Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[disneygeek90]

I don't like to wait in Standby, so I always get fastpass even if it's only to saves 5 minutes. Fastpass is just a fun thing to get, like a scavenger hunt. It gives purpose for the day at the park. However, it is an exciting, stressful way of doing WDW. People who are more patient and even tempered than me can easily enjoy waiting in a standby line that isn't excessively long. They can chat with family and admire the standby decorations, and make it a leisurely experience. It's something I can't do. I always blaze through WDW. I constantly yell at my teens to walk faster, even though I'm normally the slowest walker in the family. Sometimes I spend most of my time on a ride staring at my phone, trying to get a fastpass for the next ride. Doesn't matter which ride just as long as I get a fastpass for it. It's super exciting. I'm normally low energy, but in WDW I suddenly have more energy than all my teens combined. That's why fastpass/Genie+ is extremely important to me.

That is surely a unique way to experience WDW. Why even go on the ride?

 

[wedenterprises]

What's your cost per minute break even point?

That's a good question!
With a toddler, value to me isn't derived through money. Short waits are key. Like I said, lower than $9 would be nice but it's not the priority.

I wouldn't want my toddler waiting in anything past a posted 30min wait. If it was a must do and the last day of our holiday and the toddler was starting to get tired, I'd pay through my eyeballs to skip that line.

Sorry boys, chapek wins.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I think they are pointing out the comedic ridiculousness of Disney trying to get people to pay for something (LL access) when LL will be no faster than current wait times. I know I’m laughing at it.

LL isn't supposed to get you on the attraction earlier, it's supposed to let you go do other fun stuff instead of standing in line.

 

[DCLcruiser]

DG+ gives you a handful of line-skips thruout the day. ILL add on two more line skips. That's what one is paying for.

100%

You should always try to book LL that are closest to the current time. That way almost every ride is LL. Then if you have to wait awhile for your next LL you go on non-LL rides. You should try to only book far off LL for major rides that have really long waits usually. Considering the IAS rides are the most popular rides (and not part of Genie+), you can book an IAS for later in the day and enjoy LL the rest of the time.

 

[wedenterprises]

That's true. It also means if you can beat it somehow, like catch it when the wait is 15, or go later, you are saving yourself $$ each time. Like a game. See how much you can save each day at WDW!

Disney Squid Game

 

[CaptainAmerica]

100%

You should always try to book LL that are closest to the current time. That way almost every ride is LL. Then if you have to wait awhile for your next LL you go on non-LL rides. You should try to only book far off LL for major rides that have really long waits usually. Considering the IAS rides are the most popular rides (and not part of Genie+), you can book an IAS for later in the day and enjoy LL the rest of the time.

8 nights on property will be my key to doing this efficiently. That gives me 8 early entry rope drops, one for each of the ILL attractions.

 

[lentesta]

A question about stacking LL that I don't recall being discussed yet...

Given the following hypothetical situation...

9am: Book LL for 11:30am
11am: Book 2nd LL for 2pm

When you tap into LL #1 @ 11:30, can you immediately book another LL, or because you still have LL #2, do you have to wait until 1pm to book another LL?

If you're allowed to book immediately, then would you be able to book another at 1pm, stacking 3 LLs?

The 120-minute window for next booking starts at park open. I don't think that was explained clearly.

 

[DCLcruiser]

8 nights on property will be my key to doing this efficiently. That gives me 8 early entry rope drops, one for each of the ILL attractions.

Lol. I do the parks in 4 days or less...

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Lol. I do the parks in 4 days or less...

I don't fly anywhere for less than a week. Not worth the cost and hassle to me.

 

[Jeff4272]

The real problem for WDW modeling for revenue is that this is a diminishing marginal return.........

As these rides get experienced more and more, less and less will be willing to pay (thats why nobody is paying for Space Mountain, Frozen and Everest right now and unwilling to pay for other rides if they became IAS rides........(rather wait than pay)

WDW will have to constantly be able to bring new attractions to satisfy that demand

I know GOG, Tron and ROTR are the shiny new toys but sooner or later it will happen to them too (and i think it will happen to RemRat before the end of the year)

 

[Horizons '83]

100%

You should always try to book LL that are closest to the current time. That way almost every ride is LL. Then if you have to wait awhile for your next LL you go on non-LL rides. You should try to only book far off LL for major rides that have really long waits usually. Considering the IAS rides are the most popular rides (and not part of Genie+), you can book an IAS for later in the day and enjoy LL the rest of the time.

So if I am reading your post correctly, selecting IAS rides won't impact your LL ride selections, meaning it doesn't count against your LL selection count,

 

[DCLcruiser]

So if I am reading your post correctly, selecting IAS rides won't impact your LL ride selections, meaning it doesn't count against your LL selection count,

They are unrelated systems.

Paying for Genie+ = LL access
Paying for IAS = Reservations for a particular ride and is NOT related to Genie+

You can buy either, neither or both Genie+ and IAS.

