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

[CVG]

I get the impression, at least right now, that only someone logged into that person's MDE account in the states can make those selections. Typically, even with a TA, you aren't giving them your password to log in directly.

I think, until Disney gets the IT portion of this right, international guests need to make friends with someone in the continently US that they trust with the Disney password and selections if they want the early booking.

I've already emailed guest services to suggest that they set up a CM service to enter International reservations on their customers' behalf.

There is no way that I'm paying for G+ so that I can get a FP for Living with the Land, Turtle Talk and Spaceship Earth because the more popular experiences are all booked up . And if things are as dire as it looks then I'll seriously consider changing my plans accordingly. Why should I stay deluxe and get a pound-shop service?

 

[imbelle]

Do you all feel that more people will be buying into the system then they were with Genie+ just because there’s advanced selections? I have a feeling no. From everything I have read over the last several years since the debut of Genie, most people have indicated they are not buying it because they feel they’ve already spent enough on a Disney vacation. Not because they couldn’t book attractions in advance. FP+ was free so a lot of people used it. This system is still gonna cost money, if not more. I also feel because of this that there will be plenty of tier one attractions available the day you were in the parks. It shouldn’t be any different than it is now.

I may be the droid that they are looking for. I always prebooked attractions with the fastpass systems but have yet to purchase Genie or Lightning Lane selections (I hate being tied to a phone while on vacation). I found that between rope drop, overinflated posted wait times, and onsite stays of over 7 days with early entry, I was able to do everything that I wanted to do without Genie+.

I am actually considering purchasing this new system because of the prebook option so I will be closely watching what users report to determine if it's worthwhile for my touring preferences.

 

[DisneyMomx7]

I’m wondering when Test Track reopens will Soaring drop down to Tier 2

 

[Bearval]

inds
Just wondering does everyone hate Universal, Six Flags, Cedar Point, Dollywood, Knott's Berry Farms, Carow?? .... all of which have more expensive "Fast Passes" than Disney's has been.

Sadly it is how theme parks are operating now, not sure why Disney is supposed to be any different.

Do I like it NO, do I blame them NO. So what do I do ...... we take it out of the food budget. Guests are spending that much on ONE table service meal each day and don't blink. I'd rather get Lightning Lane for the day for that same amount of money.

I don't know the ticket prices for Universal, Cedar Point, Dollywood, Knott's Berry Farms and Carow, but I can get a season pass for Six Flags Great adventure near me for under $100 when a one day ticket at WDW is over $150.

 

[Minnie1222]

I can get a season pass for Six Flags Great adventure near me for under $100 when a one day ticket at WDW is over $150.

And I would gladly pay $100 to skip a trip to Six Flags.

 

[Bearval]

And I would gladly pay $100 to skip a trip to Six Flags.

If you noticed I stated I can get a Six Flags season pass for under $100. I hate that place.

 

[tom1944]

If you noticed I stated I can get a Six Flags season pass for under $100. I hate that place.

I live less than 5 miles from Great Adventure and have been there 4 times in 30 years.

Once to drive through for their Christmas lights display
Once to their Safari for my 3 year old granddaughter

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

I don’t understand those who are like yay no 7am. I mean us with young kids are up anyway so it never made a difference . BUT, with this new system you still have to be at the park early to use your first one in order to get another. There is no stacking, which the elimination of tiers and stacking was the benefit of genie+. So you get an extra what half hour? Hour tops? But at what cost!!! Or are you happy with using it 3 or 4 times and calling it a day? Like did you not wake up at 7, get dressed and eat breakfast and then roll into the park for EE or go back to sleep for a bit if you preferred to stack and have a pool day?

With Genie+ you could essentially wake up at 9am and be able to stack 5 rides from your room without stepping foot in the park. If you’re up early and in the park - Genie+ could get you upwards of 15+ rides in MK for the day!!

Like people seem okay with not waking up early but spending extra for a throwaway room just to book further out in advance with a system that’s designed to not let you hold more than 3 rides at a time.

And with those wanting to book further in advance it’s safe to say generally people anticipate there being little headliner availability day of. Which would stink!! That’s a big sacrifice!

I would think the best chance for a second headliner would be to scan right at park opening for a pre-booked ride, and then try to book the second headliner ASAP. If it’s even available. But if you’re not up early and in to get that 4th pass in person (via scanning in for the first) chances are you are going to miss it.

That just doesn’t seem like a worthy trade off. It sounds like we’ll be glued to our phones MORE waiting for attractions to randomly pop up, hoping people cancel because they made what needs to be day of arrangements too far in advance.

I am up early, but I don't want to HAVE TO BE and be stressed as soon as I open my eyes on vacation. I am happy knowing I am guaranteed 4 rides, 3 plus what is formerly known as ILL. Plus, you can't plan anything with the old system around dining or pool time which is what we like to do. My guess is, Disney will hold back some for day of release.

 

[neverlandsky]

Frankly I would've preferred Disney switching to a Universal-type model where you can pay one price and get to ride each ride with a LL once at whatever time you want.

I think the issue with this is that everyone would just about purchase it. Although Universal has a limit on daily LL passes sold, Disney has more volume of visitors compared to Universal. Making it extremely difficult to do this.

 

[tom1944]

I am up early, but I don't want to HAVE TO BE and be stressed as soon as I open my eyes on vacation. I am happy knowing I am guaranteed 4 rides, 3 plus what is formerly known as ILL. Plus, you can't plan anything with the old system around dining or pool time which is what we like to do. My guess is, Disney will hold back some for day of release.

This is what I like.
It especially works for us at MK since we go 2 days there. We can do 3 plus a single guaranteed each day before I leave for the trip. Add in early entry or rope drop and that is several more without worrying about lines.

