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

[Babe the Blue Ox]

10:30am has never been rope drop time in the history of MK, and I basically walked on to Mine Train at that time. No elbows thrown, no getting flat tired by strollers or run over by ECVs.

You do not have to rope drop to enjoy low wait times on a party day. Rope dropping just means you can get the entire park done by noon. But those low waits last all day long, almost right up until 4pm when the first party goers are allowed in. You can roll up basically at noon and enjoy sub 30 minute waits at pretty much any of the headliners.

I pulled up the app just now and right this minute, at 10am on a party day--hardly the crack of dawn--Jungle Cruise is showing it's sold out of LLs, but has a posted 30 minute wait. The longest posted wait atm is Mine Train at 45, and I guarantee you the actual wait will not be that long. The soonest LL return time for Mansion is 2:15pm and it's showing a posted 13 (aka a walk on). Most are showing 10-20. At 10am. And none of these attractions will really start spiking until 4. They never do. And many of these rides with short posted standby waits are showing LLs more than an hour out, if they even have any.

So yeah, it is pretty darn clueless to argue with years worth of data and spend money you don't need to on a system that's totally unnecessary for a given day, refreshing for LLs you don't need because I guess showing up at 2pm instead of 4pm was a burden.

We once went on a cast member service award day which was very much like you've described for party days. The difference that day was they started closing lines and even entire lands early so that the event could start on time as scheduled. That does tend to mess up the plans a bit.

 

[gottalovepluto]

After reading everything that made it sound complicated and nerve wracking to plan ahead - I reached my 10 day mark. I never fall into the "need to be the 1st to book" nor do I worry if something isn't available. To be fair I go several times a year and rarely, if ever, ride any thrill rides/coasters.
I got on the app around 10:30AM Eastern - I had a list of where I'd made Annual Pass daily park reservations and just started out for my 3 reservations at that reserved park. Every thing was available - I could have scheduled individual rides and all of the popular ones. Granted - I'm 1 person, and had 10 days to choose from. WDW is my happy place and I just can't stress about what I can't or can experience. I was very happy

Anybody booking a 10 day trip on a resort stay right now can absolutely get anything they want with like no effort. This is not a surprise. Most people here are not booking trips that long so getting in early is necessary.

Some of us find rope drop to be way too crowded and stressful and would rather be in the parks later in the evening when the lines are much shorter than advertised.

Probably not as clueless as you would prefer to believe.

Like… we weren’t even talking about rope drop if you followed the thread of that specific convo. We were talking about party day crowds lol.

man, Disney replaced Genie plus which was not that great with something that is overall WORSE for most people. Amazing LOL

There are winners and losers like any system.

Winners: park openers, people who want 3 rides guaranteed before they buy, on-site visitors, long trips
Losers: late risers, last minute planners, off-site visitors, short trips, PST and beyond dwellers

 

[DaviVascaino]

Anybody booking a 10 day trip on a resort stay right now can absolutely get anything they want with like no effort. This is not a surprise. Most people here are not booking trips that long so getting in early is necessary.


Like… we weren’t even talking about rope drop if you followed the thread of that specific convo. We were talking about party day crowds lol.


There are winners and losers like any system.

Winners: park openers, people who want 3 rides guaranteed before they buy, on-site visitors, long trips
Losers: late risers, last minute planners, off-site visitors, short trips, PST and beyond dwellers

what I am seeing here is most people are unable to get multiple tier 1 rides because by the time they are eligible, it is gone.
With genie plus, you have 3 rides guarantee as well, because a lot of rides would never sell out.
And that is for people that do resort stay as well.

I have yet to see someone able to ride Slinky, ToT and aerosmith rollercoaster with MPLL. I have done that multiple times with genie plus for example.
Same thing at Epcot, most people with MPLL can't get Remy and frozen .

Several examples of that happening. To me, the cons are way more obvious than the pros. even the scheduling is cumbersome

 

[StarCruzer]

what I am seeing here is most people are unable to get multiple tier 1 rides because by the time they are eligible, it is gone.
With genie plus, you have 3 rides guarantee as well, because a lot of rides would never sell out.
And that is for people that do resort stay as well.

