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

[Mouse Tracker]

To me a more significant factor would be not how fast LL queues are moving, but LL speed COMBINED with the capacity being given to that line.

Could it be that LLMP use will show over time that it is 'equalizing' standby "flow" with LL capacity?

 

[gottalovepluto]

I look at the timing and feel like it's an obvious side effect from people booking 3 at a time. So 100 people book 300 slots vs 100 slots. This makes the "sell out" happen faster…

I think the removal of M&Gs and the parade at MK cannot be ignored either. They may not have been high capacity but they provided other options.

 

[mistysue]

As far as I'm understanding it from what other people have said (and it's all very new) the system doesn't seem to be recognising the end dates of hotel stays. So if your ticket media allows enough days, you could technically make LL bookings for a full 14 days beyond your arrival date - regardless of whether you are actually staying that long or only for a few days. I suspect may be what people are seeing when they say they can book for split stays.

Andre

I feel like that isn't going to last - as soon as people figure out they can book one night in a value, then stay off site and book two weeks of LL in advance, they will do what happens with dining and we'll be cut off. They used to allow dining reservations across split stays but that went out maybe 5-6 years ago due to abuse the same way.

 

[mistysue]

I think the removal of M&Gs and the parade at MK cannot be ignored either. They may not have been high capacity but they provided other options.

I've always called those "filler" options - they were totally what made FP+ work. Especially with parade and fireworks because being late in the day it held all those people's "slots", so they weren't rebooking as many times.

 

[lmross]

I feel like that isn't going to last - as soon as people figure out they can book one night in a value, then stay off site and book two weeks of LL in advance, they will do what happens with dining and we'll be cut off. They used to allow dining reservations across split stays but that went out maybe 5-6 years ago due to abuse the same way.

My guess is they didn't want to put too many restrictions at first so that it would lessen the chance of things not working and they'll add in features that block guests more slowly. That seems the least risky to me and they are probably betting on not too many people using the loopholes immediately.

 

[lmross]

I've always called those "filler" options - they were totally what made FP+ work. Especially with parade and fireworks because being late in the day it held all those people's "slots", so they weren't rebooking as many times.

Defunctland did a good video that crunched the numbers on this and that basically said Fastpass+ only worked with those extra things. I wonder since now they can control the sales they are more confident?

Seems odd to me that the ability to book LLMP attractions seems to be selling out in parks but the ability to buy LLMP hasn't seem to have sold out yet...

 

[mistysue]

My guess is they didn't want to put too many restrictions at first so that it would lessen the chance of things not working and they'll add in features that block guests more slowly. That seems the least risky to me and they are probably betting on not too many people using the loopholes immediately.

And thanks to the prolific blogger population I'm sure they'll have to address it quickly, or even the standard on-site for a week guests will be seeing reduced options.

ETA - I don't know that we'll see LLMP sell out until you can't book a certain number of rides for that day - it will probably be more than 3, but I would believe if you only have 4 or 5 choices they would lock it down.

 

[123SA]

But these are known loopholes that were used successfully in the past. If they don’t want it to happen, they know how to prevent it.

 

[FallsChurchDad]

11:25 am on Day 2 of LLMP.

At MK, the only LLMP ride with no availability is Tiana (Jungle Cruise and Haunted Mansion are mostly out to past 9 pm, but you can still get earlier with some refreshes).

At HS, the only LLMP ride with no availability is Slinky Dog (although ToT and Toy Story Mania are coming in and out, with refreshes - may be nearly gone soon).

This already seems to be normalizing to what you'd expect based on changing Genie+ to LLMP with tiers. It makes sense that (1) the LLs that previously were booked before park opening will not be available at 11 am, and (2) the most desirable Tier 2s are about fully booked before noon. I'm actually surprised there's any availability for those top Tier 2s right now.

 

[andrewilley]

as soon as people figure out they can book one night in a value, then stay off site and book two weeks of LL in advance, they will do what happens with dining and we'll be cut off.

Yes, that possibility had already occurred to me, but for the reasons you state, I thought it best not dwell on it...

Andre

 

[mistysue]

Yes, that possibility had already occurred to me, but for the reasons you state, I thought it best not to mention it.

