Guest ‘hacks’ Lightning Lane system to avoid paying fees to ride one of Disney’s most popular attractions

Posted on by Mathew Corn Animal Kingdom, Disney Parks, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom

Walt Disney World has just introduced and implemented its completely revamped ride reservation system, and not everyone is feeling the love for it.

That’s because the new services replace the old FastPass and FastPass+ systems at Disney World, both of which were free to Guests and only required making a reservation for a time to enjoy a particular attraction, and then returning to experience the attraction.

Now, Guests will pay for the once-free option of making a reservation to ride. Guests don’t have to use the service; they can, instead, wait in the stand-by queue instead of paying to walk through the Lightning Lane. Guests can opt for the Genie+ option, which will cost them $15 per person in their traveling parties, per day. But there are 2 attractions at each theme park that aren’t included in the $15 per person, per day fee.

Rather, if Guests want to enjoy Seven Dwarfs Mine Train or Space Mountain at Magic Kingdom, Frozen Ever After or Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure at EPCOT, Tower of Terror or Rise of the Resistance at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, or Avatar: Flight of Passage or Expedition Everest at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, they will have to pay an additional per person, per attraction fee if they don’t want to use the standby queue.

But one Disney fan has apparently been very observant since the system first debuted, and she, like other fans, has noticed, that there are times when the Lightning Lane option is counter-productive: Guests pay to access the attraction without a huge wait, but then the Lightning Lane wait time is longer than the expected wait time in the standby queue, or, in other cases, the posted times in the stand-by queue are much longer than actual wait times. It has happened with the Rise of the Resistance attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

At least she has some humor about it.

So, she’s found a “hack” to use in response to this issue, and it’s probably the easiest hack you’ll ever employ: simply wait till the end of the evening to enjoy the Rise of the Resistance attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but don’t pay for Lightning Lane. She doesn’t think you’ll need it.

Disney fans have taken to social media to air their opinions about the new Genie+ and Lightning Lane systems, and the majority of those opinions are not of the positive persuasion.

@BlozzS says the new system is the “end of the world.”

In this tweet, a user responds to a tweet by @DisneyParksNews, touting the new Disney Genie as a magical itinerary-making phenomenon.

Some Disney fans, like @JulieaMankin, simply entreat Disney World to bring back their beloved FastPasses.

Disney Genie’s Lightning Lane Prices Climb for the Weekend

Posted on by Mathew Corn Animal Kingdom, Disney Parks, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom

The new Disney Genie program has officially launched at Walt Disney World and will soon be arriving at Disneyland Resort. With the Disney World launch on October 19, we’ve been able to see and experience the three-part program that has arrived at the Disney Parks. The complimentary Disney Genie upgrade in the My Disney Experience App is rather impressive with the ability to help guide your day through the Parks. The second component is the Disney Genie+ which is $15 per person, per day. You can use Disney Genie+ to skip the lines (much like a paid FastPass) on select attractions. Thirdly, there are the Lightning Lane attractions which consist of eight a-la-carte attractions that you can buy the ability to skip the line. While the $15 Disney Genie+ price remains the same whether it’s the weekday or weekend, Lightning Lane pass pricing does increase on the weekend due to the crowd increase. We’re now seeing the Disney Park first weekend pricing settle in with Lightning Lane attractions.

Weekend Lightning Lane Pricing

As the first Disney Genie weekend arrives, pricing for Lightning Lane access is on the climb! More people equals a higher upcharge for the following Lightning Lane attraction. Here is pricing for the Lightning Lane attractions as of Friday, October 22:

Magic Kingdom

  • Seven Dwarfs Mine Train: was $10, now $12
  • Space Mountain: was $7, now $9

EPCOT

  • Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure: was $9, now $11
  • Frozen Ever After: was $9, now $11

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

  • Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway: was $8, now $10
  • Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance: was $15 – remains $15

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

  • Expedition Everst: was $7 – remains $7
  • Avatar Flight of Passage: was $11, now $14

Interestingly enough, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is the one Lightning Lane attraction to regularly sell out almost immediately with Park opening. If this is a ride you want to pay to Lightning Lane, you’ll want to buy your pass as a Disney Resort Guest at 7:00 am. If you aren’t a Disney Resort Guest, you can try to snag a Lightning Lane as soon as the Park opens, but don’t wait as it is selling out within minutes!

Disney World has new procedures for handling ride breakdowns

Posted on by Mathew Corn Animal Kingdom, Disney Parks, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom

Around every corner, you’ll find more surprises, magic, and pixie dust than you what to do with.

But even the most magical of trips to the parks can have their hiccups, especially when it comes to the technical side of the aforementioned magic.

Attractions at Disney World hinge on some of the most advanced, state-of-the-art ride technology, but as anyone will tell you, even the best technology can have its snafus. The same is true at Disney World, regardless of the pixie dust that abounds.

