LIGHTNING LANE SUCKS

[Goofyernmost]

I was an advocate of paid FP, but that is not what I was thinking about. It was a higher price, one fee fastpass that was good for all specific FP attractions (which would be most) and include the new ones as well as some of the older ones. Not floating "plus charges" for some that they felt were worth more, because those are always objective and unfair to many. Just a higher rate like $100.00 per day per person per park (not transferable to park hop with) That would cut down on the fastpass usage and speed up the Standby lines considerably. This just gives them more money in the bank and doesn't server the guests other then to make it more confusing and expensive. Good plan if the goal is the just suck the customer dry, but not to have them leave with a good feeling and desire to return.

 

[GoofGoof]

I hate the name
I hate paid fastpass
I hate genie plus

bring back fp+ or better yet no fastpass gimmick at all
Jafar Chapek hates his guests and cast members
Don’t buy genie or the lightning toll.
fire chapek

What’s wrong with the name

 

[eliza61nyc]

It's been getting mix reviews on line

 

[Club Cooloholic]

I was an advocate of paid FP, but that is not what I was thinking about. It was a higher price, one fee fastpass that was good for all specific FP attractions (which would be most) and include the new ones as well as some of the older ones. Not floating "plus charges" for some that they felt were worth more, because those are always objective and unfair to many. Just a higher rate like $100.00 per day per person per park (not transferable to park hop with) That would cut down on the fastpass usage and speed up the Standby lines considerably. This just gives them more money in the bank and doesn't server the guests other then to make it more confusing and expensive. Good plan if the goal is the just suck the customer dry, but not to have them leave with a good feeling and desire to return.

I don't like either plan but prefer the one they came up to what you propose.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I don't like either plan but prefer the one they came up to what you propose.

I assume it is because of the $100 price tag. If so, remember that by the time you pay the $15 for Genie and then pay the additional for the alleged E tickets you will probably have paid that much and more. But this way those that are getting duped into thinking that $15 is a better choice will clog the fastpass lines and make the standby lines longer, when with my way, it will cut back on a lot of FP's and the standby line will keep moving instead of being stagnate and moving at a snails pace.

You don't have to worry, they have yet in adapt my suggestions, so it isn't going to happen, but overall I think it would be better for everyone and you would ultimately get to see a lot more. And not have to spend the day with your nose stuck in your phone trying to get just the right time to fit in with your plans. One fee, and one time for each attraction when you chose to do it not when they decided to let you.

However, that said, I have not experienced the new system yet, I'm just speculating based on what I have read.

 

[Club Cooloholic]

I assume it is because of the $100 price tag. If so, remember that by the time you pay the $15 for Genie and then pay the additional for the alleged E tickets you will probably have paid that much and more. But this way those that are getting duped into thinking that $15 is a better choice will clog the fastpass lines and make the standby lines longer, when with my way, it will cut back on a lot of FP's and the standby line will keep moving instead of being stagnate and moving at a snails pace.

You don't have to worry, they have yet in adapt my suggestions, so it isn't going to happen, but overall I think it would be better for everyone and you would ultimately get to see a lot more. And not have to spend the day with your nose stuck in your phone trying to get just the right time to fit in with your plans. One fee, and one time for each attraction when you chose to do it not when they decided to let you.

However, that said, I have not experienced the new system yet, I'm just speculating based on what I have read.

I don't like any of them. I went last November when everything was standby and rather enjoyed it. Maybe making it something you have to reserve ahead of time and thus limit the total amount admitted is the way to go. If you have a hotel reservation you can get in otherwise better have the ressie. Anyway, I just think that the way it is set up now, vs what you are saying, if I take my family of 4 I am looking at $500 and we probably wouldn't even get enough use. For us maybe using it on a must ride like Avatar or Rise would be it and that would cost less as we don't have to buy the $15 to buy into those rides...correct?

 

[Kramerica]

I hate the name
I hate paid fastpass
I hate genie plus

bring back fp+ or better yet no fastpass gimmick at all
Jafar Chapek hates his guests and cast members
Don’t buy genie or the lightning toll.
fire chapek

I happen to agree with you.

 

[John park hopper]

Get rid of fast pass -get rid of Genie + ---everyone pays admission to the parks everyone has an equal chance of getting on an attraction

 

[bubbles1812]

Having been here all week and getting to experience it, I have very mixed feelings. It’s allowed me to do some things that I otherwise would not have done. But it also prevented me from doing things I used to do. Plan to do a write up after we return home tomorrow.

