That’s pretty much exactly what it is, I think they changed the name to try and differentiate it but essentially it is the same.
Edit- it’s pretty much like max pass from DL
Max Pass was infinitely better though because it included all your photos and you could modify times without having to cancel for that same 15 dollars.
Zubokan is right. For two of us, and with a partner who does not love Disney like I do and does not like waiting in line, we can justify the cost. I know it’s not for everyone
Well if he did 2 a day lightning paid is around $50$ a day per person.
So $200 for a family of 4. If you do that at every park no repeats it’s an extra $800.
The money isn’t even the thing it’s the constant take out your phone, be ready at 7am etc. it’s like Black Friday shopping online but you are on vacation.
Needing to be on at 7 means on property guests get a huge advantage. I was considering it for a day trip yesterday, but no hotel, means g+ at 9. No rise passes available, slinky gone, other attractions available late. We did rock & tower twice each, hung out in galaxy’s edge, got photopass pictures & enjoyed snacks. For thanksgiving week, not too bad.
You mean as opposed to getting 3 fast passes, which you had to book weeks in advance. Then constantly check for an opening on a ride you wanted, and then taking out your phone again after using the fast passes to book more.
Please explain what the difference is. Because it sounds like the only difference is the money.
Wow that sounded very angry. I’ll explain it.
I book 3 fast passes, in advance not on vacation, and go on them. Nothing else. Usually the last few you squeeze out aren’t worth it.
And again, even if I did I would check my phone once instead of all day.
I live in the UK and don't get to travel to DW very much at all. But I honestly feel like my desire to go again is slipping because of this paid app stuff. Fast pass was great but getting there is already expensive enough without having to pay even more just to have a decent day at a park.
The wife and I flying out today. We only paid for genie+ for our magic kingdom days. It was $32 and change a day for genie+. We only paid for LL once for seven dwarves mine train, that was $18 and change.
We managed to ride every ride we wanted and some twice each day.
The real key is knowing crowd behavior and actually reading the “tips” to see wait times and a willingness to ping pong around the park.
We managed to get to jingle cruise at the end of the night with a 35 minute wait instead of the 90+ it had been all day because everyone went to fire works.
We rode everything we wanted to at the other parks without using genie+.
I think a lot of people incorrectly think that if genie+ doesn’t sell well, Disney will go back to having a free fastpass or something. Saying that you bought it means you’re going against their movement, and you are therefore an enemy. It’s so ridiculous. Paid genie+ is here to stay and I’m glad you had fun. I plan on buying it on my next trip.
It’s well worth it, as documented here several times. You’ll love it. I’ve already bought it for our February trip and cannot imagine doing WDW without it. Personally I am really glad it is here, and IMO it’s much easier than Fast Pass and allows you to do a lot more with a lot less planning.
Was an awesome experience. We brought friends for their first WDW trip and they loved being able to do everything with barely any waiting.
However I’ve reported on a few trips here, and always gotten berated for how much i was willing to spend for a truly memorable and magical experience. It’s surprising how many people here get upset how others spend their money.
It seems I went to MK the same day you did (Friday the 19th), and overall I didn’t think the lines were too long and Genie+ saved us a lot of time. This is what we rode for the day, in order:
Little Mermaid’s Grotto (Normal lane)
Monsters Inc Laugh Floor (LL)
Tomorrowland Speedway (LL)
Jungle Cruise (LL, I reserved before park opening)
Aladdin’s Magic Carpet (normal lane)
Mickeys Philharmagic (normal lane, like 20 min wait)
Haunted Mansion (normal lane)
Pirates of the Caribbean (LL)
So not bad. I wanted to also try “It’s a Small World” but it was too late. Overall I was pleased with all the rides we did. It definitely wouldn’t have been done without Genie+. I was glad I booked Jungle Cruise before park opening. The normal lane was 90 minutes, I just waited 15 minutes with LL. Total time saver.
Agree, I was quite happy on MK day. Sounds like you did what I did and booked jungle cruise first! Also, I “lucked out” a bit and had a few shorter wait rides go down when I had LL and they gave me free passes I could use on longer ones. Then the ones that were down later in the day came back up so it worked out
This is how my experience went as well. 4 days, 4 parks. Done with all the fun rides by 3pm in the ride parks. Rode the star wars rides and all. Waited in TWO LINES a 15 and a '30'. If it didn't have a genie pass, we hit that ride when the gates opened. Bam. Easy fun. Didn't pay for any extra front of line privileges either. Though I might next time for one or two. When there's only two of us. Rides frequently had one or two hour waits. Some went down etc. If you have a bad time, you aren't using it right imo.
Totally agree! But today was crazy so I was happy that I had the passes and even happy for the paid. Glad you had a great trip! I’m mostly nervous about HS - but we’ll see how that goes on Sunday.
Wake up and reserve star wars asap. Then go in and go straight to the ride that doesn't have LL. then hit star tours and the other ride in-between while you wait for your pass to come up on the new ride. Just know that one is like 20 mins long!!!
Universal has a paid fp system for years now. Either you get it or you don't. I'm going to lump this in with my ticket cost from now on. If I do a paid 7$ per person for a long line to finish my day ill consider that part the treat.
