My Solution to Fix Genie+ and Reservations

[Jrb1979]

I'm not following - how would more people using premium line skip services reduce waits for others? You're just moving people from the line to the ride... that doesn't reduce waits for others.. it increases waits for everyone who was already in line when those people show up.

It's not about reducing waits on n standby. Less people using line skips would make the standby not crawl as much as it does now.

 

[flynnibus]

It's not about reducing waits on n standby. Less people using line skips would make the standby not crawl as much as it does now.

Which isn't what she said... when she said "But would WDW get enough of those people to spend that kind of money..." which is talking about more people using such a service, not less.

 

[Jrb1979]

I would be nice to hear from someone who isn’t a local or staying in a deluxe Universal hotel how much they actually paid out of pocket for Express Passes.

I know how much it costs in theory. I’m interested to know who is buying it full price, for how many days and for how many people.

It’s possible that if Universal wasn’t giving it free to some resort guests there wouldn’t be enough using it to take as many people out of the standby lines. Also Disney would have a tough time with those prices given the number of rides they have. MK, maybe would work.

It's not about taking people out of standby lines. It's more about those who pay for the pass get shorter waits. That's the thing with Express Pass it's limited so those who buy it don't usually have to wait long but it also doesn't affect the standby as much so it constantly moves.

 

[Chi84]

Which isn't what she said... when she said "But would WDW get enough of those people to spend that kind of money..." which is talking about more people using such a service, not less.

That was in response to your comment that there are some people who don't have to think at all about how much money they spend, so that the number of people and days they would be buying expensive passes wouldn't be a factor.

My comment was that I don't believe that describes most of the current WDW guests. Disney needs to price the passes at a point where enough people visiting their parks will buy it. If it's too expensive and no one buys it, it's useless to both the guests and WDW as a skip the line pass. People who don't want to stand in line will stop visiting. If everyone buys it, you have Genie+.

 

[Chi84]

It's not about taking people out of standby lines. It's more about those who pay for the pass get shorter waits. That's the thing with Express Pass it's limited so those who buy it don't usually have to wait long but it also doesn't affect the standby as much so it constantly moves.

Do you pay for the Express Pass and, if so, for how many people and days? The last person who answered said they were local and added it to an annual pass. I would love to hear from someone who is actually paying full price out of pocket for it - how many people and days?

 

[Jrb1979]

Do you pay for the Express Pass and, if so, for how many people and days? The last person who answered said they were local and added it to an annual pass. I would love to hear from someone who is actually paying full price out of pocket for it - how many people and days?

I've bought it in the past. It cost us about $360 a day. We used for 3 days and it was 3 of us. For us we are used to paying those prices as we usually buy it at most parks we visit.

 

[Jrb1979]

That was in response to your comment that there are some people who don't have to think at all about how much money they spend, so that the number of people and days they would be buying expensive passes wouldn't be a factor.

My comment was that I don't believe that describes most of the current WDW guests. Disney needs to price the passes at a point where enough people visiting their parks will buy it. If it's too expensive and no one buys it, it's useless to both the guests and WDW as a skip the line pass. People who don't want to stand in line will stop visiting. If everyone buys it, you have Genie+.

Your last paragraph is a big part of the issue Disney faces going all the way back to FP. They created a system to keep people of lines in hopes people will spend that time shopping and people hated waiting in long lines. The problem now is people aren't using that time to shop they are just waiting for their next return time.

 

[Chi84]

I've bought it in the past. It cost us about $360 a day. We used for 3 days and it was 3 of us. For us we are used to paying those prices as we usually buy it at most parks we visit.

I think the number of days (and maybe the number of available rides per park) is what makes the difference. A lot of people who visit WDW are doing it for a week or more and not going exclusively to a theme park for an entire day. In fact, we rarely do. We split the days with water parks, shopping, resort pools, etc.

On our family visit in April, we bought Genie+ for some of the days and didn't really care how much we got out of it because it wasn't that expensive. Genie+ and the ILLs did work great for keeping us out of lines, but it wouldn't have been worth paying much more for it. There just aren't enough rides in any of the parks other than MK to make it worthwhile and there are 7 of us paying now (usually stay for a week).