I think at the end of the day, it really depends on how much money you’re willing to spend, which is what Disney is banking on. We had Genie+ for two people every day… an extra $210. We also purchased two LL per day… an extra probably $300ish for the week.

I didn’t really care about the cost relative to what we spent here this week (it meant we axed a dinner reservation or two) but I know there are many who would/will. I’m sure if I had a bigger group I would definitely care.

I just admittedly do not like to wait for rides and so, it ended up being a price I was willing to pay. YOLO?

 

[GoofGoof]

Get rid of fast pass -get rid of Genie + ---everyone pays admission to the parks everyone has an equal chance of getting on an attraction

I was at WDW in late August before all this Genie stuff started during a very low crowd period and got to experience what you are describing and it was fantastic. It helped that we didn‘t wait more than 15 mins for any ride during 10 park days which isn’t typical, but I didn’t miss fast pass at all. The only negative I saw vs the FP+ days was getting up earlier for some park days. While FP+ was in place I didn’t feel the need to get to certain parks for rope drop. Specifically AK if I already had a FP for FoP then I was in no rush to get to the park. Getting to AK at rope drop got me on FoP as a walk on while waiting until later in the day meant a 30 min wait but in busier times that’s 60+ mins.

As far as the new setup goes, I’m not opposed to the genie+ part of the plan. When I visited DLR in 2019 I bought max pass each day (even though paper FP existed and was free) and I felt it was worth the price ($20 vs the $15 for genie+). The biggest negative to genie+ is they stripped the top 2 rides out at each park and put them into lightning lane. That really reduces the value of genie+. Max Pass also allowed a new reservation every 90 mins instead of 2 hours allowing several more potential uses in a day.

 

[SSH]

I never thought those pricey after hour events were worth it, but rethinking that now - even at up to 200/person. For people like us who are NOT morning people and like to sleep in, hate rope drop, don't want to be on the phone most of our visit and enjoy the evening hours/lights, I'm thinking that attending one after hours event (maybe 2 if they will start offering them again at AK and HS) would prob be the smarter move and a better value vs regular park admission via hoppers, APs with or without Genie.

It's totally old-school: just wander around and ride/eat/do what you want.

 

[Chi84]

I never thought those pricey after hour events were worth it, but rethinking that now - even at up to 200/person. For people like us who are NOT morning people and like to sleep in, hate rope drop, don't want to be on the phone most of our visit and enjoy the evening hours/lights, attending an after hour event would prob be the much smarter move and a better value vs regular park admission, hoppers, APs with or without Genie.

It's totally old-school: just wander around and ride/eat/do what you want.

We went to the Boo Bash and felt it was worth it to get on the rides without waiting and see MK at night.

 

[Chi84]

It helped that we didn‘t wait more than 15 mins for any ride during 10 park days which isn’t typical

That's amazing! Was that true for FOP, SDD and Frozen too? I would never go in August because of the heat and humidity but it sounds like the best time if you want near walk-ons and don't want to get Genie+. The standby lines were much longer when we were there a few weeks ago. We found some value in getting Genie+ to avoid the lines for the more popular rides, then just used it to walk right on with no wait at all for many of the others.

 

[GoofGoof]

That's amazing! Was that true for FOP, SDD and Frozen too? I would never go in August because of the heat and humidity but it sounds like the best time if you want near walk-ons and don't want to get Genie+. The standby lines were much longer when we were there a few weeks ago. We found some value in getting Genie+ to avoid the lines for the more popular rides, then just used it to walk right on with no wait at all for many of the others.

Yeah, we did FoP at rope drop one day and it was a walk on. Took a few minutes to wind through the queue area and we walked right in. For Frozen we went shortly after park opening and it was about a 5 min wait. It did get up to about 30 mins later in the day. Slinky dog was the worst ride for wait. We got there at rope drop and went straight to the ride and still had about a 15 min wait. 30 mins later it hit close to an hour and then dropped from there later in the day. It’s so slow loading there’s almost never going to be a time where it’s a walk on. At least TSMM and the Alien ride were all walk ons so it was the only wait in Toy Story Land. They were still doing boarding groups for Rise so I imagine that would have had a longer than 15 min wait which would have been worth it.

