Disney announced yesterday the new system that will replace Fast Passes at Disney World in Orlando Florida. This new system is known as Genie+ and Lightning Lane. This new optional additional feature allows you to use the fast pass lanes – renaming them to lightning lanes it appears – for most – but not all – rides for $15 per person per day. Here we go again – anytime Disney World changes pricing, the people of the internet lose their actual minds. People are going crazy and highly upset and offended by this change. Although when Disney took away fast passes last summer due to the Pandemic, people were wanting to pay to see them return – You people are never happy. How dare a BUSINESS want to make money?!! The nerve of those people! Right?
Ok so, the main focus of this post – and countless others on the internet, is on the Lightning Lanes – but there’s also another neat feature that you can personalize your trip experience so you don’t miss anything at the parks and make the most of each day. It uses your preferences, whether it be Turkey Legs or Princesses or Peter Pan to continuously guide you to what to see, do, or eat next. Pretty neat. SUPER useful for people like me, who don’t go all the time. It’s been 25 years since my last trip and I don’t want to miss a thing! Here’s a video on how that all works:
I see people saying “CRAZY PRICES” Meanwhile, Universal is $89 per person per day and Canada’s Wonderland is $99 per person per day. – So where they get this “CRAZY PRICES” thing is beyond me! LOL.
People are whining about how they don’t get their precious beloved free fast passes for staying on Disney Property – News Flash – You only got like a small handful of fastpass a day for free – and NO option to buy more. NOW – with the exception of maybe 2-3 rides per park – you can fastpass your way through all the rides all day. Instead of (I think it was 3 fastpasses per day.) People are mad it’s not ALL rides – well NEWSFLASH – the old fastpass system wasn’t ALL rides either – yes you could probably pick some of the now blacklisted rides – but if you could only fastpass 3 per day – you’d still end up waiting LONGER overall – because now you can fastpass almost everything. With a few exceptions – that you have to buy a different kind of ticket for if you want to fastpass. And you aren’t on a rigid time/day schedule anymore. You just pick your rides on the spur of the moment now. Pick one ride, ride it, pick another, and on and on. Magic. But if you still miss your free fastpasses and picking everything 60 days in advance and being on a timed schedule – maybe Disney – or Fastpass or Disney Resorts aren’t for you!
So don’t stay on Disney Property – after January there’s LITERALLY no reason to!! Magic Express is ending in January – which is a shitty move by Disney – WTF are people supposed to do? I understand yes, Disney is a business, and bus drivers, and gas, and maintenance on a fleet of busses is expensive I bet – but this is a major dick move. You’re stuck having to rent a car (or uber/lyft) – I’ve seen on the news car rental prices are crazy now. And I’ve heard some horror stories about uber and lyft. Didn’t your momma tell you don’t get into the car with strangers? Sheesh… Plus now you’re paying for parking too if you rent a car – HERE I can see how Disney is Greedy. Here yes… but paid fast passes – no. Every other major theme park is doing this.
Disney resorts don’t even offer free breakfast – not even continental.
With no fast passes, no magic express, and no free breakfast (they never did offer breakfast), and no dining plan (at least for the foreseeable future), there is no reason at all to stay on disney property – so don’t!
I’m going in October before Magic Express goes the way of the Dodo. So I definitely see that as a huge perk to staying on Disney property. Other people like to pay to be in the “Disney Bubble” but that’s just hooey to me and means nothing.
Ok so back to this Genie+ Lightning Lanes thing…
No date has been announced yet. I chatted with an operator about if I could add it to my upcoming trip and they told me that no date has been announced but that it will be available this fall (2021). Since my trip is in October, I assume I will be able to add Genie+ Lightning passes to my travel plans.
Now I’m only staying eight days in a party of 2 adults. Myself and my soon to be husband (who will be my husband by time we arrive at Disney World). So $15 x 2 = $30 a day x 8 = $240. When I’m already spending $4,000 do I really give a darn about an extra $240? Not really. It’ll be worth it to enhance my experience – less waiting – more riding.
I’ve only gone to Disney World one time – 25 years ago. This will only be my 2nd time – and possibly last time in my life. So what’s $240 at the end of the day? Like literally nothing.
People spend $15 a day on Starbucks or Mcdonalds or insert other guilty pleasure here. Every day on their morning commute, on lunches, on whatever.
Let’s say your trip is 6 months away, and let’s say you get your favorite guilty pleasure (food, drink whatever) 3 times a week – you have 24 weeks to start saving. If you cut it out completely $15 x 3 days x 24 weeks = $1,080…. That’s over $1,000 you can save before your trip just by giving up a cup of coffee or a bagel every day. (Not even every day, we’re being conservative and saying you only treat yourself 3 times a week, but I bet there are people that need their coffee EVERY day – think of the money THOSE people could save).
Let’s say you absolutely can’t go all day without coffee – buy yourself a heated thermos and make it at home – or wait until you’re in the office and use their coffee pot or kurig right?
This is just ONE example…. There’s so many things people spend money on frivilously!
Cut out Netflix or Hulu for 6 months – 6 x $15 a month = 6 people’s fast passes (for at least a day)
In my case, my obsession is video games. I buy let’s say 3 video games a month. $150 (conservative estimate) a month. – If I go one month without buying any video games – there’s $150 or 10 fast passes.
There’s ALWAYS ways to save money.
Yes I understand you’re a special little entitled snowflake who feels that because you’re spending $5,000 on a vacation, they should give you everything for free. I want stuff to be free and handed to me too – who the hell doesn’t want that?! But that’s not reality. Again NEWSFLASH – Disney World is a BUSINESS. Disney World Likes Money – Like Most Businesses do. Disney saw a desire and need and demand for fast passes to return – Disney invented a new marketing gimmick to fill that need. Supply and Demand – come on people – Business basics right here.
This is a special PERK – not a REQUIREMENT – you can still go to Disney World without this and ride everything – you just have to be up earlier and in line longer – This just makes it MORE CONVENIENT – that’s ALL.
For me, I do not go to Disney every year like a lot of you EXTRA SPECIAL snowflakes.
I’ve only been once in my whole life – 25 years ago – and I didn’t pay for it then.
Now as an adult – this is my first – and possibly only – time paying for my own trip to Disney World.
Am I going to get Genie+ and Lightning Lane – YOU BETCHA!!! I can go without Starbucks or Mcdonalds or Video Games – or whatever other little luxury purchases.
I know I don’t have children…. but let’s look at those numbers….
Let’s say the average family going to Disney World has 2 adults and 3 Children. That’s 5 people. 5 X $15 = $75 a day. Let’s say most people stay 5 days in Disney World – It’ll cost you $375 for Genie+ and Lightning Lane for the entire family for the whole stay.
Remember how I told you, you can save $1,000+ by giving up guilty pleasures like Starbucks and Mcdonalds
Or Remember how I told you Universal and Wonderland are $89 and $99 per person per day (and most people day 2-3 days at those parks too) — You can see where I’m going with this….
There’s your fastpass money – right there.
Other businesses are doing it – people are paying more – for less – with little to no complaints
Supply and Demand.
Sorry snowflake. Life isn’t fair. You might have to just be a good little snowflake and wait in line with all the other equally special snowflakes. If you really can’t afford to go – then don’t go – or go and skip the Genie+ Lightning Lanes business all together.
Nothing is free. This is a fact of life. Even free things have strings attached remember that.