As long as people pay for lightning lane, they are going to keep it. Disney fans need to unite and resolve not to buy it. I doubt they will. Bloggers are reporting the lightning lanes lines being as long as standby.
Made a trip over new years and the lighting lanes were nearly just as long time wait as standby. They were at capacity per park passes. It wasn’t worth buying Genie + and ILLs pretty much required unless you were prepared to stay all day in standby for Rise or 7 Dwarfs.
Make no mistake about it, Disney isn’t at all concerned about Guest Experience with Genie+ is concerned. They have some numbers in sales and marketing saying that they are going to make more money per guest with it so that is their primary focus. The recent moves of some ILLs going to Genie+ is also a $ move. With some of them not packing the lines with ILLs purchases, they are using them to drive up the Genie+ sales instead, getting a better return on the $ spent per guest. Nevermind that they are killing the Customer service they’ve been known for, they’re going to lose the generational nostalgia when the next generation of fans don’t want to go to Disney Parks due to the cost and poorer experience. They don’t introduce their kids to Disney stuff and the falloff begins. Disney used to make long term profits based on generational introduction from older to younger. It’s sad that Disney has lost its way but once they destroy their base, they spend generations trying to get it back. They don’t have a Walt and Roy Disney to help make the magic work.
On top of all that, DVC has dropped its affiliation with RCI in favor of Intervals International. It is more obvious than ever that they are not after repeat business. Las Vegas cycled through this a few years back, concentrating on “whales” rather than vacationers. This will be the new reality until disenchantment hits the old bottom line.
I absolutely agree. My children all went from the UK and now they have children they will not because of cost. A great post from you and very insightful
The new system only increases Disneys bottom line. It does nothing for guests but rob them of there money. So disappointed . We have been loyal Disney fanatics for years, but with all of the added costs we have begun to look into other places for our vacations. Soooo sad.
Does it increase their bottom line? So when every guest had fast passes they spent time between rides in shops and buying food. Now they simply spend more time in standby lines and pay $15 for an app that pisses their customers off. Doesn’t sound like they will earn more $$$ but lose $$$.
You are so right , plus Disney did away with the free shuttle from and to the airport , extra park hours only if you stay at the most expensive Disney resorts now . And it is getting to confusing even to go there with this and that apps fo everything . I for one will just go to Universal Studios and Busch Gardens in Fl.
The Magical Express wasn’t so much as Disney deciding. It was a contract that was up with Mears. Mears provided the transportation. If Mears didn’t want to do it for free anymore, they didn’t have to.
I find it hard to believe Mears did it for free. (I can assure you they did not) Disney did not want to pay Mears rates for the service and offer it for “free” to the guests. They simply made it so the guests are on their own. In addition they did not lower the guest rates for this service reduction. So the net effect is they make more money and the consumer pays additional.
My family just got back from Disney World and we did try the option of lightening lanes one day while at Magic Kingdom, but never again! Because of how busy it was we only got on two rides with the passes. We made our first selection which was available at 12:30 and then you can’t make the next one until that one is used, so by then all that was available was 8:30 and the park closed at 9:00. A big waste of money in my eyes. Unfortunately, Disney has now taken the “Magic” out & put in $$$. It will be a while before my family returns and we would go almost every year! Fast pass was a really nice perk and you could book 2 months in advance! It really needs to return.
Average wait for Rise on weekdays is over 2 hours and about 3 on weekends. Not sure how it was a walk on yesterday. Cars I can understand as that usually isn’t a wait.
Disney has lost the magic as so well stated above.
I am a second generation WDW guess. The next generation will not be here. Cost has outpaced the experience.
So, if you’ve got money to waste and like paying to queue, lightening lanes work! Shame on “Disney” for putting money/profit over what Walt originally created Disney for, family enjoyment!
Disney is a business. Like any business, they are out for profit. They’ve now decided another way to make a profit is to charge per person, per ride on top of admission to the park because Wall Street demands year over year profits.
One thing Disney accounts for is people will pay for a service they enjoy and can use.
This is not a service the people paying for it are able to enjoy and use.
So, I honestly hope two things happen. One, Disney has a class action lawsuit because this is basically fraud. Two, people stop paying for a service that is riddled with flaws.
Even airlines compensate you if they over book and you have to wait – because they were forced to through lawsuits.
Totalmente de acuerdo. Fue mi primera vez en Disney, pagué por genie+ y lo pude usar solo un par de veces. Viajé del fin del mundo porque mi hijo quería experimentar Rise of the resistence, no alojé en hotel Disney, por lo que no pude acceder a LL. Luego de 4 hrs de fila, cancelaron la atracción, luego la reabrieron y nuevamente después de casi 3 hrs de fila, volvieron a cancelar. 7 hrs, pérdidas, sin disfrutar del parque. En Universal ningún problema, ni pago extra. En resumen, para mi hijo Disney no fue una buena experiencia y sí Universal.
Return to FAST PASS!! I feel Disney World will return to glory days. I’m not the only one, I hear it at the park every time I visit which is very often. Moms and dads with children can’t pay more it’s frustrating. I feel they won’t return and kids leave with sad memories and they won’t return when they are older.
Genie+ is the absolute worst thing that has ever happened to WDW. Take my free parking. Take my free Magic Bands. Take my free Magical Express. Take away Extra Hours for everyone (deluxe only). But dont take away Fast Pass. Genie+ ruined our vacation. It was stressful and exhausting. I hope people stop going (we have).
I agree 100%. We booked our upcoming trip last summer and all the negative changes that Disney has made since then have made it more expensive and stressful, but the Genie+ and Lightning Lane are awful and have moved Disney from first place to lastif theme parks for my family. I can’t see us going to Disney as a family again.
I did the Genie + for only half our vacation. It was terrible. Yeah we got to skip some lines, but by like 1pm, most of the rides were unavailable for the rest of the day. I’d be okay if they kept the old system but charged $15 to use it. That system worked so much better. 3 chooses off the bat then a fast pass. Boom at least 4 rides taken care of, more when you can switch. The problem too is people were booking late then not using them bc you can’t can cancel them yourself.
I’m staying in grande California at Disneyland and they are offering no period at all for staying in the hotel I feel ripped off. Probably not doing this again
Agreed, my family including extended family have decided to never go again, till many issues have been resolved. We were all passholders and some of us were D23. Now we have committed to anywhere but Disney.
We go every year for 2 weeks , will not go again , they keep taking everything away , the free airport shuttle , ex park hrs for guest staying on property which we did , are now only for most expensive resorts . Som why would anyone pay the extra money to stay at one of their resorts . We need to all write to Disney and complain and tell them we will go to Universal or Bush Gardens instead .
I agree, I used to love Disney. I used to go the parks all the time while visiting my son in Florida. I used to bring friends and family with me, and introduced so many others to the magic of Disney. After my last two experiences in January and February, no more. The magic is gone. It was so bad at Magic Kingdom a few weeks ago that my son and I left the park at 3 pm. I NEVER leave the parks early. It’s not just the awful Genie+ either. Customer Service stinks, the park is dirty, the food has gotten worse. I’m so done. There are plenty of other non-Disney parks to go to and sights to see in Florida, so from now on I will be spending my vacation $$$ elsewhere. The sad thing is, my son (who is in his mid-20’s and a passholder) said he’s done with Disney done too. The loss of the generational nostalgia has begun, and it will be Disney’s undoing.
Lots of bad decisions on Disneys parts since pandemic. Loss of tons of perks, plus increase prices for tickets, food increases AND smaller portions, but I agree that the replacement of fastpass for a paid service makes the company look greedy and eager to recoup pandemic losses quickly, their number 1 goal, and more important than loyal customer satisfaction.
Yeah but every other theme park had a paid service like that. So I don’t know to most non diehards, the genie+ system makes them look worse than anyone else. The LL upcharges does make them look greedy though. That’s unprecedented as far as I’m aware.
You are wrong Universal Studios still gives fast pass to their resorts and partner hotels . They also have early admission for guest staying there . Disney did away with extra night time hours unless you stay their most expensive resorts where as before any of their resorts were included , that does not even cost them anything so seems to me they want to cater to rich and the rest of people are just trash in their eyes .
The paid “skip the line” service at Universal, Sea World, and almost any other park don’t operate anything like Disney’s Genie+. At the other parks, you purchase a pass that lets you skip the stand by line on almost every ride, at any time. No need t make reservations, you just got to them express lane, your pass is scanned, and you get in that line.
We have been DVC members for over 20 years and I remember when going to Disney World was fun! Sadly, not any more. It’s an exhausting effort to make reservations and plans. Fast Pass was a great way to get on the rides. Recently for my family of 7 it was a nightmare to arrange. When you try to call on the phone with a question or problem they actually SAY your wait will be approximately 130 minutes and it is. This Genie thing is complicated to use and for many popular rides there’s an additional charge above the cost of Genie, so after I paid hundreds of dollars for tickets, I have to pay more to go on the popular rides. I’m unhappy and disgusted. It’s all about how much money they can get from you and it’s so sad. Planning a trip to Disney World was fun and exciting and something to look forward to. Now it’s dread and frustration and costs so much more both in time for planning and money. Shame on Disney!
I know what you mean! It’s just too complicated and expensive any more. We used to love looking forward to our Disney vacations, but now it almost causes ulcers! Walt Disney would be turning in his grave.
We just returned from Disney 2 days ago. The lines were so long on all the rides at all of the parks that we really didn’t enjoy ourselves. For the last day, we gave in and bought the genie, thinking that at least we could hit the lightning lane and skip lines. Big surprise when after we had paid for it, you can only do one. Then 2 hours later, you can pick another. The first ride I selected, the lighting lane wasn’t available until 1:30 pm. By the time I got to make the 2nd selection, the only thing available was even later in the day. So we paid for the genie, but only got to use it for 2 rides that day. Total waste of money. We will not be going back any time soon, if ever. Way too expensive of a trip to only get to ride 4-5 things a day.
More and more this feels like a bait and switch. U can’t book until 7am day of, and then if ur first ll can already be so or after noon. Oh, but if u find sent to wait in lines, u can always cruise the gift shops……
When I was there in October, I was also disappointed in not being able to find 50th merch – no fridge magnets, no ornaments, no spirit jerseys. The only souvenirs I bought was my resort cup, & that’s only because it saved $ on sine drinks.
There are many things lately that have upset me about Disney. I’m a huge Disney freak, annual pass holder and DVC member but as of late the magic is diminishing. Genie+ is horrible and the cost isn’t the only issue, I don’t enjoy being on my phone all day and on vacation I don’t want to get up at 6:55 am to get ready to fast pass 1 ride and and pay for the other rides.
Great article, I could not agree more. As a pass holder who lives in Tampa, I simply can not afford to buy a Genie every time I go to the parks. It has been incredibly dissatisfying to sit in long lines while other move ahead. It has certainly taken away some enjoyment from the parks.
I just got back from Disney and wrote them three separate emails regarding my issues. And LL/genie+ was one of them. I saw a woman break down in tears saying i just cant keep up with all of this. No VACATION should be this nonstop planning, phone checking, appointment keeping format. The dream of Disney was to have a place for families to experience magic. Not to be so plugged in and broke you cry in the park.
If you knew how to use the old fast pass it was perfect. It’s what made Disney stand out over universal for us personally. We actually enjoy universal over Disney but with the fast pass it was just too good to pass up. So we always went to Disney. We had a Disney cruise set for March of this year but then universal sent me an email with an amazing offer. 8 days 7 nights, unlimited fast pass, and up to 14 day tickets for a family of 4 for half the price. Sorry but after looking at the numbers Universal will be getting out business from now on. I really don’t see how Disney can stay at the top when universal is expanding and is so much cheaper to stay on site. I mean if you stay in one of their three premium hotels you get unlimited fast pass for every day you’re there!! And even if you don’t you get early park admission if you stay at any of their hotels. What does Disney give you if you’re not paying $400-600 a night? Nothing.
I’m staying in grande California at Disneyland and they are offering no period at all for staying in the hotel I feel ripped off. Probably not doing this again
Is that offer still available? We were expecting to do Disney again this year but I really don’t want to bother with this nonsense at this point and think it’s time for our first Universal trip instead.
We are huge Disney park fans. At least once a year, sometimes annual Passholders. We’re on a break… The incessant money grabs are too much right now. In order for us to do Disney the way we like to has priced us out….
This describes us. We’re finishing up this AP year, then we’re done. Money grabs, crowds, dirty. Eventually Disney will have to change. And “30-to-40% off lodging” is not going to do it; that’s like department stores that mark up their prices, then offer a “sale.”
Our last 2 visits were not worth the cost. Non-existent housekeeping, crowd exhaustion, long line. We are opting to do other things from here on out. Disney World seems to have become a big, bloated cash cow.
Our last 2 visits were not worth the cost. Non-existent housekeeping, crowd exhaustion, long lines. We are opting to do other things from here on out. Disney World seems to be evolving into a big, bloated cash cow.
The lightning lane is hateful!! Horrible! And has stolen the magic from Disney! I’m so disappointed in my experience with Disney. I have loved Disney for years, but I’m only a once every 7-8 year visitor. So it is an especially special event to look forward to.
So a couple of members of my party had to be up and ready with multiple devices try to get lightening lane passes for our group at 6:55 am every morning . The app is ridiculously glitchy! If not able to get the passes those persons got to feel as if they had failed despite putting forth a huge effort. So clearly those persons were pressured and feeling like a failure- how un-Disney like!!! All magic gone. There were tears and remorse expressed despite assurances from everyone that it was not them, but the Disney app, if they could not get the ride people wanted.
I’m appalled that such creative and wonderful people that have been involved in the creation and success of Disney thought this abomination was a “good idea”.
If you got lucky and got a lightening lane at 6:55 am , Then when the second selection comes around to get a second lightening lane at 10 am – you can’t get your selection because you are on a ride – when the ride is over all lightening lane selections are no longer available. It’s a frustrating and sad family experience
The Disney experience is no longer magical! It is frustrating, and is designed to create unhappiness
I just visited Disneyland this Febuary 16&17th,2022 I found the Lightening Lane to be extremely unfair and disappointing to all the other park guest. We all already paid alot of money to attend Disneyland and for those guest who can not afford the extra money for the Lightening Lane it’s super frustrating. You get into a line that already has an 90 mintue wait time, you’ve already been waiting 20 minutes when anannouncementcomes on telling you due to high amounts of lightening lane guest your wait time just increased to 120 minutes. You stand there and you watch as the disneyland employee allows at least 50 lightening lass guest through and 10 regular guest through. Everyone should have to wait the same amount of time for all rides.
Think of it this way: The standard price to enter is the cost of the ticket plus the cost of the LL. You can get a discounted ticket by not buying LL, but the trade off is that you have to stand in line longer. Disney’s error was in not just presenting LL like that. That’s all it really is: a price increase.
I loved Disney. We went every other year for 7-8 days. It was pricey but worth it. Then came pay to park at the hotel that you are already paying stupid money for. We had to downgrade from moderates to economy because of all the price gouging.
Then they got rid of extra magic hours and magic bands and Disney express which we drive but still just bad. Then park hopping got limited and meal plans went bye bye. But now this! It’s a bridge too far. We are not going anymore. I miss it already but it sounds like a nightmare now not a vacation.
