I suspect that everyone has faced this dilemma at some point. You solve one problem, only to see your solution create another one.<\/p>\n
Disney may have done that with its Lightning Lane system, which replaced Fastpasses after the pandemic lockdowns. Fastpass was Disney\u2019s attempt to address one of its most frequent guest complaints \u2014 long wait times in the parks. But each time Disney tries to address that problem, it seems to create another one.<\/p>\n
A business school professor once taught me that every successful consumer product solves a pain that a consumer was facing. Fastpass solved the pain of long wait times. But it created a new pain by requiring extra planning and effort to use it.<\/p>\n
Wait times in theme parks are math problems come to life. A ride has a limit on the number of people that it can accommodate. If more people than that want to ride, then they have to wait. The more people who want to ride, the longer the wait. By allowing some people to bypass the standby queue, Fastpass made wait times even longer for those who did not use the system.<\/p>\n
After the pandemic, Disneyland and Walt Disney World replaced the free Fastpass system<\/a> with paid Lightning Lanes. In doing this, Disney replaced one pain with two. Now, people not only have to do the extra work to schedule and manage Lightning Lanes, but they also have to pay extra money on top of their ticket to use the system.<\/p>\n For those who do not feel the pains of its required expense and effort, Lightning Lane is a great product that wins raves. Yet others long for a return of Fastpass, while some Disney fans wish for the days when the parks offered no line-skipping passes.<\/p>\n