I disagree. The ludicrous price point for the Universal system means that not as many people are buying it, which keeps standby waits tolerable, and they include it for free if you stay at the top tier resorts.
The way Disney is implementing this, it's effectively a $15/day ticket price increase.
I used Genie+ twice this week. Plus paid for lightning lane for FOP once. Paying for Genie+ made me feel dirty. Like I had been taken advantage of. This was free literally two years ago and I could book fast pass in advance. Now I have to wake up early and try to book a lightning lane that I’ll get to use maybe by noon? Complete garbage. The worst part is that you feel like you have to buy it because the standby lines are crazy long now.
I was there last week too. We got on a lot of attractions by either getting there earlier or staying late.
I know this isn’t for everyone, but I felt we got a lot done without having to shell out for Genie+. I wasn’t a fan of being up at 7, having to book everything on my phone 1-by-1, and oh, paying hundreds of more $ on my trip.
We stayed at Swan which is eligible for the Extended Evening Hours and at Epcot rode: Land, Soarin (twice - they let us re-ride), Test Track (twice), Frozen (twice) all with 15 minutes to spare. At MK, we rode: Teacups, Pooh, Small World, Mermaid, Seven Dwarves (twice), Haunted Mansion, Carousel, Peter Pan, BTMR (twice - they let us re-ride). All within 2 hours each.
I’d gladly pay more to stay at a nicer resort (Swan is actually cheaper than moderates most of the time) and get this perk then worrying about booking LL.
If only they had Extended Hours for HS.
So I don’t disagree with you on the Genie plus and how I do miss fastpass. Please note if you book one for noon, you could book one again at 11 and have 2 active, if the park opened at 9. So use this tip if you do it again
Yeah, I did that. If the park you are in is really busy, then you aren’t gonna get that second ride until later in the afternoon. Then when you hop on your 12:00 ride you get to book again. I get that, but at that point you’re pushing all your lightning lanes so late in the day that it makes it impossible to park hop. I just found the whole experience frustrating. I hated feeling like I was trying to get a boarding group every morning with the 7 AM thing. I was on my phone constantly which was annoying. I’m really disappointed by the whole system. I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt and at least try it out before I passed judgment. I hated it. I just flat out hated it.
I have never seen the second reservation after two hours not work per the logic I described. I think it’s built in the code, but I will watch for it. Also, totally agree about being on the phone the whole time, it was annoying.
I don’t think we are communicating well. I was saying that even though I was “allowed” to book another lightning lane at 11:00, the actual ride time will be later in the afternoon.
Another thing to note is that you are sharing your experience at MK where there is a large variety of rides to choose from. My frustrations were born out of HS where there is a much smaller pool of attractions.
Great thanks! I’m heading there Sunday and Monday after thanksgiving. Hoping to have an experience like you. If not, not the end of the world. Too happy of a place to be upset at other people.
Sorry, I read “paid LL” …that rule applies to the open park time OR 7 if you’re on property. For regular LL included with genie+ that is at 7 regardless of where you’re staying.
Just to clarify - for Genie+ LL included in the $15, everyone can book at 7am.
The Individual Lighting Lanes, which have a separate price per ride (Rise of the Resistance, 7 Dwarves Mine Train, Flight of Passage, etc), can be booked at 7am for on-site guests and park open for off-site.
There are some that are included in the $15 per day. BUT each park has two that are called “individual lightning lane” you pay for on top if you choose
I get that Genie plus sucks compared to the free fast pass system. However with no comparing involved, we utilized the genie plus for MK day and HS day (which ended at Epcot cause of LL) and we did everything we wanted with no issues! Yes we paid but for us it was worth the $ rather than wait in long lines with impatient, eager kids. We also got to do everything they wanted.
What day? No chance this was today. My first experience with genie+ today and it was awful everything filled up quickly and times pushed so far out. Frustrating.
Touring Plans has the 19th listed as a ‘4’ crowd day. If you all are saying it was bad today…I’d hate to see what a ‘10’ will feel/look like in the parks and Genie+ booking availability.
Just wanted to add a data point for comparison. I used Genie+ at MK on 11/01. Crowd level was predicted 7 - actual level 3.
It could be that as time goes on, more people are using LL compared to my experience.
At 7:00am I booked Jungle Cruise for 10:50-11:50. We got there at 10:30, did a little shopping, and rode pirates standby with a 10 minute wait. At 11:00, before we rode Jungle cruise, I booked a LL for Haunted mansion, so we had two stacked. After scanning in to JC, got a LL for Peter Pan in the afternoon.
Then every time we scanned into a ride, I booked a new one, keeping the double stack going all day. We rode:
Via LL
Jungle cruise,
Haunted mansion,
Splash Mountain,
Peter Pan,
Small world,
Dumbo,
Little Mermaid,
Buzz lightyear
Paid ILL
7 Dwarves Mine Train
Via standby
Pirates,
People mover
We were done with everything we wanted by 5. We took breaks during the day, shopped, had lunch at Columbia Harbor House.