What Disney should’ve done was keep the 3 free Fast Passes per guest, and then offer the option to either pay-per-ride, or buy an all-day Fast Pass that covers all rides. You can’t give guests 3 free Fast Passes for years, and then take it away. I would’ve had no problem with this scenario. I knew how to work the 3 FP system and accomplish what I wanted to in any given park on any given day. If people are unfamiliar with the system, and need to pay for an all-day pass to maximize their time, give them that option. But don’t take away an option you’ve given loyal guests for years, because those who didn’t know how to use it complained.
Now @Liz M, I am really confused. Why do you feel that something that was free cannot now be charged for. Did you going to Disney 5 years ago guarantee free fastpass for life?
Is it wrong that something that used to be free like air at a gas station now gets charged to use? Does the dollar menu at McDonald’s have to stay $1 forever? Is it wrong that Southwest Airlines used to give you a third bag for free, but they now charge for a third bag? or even local TV channels used to be free, but now you have to pay for them. Pricing changes. Offers change, Your post does nothing by scream of entitlement. But I want….
It really isn’t about the money, it’s psychological. There is a saying I had heard before:“Don’t let the customer option a three wheeled car”
Meaning, don’t allow the customer choose a substandard product, even if they want to save money- they will be displeased with the results and that will hurt your brand.
The extra money for the LL simply FEELS like a ripoff.
If they just raised the prices by $15, but everyone got LL, then it FEELS like a feature, and makes Disney feel more premium.
Right now, if you just buy a basic ticket, you feel like a second class citizen, and struggle to get on rides, then leave feeling disappointed- which is probably your own fault for not buying the Genie+ , but is still bad for the Disney brand!
It would be convenient to be able to book FastPasses from your phone, but I like walking and never really minded having to walk to the ride to pick up a FastPass.
If Disney was to go back to paper FastPasses, I also think it would be convenient to have FastPass dispensers located throughout the parks where you could select your desired ride without having to actually go to that particular ride to pick up the FastPass.
Walking up to a ride to pull a FP brings back memories of gathering up everyone’s tix after scanning in to the entrance and then sprinting to the ride we wanted. I don’t miss that part at all.
They did have centralized FP kiosks where you could pick and choose your rides. There were are least 4 or 5 in various places around MK on a trip about 4 years ago.
Disney is a business. The business was closed for months, bringing in no revenue. They basically raised their prices for those willing to pay, while still making cheaper tickets available for those who prefer to save some $$. While I liked the free FP system, times have changed, and it’s gone. No more wasted paper littering the parks, employees needed to keep the machines stocked, employees needed to pick up the litter. Going to DL or WDW is a privilege, not an entitlement. We all need to quit whining.
You apparently haven’t been to either set of parks in the last few years. DLR got rid of paper FPs back in 2017 when Maxpass came out and they disappeared at WDW in 2014. But yeah, the constant harping of “Life’s not fair!” gets a little tiring with each article about price increases and what not. We should be thankful to at least be able to afford a trip or two to the parks when a lot of people can’t.
Then you know nothing about the man, Walt Disney. He intended for a family affordable theme park with magic. Instead Disney has taken away all the magic and perks just to satisfy the almighty dollar.
A lot of Companies closed during Covid, but when they opened again they did not rip of their customers like Disney is. Disney also had a stream of Cash coming in from Disney + TV, unlike others, but still their Greed has no boundaries.
Disney Parks and Experiences lost $4,200,000,00.00. Yes, that is 4 Billion Dollars. That is not lost income, that is how much they paid out above what it cost them. They spent over 4 billion dollars for you and their castmembers. The prices will go up. It is basic economics. The Demand exceeds the Supply, the price goes up.
And as for the Walt Disney quote, that is just hogwash. He never said that. He was motivated by the profit. He made Disney a premium product at a premium price. Why? Profit to spend on his other dreams. He hired Stanford Research and Bud Price to do economic studies before building Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Again why? To study the economic feasibility of making a profit. Walt Disney was always chasing the profit.
Disney made 21.82B in revenue in December of 2021, let that sink in. They beat their EPS for 2022 Q1 at 67.24%. They are NOT hurting. The fired most of their personnel, a good portion who were close to retirement and had been at Disney for DECADES during the pandemic. Made plenty of money during the Pandemic on Disney+ and merch (think Encanto). No, Disney is fine.
And Chapek closed down their Mall Disney Stores laying off all of that personnel (it used to be a treat to walk into these Stored and purchase merchandise, deluxe home media, etc).
Now they’re merchandise is poor quality, only available online (or at the Theme Parks), or licensed out to Walmart / Hot Topic.
Team Disney Burbank has taken away the Disney Magic.
Sorry, your statement is false. Disney did not make 21.82B in December 2021. That is the full company revenue for the full quarter. Except, revenue is not profit. that was 1,152,000,000. Significantly less than you quote. Also, earnings per share does not have anything to do with a percent. That is the net income divided by the number of shares. 67.2 CENTS per share.
Parks and Resorts lost 4.2 Billion Dollars in 4 quarters since Covid hit. Not a profit but a loss. They did not fire their personnel, they laid them off when they were not needed after paying them for 3 months full pay to stay at home. And continued their Health care for another 3 months. Then have brought back almost 90%, Your post is not factual at all. Try again!
This site is regularly peppering the Disney corp for being greedy and not thinking about their customer. Meanwhile…the content here is almost IMPOSSIBLE TO READ (especially on a cell phone) due to the number of popups, video ads, etc. Seems a little like the pot calling the kettle black…if you know what I mean.
If you have an android phone try downloading an app called Ad Away. It is free and open source and takes care of all the pop ups and ads I used to see on here. Sorry if you have an iPhone, I can’t help you with that.
LL is a ripoff. At least let us book three then one like the old fastpass. As it is now we end up paying the extra fee and only getting one ride out of it. And it makes planning the day so much more difficult. We go to WDW for magic, not stress. If i wanted stress I’d just stay home. For free! LOL
Rox, do you not remember that Fastpass was tiered, you could only get one E ticket at either Epcot or Hollywood Studios. That is right, you had to get and ride 2 c ticket attractions before you discovered that all of the E ticket Fastpasses were then gone.
Or getting online at your 30/60 day window to discover that all of the E ticket attractions had their Fastpasses gone 2 months before the park opening. At least with Genie+ you have the same chance as everyone else to get a coveted Lightning Lane at 7am.
I agree, so we did not renew our out of state annual pass and have canceled our May trip, we visited Disney world in January and it was terrible, dining reservations are impossible, The parks and resorts are not kept to the standards they were in the past. Not much magic left in Disney, they want you to spend the enter day looking at your phone to schedule and order everything.
DVC owner and AP holder. What always attracted me to Disney was the experience and customer service. It was expensive, but they treated you well enough to be worth it. I don’t mind paying. I do mind getting nickled and dimed or not being treated well. A frustrating app, inconsistent and dismissive behavior, and customer unfriendly policies are Bad Show. They would have been better off copying Universals pass system, with a high cost and simple, unlimited use. And guests at their deluxe resorts get it included, a real perk making the deluxe resorts valuable for guests. If they really want to attract high net worth guests, they have to provide an experience that that type of guest expects. This isn’t it.
Just a little dog
Express Pass would not work like you just described. Disney has 5 times as many Deluxe hotel rooms as Universal. Magic Kingdom has average attendance that is twice that of Universal Studios. And you must keep in mind as attendance increases, the capacity of the Lightning Lanes stay constant. There are only a fixed number of seats per hour on an attraction. So if you used a system like Express Pass, it can not scale up for the busier crowds. |
You would either have to scale down the attendance severely, which would mean dramatic increases in entrance fees or charge significantly more than Universal does for Express Pass. This weekend Express Pass was 289 per person. Do you want to pay 500 per person for access to the Lightning Lane?
I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve been to Disney World, but I’ve not returned for some years due to the money grabbing nature of the corporation. So Lightning Lane is not the straw that broke this camel’s back, but serves to justify my absence.
Much as I would love to return, paying top Dollar to stand in line all day, have micro meals and be penny pinched is no fun.
I wrote to Disney expressing my frustration. They sent a copy and paste back to indicate they don’t give a stuff. There’s enough devoted brethren still forking out to go there that will keep seeing how far they can push their luck.
Went to WDW in mid Nov and used the early entry and genie+ the whole trip. I had an absolute blast and was crushing lines left and right. Even if you cut it down and only gave me a third of the slots I got, I would still easily pay $15 bucks for it.
I’m simply amazed that people will stand in a 120 minute line and then see a $15 improvement as just breaking the bank. The only thing all this griping proves is that if anything the $15 price tag is too low and it needs to be more if a premium than it is.
You absolutely cannot continue to moan AND book your trip. None of you are done with Disney and you know it. They see your bluff and personally I don’t believe you. If you go between thanksgiving and spring break you are going to see crowds. This has been true for years and will probably be more true in the coming years. It’s not genie+ fault they have enough demand for a 5th park.
It only worked that well in November because the full crowds were not back yet. Try coming down this week… And let me hear how easily u get around the park… Please … It isn’t happening. What may be a solution is having three LL like fastpass had… And having a drop-down to choose the time you want to go… And being able to refresh and pick something different before actually having to cxl one and try to get the other..only to find out the other is no longer available… Just like making a park reservation for a busy day it is a gamble ..
Joseph is right, the crowds are crushing. There is also a different feel in the park, less reverent. I had a line cutter tell me to F off the other day and to mind my own Fing business or he would mind it for me. WHILE he was holding his kids hand and my kid was right next to me. Disney’s policies have had an unexpected consequence of everyone being angry, frustrated and down right selfish. It is hot, crowded, expensive. There really is no benefit to going anymore. I’ve been going for 40 yrs now, no more. I’m done.
Disney has made it clear by their decisions that they only care about extracting money from your wallet. Most fans make Disney choices with their hearts and Disney takes advantage of that to grow the bottom line. The magic is well and truly gone.
Disney will eventually miss generations of families and children who will no longer feel the nostalgia and thus are no longer compelled to visit the resorts. They are trading today’s profits for tomorrow’s loyal customers. Not exactly what Uncle Walt had in mind.
As a Disney fan for over 20 years, I am so disappointed in the way they are operating since pandemic. Over crowding, less clean, more issues with visitors in parks. No magic left. All about money. Not what Walt would like.
Were you disappointed in Disney when they opened up and still lost 4.2 Billion dollars over the course of that year. That is not lost profit, that is loss. They spent 4.2 billion dollars more at Parks and Resorts than they took in. Can you lose 4,200,000,000.00 dollars?
What, are you Bob Chapek?? 😂 You keep replying to everyone’s comments saying they’re entitled for not wanting to be on their phones their entire vacation, for wanting a good seamless experience when PURCHASING SOMETHING, and, for wanting to have a good fun vacation for their family without needing to take out a loan to pay for it. That’s not entitlement. If you’re paying for something, you should be getting what you paid for. That’s not what’s happening here. There are so many problems with this on top of the fact that this should not cost anything. Disney is taking advantage of people who are long time fans cause they know unfortunately they will still purchase it, but by looking at all these comments, that seems like it will be stopping very soon. You are in the minority here and sorry but all your points are wrong. Disney is NOT HURTING FOR MONEY. plain and simple. They may have lost 4.2 billion but how much have they gained? This is a family theme park. Yes it’s a privilege, but that is becoming less and less feasible for the average person. Ultimately, it will be Disneys loss over the years unless they start to change things. Walt would be rolling in his grave right now. And the fact that you are even commenting this nonsense on everyone’s post shows you know nothing about why Disney was built in the first place. Yes Disney is a business, but we are the ones who give them their paycheck, take care of us and we’ll take take of you. Happy customers = happy money making business. That’s how it’s always been. Until recent times cause of greed. Disney being a business and needing to make money doesn’t make it okay that they’re wanting people to pay for a service that causes so many problems and mishaps. If people were getting what they paid for, that’d be a different story, but that’s not the case. Stop trying to make people feel bad and calling them entitled for wanting to rightfully get what they are paying for. You’re so much up Disneys butt from the looks of all the comments you’re leaving, it seems like you work for them. And if you don’t, they do not care about you so stop trying to stand up for a company that has lost its way with customer service and had now focused on greed. You look like a joke lol. Look at all these comments, and that’s just on this one page. None of these people are entitled. They want what they’re paying for and they want a great vacation that they’re paying thousands of dollars for. You want us to feel bad for a company that’s worth 97 billion dollars? Your want us to be okay with the fact of spending hundreds of dollars A DAY to do something that’s been free for DECADES? Along with the fact that it isn’t working as intended or expected, which makes it seem very fraud like and money gouging. What’s right is right and what’s wrong is wrong, and Disney is absolutely in the wrong here. This is the most petty thing Disney has made its guests pay for. Paying for access to something that has been free for decades especially something of this nature is absolutely ridiculous and beyond greedy. The price of food going up? I get that. It genuinely costs Disney more to sell that product, so of course they have to make their money somehow, but to charge this much for ACCESS to something that literally costs them ZERO DOLLARS is downright greedy, price gouging and taking advantage of its loyal customers, especially those who spend thousands and thousands every year, who now will not be going to the parks at all, l by the looks of all these comments. Go find something that’s actually important and worthwhile to stand up for, Scott. Cause Disney, the multi BILLION dollar company is not it.
You can’t defend the indefensible. Chapek and other top executives did not need to take their full salaries and bonuses. They could have cut those to them bone to help stem the loss of money. To make things worse, Chapek gave himself a nice fat bonus and pay increase. Screw him. Who wants to have to plan a vacation, or even a theme park day, down to them minute and always have to be on their phone? I have a couple of free tickets to use. My husband and I plan to just wing it when we go. Maybe we’ll make dinner reservations. We’ve been to Disney many times. If we don’t ride something, no big deal. I’m not buying into the LL madness.
Was just there for a few days on business and went to the parks for a little bit. Was very disappointed in the overcrowding and the cleanliness. The quality has dropped and the lightning lane/genie system is a joke. A family of 5 has to pay $150 extra just to get a lightning lane pass for one ride. By 9am all the lightning lane options for the main rides are gone. You end up paying for minimal benefit. It’s shameful actually.
I have been visiting Disney Parks since 1976 and have purchased the Florida resident pass for the last 8 years. Over the years I’ve enjoyed Disney so much and it has always been my “happy place” BUT this year may be my last year visiting Disney as the whole “happy place” atmosphere has changed as Disney has gotten so greedy things such as FREE fast passes was always a nice way to ensure you were going to get on a ride. Now the park tickets have been increased so much and everything is EXTRA COST! I resent having to pay so much $1,000 for my annual pass and then having to pay extra for the Genie + Lighting Lanes. It is almost impossible to get on rides unless you want to stand on line for an hour plus. I have a lot of health issues and it is impossible for me to stay at the parks for long period of time (usually only stay for 3 hours each visit) and that means I might get to go on 2 or 3 rides.