Have you ever been on a ride when it has malfunctioned and stopped? (Hint: if you’ve ever experienced the Haunted Mansion attraction, there’s about an 80% chance you’ve been on a ride when it glitches.) If so, you know that most of the time, the glitches are more of a “pause” on the attraction, rather than a full meltdown, leading to the need for technical engineers to visit and assess the scenario.

But when a ride does stop for an extended time, Disney usually gives Guests the option of staying in the queue for the ride so they can enjoy it once it’s up and running or exiting the queue and returning later to experience the attraction again. If Guests choose to exit, they are guided to a Cast Member who grants them a “recovery pass,” which functions like a FastPass, once the ride is fully functional again. The pass usually says “Anytime Experience” on the My Disney Experience app.

But thanks to Disney’s new Lightning Lane, FastPass is no more, and, it would seem, that the Anytime Experience passes are a thing of the past as well.

Now, according to reports, when a ride malfunctions and Guests have to disembark from the ride, they will still have the option to stay in the queue and wait or exit. But Guests who choose to exit will have an altogether different experience in the parks.

That’s because Disney World is reportedly not offering a recovery pass for Guests who choose to exit and come back. The only recovery passes granted now will be to those Guests who were forced to evacuate the attraction or queue completely. So if there’s not a directive to evacuate completely from a Cast Member, but a Guest chooses to exit and return, he or she will have to wait in the queue as though there had never been an issue.

Some Guests feel like this protocol is another example of inconsistency in procedures on the part of Disney, while others feel it is an example of what they see as Disney’s greed and its apathy toward the very people who are paying to be in the parks in the first place.

MMA fighter Defends young Disney fan bullied on Disney World monorail by social media ‘star’

Posted on by Mathew Corn Animal Kingdom, Disney Dining, Disney Parks, Disney Resorts, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom, Uncategorized

Via DisDining.com

This is a great article from DisDining.com about bullying and its effects.

October is National Bullying Prevention Month, making this the perfect time for a viral video from 2019 to resurface and finally get the response it deserves. The video in question was recorded and posted online by @mcgui, whose real name is Guilherme Kaue Castanheira Alves. He’s a Brazilian social media star and singer with nearly 8 million followers to his, um, credit. He was 21 years old when he took the video.

He has reportedly risen to fame by creating and stirring controversy, seemingly just for the sake of controversy and shock value.

It’s repulsive.

And the optimism within me wants to believe that there are some things that are strictly off-limits when it comes to teasing, poking fun, and pointing out. However, this particular social media “personality” sees no boundaries when it comes to being hateful toward other humans and causing pain for them, even those who are very young, defenseless, and dealing with really big-time stuff in their tiny little lives.

No one deserves to be bullied. Ever.

But especially not children. For any reason.

@mcgui was aboard the monorail at Disney World when he apparently spotted a young girl who was dressed up as Boo from Monsters, Inc. The young Disney fan is the focal point of the video and is clearly wearing a wig styled like Boo’s hair. It appears that under her wig, she has lost her hair, presumably from treatments for cancer or other serious illness.

In the video, @mcgui whistles at her to get her attention (rude), and the child looks over at the camera before becoming visibly uncomfortable and adjusting her wig, then looking back and forth from the camera to the window to her right.

Then @mcgui utters the words, “It looks like a horror movie.”

I’ve included the video so that our readers can see how truly heartless this man’s actions were. Bullying is real. And bullying causes real pain.

Brazilian singer MC Gui makes video mocking child with cancer at Disney, has shows canceled from byebyejob

Let’s recap: Social media “star” hones in on a young child–and one who’s clearly been fighting for her life up to that point–then whistles at her and proceeds to bully her and make fun of her publicly–and then posts the video for millions to see.

Disgusting.

Since the video has resurfaced, Disney fans of all ages have shown up in droves to show their support for the little girl and to take a stand against bullying. Disney should be a safe space for people of all ages, but especially for children.

A man named Justin Wren saw the video and was also disgusted by it. You may have heard of him before; he’s an MMA fighter who goes by the name of “The Big Pygmy.” Wren came across the video and took it upon himself to raise awareness about @mcgui’s behavior and about standing up for those being bullied.

Wren is the founder of FightfortheForgotten.org and the “Heroes in Waiting” anti-bullying initiative. After seeing the viral video of @mcgui singling out the young girl and bullying her, he took to social media to stand up for her and against the behavior of the one he calls “a coward.”

On Wren’s Instagram account, he talks about the video and then calls out @mcgui for his actions, telling him not to “ruin his apology with an excuse.” You can read it here:

“This is what bullying a child with cancer at [Disney World] looks like. For me, this was gut-wrenching and heartbreaking to watch. Please stay with me… Why am I posting it? It’s National #bullying prevention month. Hopefully, this will encourage anyone who ever finds themselves as a bystander to do the right thing. I’ll put in the comments the most powerful thing you can do if you ever find yourself in this situation in real life.

