Lightning Lane Premier Pass

[MrPromey]

But even if it stops being a perk only for Deluxe/Villa/DVC guests…so? You’ve laid out all the reasons why this won’t be an attractive option for anyone but specific groups of people, so it won’t really move the needle. The people who are going to make use of this would be using the regular lightning lane anyway if this wasn’t an option. All this is doing is moving them out of the regular lightning lane category and giving them something more appealing to them. It’s not adding additional lightning light users and isn’t impacting the current experience regular lightning lane users are having.

It's doing more than that, actually. The current LL system has return times so everyone doesn't trot into the LL lane line at 11am for Rise throwing both it and the standby line into total disarray.

Now, in addition to the standby line and the LL folks with managed return times, there will be potentially thousands of wildcards that can just show up wherever, whenever and hop in that LL line.

The busiest times of day on the busiest days are when you can expect to see this used the most and is that going to make things better or worse for everyone else? The only way I can see them offsetting any of this is cutting back regular LL access during those peak periods to compensate but then that reduces the effectiveness of that up-charge product.

If they could pull it off without people in that category realizing their chances of getting the passes for the attractions they bought into it for in the first place are going to be reduced, they might be able to get away with it, I guess but getting it for the most popular attractions that aren't ILL already seems pretty cutthroat so who knows?

 

[MrPromey]

I really hope this fails miserably and they will lower the price and offer an unlimited option … then I would consider it and I’m sure many others would as well.

And that's why it wouldn't work.

 

[Drdcm]

I really don’t take much issue with this. I won’t buy it, and I think it will minimally impact my experience. It’s going to be tough for families to purchase due to the extreme added cost.

My pet peeve is that the lightning lane situation has essentially become gambling. Give them the money up front and you might be able to get lightning lanes for rides you want. Could be 1 ride, could be 7, fate will decide. They might as well hand out lotto tickets telling you what you can do that day because it’s a crapshoot.

Here’s my real concern though. None of this income will be there when we go through our next recession. Not fear mongering… not predicting an impending recession…. Just saying, when it happens (usually at least once a decade) people are going to have have a hard time justifying all the extra costs. The core audience is what sticks around during tough times, not the first timers from Colorado. They can make their money now if they’d like I suppose, but they better hope that the experience is good enough to keep new customers returning.

 

[Purduevian]

I do wonder if there is a market for a minimum wage person simply refreshing the tip board constantly for people and booking the best LLs they see... I know standby skipper exists, but I don't think it continues to try to modify rides once it books them correct?

 

[Disstevefan1]

I really don’t take much issue with this. I won’t buy it, and I think it will minimally impact my experience. It’s going to be tough for families to purchase due to the extreme added cost.

My pet peeve is that the lightning lane situation has essentially become gambling. Give them the money up front and you might be able to get lightning lanes for rides you want. Could be 1 ride, could be 7, fate will decide. They might as well hand out lotto tickets telling you what you can do that day because it’s a crapshoot.

Here’s my real concern though. None of this income will be there when we go through our next recession. Not fear mongering… not predicting an impending recession…. Just saying, when it happens (usually at least once a decade) people are going to have have a hard time justifying all the extra costs. The core audience is what sticks around during tough times, not the first timers from Colorado. They can make their money now if they’d like I suppose, but they better hope that the experience is good enough to keep new customers returning.

I agree will all points but I have a view about the recession.

Folks with money do not feel the recession and go to WDW in any event.

Folks who who feel the recession do not have the money to go to WDW at the moment and will pause until they can return.

Todays Disney is getting MORE MONEY from LESS visitors and they like it this way in my opinion.

 

[TrojanUSC]

From what I've heard now, it's clear this new offering will be extremely limited. They'll also seemingly be updating the inventory for LLMP to compensate for these new passes.

The re-tooling of DAS was a big step in making these LLs more manageable so that people didn't feel ripped off when they bought this service.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I don’t think it’s being overly dramatic to wonder what changes are coming down the road to uhhh ‘encourage’ people to consider this purchase.