I am so disappointed in how Disney is running the parks and it may be my last year purchasing the annual pass. Disney management MUST wake up and listen to what people are saying and STOP nickel and diming us to the point of us throwing our hands in the air and giving up visiting Disney. Florida residents are the “glue” that ensures that Disney has operating money upfront for the year. Also need to remember that each time a Florida resident visits the parks they spend a lot of money in addition to the cost of the annual pass. I spend lots of money on food and Disney shirts, souvenirs, etc This will be a sad day for me to give up my Disney pass but I can’t agree with money hungry management!
I was able to take my family on a trip to Disney World for the past 6 years -2020. We Love Disney World!! We make the 20 hour drive and don’t complain at all but we probably wont be back until Disney stops charging for every little thing and offers absolutely no perks. At least make us think we’re getting a deal for the money that we spend.
I’m a huge Disney fan. My husband and I along with our 2 daughters have taken 3 trips to WDW staying on-site every time in the last 5 years and 3 DCL cruises. But when my older daughter had a gymnastics meet at WWOS over President’s Day weekend, I could not justify going to the parks without having fast passes. And there certainly seems to be no benefit to staying on-site any longer either. We opted to spend our free time at Universal, staying at a premier resort which gave the added bonus of Express Passes. Universal has now won me over. I’m not saying I won’t ever be back to WDW, but I likely will not spend the amount of money there as we did in the past.
We own at DVC, we are out of state annual passholders. Yes, we are Disney fanatics.
We used to live in New York. One of my biggest complaints was not that I had to pay a toll to cross a bridge, but that I had to wait in traffic for 45 minutes to pay that toll. Technology started to address that issue, with things like EZpass.
On our last trip to WDW, I too got a little frustrated. The parks were busy, but we expected that. I was less than happy when it took almost a half hour to get thru the parking booths (especially when our AP gets us free parking). That would be a great place for a passholder only type of line. Another 20 minutes of waiting on line to get into the park. But once we were inside, we did enjoy the magic, despite some lines being rather long.
That evening we went to Epcot. We had a 7:20 return time for Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. When we got over to France, we found the Lightning Lane line was very long. We asked a cast member just how long, and he said just over an hour. He then commented that it was better than the standby line, which was 140 minutes.
Unfortunately we had a dinner reservation at 8:20 for Space 220. The park closes at 9:00. The cast member said they could “accommodate us” if we made it back by 9:05.
If you are going to sell something, you should have what you are selling. Selling “front of line” access should not mean, we will let you wait for an hour instead of 2 and a half hours.
If you are going to make people schedule everything, well, then you should be, no, I would say you must, allow a schedule that will work. Our original plan of getting a ride at 7:20, and a dinner at 8:20 sounds completely feasible. Too bad despite our efforts we had to make a choice (which I left up to my son), Ride or dinner in space. He chose the dinner.
They need to get rid of lightening lane and bring back the fast passes. The ONLY reason I paid for it at Christmas when we were there was to keep my husband from complaining about standing in line forever. Fast passes were so much easier and could be booked out 60 days in advance. Just a whole better system. AND there’s enough to pay for at Disney, that should include the rides!!
Took our family in November and the we did not have a good experience with the lightening pass. I agree they should bring back
FastPass. Disney is getting so expensive and we are VacationClub members.
Unfortunately this won’t change. Disney is recording record profits at the parks. The majority will pay and if you decide not to go anymore it won’t matter to them. There will be many more that will go. It’s all about the share holders.
We too are out-of-state Annual Passholders and have been visiting since Fast Pass started. On Jan 5 we bought Genie + to try it out. We got to ride Toy Story Mania, Star Tours, and Indiana Jones. That was it for $30! All the former Tier 1’s were booked for the day in Hollywood Studios. With Genie + they’re trying to help (and milk) the newbies. But it’s at the cost of punishing the Planners. Give us Fast Pass +where I can at least get my family on 1 Tier 1 attraction per day.
Disney World has always been insanely popular. And therein lies the problem: too many people all wanting to do the same thing at the same time. The problem with Genie+ is that it not expensive enough. When half of park attendees buy it the good selections are sold out for the day by 7:03 AM. Raise the price to $50.00 per person and limit the number sold to 25% of ticket sales. At least the people who buy it will be happier!
Totally agree. U feel it should be about $50 for Animal Kingdom as it is pretty much a useless park right now. But $75-100 for the others. Do not offer a family discount either. For now they are just wasting people $15. All for the chance. At least universal is up front with their pricing and access to rides.
I went in November and it was completely packed, but I had no issues with the genie+. Maybe people just weren’t buying genie+ at that time, but I never waited more than 10 mins in the lightning lane line. You just gotta be strategic with it and it’s more than worth the money, you get to do a lot more in the parks. We had a couple rides break down on us, but we were just reimbursed with an extra lightning lane pass that we were allowed to use anywhere without booking it first. Sure it costs more money but with the OG lightning lanes you got two max per day, whereas with genie+ I was able to used it with at least 6 rides per day. More than worth it in my opinion
Reading these posts is nothing but people expressing their view that they are entitled to
1. get things for free
2. get to skip the line because …..
It is people not understanding that by unbundling these services, you get to make a choice if it is something that you value more than the price
People complaining that Disney is expensive. So as the prices go up for the total Disney vacation, you can decide if the value of the vacation is more than the cost to go, just like you decide if you want to by a Kia or a BWM.
The Demand for a Disney vacation exceeds the supply, If you do not understand that, then you do not understand either the fact that the parks are full, lines are increasing and they are sold out. IF Demand exceeds Supply, then the solution is to raise the price. Basic economics we all should have studied in school. The Parks are Underpriced. Raise the Prices More!
I agree on the economics of it all. I think Disney made a misstep with how they implemented Genie+ and LL. No one likes paying for something and then paying more for what they thought they were going to get. Right or wrong, from a marketing point of view, that is a misstep. They should have just increased the price of general admission to match up to the revenue they were wanting to generate. Spread that cost across every park attendee, and the per ticket price increase wouldn’t be HUGE, but they could continue to offer “free” fast passes or lightning lanes or whatever else they want to call the system.
On my trip to Disneyland on Friday the Lighting Lane for Rose of the Resistance was insane. They we laying down tape to direct it. It was way longer than the regular line. When I asked how long the regular line was, they said 3 hours. When I asked how long the Lighting Lane was, the response was it’s significantly less time than the regular line. So these people paid $20 each to wait at least an hour. Ridiculous! I’m all for the FastPass/MaxPass of the past. FastPass was free and MaxPass was $10 or you could add it to your AP for $100 to make the reservations through your phone. If they want to keep this they need to sell less so it’s reasonable. It’s a complete money grab when you have people pay $20 extra a person to ride and they then wait over an hour. We are all MagicKey Holders and we have not ridden this ride since it because a pay ride with a 3 hour + wait for standby. It’s sad.
Hi I agree with Jennifer Garcia, Disney should have kept the fast pass system and just charged us so we knew we could at least get on 3 rides. We are only going this year as it is rolled over from 2020. We are thinking on only doing Universal and Seaworld on future trips.
As a senior who visits Disney World every year, please please please bring back the fast pass. It was so wonderful to be able to plan your day way ahead of time so that when you arrive to Disney World you don’t have to worry about anything. You knew where to go and when to get there and it was wonderful. For older people fast pass was absolutely fabulous! Please bring it back
Horrible system. Been there many times and often if you wait you can not even get a time slot or get it the end if the day. You have to keep checking, looking at your phone. Making sure it is charged. Unfortunately as long as people pay these fees and high entrance prices it will keep going up. Only until Disney see revenue dropping will they make a change.
As a DVC member and HUGE DIsney fan I have to wonder recently what the advantage is to being a DVC member. They take away one perk after the other. With regards to the lightning lane, I agree it’s time all Disney visitors got together and refused to buy them. Disney has taken away the magic of free fast passes and pre planning so that a vacation is truly a vacation. Instead they have created legions of frustrated visitors running from one snagged ride to the next. The comment I hear most often is that they no longer get to see and experience the wonder of Disney. It’s so not Disney like. It’s also one of the reasons that fights break out and that’s not one bit magical.
In my opinion it’s Genie+, along with the required use of the Disney Theme Parks App, and the continued “up charges” (Fast Lane, Special Event Nights, etc) need to go …. because this endless greed is ruining the Disney Magic (it’s also causing a division called “I can afford this” vs “I can no longer afford this” and as long as there are enough in the “I can afford this” paying extra all the time? “I cannot afford this” is no longer cared about by the Chapek Regime at the Walt Disney Company!)
Fastpass freely available, along with the purchased Magic Band, seemed to work just fine (it was a fair opportunity for every Park Guest to have the chance whether they didn’t mind waiting OR wanted to quickly get through a queue line).
Magic Band seemed to offer up a decent way to purchase merchandise, as well as food and beverages, and be used as a Fast Pass (they were also highly collectible!) – you didn’t need to use a Disney Theme Park App all day!
To those of you who have decided to go elsewhere, this household is right with you (we go to Knott’s Berry Farm and have a better time).
Florida has plenty of options, so please feel free to patronize SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Universal Studios Orlando, Legoland Florida if Walt Disney World is no longer doing it for you.
Lightening Lane and Genie+ are just another way that Disney is sticking it to the little guy. The almighty buck is their driving force and profits reign supreme. It is time that Disney listens to the guests and get back to basics, the guest service, that we used to enjoy
Even before the pandemic Disney’s greed was showing. It is 10 x worse now. My grandkids love Disney, but, the cost has driven them out of enjoying the magic. Besides the new Genie system which is a major rip-off, everything else has increased dramatically. True, costs are expected to increase over time, but now they Nickle and dime you to death on top of raising prices. They force you to be on your phone constantly. I prefer to turn my phone off when I am on vacation, not be somewhere where I have to be glued to it. As annual passholders we used to get fast passes, photos of our day, and magic bands to wear. That has all gone away. Now if you want those things, you pay additional and the Annual Passes have still increased. You pay much more for much less. They used to love pin trading with cast members and we would buy several hundred dollars worth of pins each time we went. Now, the only pins that can be found in the park on the boards for trading are the $0.50 E-Bay scrappers which are basically worthless. I’m certainly not paying nearly $10 a pin to see them trade it away for worthless scrap. If they want to add to their collections we now must seek out private traders or go to monthly pin meets which are fun but nothing like what pin trading at Disney used to be. The annual pin events have been swapped for virtual events that are basically Disney taking your money, and a lot of it, for the privilege of allowing you to purchase exclusive pins that will be in the parks the day after the event. The food at Disney has also changed. Hamburgers, pizza, hot dogs and chicken nuggets or strips are the staple. Not much for any sort of healthy food unless you are fortunate enough to get an actual reservation at one of the sit down restaurants and then, you best be prepared to pay dearly for the piviledge. The portions are also much smaller. It is insane. Even their drink prices are ridiculous. The only good thing is that you can get water free but I fear that too will be an extra charge soon. I will say the food at Epcot during the festivals is somewhat reasonable for what you get. Our passes expire in July. We won’t be renewing them. It would be cheaper to buy a one or two day ticket for those particular festivals we want to attend. We will get APs for one of the other, more friendly and affordable parks. Even the Disney fans from overseas are expressing their disappointment in the changes at Disney and are looking for alternatives. To keep people coming back you need to be sure they get the most bang for the buck and that the “Majority” can afford to enjoy it. Unfortunately Disney has been shooting a lot of duds lately.
I have a question. If the Lightning Lane and Genie Plus is in theory the same as Fast Pass when it was free, why is it so much less efficient? I remember for Radiator Racers in DCA you used to have to head to the fast pass machine first thing, because they would run out. (Similar to how Lightning Lane sells out quickly.) But when it came time to ride with your fast pass the wait was never too bad. And the standby line was always 60-90 minutes. Now it seems that the Lightning Lane lines and the standby lines are both ridiculous. (I haven’t been to the parks since last summer when everything was standby, but I am going in a few weeks. So I don’t have personal experience.) Are there exponentially more people in the parks? Exponentially less staff? If they are charging so much it should at least comparable, not worse.
It’s a few things. First they are inflating the wait times and delaying the regular lines to push through the LL people, then the rides are breaking down or running at a lower capacity… and there are not nearly enough CM’s. I’m not sure how many people are able to get the LL per ride on the list, but it feels badly skewed. Not to mention the times posted and “suggestions” given on the Genie+ are driving people to the same rides all at the same time, so congestion in parts of the park are maddening. Everyone looks at the times and when one ride says “10 minutes” you then have a hoard of people head to that ride and make the time then jump to “65 minutes” within moments. Best advice I have is just go to the rides you want to get on and don’t look at the app. You can check the wait times, but don’t bank on them staying from minute to minute.
Agree that fast passes need to be reinstated for free as before. You can plan your day much better if you know what passes you have in advance instead having your face in your phone all day long trying to get a ride for your family. I think we pay enough for disney tickets, hotels, parking, dining. An additional charge to ride is way too expensive after paying for park tickets. This takes the magic out of coming to Disney, and we have been coming to disney for over 35 years. Disney will become a place for only the rich.
Just went to Disney over the last 4 days… Was able to use my Lightning Lane once and it was on a ride that had a 15min standby time… If you’re fine with showing up to the park and not being able to go the rides you want until like 7-8pm don’t waste your money.
Bob Chapek has absolutely ruined the Disney experience and has made it so only the super rich could regularly go to Disneyland or WDW. People save up to go on vacation only to pay more when they get there. They might as well go back to selling ticket books. It’s the same thing. I’m a big Disney fan and was an AP for 20 or more years, but now it’s just too expensive. The Fast Pass was working and they broke it. Bob Chapek needs to go NOW!
Honestly, every ride I waited in line for that offers that, I noticed the lightning lane only saved them MAYBE 5/10 minutes if they were lucky. (I tracked this by going in line the same time some other friends used their lighting lane passes and seeing how much faster they got on the ride)
The majority of the lightning lane runs alongside the regular line.
Granted, we all went at times when the lines were already low. I’d still be pissed if I paid that money and saw the regular line only at 20 minutes.
So after seeing that and seeing the prices those people paid to barely get ahead, I’m definitely never going to use it. It doesn’t save you nearly enough time to make it worth the price points. I literally felt so bad for the families I saw try the lightning lanes. That’s a good $15 to $25 I’d rather spend on some bomb Disney food or drinks imo.
Seeing all this, I feel the trick is the old school method of knowing when certain parts of the park are least busy, and keeping an eye on the listed wait times on the app. Even with increased capacity, that always works for us and we don’t wait in line for more than 20/30 minutes.
I still really miss those free fast passes thoooooo
I read in one or more comments above that generational fans will drop off because of the price and hassle. Absolutely right. I am a first generation fan but my daughter is now a second gen fan. She is very disenchanted with this whole mess(as am I) and we won’t go back until it changes.
That’s the real key to making Disney change. $$$. Don’t give them your money until they give us back our magic.
I’ll go to Knotts or Universal. Or any of the many things to to other than Disney. Sad but true.
Me and my partner came in 2019 from the UK, it cost us just under £4000 for the holiday (not including spending money) and the perk of free fastpass meant we could get almost everything we wanted done at the park. We are coming back in October this year for our honeymoon and this has cost us nearly £6000, so to have to pay extra to get on rides because Disney is over crowding their parks the way they are is so disappointing. I think we’ll be spending more of our time at Universal instead!
