Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World

[erasure fan1]

I hear this argument all the time. It makes me think most people don't go to other amusement parks ever. Paid skip the line is every where. My answer is DEAL WITH IT.

We do deal with it, that doesn't mean we have to like it. I'm not arguing to bring it back. It's just my opinion. You realize this is a discussion forum, right?

That will never happen because not enough people want it. The ones who do seem to want it very much, but there just aren’t enough of them to ever make it happen.

I get it. They really can't do it anyway because like I said in my post, my main point, was Disney has so underbuilt the parks, they need a skip the line option.

 

[aaronml]

It has been understood for several years now that free FP+ was going away. It had become a cumbersome burden and there was too much money on the table. Until a week ago, if someone laid out Disney's two options as:

1) A MaxPass-type system for almost every ride rides that will cost $15/person, with only a small handful of attractions costing extra.
2) Pay-per-ride for every attraction.
3) $200-300/day add on like Universal

I'd venture that most people would have easily picked #1. Now that it's here people are upset over Disney implementing, by far, the cheapest option they had on the table.

Keep in mind that the original FP monetization solution that was rumored here involved monetizing only some FP inventory rather than all of it. E.g. “Sorry, we’re out of free FPs for SDMT. Would you like to buy one for $8?” etc. SHDR and DLP also had both free and paid FP pre-COVID.

IMO, that would have been far more tasteful. Like MaxPass, it would have added a new upsell option, without taking away the existing free option.

 

[drew81]

So how long does it take for Genie+ to come to shows for "reserved seating"?

That is, for the shows they have brought back.

 

[Chi84]

We do deal with it, that doesn't mean we have to like it. I'm not arguing to bring it back. It's just my opinion. You realize this is a discussion forum, right?

I get it. They really can't do it anyway because like I said in my post, my main point, was Disney has so underbuilt the parks, they need a skip the line option.

But don’t almost all theme parks now have a skip the line option?

 

[Parker in NYC]

Taking up oxygen in a thread again to say… hahahaha! D’Amaro is doing a bang-up job.

 

[arich35]

Boredom has hit.
Assume all tier 1s will cost the same depending on single base ticket admission price. $4 being equal to $109 entry and $24 equal to $159 (New Years).
For every $1 above the lowest admission that will add .40 to the $4 IAS. Example, most common price in October is $133. So tier 1s would be $13.60/person.

If it could be around $15 or so per person for FoP when we go on a Thursday in December (16th) I think we would skip Genie and just do that unless the crowds aren't too bad

 

[MisterPenguin]

I know they’ve said you can choose 2 paid LL per day but have they explicitly said it’s only 2 per park available? Sorry trying to follow along but it’s tough to see at times which is conjecture, which is conjecture from insiders, and which is announced

Two sources have provided two lists. Both lists have 2 top tier attractions per park.

But... it could all change before or after implementation.

 

[erasure fan1]

But don’t almost all theme parks now have a skip the line option?

I believe so. A lot of places I have been have had quarter slots on the bathrooms. That doesn't make it a good idea for Disney. I totally get it. Disney said "hey, everyone else is charging for it, so can we!" They see an opportunity to make some extra cash. Because they know people are going to pay for it even if they complain. So why not charge for it. I'll be honest, I really thought they would have some sort of ultimate ticket for $600ish bucks per day per person that gave you fast passes for every ride. We are only at the beginning of the up charge add-on era of Disney.

 

[UNCgolf]

I'll be honest, I really thought they would have some sort of ultimate ticket for $600ish bucks per day per person that gave you fast passes for every ride. We are only at the beginning of the up charge add-on era of Disney.

That's what VIP Tours are for, and they're even more expensive than the pricing you gave. I don't think they want to cut into that business, considering the type of people who would be willing to pay $600+ a day for a ticket are the same kind of people who pay even more than that for a VIP Tour.

 

[Chi84]

I believe so. A lot of places I have been have had quarter slots on the bathrooms. That doesn't make it a good idea for Disney. I totally get it. Disney said "hey, everyone else is charging for it, so can we!" They see an opportunity to make some extra cash. Because they know people are going to pay for it even if they complain. So why not charge for it. I'll be honest, I really thought they would have some sort of ultimate ticket for $600ish bucks per day per person that gave you fast passes for every ride. We are only at the beginning of the up charge add-on era of Disney.

I suspect there are many more theme parks with skip the line options than with quarter slots on the bathrooms. One is something that many people want; the other is actually illegal in some states.