I had a similar thought, Disney seems to have shifted focus from providing the best experience possible to providing just bad enough of an experience we’ll spend more money.

As for it effecting the existing LL system, in my opinion, the system is already bad and broken, this will make no difference.

Agree, if they had added this to the old FP system I don’t think anyone would care, we may even be celebrating another option, unfortunately since LL has already diminished the park experience any additional change is viewed as just further damaging the experience.

If you are not going to buy any product, you need some luck to get in the boarding group for Guardians as there is no standby.

This is our biggest complaint with the parks today, if you want to ride the best rides it’s a lottery, or pay extra. Paying several thousand dollars for a trip and then not being able to get on the best rides (without some luck or opening the wallet again) feels like a complete rip off.

How cool would it be if you could walk up to a LL entrance, tap your magic band, assuming your account is linked to a payment method, BOOM you are charged, the light turns green and you are IN!

I’ve said for a while it feels like we’re going back to the ticket book system, pay per ride feels like the ultimate goal. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if what you describe doesn’t happen at some point, with variable minute by minute pricing based on line length. Park admission will only include the A tickets, you want to ride anything else you'll have to pay extra.

 

[MrPromey]

Business class vs economy has been around forever but this new model of basic economy, economy, economy plus, business, and lay flat first class is pretty recent, as is charging extra for carry ons, seat selection, food, drinks, boarding priority, and anything else they can monetize.

I wish they’d just fully embrace it and make it easier for us as guests, package it all together and just let us pick one level rather than having to add a half dozen things individually that each raise the price by $20 a person.

Disney basic, just a ticket… Disney basic plus, a ticket and MLL… Disney extra, a ticket, MLL, and ILL… Disney first, add the the premium LL… Disney premier, add a VIP tour. Would be a lot simpler and easier to compare prices rather than having to add a half dozen options first just to see what the final price will be.

Problem is, if they do that, they're spelling out exactly how much it's all going to cost you up front and they'd rather you not see that all at once and think too hard about it - largely the same reason they make it confusing in your example of the other industry.

When you're faced with the ridiculous price for that cheese and crackers pack on the plane, you're normally thinking of it completely separate from the price you original paid for the ticket a month or more ago and the price you paid for checked luggage an hour ago.

That's not an accident.

 

[MrPromey]

I've never been more okay with standing in line for 2 hours than I am now.

I've never been more okay with not going back to WDW than I am right now.

Things like this kind of make me care less what happens to the views of Frontierland and Liberty Square since it makes it less likely I'll be returning to see it.

Maybe that works out to be a win for Disney?

 

[Drdcm]

I've never been more okay with not going to the WDW than I am right now.

Things like this kind of make me care less what happens to the views of Frontierland and Liberty Square since it makes it less likely I'll be returning.

That’s what’s so sad isn’t it? People like you, who like Disney so much you regularly engage in a forum about it have lost the enthusiasm. I’m in the same boat. We have one trip coming up, and it’s really the last chance they have to change my mind before I do something else instead.

 

[MrPromey]

I see it only pulling from the existing pool of people who would purchase LL, or VIP. But it’s definitely not adding to the LL population.

Maybe not adding to the LL population but definitely going to increase the redemption/usage of the service over the existing LL population since there is no buffer time between attractions and they can do all of this in the middle of the day rather than spreading it out through the whole day to somewhat manage the ratio the way the existing LL program does.

 

[Splash4eva]

Im curious. Again NOT defending Disney fully but what would everyone here do in regards to matter? Yes i agree they need capacity but im wondering if you were CEO would you really let a cash cow like this disappear?!? And not to get into another topic but everyone wanted to raise wages etc for CMs etc. Where did you all think that money was gonna come from?

