Plan Ahead with Lightning Lane Entry at Walt Disney World Starting July 24

[DLRExpert]

I remember when people complained about G+ when it was released and wanted Fastpass+ back.
I said, let it play out. The simillar version at Disneyland Resort works well and was much fairer for the guests.

Now we have a better version of FP+ (being able to book another MPLL as soon as you use one is great) and now people complain. As with G+, I would recommend giving Disney some time to adjust.
In the meantime, use Thrill-Data and the refresh trick. Also be aware that large groups (usually past 5) will have issues with the refresh trick and any additional LLs that Disney releases. However, there is a way around that as well, just like it was with G+.

How I think LL should work
- Remove SPLL and just increase the price of LL by $10-$20. Make it easier to understand and book.
- Disney Resort guests can book first LL one day before your park visit. No Tiers
- Non-Disney Resort guests can book first LL at park opening. No Tiers
- Remove VQ, but if not possible, Disney Resort guests automatically get one VQ per day that they can use at anytime. No need to book in advance.
- Non-Disney Resort guests can book VQ at park opening and at 1pm.
- Offer a LL pass that allows you to book the same LL attraction more than once. Maybe charge $50 more for that feature.

 

[Bound4DisneyWorld]

By the way I was able to make all of my LLMP selections this morning across a four night trip with three different resorts. I didn’t have to wait until tomorrow to book my second resort day of LLMPs.

Thank you for the update.

With dining and recreation, you are limited by resort stay. So hopefully your experience is the rule and not a loophole.

 

[Pens Fan]

Not really or in your example the 7 day on-site guests would holding all the inventory and most guest feedback indicated that they did not like 7 AM starts everyday while on vacation.

Dave

?????
In my example there would be no 7 AM starts on vacation as you could book one ride per day 7 days in advance for length of stay. And noone would be holding "all inventory" as you could only book one ride vs three under the new system.

Edited to add - maybe I wasn't clear that the one pre-booked attraction would replace the one you booked at 7 AM under Genie+. You would not be able to book a second at 7AM. The second would be booked when the first was used or following the 120 minute rule - exactly as Genie+ worked. At the end of the day it's a moot point as that ship appears to have sailed.

 

[DLRExpert]

Do I wait for the 3 to enter the RNRC line, cancel mine, and then book something else for the 4 of us?

When does the ability to cancel end? If my return window is open, can I still cancel or modify?

Yes and you can cancel at anytime.

 

[Kyhome]

Anyone that has been there in the last few days, how long are the LL lines? Are they relatively short (5-10 mins) or longer? Just wondering if there are fewer LL passes offered, are the LL lines shorter? Thank you!

 

[DLRExpert]

Anyone that has been there in the last few days, how long are the LL lines? Are they relatively short (5-10 mins) or longer? Just wondering if there are fewer LL passes offered, are the LL lines shorter? Thank you!

Average LL wait time is 20 minutes or less once scanned.
If the line to scan is long that usually lasts 5 minutes or less.

 

[DisneyFive]

We love to do early entry since my kids and I are all super early risers anyways. One thing I liked about Genie+ is it took away the need for early entry for those who wanted to sleep in. Now I’m not really seeing the benefit of LLMP unless you get there early and have 3 early times you can try and tap in to get new times before 10/11 am. I can see it pushing people to go for early entry again.

??? The main problem with G+ was that it forced you to wake up at 7am and NOT be able to sleep in. FP+ and this new system helps drastically in that regard. Having said that, those that get to the parks early will ALWAYS get more out of their day, regardless of system... paper FP, FP+, G+ or now LLMP.

Oh man, I feel ranty. We got so much out of genie+ we thought it was a *value*. This new system seems horrendous unless you’re okay with just doing these 3 rides you pre-pick and standby the rest with maybe a random LL available in the evening here or there. So far it does not seem to allow for that land by land immediate use.

People are posting how *easy* it was to book their three and how it was great but that’s only a small piece of the puzzle - to keep up with genie+ for many it’s about getting an 7th… 8th… 12th!!

The thing that was nice about Genie+ is everything was released in chronological order. It allowed for 99% of the “tier 2’s” to be open for immediate use. And you were able to gauge the higher ticket ride sell out times by how late they were getting in the app. You could plan accordingly for the day on the day when it made sense.

Thrill data released a chart for thunder mountain the other day that showed the day before with genie+ - a nice steady even line - vs this new system, with it selling out early in the day.

As of (before 9am) this morning pirates return was 7pm!!!

As a big genie+ user this is insane to me!!! I have never seen things like 7DMT sell out until later in the day - and now it can days in advance!!

