@rgandillon, I know Len mentioned that Disney has already seemed to address and shut down the ability to get multiple LL (using the 2 hour window) before opening. That will change this post?
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Maybe. Since we donât know for sure, itâs one of the things weâll be testing at 7 am (and then 9 am) tomorrow morning. So we should have a definite answer (and then response and potential strategy change) tomorrow.
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Sharing from todayâs blog:
"The updated Lines app in the future will allow users to time their wait time in the Lightning Lane. The Lightning Lane wait times will be very important in our statistic models. To help us out in the meantime, tweet your Lightning Lane wait times with the hashtag #LLwaittimes. Remember to include the attraction name".
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Test #1
https://twitter.com/scottgustin/status/1450418132070412290?s=21
Not Touring Plans but a reliable reporter.
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So at a little after 7 the first available for SDD was already 1:40? And so everyone will be competing again at 11am? That kinda sucks.
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Thinking about thisâŚthe availability of SDDâŚso, if people get their first G+ selection at (in this case) 1:40, and you canât book another until 11:00 am, you are forced to wait in standby for the first 2+ hours of your day. By the time 11:00 rolls around, you might not be able to secure something immediately (or will you?) for any ride that saves you a significant amount of time. Those rides will likely have time slot availability further out. Which means you have to wait even longer in standby lines.
SoâŚthe question is if the G+ is really saving you that much time. You are spending the first several hours of your in standby. And the selections you picked for G+, sure you skip the longer waitâŚbut perhaps it would have been better to pick something with a time slot early. Hold off on getting a SDD or other such popular attraction until later so that you can start skipping lines on less popular rides right away.
I suspect, all told, you will end up saving as much, or more time than the time you saved for SDD. (And, who knowsâŚyou might still be able to secure a G+ pass for SDD later in the day and still save the same amount of time.
Iâm anxious to see what the numbers work out to be after several days of data gathering on this.
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Yeah thatâs what Iâm thinking as well.
Exactly this! My hope, is that touring plans will use their data munching super powers to give us a better idea of which strategy is best moving forward. And they may calculate its better to wait on SDD til later, which might yield the shortest lines for ALL rides because everyone tried to get SDD first and stuck in standby all morning?
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I was thinking the same⌠not great to âwasteâ it or your really paying 15 to ride slinky.
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I would agree with thisâŚin the past you want a 9am, 10am, and 11am FP+ so you can secure more FPs earlier in the day. And then either RD what you couldnât get for 9-11am or ride it in the last hour or during fireworks. I bet this is still the case.
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Post with anecdotal-based strategies coming out this morning
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Info on Genie+ usefulness in each park and which return times to book first.
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From the article, Beckyâs personal preference on only buying G+ if the crowd level is at this level or higher:
AK: 10
EP: 7
MK: 5
HS: 4
My thoughts on some factors that would change/affect buying G+ are: (probably others)
- Staying offsite and canât enter early
- Visiting WDW infrequently
- Late risers not taking advantage of ETPE
And confirmation of the correct 7am strategy:
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So my next trip is over MLK weekend. Friday through Tuesday.
For Saturday and Sunday I had originally planned to start w/ AK and DHS respectively and hop over to EPCOT both afternoons.
After watching the video of the head to head TP test at DHS the other day, I am now rethinking the plan to start at AK on Saturday and use Genie+ to stack return times for later in the day at DHS. Leaving me a full day at EPCOT on Sunday.
Which do you think would be better?
Note that the partial days for AK and DHS would be my only time in those parks this visit. I did almost all the things w/ dd earlier this month so my must do list is smaller. Although the list will include tours (at least Wild Africa Trek) if they return, but I wonât worry too much unless that happens.
Here are the predicted CLs if that makes a difference:
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This plan looks terrific.
As far as the crowd predictions go, I donât think they will be that high. Those are normal time numbers. The pandemic effects are still dragging on and affecting plans. I could be wrong. But if we donât see 9âs and 10âs around Christmas, I wouldnât expect 8âs and 9âs during MLK weekend.
In 2020, it appears peak crowds happened on Sunday. So good call to do HS on Saturday.
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Mr. Moneybags 
- Are you a high income individual/family? If you have a high enough income, then you may have a âmoney is no objectâ attitude about vacations. Go ahead and buy all the ILLs, Mr. Moneybags.
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Right on - completely agree. I add to bullet number 3, arrival day late park entry.
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We watched three separate YouTubers (Mickey Views, Prince Charming [aka P.C. Dev], and DFB).
First, I wish the Mickey Views video was required viewing any anyone going to WDW and considering using G+. His viewpoints are so spot-on, I felt like going, âAmen! Preach it, brother!â as I watched it. It also reaffirmed our stance that we really plan to avoid buying Genie+ for our trip on principle alone, unless Disney makes some serious changes between now and then.
P.C. Dev, who usually is quite pleased with Disney, found Genie+ and ILL to be a negative experience and confusing, as did several people he spoke with during the day. The only place that it appears to have worked well was MK. Even DFB Guide, which is generally nothing but rainbows and roses had a bit more âbalancedâ views on it.
Iâll reiterate what Iâve said before (and echoes what Brayden from Mickey Views was saying)âŚI just wish people would boycott this product and tell Disney they wonât put up with this any longer. Disney is still artificially inflating wait times to convince you to buy a product,. And if you buy an ILL and it goes down, they wonât refund you UNLESS the ride never comes back up for the day. Some of the LL lines grew extraordinarily long so that even though you are PAYING to skip the line, you still had a relatively long line in some cases. Devon noted that the Standby lines were noticeably slower, which means, as Iâve said from the get-go, this pay-to-play service is STEALING time away from other guests by making their wait times longerâŚand yet the money goes to Disney, NOT to the guests from whom the time is being taken.
I am seriously more angered by this whole situation now more than ever, and yetâŚI keep seeing people HERE posting about getting the service and how to use it best. (Honestly, I get itâŚI donât blame youâŚbut it is frustrating that Disney has turned it into thisâŚit is captive audience selling, not actually because it is a good product!)
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