*Confirmed* G+ Changes to Advanced Lightning Lane

[Smugpugmug]

I'm afraid the second aspect won't be happening, either. Disney is obviously trying to put more and more park-related tasks on people's smartphones.

I still worry about people who want to go to Disney's parks and don't have smartphones, but I suppose at this point those people also can't afford the entry tickets anyway, so maybe my concern is fruitless.

I've seen Amish people multiple times at WDW and I often wonder how they manage without using MDE. If they can do it, anyone can do it I suppose.

 

[irlandaise]

I've seen Amish people multiple times at WDW and I often wonder how they manage without using MDE. If they can do it, anyone can do it I suppose.

Amish?? Or Mennonite?

 

[Smugpugmug]

Amish?? Or Mennonite?

Amish, you can tell from the head covering/bonnet and that the women wear dresses without patterns. A lot of more "modern" Amish communities go to Florida for vacation as well. Oddly enough I've only seen them at Epcot.

 

[starlite_]

I've seen Amish people multiple times at WDW and I often wonder how they manage without using MDE. If they can do it, anyone can do it I suppose.

Well, I've seen some Amish driving a Tacoma, so I bet they can have phones xD.

 

[mamaofsix]

I'm afraid the second aspect won't be happening, either. Disney is obviously trying to put more and more park-related tasks on people's smartphones.

I still worry about people who want to go to Disney's parks and don't have smartphones, but I suppose at this point those people also can't afford the entry tickets anyway, so maybe my concern is fruitless.

I posted this on page 1 of the thread, but Disney certainly seems to be alluding to trying to free people from their phones with the new advanced selection G+ system. Latest DVC magazine issue: "aim to free you from your phones while enjoying your days in the Parks."

 

[Jrb1979]

I posted this on page 1 of the thread, but Disney certainly seems to be alluding to trying to free people from their phones with the new advanced selection G+ system. Latest DVC magazine issue: "aim to free you from your phones while enjoying your days in the Parks."

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If that's the case, my guess is that however many they let you book ahead of time will all you get each day. Example if it's 3 per day than that's all you get that day. It does two things that way, frees you from your phone and also keeps availability for those who buy day of.

 

[Disney Bobby]

I've seen Amish people multiple times at WDW and I often wonder how they manage without using MDE. If they can do it, anyone can do it I suppose.

 

[rmclain73]

I posted this on page 1 of the thread, but Disney certainly seems to be alluding to trying to free people from their phones with the new advanced selection G+ system. Latest DVC magazine issue: "aim to free you from your phones while enjoying your days in the Parks."

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What if Disney just uses the same type of system Standby skipper uses where you can pick three rides in advance, then the day of bots will grab lightning lanes for you.

 

[hildarumpole]

Amish, you can tell from the head covering/bonnet and that the women wear dresses without patterns. A lot of more "modern" Amish communities go to Florida for vacation as well. Oddly enough I've only seen them at Epcot.

I've also only seen Amish at EPCOT, just young women, never men or boys. Maybe they're more interested in the foreign country pavillions than other Disney attractions. Lots of Amish have phones nowadays, especially the younger ones. They like to use them to take pictures at EPCOT, but I haven't observed them glued to their phones like other tourists.

The smartphone reliance push at Disney feels like it's getting out of hand. We did a trip without Genie+/ILL and no mobile ordering, only checking phones for wait times. If you aren't obsessive about getting on certain rides and willing to be flexible, it's a much more relaxing trip than worrying about getting the next ride booked. Anyone who has been to Disney many times and doesn't need to do everything, I highly recommend a go-with-the-flow, limited phone use trip. Best time we had in years.

 

[Disney Bobby]

Yeah, I'm not sure why Disney feels so obligated to cater to the walk ups at the expense of people who have booked reservations. Who wants to get up every early every morning to purchase genie+ and then compete with everyone else to get rides like they are trying to get the news Tickle Me Elmo at Christmas? Just stupid. Plus, for some, including my wife, the planning was part of the fun. She's not a fan of chaos, and she took one look at the new process and said "nope".

But I bet this change is probably more related to dining. When you can't book your rides ahead of time, it's harder to schedule a nice sit down meal. I've seen people here say dining reservations seemed to be easier to get. If we couldn't plan our day, we would lean toward just doing some walk up dining for flexibility. Could be part of the reason for them reconsidering the "get up every morning and e-fight for rides" stupidity.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

I posted this on page 1 of the thread, but Disney certainly seems to be alluding to trying to free people from their phones with the new advanced selection G+ system. Latest DVC magazine issue: "aim to free you from your phones while enjoying your days in the Parks."

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And we are still "locked" into park reservations without making a park reservation so Disney can still staff their parks how they see fit.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

If that's the case, my guess is that however many they let you book ahead of time will all you get each day. Example if it's 3 per day than that's all you get that day. It does two things that way, frees you from your phone and also keeps availability for those who buy day of.

With FP+ we would book our FP+ for our PM park and very rarely ever pulled additional passes. On our last trip with G+ we averaged 6-8 passes a day with MK easily being 10. We would deal with the changes if this came to be but I would miss the rolling G+ way of doing things.

