We get that change is inevitable — especially at Disney World –but that doesn’t always mean it’s necessary.
Magic Kingdom
This year has been PACKED with new theme park additions and changes, including several Lightning Lane adjustments. With the existence of Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single Pass in addition to the future rollout of Lightning Lane Premier Pass, Lightning Lane access has never been higher — which spells trouble for standby lines at Disney World.
We visit the Disney Parks EVERY DAY, so we’ve picked up a thing or two about everyday operations. One thing we’ve noticed is that when the Lightning Lanes get a little bit longer, the standby lines suffer the most.
Haunted Mansion Lightning Lane
Now, you might be thinking, “Wait, doesn’t the fact that more people will be using Lightning Lanes mean the standby line will be shorter?” In terms of volume, sure, that theory holds weight. However, in the era of paid skip-the-line services, fewer people in a standby line doesn’t always mean a short wait thanks to the allocated preference towards Lightning Lane users.
Space Mountain Lightning Lane
We’ve had firsthand experience with this at the parks. Sometimes a standby line’s wait time looks manageable but it ends up ballooning to well over what was advertised. This is thanks to the Lightning Lane. Since Lightning Lane users are extra-paying customers, they will generally be given preference when it comes to boarding. This isn’t your father’s FastPass era where lines would rotate boarding.
Instead when Lightning Lanes are long, if you’re in the standby line, you might often see Cast Members load Lightning Lane users in bulk over a good amount of time to manage that line. Then they’ll slowly allow a few from the standby line in before going back to letting the Lightning Lane board in bulk.
Lightning Lane
While standing in the standby line watching so many people essentially skip ahead of you, it’s easy to get frustrated. Trust us, we know. Still it’s important to remember the Cast Member isn’t doing this to punish standby — it’s simply protocol especially when Lightning Lanes get packed.
This leads to the next point: Lightning Lanes could be getting more packed. While they don’t hold the general favor of FastPass, the new Lightning Lane offerings have seemed to be more successful than Genie+ during the few months since they’ve been introduced. For families on a time crunch, they can be a lifesaver, so it’s reasonable to expect they’ll continue to be popular, creating the issue we previously mentioned about Lightning Lane demand directly corresponding to standby line problems.
Goodbye Genie+
The new Lightning Lane Premier Pass could also drive up demand for the Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Lightning Lane Single Pass. There is a theory (that’s hard to dispute) that Disney might have introduced the Lightning Lane Premier Pass to market the other two passes’ “affordability”.
©Disney
While Multi Pass prices often fall between $15 and $38 a person, Premier Pass prices can get as high as nearly $450 a person. Right off the bat, it’s obvious that Lightning Lane Premier Pass is a service that won’t be used by a majority of Disney World guests. Still, its inclusion and prominence make the other Lightning Lane prices look far more reasonable. In the long run, this is a marketing strategy by Disney that could drive up purchases of Lightning Lane Multi Pass.
This new offering, which allows one-time access to every Lightning Lane attraction at one park of your choosing, rolls out in Disney World on October 30th, 2024.
Lightning Lane
What do you think? Do you think a higher demand for Lightning Lane passes hurts standby queue users or do they have no correlation? Let us know and continue to follow us here at DFB for all the latest Disney World news, tips, reviews, and more!
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It’s miserable if a ride goes down and then comes back up. A throng of lightnings will show up and pass by the stand by line. Causing tempers to flare. On one of our trips (when genie+ was being used), our stand by line was consistently stopped in front of us to allow 30 genie+ consumers to go ahead of us. I had a disappointed daughter on my hands. A cast member at Big Thunder wasn’t nice to her. I’m a blogger–Ridin Thru Disney. I wrote a nice letter to Disney stating we were not buying premium lightning. We can’t afford it
We don’t pay extra for what used to be free which means we miss out on a lot of rides….so we go to the parks less often. This is NOT how Walt wanted things! Very unhappy with the corporate greed being seen lately at Disney. Most of the magic in the parks is gone.
I’m here now and the lightning lanes have not been particularly fast. If you don’t choose three rides 7 days ahead, multi-pass is worthless. None of the good rides available day of. Of course it is insanely busy and would not do this week again.
What is this World coming to?
I’ve been convinced since Fast Pass+ that we all would have been better off with only the stand-by line as it was during the early decades of WDW. While Fast Pass+ or Lighting Lanes make for a great experience for some attractions, we all eventually end up in standby lines which move slower than they would if it was the only line.
