Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[ToTBellHop]

An interesting thought that a friend of mine brought up yesterday. She was saying they recently purchased Genie and it ended up down pouring the entire day. They cut their day short and the few rides they did go on, had short waits due to the weather. She felt like it was a waste of money but their fault for not checking the weather more closely. So what happens if you purchase 7+ days in advance and the weather turns day of? Imagine all the people asking for a refund. I’m sure it will be in the fine print but annoying for cast members to deal with nonetheless.

There are plenty of indoor rides and they will issue multi-experience passes if a ride is closed.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

1) Tiered attraction only matter for pre-booking. Once you're in the park and T1 attractions are available you can have as many as you can get.

They’ll be gone…we already had 10 years of how that plays

 

[GoofGoof]

This is one of my big concerns. I would guess people would not buy it once it reaches that point, the problem is if there are no good attractions left then what you are going to select once you start using it? The capacity is already gone.

I am sure they will have drops to combat this but I am also sure that people will figure out when those are and grab them immediately. The more I think about it, the more I believe not allowing rerides may be the only saving grace.

I think that similar to FP+ the extra reservations beyond the first 3 will be mostly useless unless it’s a dead time of year and then you probably need FP a lot less. The 5 additional benefits over FP+ which may allow more meaningful stuff available beyond the first 3:

1. Not everyone will buy into this so less overall users
2. You can book #4 as soon as you use #1 and I think under FP+ you had to use all 3 before booking #4
3. The one you listed - no re-rides
4. Changes to the disability service may mean more overall lightning lane capacity available without actually adding many new rides
5. Tiers at MK will possibly make some tier 1 rides available longer than under FP+ - double edged sword here as you can only book 1 of 5 top attractions now

The one major decrease in capacity is the individual lightning lane taking the top ride at each park out of the capacity for multiple lightning lanes (2 at MK). People who would have used one of their advance reservations on an individual LL attraction will now use it on something else. On the positive side if you want to pay the money you can book 3 MLLs plus an ILL each day in advance so if money is no concern 4 or 5 if you choose 2 ILLs a day.

 

[JusticeDisney]

Sorry if this has already been made clear and I have just missed it, but under this new system, when booking your three multi-pass reservations in advance, will you be allowed to select a particular time of the day that you want, or will it remain like it is in its current form where you cannot do that?

Thanks in advance for any guidance!

 

[GoofGoof]

Sorry if this has already been made clear and I have just missed it, but under this new system, when booking your three multi-pass reservations in advance, will you be allowed to select a particular time of the day that you want, or will it remain like it is in its current form where you cannot do that?

Thanks in advance for any guidance!

Pick time

 

[JusticeDisney]

Pick time

Thank you so much! That alone makes this new system an upgrade. Of course, it wasn’t exactly difficult to come up with something better than what we have been dealing with.

 

[Splash4eva]

If I recall…nobody ever really disputed fans as reason #1

It was more for me a reality that they just cannot handle even moderate levels of people in comfort - as as see day by day on the ground.

It’s a mix of bad operational “philosophies” that got them here.
The customers lose…same ole

As much as i agree with you on many things and here as well… i just need to really ask the question money aside because Genie does cost money but to me nothing over the top expensive imo in comparison…
I have now gone end of august into labor day 2 trips during Thanksgiving week and now during june for fathers day and on all 4 trips i would day genie+ worked great and we were able to basically get a ton done. S

 

[tonythetigerasn]

The Disney tour guide service at $900 an hour is not premium enough?

Haha. I'd prefer a WDW where that was the only option. Otherwise, let's do manageable 15-45 minute lines for all.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Otherwise, let's do manageable 15-45 minute lines for all.

Sincerely, this is a beautiful dream...

Who knows? Maybe EPIC can make this dream come true for WDW

 

[Saskdw]

The controversy went much further than that. Many, and perhaps most, posters here absolutely hated FP+. Those of us with anything positive to say about the service constituted a distinct minority.

I guess it’s true that absence makes the heart grow fonder.