Personally, I would much rather be up at 7 and have everything released in order than be on my phone constantly checking for refreshes and jumping to all ends of the park based on what I can get on now! Sure, you were on your phone with genie+ but it really was just to book your next ride, not hoping for something to come up for something like pirates. It was quick and simple! With Genie+ (minus the “tier 1’s) you could go land by land! And get on everything! The tier 1’s did sell out earlier, but there was at least still the option to get them day of, and we always *easily* got another tier 1 as a second or even third pick. This is so all over the place, and I don’t think it’s just because it’s new, I think it’s the way the system is designed.

Personally I feel deflated. Our first trip with genie+ we had this feeling of getting that disney magic back. I think it was getting on so many rides so smoothly. It was such a fun day! The year after - the same thing!! It was a joy!! We couldn’t believe how well genie+ worked!

I’m looking forward to our trip less and less. I wish I waited to buy non refundable things. Or waited to tell the kids we are going. Travel insurance won’t cover I hate the new lightening lane and don’t want to do this lol. MK was always the first park but now I’m thinking it should be later to get that 7 “+” window. Otherwise youre up against way more people and the availability will stink! Unfortunately we already booked a split stay and will be at the MK hotel first.

This is going to be hard for those genie+ users like myself who knew how to work the system and haven’t waited in a standby line for years now

I mean why couldn’t we all just have sucked it up a little and gotten up at 7, booked a ride, and gone back to sleep for a bit?!

So many points I agree with.

• Genie+ was designed to get 2-3 Lightning Lane reservations per day (that’s what the copy on the Genie+ site said). Now, with this new system, they have that limit pretty much locked in. If you knew how to work the Genie+ system, you could get far more than that.
• Even as an onsite Guest, I HATE the classism that this system creates. PITA getting up at 7am? Maybe. But everyone was on a level playing field. Now, onsite Guests get some advantage but even with that, Guests with shorter stays and split stays will have less availability from which to choose. Disneyland is playing to locals, but even as a tourist, I LOVE their Genie+/Lightning Lane. You can’t book anything until you scan in at a park. Even if you don’t want to go in at rope drop, the availability lasts well into the afternoon for most rides.
• There’s a reason they’re not charging for a multiple park option anymore with this system. There’s no availability for the in-demand rides by the time you park hop. Choosing to not sell a multiple park option, to me, is evidence that the disadvantages of this system are by design and are not so much growing pains or an unintended flaw.
• I’m looking today and every last Single Pass experience is sold out for the day??? That’s crazy to me. I mean Disney is getting theirs, but nuts to people popping in for the day, right? Nuts to flexibility and spontaneity, right? For example: if the plan was Animal Kingdom in the morning, then we decide to park hop to Epcot after 1:00 (without having planned to do so), there’s no way to ride Guardians. The VQ will have already been booked up and all of the Single Passes will have been gone since even before park opening.
• It also sucks that I did enough Genie+ research to earn some sort of certification. Now, all of the information is irrelevant.

This really just feels like more Disney shrinkflation to me. They don’t charge more (yet), but they reduce the product.

Disney will adjust. They need to. When guests are paying for this service they expect more. I just feel bad for those in this initial launch phase who are dealing with the "learning curve" and Disney's adjustments. This is just my crystal ball, but I fully expect most diehard G+ fans to be MPLL fans in the future. I can't wait to maximize this new system.

 

[Dave006]

How I think LL should work
- Remove SPLL and just increase the price of LL by $10-$20. Make it easier to understand and book.
- Disney Resort guests can book first LL one hour before park opening. No Tiers
- Non-Disney Resort guests can book first LL at park opening. No Tiers

No that puts everyone on-site back to having a 7 AM wake up call every day they want to go to a park!

- Remove VQ, but if not possible, Disney Resort guests automatically get one VQ per day that they can use at anytime. No need to book in advance.
- Non-Disney Resort guests can book VQ at park opening and at 1pm.

VQ was designed for "New" attractions and allow everyone an equal opportunity to wait in a Virtual Queue there is no way to support the anytime use. You are just not waiting in a physical slow moving standby queue. Yes Disney has abused the VQ a few times and likely will continue to abuse the purpose of VQs.

Dave

 

[FLCA026]

Not clear what your current question is here? So I will guess.

If you have a park hopper once you use your first LLMP entitlement then you are able to chose your next at the park you are currently in or at any park and you don't have to worry about Tier 1 / Tier 2 again subject to availability.

Dave

ok thanks. that is what I meant. I have read up on it and I think I have a better understanding of this now. thank you for all of your help.

 

[DLRExpert]

No that puts everyone on-site back to having a 7 AM wake up call every day they want to go to a park!

VQ was designed for "New" attractions and allow everyone an equal opportunity to wait in a Virtual Queue there is no way to support the anytime use. You are just not waiting in a physical slow moving standby queue. Yes Disney has abused the VQ a few times and likely will continue to abuse the purpose of VQs.

Dave

Ok change LL booking for Disney Resort guests one day before your visiting date. What time would be okay to book for that? Currently, either way at some point you are getting up at 7am or just waiting to book when you are ready to do so.

