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Post by Hi from RI on Jun 29, 2024 19:05:23 GMT -5
I think if you are someone who uses Genie+, then this is better than being on your phone trying to book one at a time ..... You can plan a bit ahead for 3 rides...the ILL, does not do most of those except me on FOP, so it's not a big deal to me...
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Post by BWV Dreamin on Jul 1, 2024 5:43:40 GMT -5
I am so excited about the changes. I have saved at least one YouTube explaining it all. I am a bit rusty having taken a cruising hiatus from Disney. But will be back next year.
Have there been any changes to dropping park reservations for non expiration tickets? That’s the last thing I need to happen.
Also, I’m pretty sure but want to confirm, we can have all of our family linked through friends and family in MDE so when we choose the lighting lane rides and the genie+ rides we all get the passes at the same time?
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Post by nickys on Jul 1, 2024 6:44:34 GMT -5
I am so excited about the changes. I have saved at least one YouTube explaining it all. I am a bit rusty having taken a cruising hiatus from Disney. But will be back next year. Have there been any changes to dropping park reservations for non expiration tickets? That’s the last thing I need to happen. Also, I’m pretty sure but want to confirm, we can have all of our family linked through friends and family in MDE so when we choose the lighting lane rides and the genie+ rides we all get the passes at the same time? When booking the LLs etc you can choose who to book for. I think there is a limit of 10 or 12 people at a time. The details of the new system will become apparent soon after July 24th. At the moment, for example, it’s unclear whether the new system will recognise a split stay, like FP+ did, or whether the clock will reset like for ADRs. Park reservations stubbornly remain for the non date-based tickets, unfortunately. But you can now hop at any time. |
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Post by johnb on Jul 25, 2024 10:20:48 GMT -5
We check in a BW on 8/1 so I was able to do the new process this morning.
My initial impressions...
The system was stable and did not crash once. Good.
It looks like people are grabbing early LL's so they can get their fourth LL earlier in the day. This could be advantageous to those who sleep in and go to the parks in the afternoon/evening.
Dining reservations block out LL availability. I don't know how much time is blocked. We had an 11:45 Via Napoli reservation, and wanted a LL for Ratatouille with a 12:30-1:30 window, so we could ride it on our way back to the BW. I had to move the 11:45 lunch reservation to 11:30 to allow the system to show me the 12:30 Rat LL.
Obviously, the popular ride LL's are going quickly. It may be advantageous to do DHS and MK (for the Tiana LL) later in your trip. We got a Slinky LL but later than we wanted.
I was able to modify a few LL's after purchase by going to Future Plans, choosing the ride and selecting modify. If you choose to modify, the system may change your other LL times, so make sure everything is accurate before completing the transaction.
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Post by pooh bears mom on Jul 28, 2024 19:24:49 GMT -5
Wow...pay for what used to be free. Oh well. I guess this is the new normal. I wish they would bring back paper fast passes, as I loved those the most. With this new system, more people will probably buy the advanced LL which means stand-by lines will be long. I guess I should just add this to my disney budget. A part of me likes the spontaneity genie plus offered, as this one - like the FP+ is a lot more planning time - which to me is stressful as I am one who likes to wing it and plan as I go.
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Post by jawfish on Jul 28, 2024 22:48:43 GMT -5
Reading up on it now. Since you can hop, may try it out a few days on our Sep trip. We tried Genie+ when it first came out and it was just ok. Too much time on the phone. We do buy the individuals for FoP and RoR every trip. If we don’t get on rides, not a big deal, so we shall see how this goes.
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Post by baymaxfan on Jul 29, 2024 9:53:52 GMT -5
Wow...pay for what used to be free. Oh well. I guess this is the new normal. I wish they would bring back paper fast passes, as I loved those the most. With this new system, more people will probably buy the advanced LL which means stand-by lines will be long. I guess I should just add this to my disney budget. A part of me likes the spontaneity genie plus offered, as this one - like the FP+ is a lot more planning time - which to me is stressful as I am one who likes to wing it and plan as I go. Though, if you were using Genie+ and/or ILL, you were already paying for it. I do fear you are correct that more people might use LL multi-pass and booking the rides up all day. Rope drop will still be useful, but standby lines will likely move slower earlier in the morning. |
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Post by pooh bears mom on Jul 30, 2024 12:58:02 GMT -5
Wow...pay for what used to be free. Oh well. I guess this is the new normal. I wish they would bring back paper fast passes, as I loved those the most. With this new system, more people will probably buy the advanced LL which means stand-by lines will be long. I guess I should just add this to my disney budget. A part of me likes the spontaneity genie plus offered, as this one - like the FP+ is a lot more planning time - which to me is stressful as I am one who likes to wing it and plan as I go. Though, if you were using Genie+ and/or ILL, you were already paying for it. I do fear you are correct that more people might use LL multi-pass and booking the rides up all day. Rope drop will still be useful, but standby lines will likely move slower earlier in the morning. I think more people will simply add this into their cost. I am upset that what was once free is not and we really get no perks for staying on disney, outside of ease of transportation and being inside the disney bubble. After covid we stopped being park commandoes. I purchased genie plus a few times, and outside of the last day - I had zero luck with it. Maybe this will be better, but it is expensive, basically another hundred per day for a family of 4. |
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Post by Eeyorelover22 on Jul 31, 2024 2:24:43 GMT -5
How many times has Disney changed this front-of-line system in past decade? Enough I'm not fretting about this change - - long view, it will be temporary as well. FWIW, Universal wins hands down in my view on how they handle front of line access. FOTL access is included when staying onsite at a Premier level hotel. Otherwise it starts at $90 per person per day. If you have the access, you go to the short line. If you don't, you don't. I've never done FOTL pass for Universal. I'm not a thrill ride person, so I've rather spring for an AP and enjoy more overall time in the parks. Ditto overall for Disney. I've never paid for Fast Pass / Lightning Lane or any iteration outright, although I did enjoy the game of getting the best rides for our family when onsite guests had a 30/60 day booking advantage. But for sheer simplicity, I'd take the Universal style FOTL pass every single time. If memory serves, Legoland essentially replicated it in their park as well. I get that's a smaller park and doesn't really apply for most, but it is a vote for short line simplicity overall. The deeply cynical side of me thinks Disney's complex approach to this is driven mostly by some form of prestige/jobs protection. Here's hoping I'm wrong on that. FOTL wins hands down. Easy. Didn't include all rides, but those we rope dropped. Not complicated. As a day visitor and short 1-2 night stay visitor this will be useless for headliners. Glad we don't ride them anymore. Soarin and Star Tours should be easy enough to ride. We might pay for FoP once a year but probably won't just because it seems like a shorter wait in the evenings now that park hopping is back. |
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Post by Eeyorelover22 on Jul 31, 2024 2:31:56 GMT -5
I will add this.