 

[Karalee402]

I’m wondering when Test Track reopens will Soaring drop down to Tier 2

I bet so!

 

[Gentry2004]

I bet so!

I always find this funny. If I could only choose one ride to go on between Remy, Frozen, TT or Soarin', I would pick Soarin' without hesitation! I understand that is not the best use of a Tier 1 LL, I won't use it there, but the fact is I prefer it to any of the other rides. Remy is cute but I don't get the crazy demand for that ride AT ALL.

 

[123SA]

I wonder if it will be difficult to manage VQ and LL? You pre-book Space at 10 and POC at 11. You get in line at space at 10:15am and your Tron group is called at 10:20. Do you have enough time?

We don't actually know anything about booking windows yet, I think.

 

[jelona]

I’m wondering when Test Track reopens will Soaring drop down to Tier 2

I'm hoping with Peter Pan being down and a Tier 1 ride, they will take 7DMT off of ILL and just have Tron. I doubt they will... But here's to hoping!


I do think they did that with slinky dog in the past? Right? wasn't it an ILL at one point or am i remembering that wrong?

 

[TeamSy]

I am up early, but I don't want to HAVE TO BE and be stressed as soon as I open my eyes on vacation. I am happy knowing I am guaranteed 4 rides, 3 plus what is formerly known as ILL. Plus, you can't plan anything with the old system around dining or pool time which is what we like to do. My guess is, Disney will hold back some for day of release.

I mean the vacation is Disney - your pool day is to relax. A beach trip is to relax. Disney is Disney.

FP+ was stressful. You still had to wait on standard lines. Genie+ was the change - you paid $ but you only had to wait on a line that didn’t HAVE Genie+ if you used it correctly. So much less phone time day of, much easier to plan (FP+ had such spordic times which often conflicted with dining!!). Genie+ was chronological order!!!

Now yes, there were a VERY small handful of rides that would sell out before 9, when you could also book (like many offsiters). Maybe SDD day would force you to be up at 7.

But not pre-planning with the old system means you didn’t know how to use it nor spent the time to learn it. Historically it was easy to find out what rides had immediate returns and what were later returns (thrill data). You could know that historically, on this day of your visit) by 11am you could still get a jungle cruise return anywhere between 3:45 and 4:15. Book it, go to your noon lunch ressie, book your next LL at 1pm. It worked well because it allowed data to be collected. This new system is a free for all, all based on personal decisions.

For those that want to get their monies worth (because 3 rides under genie+ is EXTREMELY LOW), there is no planning because we don’t know what times people will pick, nor give up because it no longer works, and even for rides that you could immediately hop on, like its a small world, pirates, dumbo, etc, this will now cause major conflicts day of with previously booked dining because the times will be all over the place (it’s no longer going to be released in chronological order, people can book whenever). More so, you could effectively use genie+ if you wanted to just wait the 2 hour rule and stack. You could line up a good amount of rides, again in chronological order, by evening. This new system does not allow this.

It will be harder to plan, except for those that are okay with using it for only 3 or 4 rides (why???). I don’t know what many people’s personal lives look like, but having to work also plays a role with now having to spend time doing this on a potential workday. Sure, I loved to pre plan but I like to after my kids go to sleep, not being forced to tell my boss I’m going to be late because I have to book Disney things, of which I’m already taking off for a week later and just was late 2 months ago because it was Disney dining day. It’s too much.

 

[AttheParks]

I guess I am starting to adjust and thinking about strategy with the changes. The thing I am most upset about is being right in the middle of the craziness on July 24th trying to book for our July 27-Aug. 1 trip. Based on past Disney rollouts- will be a debacle, not fun, frustrating and full of tears. Also, won't have any data on what goes fast, how much is available on day of to select, etc. Don't like being a guinea pig. I think we will all be on our phones much more!

It seems to me that the only way to really get money's worth and get value is to rope drop and keep rebooking. I was just starting to enjoy later days in the parks with stacking.

 

[Tom_E_D]

I'm hoping with Peter Pan being down and a Tier 1 ride, they will take 7DMT off of ILL and just have Tron. I doubt they will... But here's to hoping!


I do think they did that with slinky dog in the past? Right? wasn't it an ILL at one point or am i remembering that wrong?

Slinky was always Genie+, not ILL. MMRR was an ILL for a while.

 

[Tom_E_D]

I wonder if it will be difficult to manage VQ and LL? You pre-book Space at 10 and POC at 11. You get in line at space at 10:15am and your Tron group is called at 10:20. Do you have enough time?

We don't actually know anything about booking windows yet, I think.

I'm not sure what you mean by "booking windows," but I've heard that return times can overlap by 15 minutes. That is not confirmed.

 

[Karalee402]

I always find this funny. If I could only choose one ride to go on between Remy, Frozen, TT or Soarin', I would pick Soarin' without hesitation! I understand that is not the best use of a Tier 1 LL, I won't use it there, but the fact is I prefer it to any of the other rides. Remy is cute but I don't get the crazy demand for that ride AT ALL.

I completely and totally agree!!

 

[Smugpugmug]

I always find this funny. If I could only choose one ride to go on between Remy, Frozen, TT or Soarin', I would pick Soarin' without hesitation! I understand that is not the best use of a Tier 1 LL, I won't use it there, but the fact is I prefer it to any of the other rides. Remy is cute but I don't get the crazy demand for that ride AT ALL.

Remy's demand speaks to an overall capacity issue that Epcot has (and still has as the Epcot overhaul was a failure). It's one of three rides in the World Showcase and doesn't have a height requirement. It's also an older ride as it opened in DLP in 2014 but can still get a 2 hour wait on peak days.