PHOTOS: Lightning Lane vs Stand-By Use at Hollywood Studios
Here at MickeyBlog, we’ve been very busy checking out Genie+ since its launch just over two weeks ago. We’ve officially visited each Park multiple times since Genie+, and today we’re highlighting our fourth and final Park as part of our ‘Lightning Lane vs Stand-By’ article series. We’ve been observing how many guests are opting for the Lighting Lanes vs stand-by queues and reporting back what we’re seeing in each Park.
If you’ve missed our experiences at Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and Magic Kingdom, go ahead and click those links to catch up. If you’ve been keeping up since the start, let’s go to Hollywood!
Tower of Terror
I visited Hollywood Studios during Halloween weekend, so Tower of Terror seemed like the most fitting first stop! The stand-by queue was well extended when I made my way to the Tower’s base, and I could immediately tell it was a busy day here.
Lightning Lane was seeing a pretty consistent stream of users in the 10 minutes I observed the queues…but just as many folks seemed to be opting for stand-by as Lightning Lane here. So far, Lightning Lane and Stand-By are at a tie.
Rockin’ Roller Coaster
Since my adrenaline was already at an all-time high after riding Tower of Terror, I wanted to keep my energy levels coursing with a spin on Rockin’ Roller Coaster. Before jumping in line myself, I found a shady spot to the side and observed both queues…
Both the stand-by and Lightning Lane were seeing equal use here as well. Just as many guests were scanning into the Lightning Lane ($15 tier) here as were entering the stand-by, indicating to me that a vast number of guests at Hollywood had indeed had purchased the $15 tier of Genie+.
Slinky Dog Dash
So far, I’d checked out two of Hollywood Studio’s biggest and baddest attractions. I wanted to know if the uber popular, family-friendly attraction was as popular among Lightning Lane users, so I headed to the attraction with one of the highest waits in Hollywood Studios: Slinky Dog Dash
Sitting at a 90-minute stand-by wait with an extended queue, you don’t need me to tell you that a huge number of guests were opting for stand-by here.
Just 20 ft further, and I saw just how popular the Lightning Lane was at Slink Dog Dash as well. By this point in my day, I can confidently say that Hollywood Studios saw a huge number of guests purchase the $15 Lightning Lane on Halloween…but what about the pay-per-attraction options?
Rise of the Resistance
Saving the most sought-after for the very end of our article series, we have finally arrived at the most difficult WDW attraction to ride (say it with me)…Rise of the Resistance.
I did my usual observations here and was really surprised to see what I’d best equate to a slow trickle of guests scanning into the Lightning Lane here. Rise of the Resistance is a pay-per-attraction option that is not included in the $15 Genie+ tier and requires a separate fee to access the Lightning Lane, so perhaps not many guests wanted to pay that additional fee.
I asked a CM standing outside of Rise if the Lighting Lane was seeing a lot of use, hoping she would give me some insight for this article. She only said 5 words, but they were the most poignant 5 words she could have said “Lightning Lane is full today”.
That proved that Rise’s Lighting Lane system is not only super popular, but the return times are so well timed out that there is never a long queue to scan into or to wait in the Lightning Lane.
Final Observations
Similar to my observations in Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios is a Park with a lot of attractions that guests clearly highly value. In a huge departure from what I saw at Animal Kingdom and Epcot, Hollywood Studios’ Lightning Lane use is definitely as popular as it was at Magic Kingdom- if not more.
Based on my experiences and observation at all 4 Theme Parks, I would recommend purchasing the $15 Lightning Lane tier at both Hollywood Studios at Magic Kingdom, and skipping it at Animal Kingdom and Epcot. There are simply not enough attractions to make it worthwhile at AK and Epcot, while MK and HS feature so many attractions it would be tough to fit them into one day without Genie+.
That’s what I observed over the first two weeks since Genie+’ s launch- but I want to know what you think. Would you purchase Genie+ or pay-per-attraction Lightning Lane passes for your WDW vacation? Leave me a comment and let me know!
Now it’s time to start planning YOUR next Walt Disney World vacation! For my no-fee help planning, strategizing, and booking your next Disney vacation, contact: msalerno@mickeytravels.com! I am an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner (Platinum Level) and all of my services are ALWAYS free…see you in the parks!