 

[Minnesota disney fan]

I'm staying at a Deluxe resort next month and I usually stay in them for most of my trips which usually is 2 to 3 times per year. I would never be that foolish to spend this kind of money on top of what I'm already paying to stay at my resort plus the ticket to get in. Why on God's green Earth whould I want to pay almost $400 per person to ride it's a small world just so I can get ahead of everybody else. There are not enough rides in Magic Kingdom to make this even come close to being worth it. There maybe 6 rides worth trying to get on earlier plus with big thunder mountain being taken out of commission for the next year, what's left? To me very limited people are even gonna purchase this. Yes, there are a lot of Deluxe resorts on property but I find it hard to believe many will purchase it. I love how some people think this is a perk, a perk is something you get at a discount or maybe even free with the purchase of something else. But yet this is Disney's way of saying thank you for paying almost $800 a night to stay at the Grand Floridian So as a perk we'll allow you to pay $400 per person to be able to ride a few rides in Magic Kingdom. They must think we're fools.

Right, and you should take into account that there have been multiple attraction breakdowns, which would aggravate the situation.

 

[Andrew C]

Im curious. Again NOT defending Disney fully but what would everyone here do in regards to matter? Yes i agree they need capacity but im wondering if you were CEO would you really let a cash cow like this disappear?!? And not to get into another topic but everyone wanted to raise wages etc for CMs etc. Where did you all think that money was gonna come from?

Be more efficient/effective with spending (looking at you Epcot spine).
Drop the current LL system
Replace with premier but add in a couple other options like park-to-park use and unlimited attractions.
Allow all guests to purchase but give it as an included perk for select deluxe resorts.

 

[Disney Analyst]

Maybe not adding to the LL population but definitely going to increase the redemption/usage of the service over the existing LL population since there is no buffer time between attractions and they can do all of this in the middle of the day rather than spreading it out through the whole day to somewhat manage the ration the way the existing LL program does.

Okay so this is my anecdotal experience.

We paid for the premiere pass in Paris. Exact same concept, one time use per ride. No time slots.

In Paris it’s either that, or individual ride payments only. The only time we ever had to wait in a line when using our pass was Crush’s coaster. Every other ride was a scan and walk on.

Why do I mention this? I honestly feel so few people will take this option, it will make a negligible difference. The lightning lane lines will still be longer than they should, due to the cheap option being offered still.

They really should just go to the Paris model.

 

[MrPromey]

Okay so this is my anecdotal experience.

We paid for the premiere pass in Paris. Exact same concept, one time use per ride. No time slots.

In Paris it’s either that, or individual ride payments only. The only time we ever had to wait in a line when using our pass was Crush’s coaster. Every other ride was a scan and walk on.

Why do I mention this? I honestly feel so few people will take this option, it will make a negligible difference. The lightning lane lines will still be longer than they should, due to the cheap option being offered still.

They really should just go to the Paris model.

Why do you think they haven't?

 

[Disney Analyst]

Why do you think they haven't?

They want to milk every drop they can. Fie to the guest experience.

 

[Purduevian]

Maybe not adding to the LL population but definitely going to increase the redemption/usage of the service over the existing LL population since there is no buffer time between attractions and they can do all of this in the middle of the day rather than spreading it out through the whole day to somewhat manage the ration the way the existing LL program does.

Disney has ~11 years of digital skip the line service. There have already been many people that essentially get LLMP and they have data on them. Golden Oak, Club 33, and VIP tours were never subject to the same rules.

For example, I would assume there is a spike in the anytime LL/FP+ users going to HM and Peter pan immediately after a parade. Disney has enough data to tell them to reduce LLMP output more for the 2:30-3:30 times than any other time.

While the LLPP people can not be controlled like LLMP, they can be studied, predicted, and accounted for. Habits and patterns are already studied and will get better the more people use the service.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

what about the families that want to spend an extra $0 per day to skip the lines like they used to?
Asking for a friend lol

Well that’s just unreasonable…

How is Bob supposed to feel proud if it’s just stale product, creative failures, and a shrinking clientele to meet mandatory quarterly revenue increases?

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Do you have kids who will stay in line for 45-60 minutes per ride?

…you’re serious about this one?