I have yet to see someone able to ride Slinky, ToT and aerosmith rollercoaster with MPLL. I have done that multiple times with genie plus for example.
Same thing at Epcot, most people with MPLL can't get Remy and frozen .

Several examples of that happening. To me, the cons are way more obvious than the pros. even the scheduling is cumbersome

Devil's advocate: the fact that LLMP can't guarantee skipping the line for every single headliner attraction actually makes the system more fair, and keeps standby wait times lower.

 

[DaviVascaino]

Devil's advocate: the fact that LLMP can't guarantee skipping the line for every single headliner attraction actually makes the system more fair, and keeps standby wait times lower.

do we have evidence of that? Because what I am seeing is that the attendance has dropped (hence standy wait times lower) even before MPLL was implemented.

 

[gottalovepluto]

what I am seeing here is most people are unable to get multiple tier 1 rides because by the time they are eligible, it is gone.
With genie plus, you have 3 rides guarantee as well, because a lot of rides would never sell out.
And that is for people that do resort stay as well.

I have yet to see someone able to ride Slinky, ToT and aerosmith rollercoaster with MPLL. I have done that multiple times with genie plus for example.
Same thing at Epcot, most people with MPLL can't get Remy and frozen .

Several examples of that happening. To me, the cons are way more obvious than the pros. even the scheduling is cumbersome

As I said, winners and losers. Power users of G+ who were good enough to know the modifying rules are also among the losers.

 

[dez1978]

Not gonna lie, this thread has me scared about thanksgiving week. If times seem limited now, with lower attendance, it seems like it'll be an expensive mess that week.

 

[gottalovepluto]

do we have evidence of that? Because what I am seeing is that the attendance has dropped (hence standy wait times lower) even before MPLL was implemented.

Yeah, gotta agree standby times are lower because crowds are lower and the DAS purge is complete. Not the new MPLL system. Alas, only Disney holds the evidence and they won’t share it.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Not gonna lie, this thread has me scared about thanksgiving week. If times seem limited now, with lower attendance, it seems like it'll be an expensive mess that week.

Watch Oct. There is a chance we’re still in an experimental stage now and they’ll add more capacity. All hope may not be lost.

Also at one point during busy season under G+ didn’t Disney switch some rides from ILL to G+ to add capacity? Wonder if that’s something they’d look at doing temporarily with 7DMT for busy times?

 

[DaviVascaino]

As I said, winners and losers. Power users of G+ who were good enough to know the modifying rules are also among the losers.

yes, winners and loser, but my point is there are MORE losers than winners compared to genie plus. I just need to read this thread to find that out.

 

[lowlight]

Devil's advocate: the fact that LLMP can't guarantee skipping the line for every single headliner attraction actually makes the system more fair, and keeps standby wait times lower.

I do believe this is their goal. To lower overall standby time, purge DAS, and earn the same amount with MP as they did with Genie+. Or they are gonna sell some 10 ride pack for 120pp after seeing how this goes.

 

[SteinLaFemme]

1- I know you can purchase your lightening lane choices 3 days out or 7 days out if you are staying at a Disney hotel. What time of day can you make the purchase on the day it is available to you? Is it 7:00AM or 12:01AM?
2- What happens if you cancel your hotel stay? Do you get you lightening Lane money back? Will your lightening lane purchases still be valid?

Please forgive me if this information was posted somewhere in this thread. I couldn't find it.

 

[2vets]

Novel follows!

