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

[gottalovepluto]

Tiana’s has been down all morning. We’re supposed to ride at 10:50. Hopefully it opens again.

Tiana’s will make ROTR look reliable was not on my Disney bingo card for the year.

 

[Haley R]

Tiana’s will make ROTR look reliable was not on my Disney bingo card for the year.

It was the whole reason we bought the multipass

 

[vinotinto]

Just returned last night from a quick 3-night trip. I have not read through the entire thread, but I will go ahead and share our experiences. Overall, we think the positives are great and we liked it.


What Disney got right with the new system:
1. True "fast pass" The wait for most rides with LLIP or LLMP was short - definitely shorter than with FP+. I *hope* this does not change as they evaluate how many to release, but except for rides that have a funky line that collapses everyone together early (thinking specifically about MMRR in DHS), the waits using the new system were great.

2. Not having to get up at 7am every day of vacation - This was a HUGE win. Yeah, if you also want to rope drop, you will be up anyway at 7am, but it was so nice to sleep in a little on 2 out of our 3 mornings and still walk in with 4-5 rides. This was definitely better for us than G+.

3. It's simple. We didn't think G+ was complicated, but for some reason the whole "2 hours after park opening" confused people, along with the "last booked ride." This one is simple, you use one, you book another one. Easy.

4. Overlapping is allowed. - This was great. I had overlaps everyday, between LLMP, LLIP, and dining. System allowed it and it made it so much easier to not have to keep things neatly to 1 hour.


What will get criticized:
1. Will need to tap fairly early in the morning to get more Tier 1 rides - I tapped into the first LLMP at MK in the morning on Jul 26 (Friday) at around 10:20 -> I got my 4th LLMP ride for another Tier 1. I tapped into my second LLMP around 11:40 am and was looking for BTMRR - they were gone by this point. Tiana was gone before that day. So, there will be people who will complain there isn't enough availability and they are not incorrect. But, it's the fewer availability that makes the lightning lanes work well. If everyone has a lightning, then no one really has a lightning lane.

2. No afternoon / evening stacking before you get to the parks - This is related to the one above. If you were used to G+ which allowed you to book additional rides while not being at the park, this new system is not going to be as great. It is designed to reward those who will spend the full day at the park, which, of course, means shopping, easting, and spending money. You will need to use your LLMP to get additional ones. AK was a bit of a late start and by the time we were ready to book more, we were looking at 5:30 onwards return times, but we wanted to be out by 4:30.

3. No re-rides on the same day - Yeah, sad that we could not go on Everest and TSMM over and over again. But, it does keep the waiting down with a pass.


All in all, we got fewer good rides, but also waited less and had time for other things, so in my book, this was a win.

 

[gottalovepluto]

It was the whole reason we bought the multipass

Alas Disney knew exactly what they were doing when they made it MPLL instead of SPLL so they don’t have to issue refunds. I really hope you get to ride today!

 

[StarCruzer]

I know not everyone will agree (which is fine, people can have different opinions) but I do think overall, this system is a little more fair.

It seems like the guest priority level is:
- on site
- off site
- APs

And I know that APs may hate this, but realistically in most cases (not all, of course) someone with an AP has the ability to visit the park more frequently. Previous versions of the system rewarded those with insider knowledge, who visited frequently. The new system gives folks who are having their "once in a lifetime" experience more of a fighting chance.

I say this as a childless Millennial who visits every 2-4 years: frequent visitors like me can afford to "miss out" on a particular ride because we know we'll be back. It's more inconvenient than devastating.

Other folks will certainly feel differently, and that's fine. Not trying to minimize anyone's frustration or personal experience with the new system.

Mostly interested to see how the new system gets tweaked with same-day drops over the next few months.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I know not everyone will agree (which is fine, people can have different opinions) but I do think overall, this system is a little more fair.

It seems like the guest priority level is:
- on site
- off site
- APs

This wasn't any different than it was in FP+ era.

On-site had 60 days in advance, off-site and off-site APs had 30 days in advance.

