Recently, our beloved Basic Behind-the-scenes guy, Jon, was able to experience Lightning Lanes. I sat down with him to discuss his experience and whether or not, ultimately, he recommends the use of LL. The following is a, mostly, accurate play by play of our chat.
A. Okay. Start from the beginning. I was surprised to hear you used a Lightning Lane pass. You seemed really against the need for them.
J. Right. And I was. But my sister came to visit for just a quick trip, and she only had ONE DAY to do Disney. She has never been to any of the parks before, and I wanted to make sure that she got to experience as much as possible. I had a few specific rides on my to-do list for her. One of those rides was Mine Train.
A. Oo. One of my absolute favorites at MK!
J. It’s everyone’s. Anyways, I wanted her to be able to experience Mine Train, but when we got to Magic, it was PACKED. It was one of the first days of the new Christmas season and the line was 75 minutes and rising. It seemed ridiculous to waste that much time in line. So, I pulled out my phone, and I looked in the app for the Lightning Lane information. There was a small icon where I had to click.
A. Wait. Why didn’t you just reserve Genie+ and take advantage of all of the front of line access for rides?
J. Mine Train is one of the rides that isn’t offered on Genie+. You should know this.
A. My bad. Continue.
J. Anyways, I saw that it was 1$5 per person for Lightning Lane for Mine Train. The earliest option was 3 PM, and we were park hopping around four. So, it was going to work out perfectly. I chose that time slot, and I paid for it with just a click on the app because I had all of my payment information saved already. And that was it. No separate kiosk or system. Just a split-second decision and $30 poorer.
A. That sounds like it could be dangerous for impatient people. Ha-ha
J. For sure, for sure. A few minutes before three, we made our way to the designated “Lightning Lane” entrances that have been added to each attraction. It took us right up to the front of the queue. And we got on. The wait was like Fast Pass on steroids. There was, legitimately, no waiting once our time slot came up.
A. Okay. I can definitely see how that would be a good thing. Did you use it again that day?
J. Oh yeah. We hopped over to Epcot, and again, I had a specific ride that my sister HAD to experience, but we did not have 85 minutes to waste. We got to the queue for Frozen, and I saw the wait times. I immediately pulled out my phone and looked for the Lightning Lane option. Luckily, the rides are all priced at different points. The prices vary by date, attraction, and park. So, they are always changing. It was only $9 per person to ride Frozen that day.
A. Wow. That’s like almost the same price as a Venti Pink Drink at the parks. Not bad at all.
J. Nope. And the convenience was, 100 percent, worth the money.
A. So, are you going to be a frequent user of this new system?
J. Yes and No. As a passholder, I am probably not going to spend money to ride rides that I could ride at any point. Busy day at the park and Frozen is 100 minutes? No problem. Ill return next week. But, when we have family or friends come visit, and they want to see everything that Disney has to offer, I will absolutely turn to this system. Lightning Lanes and Genie+ are perfect for those situations.
A. So, you are saying that Genie+ is a good option for people with not much time?
J. 100 percent. It’s like it was built for them.
A. Okay so, Genie+ is $20 per person per day, and it covers several ride options. There are certain rides at each park that are not covered and THOSE rides are then offered through Lightning Lane. Am I getting it?
J. Yes. Exactly. Waiting 75 minutes to ride Peter Pan in the dead of winter is ridiculous IMO. But people do it every single day. Genie+ would be a good option for them to skip that outrageously long line and ride everything available at the Magic Kingdom. For reference, all attractions EXCEPT for Space Mountain and Mine Train are under the Genie+ umbrella.
A. But wait. Do I have to have Genie+ to book a Lightning Lane option?
J. No. Were you even paying attention? They are two separate things.
A. Got it. Is it a sustainable option?
J. The model does seem to be sustainable for families who come once a year or even less. They can add in the extra few hundred dollars for the ability to ride rides with ease. Passholders don’t have as much use for it UNLESS it’s a brand-new attraction.
A. I would love to ride Remy again. Do they have Lightning Lane for that?
J. For sure.
A. Well, thank you for sharing your experience with me. We should do a day at the parks with Genie+ for the channel.
J. Yeah, we will see. I do have a job you know.
A. Of course. Now, let’s play some Zelda.