I used to be a Disney Diehard, now I’m Disney Done. It started for me with “pay to park” at the hotel you are already paying to stay in. Then the ever increasing ticket prices. The loss of the meal plans. Losing the extra Magic hours. Now the Genie+ is another cost to factor in, in addition to the frustration. It’s too much. For all of the hassle of the parks, you might as well take a Disney Cruise. That’s what we do. There are a finite number of people on the ship. You see different parts of the world. And, and this is the big and, there were very FEW people on our NYE cruise. It was outstanding. Well worth it.
I wouldn’t even mind paying for the system if it worked but I hate it. You pay for it and get stuck sorting through all the “attractions” that arent part of it to make a reservation. Half the rides are out of passes before the park opens, and you just spend all day waiting to actually use the few passes you are able to make.
It’s an awful system and I hope it goes away.
I for one really enjoy Genie+ and Lightning Lane. I believe it is way better than fastpass. I could never get my hands on Fastpasses. Now with LL I get on plenty of rides. Disney is a business. In a world where everyone wants more and more and more, Disney needs to pay for these things. Everyone needs to remember that Disney originally was a pay for admission and then pay for rides. I personally do not mind paying a little extra to keep having fun and the magic stay alive.
My sister and I have been DVC owners since 2005 and enjoy going to Disney World twice a year: Thanksgiving weekend and Christmas. It’s been easy for us because we can drive up from Miami and enjoy the cooler holiday weather & decorations, even if we’re seniors and “mobility challenged.” Well, this Thanksgiving you’ll see us at a Universal park and probably one of their hotels too, since 1) we can only use 50% of our points, 2)have to waitlist for months bc ALL DVC studios are full 12 months ahead, and 3) I’m too old to get up at 7 AM to spend more $.
My burning question is, has Disney become for only the elitists? Paying for a 5 day pass for a family of 5 is quite an expense and then expecting you to pay additional to cut in line is exactly the values we parents raise our children to be. I am very disappointed that Disney has resorted to be such a money grabber. Why does there have to be any line jumping? Everyone should be treated the same and stand in line like everyone else!!!!
PLEASE RECONSIDER DISNEY AND CHANGE YOUR TICKET PRICE IF YOU NEED TO MAKE THAT BUDGET.
Not to be that person but with all the changes it just doesn’t seem to be worth it. We went every year or two since the park opened and now I haven’t been there in close to 5 years. I’m in no rush to get back. I would love to see the new attractions but there doesn’t seem to be a good way to do that and actually get to go on them. I did get a universal annual pass this year for the first time and next year I might get a Busch garden SeaWorld pass or at least a vacation to there.
Disney is pricing the average person out of a pleasurable visit. Seems they only want the rich/elite to visit. I live in FL and would enjoy the parks several times a year, but I refuse to pay extra to skip the line (which isn’t working well with lightning lanes). Walt is probably very disappointed. Also taking away extra hours at the parks for all but the wealthy staying at the most expensive resorts is another slap in the face to those of us with an average or below average income. Bring back a no fee fast pass and those staying at any WDW resort extra magic hours.
I would like to begin my comment as you did: “I want to make it very clear that I am one of the biggest Disney fans out there, and I absolutely love going to the theme parks. In fact,…” when we retired, we left our home town and moved to Kissimmee. We have been in-state Annual Passholders for more than 10 years. (Rest assured, our Annual Pass is not that much cheaper than yours.) And we too would like to see Fast Pass (as imperfect as it was) return. But NOT only as you say, as a free perk for on-property guests. While it is true that you spent a lot on lodgings when you come down, we spend A LOT (and I mean A LOT) all year long. This new system is all the more frustrating as we cannot even buy the Individual Lightning Lane rides as they are most often sold out because resort guests are able to purchase them much earlier than we can. In addition, standby lines are already long at park opening as resort guests enter early. The rise in Annual Passes, the loss of Fast Passes, the lost of Photo Pass has been very frustrating on even the most loyal fans, such as we are.
I, too, am against the Lightning Lane. I have yet to use it (and I won’t…. I refuse to pay for something that was free), but I am disabled and it is now making our waits for rides twice as long. Not only do we wait for the scheduled time, but now we are stuck in the line to wait as well! This is ridiculous!!!!!! For example, we were at Disneyland on Monday and went to go on the “Incredicoaster”, our wait time was about 45 minutes, so my son and I sat waiting for the time, we get there at our time and had another 35 minute wait in the line with the LL junk. The regular line was 45 minutes…. but I have almost ruptured both of my Achilles tendons and should not stand for that long. By the time we got off the ride we were ready to go home because of the pain in my legs.
I really wish people would refuse to pay the upcharge for something that is obviously broken.
I live in Celebration and have been an annual Disney pass holder for over 10 years but I’m probably not going to renew as I HATE the new system. With FastPasses we used to be able to book a few rides days before and just pop over to the parks to enjoy a few hours in the evening/night. We’ve barely gone in the past few months as it’s just too much of a hassle. Feels like Disney doesn’t care much about guest service any more. We now spend our free time at Universal Studios.
I’ve been to WDW 13 times but I won’t be going back. The new ride options are awful and just another way for this greedy corporation to tip people off. The magic that used to be Disney has gone, replaced by a company ONLY interested in profit. My next trip to Otlando will be solely to enjoy Universal.
Lightning lane does not work as advertised. You will be lucky to get one ride out of it. Lightning lane is also much too expensive, frustrating and stressful. Wdw please just save some spots in the queue to sell to whales on the same day as their trip and reinstate the fastpass+ system for everyone else.
As an annual pass holder its frustrating not getting fast passes anymore. I don’t want to pay each day I go for lightning lane either. The other day we were in a line that said 80 minutes, after waiting 120 minutes we left the line because we had to be somewhere. Lighting lane guests kept coming in and making the wait longer. We were told it would still have been another 25 minutes. That’s almost double the posted wait time!
I much prefer LL. It’s been helpful planning out my day and has been way less stressful that trying to get to a fast pass kiosk. I think it’s worth the few extra dollars.
It’s honestly getting ridiculous at this point. Disney has completely stopped listening to their fans and patrons and is instead listening to their wallets. They have gotten rid of virtually every added benefit that separated them from their competitors in favor of raising profits. I don’t see them changing the ways that they’re doing things anytime soon, because obviously they don’t care about how they look to the people who have supported them in the past.
Agree. Here this week. Also getting rid of Disney Magical Expresss. We used MEARS they took longer and cost hundreds of dollars. Tickets more expensive parks busier than ever. Smart money grab. Probably a Golden Goose play. People will put up with it now since they’ve been stuck at home so long. But Disney is losing the magic that separated them. Cusromer experience is less and it cost more. They are just asking for competition to come in and take market share. Not a smart long term play. We will likely turn our yearly trips into once every 3 or 4 years and pick some other spots.
They are not going away. Let’s face it. But Genie+ should be included in your on property resort stay, and you should get all of them ILL included if you are a DVC owner after all you committed thousands and thousands of dollars and annual dues to “buy” a peice of the magic!. It just frustrating that the accountants have finally taken charge of the magic.
Writing this from HS entrance, waiting to open. Paid for genie+ yesterday for MK… What a disappointment. Only one attraction at a time and there is so much people, by the time you get to the attraction and reserve the next one, the time slots available all crossed the noon line and we’ll into the afternoon. So I managed to book 3 attractions through the day. Hardly what I was expecting at 15 bucks per person. And the LL line for Haunted Mansion?? They actually had to put a cast member with those “end of line” signs OUTSIDE the attraction!!
As much as I love Walt Disney World, I’ve become increasingly disillusioned. Part of the fun of going to the parks was being free to explore and enjoy some spontaneous fun. Now, everything from what to ride to where to eat has to be planned hours, days, and even months in advance. Does not leave any opportunity for adjustments in plans to take a nap, go to the pool, or deal with unexpected weather. The old FastPass helped some with lines but even that benefit was limited. Disney needs to go back to Walt’s vision and figure out a way to better manage crowds and lines, and quit trying to “nickel and dime” us!
One of the things we miss is being able to plan your complete Disney vacation immedialy after booking it. It was so exciting to sit down with the family and discuss/haggle over which park to go to on what day, where and when to eat, etc., and all coordinated with your fastpasses. That synergy and efficiency is now sadly gone. A good business tries to improve… Disney has gone the other way
Fast pass absolutely needs to come back! Disney needs to stop charging for every little thing that once use to be free! All of these extra things that they now charge for make it really hard to visit as often as many would like. Come on, Disney! You are taking away the magic!!
I am extremely disappointed with the extra charge. My daughter purchased it for her and her 4 children and was unable to get any of the rides they wanted. It was a waste. I find it too complicated and frustrating when I have paid so much for ticket already I will not pay extra! It has already been a difficult 2 years and Walt wanted a place for families to enjoy themselves and now Disney seems to be more about the bottom line instead of the people! FastPass was such a nice gift and it needs to return but I suspect it won’t. It’s about money now vs experience so sad! I really wish people would boycott the Genie+!
Well no, I wouldn’t want the Fastpass to be brought back only for people staying on property, as this article suggests. While paying extra for the Lightning Lane is definitely a pain, so far the lines still go quickly in my experience. If people staying on property got to use it free, those lines would no longer move quickly, and those paying for it would definitely be screwed.
I agree with bringing back the Fastpass system! Start a petition for fans to sign. I’m losing interest in going back again. It’s getting too expensive and this new paid system sucks and I’m not paying more money to stand in line all day!
Disney has gone too far for me and for the first time ever I booked at a Universal hotel instead.
For less money I got a hotel on property with fast pass included. Gone are the days I would stay at Disney for 7-9 days and not leave the property I will leave that for the Rich.
Been going to Disney since early 90’s and it has been deteriorating on each of the fifteen or so times since. Used to treat customers and staff as special but no longer. Money and profit is all important to the Disney executives and to hell with the rest. We took our kids and then our grandchildren but we all are of the opinion that the generational system is coming to an end and the magic has gone. Walt must be turning in his grave. Not what he envisaged !!!!
We went the beginning of February and bought genie+ for one day at Hollywood Studios. Could only get Millenium Falcon at 12:00 and after that all popular rides were not available. Definitely not worth the cost.
Also tried to purchase Rise of the Resistance for two days at 7:00 am. By 7:02 was sold out and we were unable to purchase.
I want FastPass back! Either that or make it possible to schedule more than one lightning lane at a time.
I just returned from PHM weekend, stayed 4 nights with 3 play days. My adult party of 4 bought Genie+ for all 3 days. This experience is not for the timid.
Cons: Having to be up at 7am every morning
At 7:01, all paid attractions like RofR are sold out for the day
Having to coordinate attractions to dining reservations made 60 days earlier
Lucky to get early time for any attraction
Can’t reset until 1st attraction is exited
At that point, everything is closed out with, maybe, late night offerings that will interfere with dining reservations
My party got no where near Slinky Dog, 3 hr. wait, 7 Dwarfs, 3 hr. wait and waited 2 hours for standby TofT.
The other disappointment was watching children not be able to enjoy what they came for and the poor parents trying to explain while hovering over their phones. For the children, the spontaneous magic is so far gone, it’s invisible. To DIsney, I can stay home and tell my children no for a lot less money and a lot less brain fatigue. What is the answer, no one knows, but it isn’t Genie+.
I recently returned from WDW where I spent 3 days with my daughter, s-i-law, and 2 grandsons. My daughter bought Genie+ for the 5 of us for 3 days which is $225 . Oh my! We saw that the 7 Dwarfs Mine ride was only 1-1/2 hr wait in standby and decided to do that. The Lightning Line was long, and got longer the more we waited. The ride must have gone down or was overbooked. We ended up waiting more than 3 hours and my daughter said we were in line at 9:08, just minutes after opening. The ride is NOT worth even an hour wait.
My daughter was ready to pay the $7 each to go on Space Mountain. That ride at DLR gives me a headache so I opted out. She checked her phone and it seems like the wait was just over an hour so she opted out of paying an extra $28 for the 4 of them to ride, and I stayed behind and people watched.
She also paid $147 for photos from PhotoPass (which is no cost at Disneyland the last time she used it). It’s a good thing we used my comp tickets as a retired CastMember of the DLR (which is why I was invited to join them of course).
It’s too bad Disney is charging so much for what used to be “free”.
Disney has lost its magic! Bring back fast pass and get rid of LL. Aggravating guests is not magical! Just add this to the list along with Disney Express, no food plans, and raised prices for
Food. Next they will charge to use the monorail!
Disney will continue sacrificing guest satisfaction for higher profit until it stops being profitable. As long as everyone keeps going, the company has zero incentive to change.
Comments for Disney Needs to Bring Back FastPass and Retire Lightning Lane
beautiful gorgeous
As long as people pay for lightning lane, they are going to keep it. Disney fans need to unite and resolve not to buy it. I doubt they will. Bloggers are reporting the lightning lanes lines being as long as standby.
Patrick
Made a trip over new years and the lighting lanes were nearly just as long time wait as standby. They were at capacity per park passes. It wasn’t worth buying Genie + and ILLs pretty much required unless you were prepared to stay all day in standby for Rise or 7 Dwarfs.
Make no mistake about it, Disney isn’t at all concerned about Guest Experience with Genie+ is concerned. They have some numbers in sales and marketing saying that they are going to make more money per guest with it so that is their primary focus. The recent moves of some ILLs going to Genie+ is also a $ move. With some of them not packing the lines with ILLs purchases, they are using them to drive up the Genie+ sales instead, getting a better return on the $ spent per guest. Nevermind that they are killing the Customer service they’ve been known for, they’re going to lose the generational nostalgia when the next generation of fans don’t want to go to Disney Parks due to the cost and poorer experience. They don’t introduce their kids to Disney stuff and the falloff begins. Disney used to make long term profits based on generational introduction from older to younger. It’s sad that Disney has lost its way but once they destroy their base, they spend generations trying to get it back. They don’t have a Walt and Roy Disney to help make the magic work.
Rodney Simonson
On top of all that, DVC has dropped its affiliation with RCI in favor of Intervals International. It is more obvious than ever that they are not after repeat business. Las Vegas cycled through this a few years back, concentrating on “whales” rather than vacationers. This will be the new reality until disenchantment hits the old bottom line.
GADonald
Well said!
Pat
I absolutely agree. My children all went from the UK and now they have children they will not because of cost. A great post from you and very insightful
Joan
The new system only increases Disneys bottom line. It does nothing for guests but rob them of there money. So disappointed . We have been loyal Disney fanatics for years, but with all of the added costs we have begun to look into other places for our vacations. Soooo sad.
Paul Abosch
Does it increase their bottom line? So when every guest had fast passes they spent time between rides in shops and buying food. Now they simply spend more time in standby lines and pay $15 for an app that pisses their customers off. Doesn’t sound like they will earn more $$$ but lose $$$.
linda smith
You are so right , plus Disney did away with the free shuttle from and to the airport , extra park hours only if you stay at the most expensive Disney resorts now . And it is getting to confusing even to go there with this and that apps fo everything . I for one will just go to Universal Studios and Busch Gardens in Fl.
incredidad
The Magical Express wasn’t so much as Disney deciding. It was a contract that was up with Mears. Mears provided the transportation. If Mears didn’t want to do it for free anymore, they didn’t have to.