They are just replicating a previous system but with much lower amount of days you can pre-book. A lot of people complained about 60 days in advance with trying to figure out what ride you'd want and back then ADRs started at 180 days in advance.

 

[Haley R]

Alas Disney knew exactly what they were doing when they made it MPLL instead of SPLL so they don’t have to issue refunds. I really hope you get to ride today!

Ds takes a midday nap so I’m hoping we can get on it before we leave the park

 

[StarCruzer]

This wasn't any different than it was in FP+ era.

On-site had 60 days in advance, off-site and off-site APs had 30 days in advance.

It seems different to me. Off site guests with regular tickets definitely have an advantage over offsite APs.

Unless I am misunderstanding, and offsite APs under the old system also were limited to booking one day at a time? Never been an AP so I have no clue.

I was mostly referring to the big differences between this new system and G+.

 

[Liquidice]

I know not everyone will agree (which is fine, people can have different opinions) but I do think overall, this system is a little more fair.

It seems like the guest priority level is:
- on site
- off site
- APs

And I know that APs may hate this, but realistically in most cases (not all, of course) someone with an AP has the ability to visit the park more frequently. Previous versions of the system rewarded those with insider knowledge, who visited frequently. The new system gives folks who are having their "once in a lifetime" experience more of a fighting chance.

I say this as a childless Millennial who visits every 2-4 years: frequent visitors like me can afford to "miss out" on a particular ride because we know we'll be back. It's more inconvenient than devastating.

Other folks will certainly feel differently, and that's fine. Not trying to minimize anyone's frustration or personal experience with the new system.

Mostly interested to see how the new system gets tweaked with same-day drops over the next few months.

Not all APs visit frequently though. As an out of state AP, I'm now at a disadvantage to everyone else. The obvious answer is to stay onsite, which is of course what Disney wants - but I'm not sure I'd call that fair.

Where I could see it being a problem is if you are an AP and bringing along friends though. Now lining up Lightning Lanes so you can ride together requires that you wait until the APs can book Lightning Lanes which means a rolling 3-days in advance and requires you waking up at 7am - except it isn't just your park days anymore, its now also 3-day, 2-days and 1-day before your trip.

I wish for APs, they'd allow consecutive days booked to be booked in advance the same way guests with dated tickets can. So if I had 5 consecutive park passes booked, I could buy LLMP for 5-days in a row. This isn't a pattern most local-APs follow as they are more likely to drop in for just a day or two, while someone coming for vacation is more likely to book multiple days in a row.

Availability wise, it would have made more sense to have a hybrid approach. Let people book 1 ride ahead of time for their entire trip, this avoids the 7am wakeup other than 1 day. But it also allows for better availability throughout the course of the day.

If they wanted to allow for people to come later in the day, then still allow for the 2-hour stacking day-of.

 

[blue oranda]

Thank you for your report. It's nice to hear some success stories.

May I ask when you arrived at HS to rope drop RotR? My son wants to go on it again, but I really don't want to pay $22/person to not wait in a huge line.

Instead of rope drop we did RotR and SDMT last ride before closing and it was walk on. RotR was like 25 minutes from entering the queue to finish and mine train was a little longer at about 30ish from entering the queue.

 

[Dave006]

I just tested this theory for August 1st - 3rd and this does not appear to work correctly, unless I am doing something wrong?

I am an AP with a Sorcerer Pass, I do not have a hotel stay, and I have Park Pass reservations for August 1st, 2nd and 3rd (see screenshot).

Thanks for your first hand report on how APs are working currently.

Well it is working as Disney IT programmed it based on the fine print from their LL Info Page. Not very AP friendly since they chose the 3 day without allowing for your Park reservations that they require. So you are waking up before 7 every day to book your limited 3 day window in advance each day.

