Your Day at Disney Theme Parks Is About to Change in a Big Way

[Ty1on]

That’s not correct-you get access all day to all but the top tier rides-of course, that’s if they still have availability. One or two rides in each park will be excluded and available separately for the lightning lane charge.


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Depending on what the "Lightning Lane Charge" is, this could be the difference between paying extra and getting everything you want done in a day, and paying for two days to accommodate longer line waits. If I'm paying the same, I'd rather do the one day and spend less time languishing in queue.

The best guess I can find online is based on individual ride upcharges at Paris, and the estimate is $4 to $50 per single ride, depending on how busy the parks are.

My daughter won't go on most Lightning Lane rides (risk-averse), so I think Genie+ will work fine for us.

 

[Rolltydr]

Disney is trying to draw a more upscale crowd with these benefits. If everyone buys Genie, then I will stand in the lines. I don't mind the lines. Right now, Disney is still supposedly limiting numbers into the parks, but we have been at Disneyland for four days this past week and the crowds were just crazy. We went weekdays only, and yesterday was so busy, we decided not to wait for some of the rides, but it was day four and we were tired.

Disney is becoming elitist, that is what is really happening. This is a money grab. Don't fall for it.

Not so long ago, there were families who hired disabled Orlando residents to go with their families, just so they could go to the front of every line. This was a real thing. Disney decided to cash in, that is what it is all about. It's about Disney profit.

Typically, elitist means you’re limiting the number of people by allowing only the very rich or powerful into the club/event/group, etc. Yet, you say the crowds at Disneyland are “just crazy” this week and you decided not to wait in line for some of the rides. To me, that’s not elitist. They are allowing everyone in that pays market price to purchase a ticket. It’s the free enterprise system at work.

 

[pedro47]

Typically, elitist means you’re limiting the number of people by allowing only the very rich or powerful into the club/event/group, etc. Yet, you say the crowds at Disneyland are “just crazy” this week and you decided not to wait in line for some of the rides. To me, that’s not elitist. They are allowing everyone in that pays market price to purchase a ticket. It’s the free enterprise system at work.

Is this still the happy place for children for all children's or is this amusement park only going to be for the rich and super rich children. Only time will tell.

 

[Ty1on]

Is this still the happy place for children for all children's or is this amusement park only going to be for the rich and super rich children. Only time will tell.

Right now it can be safely said that Disney Parks are for the upper middle class for regular visits and the middle class for the kind of visits you save up for.

 

[Talent312]

A few years ago, we did AP's and went so many times that by the end of it, we had our fill.
So, I'm prepared to wait for things to shake out a bit... and for them to finish updating Epcot.
.

 

[elaine]

We went once to Univ/old Harry Potter at xmas/Easter and it was insane. We didn't go back for 7 years b/c I didn't want to pay $75+ extra PP at prime time for quick queue passes-and we could still do FP+ for free at WDW. At least now we can go off-season.

 

[Rolltydr]

Is this still the happy place for children for all children's or is this amusement park only going to be for the rich and super rich children. Only time will tell.

I don’t know about you but we’re not super-rich, hell, we’re not even sorta-rich. We’re a typical middle class family and we can still enjoy Disney. Everyone has different likes and priorities when it comes to their finances. We aren’t extravagant by any means. For example, we’ve never travelled to a foreign country. We’d like to but it isn’t a priority. We’ve never been to Hawaii. We hope to change that next year for our 50th anniversary but it has never been a priority. We don’t have a huge house and we don’t spend a lot of money on entertaining. We like to travel in the U.S. and we like to dine at good restaurants locally and when we travel. I guess that leaves us with enough money to buy WDW tickets because that is one of our favorite places to go. Others have different priorities and don’t want to spend as much on Disney. That’s fine, nothing at all wrong with that. But, it doesn’t make me rich and/or elitist and it doesn’t make someone else poor or lower class. I assume most people on this website own a timeshare and spend a fair amount of their disposable income on travel. So, IMHO, we all have enough disposable income to travel more than the average bear. We each choose to spend it based on our own priorities, not based on whether we are ”elitist”, or not.

 

[Blues]

We have been at Disneyland for four days this past week and the crowds were just crazy. We went weekdays only, and yesterday was so busy, we decided not to wait for some of the rides, but it was day four and we were tired.

Hmm, that's funny. I don't follow the DisBoards much any more, but a few weeks ago everyone there was saying how empty it was. No predicting any more...

Not so long ago, there were families who hired disabled Orlando residents to go with their families, just so they could go to the front of every line. This was a real thing. Disney decided to cash in, that is what it is all about. It's about Disney profit.

