) starting at the same time at 7 AM each day.

With Epcot, I wonder if you'll be able to book one LL at 7AM and then a second one at 9AM and have two in hand before the park even opens.

 

[nickys]

With Epcot, I wonder if you'll be able to book one LL at 7AM and then a second one at 9AM and have two in hand before the park even opens.

No, I don’t think you will until Epcot goes back to 9am opening. It says the second will be available at park opening.

 

[larryz]

$1,500 signing bonuses isn't aggressive?

That's for culinary employees... other bonuses are $500 to housekeeping and bus drivers.

 

[DCBaker]

That's for culinary employees... other bonuses are $500 to housekeeping and bus drivers.

Housekeeping and Dishwashers are currently listed with a 1k bonus.

 

[homerdance]

Yes really. Nothing about Fastpass+ was best for operations or the guest experience

It was so much better for our guest experience, especially compared to what they have announced. But is the overall huge increases in attendance at WDW because of a poor guest experience?

 

[Trauma]

oh you only goto those two parks? Good to know.

solo traveler too? Or does no one in family bathe?

meanwhile your post took longer than it will to book your passes. Thoughts and prayers for your great loss of 5mins .

I’m happy that this works for how you do the parks. Every single family is different.

Now families have to go where Disney tells them when Disney tells them.

They could be adding this feature for free.

When you start to charge for something that used to be free it usually implies that it will be a superior experience.

Besides not having to plan ahead of time how will this be superior to the old system?

I would love to be wrong about this.

The true test will be how it performs during crowd level 5 and above days.

If it improves the guest experience then the system will be a success.

If the experience is the same or somehow even worse then it’s a massive failure and it’s time for a change in leadership.

This holiday season will tell the story.

 

[Chi84]

Wait and see

Oh I’m sure we’ll adjust. It’s just that we like to go to a water park or hang around the pools most mornings and schedule rides in the evenings around our dinner ADR’s. Three rides worked just fine for us on those days as long as we could plan around them. We were assured of getting FastPasses for FOP or SDD and didn’t have to pay. It’s just a matter of personal preference.

 

[runnsally]

I’m happy that this works for how you do the parks. Every single family is different.

Now families have to go where Disney tells them when Disney tells them.

They could be adding this feature for free.

When you start to charge for something that used to be free it usually implies that it will be a superior experience.

Besides not having to plan ahead of time how will this be superior to the old system?

I would love to be wrong about this.

The true test will be how it performs during crowd level 5 and above days.

If it improves the guest experience then the system will be a success.

If the experience is the same or somehow even worse then it’s a massive failure and it’s time for a change in leadership.

This holiday season will tell the story.

Its Maxpass plus paid FP for a handful of rides…not exactly a great unknown.

 

[Trauma]

Its Maxpass plus paid FP for a handful of rides…not exactly a great unknown.

To many differences between Land and World to even write out.

How will this work out in a park like Epcot or Animal kingdom where the list of “in demand” attractions is so low?

Again maybe people are right and this will be worth the $$ and increase the guest experience.

With the recent track record of less for more I will have to see it to believe it.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Your FAQ doesn’t support your answer that he is correct.

He suggested that only the IAS passes can be booked at 7am for resort guests and that Genie+ starts at park opening.

Oops. I read it too fast.

 

[flynnibus]

Now families have to go where Disney tells them when Disney tells them.

They could be adding this feature for free.

When you start to charge for something that used to be free it usually implies that it will be a superior experience.

Besides not having to plan ahead of time how will this be superior to the old system?

i get you may not like the system- I don’t really either… but you still gotta live in the same reality as everyone else and not exaggerate to justify your dislikes.

I’m willing to wager this will not be a ‘everything out by 7:05am’ situation. I think disney will do rolling availability so can keep the hook baited. If there is no availability- they won’t be successful selling it.

I would love to be wrong about this.

The true test will be how it performs during crowd level 5 and above days.

If it improves the guest experience then the system will be a success.

If the experience is the same or somehow even worse then it’s a massive failure and it’s time for a change in leadership.

This holiday season will tell the story.

for most uses its just old fastpass but with a cover charge and via app. (Aka maxpass).

unless it brings lines to a halt… its going to be accepted like fastpass… where most just take whatever disney tells them

 

[MisterPenguin]

I’m willing to wager this will not be a ‘everything out by 7:05am’ situation. I think disney will do rolling availability so can keep the hook baited. If there is no availability- they won’t be successful selling it.

By design, DG+ has rolling availability. The people who grab their first LL at 7 won't be able to take all the LLs throughout the day. They can't get another one until 9, leaving people who missed the 7:01 AM grab to get one for a little bit later. As people become eligible to grab a second LL, they're locked out again until they get on the ride or wait 2 hours (whichever is sooner). That leaves others to grab a LL. And so on.

It does reward people who spend the whole day in the parks. But no system is going to work for everyone's style of doing Disney. The previous FP+ system wasn't that good for people who didn't do long term planning.

 

[Trauma]

By design, DG+ has rolling availability. The people who grab their first LL at 7 won't be able to take all the LLs throughout the day. They can't get another one until 9, leaving people who missed the 7:01 AM grab to get one for a little bit later. As people become eligible to grab a second LL, they're locked out again until they get on the ride or wait 2 hours (whichever is sooner). That leaves others to grab a LL. And so on.

It does reward people who spend the whole day in the parks. But no system is going to work for everyone's style of doing Disney. The previous FP+ system wasn't that good for people who didn't do long term planning.

I feel like I still need to do long term planning.

I need to make park reservations.

I need to make dining reservations 60 days in advance.

Making fast pass reservations ahead of time only took a few minutes I don’t understand what was so hard about it.

 

[Jrb1979]

I feel like I still need to do long term planning.

I need to make park reservations.

I need to make dining reservations 60 days in advance.

Making fast pass reservations ahead of time only took a few minutes I don’t understand what was so hard about it.

For me it had nothing to with it being hard. It all has to do with the amount of pre planning. It's not how my family vacations. The most planning we do is our flight and hotel. We pre plan very little. I do enough planning in my every day life. My vacations are more spontaneous.

 

[Trauma]

For me it had nothing to with it being hard. It all has to do with the amount of pre planning. It's not how my family vacations. The most planning we do is our flight and hotel. We pre plan very little. I do enough planning in my every day life. My vacations are more spontaneous.

Just curious how do you handle dining?