Disney guests in charge of managing Lightning Lane reservations aren’t enjoying themselves as much as their families, suggests a Wall Street Journal report.
Lightning Lane
Ben Fritz spoke to various guests at Disneyland as they juggled their phones and families, trying to create the best day ever. He encountered guests with strollers and young children who were trying to navigate the Disneyland app while also navigating crowds.
“I feel like it’s a distraction,” said Catherine Garcia as she tried to book a Lightning Lane with her 4-year-old son at her side. “I’m watching him and I’ve got to be on my phone and I’m trying not to crash into people.”
21-year-old Evan Paulk was the Lightning Lane manager for his group of 19 family members. In order to book passes for the whole group, he had to use two phones.
“I go here very often and they do not, so I’m the one who has to set everything up,” he said.
Influencer Jessica Gardner told Fritz, “The person tasked with making the lightning lane reservations for a group is going to have a very different day. You’re not going to turn a corner and have that unexpected magical experience.”
Most people Fritz spoke to were using Lightning Lane Multi Pass. Starting at $34 per person, this pass allows guests to book Lightning Lane access for multiple attractions, albeit with restrictions regarding when you can book and how many bookings you can have at a time. While Walt Disney World has introduced advanced Lightning Lane bookings, Disneyland still restricts booking to the day of a visit.
Before activating his own Lightning Lane pass, Fritz studied tutorials on YouTube and Reddit, noting experienced guests use various “hacks” like playing “Disney slots” or “stacking.”
“It’s important you think of this as a game,” said YouTuber Rob Daniel, “because if you think of it as a scheduling tool, it’s going to be the most frustrating scheduling tool you’ve used in your entire life.”
“Disney slots” refers to the technique of making a Lightning Lane reservation for any time, then modifying the reservation, and refreshing the page over and over until your preferred time appears. While you’ll mostly see openings for later in the day, other guests canceling or modifying their reservations will lead to earlier times becoming available. But you have to be fast enough to select them.
Fritz utilized this technique after entering Disneyland and booking an 11:50 a.m. Lightning Lane for Space Mountain. When he went to modify it, 12:25 p.m. was the next earliest option. But after refreshing a dozen times, he secured a 9:25 a.m. time slot.
With “stacking,” guests make and modify Lightning Lane reservations until they have the maximum of three stacked one right after the other. Erin Millan and her 10-year-old daughter told Fritz about the strategy. They stacked three Lightning Lanes in the later afternoon, when standby lines are at their longest. In the morning, they enjoyed single rider lines, sitting separately on rides but enjoying them several times.
“We rode Indiana Jones twice and Space Mountain five times,” Millan explained.
Lightning Lane launched in 2021, replacing the free FastPass service, and continues to frustrate guests who want a more streamlined and cheaper vacation experience.
In February, then Disneyland president Thomas Mazloum said about the complexity of Lightning Lane, “This is something we are looking at as we consider ways to simplify the guest experience.” Mazloum has since been promoted to Disney Experiences chairman.
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