Is this blog accurate? Are stand by lanes now stand still lanes?

[CeCe0906]

https://blogmickey.com/2021/11/disney-world-allocates-up-to-93-of-ride-capacity-to-lightning-lane/

We were there in August when neither Genie nor Fast Pass was in effect. Stand by at least moved, even if a long line. And you could statazise around those.
I have family members going next year, and they are pretty clueless about smartphone usage. Their eyes glaze over when I tell them they will need to figure out genie. They still think they will just wait in line, but have not been to Disney in 15+ years

 

[AnnaKristoff2013]

That article makes no sense. Their "Phase 3 overwhelming demand" ratios are lower then their "Phase 2 elevated demand" ratios.

 

[jimmymc]

The blog is talking about weird hypothetical situations, not what is actually going on in the park.

Comparing my trips in March and September to what the current wait times are, and accounting for the fact that Disney is busier now than in either of those trips, times are ranging from 0 to 30 minutes longer than before. Slinky Dog Dash is at 85 when on my trip it was usually at 60, Runaway Railway is at 70 when on my trips it was almost always 55. So wait times are a little bit longer than before, but it's also a Friday at a crowded time of year, so it's about what you would expect.

 

[SkyGuy]

https://blogmickey.com/2021/11/disney-world-allocates-up-to-93-of-ride-capacity-to-lightning-lane/

We were there in August when neither Genie nor Fast Pass was in effect. Stand by at least moved, even if a long line. And you could statazise around those.
I have family members going next year, and they are pretty clueless about smartphone usage. Their eyes glaze over when I tell them they will need to figure out genie. They still think they will just wait in line, but have not been to Disney in 15+ years

I did not read the article, but I did notice yesterday at Test Track that the LL kept moving while the standby was stationary. I was in the LL, and I wondered to myself when they would stop it and allow standby to board. But, today at MMRR, the CMs were doing a pretty decent job, IMO, of alternating between LL and standby.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

I think in many ways, wait times have shown to be similar to when FP+ was in effect. Crowds seem to be much higher right now, probably some due to 50th, some F&W. Isn't Jersey Week around this time, too? That's always been a noticeable difference in crowds, too.

 

[jimmymc]

I think in many ways, wait times have shown to be similar to when FP+ was in effect. Crowds seem to be much higher right now, probably some due to 50th, some F&W. Isn't Jersey Week around this time, too? That's always been a noticeable difference in crowds, too.

Yesterday was Veterans Day, so lots of people probably took today off work.

 

[SkyGuy]

Yesterday was Veterans Day, so lots of people probably took today off work.

I’m sure they did and it was very busy, but I was prepared for the worst and was pleasantly surprised with how our day went yesterday. We didn’t wait any longer than 20 minutes for anything at either Epcot or MK. The WS was a zoo, though.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

I’m sure they did and it was very busy, but I was prepared for the worst and was pleasantly surprised with how our day went yesterday. We didn’t wait any longer than 20 minutes for anything at either Epcot or MK. The WS was a zoo, though.

Probably F&W 2021 winding down - gotta get those festival drinks and treats!!

 

[SkyGuy]

Probably F&W 2021 winding down - gotta get those festival drinks and treats!!

As we were waiting in line for security, there was a group behind us taking pictures “now while we look good before we get stupid drunk.”

 

[hcompton]

Hollywood Studios was bonkers yesterday. ROTR and Slinky Dog were both down in the morning creating long lines everywhere else. We were there for early entry and didn’t feel like we were able to accomplish as much. As soon as those rides were back online, we waited 85 min (which was true to the posted time) for SD. We couldn’t deal with the 3.5hr wait for ROTR. However, we typically go end of January when it’s less crowded - so it could just be our perspective from previous trips.

On a side note, the After Hours Christmas Party was great. I believe last night was sold out as well. We got there about 8:00 during the fireworks. Once they were over, SDMT was a 15 min wait, BTMRR was 35, but everything else was pretty much a walk on. The parade and Minnie’s Christmas fireworks were great and the crowds weren’t bad at all.