*Annual Passholders and Guests with tickets that are not date-based may purchase Lightning Lane passes for any day within the 3-day purchase window. When staying at a Disney Resort hotel or other select hotel, Lightning Lane passes may be purchased 7 days in advance of your stay.​

However, when I try to buy LLMP on August 2nd and August 3rd, I get an error saying I need to wait until July 30th and 31st respectively to purchase.

From a programming point it makes sense but is not any benefit with the 3 day advance purchase window.They are allowing date based tickets and checking the lenght of ticket with the 14 day rule.

If there is something I am doing wrong - please help! However, it seems like for me to purchase LLMP for these 3 days - I need to wake up early at 7am every day to purchase it at the earliest time possible.

No you are not doing anything wrong as a couple of posters have already replied to your post this morning. Just the rules that Disney IT programmed are not very friendly for APs and other non-dated tickets. They don't allow you to actually make pre arrival LLMP / LLSP based on the length of your ability to have up to 5 days of park reservations based on your AP ticket type.



Dave

 

[Liquidice]

Correct.

You aren’t doing anything wrong. The website says 3 days, not length of AP reservation entitlements. To maximize your chances of good LLs that will mean booking at 7am each day for the length of your trip.

Your experience is how Disney said it would work for off-site APs, 3 days out from park visit.

This was the way I thought it should work (and verified it) - but based on some responses I got earlier in the thread, it gave me hope that maybe I was wrong and I could book everything all together.

The most annoying part is having to wake up and scramble to pick rides each day instead of being able to do it all in 1 go.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

It seems different to me. Off site guests with regular tickets definitely have an advantage over offsite APs.

Unless I am misunderstanding, and offsite APs under the old system also were limited to booking one day at a time? Never been an AP so I have no clue.

I was mostly referring to the big differences between this new system and G+.

Under FP+ an off-site AP could only book up to 7 days of FP selections at one time meaning they could not hold more than 7 days of FP selections period if they were off-site, once they used a day then they could add another day, they were still restricted.

You were talking about priority. Whatever rules are in places are just variations of that but Disney has in the past put off-site APs under a lesser importance. I do understand you're comparing Genie+, I'm just saying it's not new how APs are being treated.

 

[emmabelle]

2. No afternoon / evening stacking before you get to the parks - This is related to the one above. If you were used to G+ which allowed you to book additional rides while not being at the park, this new system is not going to be as great. It is designed to reward those who will spend the full day at the park, which, of course, means shopping, easting, and spending money. You will need to use your LLMP to get additional ones. AK was a bit of a late start and by the time we were ready to book more, we were looking at 5:30 onwards return times, but we wanted to be out by 4:30.

I loved spending the morning and afternoon at the resort and stacking for the night at the Studios. I probably won't buy it now because it's kind of pricey to most likely not get Slinky and MMRR. I can't choose between my two favorites. It's like picking my favorite child.

 

[Dave006]

Correct.

You aren’t doing anything wrong. The website says 3 days, not length of AP reservation entitlements. To maximize your chances of good LLs that will mean booking at 7am each day for the length of your trip.

Your experience is how Disney said it would work for off-site APs, 3 days out from park visit.

Not exactly clear to AP guests and Other non-date based ticket holders as this is how they buried the actual limit within the Paragraph with only an Asterisk * reference to the real limits. It is really going to cause guest confusion... and a lot of angry feedback. Since they pushed the positive benefit of no 7 AM every day and a 3 Days in advance for All Other Guests.

Their comments on this aspect from their only LLMP / LLSP Plan Ahead and Save Time page https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/lightning-lane-passes/

3 Days in Advance for All Other Guests
Not staying at a Disney Resort hotel or other select hotel? Then you can purchase Lightning Lane passes—and choose experiences and arrival windows—3 days in advance. See additional details below, which vary based on admission type:

See additional details below, which vary based on admission type:

• Guests with date-based theme park tickets (which require the Guest to choose a start date at the time of purchase) can purchase 3 days before the first day of their ticket, for the total number of valid admission days on their ticket.
• Guests with other ticket types* can purchase 3 days before their park visit.
• Annual Passholders* can purchase 3 days before their park visit.