OK, after my half-awake posts this morning, I wanted to post about my experience. I arrive next Tues and depart Sunday - split stay, YC and CR, I am an AP holder. Solo through Friday, and my sister/niece join then for the weekend and MNSSHP. I also have an AH ticket for DHS next Wednesday, so DHS was not a priority for MPLL. This is what I got:

Tues: Epcot, GoG SPLL only - last day booked.
Wed: AK - FOP SPLL, also booked MPLL for Navi, EE, and Safari, I basically wanted to be done with all rides here before 10:15 so I could go to Nomad; I wanted my first MPLL as early as I could manage so I could attempt to get a SD LL before AH since that may keep a line for most of the event. Also have a GoG SPLL for 4 pm just because it's awesome. Second to last day booked.
Thus: Epcot in morning, GoG SPLL, and Remy, Nemo (it was the earliest!), and Figment - done with everything by noon, then change resorts/attend some work meetings, then hit Tron SPLL later afternoon, will try to book some MPLL in MK as I go. Third to last day booked.
Friday: MK morning, booked HM, Pooh, early, could only get a 1:50 Tiana so will try to stalk an earlier one. Meeting others at 4 pm at hotel, and we have SPLL for Dwarves and Tron between 4:30-5:40 before the party starts. Booked this second.
Saturday - sister booked this right at 7 - got an early Remy, Nemo, and Figment. SPLL for Tron in the afternoon
Sunday - I booked right at 7. Sister and niece leaving at noon, Tiana and Tron were priority. Booked SPLL for Tron and MPLL for Tiana (didn't list any tier 2) to be sure they gave me early times, then went back added HM, Pooh, and Dwarves so we have a nice stack in the morning.

Thoughts -

Onsite guests, especially those with res of more than 3 days, have a major advantage. I always stay onsite, but I miss G+ already.

$$$ - ouch. I know I was spending this on G+ and $LL before, but it is shocking to see it spent all at once like that!

Overlapping - system seems more forgiving with overlap of SPLL. I also deleted all ADRs that I knew were likely to be available after I finished my booking, then rebooked them after I had my rides.

Modifying - if you see something you want that's a priority and the system is not letting you book that time, look to see what plans might be overlapping. If a random tier 2 is in that slot, just cancel it, grab the ride/time you want to prioritize, then rebook the random tier 2 afterwards, at a lower priority time.

Linked reservations - I have my sister and niece listed as guests in my room at YC even though they won't be there, and we have separate rooms at CR, though they are guests in my room as well because I have club level access - they have 5 full days of resort res, just like me, but the system was only recognizing THEIR CR res, it wasn't even recognizing that they were guests in my room at YC. I have now seen multiple veteran Dis-ers say they had people with their names on two rooms concurrently throughout a trip with no issues, even though Disney tries to tell you they will cancel your rooms. Yesterday, it had us all listed as able to book today, but this morning, it wasn't recognizing them as guests in my YC room. I called Disney - very fast CM answering phone - and they were able to link all 3 reservations as a "family reservation" (it actually says this in MDE now), which gave us a workaround to book everything. Bottom line - be sure you check everyone's day is showing up before 7 am, and if you are having issues, call ASAP, they got this fixed very quickly, but it still took 5-6 min.

Edited - clarification.

 

[2vets]

I know you can purchase your lightening lane choices 3 days out or 7 days out if you are staying at a Disney hotel. What time of day can you make the purchase on the day it is available to you? Is it 7:00AM or 12:01AM?
Please forgive me if this information was posted somewhere in this thread. I couldn't find it.

7 AM EST

 

[2vets]

Couldn’t get Tiana this morning. Oh well.

Keep checking, many reports of drops!

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

We weren’t even talking about rope drop if you followed the thread of that specific convo. We were talking about party day crowds.

There are winners and losers like any system.

Winners: park openers, people who want 3 rides guaranteed before they buy, on-site visitors, long trips
Losers: late risers, last minute planners, off-site visitors, short trips, PST and beyond dwellers

Yes, thanks for pointing that out. Either way, I stand by the fact that the lines get much shorter in the evening if you know how the game is played. I've got a feeling that the new Lightening Lane program will push even more guests to arriving earlier in the day. Time isn't free, and those guests will eventually tire out and head back to their resorts much earlier than expected, leaving the evening lines even shorter than they have been in the past.

I wouldn't lump the Late Risers into the Losers category just yet. We've got a Shades of Green visit coming up soon where I can test this theory out myself.

 

[StarCruzer]

yes, winners and loser, but my point is there are MORE losers than winners compared to genie plus. I just need to read this thread to find that out.

