Walt Disney World Tech News & Discussion- Magic Bands, Genie+, and more

[MrBlonde]

Do you need to have bought Genie+ in order to buy the “instant access” pass for space mountain, Rise, etc?

Nope! Separate purchase.

 

[BigHouseFootball]

Nope! Separate purchase.

Well that’s a relief. I wouldn’t put it past Chapek to double dip and make guests have to purchase Genie+ before buying the instant access.

 

[MurphyJoe]

my guess is this will be "automatically " included in a lot of package deals, and you'll see long waits regardless. What I'm most curious about is how many lightning passes they will be selling per time slot. From my experience most FP+ were gone by mid day. Assuming the same will happen with this system...making the ability to hit "multiple" rides with lightning less likely. So basically paying for a service that you won't be able to actually use to make the price even worth it.

A major difference between Genie+ and FP+ is people can't book 3 lighting lane entries before arrival. Between requiring people to make their selections as they go, buy into the system before being able to use it, then remember/decide to book a LL in the heat of the moment with a two-hour cool down if the LL selection hasn't been used, plus only being able to book one LL per attraction, I think there will be a good chance availability won't be bad on most days if users are strategic about their selections.

 

[Alicia]

A major difference between Genie+ and FP+ is people can't book 3 lighting lane entries before arrival. Between requiring people to make their selections as they go, buy into the system before being able to use it, then remember/decide to book a LL in the heat of the moment with a two-hour cool down if the LL selection hasn't been used, plus only being able to book one LL per attraction, I think there will be a good chance availability won't be bad on most days if users are strategic about their selections.

There’s not a two hour cool down. You have a 1-hour window to use your Lightning Lane reservation once it is time. If you don’t go, you can make another one after that hour, or cancel it any time to make another one without riding.

The 120 min rule is just in case you book a LL that is more than two hours away. You can book another one after 120 mins without waiting all the way until you ride, because the system has pity on you and wants you get more out of your service lol.

(Please note that the 120 mins countdown doesnt start until the park opens, in case that reservation was made at 7am)

 

[belloq87]

Has anybody seen any indications yet how standby waits are being impacted on the first day of Genie+ and Lightning Lane so far?

 

[Mad Dog]

Has anybody seen any indications yet how standby waits are being impacted on the first day of Genie+ and Lightning Lane so far?

Touring Plans said they haven't seen much change in overall actual stand by waits, at this time.

 

[LikeMike]

I know it's early on but from those who have been and experienced it, will my family be at a complete disadvantage by not using Genie+?

I understand there's obviously a difference because those who pay (deservedly) get to skip certain lines but will this make our day totally unmanageable in terms of getting on a good number of attractions? Just with five people the thought of spending an extra $75 a day on top of AP costs already isn't too appealing.

This isn't a 'woe is me' post just a genuine question to see what kind of difference it could make.

 

[Mad Dog]

I know it's early on but from those who have been and experienced it, will my family be at a complete disadvantage by not using Genie+?

I understand there's obviously a difference because those who pay (deservedly) get to skip certain lines but will this make our day totally unmanageable in terms of getting on a good number of attractions? Just with five people the thought of spending an extra $75 a day on top of AP costs already isn't too appealing.

This isn't a 'woe is me' post just a genuine question to see what kind of difference it could make.

It's still too early to tell. Much depends on the percentage of guests that will pay extra for one or both Lightening Lane passes. These first couple days don't tell you much since the WDW parks have an inordinate number of bloggers testing the system and
the majority of guests are probably unaware the genie system even exists. This bares watching, but it will be a good while until the true impact is known....Bottom line, everyone is really just guessing what the longer term effects will be.

 

[Alicia]

I know it's early on but from those who have been and experienced it, will my family be at a complete disadvantage by not using Genie+?

I understand there's obviously a difference because those who pay (deservedly) get to skip certain lines but will this make our day totally unmanageable in terms of getting on a good number of attractions? Just with five people the thought of spending an extra $75 a day on top of AP costs already isn't too appealing.

This isn't a 'woe is me' post just a genuine question to see what kind of difference it could make.

