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

[disney-inspired]

This looks like the old FastPass system, only now you will pay for it. This looks like a huge step backwards in my opinion. One park per day? And IF you're lucky enough to snag something good once everyone else already staying on property snags theirs at the 7 day mark, there will be absolutely nothing good left the day of once you scan into your first LL. This looks really terrible.

Pretty sure you're not stuck to one park but if you're hopping late, then likely there won't be anything available for the tier A rides.
Guess we'll have to see how it goes.

 

[NavyDad]

I really like the looks of this, except for one thing: The new Multi Pass will include Photopass for the day. Kind of double dipping on the people who have already purchased it, or adding extra cost for those who don’t want it anyway. But I’ll still take it over Genie+ any day! I hope the price doesn’t get jacked up too much!

A question for those who insisted that Fast Pass used to be "free" or "complimentary" :

Under the new system, are they forcing you to pay for Photopass or is it "free"

 

[Disneyhanna]

Highly doubt the desirable rides will be available to book on day of.

The more I think about it, since it sounds like you are limited to one pass per attraction, people will be much more incentivized to cancel/modify if their plans change. Like a slow start to their morning so they cancel their 10AM Slinky to ensure they can try to do it later instead. So perhaps there will still be a lot of cancellations that pop up and are easy to snag.

 

[Smugpugmug]

That was a much bigger problem with the original paper FP system, and the reason why some posters (the ones who knew how to work the system and stayed in one park all day to take advantage of it) hated move to the FP+ system.

Power users essentially "ruined" both systems tbh. They exist for Genie+ too but I feel like it was worse with Fastpass+. Regular guests that are not on forums and such didn't know about the drops Fastpass+ had throughout the day.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Pretty sure you're not stuck to one park but if you're hopping late, then likely there won't be anything available for the tier A rides.
Guess we'll have to see how it goes.

I'm hoping we can make 3 LLs for afternoon/evening at our second park of the day, enjoy our first park without LL, and then hop later to use them. Not clear that's allowed, but I think it would be. But certainly not doing multiple tier A rides on a given day very often.

 

[traveler9]

Onsite gets 7 days booking vs. 3? I see lots of FW campsites being purchased.

Not to mention that through the end of this year you can cancel room only reservations 5 days out. I wonder what will happen to pre booked rides if you do that.

 

[Disneyhanna]

Power users essentially "ruined" both systems tbh. They exist for Genie+ too but I feel like it was worse with Fastpass+. Regular guests that are not on forums and such didn't know about the drops Fastpass+ had throughout the day.

The one pass per ride definitely keeps power users in check and makes things more fair (as much as it pains me), I used to be able to ride flight of passage 3-4x per day with little effort with FP+

 

[sdc10]

I can see myself already hating this new system. My fiancee and I had the current system understood down to a science. Made planning the itinerary for the day so easy.

Now I fully expect to see a situation where LL slots are all fully booked before my booking window even opens up.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

So we're back to tiering...does that mean if you tap into a Tier 1 ride, you'll be able to choose another Tier 1 ride immediately? Trying to figure out how we'll tour HS now. Hoping that it being paid and tiered means that all the good choices won't be hoovered up my guests with long trips. Also wondering for hopping, will you need to tap into your second park to make choices there, or will you be able to do so once you tap into your first ride in park one? Also, if you're hopping, can you book one single-use LL in park one and one single-use LL in park two? Interesting that Tiana's is already part of the multiple LL system. Wonder if it's capacity or just that they can already see that it's going to be a one and done for a lot of folks. (Not a dig at all, I haven't experienced it so can't say)

ETA never mind just saw the answers to my questions:

"Once you redeem a selection on the day of your park visit, you can choose another multi pass experience from either group (subject to availability).

If you have valid admission with the Park Hopper option, you could even choose a multi pass experience in a different theme park (subject to availability)."

 

[JoJoGirl]

A question for those who insisted that Fast Pass used to be "free" or "complimentary" :

Under the new system, are they forcing you to pay for Photopass or is it "free"

Ride photos and Photo Pass are upcharges. APs used to have it included pre-Covid, but now it’s an optional add-on for purchase.

 

[BrianL]

Power users essentially "ruined" both systems tbh. They exist for Genie+ too but I feel like it was worse with Fastpass+. Regular guests that are not on forums and such didn't know about the drops Fastpass+ had throughout the day.

"Power Users" ruin everything actually.

 

[NavyDad]

This is why Fastpass+ was a failure. The power users knew how to work that system to death.

Also Scott did say no re rides in a small Q&A he's doing on his Twitter right now.

That was the criticism about the original legacy paper fast pass system: people who learned how to game the system had a major advantage.

