MAJOR changes to Genie+!

[erinch]

At MK today. At one point had 4 LLs and SDMT ILL stacked. Next to boarx for SM, which is currently down. Soon will be in trouble with LLs

 

[NavyDad]

we just did five nights at Royal Pacific and it was so much easier flashing our room keys and riding when and what we wanted. We added on Volcano Bay to our AP's while there, that place is so fun.

I still prefer Disney but it's just getting ridiculous

Serious question: If Disney gave every deluxe resort guest unlimited access to walk into any LL at any time what kind of disruption to the LL system do you think that would cause?

 

[NavyDad]

You are so right- FP+ was definitely not perfect. One would think this new system would have looked at past issues with FP+ and perhaps would have improved on it, or at least taken the old operation ( good and bad) into thoughtful consideration when building G+

Like the video points out, it's a capacity issue. All of these changes to the systems and different names are just lipstick on a pig. As soon as they figure out a way to "improve" it, internet sleuths will figure out a way to maximize the system, that information will be shared widely and we are back to the same problem: Not enough capacity to meet demand.

 

[Jrb1979]

Serious question: If Disney gave every deluxe resort guest unlimited access to walk into any LL at any time what kind of disruption to the LL system do you think that would cause?

If they did that then my guess it wouldn't be available to anyone else.

 

[Jrb1979]

Like the video points out, it's a capacity issue. All of these changes to the systems and different names are just lipstick on a pig. As soon as they figure out a way to "improve" it, internet sleuths will figure out a way to maximize the system, that information will be shared widely and we are back to the same problem: Not enough capacity to meet demand.

There is a way to fix it. They have to cap sales.

 

[Smugpugmug]

Serious question: If Disney gave every deluxe resort guest unlimited access to walk into any LL at any time what kind of disruption to the LL system do you think that would cause?

I don't think Disney would ever give a free skip the line service (Genie+ or otherwise) to deluxe resort guests for 2 reasons.

1. Too many deluxe resorts. Universal only has 3 hotels that get free unlimited Express. WDW has 8 and some of these resorts like Old Key West, AKL and Saratoga are MASSIVE properties.
2. The unlimited Express perk is an incentive to get people to stay at those 3 resorts. I've seen many people on here and on other sites say that they only stay at those hotels just to get the Express pass. Disney doesn't need to get anyone to stay at a deluxe. Those resorts sell out regardless if it's there or not.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Serious question: If Disney gave every deluxe resort guest unlimited access to walk into any LL at any time what kind of disruption to the LL system do you think that would cause?

Under the current program OR if they adjusted it to be more like how USO does it? Where you know in advance that they can and do sell out?

You can't just have a free for all system like they have right now and give it to a large swath of people as part of their hotel perk. However, they have a lot of Deluxe resorts so IMO they would have to cap how many "rooms" basically it would be good for. Like it could be something akin to discounts they offer where not all rooms work and they only have so many rooms the allow the discount on (like a set number of rooms and then the discount becomes unavailable to use with a discount but can be available to use for rack rate). I don't think it would be fair to apply dates it would be eligible for though.

 

[DavidNYC]

What it comes down to is Disney has dug itself into a hold by an insatiable quest for more money. What is different this time is typically they have tied the increased costs to giving guests more flexibility and options to make their day easier. This time - they took a system that basically worked well and added a cost while taking away flexibility and convenience and introducing greatly increased stress at various and multiple points in what should be a vacation. There were many things they could have done. They could have kept FP and just charged for it. They could have kept FP and still limited people to one ride per day. They could have adjusted the time periods for booking. But what they did instead was:

• Add cost per person per day
• Require you to make a purchase between midnight and 7am each day of your vacation
• Require you to be on your phone every day of your vacation at 7am if you want first crack at reservations
• Remove your ability to choose times for your rides taking away your ability to plan mid-day breaks, late arrivals etc.
• Remove the app capability of holding times they display to you resulting in you almost always getting a different time than they actually present to you

There were many ways they could have gone about this. They know perfectly well they've really made vacations far more stressful and inconvenient for many compared to the options they had before. They just don't really seem to care anymore as long as it brings in money. That the big difference - it used to be they could legitimately point to benefits tied to increased costs. Not this time.

 

[AnnaKristoff2013]

Serious question: If Disney gave every deluxe resort guest unlimited access to walk into any LL at any time what kind of disruption to the LL system do you think that would cause?

Thr lightning lane lines would be nearly as long as the regular lines at popular attractions.

 

[Jrb1979]

Thr lightning lane lines would be nearly as long as the regular lines at popular attractions.

Now you know why it's limited and priced the way it is. I know Disney created this mess with guests being used to short waits with using FP.

 

[NavyDad]

Under the current program OR if they adjusted it to be more like how USO does it? Where you know in advance that they can and do sell out?

You can't just have a free for all system like they have right now and give it to a large swath of people as part of their hotel perk. However, they have a lot of Deluxe resorts so IMO they would have to cap how many "rooms" basically it would be good for. Like it could be something akin to discounts they offer where not all rooms work and they only have so many rooms the allow the discount on (like a set number of rooms and then the discount becomes unavailable to use with a discount but can be available to use for rack rate). I don't think it would be fair to apply dates it would be eligible for though.