 

[Jeff4272]

So if I am reading your post correctly, selecting IAS rides won't impact your LL ride selections, meaning it doesn't count against your LL selection count,

can an IAS and Genie+ selection overlap, or better yet have the exact same return time window?

 

[DCLcruiser]

The real problem for WDW modeling for revenue is that this is a diminishing marginal return.........

As there rides get experienced more and more, less and less will be willing to pay (thats why nobody is paying for Space Mountain, Frozen and Everest right now and unwilling to pay for other rides if they became IAS rides........(rather wait than pay)

WDW will have to constantly be able to bring new attractions to satisfier that demand

I know GOG, Tron and ROTR are the shiny new toys but sooner or later it will happen to them too (and i think it will happen to RemRat before the end of the year)

You've just described the Theme Park business, regardless of Genie+. WDW has always had to offer new or plussed experiences in order to attract new and returning customers. Carousel of Progress is not going to support $100+ tickets and bring in crowds like it did back in the day.

 

[LovePop]

That is surely a unique way to experience WDW. Why even go on the ride?

It's fun! And you get out of the hot Florida sun. Keeps the kids busy and happy. Well, busy anyway. We are on a certain ride not because we care about it more than others, but because it's our award, and we collect awards all day long. Gives the family something to do, a goal, a purpose. Besides, we like all the rides in WDW. And we are not in the parks for long. In the morning for 4 hours, then go back to hotel to nap (I'm shot from all that exitement), then in the evening for 3 hours, when it's cooler and we don't chase fastpasses as hard, but rather walk around, enjoy the beauty of the park, and eat. On a good day, we can get about 6 fastpasses and go on 9 rides total, the extra 3 being low wait rides. One of our favorite rides is Figment because it never has any wait, and it has killer air conditioning. Totally chills you to the bone after you've been cooking outside.

 

[LovePop]

can an IAS and Genie+ selection overlap, or better yet have the exact same return time window?

You would think so, the two are not related in any way. But they might warn you against it. Back in the day when I was booking fastpass near the time I had an ADR, it warned me against it but let me book if I insisted.

 

[MisterPenguin]

can an IAS and Genie+ selection overlap, or better yet have the exact same return time window?

Yes. You get a warning of an overlap, but they don't stop you from creating it.

 

[Joel]

I don't like to wait in Standby, so I always get fastpass even if it's only to saves 5 minutes. Fastpass is just a fun thing to get, like a scavenger hunt. It gives purpose for the day at the park. However, it is an exciting, stressful way of doing WDW. People who are more patient and even tempered than me can easily enjoy waiting in a standby line that isn't excessively long. They can chat with family and admire the standby decorations, and make it a leisurely experience. It's something I can't do. I always blaze through WDW. I constantly yell at my teens to walk faster, even though I'm normally the slowest walker in the family. Sometimes I spend most of my time on a ride staring at my phone, trying to get a fastpass for the next ride. Doesn't matter which ride just as long as I get a fastpass for it. It's super exciting. I'm normally low energy, but in WDW I suddenly have more energy than all my teens combined. That's why fastpass/Genie+ is extremely important to me.

Don't take this wrong way, but "I spend my vacation yelling at my children (who, btw, I can't stand talking to while waiting in line) like they're sled dogs and ignoring most of the ride because FastPass gives my life meaning" is one of the most bizarre things I've ever read on the Internet. And I've been to 4chan.

 

[MisterPenguin]

You would think so, the two are not related in any way. But they might warn you against it. Back in the day when I was booking fastpass near the time I had an ADR, it warned me against it but let me book if I insisted.

The old system allowed food and ride overlap. It didn't allow ride overlap.

The new system allows all overlaps.

 

[hopemax]

The real problem for WDW modeling for revenue is that this is a diminishing marginal return.........

As there rides get experienced more and more, less and less will be willing to pay (thats why nobody is paying for Space Mountain, Frozen and Everest right now and unwilling to pay for other rides if they became IAS rides........(rather wait than pay)

WDW will have to constantly be able to bring new attractions to satisfier that demand

I know GOG, Tron and ROTR are the shiny new toys but sooner or later it will happen to them too (and i think it will happen to RemRat before the end of the year)

We shouldn't judge from the first day, in non-peak season while International travel is still hugely impacted by the pandemic. No one needs to buy Everest because 60+ minute waits are not typical there and there are tricks to avoid even more modest waits. It's 1:00 and it's still only 20 minutes. The other two, yes, the types of guests who are currently visiting (DVC people with points to burn and people who need their fix) may not feel the need to buy them while waits are better than 2019. But when the visitor makeup returns to normal patterns, and if overall demand returns to normal levels with corresponding wait times then we'll see. International, especially, I can see people just rolling it into "the cost of doing the business of a US vacation" as if it were a food, ticket, or lodging line item. People who plan on being "one and done"... they are who this is targeted toward, and they may not be traveling to WDW today, Oct 19, 2021.