I wold rather have no VQ. Standby and LL option only
Except for Tron they are already pretty lenient when you can actually use and scan into your VQ attraction.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

There have been a couple of reports that you can't just wait for your first experience to expire and then replace it with anything. It becomes a Ghost (you can't modify or replace it).

Really... interesting. So If your first window expires and you haven't tapped in, you can't even make another tier 2?! You're just stuck with two reservations for the day until you get to the park?

Which is good. It's selfish to let a LL expire, keeping it away from someone who would actually use it. I appreciate Disney creating a consequence for that. Closing a loophole before people can even exploit it.

 

[DisneyFive]

Sorry if this has been answered. If you have already prebooked your 3 LLMP's for a future day, and paid... can you go back later (prior to your stay) and try to modify those 3 again before you get to WDW?

 

[mi*vida*loca]

The whole idea of booking throwaway LL in your AM park so you can book sooner in your second park seems like a lot of work for nothing. Just book your 3 LL in your PM park. You won’t be getting 3 tier 1 LL in that second park without tons of refreshing. Which was the same with FP+.

 

[Tatebeck]

By the way I was able to make all of my LLMP selections this morning across a four night trip with three different resorts. I didn’t have to wait until tomorrow to book my second resort day of LLMPs.

Do you have an annual pass or dated tickets? I'm trying to figure out booking for split (DVC) stays + Annual Pass. Has anyone seen reports for this combo yet?

 

[gottalovepluto]

Why are the LLSP selling out so quickly when just a few days ago they would be available almost all day? On Tuesday my daughter bought a guardians pass in the afternoon for that evening.

Is Disney releasing for fewer? This one has me confused.

Yesterday someone reported them all sold out for the day early in the morning but then I saw a few when I checked mid-morning, they were gone when I looked like 15 mins later which leaves me thinking LLSP is getting drops too? (I think Disney is figuring out capacity on those too. Remember, while DAS needed VQs once they arrived their VQ was converted to LL so those rides should have similar capacity questions as LLMP rides.)

 

[gottalovepluto]

Yea that's why Disney stopped the Genie+ Ride "Stacking" that they did not properly anticipate or ever announce to the general guest population and went to a max of 3 attractions with a rolling replacement.

Dave

Winner winner!! Power users of G+ are the biggest losers with MPLL- and I don't believe Disney ever intended them to be able to get as many LLs as they did. When G+ first came out you couldn't modify them which resulted in mad guests (I was one lol) so they had to allow modifications- which opened up the huge world of stacking. This definitely stops that...

 

[DavidNYC]

Yea that's why Disney stopped the Genie+ Ride "Stacking" that they did not properly anticipate or ever announce to the general guest population and went to a max of 3 attractions with a rolling replacement.

Dave

Completely disagree with this. Stacking was a perfectly allowed and anticipated and talked about feature. There was nothing they needed to announce. Since you got to make a ride reservation every 2 hours it was just as obvious option as making them all asap. And later evening rides tended to have lower wait times anyway so stacking had nearly no negative effect on anything related to rides. Frankly - the stacking allowed them to spread out LL return time usage throughout the day more early. The number of people who held more than 3 LL at a time is a miniscule number compared to overall guests. Most of them just tend to be the people who post on boards - but a very small portion of users overall.

Whether we stacked or not - we pretty much were able to get each ride during the day. The one use per ride limitation was the real sticking point. Stacking was not necessary and frankly sometimes resulting in getting an overall lower number of rides since stacking requires you to wait the full two hours. To get that 4th LL stacked in the evening, you're still talking six hours of wait time.

 

[accm]

Sorry if this has been answered. If you have already prebooked your 3 LLMP's for a future day, and paid... can you go back later (prior to your stay) and try to modify those 3 again before you get to WDW?

Yes

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

It seems like this is a weird choice to encourage more onsite stays.

I've said it many times before the two biggest reasons we stayed on site in 2017 was because of the lead time for FP+ and EMH. Although free parking was also nice as well because we always have a rental car.

You're coming at it from someone who is going to choose to stay on site regardless so it may not make as much sense to you why lead time would make a difference but it does have to do with what people value.

We can spend less off site than on site as well as earn something for our stays so we need something to really make us stay on site again. I'm still not fully sold on on site again because they chose to only give evening EMH to Deluxe.

When they started removing perks to on site and their hotel rates started getting more egregious compared to other options it did lead to guests opting to not stay on site. Now the guests who did stay on site started booking Deluxe in order to get the evening EMH

 

[Jellybean9]

Winner winner!! Power users of G+ are the biggest losers with MPLL- and I don't believe Disney ever intended them to be able to get as many LLs as they did. When G+ first came out you couldn't modify them which resulted in mad guests (I was one lol) so they had to allow modifications- which opened up the huge world of stacking. This definitely stops that...

Everyone was stacking way before they allowed modifications. I never even experienced G+ after the modify feature was introduced a few months ago.