In a season where you can hardly read anything about Walt Disney World without seeing a story about guests behaving badly, it seems like Disney had to install a security guard in the Frozen Ever After queue at EPCOT over the weekend.
A Disney Fan posted a photo of a Disney security guard stood at the merge point between stand by and Genie+ Lightning Lane guests on Saturday May 21.The tweet is embedded below.
Security stationed at the Frozen Ever After merge point.
— Belle (@FiBelleFi) May 21, 2022
Mr. Chapek, tell us more about how guests love Lightning Lane pic.twitter.com/tYzAZ3l961
With crowds extremely high at the parks and tension continuing surrounding Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lanes, we assume guests frustrations were boiling over which prompted the decision for Disney to station a security guard at that point in the Frozen Ever After Queue. There have been numerous complaints online from guests saying that the Genie+ Lightning Lane moves very quickly and the standby line just remains stuck.
Indeed it could have been for a completely different reason entirely but for Disney to make the decision to have a security guard placed in the queue at the merge point there was obviously an incident or issue which they felt warranted back up. Whatever the reason was that prompted this decision it is indeed disturbing that it was needed at all.
Frozen Ever After is one of the most popular attractions at EPCOT meaning it often has a very long queue making altercations between guests especially at the merge point between standby and Genie+ a likely place for potential problems.
The attraction was moved from Individual Lightning Lane selection to the Genie+ Lightning Lane selection back in February and is set to remain until at least August 7. It is certainly disappointing to see a security guard placed in a queue at what should be "the happiest place on Earth" but this type of incident unfortunately seems to be becoming more the norm.
Last week we heard that as of June 8, Disney Genie+ will no longer be available to purchase before the day of your visit, meaning guests will have to be up early to get onto My Disney Experience App to purchase it at 7:00AM on the day of their visit.
We are hoping Disney will use this new system to be able to manage more successfully the amount of guests choosing Genie+ in order to avoid issues of over subscribing which has left many guests frustrated and disappointed. As a result, we are expecting to see a reduction in the amount of issues seen in the parks between guests and guests and cast members meaning security guards in queues will hopefully be a thing of the past. I guess only time will tell.
Have you noticed a change in guests behavior since the start of Genie+? Let us know your thoughts by leaving us a comment below or on our Facebook page.
Comments
Disney needs to stop overselling the Genie +. It is crazy how long the waits are for standby of some rides. I now avoid Jungle Cruise, Frozen, 7 Dwarfs Mine and Ratatouille. If the posted standby is 60 minutes plan on waiting longer. Comment based on experience.