Is the New LL Process a Bust or Win?

[Sparrow'sLady]

I have read many comments about this, but genuinely wondering if guests are getting their money's worth with the purchase? I have seen blogs and such, from TA sites, stating that many days they are only about to get the 3 pre-booked LLs and nothing else.

Disney has become so ridiculously expensive and I want to make the most of my last trip later this year, but I do not want to spend money I am not going to get value from.

Would really appreciate first-hand experiences, vs comments on YT videos from people who may just be anti-Disney.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

We've used it several times on trips this year. I'd have to say we're glad we had it on some of the busier days we had it, but for the most part, we preferred Genie+. For folks who like to get to the parks early, maybe even rope drop, it probably works better because you can use your first attraction and then book more. Unfortunately, we're more likely to get to the park at 10AM (or even after lunch) and enjoy the attractions. By the time we use our first LL, there's usually not much else left over. With G+, we could keep adding on to our attractions every 2 hours for later in the day, sometimes even in a different park for later that night.

The things I do like about the current LL - the ability to prebook, and the best one - the ability to select an actual time window. For as much as we liked G+, I was constantly using modify to get to a particular time we wanted.

LL certainly isn't a bust - far from it, based on how much it's used. But we find we don't need it at all some days. So we'll spend our extra LL money strategically, not every day!

 

[Smugpugmug]

It's not a bust but I 100% prefer Genie+ and I REALLY cannot believe I am saying that. I was able to ride more attractions per day with Genie than with LLMP.

I do look forward to trying it in Disneyland as the general consensus is that it works WAY better than WDW's version.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

It's not a bust but I 100% prefer Genie+ and I REALLY cannot believe I am saying that. I was able to ride more attractions per day with Genie than with LLMP.

I do look forward to trying it in Disneyland as the general consensus is that it works WAY better than WDW's version.

I think we're going to like the DL version much better, too - not that different in many ways to MaxPass, which is what we think should be the Disney standard for pay-to-ride in the US!!

 

[TikiRob]

1. Genie+
2. Standby only during COVID
3. FastPass+
4. LLMP
5. Paper FastPass

 

[petrola]

We haven't used the new multipass yet - but we plan to for our trip in April. (and maybe premier pass for a few days)
As far as "getting your money's worth" - my thoughts are this: I'd rather pay the $29-$35 per person for 3 lightning lanes and an additional $10-$25 for a single pass to guarantee 4 rides without waiting standby -than not pay for multipass/single pass and have to do standby for every single ride. My family also visits during one of the busiest times of the year due to my kids' spring break week. Time is money - but of course all relative to how much you feel your time is worth. Maybe if we were to travel during a "less busy" time things would be different?

Also depends on who you're going with. When we went with three families -the standby times on some of the rides went rather quickly since we had each other to talk to and pass the time. I would imagine it would have felt much longer had I been traveling solo.

As for Genie+ - good riddance. More than happy to never have to wake up at 7 am every single day on vacation and frantically purchase then book lightning lanes.

 

[Nimbus]

Up until very recently (the last couple weeks) when they updated the app, I'd say it was definitely worth the money, but now some of the reliable tips and tricks that could be used to almost guarantee even hard to get LL's later in the day are now a lot less reliable and a lot more difficult to successfully pull off. The EarScouts YouTube channel does a good job of detailing the tips, tricks, and changes.

 

[DizneyFamof4]

1 trip it was ok and the 2nd we felt like it was a waste of $$.
FP+
G+
LLMP

Paper FP

 

[Minnie1222]

We used 3 days of LLMP, 40+ days of Genie+, and numerous days of FP+. I think Genie+ is better than LLMP, which in turn is superior than FP+.

 

[Dave006]

I have read many comments about this, but genuinely wondering if guests are getting their money's worth with the purchase? I have seen blogs and such, from TA sites, stating that many days they are only about to get the 3 pre-booked LLs and nothing else.

Yes you can get more than your 3 initial LLMP selections. It just requires some experience (practice) on how the MDE and LLMP works. You do need to spend a little more time checking / modifying to still find available return times.

However, guests still complain that they often can't get additional popular attractions when the parks are busy. The system rolled out on June 24, 2024 and there was a ramp up of usage that overlapped the crowds building to the busier times in the parks. So an experience from August - September will not match a Thanksgiving week visit, Christmas week thru New Years. It will also be challenging during the Easter crowds next month for example.

Dave

 

[team bradfield]

Love LLMP, works well for us

 

[SuzErwin]

Best systems, a completely biased ranking:

1) Paper FP at DLR. Back in the day, the FP system for each park was separate, so it was possible to hold a FP for both DL and DCA simultaneously. And since the two parks are so close together, it was very doable to go between the two. We got so much done in a day!