Helpful Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Guide

Helpful Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Guide Services

mouseexpedition.com

I've used Brian at Mouse Expedition in the distant past. But that was before Genie and before MaxPass, and his fees were much lower. It was worth it for him to run around collecting Fast Passes, and wait in line for us. The waiting in line is now very discouraged -- don't know if he'll do that any more. Anyway, it wasn't just disabled residents.

 

[dioxide45]

Hmm, that's funny. I don't follow the DisBoards much any more, but a few weeks ago everyone there was saying how empty it was. No predicting any more...

The Walt Disney World parks have been pretty quiet. We actually rode Rode Rise of the Resistance the day after they started standby queue in only 40 minutes. When we got off the ride, the wait time was 35. Magic Kingdom though was pretty busy on the weekend. I suspect a lot of people coming into town for the 50th (Oct 1st) later this week. We were surprised how packed Magic Kingdom seemed to be. Getting out of there after the fireworks reminded us of the one time we made the mistake of going on July 4th.

 

[pedro47]

Dioxide45, we took our first visit to Disney, When we were about 27 years old. I just wanted to see Mickey Mouse and visited the Magic Kindgom and visited all the Disney Parks . We later in years, we took our only son and his wife and our two (2) grandchildren to Disney many times and have sailed on the Disney cruise ships three times with his family.

We learned one lesson over the years never go to Disney the week of July 4th .
It is hot, humid and the parks are full of tourists. LOL

However, we have enjoyed ever second and minutes of our Disney visits.

We have been to both Disney Parks in California and Florida several times.
I now missed traveling with all my family members. Owning a timeshare resort you can travel with your whole family with excellent accommodation and amenities .IMO.

Dioxide45, we also have enjoyed watching many of your timeshare videos.
Outstanding job. Thanks you.

Rolltydr, we are not rich by a long-shot. We have been and are Blessed by God.

 

[Rolltydr]

We learned one lesson over the years never go to Disney the week of July 4th .
It is hot, humid and the parks are full of tourists. LOL

However, we have enjoyed ever second and minutes of our Disney visits.

100% with you on both counts!

 

[rickandcindy23]

Dioxide45, we took our first visit to Disney, When we were about 27 years old. I just wanted to see Mickey Mouse and visited the Magic Kindgom and visited all the Disney Parks . We later in years, we took our only son and his wife and our two (2) grandchildren to Disney many times and have sailed on the Disney cruise ships three times with his family.

We learned one lesson over the years never go to Disney the week of July 4th .
It is hot, humid and the parks are full of tourists. LOL

However, we have enjoyed ever second and minutes of our Disney visits.

We have been to both Disney Parks in California and Florida several times.
I now missed traveling with all my family members. Owning a timeshare resort you can travel with your whole family with excellent accommodation and amenities .IMO.

Dioxide45, we also have enjoyed watching many of your timeshare videos.
Outstanding job. Thanks you.

Rolltydr, we are not rich by a long-shot. We have been and are Blessed by God.

I agree with all you said. We are also blessed!! We love Disney, but $15 per day X 10 guests (for our trip next month) X 5 days is a lot of money to spend on Genie. The app is free.

Our son can afford the extra cost, but he is not the son that is going this trip. He and his wife are having twins in December. But we are all concerned what we will get for $15 per day. Our other two kids are very budget-conscious.

So what I am reading on this thread is that the headliners may not be included in Genie for the purchase cost? I know the app is free to load to a smart phone. I am technologically challenged on smart phones. I even got the Samsung phone this time, and my kids are all upset that I didn't get an iphone. I wanted the bigger screen. That was my criteria.

 

[presley]

FWIW, Genie is a free service that helps you choose what to do at any given moment based on your preferences. I'm interested in checking it out. I cannot say that it's something I'll use or not use, but I'll definitely be checking it out when it's available.

Genie + and Lightning Lane are like paid FastPasses. I only bought MaxPass once and that was only for one ride. It's unlikely that I'll pay extra for any rides the vast majority of the time. However, there are rides that I've never been on and might not ever get on based on my availability to visit, so I would pay to try out the rides if they are options on the paid app.

Looking further ahead (year ahead), paying for each individual thing that I want to do might be a thing. I currently have the highest level of Magic Key at Disneyland and can't get a park reservation for Friday like I want to. I'll be there next week, so whatever, but if it's always going to be hard to make a park reservation within a week or two, I may decide to not get a Magic Key in the future and just go for a couple days and end up paying the same overall amount as a year's worth of visits.

 

[Ty1on]

I agree with all you said. We are also blessed!! We love Disney, but $15 per day X 10 guests (for our trip next month) X 5 days is a lot of money to spend on Genie. The app is free.

Our son can afford the extra cost, but he is not the son that is going this trip. He and his wife are having twins in December. But we are all concerned what we will get for $15 per day. Our other two kids are very budget-conscious.