That's the thing: people keep pointing out how great these other systems are at Universal, DLP or DL are in comparison to whatever the current WDW system is at the time. Well, in order to get those systems to work at WDW you have to change them so significantly that they are not the same system or you have to charge a lot more money for access to it.

It's all lip-stick on a pig. There is a massive demand of people who want to go to WDW and experience all of the attractions with minimal wait time and not nearly the capacity at WDW to keep up with that demand. All of those capacity management systems have good and bad things about them but at the end of they day they are just lipstick on a pig.

 

[NavyDad]

What it comes down to is Disney has dug itself into a hold by an insatiable quest for more money. What is different this time is typically they have tied the increased costs to giving guests more flexibility and options to make their day easier. This time - they took a system that basically worked well and added a cost while taking away flexibility and convenience and introducing greatly increased stress at various and multiple points in what should be a vacation. There were many things they could have done. They could have kept FP and just charged for it. They could have kept FP and still limited people to one ride per day. They could have adjusted the time periods for booking. But what they did instead was:

• Add cost per person per day
• Require you to make a purchase between midnight and 7am each day of your vacation
• Require you to be on your phone every day of your vacation at 7am if you want first crack at reservations
• Remove your ability to choose times for your rides taking away your ability to plan mid-day breaks, late arrivals etc.
• Remove the app capability of holding times they display to you resulting in you almost always getting a different time than they actually present to you

There were many ways they could have gone about this. They know perfectly well they've really made vacations far more stressful and inconvenient for many compared to the options they had before. They just don't really seem to care anymore as long as it brings in money. That the big difference - it used to be they could legitimately point to benefits tied to increased costs. Not this time.

I think you need to watch the video.

 

[NavyDad]

Thr lightning lane lines would be nearly as long as the regular lines at popular attractions.

Bingo

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Well, in order to get those systems to work at WDW you have to change them so significantly that they are not the same system or you have to charge a lot more money for access to it.

You're missing the point though. Those of us who have mentioned the other programs...don't care if the current program has to basically not exist or that they have to charge a huge amount. It's normally other people who try and say "but in order for that to happen, this has to be..." and the answer "ok, that's fine"

We're not trying to make Disney conform to our mold, we're saying their mold is not one they should even be using

 

[Jrb1979]

That's the thing: people keep pointing out how great these other systems are at Universal, DLP or DL are in comparison to whatever the current WDW system is at the time. Well, in order to get those systems to work at WDW you have to change them so significantly that they are not the same system or you have to charge a lot more money for access to it.

It's all lip-stick on a pig. There is a massive demand of people who want to go to WDW and experience all of the attractions with minimal wait time and not nearly the capacity at WDW to keep up with that demand. All of those capacity management systems have good and bad things about them but at the end of they day they are just lipstick on a pig.

There is no park in the world that will ever have enough capacity. Cedar Point has 71 attractions and they still have over 2 hour waits on their biggest attractions. No system is perfect but I would say that I would take what the other parks are doing over Genie+ any day.

 

[lugnut33]

Serious question: If Disney gave every deluxe resort guest unlimited access to walk into any LL at any time what kind of disruption to the LL system do you think that would cause?

If they did that they could raise the rates 300% at the Deluxe resorts and would be sold out instantly. Great, you just gave Chapek an idea!!

 

[NavyDad]

There is no park in the world that will ever have enough capacity. Cedar Point has 71 attractions and they still have over 2 hour waits on their biggest attractions. No system is perfect but I would say that I would take what the other parks are doing over Genie+ any day.

Sure - you have made your point clear that your personal preference is for a very limited pay to skip the line product. I'm not sure that would be the preference of the majority of WDW guests.

Disney has been implementing various versions of virtual queues which is a different animal in form and function. This latest iteration they have attempted to kind of mix the two with Genie Plus being more of a virtual queue and the $ILL being more of skip the line (within a certain time constraint) product.

As far a capacity problems, WDW seems to be taking tentative steps to limit attendance with park reservations and dynamic ticket pricing. We'll see how that goes...

 

[vcb]

I found this out before they announced it from a cast member when I called last week. I called on the 7th and she told me it was the last day to purchase in advance and they had no other info. She said it was ridiculous and she alluded that all the changes were so confusing and they are dealing with so many angry people. I felt bad for her.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

very limited pay to skip the line product

What do you mean by very limited?

 

[Jrb1979]

Sure - you have made your point clear that your personal preference is for a very limited pay to skip the line product. I'm not sure that would be the preference of the majority of WDW guests.

Disney has been implementing various versions of virtual queues which is a different animal in form and function. This latest iteration they have attempted to kind of mix the two with Genie Plus being more of a virtual queue and the $ILL being more of skip the line (within a certain time constraint) product.

As far a capacity problems, WDW seems to be taking tentative steps to limit attendance with park reservations and dynamic ticket pricing. We'll see how that goes...

This quote is from a poster over at wdwmagic. They know a quite a bit of behind the scenes stuff. This the reason Genie+ is not working that great.

"The issue is excess demand though. If 10% of guests were purchasing it as opposed to the current 33%, the Genie+ experience would be even better than the OG MaxPass experience. You'd be able to reserve attractions all day long."