We liked G+ (minus the having to pay for it). It wasn't perfect but it worked well for us. We also never felt stuck to our phones. Just set an alarm for 2 hours if stacking or once you're off a ride book the next one. Unless you are very particular on which ride and time and spend a lot of time refreshing I didn't feel I spent a lot of time on my phone.

We won't be going back until 2025 so this whole thing may change 1-2 times before then.

 

[Jrb1979]

Yeah, I'm not sure why Disney feels so obligated to cater to the walk ups at the expense of people who have booked reservations. Who wants to get up every early every morning to purchase genie+ and then compete with everyone else to get rides like they are trying to get the news Tickle Me Elmo at Christmas? Just stupid. Plus, for some, including my wife, the planning was part of the fun. She's not a fan of chaos, and she took one look at the new process and said "nope".

But I bet this change is probably more related to dining. When you can't book your rides ahead of time, it's harder to schedule a nice sit down meal. I've seen people here say dining reservations seemed to be easier to get. If we couldn't plan our day, we would lean toward just doing some walk up dining for flexibility. Could be part of the reason for them reconsidering the "get up every morning and e-fight for rides" stupidity.

It's not just catering to walk ups. It's more that the majority of Disney guests are off site guests. I think they are trying to have a balance.

As far as planning goes, maybe it's just me but planning out my day at theme park is not what we want. I have a schedule at home, I don't go on vacation for a schedule. All we plan for our vacations are hotel, flight and any dining.

 

[mi*vida*loca]

But I bet this change is probably more related to dining. When you can't book your rides ahead of time, it's harder to schedule a nice sit down meal. I've seen people here say dining reservations seemed to be easier to get. If we couldn't plan our day, we would lean toward just doing some walk up dining for flexibility. Could be part of the reason for them reconsidering the "get up every morning and e-fight for rides" stupidity.

I know we slowed down on our TS meals to offset the cost of G+. If I'm paying for G+ something has got to give and what gave was TS daily. I've heard the same from plenty of others on these boards and IRL.

 

[AnnabelleTheTalkingTree]

It's not just catering to walk ups. It's more that the majority of Disney guests are off site guests. I think they are trying to have a balance.

As far as planning goes, maybe it's just me but planning out my day at theme park is not what we want. I have a schedule at home, I don't go on vacation for a schedule. All we plan for our vacations are hotel, flight and any dining.

I was very against G+ way back when, but it grew on me once I actually used it. I'm a person who enjoys planning and the sense of security it can bring (whether it's false or not). But I do like the flexibility of Genie+, and I also think we get more out of it. We'd get even MORE out of it if we didn't have young kids, because we often have evening LL's stacked up for after dinner but they wind up "wasted" when the kids peter out before we get there.

Beyond paying for it, my biggest issues with G+ is just that it seems over-complicated/over-whelming for first-time users, and I hate having to get up at 7am to book the first one. With little kids, I spend my entire life getting up at 5am. The only place they sleep in is Disney, and I'm always setting an alarm to get that G+

I'd love an OPTION to pre-plan Genie+ but I would hate to see it go fully structured. And the idea that you could only use it for one Tier 1 attraction would be a major buzz kill. Not having tiers with G+ is probably it's biggest asset as far as I'm concerned.

 

[ChipnDale79]

I know we slowed down on our TS meals to offset the cost of G+. If I'm paying for G+ something has got to give and what gave was TS daily. I've heard the same from plenty of others on these boards and IRL.

exactly what we've done.

 

[HokieRaven5]

I know we slowed down on our TS meals to offset the cost of G+. If I'm paying for G+ something has got to give and what gave was TS daily. I've heard the same from plenty of others on these boards and IRL.

I cut back on TS during the re-opening period before G+ came around and haven’t looked back since. There’s plenty of great QS options and ways to find a spot to sit down it’s not worth the hour+ dining experience of a TS.

 

[AnnabelleTheTalkingTree]

I just hope whatever they choose will be simpler, less phone dependent and more affordable. I know the last part isn't happening. And I SO hope they will stick with whatever they choose for awhile. Learning something new like this is exhausting.

More affordable would be great but since that's obviously unrealistic, I'd love a few upgrades to the system without a full overhaul. I do like the flexibility of G+, but I also liked the peace of mind that came with pre-planning. Some kind of happy medium would be ideal. Also I really feel like free G+ should be offered as a perk, somehow some way. Onsite perks are few and far between these days.

 

[tjkraz]

I know we slowed down on our TS meals to offset the cost of G+. If I'm paying for G+ something has got to give and what gave was TS daily. I've heard the same from plenty of others on these boards and IRL.

We cut back on our park days. Going from a length of stay ticket for a week-long trip down to 4 or 5 days can easily save $50-150 per ticket. Use that to buy Genie+ a couple days, maybe a couple ILLs. Combine with early entry and/or late night hours. Frankly it appears to be a more satisfying trip. avoid the worst of the lines while resisting the urge to be in the theme parks every single day.

 

[SL6827]

I won't buy it for AK. Wonder if most people skip it for that park as well?