Valid Admission Required
Before you purchase a Lightning Lane pass, you must have valid theme park admission; you may also need a theme park reservation, depending on the type of admission and the date of your visit.

Please see theme park reservation requirements.

Important Information
Limit one Lightning Lane entry per attraction, per day. View important details about Lightning Lane passes.

*Annual Passholders and Guests with tickets that are not date-based may purchase Lightning Lane passes for any day within the 3-day purchase window. When staying at a Disney Resort hotel or other select hotel, Lightning Lane passes may be purchased 7 days in advance of your stay.

ETA: still learning to type...

Dave

 

[Haley R]

We rode Pooh with our pass right at 9 am and booked Thunder for 10:40 am. Pleasantly surprised by that return time

 

[Dave006]

Under FP+ an off-site AP could only book up to 7 days of FP selections at one time meaning they could not hold more than 7 days of FP selections period if they were off-site, once they used a day then they could add another day, they were still restricted.

That is the issue. With the new LLMP / LLSP offering APs can only book 1 day (3 days in advance). APs are back to every morning before 7. Not even a small benefit to dedicated customers that book APs.

Dave

 

[Bibbobboo2u]

I was able to get everything I was hoping for including Tianas, Remys, & Slingy for my Tier 1 attractions, and all the single pass attractions I wanted were also available.

I am glad you were able to get the rides you wanted! Do you mind sharing the park order you used and if you were able to get any early morning returns times for rides chosen in the last park you booked? I am wondering how much difference 5-10 minutes will make in the 7am selection process. Thank you!

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

That is the issue. With the new LLMP / LLSP offering APs can only book 1 day (3 days in advance). APs are back to every morning before 7. Not even a small benefit to dedicated customers that book APs.

Dave

Yeah and not really surprising. Disney has been really trying to control APs for years and many at WDW more so (because DL has more local clientele) have felt unappreciated for a long time.

Like I mentioned many pages ago Disney is still tightly controlling the APs with the park reservations unless they fall under the exceptions.

The poster you were talking with is staying off-site and is subject to the 3 day rule and seemingly rolling LL selection, under FP+ it was 30 days with up to 7 days total FP selections. IIRC (and I'm trying to remember fully on this next part) the 7 day rule back under FP+ also interfered with on-site stays as in that counted IT-wise towards the 7 days, I remember this part being an issue so an AP that stayed on-site could run into issues if they were trying to book FPs for a subsequent trip. In this new-ish product the restriction is how many park reservations an AP can hold at any given point subject to what qualifies as needing a park reservation combined with off-site vs on-site stay.

In other words what you say "not even a small benefit to dedicated customers that book APS" I say that's really par for the course unfortunately

 

[Disneydawg74]

Yeah and not really surprising. Disney has been really trying to control APs for years and many at WDW more so (because DL has more local clientele) have felt unappreciated for a long time.

Like I mentioned many pages ago Disney is still tightly controlling the APs with the park reservations unless they fall under the exceptions.

The poster you were talking with is staying off-site and is subject to the 3 day rule and seemingly rolling LL selection, under FP+ it was 30 days with up to 7 days total FP selections. IIRC (and I'm trying to remember fully on this next part) the 7 day rule back under FP+ also interfered with on-site stays as in that counted IT-wise towards the 7 days, I remember this part being an issue so an AP that stayed on-site could run into issues if they were trying to book FPs for a subsequent trip. In this new-ish product the restriction is how many park reservations an AP can hold at any given point subject to what qualifies as needing a park reservation combined with off-site vs on-site stay.

In other words what you say "not even a small benefit to dedicated customers that book APS" I say that's really par for the course unfortunately

They have certainly devalued the use of AP over time. They are giving the advantage to those who pay more per day for their tickets, I get that, but they still want to sell APs and want to throttle their usefulness. We are on site this December, still need to buy our APs, (didn’t renew because we didn’t like the timing). Sorry that they aren’t on par for benefits with date based off site stays. Ugh!