Wreckitralph
I find it hard to believe Mears did it for free. (I can assure you they did not) Disney did not want to pay Mears rates for the service and offer it for “free” to the guests. They simply made it so the guests are on their own. In addition they did not lower the guest rates for this service reduction. So the net effect is they make more money and the consumer pays additional.
MarieMinnie
This.
Amanda
My family just got back from Disney World and we did try the option of lightening lanes one day while at Magic Kingdom, but never again! Because of how busy it was we only got on two rides with the passes. We made our first selection which was available at 12:30 and then you can’t make the next one until that one is used, so by then all that was available was 8:30 and the park closed at 9:00. A big waste of money in my eyes. Unfortunately, Disney has now taken the “Magic” out & put in $$$. It will be a while before my family returns and we would go almost every year! Fast pass was a really nice perk and you could book 2 months in advance! It really needs to return.
Kayla
I went just yesterday and the lines were fast just like walk on for rise of the resistance and for cars
Paul Abosch
Average wait for Rise on weekdays is over 2 hours and about 3 on weekends. Not sure how it was a walk on yesterday. Cars I can understand as that usually isn’t a wait.
R
Disney has lost the magic as so well stated above.
I am a second generation WDW guess. The next generation will not be here. Cost has outpaced the experience.
Billie
So, if you’ve got money to waste and like paying to queue, lightening lanes work! Shame on “Disney” for putting money/profit over what Walt originally created Disney for, family enjoyment!
Debi
Disney is a business. Like any business, they are out for profit. They’ve now decided another way to make a profit is to charge per person, per ride on top of admission to the park because Wall Street demands year over year profits.
One thing Disney accounts for is people will pay for a service they enjoy and can use.
This is not a service the people paying for it are able to enjoy and use.
So, I honestly hope two things happen. One, Disney has a class action lawsuit because this is basically fraud. Two, people stop paying for a service that is riddled with flaws.
Even airlines compensate you if they over book and you have to wait – because they were forced to through lawsuits.
Cinthie Schroeder
I agree, our last experience was so disappointing, you are lucky if you get on 4 rides a day!😢
Monica
Totalmente de acuerdo. Fue mi primera vez en Disney, pagué por genie+ y lo pude usar solo un par de veces. Viajé del fin del mundo porque mi hijo quería experimentar Rise of the resistence, no alojé en hotel Disney, por lo que no pude acceder a LL. Luego de 4 hrs de fila, cancelaron la atracción, luego la reabrieron y nuevamente después de casi 3 hrs de fila, volvieron a cancelar. 7 hrs, pérdidas, sin disfrutar del parque. En Universal ningún problema, ni pago extra. En resumen, para mi hijo Disney no fue una buena experiencia y sí Universal.
Pamela Sue Evans
I totally agree! As long as people keep paying for extras that used to be free, they will keep sticking it to us. That’s why we quit going.
Disneygurl
👏👏👏👏
Larry
Return to FAST PASS!! I feel Disney World will return to glory days. I’m not the only one, I hear it at the park every time I visit which is very often. Moms and dads with children can’t pay more it’s frustrating. I feel they won’t return and kids leave with sad memories and they won’t return when they are older.
Jordan
Genie+ is the absolute worst thing that has ever happened to WDW. Take my free parking. Take my free Magic Bands. Take my free Magical Express. Take away Extra Hours for everyone (deluxe only). But dont take away Fast Pass. Genie+ ruined our vacation. It was stressful and exhausting. I hope people stop going (we have).
Tom
I agree 100%. We booked our upcoming trip last summer and all the negative changes that Disney has made since then have made it more expensive and stressful, but the Genie+ and Lightning Lane are awful and have moved Disney from first place to lastif theme parks for my family. I can’t see us going to Disney as a family again.
Jennifer Garcia
I did the Genie + for only half our vacation. It was terrible. Yeah we got to skip some lines, but by like 1pm, most of the rides were unavailable for the rest of the day. I’d be okay if they kept the old system but charged $15 to use it. That system worked so much better. 3 chooses off the bat then a fast pass. Boom at least 4 rides taken care of, more when you can switch. The problem too is people were booking late then not using them bc you can’t can cancel them yourself.
KatyKaty marie benson
I’m staying in grande California at Disneyland and they are offering no period at all for staying in the hotel I feel ripped off. Probably not doing this again
Former Disney fan
We decided against going this year because of this program. We like to go every 3 or 4 years. I’m certain we will not be back until they fix this.
Doug
Agreed, my family including extended family have decided to never go again, till many issues have been resolved. We were all passholders and some of us were D23. Now we have committed to anywhere but Disney.
linda smith
We go every year for 2 weeks , will not go again , they keep taking everything away , the free airport shuttle , ex park hrs for guest staying on property which we did , are now only for most expensive resorts . Som why would anyone pay the extra money to stay at one of their resorts . We need to all write to Disney and complain and tell them we will go to Universal or Bush Gardens instead .
Jennifer
We went in February and it was a nightmare. Paid for genie+ one day and we didn’t even get to use it once!! Terrible! Return to fast passes!!! Please!
Dr. M
I agree, I used to love Disney. I used to go the parks all the time while visiting my son in Florida. I used to bring friends and family with me, and introduced so many others to the magic of Disney. After my last two experiences in January and February, no more. The magic is gone. It was so bad at Magic Kingdom a few weeks ago that my son and I left the park at 3 pm. I NEVER leave the parks early. It’s not just the awful Genie+ either. Customer Service stinks, the park is dirty, the food has gotten worse. I’m so done. There are plenty of other non-Disney parks to go to and sights to see in Florida, so from now on I will be spending my vacation $$$ elsewhere. The sad thing is, my son (who is in his mid-20’s and a passholder) said he’s done with Disney done too. The loss of the generational nostalgia has begun, and it will be Disney’s undoing.
Vicki
Lots of bad decisions on Disneys parts since pandemic. Loss of tons of perks, plus increase prices for tickets, food increases AND smaller portions, but I agree that the replacement of fastpass for a paid service makes the company look greedy and eager to recoup pandemic losses quickly, their number 1 goal, and more important than loyal customer satisfaction.
Michael Smith
Yeah but every other theme park had a paid service like that. So I don’t know to most non diehards, the genie+ system makes them look worse than anyone else. The LL upcharges does make them look greedy though. That’s unprecedented as far as I’m aware.
linda smith
You are wrong Universal Studios still gives fast pass to their resorts and partner hotels . They also have early admission for guest staying there . Disney did away with extra night time hours unless you stay their most expensive resorts where as before any of their resorts were included , that does not even cost them anything so seems to me they want to cater to rich and the rest of people are just trash in their eyes .
Kim
The paid “skip the line” service at Universal, Sea World, and almost any other park don’t operate anything like Disney’s Genie+. At the other parks, you purchase a pass that lets you skip the stand by line on almost every ride, at any time. No need t make reservations, you just got to them express lane, your pass is scanned, and you get in that line.
Semigh
Wow, I didn’t know that! So much better!
Mare
We have been DVC members for over 20 years and I remember when going to Disney World was fun! Sadly, not any more. It’s an exhausting effort to make reservations and plans. Fast Pass was a great way to get on the rides. Recently for my family of 7 it was a nightmare to arrange. When you try to call on the phone with a question or problem they actually SAY your wait will be approximately 130 minutes and it is. This Genie thing is complicated to use and for many popular rides there’s an additional charge above the cost of Genie, so after I paid hundreds of dollars for tickets, I have to pay more to go on the popular rides. I’m unhappy and disgusted. It’s all about how much money they can get from you and it’s so sad. Planning a trip to Disney World was fun and exciting and something to look forward to. Now it’s dread and frustration and costs so much more both in time for planning and money. Shame on Disney!
Gaz
Cancelled my trip in Dec 22 not going again till park reservation system is gone
Pamela Sue Evans
I know what you mean! It’s just too complicated and expensive any more. We used to love looking forward to our Disney vacations, but now it almost causes ulcers! Walt Disney would be turning in his grave.
linda smith
Your right
Jennifer
We just returned from Disney 2 days ago. The lines were so long on all the rides at all of the parks that we really didn’t enjoy ourselves. For the last day, we gave in and bought the genie, thinking that at least we could hit the lightning lane and skip lines. Big surprise when after we had paid for it, you can only do one. Then 2 hours later, you can pick another. The first ride I selected, the lighting lane wasn’t available until 1:30 pm. By the time I got to make the 2nd selection, the only thing available was even later in the day. So we paid for the genie, but only got to use it for 2 rides that day. Total waste of money. We will not be going back any time soon, if ever. Way too expensive of a trip to only get to ride 4-5 things a day.
Musique
More and more this feels like a bait and switch. U can’t book until 7am day of, and then if ur first ll can already be so or after noon. Oh, but if u find sent to wait in lines, u can always cruise the gift shops……
Freedomrocksusa
When I was there in October, I was also disappointed in not being able to find 50th merch – no fridge magnets, no ornaments, no spirit jerseys. The only souvenirs I bought was my resort cup, & that’s only because it saved $ on sine drinks.
Adrian Mellina
There are many things lately that have upset me about Disney. I’m a huge Disney freak, annual pass holder and DVC member but as of late the magic is diminishing. Genie+ is horrible and the cost isn’t the only issue, I don’t enjoy being on my phone all day and on vacation I don’t want to get up at 6:55 am to get ready to fast pass 1 ride and and pay for the other rides.
Mark
Great article, I could not agree more. As a pass holder who lives in Tampa, I simply can not afford to buy a Genie every time I go to the parks. It has been incredibly dissatisfying to sit in long lines while other move ahead. It has certainly taken away some enjoyment from the parks.
Rahrah
I just got back from Disney and wrote them three separate emails regarding my issues. And LL/genie+ was one of them. I saw a woman break down in tears saying i just cant keep up with all of this. No VACATION should be this nonstop planning, phone checking, appointment keeping format. The dream of Disney was to have a place for families to experience magic. Not to be so plugged in and broke you cry in the park.
Matt S
If you knew how to use the old fast pass it was perfect. It’s what made Disney stand out over universal for us personally. We actually enjoy universal over Disney but with the fast pass it was just too good to pass up. So we always went to Disney. We had a Disney cruise set for March of this year but then universal sent me an email with an amazing offer. 8 days 7 nights, unlimited fast pass, and up to 14 day tickets for a family of 4 for half the price. Sorry but after looking at the numbers Universal will be getting out business from now on. I really don’t see how Disney can stay at the top when universal is expanding and is so much cheaper to stay on site. I mean if you stay in one of their three premium hotels you get unlimited fast pass for every day you’re there!! And even if you don’t you get early park admission if you stay at any of their hotels. What does Disney give you if you’re not paying $400-600 a night? Nothing.
KatyKaty marie benson
I’m staying in grande California at Disneyland and they are offering no period at all for staying in the hotel I feel ripped off. Probably not doing this again
Mark
Is that offer still available? We were expecting to do Disney again this year but I really don’t want to bother with this nonsense at this point and think it’s time for our first Universal trip instead.
Jamye
We are huge Disney park fans. At least once a year, sometimes annual Passholders. We’re on a break… The incessant money grabs are too much right now. In order for us to do Disney the way we like to has priced us out….
DonaldDuck
This describes us. We’re finishing up this AP year, then we’re done. Money grabs, crowds, dirty. Eventually Disney will have to change. And “30-to-40% off lodging” is not going to do it; that’s like department stores that mark up their prices, then offer a “sale.”
Linda
Our last 2 visits were not worth the cost. Non-existent housekeeping, crowd exhaustion, long line. We are opting to do other things from here on out. Disney World seems to have become a big, bloated cash cow.
LB
Our last 2 visits were not worth the cost. Non-existent housekeeping, crowd exhaustion, long lines. We are opting to do other things from here on out. Disney World seems to be evolving into a big, bloated cash cow.
Mary
The lightning lane is hateful!! Horrible! And has stolen the magic from Disney! I’m so disappointed in my experience with Disney. I have loved Disney for years, but I’m only a once every 7-8 year visitor. So it is an especially special event to look forward to.
So a couple of members of my party had to be up and ready with multiple devices try to get lightening lane passes for our group at 6:55 am every morning . The app is ridiculously glitchy! If not able to get the passes those persons got to feel as if they had failed despite putting forth a huge effort. So clearly those persons were pressured and feeling like a failure- how un-Disney like!!! All magic gone. There were tears and remorse expressed despite assurances from everyone that it was not them, but the Disney app, if they could not get the ride people wanted.
I’m appalled that such creative and wonderful people that have been involved in the creation and success of Disney thought this abomination was a “good idea”.
If you got lucky and got a lightening lane at 6:55 am , Then when the second selection comes around to get a second lightening lane at 10 am – you can’t get your selection because you are on a ride – when the ride is over all lightening lane selections are no longer available. It’s a frustrating and sad family experience
The Disney experience is no longer magical! It is frustrating, and is designed to create unhappiness
franklin
One change I would like to see is at least being able to book in advance again. Having to do it same day just sucks.
Mon
I just visited Disneyland this Febuary 16&17th,2022 I found the Lightening Lane to be extremely unfair and disappointing to all the other park guest. We all already paid alot of money to attend Disneyland and for those guest who can not afford the extra money for the Lightening Lane it’s super frustrating. You get into a line that already has an 90 mintue wait time, you’ve already been waiting 20 minutes when anannouncementcomes on telling you due to high amounts of lightening lane guest your wait time just increased to 120 minutes. You stand there and you watch as the disneyland employee allows at least 50 lightening lass guest through and 10 regular guest through. Everyone should have to wait the same amount of time for all rides.
Yvonne NC
Think of it this way: The standard price to enter is the cost of the ticket plus the cost of the LL. You can get a discounted ticket by not buying LL, but the trade off is that you have to stand in line longer. Disney’s error was in not just presenting LL like that. That’s all it really is: a price increase.
Julia
I loved Disney. We went every other year for 7-8 days. It was pricey but worth it. Then came pay to park at the hotel that you are already paying stupid money for. We had to downgrade from moderates to economy because of all the price gouging.
Then they got rid of extra magic hours and magic bands and Disney express which we drive but still just bad. Then park hopping got limited and meal plans went bye bye. But now this! It’s a bridge too far. We are not going anymore. I miss it already but it sounds like a nightmare now not a vacation.
Julian H
Well Said Julia, and all true, Disney has crapped on its Fans from a great height, they will not be getting anymore of my money, its not worth it
MinnieAlice
I completely agree. We moved from on-site to off-site, 8 weeks this AP year.
Liz M
What Disney should’ve done was keep the 3 free Fast Passes per guest, and then offer the option to either pay-per-ride, or buy an all-day Fast Pass that covers all rides. You can’t give guests 3 free Fast Passes for years, and then take it away. I would’ve had no problem with this scenario. I knew how to work the 3 FP system and accomplish what I wanted to in any given park on any given day. If people are unfamiliar with the system, and need to pay for an all-day pass to maximize their time, give them that option. But don’t take away an option you’ve given loyal guests for years, because those who didn’t know how to use it complained.