Andre

Honestly, for locals I would say do it now while you can, because MOST people can notice it and are still powerless. We all know it's just a matter of time, may as well get them to update the system sooner so we aren't all in limbo waiting for the shoe to drop, and in the meantime facing crap return times when you are "only" booking 4-8 days out. It really does work in the favor of the typical guest for them to end that loophole sooner.

 

[lmross]

But these are known loopholes that were used successfully in the past. If they don’t want it to happen, they know how to prevent it.

I'd bet money there are several things coded and ready to go but Disney is doing a phased rollout and it wasn't worth the potential problems to introduce this restriction yet. If people start abusing quickly they will update. Just my 2cents.

 

[StarCruzer]

I wonder what the split is for day-of LL drops? I have the feeling they held back more day-of specifically because of what @mistysue is saying: you have more LLs being booked out of the gate. They don't want to have to waste time processing refunds, it's frustrating for guests and CMs. If people see low availability days beforehand, they may opt out (which loses a little bit of money, but balances with CM time and guest frustration). By holding some the day of, CMs can better help newbies purchase the product and still have availability to sell it to them effectively.

 

[Mouse Tracker]

as soon as people figure out they can book one night in a value

I'm under the impression that "length of stay" is coordinated with LLMP booking

 

[andrewilley]

Latest reports are that for UK guests, if you turn off location services for the app, AND set your country of residence in MDE to USA, then it should work.

This also applies to Android by the way. Go into MDE>Profile>Account Settings and change your Country of Residence to "USA". Then the app will assume you are in America if Location Services are turned off, even if you are really in the UK. Clearly Americans are considered more trustworthy than us Brits.

This too is something I expect they may plug in a future release and we'll be back to GPS Spoofing.

Andre

 

[kylenne]

I would be very cautious extrapolating anything about availability other than broad trends (eg. "Slinky will sell out fastest") from these first few days, maybe even the first week. Disney can and will adjust LL capacity, we saw it with G+. I would also not be surprised to see M&Gs and the parade added back into the service eventually, as what happened with G+, or the tiers tweaked. Yes, keep an eye on things--I'm watching the tip board too--but the doomerism is a bit premature imo. The G+ that went away yesterday was much improved from when it first launched.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Defunctland did a good video that crunched the numbers on this and that basically said Fastpass+ only worked with those extra things. I wonder since now they can control the sales they are more confident?

Seems odd to me that the ability to book LLMP attractions seems to be selling out in parks but the ability to buy LLMP hasn't seem to have sold out yet...

Until only 2 rides are available in a park there is no reason for LLMP to sellout.

 

[sam1985]

Any early thoughts on Park hopping?

Thinking about a trip in October that starts with a rope drop in AK (for flight or passage and Everest) and ends with a late night in Epcot (for Tron and world showcase . Would like to do the middle of the day at MK or HS (really both but that's hectic).

Not sure if its possible to thread the needle with doing lightning Lane at the mid day park(s). Probably need more data.

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

Any early thoughts on Park hopping?

Thinking about a trip in October that starts with a rope drop in AK (for flight or passage and Everest) and ends with a late night in Epcot (for Tron and world showcase . Would like to do the middle of the day at MK or HS (really both but that's hectic).

Not sure if its possible to thread the needle with doing lightning Lane at the mid day park(s). Probably need more data.

It will be difficult to thread the needle of riding TRON at EPCOT.

 

[accm]

Any early thoughts on Park hopping?

Thinking about a trip in October that starts with a rope drop in AK (for flight or passage and Everest) and ends with a late night in Epcot (for Tron and world showcase . Would like to do the middle of the day at MK or HS (really both but that's hectic).

Not sure if its possible to thread the needle with doing lightning Lane at the mid day park(s). Probably need more data.

We have a trip next weekend, and I'm trying to decide if I want to try LLMP one day. We never spend a whole day at the parks, and almost always go to a different park in the afternoon.

I'm going to keep an eye on day of availability, but what I'm thinking is maybe book for AK with early times, and then start booking Tier 1 rides at MK. I *think* this should work out given what I've seen today for availability with the exception of Tiana's. I'm ok with the 4-6 selections being slightly later, since we'll be taking a break at our hotel anyways. If I end up deciding to try it, I'll keep track of what we book and when, and share on here afterwards.