I think the reality is the "park commando's" who post on these boards don't represent the majority of potential WDW guests and aren't the high profit guests for Disney.

We went to WDW for 2 weeks every December from 2008 to 2016. We loved FP+ and haven't even considered a WDW vacation since G+ came to be. These changes have us considering a return for Dec. 2025.

We have no interest in being park commandos.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Haha. I'd prefer a WDW where that was the only option. Otherwise, let's do manageable 15-45 minute lines for all.

It’s not like society is made up of millionaires and the unwashed masses. There are several levels of unwashed and we need options for them all. The type of parents who say, “the pool will be your shower today!” need a way to book rides, too.

 

[Saskdw]

I was in that small minority here that liked FP+ so I guess it’s no surprise that I don’t mind this change.

Small minority on "here" but majority of actual potential guests. That's why this is back.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

As much as i agree with you on many things and here as well… i just need to really ask the question money aside because Genie does cost money but to me nothing over the top expensive imo in comparison…
I have now gone end of august into labor day 2 trips during Thanksgiving week and now during june for fathers day and on all 4 trips i would day genie+ worked great and we were able to basically get a ton done. S

On some level…they decreed it didn’t work.

This is the exact same thing that they did with plus.

For five years people have asked: “why did they get rid of fastpass+?”

That’s almost a rhetorical question…because it didn’t work for Disney. The how and why is irrelevant.

Apparently they gave genie the death sentence as well

 

[Jon81uk]

We went to WDW for 2 weeks every December from 2008 to 2016. We loved FP+ and haven't even considered a WDW vacation since G+ came to be. These changes have us considering a return for Dec. 2025.

FastPass+ didn't start til late 2013. Your 2008-2012 visits would have been old paper FP.

 

[el_super]

Changes to the disability service may mean more overall lightning lane capacity available without actually adding many new rides

It's probably still too early to see if there has been significant changes on that front so I doubt they would have penned the roll out of Genie+ changes on that.

But the way I am seeing this, the overall capacity of the system isn't, or doesn't need to change. They know how many people are booking G+ today, and how many return times they are utilizing per day. Shifting the booking of those return slots to 3 or 7 days out doesn't change the effective number of slots a person uses per day. It only becomes an issue if they increase the cap on sales.

 

[flynnibus]

The people who stay on property and get the 7 day advantage will be the people who are most happy with this.

I think most people are thinking ‘i got 3 LL reservations!’ And that’s winning in their mind. They aren’t looking past getting a reservation and ignoring what the rest of their experience will change to.

It’s literally chasing the shiny object Disney is dangling in front of you.

I can’t wait for about a month after this goes live and the grievances start.

 

[Saskdw]

FastPass+ didn't start til late 2013. Your 2008-2012 visits would have been old paper FP.

Yes, the addition of FP+ kept those visits happening.

 

[Splash4eva]

On some level…they decreed it didn’t work.

This is the exact same thing that they did with plus.

For five years people have asked: “why did they get rid of fastpass+?”

That’s almost a rhetorical question…because it didn’t work for Disney. The how and why is irrelevant.

Apparently they gave genie the death sentence as well

But are they really?!? All they just did here was bring back FP+ and charge for it. Which is what they basically should have done from the get go if they wanted to monetize it which they obviously should. So how is this going to be any more effective? Listen maybe my experience w FP+ and Genie+ were not the norm but there have been plenty here and others i know who had similar success. End of day the lack of capacity is and always will
Be the reason any system does not work

 

[Saskdw]

I think most people are thinking ‘i got 3 LL reservations!’ And that’s winning in their mind. They aren’t looking past getting a reservation and ignoring what the rest of their experience will change to.

It’s literally chasing the shiny object Disney is dangling in front of you.

I can’t wait for about a month after this goes live and the grievances start.

What grievances?
We had none with FP+ and this seems better, other than it's an additional charge.

 

[flynnibus]

I think, psychologically, many will prefer paying for LL before leaving home in one lump sum instead of being reminded every morning or your vacation that you’re spending a lot. That’s why people love all-inclusives, cruises, dining plans, etc.

Length of stay discounts incoming…