When we were still visiting Six Flags, we liked the express pass because there was really nothing to do other than go on rides and there were certainly enough of them to make it worthwhile.

 

[mysto]

I am sure they will make money, maybe not like before

oooh, it all sounded so good, but you killed it right there.

 

[SamandplanningUK]

The best solution would be to bring back fast passes, 3 a day per person but charge for them. This simplifies it for all.

 

[Jrb1979]

The best solution would be to bring back fast passes, 3 a day per person but charge for them. This simplifies it for all.

They don't have enough capacity for that. It's part of why they got rid of it.

 

[G00fyDad]

They don't have enough capacity for that. It's part of why they got rid of it.

Then they don't have enough capacity for G+ either. Oh, wait....

 

[Jrb1979]

Then they don't have enough capacity for G+ either. Oh, wait....

They don't have enough capacity for everyone to have access to G+. Everyone knows that but the problem is they can't limit it either. If they did limit availability many people would stop going.

 

[nickys]

They don't have enough capacity for everyone to have access to G+. Everyone knows that but the problem is they can't limit it either. If they did limit availability many people would stop going.

Of course they can limit it, they just have to stop the option to buy it when they’ve sold however many that day, if they want to. Or they can limit it by raising the price to the point at which enough people refuse to buy it.

I doubt the number of people who would stop going if they couldn’t buy it would be significant.

 

[Chi84]

I doubt the number of people who would stop going if they couldn’t buy it would be significant.

It would be significant to me because I would stop going if I couldn't buy it. If you think people are upset about standing in long lines now, just wait to see what will happen if they are denied the opportunity to skip those lines at a price they are able to afford and completely willing to pay.

 

[Imhere]

I am sure they will make money, maybe not like before

Which of these is not like the other?

 

[Disstevefan1]

My solution is simple...
-To fix Genie+...Bring back free Fast Passes, that will make most guests happy! Keep the most popular attractions as PAID Lightning Lane options...this will make Disney happy! I am sure they will make money, maybe not like before, but it will be beneficial for guest's experience!
- Get rid of Park Reservations! Buying a park ticket(s) will entitle guests admission like it used to be! I am sure they can know how many people are coming by ticket sales...they have done it that way since 1971, so what changed them knowing!? I think Disney wanted to control capacity but, in the process, turned many guests away. They could limit the number of tickets sold each day.

(genie+ was created to encourage social distancing. But now that things have been relaxed, I think its time to get back to NORMAL (pre COVID)

This is the perfect solution the problem is, it makes too much sense and it puts the guest experience first, therefore Disney would never go for it.

 

[yensid1967]

Genie+ was announced well before Covid and have nothing to do with social distancing.

Not according to the Disney website where I read it! But since GENIE+ was started, Disney mysteriously took that wording away!

 

[Goofyernmost]

Know what will really work?... go back to no fastpass at all. One line for each attraction, first come, first served, constant line movement, when you get to the front, you're next. If the line is longer then you feel you can deal with, go to another one and then go back to the one you decided to skip. Then open up those closed attractions because the old ones were better then none at all. Also reopen all the existing dining locations that are now only used for special occasions and ease up the waits for tables. Stop being so cheap and use the money that is presently being spent on managing the Genie+ and LL to pay CM's more money and hire more people to fill the needed positions.

While they are at it they could cut back on executives and/or take a few million dollars out of the executive bonuses to cover the cost. It is a well recognised opinion that most executive positions are a waste of money anyway as it is the on stage CM's that make Disney Parks successful and filled.

 

[Chi84]

Know what will really work?... go back to no fastpass at all. One line for each attraction, first come, first served, constant line movement, when you get to the front, you're next. If the line is longer then you feel you can deal with, go to another one and then go back to the one you decided to skip.

I really hated those days. FP and then FP+ were such an improvement for us. Others had a different experience, but line-skip systems exist in all major theme parks because people want them.