 

[Chi84]

Yeah, we did FoP at rope drop one day and it was a walk on. Took a few minutes to wind through the queue area and we walked right in. For Frozen we went shortly after park opening and it was about a 5 min wait. It did get up to about 30 mins later in the day. Slinky dog was the worst ride for wait. We got there at rope drop and went straight to the ride and still had about a 15 min wait. 30 mins later it hit close to an hour and then dropped from there later in the day. It’s so slow loading there’s almost never going to be a time where it’s a walk on. At least TSMM and the Alien ride were all walk ons so it was the only wait in Toy Story Land. They were still doing boarding groups for Rise so I imagine that would have had a longer than 15 min wait which would have been worth it.

Okay, so that's the issue for us; we don't do rope drop. For us, it seems like skip the line options are the way to go, although I did prefer the free one.

 

[GoofGoof]

Okay, so that's the issue for us; we don't do rope drop. For us, it seems like skip the line options are the way to go, although I did prefer the free one.

I hadn’t been to a park at actual rope drop in years. Probably since FP+ came out. It worked well for an August trip since it gets too hot in the afternoons to stay in the parks long. We would wake up, eat a light breakfast, hit a park at rope drop and do rides until around noon then go back for a swim or rest in the room during the heat of the day and then go back to the park at night for more rides.

I imagine with this new system the only way to ride Rise or FoP or Mine Train without paying for lightning lane or having a 60+ min wait will be to rope drop it. I would probably do rope drop again for FoP and Rise but I’d rather skip Mine Train or Space Mountain than pay for them. If it’s really just 2 rides (eventually Tron and Guardians of the Universe of Energy too) it may be worth it to pay for lightning lane and just sleep in.

 

[LittleBuford]

I assume it is because of the $100 price tag. If so, remember that by the time you pay the $15 for Genie and then pay the additional for the alleged E tickets you will probably have paid that much and more.

You can only purchase two Individual Lightning Lane Selections a day, so it’s literally not possible for the total amount you pay to get anywhere near, let alone exceed, $100 per day per person.

 

[Goofyernmost]

I don't like any of them. I went last November when everything was standby and rather enjoyed it. Maybe making it something you have to reserve ahead of time and thus limit the total amount admitted is the way to go. If you have a hotel reservation you can get in otherwise better have the ressie. Anyway, I just think that the way it is set up now, vs what you are saying, if I take my family of 4 I am looking at $500 and we probably wouldn't even get enough use. For us maybe using it on a must ride like Avatar or Rise would be it and that would cost less as we don't have to buy the $15 to buy into those rides...correct?

You might be right, but I remember the single line before any incarnation of FP even showed up. Yes, the lines were long looking but they moved continuously. It was a leisurely way to vacation. We met people in the multiple switchbacks, we joked around, we laughed, we even bitched about the line length, but we were never angry. We were all in the same line as it should be as we all paid the same amount to get in the park and the park promised unlimited things to do for that one payment. When we got to the front of the line WE WERE NEXT. No group of grinning yahoo's made us stop and watch them legally cut the line in front of us.

It was not a contest it was a recreational, fun, creative and pleasantly memorable experience that made most of us, myself deeply included go back again and again, in my case for almost 40 years. We were all in the same equal situation that was a theme park and part of the experience. During that time FP came along. I stood in the standby line and was shocked by the anger and frustration that now was palpable. If you are standing in that line in 95 degree, 110% humidity weather that Florida is so fond of presenting and you had spent more time than you should have in that line while person after person walks up and goes ahead of you, you lose your cheery disposition. If you don't believe it just think about how competitive it was just to get a FP and now how expensive it is ultimately going to be to see things that are worth seeing. It just is no longer worth it for me. Maybe it is because I am older now, but I truly feel that if it had been this way on my first trip the following 47 trips would never have happened. Fortunately, it didn't get this bad before now and I had the inclination and almost giddy desire to go to my favorite place called WDW. In the lyrics of that song, "I've lost that loving feeling".

 

[Goofyernmost]

You can only purchase two Individual Lightning Lane Selections a day, so it’s literally not possible for the total amount you pay to get anywhere near, let alone exceed, $100 per day per person.

Oh, it will! If this works the profit target for Disney will grow and grow. For now call it a prediction.

 

[marni1971]

It’s more Di$ney.