 

[doctornick]

Unlimited tier 2 rides as long as they have slots available . . . You could conceivably ride 2 rides and go to get a time for a 3rd and have Genie+ tell you “Sorry all time slots are full” Right??

How often did that even happen with old paper FPs? This system will likely have lower utilization than that and will have more attractions than paper FP did.

 

[arich35]

Has it be confirmed yet when your next LP selection can be made after the first one?

 

[draybook]

I hear this argument all the time. It makes me think most people don't go to other amusement parks ever. Paid skip the line is every where. My answer is DEAL WITH IT.

Maybe because Disney used to set the standard, not just "do what everyone else is doing".

 

[1HAPPYGHOSTHOST]

Walt Disney once said, "When I started on Disneyland, my wife used to say, 'But why do you want to build an amusement park? They're so dirty.' I told her that was just the point — mine wouldn't be."

Walt Disney took out a mortgage on his house and reportedly went $100K into personal debt to help pay for Disneyland, at a time when median household income was under $5K.

You know what?

Disney was a business in 1955 when Disneyland opened to rave reviews and financial glory.

Wanting to honor his brother's vision, the 73 year-old Roy O. Disney postponed his retirement for 5 years in order to oversee the construction of Walt Disney World, which opened in October 1971. Roy died 2 months later.

Disney was a business in 1971 when operating margin was actually higher than what it's averaged under Bob Iger or Bob Chapek.

Struggling to find a direction for the company, Card Walker reportedly invested $1.5 billion in Epcot at a time when the entire company's annual revenue was $1.0 billion.

Disney was a business in 1982 when this bold investment grew company revenue by 60% in 2 years.

With Disney's film industry in tatters, Roy E. Disney fronted the effort to bring in Michael Eisner, who not only managed to turn Disney into a film juggernaut but also built Disney-MGM Studios, Typhoon Lagoon, Blizzard Beach, Disney's Animal Kingdom, more than a dozen hotels, shopping districts, and a sports complex.

Disney was a business in the 1980s and 1990s when Eisner created The Walt Disney Company megacorporation and built the modern Walt Disney World.

In recent years, the Disney "business" has made price hike on top of price hike, quality cut after quality cut, and project delay after project delay, turning Walt Disney World into a shell of its former glory.

No one had to explain away bad corporate behavior for Disney's first 50 years in the theme park industry, yet for some reason the "Disney is a business" crowd thinks it's OK to trot out this tired cliché every time the Disney "business" does something to bring Walt Disney World down.

Who says it's "bad corporate behavior"? That's your opinion. Not a fact. Just because you don't like something doesn't mean it's bad. Many people welcome a paid fastpass option because this allows them to finally get a fastpaass unlike when it was when you had to plan it 60 days out and would miss out on them entirely if they were all taken by the time you went to the park. Now it is more fair. You want a fastpass? Pay for it day off and you get it. I call that balance. Perfectly balanced as all things should be. It is fair for young, old, alike and Disney makes MONEY. Companies change over time. Walt is dead. He no longer runs the company. This is not 1955. Things change. Adapt or die.

 

[pdude81]

I would as well. In fact, when we went in March, that was pretty much the way it was. It was far less stressful and the waits were reasonable, even for Spring Break. I would much prefer everything return to stand-by only.

Restricted capacity in March was a lot different than unrestricted in July. Your waits on Spring Break will never beer like that again without paying for line skips. And that's because of the numbers of people in the parks

 

[pdude81]

So how long does it take for Genie+ to come to shows for "reserved seating"?

That is, for the shows they have brought back.

They'll have line skips again as soon as the shows exist, just as before. Plus FOTLK already had FP seating up front.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Has it be confirmed yet when your next LP selection can be made after the first one?

No.

 

[arich35]

Maybe with the blacklash Disney will change its mind and scratch the unnamed IAS and just include them in Genie+.

 

[doctornick]

So what do resort guests get? Access to Tier 1 earlier?

Yes. But they also are able to get into the parks 30 min early each day and, if staying in Deluxe/DVC, getting an extra 2 hours in some parks some nights.

 

[doctornick]

Now they have a valid reason to up-charge for seasonal overlays. Perhaps this system will make Seasonal attractions more likely. Take a classic "standby" attraction decorate it and presto! Instant Genie+ or LL.

If that happens yet another reason to hate the system.

(I think seasonal overlays are dumb.)