Here is the thing: no matter how they market the thing, each version is just a virtual queue combined with a capacity management system. Without a massive increase in ride capacity or massive decrease in visitors, there will ALWAYS be inefficiencies in the system that people will figure out how to exploit. The circle of time is just a wheel that keeps on spinning. Every time around we give it a different name and put some new clothes on it but it's the same thing with the same inherent problems.

 

[disney-inspired]

I'm hoping we can make 3 LLs for afternoon/evening at our second park of the day, enjoy our first park without LL, and then hop later to use them. Not clear that's allowed, but I think it would be. But certainly not doing multiple tier A rides on a given day very often.

I'm not much for hopping so not a huge concern for me. I usually start out at the park with the Tier 1 one rides to make sure I get to ride them.
Hope it works out for you!

 

[wisblue]

I had this thought, too! By our last trip, we'd gotten so good at using Genie+ that we didn't wait in any lines more than a few minutes and rode almost everything we wanted picking up pretty good times/rides throughout the day. I really am anxious to see how availability holds up throughout the day...but, also, I'm THRILLED not to have to get up at 6:45.

I'll be interested to see how this plays out too. I got pretty good at stacking up LL, especially at MK, and then getting new ones with quick return times.

I wonder if it should really be that different if the number of people buying the multi pass is comparable to the number thought bought Genie+. As always, people who understand the system, understand which rides are most popular, and plan ahead should be successful.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

So we're back to tiering...does that mean if you tap into a Tier 1 ride, you'll be able to choose another Tier 1 ride immediately? Trying to figure out how we'll tour HS now. Hoping that it being paid and tiered means that all the good choices won't be hoovered up my guests with long trips. Also wondering for hopping, will you need to tap into your second park to make choices there, or will you be able to do so once you tap into your first ride in park one? Also, if you're hopping, can you book one single-use LL in park one and one single-use LL in park two? Interesting that Tiana's is already part of the multiple LL system. Wonder if it's capacity or just that they can already see that it's going to be a one and done for a lot of folks. (Not a dig at all, I haven't experienced it so can't say)

From a hopping perspective, it sounds like after you use the first of you initial 3 LLs, you can then book a 4th in any park.

Not sure how the tiering works, but it seems if you've used your Tier 1 at Park 1, you should be able to reserve another Tier 1 at Park 2 - just an educated guess on that, though.

 

[Genie+]

Except that on-site still includes other hotels.

I haven’t seen the numbers run yet. Keep in mind that most of onsite is going to WDW that day, while offsite is usually just a fraction of those rooms. “Good Neighbor” hotels include alot of people doing things all over Orlando; WDW onsite is more acutely focused on Disney Parks. It might make less of a difference than at first glance. They are far from a slam dunk in savings over the bubble values after parking costs, resort fees and transpo is considered. I’m just sayin’… WDW onsite might see 70-90% percent of guests hitting parks that day, while these other hotels might only be 10-20% of capacity. So in that sense double the rooms wouldn’t mean double the competition.

Yeah I’d rather they not be included Still, the bubble getting early LL access has made true onsite more valuable again.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Sorry, but has anyone read officially when reservations open? I know 7 days in advance for on-site guests, but is it midnight? 7AM? Have we seen yet?

 

[NavyDad]

also, I'm THRILLED not to have to get up at 6:45.

There is always a trade-off. You won't have to get up early anymore but because everyone who buys into the system can now make 3 in advance of that, you will have less choices once you do get there. Likely you may be trading an hour of sleep for an hour more of standing in lines to ride the same amount of rides. Worth it to some.... not worth it to others.....

 

[Smugpugmug]

"Power Users" ruin everything actually.

Especially given how easy it is to access info about Disney parks compared to when paper Fastpass was first introduced in the late 90s.

That was the criticism about the original legacy paper fast pass system: people who learned how to game the system had a major advantage.

Here is the thing: no matter how they market the thing, each version is just a virtual queue combined with a capacity management system. Without a massive increase in ride capacity or massive decrease in visitors, there will ALWAYS be inefficiencies in the system that people will figure out how to exploit. The circle of time is just a wheel that keeps on spinning. Every time around we give it a different name and put some new clothes on it but it's the same thing with the same inherent problems.

I mean, that is the core issue but Disney doesn't care enough to fix it. Not referring to the attendance numbers but the low attraction capacity part.

 

[MisWal]

Not to mention that through the end of this year you can cancel room only reservations 5 days out. I wonder what will happen to pre booked rides if you do that.

That was addressed in the FAQs. If you cancel your room, that also cancels your eligibility and any LL reservations that you have made. You will be eligible to make LL picks at 3 days prior with everyone else and you will be starting from a clean slate. Your prior reservations will not be there.