SCOTT lee-ross
Now @Liz M, I am really confused. Why do you feel that something that was free cannot now be charged for. Did you going to Disney 5 years ago guarantee free fastpass for life?
Is it wrong that something that used to be free like air at a gas station now gets charged to use? Does the dollar menu at McDonald’s have to stay $1 forever? Is it wrong that Southwest Airlines used to give you a third bag for free, but they now charge for a third bag? or even local TV channels used to be free, but now you have to pay for them. Pricing changes. Offers change, Your post does nothing by scream of entitlement. But I want….
Jonathan
It really isn’t about the money, it’s psychological. There is a saying I had heard before:“Don’t let the customer option a three wheeled car”
Meaning, don’t allow the customer choose a substandard product, even if they want to save money- they will be displeased with the results and that will hurt your brand.
The extra money for the LL simply FEELS like a ripoff.
If they just raised the prices by $15, but everyone got LL, then it FEELS like a feature, and makes Disney feel more premium.
Right now, if you just buy a basic ticket, you feel like a second class citizen, and struggle to get on rides, then leave feeling disappointed- which is probably your own fault for not buying the Genie+ , but is still bad for the Disney brand!
Chrissy
They didn’t get rid of it because of the complainers. They got rid of it because it wasn’t making them any money.
Ghost Host
I agree that Disney should bring back FastPasses.
It would be convenient to be able to book FastPasses from your phone, but I like walking and never really minded having to walk to the ride to pick up a FastPass.
If Disney was to go back to paper FastPasses, I also think it would be convenient to have FastPass dispensers located throughout the parks where you could select your desired ride without having to actually go to that particular ride to pick up the FastPass.
franklin
Walking up to a ride to pull a FP brings back memories of gathering up everyone’s tix after scanning in to the entrance and then sprinting to the ride we wanted. I don’t miss that part at all.
They did have centralized FP kiosks where you could pick and choose your rides. There were are least 4 or 5 in various places around MK on a trip about 4 years ago.
YvonneNC
Disney is a business. The business was closed for months, bringing in no revenue. They basically raised their prices for those willing to pay, while still making cheaper tickets available for those who prefer to save some $$. While I liked the free FP system, times have changed, and it’s gone. No more wasted paper littering the parks, employees needed to keep the machines stocked, employees needed to pick up the litter. Going to DL or WDW is a privilege, not an entitlement. We all need to quit whining.
oceanwatcher
You apparently haven’t been to either set of parks in the last few years. DLR got rid of paper FPs back in 2017 when Maxpass came out and they disappeared at WDW in 2014. But yeah, the constant harping of “Life’s not fair!” gets a little tiring with each article about price increases and what not. We should be thankful to at least be able to afford a trip or two to the parks when a lot of people can’t.
Sue
Then you know nothing about the man, Walt Disney. He intended for a family affordable theme park with magic. Instead Disney has taken away all the magic and perks just to satisfy the almighty dollar.
Julian H
Sue never truer word has been said.
A lot of Companies closed during Covid, but when they opened again they did not rip of their customers like Disney is. Disney also had a stream of Cash coming in from Disney + TV, unlike others, but still their Greed has no boundaries.
SCOTT lee-ross
Disney Parks and Experiences lost $4,200,000,00.00. Yes, that is 4 Billion Dollars. That is not lost income, that is how much they paid out above what it cost them. They spent over 4 billion dollars for you and their castmembers. The prices will go up. It is basic economics. The Demand exceeds the Supply, the price goes up.
And as for the Walt Disney quote, that is just hogwash. He never said that. He was motivated by the profit. He made Disney a premium product at a premium price. Why? Profit to spend on his other dreams. He hired Stanford Research and Bud Price to do economic studies before building Disneyland and Walt Disney World. Again why? To study the economic feasibility of making a profit. Walt Disney was always chasing the profit.
Sptfire
Disney made 21.82B in revenue in December of 2021, let that sink in. They beat their EPS for 2022 Q1 at 67.24%. They are NOT hurting. The fired most of their personnel, a good portion who were close to retirement and had been at Disney for DECADES during the pandemic. Made plenty of money during the Pandemic on Disney+ and merch (think Encanto). No, Disney is fine.
CJ
And Chapek closed down their Mall Disney Stores laying off all of that personnel (it used to be a treat to walk into these Stored and purchase merchandise, deluxe home media, etc).
Now they’re merchandise is poor quality, only available online (or at the Theme Parks), or licensed out to Walmart / Hot Topic.
Team Disney Burbank has taken away the Disney Magic.
Scott Lee-Ross
Sorry, your statement is false. Disney did not make 21.82B in December 2021. That is the full company revenue for the full quarter. Except, revenue is not profit. that was 1,152,000,000. Significantly less than you quote. Also, earnings per share does not have anything to do with a percent. That is the net income divided by the number of shares. 67.2 CENTS per share.
Parks and Resorts lost 4.2 Billion Dollars in 4 quarters since Covid hit. Not a profit but a loss. They did not fire their personnel, they laid them off when they were not needed after paying them for 3 months full pay to stay at home. And continued their Health care for another 3 months. Then have brought back almost 90%, Your post is not factual at all. Try again!
Nana
Maybe you would like to pay for everyone’s trip.
Todd
This site is regularly peppering the Disney corp for being greedy and not thinking about their customer. Meanwhile…the content here is almost IMPOSSIBLE TO READ (especially on a cell phone) due to the number of popups, video ads, etc. Seems a little like the pot calling the kettle black…if you know what I mean.
franklin
If you have an android phone try downloading an app called Ad Away. It is free and open source and takes care of all the pop ups and ads I used to see on here. Sorry if you have an iPhone, I can’t help you with that.
Rox
LL is a ripoff. At least let us book three then one like the old fastpass. As it is now we end up paying the extra fee and only getting one ride out of it. And it makes planning the day so much more difficult. We go to WDW for magic, not stress. If i wanted stress I’d just stay home. For free! LOL
SCOTT lee-ross
Rox, do you not remember that Fastpass was tiered, you could only get one E ticket at either Epcot or Hollywood Studios. That is right, you had to get and ride 2 c ticket attractions before you discovered that all of the E ticket Fastpasses were then gone.
Or getting online at your 30/60 day window to discover that all of the E ticket attractions had their Fastpasses gone 2 months before the park opening. At least with Genie+ you have the same chance as everyone else to get a coveted Lightning Lane at 7am.
IK
I agree, so we did not renew our out of state annual pass and have canceled our May trip, we visited Disney world in January and it was terrible, dining reservations are impossible, The parks and resorts are not kept to the standards they were in the past. Not much magic left in Disney, they want you to spend the enter day looking at your phone to schedule and order everything.
Just a little dog
DVC owner and AP holder. What always attracted me to Disney was the experience and customer service. It was expensive, but they treated you well enough to be worth it. I don’t mind paying. I do mind getting nickled and dimed or not being treated well. A frustrating app, inconsistent and dismissive behavior, and customer unfriendly policies are Bad Show. They would have been better off copying Universals pass system, with a high cost and simple, unlimited use. And guests at their deluxe resorts get it included, a real perk making the deluxe resorts valuable for guests. If they really want to attract high net worth guests, they have to provide an experience that that type of guest expects. This isn’t it.
SCOTT lee-ross
Just a little dog
Express Pass would not work like you just described. Disney has 5 times as many Deluxe hotel rooms as Universal. Magic Kingdom has average attendance that is twice that of Universal Studios. And you must keep in mind as attendance increases, the capacity of the Lightning Lanes stay constant. There are only a fixed number of seats per hour on an attraction. So if you used a system like Express Pass, it can not scale up for the busier crowds. |
You would either have to scale down the attendance severely, which would mean dramatic increases in entrance fees or charge significantly more than Universal does for Express Pass. This weekend Express Pass was 289 per person. Do you want to pay 500 per person for access to the Lightning Lane?
Joe
I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve been to Disney World, but I’ve not returned for some years due to the money grabbing nature of the corporation. So Lightning Lane is not the straw that broke this camel’s back, but serves to justify my absence.
Much as I would love to return, paying top Dollar to stand in line all day, have micro meals and be penny pinched is no fun.
I wrote to Disney expressing my frustration. They sent a copy and paste back to indicate they don’t give a stuff. There’s enough devoted brethren still forking out to go there that will keep seeing how far they can push their luck.
My vacation money goes elsewhere now.
Mike
So you’re paying even more at Universal now. Gotcha.
K Kelly
Went to WDW in mid Nov and used the early entry and genie+ the whole trip. I had an absolute blast and was crushing lines left and right. Even if you cut it down and only gave me a third of the slots I got, I would still easily pay $15 bucks for it.
I’m simply amazed that people will stand in a 120 minute line and then see a $15 improvement as just breaking the bank. The only thing all this griping proves is that if anything the $15 price tag is too low and it needs to be more if a premium than it is.
You absolutely cannot continue to moan AND book your trip. None of you are done with Disney and you know it. They see your bluff and personally I don’t believe you. If you go between thanksgiving and spring break you are going to see crowds. This has been true for years and will probably be more true in the coming years. It’s not genie+ fault they have enough demand for a 5th park.
Joseph
It only worked that well in November because the full crowds were not back yet. Try coming down this week… And let me hear how easily u get around the park… Please … It isn’t happening. What may be a solution is having three LL like fastpass had… And having a drop-down to choose the time you want to go… And being able to refresh and pick something different before actually having to cxl one and try to get the other..only to find out the other is no longer available… Just like making a park reservation for a busy day it is a gamble ..
Sptfire
Joseph is right, the crowds are crushing. There is also a different feel in the park, less reverent. I had a line cutter tell me to F off the other day and to mind my own Fing business or he would mind it for me. WHILE he was holding his kids hand and my kid was right next to me. Disney’s policies have had an unexpected consequence of everyone being angry, frustrated and down right selfish. It is hot, crowded, expensive. There really is no benefit to going anymore. I’ve been going for 40 yrs now, no more. I’m done.
Bill Naile
Disney has made it clear by their decisions that they only care about extracting money from your wallet. Most fans make Disney choices with their hearts and Disney takes advantage of that to grow the bottom line. The magic is well and truly gone.
Disney will eventually miss generations of families and children who will no longer feel the nostalgia and thus are no longer compelled to visit the resorts. They are trading today’s profits for tomorrow’s loyal customers. Not exactly what Uncle Walt had in mind.
Nancy
As a Disney fan for over 20 years, I am so disappointed in the way they are operating since pandemic. Over crowding, less clean, more issues with visitors in parks. No magic left. All about money. Not what Walt would like.
SCOTT lee-ross
Were you disappointed in Disney when they opened up and still lost 4.2 Billion dollars over the course of that year. That is not lost profit, that is loss. They spent 4.2 billion dollars more at Parks and Resorts than they took in. Can you lose 4,200,000,000.00 dollars?
Angel
What, are you Bob Chapek?? 😂 You keep replying to everyone’s comments saying they’re entitled for not wanting to be on their phones their entire vacation, for wanting a good seamless experience when PURCHASING SOMETHING, and, for wanting to have a good fun vacation for their family without needing to take out a loan to pay for it. That’s not entitlement. If you’re paying for something, you should be getting what you paid for. That’s not what’s happening here. There are so many problems with this on top of the fact that this should not cost anything. Disney is taking advantage of people who are long time fans cause they know unfortunately they will still purchase it, but by looking at all these comments, that seems like it will be stopping very soon. You are in the minority here and sorry but all your points are wrong. Disney is NOT HURTING FOR MONEY. plain and simple. They may have lost 4.2 billion but how much have they gained? This is a family theme park. Yes it’s a privilege, but that is becoming less and less feasible for the average person. Ultimately, it will be Disneys loss over the years unless they start to change things. Walt would be rolling in his grave right now. And the fact that you are even commenting this nonsense on everyone’s post shows you know nothing about why Disney was built in the first place. Yes Disney is a business, but we are the ones who give them their paycheck, take care of us and we’ll take take of you. Happy customers = happy money making business. That’s how it’s always been. Until recent times cause of greed. Disney being a business and needing to make money doesn’t make it okay that they’re wanting people to pay for a service that causes so many problems and mishaps. If people were getting what they paid for, that’d be a different story, but that’s not the case. Stop trying to make people feel bad and calling them entitled for wanting to rightfully get what they are paying for. You’re so much up Disneys butt from the looks of all the comments you’re leaving, it seems like you work for them. And if you don’t, they do not care about you so stop trying to stand up for a company that has lost its way with customer service and had now focused on greed. You look like a joke lol. Look at all these comments, and that’s just on this one page. None of these people are entitled. They want what they’re paying for and they want a great vacation that they’re paying thousands of dollars for. You want us to feel bad for a company that’s worth 97 billion dollars? Your want us to be okay with the fact of spending hundreds of dollars A DAY to do something that’s been free for DECADES? Along with the fact that it isn’t working as intended or expected, which makes it seem very fraud like and money gouging. What’s right is right and what’s wrong is wrong, and Disney is absolutely in the wrong here. This is the most petty thing Disney has made its guests pay for. Paying for access to something that has been free for decades especially something of this nature is absolutely ridiculous and beyond greedy. The price of food going up? I get that. It genuinely costs Disney more to sell that product, so of course they have to make their money somehow, but to charge this much for ACCESS to something that literally costs them ZERO DOLLARS is downright greedy, price gouging and taking advantage of its loyal customers, especially those who spend thousands and thousands every year, who now will not be going to the parks at all, l by the looks of all these comments. Go find something that’s actually important and worthwhile to stand up for, Scott. Cause Disney, the multi BILLION dollar company is not it.
Bill
Disney has become the drug dealer that skyrockets prices when their customer has become addicted…just because they can.
Kim
You can’t defend the indefensible. Chapek and other top executives did not need to take their full salaries and bonuses. They could have cut those to them bone to help stem the loss of money. To make things worse, Chapek gave himself a nice fat bonus and pay increase. Screw him. Who wants to have to plan a vacation, or even a theme park day, down to them minute and always have to be on their phone? I have a couple of free tickets to use. My husband and I plan to just wing it when we go. Maybe we’ll make dinner reservations. We’ve been to Disney many times. If we don’t ride something, no big deal. I’m not buying into the LL madness.
Tony
Was just there for a few days on business and went to the parks for a little bit. Was very disappointed in the overcrowding and the cleanliness. The quality has dropped and the lightning lane/genie system is a joke. A family of 5 has to pay $150 extra just to get a lightning lane pass for one ride. By 9am all the lightning lane options for the main rides are gone. You end up paying for minimal benefit. It’s shameful actually.
Fran Coghlan
I have been visiting Disney Parks since 1976 and have purchased the Florida resident pass for the last 8 years. Over the years I’ve enjoyed Disney so much and it has always been my “happy place” BUT this year may be my last year visiting Disney as the whole “happy place” atmosphere has changed as Disney has gotten so greedy things such as FREE fast passes was always a nice way to ensure you were going to get on a ride. Now the park tickets have been increased so much and everything is EXTRA COST! I resent having to pay so much $1,000 for my annual pass and then having to pay extra for the Genie + Lighting Lanes. It is almost impossible to get on rides unless you want to stand on line for an hour plus. I have a lot of health issues and it is impossible for me to stay at the parks for long period of time (usually only stay for 3 hours each visit) and that means I might get to go on 2 or 3 rides.