My biggest concern with this is that it's pay to play with sucky IT which fails consistently. It's the one constant at WDW along with rides going down constantly. Primo prices for non primo service. It was a huge problem on our last family trip when we used LL and Genie+
DD is coming in October for a short weekend so we will see how this works.
I am assuming it's pre booked on the app 7 days prior? For a short trip I am sure not much will be available but we'll see.
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Post by Adelard of Bath on Jul 31, 2024 9:59:53 GMT -5
...it's pay to play with sucky IT...Primo prices for non primo service. It was a huge problem on our last family trip when we used LL and Genie+ People have been complaining of this. Thing is... People continue to buy it. |
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Post by brp on Aug 7, 2024 13:26:21 GMT -5
Though, if you were using Genie+ and/or ILL, you were already paying for it. I do fear you are correct that more people might use LL multi-pass and booking the rides up all day. Rope drop will still be useful, but standby lines will likely move slower earlier in the morning. I am upset that what was once free is not and we really get no perks for staying on disney, outside of ease of transportation and being inside the disney bubble. To each their own, but I don't get upset about things that are inevitable, logical and reasonable...like this. Park entry used to be free and folks paid for rides with ticket books. Things change so support the times. Yeah, I could wish that everything that was free at some point during the 63+ years of my life were still free, but that doesn't seem productive.
This is a logical and, realistically, positive step.
Now, some perks for onsite folks (since the onsite equation is anything but free) would seem reasonable.
Cheers.
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Post by helenabear on Aug 8, 2024 16:40:07 GMT -5
I am upset that what was once free is not and we really get no perks for staying on disney, outside of ease of transportation and being inside the disney bubble. To each their own, but I don't get upset about things that are inevitable, logical and reasonable...like this. Park entry used to be free and folks paid for rides with ticket books. Things change so support the times. Yeah, I could wish that everything that was free at some point during the 63+ years of my life were still free, but that doesn't seem productive. This is a logical and, realistically, positive step. Now, some perks for onsite folks (since the onsite equation is anything but free) would seem reasonable.
Cheers. Park entry was never free. You paid an admission and then per ride. The equivalent was lower than what we pay now accounting for inflation. My gripe is lessening of onsite perks. Disney is losing people because of that. They easily could have made this a perk like Universal. I do disagree that it was inevitable to make onsite pay. It just reads as money grubbing to many. I think it's poor form. |
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Post by brp on Aug 8, 2024 16:51:18 GMT -5
To each their own, but I don't get upset about things that are inevitable, logical and reasonable...like this. Park entry used to be free and folks paid for rides with ticket books. Things change so support the times. Yeah, I could wish that everything that was free at some point during the 63+ years of my life were still free, but that doesn't seem productive. This is a logical and, realistically, positive step. Now, some perks for onsite folks (since the onsite equation is anything but free) would seem reasonable.
Cheers. My gripe is lessening of onsite perks. Disney is losing people because of that. They easily could have made this a perk like Universal. I do disagree that it was inevitable to make onsite pay. It just reads as money grubbing to many. I think it's poor form. I said that charging for this was inevitable. I did not make the "onsite" distinction that you are making. And I still think that charging for this was inevitable. I agree that adding some perk (if not free, then discounted) for onsite would be nice. But that's a different issue than general charging for this perk.
And, yes, it seems that my memory was faulty. It was very low in price when they had the booklets, but not free.
Cheers.
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Post by helenabear on Aug 9, 2024 5:51:12 GMT -5
My gripe is lessening of onsite perks. Disney is losing people because of that. They easily could have made this a perk like Universal. I do disagree that it was inevitable to make onsite pay. It just reads as money grubbing to many. I think it's poor form. I said that charging for this was inevitable. I did not make the "onsite" distinction that you are making. And I still think that charging for this was inevitable. I agree that adding some perk (if not free, then discounted) for onsite would be nice. But that's a different issue than general charging for this perk.
And, yes, it seems that my memory was faulty. It was very low in price when they had the booklets, but not free. Cheers. My comment about onsite was a continuation of my gripe, not meant to be your distinction. I actually do think Disney should model Universal more with onsite perks. We can agree to disagree on things being inevitable though. |
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