So far, I’d rather get one or even two of the individual Lightning Lane selections, and completely skip Genie+. It’s not worth the stress of always looking at my phone the whole day, reserving when the time is right, cris crossing back and forth to different attractions, and attempting to budget my time to get the most out of my fifteen bucks. I had to cut my lunch short to not miss my next reservation. Not worth the hassle for me.

But paying once to skip the wait for Rise or get a guaranteed ride on Remy was nice.

Just my take so far.

 

[Catopher]

This Disney experience app is looking more like a CVS receipt than an app… also Genie keeps giving me recommendations to get in line at rides 30min to an hour in the past… I guess you also need a time machine to get your monies worth out of Genie +

 

[SkiBum]

So far, I’d rather get one or even two of the individual Lightning Lane selections, and completely skip Genie+. It’s not worth the stress of always looking at my phone the whole day, reserving when the time is right, cris crossing back and forth to different attractions, and attempting to budget my time to get the most out of my fifteen bucks. I had to cut my lunch short to not miss my next reservation. Not worth the hassle for me.

But paying once to skip the wait for Rise or get a guaranteed ride on Remy was nice.

Just my take so far.

Thank you. You just summed out how I was thinking about this but was unsure if I was thinking about it correctly. You have practical experience with it versus my supposition.

 

[Alicia]

Thank you. You just summed out how I was thinking about this but was unsure if I was thinking about it correctly. You have practical experience with it versus my supposition.

Not to mention, half of my Lightning Lane queues were nearly the same or exactly the same wait as the standby queues, which makes you question if it was really worth it at all after all that trouble.

I’m testing it at Magic Kingdom Saturday, where there are more rides to choose from, but out of Epcot and Hollywood Studios the best thing I got out of Genie+ was skipping the line for Slinky Dog.

 

[shiekra38]

Ok the dining tip board is actually way better on Genie+ :bolt:

 

[Alicia]

Ok the dining tip board is actually way better on Genie+ :bolt:

The Tip Board tab is amazing. Genie+ and My Day I don't care about, but Tip Board is great!

Also, My Plans is back in the menu on the right in the app, finally. Yay!

 

[belloq87]

Apparently Disney is no longer holding back a batch of Lightning Lane purchase return times for non-resort guests to snag at park opening (or at least nowhere near as many as the previous couple of days)...

On Day 3 of Genie, Disney Changes Protocol for Rise of the Resistance Lightning Lane Availability

Walt Disney World news, photos, and reviews! We provide you with daily news from the Walt Disney World theme parks and beyond

blogmickey.com

As a non-resort guest, this was the one purchase I was contemplating making, but that seems unlikely now.

 

[JawsVictim]

Apparently Disney is no longer hold back a batch of Lightning Lane purchase return times for non-resort guests to snag at park opening (or at least nowhere near as many as the previous couple of days)...

On Day 3 of Genie, Disney Changes Protocol for Rise of the Resistance Lightning Lane Availability

Walt Disney World news, photos, and reviews! We provide you with daily news from the Walt Disney World theme parks and beyond

blogmickey.com

As a non-resort guest, this was the one purchase I was contemplating making, but that seems unlikely now.

Disney doing their guests dir-tay! Y’all missing those 7 AM boarding pass drops yet?

 

[HandsomePete]

Disney doing their guests dir-tay! Y’all missing those 7 AM boarding pass drops yet?

No, because I couldn’t just decide at 5pm to drive over and wait in the standby line when that was the procedure.

 

[JawsVictim]

No, because I couldn’t just decide at 5pm to drive over and wait in the standby line when that was the procedure.

How bad has stand by been after 5 PM?

 

[rhino4evr]

curious that the amount of people that use Genie + will eventually die down. There is a lot of people curious and trying it for the first time,.

 

[Alicia]

curious that the amount of people that use Genie + will eventually die down. There is a lot of people curious and trying it for the first time,.

I overheard a lot of families using it, like it had always existed, on Wednesday. And it kind of caught me off guard. Was only expecting bloggers to even know it was there, but I guess the app is doing a good job with pop ups to convince regular guests to try it maybe.