I am so disappointed in how Disney is running the parks and it may be my last year purchasing the annual pass. Disney management MUST wake up and listen to what people are saying and STOP nickel and diming us to the point of us throwing our hands in the air and giving up visiting Disney. Florida residents are the “glue” that ensures that Disney has operating money upfront for the year. Also need to remember that each time a Florida resident visits the parks they spend a lot of money in addition to the cost of the annual pass. I spend lots of money on food and Disney shirts, souvenirs, etc This will be a sad day for me to give up my Disney pass but I can’t agree with money hungry management!
Mike
“I’ve been going to Disney World since XXXX”
They don’t give a damn about whatever sweat equity you think you have.
J
There’s one born every minute. So, WDW is counting on that.
Ryan
I was able to take my family on a trip to Disney World for the past 6 years -2020. We Love Disney World!! We make the 20 hour drive and don’t complain at all but we probably wont be back until Disney stops charging for every little thing and offers absolutely no perks. At least make us think we’re getting a deal for the money that we spend.
Jessica
I’m a huge Disney fan. My husband and I along with our 2 daughters have taken 3 trips to WDW staying on-site every time in the last 5 years and 3 DCL cruises. But when my older daughter had a gymnastics meet at WWOS over President’s Day weekend, I could not justify going to the parks without having fast passes. And there certainly seems to be no benefit to staying on-site any longer either. We opted to spend our free time at Universal, staying at a premier resort which gave the added bonus of Express Passes. Universal has now won me over. I’m not saying I won’t ever be back to WDW, but I likely will not spend the amount of money there as we did in the past.
Bill
We own at DVC, we are out of state annual passholders. Yes, we are Disney fanatics.
We used to live in New York. One of my biggest complaints was not that I had to pay a toll to cross a bridge, but that I had to wait in traffic for 45 minutes to pay that toll. Technology started to address that issue, with things like EZpass.
On our last trip to WDW, I too got a little frustrated. The parks were busy, but we expected that. I was less than happy when it took almost a half hour to get thru the parking booths (especially when our AP gets us free parking). That would be a great place for a passholder only type of line. Another 20 minutes of waiting on line to get into the park. But once we were inside, we did enjoy the magic, despite some lines being rather long.
That evening we went to Epcot. We had a 7:20 return time for Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure. When we got over to France, we found the Lightning Lane line was very long. We asked a cast member just how long, and he said just over an hour. He then commented that it was better than the standby line, which was 140 minutes.
Unfortunately we had a dinner reservation at 8:20 for Space 220. The park closes at 9:00. The cast member said they could “accommodate us” if we made it back by 9:05.
If you are going to sell something, you should have what you are selling. Selling “front of line” access should not mean, we will let you wait for an hour instead of 2 and a half hours.
If you are going to make people schedule everything, well, then you should be, no, I would say you must, allow a schedule that will work. Our original plan of getting a ride at 7:20, and a dinner at 8:20 sounds completely feasible. Too bad despite our efforts we had to make a choice (which I left up to my son), Ride or dinner in space. He chose the dinner.
Jan Gross
They need to get rid of lightening lane and bring back the fast passes. The ONLY reason I paid for it at Christmas when we were there was to keep my husband from complaining about standing in line forever. Fast passes were so much easier and could be booked out 60 days in advance. Just a whole better system. AND there’s enough to pay for at Disney, that should include the rides!!
Sara Baker
Took our family in November and the we did not have a good experience with the lightening pass. I agree they should bring back
FastPass. Disney is getting so expensive and we are VacationClub members.
Randy
Unfortunately this won’t change. Disney is recording record profits at the parks. The majority will pay and if you decide not to go anymore it won’t matter to them. There will be many more that will go. It’s all about the share holders.
Rich
Not only should Disney get rid of Genie+, they should get rid of Bob “Pay”pak! He is DESTROYING Walt’s dreams, his parks and families (sic) vacations.
Ken
We too are out-of-state Annual Passholders and have been visiting since Fast Pass started. On Jan 5 we bought Genie + to try it out. We got to ride Toy Story Mania, Star Tours, and Indiana Jones. That was it for $30! All the former Tier 1’s were booked for the day in Hollywood Studios. With Genie + they’re trying to help (and milk) the newbies. But it’s at the cost of punishing the Planners. Give us Fast Pass +where I can at least get my family on 1 Tier 1 attraction per day.
Melissa Turner
Disney World has always been insanely popular. And therein lies the problem: too many people all wanting to do the same thing at the same time. The problem with Genie+ is that it not expensive enough. When half of park attendees buy it the good selections are sold out for the day by 7:03 AM. Raise the price to $50.00 per person and limit the number sold to 25% of ticket sales. At least the people who buy it will be happier!
Patrick
Totally agree. U feel it should be about $50 for Animal Kingdom as it is pretty much a useless park right now. But $75-100 for the others. Do not offer a family discount either. For now they are just wasting people $15. All for the chance. At least universal is up front with their pricing and access to rides.
Megan
I went in November and it was completely packed, but I had no issues with the genie+. Maybe people just weren’t buying genie+ at that time, but I never waited more than 10 mins in the lightning lane line. You just gotta be strategic with it and it’s more than worth the money, you get to do a lot more in the parks. We had a couple rides break down on us, but we were just reimbursed with an extra lightning lane pass that we were allowed to use anywhere without booking it first. Sure it costs more money but with the OG lightning lanes you got two max per day, whereas with genie+ I was able to used it with at least 6 rides per day. More than worth it in my opinion
SCOTT lee-ross
Reading these posts is nothing but people expressing their view that they are entitled to
1. get things for free
2. get to skip the line because …..
It is people not understanding that by unbundling these services, you get to make a choice if it is something that you value more than the price
People complaining that Disney is expensive. So as the prices go up for the total Disney vacation, you can decide if the value of the vacation is more than the cost to go, just like you decide if you want to by a Kia or a BWM.
The Demand for a Disney vacation exceeds the supply, If you do not understand that, then you do not understand either the fact that the parks are full, lines are increasing and they are sold out. IF Demand exceeds Supply, then the solution is to raise the price. Basic economics we all should have studied in school. The Parks are Underpriced. Raise the Prices More!
Joe S.
I agree on the economics of it all. I think Disney made a misstep with how they implemented Genie+ and LL. No one likes paying for something and then paying more for what they thought they were going to get. Right or wrong, from a marketing point of view, that is a misstep. They should have just increased the price of general admission to match up to the revenue they were wanting to generate. Spread that cost across every park attendee, and the per ticket price increase wouldn’t be HUGE, but they could continue to offer “free” fast passes or lightning lanes or whatever else they want to call the system.
Samantha
On my trip to Disneyland on Friday the Lighting Lane for Rose of the Resistance was insane. They we laying down tape to direct it. It was way longer than the regular line. When I asked how long the regular line was, they said 3 hours. When I asked how long the Lighting Lane was, the response was it’s significantly less time than the regular line. So these people paid $20 each to wait at least an hour. Ridiculous! I’m all for the FastPass/MaxPass of the past. FastPass was free and MaxPass was $10 or you could add it to your AP for $100 to make the reservations through your phone. If they want to keep this they need to sell less so it’s reasonable. It’s a complete money grab when you have people pay $20 extra a person to ride and they then wait over an hour. We are all MagicKey Holders and we have not ridden this ride since it because a pay ride with a 3 hour + wait for standby. It’s sad.
John S.
I agree they should return the Fast Passes, I got 2 for Christmas and never used them until Disney decided to retire the system for Genie+. So sad.
Janet
Hi I agree with Jennifer Garcia, Disney should have kept the fast pass system and just charged us so we knew we could at least get on 3 rides. We are only going this year as it is rolled over from 2020. We are thinking on only doing Universal and Seaworld on future trips.
Guynema Terry
As a senior who visits Disney World every year, please please please bring back the fast pass. It was so wonderful to be able to plan your day way ahead of time so that when you arrive to Disney World you don’t have to worry about anything. You knew where to go and when to get there and it was wonderful. For older people fast pass was absolutely fabulous! Please bring it back
DisneyDave
Horrible system. Been there many times and often if you wait you can not even get a time slot or get it the end if the day. You have to keep checking, looking at your phone. Making sure it is charged. Unfortunately as long as people pay these fees and high entrance prices it will keep going up. Only until Disney see revenue dropping will they make a change.
JM Smith
As a DVC member and HUGE DIsney fan I have to wonder recently what the advantage is to being a DVC member. They take away one perk after the other. With regards to the lightning lane, I agree it’s time all Disney visitors got together and refused to buy them. Disney has taken away the magic of free fast passes and pre planning so that a vacation is truly a vacation. Instead they have created legions of frustrated visitors running from one snagged ride to the next. The comment I hear most often is that they no longer get to see and experience the wonder of Disney. It’s so not Disney like. It’s also one of the reasons that fights break out and that’s not one bit magical.
CJ
In my opinion it’s Genie+, along with the required use of the Disney Theme Parks App, and the continued “up charges” (Fast Lane, Special Event Nights, etc) need to go …. because this endless greed is ruining the Disney Magic (it’s also causing a division called “I can afford this” vs “I can no longer afford this” and as long as there are enough in the “I can afford this” paying extra all the time? “I cannot afford this” is no longer cared about by the Chapek Regime at the Walt Disney Company!)
Fastpass freely available, along with the purchased Magic Band, seemed to work just fine (it was a fair opportunity for every Park Guest to have the chance whether they didn’t mind waiting OR wanted to quickly get through a queue line).
Magic Band seemed to offer up a decent way to purchase merchandise, as well as food and beverages, and be used as a Fast Pass (they were also highly collectible!) – you didn’t need to use a Disney Theme Park App all day!
To those of you who have decided to go elsewhere, this household is right with you (we go to Knott’s Berry Farm and have a better time).
Florida has plenty of options, so please feel free to patronize SeaWorld, Busch Gardens, Universal Studios Orlando, Legoland Florida if Walt Disney World is no longer doing it for you.
Rob H
Lightening Lane and Genie+ are just another way that Disney is sticking it to the little guy. The almighty buck is their driving force and profits reign supreme. It is time that Disney listens to the guests and get back to basics, the guest service, that we used to enjoy
DL
Even before the pandemic Disney’s greed was showing. It is 10 x worse now. My grandkids love Disney, but, the cost has driven them out of enjoying the magic. Besides the new Genie system which is a major rip-off, everything else has increased dramatically. True, costs are expected to increase over time, but now they Nickle and dime you to death on top of raising prices. They force you to be on your phone constantly. I prefer to turn my phone off when I am on vacation, not be somewhere where I have to be glued to it. As annual passholders we used to get fast passes, photos of our day, and magic bands to wear. That has all gone away. Now if you want those things, you pay additional and the Annual Passes have still increased. You pay much more for much less. They used to love pin trading with cast members and we would buy several hundred dollars worth of pins each time we went. Now, the only pins that can be found in the park on the boards for trading are the $0.50 E-Bay scrappers which are basically worthless. I’m certainly not paying nearly $10 a pin to see them trade it away for worthless scrap. If they want to add to their collections we now must seek out private traders or go to monthly pin meets which are fun but nothing like what pin trading at Disney used to be. The annual pin events have been swapped for virtual events that are basically Disney taking your money, and a lot of it, for the privilege of allowing you to purchase exclusive pins that will be in the parks the day after the event. The food at Disney has also changed. Hamburgers, pizza, hot dogs and chicken nuggets or strips are the staple. Not much for any sort of healthy food unless you are fortunate enough to get an actual reservation at one of the sit down restaurants and then, you best be prepared to pay dearly for the piviledge. The portions are also much smaller. It is insane. Even their drink prices are ridiculous. The only good thing is that you can get water free but I fear that too will be an extra charge soon. I will say the food at Epcot during the festivals is somewhat reasonable for what you get. Our passes expire in July. We won’t be renewing them. It would be cheaper to buy a one or two day ticket for those particular festivals we want to attend. We will get APs for one of the other, more friendly and affordable parks. Even the Disney fans from overseas are expressing their disappointment in the changes at Disney and are looking for alternatives. To keep people coming back you need to be sure they get the most bang for the buck and that the “Majority” can afford to enjoy it. Unfortunately Disney has been shooting a lot of duds lately.
Sarah
I have a question. If the Lightning Lane and Genie Plus is in theory the same as Fast Pass when it was free, why is it so much less efficient? I remember for Radiator Racers in DCA you used to have to head to the fast pass machine first thing, because they would run out. (Similar to how Lightning Lane sells out quickly.) But when it came time to ride with your fast pass the wait was never too bad. And the standby line was always 60-90 minutes. Now it seems that the Lightning Lane lines and the standby lines are both ridiculous. (I haven’t been to the parks since last summer when everything was standby, but I am going in a few weeks. So I don’t have personal experience.) Are there exponentially more people in the parks? Exponentially less staff? If they are charging so much it should at least comparable, not worse.
Kathy
Sarah, right! Fast passes even got to be electronic there before Covid. Very easy.
Dawn
It’s a few things. First they are inflating the wait times and delaying the regular lines to push through the LL people, then the rides are breaking down or running at a lower capacity… and there are not nearly enough CM’s. I’m not sure how many people are able to get the LL per ride on the list, but it feels badly skewed. Not to mention the times posted and “suggestions” given on the Genie+ are driving people to the same rides all at the same time, so congestion in parts of the park are maddening. Everyone looks at the times and when one ride says “10 minutes” you then have a hoard of people head to that ride and make the time then jump to “65 minutes” within moments. Best advice I have is just go to the rides you want to get on and don’t look at the app. You can check the wait times, but don’t bank on them staying from minute to minute.
gale boyer
Agree that fast passes need to be reinstated for free as before. You can plan your day much better if you know what passes you have in advance instead having your face in your phone all day long trying to get a ride for your family. I think we pay enough for disney tickets, hotels, parking, dining. An additional charge to ride is way too expensive after paying for park tickets. This takes the magic out of coming to Disney, and we have been coming to disney for over 35 years. Disney will become a place for only the rich.
Mark
Just went to Disney over the last 4 days… Was able to use my Lightning Lane once and it was on a ride that had a 15min standby time… If you’re fine with showing up to the park and not being able to go the rides you want until like 7-8pm don’t waste your money.
Jeff R.
Bob Chapek has absolutely ruined the Disney experience and has made it so only the super rich could regularly go to Disneyland or WDW. People save up to go on vacation only to pay more when they get there. They might as well go back to selling ticket books. It’s the same thing. I’m a big Disney fan and was an AP for 20 or more years, but now it’s just too expensive. The Fast Pass was working and they broke it. Bob Chapek needs to go NOW!
Shannon
Honestly, every ride I waited in line for that offers that, I noticed the lightning lane only saved them MAYBE 5/10 minutes if they were lucky. (I tracked this by going in line the same time some other friends used their lighting lane passes and seeing how much faster they got on the ride)
The majority of the lightning lane runs alongside the regular line.