So what I am reading on this thread is that the headliners may not be included in Genie for the purchase cost? I know the app is free to load to a smart phone. I am technologically challenged on smart phones. I even got the Samsung phone this time, and my kids are all upset that I didn't get an iphone. I wanted the bigger screen. That was my criteria.

Put your kids in charge of Genie. If y'all split up, stick with someone in charge of Genie.

 

[rickandcindy23]

That’s not correct-you get access all day to all but the top tier rides-of course, that’s if they still have availability. One or two rides in each park will be excluded and available separately for the lightning lane charge.


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Where did you see details on Genie?

We have always used Touring Plans, and Rick has that app on his phone with real wait times vs. Disney posted wait times. The one ride we saw a huge difference between the actual wait time vs. the posted wait time was the Radiator Springs Racers. Our granddaughter just hit 40" and could ride it. She insisted on going. When we saw the wait was 85 minutes, we almost turned back, but when Rick looked at the Touring Plans app, it said the actual wait time was 38 minutes. So they got into line, and sure enough, it was only 38 minutes. Disney does this to control crowds and move people away from rides. Once you figure that out, you are better off.

When we went to Disney World at opening time (we weren't on Disney property that trip), Flight of Passage was the goal. This is Animal Kingdom's latest headliner. A cast member told us the wait would be two hours for those of us just arriving. We got into the back of the line that wrapped all the way to the walkway to Africa. It was 45 minutes. The reason it was not two hours is that FP had not opened up that first hour. Getting into the line with FP would have been two hours.

 

[Ty1on]

Where did you see details on Genie?

We have always used Touring Plans, and Rick has that app on his phone with real wait times vs. Disney posted wait times. The one ride we saw a huge difference between the actual wait time vs. the posted wait time was the Radiator Springs Racers. Our granddaughter just hit 40" and could ride it. She insisted on going. When we saw the wait was 85 minutes, we almost turned back, but when Rick looked at the Touring Plans app, it said the actual wait time was 38 minutes. So they got into line, and sure enough, it was only 38 minutes. Disney does this to control crowds and move people away from rides. Once you figure that out, you are better off.

When we went to Disney World at opening that first year of Flight of Passage. This is Animal Kingdom's latest headliner. A cast member told us the wait would be two hours for those of us just arriving. We got into the back of the line that wrapped all the way to the walkway to Africa. It was 45 minutes. The reason it was not two hours is that FP had not opened up that first hour. Getting into the line with FP would have been two hours.

You raise a fantastic point. I used Touring Plans in WDW, but found it unnecessary in Disneyland, preferring to monitor mousewait and go with the flow in that park. I wrote above that Genie appears to be essentially MouseWait taken in-house, but I neglected to consider Disney's penchant for social engineering....you know, lying to its customers "for their own good" or for Disney's increased operating efficiency. We're going Easter Week next year, so I'm thinking of running Genie and MouseWait parallel (in the hopes that enough people haven't abandoned MW to still be able to crowd-feed sufficient data).

 

[Limace]

I also love touring plans and expect to stick with them for any itinerary planning-Disney has shown themselves to inflate wait times as folks mention above-they have a horse in this race so I don’t feel like I can trust them and their track record of implementing technology esp in apps is abysmal.


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[rickandcindy23]

I also love touring plans and expect to stick with them for any itinerary planning-Disney has shown themselves to inflate wait times as folks mention above-they have a horse in this race so I don’t feel like I can trust them and their track record of implementing technology esp in apps is abysmal.


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I agree!

I saw that Chip and Company's Chip himself is on his way to the crazy Disney crowds to report on the 50th anniversary celebration. I wouldn't go during that time and am so hoping the end of October will not be so nuts. The crowd calendar for Touring Plans is not showing big crowds. I have my fingers crossed for 10/25-11/5 for low crowds. Our little grandson is only 2.5 years old, and I think he will be overwhelmed with Disney as it is.

 

[dioxide45]

I agree!

I saw that Chip and Company's Chip himself is on his way to the crazy Disney crowds to report on the 50th anniversary celebration. I wouldn't go during that time and am so hoping the end of October will not be so nuts. The crowd calendar for Touring Plans is not showing big crowds. I have my fingers crossed for 10/25-11/5 for low crowds. Our little grandson is only 2.5 years old, and I think he will be overwhelmed with Disney as it is.

I think outside of this weekend and perhaps the first couple weeks, the 50th Celebration won't impact crowds all that much. Up until a few years ago, they always were having some kind of celebration for something, 40 years of this, 35 years of that. Perhaps it is just us, but we wouldn't plan a specific trip to Disney World just for the 50th. An event that they are going to draw out over 18 months anyway. I don't think it will have any more impact than traditional crowds would be anyway.