2) MaxPass at DLR. I remember it starting at $15, including PhotoPass, and you had to be in the park to buy so rides were rarely sold out when we got there. Very easy to use and we got nearly everything we wanted every time.

3) Genie+. I wake up early as a rule, so the morning rush to get your first ride never bothered me. I liked how it evened the playing field so you weren't penalized for a last minute/short trip - you were competing only with people there on the day. We managed to get most of what we wanted.

4) FP+ at WDW. Free to use, but if you didn't plan your trip far in advance or you didn't have a long stay, you were pretty much out of luck when it came to booking headliners. We never managed to secure a fourth FP, they were always gone by the time we were eligible. Only time it worked in our favor was when the system went down and a kind Cast Member gave us three anytime FP good for any ride, including headliners. But hey, FP+ was free so not really complaining!

5) LLMP: Combines the worst of the expense of Genie+ with being penalized for not having a long stay and/or planning last minute. We routinely purchased Genie+ but only purchased LLMP once and decided it wasn't worth it - we'd rather rope drop/stay late and use EEH or ticketed events to ride the headliners (we do purchase LLSP for Guardians but that's it).

 

[gharter]

For us, the new LL is a huge win. Granted, it is FP+ but paying for it, but it is a huge step up from Genie +. I love the ability to have 3 rides pre-booked, able to move times and change rides. Now, it's as it should have been to start with.

 

[bakofarmgirl]

if you are a hotel guest, is it easy to get what youre hoping for to reserve your 3? or do a lot run out ahead of time? can you reserve your 3 and also get a LLSP?

 

[ShaneDJ]

Since your title didn’t specify LLPP, LLMP, or LLSP, I will say that LLPP is the best of all current and past offerings.

The huge downside of LLPP, of course, is the cost.

But the LLPP made our recent trip the best experience we’ve ever had avoiding lines (during a busy park day), and that includes the expensive VIP tour.

We will get the LLPP for our next trip also.

 

[LKing]

I think we're going to like the DL version much better, too - not that different in many ways to MaxPass, which is what we think should be the Disney standard for pay-to-ride in the US!!

The Disneyland version is Genie + with a new name. Nothing changed. You must be inside the parks to book your first ride and can rebook once your tap in or once the two hour window has passed.

 

[Dave006]

if you are a hotel guest, is it easy to get what youre hoping for to reserve your 3? or do a lot run out ahead of time? can you reserve your 3 and also get a LLSP?

Yes if you take advantage of the 7 days before your resort stay to book you 3 initial LLMP for any days of your visit.

Yes you can purchase LLSP for every day of your visit, up to 2 LLSP per day and they don't even need to be for the same park as your LLMP if you have a park hopper option for your ticket.

Dave

 

[hes122]

As someone who was there during the height of spring break season last year, I 100% prefer LLMP to Genie+. We would've had much better luck in several parks getting to ride things, especially on our HS day.

 

[BigOnDis]

We haven't used the new multipass yet - but we plan to for our trip in April. (and maybe premier pass for a few days)
As far as "getting your money's worth" - my thoughts are this: I'd rather pay the $29-$35 per person for 3 lightning lanes and an additional $10-$25 for a single pass to guarantee 4 rides without waiting standby -than not pay for multipass/single pass and have to do standby for every single ride. My family also visits during one of the busiest times of the year due to my kids' spring break week. Time is money - but of course all relative to how much you feel your time is worth. Maybe if we were to travel during a "less busy" time things would be different?

Also depends on who you're going with. When we went with three families -the standby times on some of the rides went rather quickly since we had each other to talk to and pass the time. I would imagine it would have felt much longer had I been traveling solo.

As for Genie+ - good riddance. More than happy to never have to wake up at 7 am every single day on vacation and frantically purchase then book lightning lanes.

This pretty much sums up how I feel. It does depend on what time of day you like to go, we like to get there fairly early (not rope drop) ride our rides and get back to hotel to relax. Then we spend a relaxing evening dining and maybe doing some rides. We also tend to do the less busy attractions with our two year old grand daughter. We thought it was worth it for us on this spring break trip.

 

[tofubeast]

Up until very recently (the last couple weeks) when they updated the app, I'd say it was definitely worth the money, but now some of the reliable tips and tricks that could be used to almost guarantee even hard to get LL's later in the day are now a lot less reliable and a lot more difficult to successfully pull off. The EarScouts YouTube channel does a good job of detailing the tips, tricks, and changes.

I don't think enough people know about the change. But you have to already be a savvy user to even know why the change is a bummer. I was so bummed to watch that video last week as I prep for our upcoming trip.