Granted, we all went at times when the lines were already low. I’d still be pissed if I paid that money and saw the regular line only at 20 minutes.
So after seeing that and seeing the prices those people paid to barely get ahead, I’m definitely never going to use it. It doesn’t save you nearly enough time to make it worth the price points. I literally felt so bad for the families I saw try the lightning lanes. That’s a good $15 to $25 I’d rather spend on some bomb Disney food or drinks imo.
Seeing all this, I feel the trick is the old school method of knowing when certain parts of the park are least busy, and keeping an eye on the listed wait times on the app. Even with increased capacity, that always works for us and we don’t wait in line for more than 20/30 minutes.
I still really miss those free fast passes thoooooo
Gordon McRae
I recently sold my DVC points because I’m so disillusioned with Disney right now. Never thought I’d ever say that. Sad.
Kathy
I read in one or more comments above that generational fans will drop off because of the price and hassle. Absolutely right. I am a first generation fan but my daughter is now a second gen fan. She is very disenchanted with this whole mess(as am I) and we won’t go back until it changes.
That’s the real key to making Disney change. $$$. Don’t give them your money until they give us back our magic.
I’ll go to Knotts or Universal. Or any of the many things to to other than Disney. Sad but true.
Beth
Me and my partner came in 2019 from the UK, it cost us just under £4000 for the holiday (not including spending money) and the perk of free fastpass meant we could get almost everything we wanted done at the park. We are coming back in October this year for our honeymoon and this has cost us nearly £6000, so to have to pay extra to get on rides because Disney is over crowding their parks the way they are is so disappointing. I think we’ll be spending more of our time at Universal instead!
Shari
I totally agree!! I miss being able to book the rides I want DAYS in advanced!
Martha Smith
I used to be a Disney Diehard, now I’m Disney Done. It started for me with “pay to park” at the hotel you are already paying to stay in. Then the ever increasing ticket prices. The loss of the meal plans. Losing the extra Magic hours. Now the Genie+ is another cost to factor in, in addition to the frustration. It’s too much. For all of the hassle of the parks, you might as well take a Disney Cruise. That’s what we do. There are a finite number of people on the ship. You see different parts of the world. And, and this is the big and, there were very FEW people on our NYE cruise. It was outstanding. Well worth it.
Jacob
I wouldn’t even mind paying for the system if it worked but I hate it. You pay for it and get stuck sorting through all the “attractions” that arent part of it to make a reservation. Half the rides are out of passes before the park opens, and you just spend all day waiting to actually use the few passes you are able to make.
It’s an awful system and I hope it goes away.
incredidad
I for one really enjoy Genie+ and Lightning Lane. I believe it is way better than fastpass. I could never get my hands on Fastpasses. Now with LL I get on plenty of rides. Disney is a business. In a world where everyone wants more and more and more, Disney needs to pay for these things. Everyone needs to remember that Disney originally was a pay for admission and then pay for rides. I personally do not mind paying a little extra to keep having fun and the magic stay alive.
Chip 'n Dale
My sister and I have been DVC owners since 2005 and enjoy going to Disney World twice a year: Thanksgiving weekend and Christmas. It’s been easy for us because we can drive up from Miami and enjoy the cooler holiday weather & decorations, even if we’re seniors and “mobility challenged.” Well, this Thanksgiving you’ll see us at a Universal park and probably one of their hotels too, since 1) we can only use 50% of our points, 2)have to waitlist for months bc ALL DVC studios are full 12 months ahead, and 3) I’m too old to get up at 7 AM to spend more $.
Heidi
My burning question is, has Disney become for only the elitists? Paying for a 5 day pass for a family of 5 is quite an expense and then expecting you to pay additional to cut in line is exactly the values we parents raise our children to be. I am very disappointed that Disney has resorted to be such a money grabber. Why does there have to be any line jumping? Everyone should be treated the same and stand in line like everyone else!!!!
PLEASE RECONSIDER DISNEY AND CHANGE YOUR TICKET PRICE IF YOU NEED TO MAKE THAT BUDGET.
Bob L.
Not to be that person but with all the changes it just doesn’t seem to be worth it. We went every year or two since the park opened and now I haven’t been there in close to 5 years. I’m in no rush to get back. I would love to see the new attractions but there doesn’t seem to be a good way to do that and actually get to go on them. I did get a universal annual pass this year for the first time and next year I might get a Busch garden SeaWorld pass or at least a vacation to there.
Debity
Disney is pricing the average person out of a pleasurable visit. Seems they only want the rich/elite to visit. I live in FL and would enjoy the parks several times a year, but I refuse to pay extra to skip the line (which isn’t working well with lightning lanes). Walt is probably very disappointed. Also taking away extra hours at the parks for all but the wealthy staying at the most expensive resorts is another slap in the face to those of us with an average or below average income. Bring back a no fee fast pass and those staying at any WDW resort extra magic hours.
Abbe Guillet
I would like to begin my comment as you did: “I want to make it very clear that I am one of the biggest Disney fans out there, and I absolutely love going to the theme parks. In fact,…” when we retired, we left our home town and moved to Kissimmee. We have been in-state Annual Passholders for more than 10 years. (Rest assured, our Annual Pass is not that much cheaper than yours.) And we too would like to see Fast Pass (as imperfect as it was) return. But NOT only as you say, as a free perk for on-property guests. While it is true that you spent a lot on lodgings when you come down, we spend A LOT (and I mean A LOT) all year long. This new system is all the more frustrating as we cannot even buy the Individual Lightning Lane rides as they are most often sold out because resort guests are able to purchase them much earlier than we can. In addition, standby lines are already long at park opening as resort guests enter early. The rise in Annual Passes, the loss of Fast Passes, the lost of Photo Pass has been very frustrating on even the most loyal fans, such as we are.
Michelle
Yes super frustrating!
Dawn
I, too, am against the Lightning Lane. I have yet to use it (and I won’t…. I refuse to pay for something that was free), but I am disabled and it is now making our waits for rides twice as long. Not only do we wait for the scheduled time, but now we are stuck in the line to wait as well! This is ridiculous!!!!!! For example, we were at Disneyland on Monday and went to go on the “Incredicoaster”, our wait time was about 45 minutes, so my son and I sat waiting for the time, we get there at our time and had another 35 minute wait in the line with the LL junk. The regular line was 45 minutes…. but I have almost ruptured both of my Achilles tendons and should not stand for that long. By the time we got off the ride we were ready to go home because of the pain in my legs.
I really wish people would refuse to pay the upcharge for something that is obviously broken.
J Hamilton
I live in Celebration and have been an annual Disney pass holder for over 10 years but I’m probably not going to renew as I HATE the new system. With FastPasses we used to be able to book a few rides days before and just pop over to the parks to enjoy a few hours in the evening/night. We’ve barely gone in the past few months as it’s just too much of a hassle. Feels like Disney doesn’t care much about guest service any more. We now spend our free time at Universal Studios.
Teresa
Bingo!
Teresa
I’ve been to WDW 13 times but I won’t be going back. The new ride options are awful and just another way for this greedy corporation to tip people off. The magic that used to be Disney has gone, replaced by a company ONLY interested in profit. My next trip to Otlando will be solely to enjoy Universal.
Bill
Lightning lane does not work as advertised. You will be lucky to get one ride out of it. Lightning lane is also much too expensive, frustrating and stressful. Wdw please just save some spots in the queue to sell to whales on the same day as their trip and reinstate the fastpass+ system for everyone else.
Michelle
As an annual pass holder its frustrating not getting fast passes anymore. I don’t want to pay each day I go for lightning lane either. The other day we were in a line that said 80 minutes, after waiting 120 minutes we left the line because we had to be somewhere. Lighting lane guests kept coming in and making the wait longer. We were told it would still have been another 25 minutes. That’s almost double the posted wait time!
Brittany
I much prefer LL. It’s been helpful planning out my day and has been way less stressful that trying to get to a fast pass kiosk. I think it’s worth the few extra dollars.
Melissa
It’s honestly getting ridiculous at this point. Disney has completely stopped listening to their fans and patrons and is instead listening to their wallets. They have gotten rid of virtually every added benefit that separated them from their competitors in favor of raising profits. I don’t see them changing the ways that they’re doing things anytime soon, because obviously they don’t care about how they look to the people who have supported them in the past.
Creig
Agree. Here this week. Also getting rid of Disney Magical Expresss. We used MEARS they took longer and cost hundreds of dollars. Tickets more expensive parks busier than ever. Smart money grab. Probably a Golden Goose play. People will put up with it now since they’ve been stuck at home so long. But Disney is losing the magic that separated them. Cusromer experience is less and it cost more. They are just asking for competition to come in and take market share. Not a smart long term play. We will likely turn our yearly trips into once every 3 or 4 years and pick some other spots.
T. Cook
They are not going away. Let’s face it. But Genie+ should be included in your on property resort stay, and you should get all of them ILL included if you are a DVC owner after all you committed thousands and thousands of dollars and annual dues to “buy” a peice of the magic!. It just frustrating that the accountants have finally taken charge of the magic.
Nico
Writing this from HS entrance, waiting to open. Paid for genie+ yesterday for MK… What a disappointment. Only one attraction at a time and there is so much people, by the time you get to the attraction and reserve the next one, the time slots available all crossed the noon line and we’ll into the afternoon. So I managed to book 3 attractions through the day. Hardly what I was expecting at 15 bucks per person. And the LL line for Haunted Mansion?? They actually had to put a cast member with those “end of line” signs OUTSIDE the attraction!!
Alan Schwartz
As much as I love Walt Disney World, I’ve become increasingly disillusioned. Part of the fun of going to the parks was being free to explore and enjoy some spontaneous fun. Now, everything from what to ride to where to eat has to be planned hours, days, and even months in advance. Does not leave any opportunity for adjustments in plans to take a nap, go to the pool, or deal with unexpected weather. The old FastPass helped some with lines but even that benefit was limited. Disney needs to go back to Walt’s vision and figure out a way to better manage crowds and lines, and quit trying to “nickel and dime” us!
DDdwight
One of the things we miss is being able to plan your complete Disney vacation immedialy after booking it. It was so exciting to sit down with the family and discuss/haggle over which park to go to on what day, where and when to eat, etc., and all coordinated with your fastpasses. That synergy and efficiency is now sadly gone. A good business tries to improve… Disney has gone the other way
Jill
Fast pass absolutely needs to come back! Disney needs to stop charging for every little thing that once use to be free! All of these extra things that they now charge for make it really hard to visit as often as many would like. Come on, Disney! You are taking away the magic!!
Sherry
I am extremely disappointed with the extra charge. My daughter purchased it for her and her 4 children and was unable to get any of the rides they wanted. It was a waste. I find it too complicated and frustrating when I have paid so much for ticket already I will not pay extra! It has already been a difficult 2 years and Walt wanted a place for families to enjoy themselves and now Disney seems to be more about the bottom line instead of the people! FastPass was such a nice gift and it needs to return but I suspect it won’t. It’s about money now vs experience so sad! I really wish people would boycott the Genie+!
Mike
Walt also wanted to make money
Mike
No. People need to rewire their brains and stop complaining about free stuff being taken away.
Semigh
Well no, I wouldn’t want the Fastpass to be brought back only for people staying on property, as this article suggests. While paying extra for the Lightning Lane is definitely a pain, so far the lines still go quickly in my experience. If people staying on property got to use it free, those lines would no longer move quickly, and those paying for it would definitely be screwed.
Karen
I agree with bringing back the Fastpass system! Start a petition for fans to sign. I’m losing interest in going back again. It’s getting too expensive and this new paid system sucks and I’m not paying more money to stand in line all day!
John Reardon
Dang I was really hoping for a rationale business explanation as to why they should move back …
Rodney
Disney has gone too far for me and for the first time ever I booked at a Universal hotel instead.
For less money I got a hotel on property with fast pass included. Gone are the days I would stay at Disney for 7-9 days and not leave the property I will leave that for the Rich.
Leighton George Radford
Been going to Disney since early 90’s and it has been deteriorating on each of the fifteen or so times since. Used to treat customers and staff as special but no longer. Money and profit is all important to the Disney executives and to hell with the rest. We took our kids and then our grandchildren but we all are of the opinion that the generational system is coming to an end and the magic has gone. Walt must be turning in his grave. Not what he envisaged !!!!
Patricia McGarry
We went the beginning of February and bought genie+ for one day at Hollywood Studios. Could only get Millenium Falcon at 12:00 and after that all popular rides were not available. Definitely not worth the cost.
Also tried to purchase Rise of the Resistance for two days at 7:00 am. By 7:02 was sold out and we were unable to purchase.
I want FastPass back! Either that or make it possible to schedule more than one lightning lane at a time.
Ann
I just returned from PHM weekend, stayed 4 nights with 3 play days. My adult party of 4 bought Genie+ for all 3 days. This experience is not for the timid.
Cons: Having to be up at 7am every morning
At 7:01, all paid attractions like RofR are sold out for the day
Having to coordinate attractions to dining reservations made 60 days earlier
Lucky to get early time for any attraction
Can’t reset until 1st attraction is exited
At that point, everything is closed out with, maybe, late night offerings that will interfere with dining reservations
My party got no where near Slinky Dog, 3 hr. wait, 7 Dwarfs, 3 hr. wait and waited 2 hours for standby TofT.
The other disappointment was watching children not be able to enjoy what they came for and the poor parents trying to explain while hovering over their phones. For the children, the spontaneous magic is so far gone, it’s invisible. To DIsney, I can stay home and tell my children no for a lot less money and a lot less brain fatigue. What is the answer, no one knows, but it isn’t Genie+.
Karen
Fastpass should be brought back and be free for all guests. The current system just makes it harder for the average family.
Ping Gee
I recently returned from WDW where I spent 3 days with my daughter, s-i-law, and 2 grandsons. My daughter bought Genie+ for the 5 of us for 3 days which is $225 . Oh my! We saw that the 7 Dwarfs Mine ride was only 1-1/2 hr wait in standby and decided to do that. The Lightning Line was long, and got longer the more we waited. The ride must have gone down or was overbooked. We ended up waiting more than 3 hours and my daughter said we were in line at 9:08, just minutes after opening. The ride is NOT worth even an hour wait.
My daughter was ready to pay the $7 each to go on Space Mountain. That ride at DLR gives me a headache so I opted out. She checked her phone and it seems like the wait was just over an hour so she opted out of paying an extra $28 for the 4 of them to ride, and I stayed behind and people watched.
She also paid $147 for photos from PhotoPass (which is no cost at Disneyland the last time she used it). It’s a good thing we used my comp tickets as a retired CastMember of the DLR (which is why I was invited to join them of course).
It’s too bad Disney is charging so much for what used to be “free”.
Kim
Disney has lost its magic! Bring back fast pass and get rid of LL. Aggravating guests is not magical! Just add this to the list along with Disney Express, no food plans, and raised prices for
Food. Next they will charge to use the monorail!
Josh
Disney will continue sacrificing guest satisfaction for higher profit until it stops being profitable. As long as everyone keeps going, the company has zero incentive to change.
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