Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[Sirwalterraleigh]

This is just sad - pure and simple. It's all too confusing. They need to kick Genie+ to the curb and bring back FastPass where the most stress you encountered in the old days was when you couldn't get your ticket to print out of the machine and needed a cast member's help.

That is actually what the numbers say…

…but also Bob manipulated attractions to force people to buy products like this…and he’ll guard that “secret” until the barbarians are at the gate on him

 

[bmr1591]

You can't really say it's not more complicated when it's yet another barrier to flexibility. Maybe in the morning g, you wake up and thi k you're only going to want to visit AK so you only buy the AK G+. Now, I'm an AP, so I don't have to worry about buying a park hopper add-on and maybe this particular day my wife and I decide AK is too busy or hot or maybe we've just done all we want to do earlier than we thought so we head back to the resort for a pool break. After dinner, we decide to hop over to DHS but we only bought the AK-only G+ so now we either can't use it at DHS or we have to pay again and then waste a good chunk of time waiting at Guest Services to get a partial refund, thus negating much of the time saved via the Lightning Lanes (and also eating up time that could have been spent on rides, shows, or - and this would make Bob I cry - shopping).

Well, the only show after dinner is Fantasmic, and if you’re purchasing Genie+ after dinner, you may not even have availability left. Rough example.

This is just sad - pure and simple. It's all too confusing. They need to kick Genie+ to the curb and bring back FastPass where the most stress you encountered in the old days was when you couldn't get your ticket to print out of the machine and needed a cast member's help.

FastPass would be awful to bring back. If they’d stayed with paper FastPasses, people would immediately complain about how Disney isn’t with the times and should advance technologically.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

This was about a girl, wasn’t it?

No, it was about Florida. The girl and I couldn't abide 85 degrees in October.

It’s much worse…if I understand:

Pay fee a la carte fee
Switch park, pay second a la carte fee
Go to pest services and ask for partial refund?

…somebody confirm that before the big one comes, Elizabeth?

Yeah that part sucks. They need to at least correct this so that you can pay the upgrade price to switch from single-park to multi-park same day if you want.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

They are asking for this by their actions as people who have park reservations for Epcot and Animal Kingdom are buying G+ at a lower rate than those that have park reservations for AK or DHS or have hoppers

They didn’t ask anybody..

They’re in damage control on genie - like basically all their products - and are trying to figure out how to spin them and save their revenue numbers.

But I bet you know this…

The only thing “selling” are these hard ticket events

STOP…buying them…then they’re an open book and every customer wins

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Or more likely, make MK/DHS/Multi now $30

And still overall sell more and make more total $

Multiple Park option will be same as MK

You can only buy Multipark if you already paid extra to have park hopers. If only one park passes and doing MK you can only get the MK G+

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

No, it was about Florida. The girl and I couldn't abide 85 degrees in October.

So…the girl was really “the thing”?
Tale as old as time, Beast

Yeah that part sucks. They need to at least correct this so that you can pay the upgrade price to switch from single-park to multi-park same day if you want.

That’s the ENTIRE problem!

You’re arguing 8 people and just admitted you agree with them.

The complaint is it’s overcomplicated. The jury has reached its verdict.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

The only thing “selling” are these hard ticket events

Cruise is having a great summer as far as I can tell (with the exception of Europe due to insane airfare).

Multiple Park option will be same as MK

You can only buy Multipark if you already paid extra to have park hopers. If only one park passes and doing MK you can only get the MK G+

The game theory will be so interesting. It feels like park hopping overall will be disincentivized, unless you're hopping from Magic Kingdom. Animal Kingdom to Epcot will be pretty much out the window.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

That’s the ENTIRE problem!

You’re arguing 8 people and just admitted you agree with them.

The complaint is it’s overcomplicated. The jury has reached its verdict.

It's a problem for an extraordinarily narrow subset of guests.

People who don't park hop will be fine.

People who plan to park hop will be fine.

People who don't buy Genie+ will be fine.

This is only a problem for people who 1) do buy Genie+, 2) don't plan to park hop but then 3) change their minds and decide to park hop on an impulse midday.

 

[dreday3]

I have to disagree a bit. We are already paying to park hop and now on top we have to pay extra if we want Genie + for the park we hop to.

Now seeing the cost, is it an exorbitant amount? No, but that doesn't mean it isn't a problem

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Cruise is having a great summer as far as I can tell (with the exception of Europe due to insane airfare).


The game theory will be so interesting. It feels like park hopping overall will be disincentivized, unless you're hopping from Magic Kingdom. Animal Kingdom to Epcot will be pretty much out the window.