This man in the goofy hat is an internet “celebrity” from Brazil. He has 7.8 million followers. He has become “famous” after creating controversy after controversy in Brazilian media, some of which, were also at amusement parks.

In the video, he whistles to get her attention, zooms in, and says, “It looks like a horror movie.” She is obviously wearing a wig, she is visibly uncomfortable. It’s disgusting to make fun of a child while your goonies laugh with you, but it’s in a whole other stratosphere to make fun of a child going thru the biggest fight of their life… And post it on the internet to millions.

I’ve spent time as an official volunteer at @childrenscolo hospital. I’ve been bedside before & after surgery of a girl this age with bone cancer. I’ve pushed children in their wheelchairs. I’ve organized visits from MMA and UFC world champions to go room to room to encourage these little warriors that are more brave than anyone who’s ever stepped foot in the cage.”

Disney PhotoPass Service and Snap Collaboration Continues with New Augmented Reality Lenses

Posted on by Mathew Corn Animal Kingdom, Disney Parks, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom

Favorite Disney characters and Disney Parks icons will soon come to life in immersive new ways at Walt Disney World Resort, as Disney PhotoPass Service and Snap are continuing their collaboration with new augmented reality photo moments!

Combining camera technology developed by Snap with beloved Disney stories, our interactive new Disney PhotoPass Lenses create a magical, one-of-a-kind experience sure to make you smile. These latest Disney PhotoPass Lenses will be available directly through the My Disney Experience app as part of the purchase of Disney Genie+ service, launching on Oct. 19, 2021. A select sampling of these lenses will also be complimentary through the Snapchat app.*

Have you ever wanted to transform into a Disney villain? Or cook ratatouille with help from Remy? Or maybe even take a step back in time and see Cinderella Castle magically transform into a birthday cake? With this amazing technology, guests can make their own magic as the world around them transitions into one of fantasy. Take a look for yourself! 

The lenses are also a special way to capture memories during “The World’s Most Magical Celebration,” the incredible 18-month event commemorating the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World Resort.

Whether guests are in their Disney Resort hotel room, traveling on the Disney Skyliner or waiting for the character cavalcade to begin, they can capture photos and videos with Disney PhotoPass Lenses to your heart’s content. While many Disney PhotoPass Lenses can be used across Walt Disney World Resort, others like the Remy’s lens will be available exclusively in specific areas of the parks. 

The fun continues even after a Disney vacation – guests can also enjoy some Disney PhotoPass Lenses up to 45 days after the day they visit with Disney Genie+ service, including one of our favorites, which lets guests recreate one of the most iconic scenes from “Lady and the Tramp.” Guests can open the My Disney Experience app and be sure to try it with their dog or cat! 

At Disney, innovation and storytelling is at the heart of everything we do, and by collaborating with Snap, we’re excited to further transform how guests experience their favorite stories. Every day, we are exploring new ways for technology to help us bridge the physical and digital worlds in what we call the “theme park metaverse” to further immerse our guests in experiences they cannot find anywhere else.

These lenses will join the many other ways to capture your vacation memories with our amazing cast of Disney PhotoPass photographers throughout Walt Disney World Resort – from family photos in front of park icons to Magic Shots, the Capture Your Moment photo sessions and more. 

The Disney PhotoPass Lenses featured are just the beginning, as we’re creating more for you to enjoy in the future. Stay tuned to for more details! 

With the purchase of Disney Genie+ service, Walt Disney World Guests can access many Disney PhotoPass Lenses in the My Disney Experience app as soon as they enter the park. Select Disney PhotoPass Lenses are accessible only within designated areas of Walt Disney World Resort. Other Disney PhotoPass Lenses will remain accessible in the My Disney Experience app until 5:59 a.m. on the 45th day after the day on which the Disney Genie+ service was used; certain states and localities are excluded. Many Disney PhotoPass Lenses use technology that detects the coordinates of key points on a Guest’s face and/or hands and may be used only by Guests 18 years of age and older who have consented to use of this technology. Therefore, Guests unable to provide such consent, as well as Guests under 18 years of age, will have fewer lenses available to use. To access Disney PhotoPass Lenses, an eligible mobile device with the My Disney Experience app with access to the device’s camera and location is required. A purchase of Disney Genie+ service at Walt Disney World Resort does not include downloads of a Guest’s Disney PhotoPass photos or videos that were captured by photographers and onboard attractions. Use of Disney PhotoPass Lenses is subject to the Terms and Conditions. Subject to restrictions and change without notice.

*Use of the Snapchat app is subject to Snap Inc.’s terms of service and privacy policy.