Skewed data. Folks who are better informed on Disney operations are more likely to be on forums here, and so for FP+/G+ you were most certainly seeing more "winners" here on the forums. While there's not a ton of data on first time vs repeat visitors to WDW, many many folks on this forum who are past cast members have said that the vast majority of Disney World visitors are first timers. I've heard 80% on the high end, but most seem to be told it's around 70%.

To me, the fact that very knowledgeable, repeat customers (AP, DVC, FL residents, and others on these boards) are not able to ride every single ride they want in the park with LLMP is a sign that LLs for high-demand rides are more evenly spread across guests.

Of course, for both of us most of the "facts" we're basing opinions off of are pretty muddy. I would say, as someone who has followed this forum, that most people are able to get the majority of the rides they want in LLMP. After that group, there's another section of folks who don't see what they want at the 3 day mark, but are able to keep checking and add/adjust their LLs before their trip. The biggest complaint I've seen here is that the system is still super glitchy.

So we're two people, looking at the same anecdotal evidence, and interpreting it in very different ways. If we want better data, maybe we need to start polling.

LLMP Experience Sample Survey:
- I used it at 7 days, got what I wanted in advance, and got additional Tier 1 LLs same day
- I used it at 7 days, got what I wanted in advance, but felt the options same-day were limited
- I used it at 7 days, didn't see what I wanted at first, but was able to edit selections before arriving at the park
- Tried to use at 7 days, nothing I wanted was available, did not purchase
- I used it at 3 days, got what I wanted in advance, and got additional Tier 1 LLs I wanted day-of
- I used it at 3 days, got what I wanted in advance, but felt the options same-day were limited
- I used it at 3 days, but was able to edit selections before arriving at the park
- Tried to use at 3 days, nothing I wanted was available, did not purchase

 

[dez1978]

Skewed data. Folks who are better informed on Disney operations are more likely to be on forums here, and so for FP+/G+ you were most certainly seeing more "winners" here on the forums. While there's not a ton of data on first time vs repeat visitors to WDW, many many folks on this forum who are past cast members have said that the vast majority of Disney World visitors are first timers. I've heard 80% on the high end, but most seem to be told it's around 70%.

To me, the fact that very knowledgeable, repeat customers (AP, DVC, FL residents, and others on these boards) are not able to ride every single ride they want in the park with LLMP is a sign that LLs for high-demand rides are more evenly spread across guests.

Of course, for both of us most of the "facts" we're basing opinions off of are pretty muddy. I would say, as someone who has followed this forum, that most people are able to get the majority of the rides they want in LLMP. After that group, there's another section of folks who don't see what they want at the 3 day mark, but are able to keep checking and add/adjust their LLs before their trip. The biggest complaint I've seen here is that the system is still super glitchy.

So we're two people, looking at the same anecdotal evidence, and interpreting it in very different ways. If we want better data, maybe we need to start polling.

LLMP Experience Sample Survey:
- I used it at 7 days, got what I wanted in advance, and got additional Tier 1 LLs same day
- I used it at 7 days, got what I wanted in advance, but felt the options same-day were limited
- I used it at 7 days, didn't see what I wanted at first, but was able to edit selections before arriving at the park
- Tried to use at 7 days, nothing I wanted was available, did not purchase
- I used it at 3 days, got what I wanted in advance, and got additional Tier 1 LLs I wanted day-of
- I used it at 3 days, got what I wanted in advance, but felt the options same-day were limited
- I used it at 3 days, but was able to edit selections before arriving at the park
- Tried to use at 3 days, nothing I wanted was available, did not purchase

Even that would depend on the time of year and crowds. The person going next week is going to have a very different experience than someone going over thanksgiving or christmas.

 

[FLCA026]

Keep checking, many reports of drops!

ok so when it says 1:20 is earliest time and I pick that - it then says modify but shows 3:30 time

 

[2vets]

ok so when it says 1:20 is earliest time and I pick that - it then says modify but shows 3:30 time

So, do you have something in that spot? If you have a tier 2 or meal, that's the problem. You can cancel or move the less-important item, and it may help.