Yup - I do think G+ still have most value when hopping as can stack for 2nd park so if I was someone who really liked having hoppers anyway I probably would still pay for it

But definitely is another thing to think about if you are someone who doesn't always get hopers and this would make me then less likely to buy hopers and instead focus on one park a day, benefiting from the lower G+ price at AK and EP (if I get it at all)

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I have to disagree a bit. We are already paying to park hop and now on top we have to pay extra if we want Genie + for the park we hop to.

Now seeing the cost, is it an exorbitant amount? No, but that doesn't mean it isn't a problem

It's a negative for people that park hop and do between Epcot and AK on a day

Also a negative for people that do a lot of MK only days as those prices for G+ will be more than it has been when all were same price

 

[Meeko77]

Ahh the old days when you had to run to the most popular ride to make sure they still had availability. No stress there at all.

But hey, you got a great workout!

 

[TriSeb]

(in response to the funny post about ChatGPT; this image was created entirely in MidJourney AI; blurred background and all)

 

[nickys]

That's fringe behavior.

The vast (vast, vast, vast) majority of guests don't change parks spur-of-the-moment. They either pick one park per day and stick with it, or they plan to park hop.

Really? What do you define as “fringe behaviour”? 10%, 20%, 30%?

Of the 40% of guests who have park hoppers (according to @lentesta ’s analysis) you think that they all know in advance that they will absolutely, definitely park hop that day?

It never happens that after the pool the kids &/or parents decide they either don’t want to go back to a park or change their minds about where they want to go to?

The majority of international guests who have park hopping automatically added to their tickets know they can be completely flexible in their plans, often because they have 2 weeks to enjoy the parks. So plans can, and do, get changed day by day.

 

[Tha Realest]

Stuff like this underscores how desperate things must be under the hood. All the discounts haven’t boosted or juiced the numbers as they’d have liked, and this is a nice way to do so for the suckers already committed in the coming weeks.

Zenia not coming back is also a foreboding sign.

Is that Mr. Cook on line one?

 

[JohnD]

It's a problem for an extraordinarily narrow subset of guests.

People who don't park hop will be fine.

People who plan to park hop will be fine.

People who don't buy Genie+ will be fine.

This is only a problem for people who 1) do buy Genie+, 2) don't plan to park hop but then 3) change their minds and decide to park hop on an impulse midday.

That's assuming the average guest knows which G+ to pick. If I'm new to this, I'm going to AK first, so I pick that. I have plans to park hop later in the day to MK, so choose that one when I arrive. I've now paid for two parks. Someone told me something about a reimbursement but this stuff is too complicated and I have to get 7DMT.... Okay I'm leaving at park close but look at that line in guest relations. Forget it. I'm leaving. Looks like Disney is getting extra money from me.

Sure there's a multi-park option but are all guests going to figure that out even if they "plan to park hop". I don't necessarily agree they "will be fine."

 

[MichWolv]

Until we see how this is implemented, it's not really possible to tell whether it'll be a positive in terms of allowing some to take advantage of G+ at lower costs, and maybe moving crowds around a little, or negative by making G+, on the whole, more expensive.

That being said, I am surprised that they are even considering (let alone adopting) changes that make things more complicated.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Cruise is having a great summer as far as I can tell (with the exception of Europe due to insane airfare).

Cruise has no capacity. It’s the parks problem in reverse.

They never built enough cabins for the sycophants…which is why they keep overpaying to get on over each other

They actually - somewhat unintentionally - were smart there

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

It's a problem for an extraordinarily narrow subset of guests.

People who don't park hop will be fine.

People who plan to park hop will be fine.

People who don't buy Genie+ will be fine.

This is only a problem for people who 1) do buy Genie+, 2) don't plan to park hop but then 3) change their minds and decide to park hop on an impulse midday.

Park hopping is the norm, not the exception…

All repeat customers tend to do it. And the rookies who don’t know go to travel agents…what do you think happens there?

 

[MrPromey]

Nothing official yet. I've heard AK and EP pricing might be lower as an incentive. I don't expect MK or HS pricing to drop much, if at all.

It's a negative for people that park hop and do between Epcot and AK on a day

Also a negative for people that do a lot of MK only days as those prices for G+ will be more than it has been when all were same price

And all of this of course, makes it easier for the inevitable price increases in G+ because as long as they have one park that is cheaper or equal to the current highest price for a day of Genie+ across all four, they can pretend like the price hasn't gone up because there is still one option on a handful of days of the year that is at or below the previous line for the system for the least popular park that previously covered all four parks.

Changing the system and how it all works is the easiest way to change the price with fewer people noticing.*

*I know you two notice.