 

[jimmymc]

I’m sure they did and it was very busy, but I was prepared for the worst and was pleasantly surprised with how our day went yesterday. We didn’t wait any longer than 20 minutes for anything at either Epcot or MK. The WS was a zoo, though.

Festivals arguably make Epcot worse, but that's a rant for a different time.

 

[HopperFan]

https://blogmickey.com/2021/11/disney-world-allocates-up-to-93-of-ride-capacity-to-lightning-lane/

We were there in August when neither Genie nor Fast Pass was in effect. Stand by at least moved, even if a long line. And you could statazise around those.
I have family members going next year, and they are pretty clueless about smartphone usage. Their eyes glaze over when I tell them they will need to figure out genie. They still think they will just wait in line, but have not been to Disney in 15+ years

I like Blog Mickey but felt like this was an unnecessary and perhaps misleading article. I think the title is completely uncalled for because OBVIOUSLY 93% of guests do not enter via the FP+/LL.

First off the merge calculation has been in place since FP+ started. It has always been there and this won't be much different for Genie+ guests, other than perhaps faster because there likely will be less of them.

My DD worked merge at Soarin' often. Even though they move about within the attraction, many of them didn't want to deal with guests at the merge and she didn't mind. You have numbers that you work with based on how long the lines are so it changes constantly. It is absolutely nothing new. Certainly not worth reporting with a click bait title.

While Disney may not cap out how many Genie+ they sell each day, they most certainly limit how many return times they will give out for each ride as we already see. Even when some wait times were dropping considerably at night we couldn't get any LL times available.

 

[raidermatt]

This article aside, yes, stand by lines are longer. This is similar to what happened with FP and FP+ and it is inevitable. Also of note, the stand by lines "feel" much longer because they move slower. There are actually fewer people in them because some are instead in the LL/FP lines. However, standby lines are held for longer periods at the merge point. So standby lines will move, then stop, move, then stop, as opposed to constantly moving. Lines feel much longer when you spend much of your time standing instead of moving.

The standby lines in the major attractions are also subject to "nightmare" scenarios when the attraction breaks down. Since LL holders can come back later, the LL can be flooded with people once the attraction comes back on line. This results in the standby line moving even slower than normal.

 

[gharter]

We were there in October when it rolled out, so it may have changed. We did Genie + in MK, AK and HS. The only time we saw long lines in the LL was when a ride went down and then it was long when it came back up (not surprising). This was worst at RoTR in the afternoon and Remy in the afternoon after they went down. They also were both IAS$ rides, so those people went before anyone in the other line moved.

 

[MATTERHORN]

They sure are!! I miss NO fastpass/Genie and the line actually moved. I'd much rather do away with it all. Standby lines worked fine the entire last year and a half almost. The line was CONSTANTLY moving, it was great.

I waited yesterday at Jungle Cruise, was next up for our party of 2, and they loaded FOUR boats of Lightning Lane before they let us go! IT was insane!

 

[MATTERHORN]

This article aside, yes, stand by lines are longer. This is similar to what happened with FP and FP+ and it is inevitable. Also of note, the stand by lines "feel" much longer because they move slower. There are actually fewer people in them because some are instead in the LL/FP lines. However, standby lines are held for longer periods at the merge point. So standby lines will move, then stop, move, then stop, as opposed to constantly moving. Lines feel much longer when you spend much of your time standing instead of moving.

The standby lines in the major attractions are also subject to "nightmare" scenarios when the attraction breaks down. Since LL holders can come back later, the LL can be flooded with people once the attraction comes back on line. This results in the standby line moving even slower than normal.

This!! I can take almost any length of line as long as I "feel" like I'm moving!

 

[gharter]

That was one of the things we really noticed in April. There was no FP or LL. The lines looked long, but they kept moving and almost never stopped because there was only 1 line.
I suspect as people get used to using LL, the standby lines will move slower and slower like they did with FP+/

 

[MamaMermaid]

Festivals arguably make Epcot worse, but that's a rant for a different time.

Agreed.

And to address the OP - that article is garbage.