I think it’s safe to say that the reason there is preferred treatment for Lighting Lanes compared to the days of Fast Pass+ is that there is a cost as opposed to being free. The guest expectation becomes higher when paying and Disney realizes this.
I’ve been a Disneyland passholder for over 20 years and, like a lot of others, I’m frustrated with the demise of the FastPass. Since I don’t like to be held to a certain time to get in a line, (and, I’m NOT going to pay extra for a Lightning Lane pass) I don’t mind waiting in the Stand-by line. In theory, as long as there are reservation days available, I can to to the parks anytime I want. If I miss a few rides today, I can always catch them the next time.
So, now that there are TONS of guest who have ‘paid extra to be in front of me’, I’ve noticed that process of getting guests through the two lines depends on the cast member! I’ve been in Astro Blasters and waited ‘forever’ to be let in, while watching everyone in the Lightning Lane getting access. Then, the shift changes, a new cast member takes over the line, and it becomes a lot more fairly divided. I’ve seen this happen at Mike & Sully, Goofy’s Sky School and Big Thunder Mountain, just to name a few.
I will never be a fan of paying to get in a faster line. Again, since I can go almost anytime, this doesn’t appeal to me, especially after paying a high price for two Inspire Key-level annual passes.
I admit, as someone who is usually willing to look at the premium priced options at WDW – and then usually opt for something else – the extreme price tag on the premium pass did make me feel a bit better about my plans to buy ‘regular’ LLMPs/ILLSPs on my upcoming trips. So if that’s their game, it did work with me a little bit. But I still say you are better off buying extra park day tickets than springing for the premium pass, unless you just don’t have the time to spare. It seems like the cheapest premium pass is still as much or more than a park ticket for the same park. There is no doubt in my mind that Disney is out to give the best experiences to guests who pay more (and more), and they seem to be making more and more ways to deliver those differences. I think how obvious they are being in their lack of appreciation for their average guest is not smart business.
Wall Street is what is ruining Disney.
It’s interesting how Disney punished the participants of the DAS program due to too much cheating they said and then with the freed up LL availability, they found a new way to sell LL for more money. Seems Disney is all about greed now.
I feel we are all looking at the price of LL and all the other price to pay line skipping the wrong way. Some of you have already said that you won’t buy the special and that is good. The higher the price the more people that won’t buy. The more people that won’t buy the less people in the special lane to hold us up in the Standby lane. I use to be able to get DAS and I would go on 1 or 2 rides, now I don’t qualify for the new rules. Sad, yes, my disability is still there and I still like to go on my 1-2 rides, but to pay 1200+ for a LL is way out of line. Please Disney make the LL and all the rest of the special price to up and up and up. Then I’ll be able to go in the Standby line and go on my rides again. Who remember how fast the Standby lines moved when the parks open after C-19. To Dream of that again would be great.
1) With fast pass since it was free whatever you got was like extra magic but everyone was still in it together. If your fellow park goer got a break you could feel good for them cuz you had the same opportunity to score one too.
2) Now Disney has created a class system regular, lightning lane, premier and VIP. I hate it. I’ve been in rides where standby is so miserable and you just watch all the LL holder cut in. It’s depressing. Normal LL is timed but I fear the premium will just add to the misery by making LL longer since it’s not timed.
3) To me the solution is to bring back the free fast pass and just charge more for the ticket to make up for the revenue difference. I think Disney likes getting the upcharge on pass holders who buy LL so I would be okay charging pass holders something extra if they want to participate in fast pass the day of their visit since they’re not paying the higher daily ticket rate.
4) some ppl compare the universal express pass but let me point out on a new popular ride like Hagrid’s the express pass is not valid so the we’re all in it together mentality is still there. Epic is not going to have express passes until later after demand is down. When you go to Epic you’ll be in it with your fellow park goers good or bad. I think universal gets this right. It’s like they offer express only when it’s not impacting standby in a meaningful way.
I think I’m repeating myself, but there is nothing Disney can do to keep people from flocking to the parks. They know they could charge a $1000 a day and then charge for each ride, and people would come. Nothing will stop people from bringing all the money they have to Disney. Disney seems very comfortable with this concept.
Eliminate lighting lanes! Treat everyone fairly!
No one in my family can afford the cost of the premier pass!!! And we are all incredi-pass holders.