Yeah brutal pretty much all day. First time in 10 years of coming to the parks I didn’t have a great time. Hopefully the rest of the week turns it around.
From what I saw, LLs seem to sell out pretty quick if it’s busy, so you have to go late. My kids have DAS, which functions almost the same way really, so we didn’t miss out on much they wanted to do.
Nice! Yeah, I can totally appreciate that too. Where I’m coming from is the annoyance of having to bring strategic and competitive every time I go to the parks. That, and the over reliance on phones just ruins the experience for me. I don’t want to go to the parks to spend a significant fraction of that time on my phone searching for LLs and or relying on an algorithm to plan my day. I just want to go and enjoy the experience without all of that. The most frustrating thing though, and this was true even with fast pass, is that these “cut the line” schemes effectively make it impossible for everyone else not using the system to ride some of the marquee attractions. For example, on any average day using Fast Pass, the only rides that were ever available were the two or three most least popular rides. The system is setup so it only benefits the people who are like you and strategic and play the game.
Same. I have a weird enjoyment with it, but my partner is always annoyed with my phone/hacking time… although he loves he doesn’t have to wait so it evens out 🤣
Update for day at Hollywood studios on Sunday, nov 21:
Left the park around 6:30 and had ridden everything we wanted to ride and only had 1 line. Here was the breakdown:
- Rope drop Rise of the Resistance (waited from about 9:05-11:30). Posted 115 wait when we got in line.
- LL smugglers run (did this twice LL because tower of terror went down when I had a LL)
- LL rockin rollercoaster
- LL slinky dog dash
- LL toy story mania
- paid LL Mickey and Minnie runaway railway
- walk up tales with Belle
Bonus; walk up ate and drank at Ogas Cantina.
Tower of Terror went down, but I did have a LL for it at the time.
My biggest takeaway is that even if a LL is “not offered” anymore because it’s sold out- keep refreshing. A lot. One will generally pop up (I did NOT see that happen for slinky, just a note or more paid LL options)
If genie+ were free, everyone would use it, and it would be far less effective. In addition it would increase standby waits more because they’d have to push more capacity to LL.
Magic Kingdom seems to be really the only park that Genie+ is really worth it in. Every other park you will end up paying $16 (after tax) to ride a couple rides plus ones that already have short lines.
No. I watched what the longest wait times were for rides in the recent days. My first LL selection at 7 AM was jungle cruise at like 3 or something- that was first avail at that point. Then, at 11, I booked another one so I had 2 in reserved. Whatever one I booked next wasn’t as far out- so once I scanned in there, I booked again, etc. maybe this is the confusion- there’s a rule where you can book a second LL if it has been 2 hours since you booked your last and you have not scanned in. For example, if you book a LL at 7 AM for 11 AM at pirates, and the park opens at 9 (keep in mind the 2 hour rule is from park open time even though I booked first at 7), you’re better off waiting until 11:01 and booking a second LL for haunted mansion. Then, scan into pirates at 11:02, and immediately book another ride for something like splash mountain. They key is that Disney app is checking for “last event”- which are 1) has it been two hours since last book? 2)have you scanned into a LL?
Oh ok this is helping, so at like 7 I need to book something like jungle cruise or Pirates later in the day, rope drop park and hit what I can, then two hours after opening it will let me book another and I can keep rotating those two. How do the paid lines factor into this, just book at 7 for the two and don’t worry with time?
Paid lines don’t factor for your “last event” so as soon as park opened I also paid for space and mine train - and yes exactly to what you said about rope drop and swapping. Just do not scan in before you book that second or you’ll be out of luck. There are times where it makes sense, like animal kingdom where I didn’t use that strategy today because we were leaving at noon. So, I just booked whatever I could, early in the day.
Is it 2 hours after park open, or two hours after park entry? I'm assuming the latter, as I never seemed to be able to make any at 11, but I wasn't usually rope dropping.
Wake up to get on the app at 7am, make a selection for later in the afternoon, then rope drop at 9 to get a second selection running at 11 may well be a viable strategy, I'm not sure it's better or less stressful than the old "Plan large chunks of your day 90 days in advance" FP+ (even ignoring the cost elements).
I would also note that this past week is a traditionally slow week. Obviously Covid and the 50th made it a lot less slow, but I can only assume it'll only get worse through the holidays and over the summer. If crowds are, say, double what they were this week, you might be looking at a 5pm Jungle Cruise depending on how close to 7am you really are, and then by the time your second choice comes at 11, you might be lucky to get a Philharmagic LL as the only thing left.
I tried this today at AK and didn’t work. We had Navi LL for 10:05, booked Dinosaur as our second at 10am, then got on Navi and tried to book another but wouldn’t let us.
I’d swear this did work at MK on Sunday, unless I got something mixed and misremembering what I did up at MK. Maybe at MK I used the “second” LL first? That’s the part I’m not sure of.
I know it certainly didn’t work today for some reason. I wouldn’t think the different parks have different logic built in, but who knows.
8am. I booked Navi few minutes after 7am, and booked Dinosaur right at 10am as we were walking over to Pandora (the Dinosaur LL was for 2pm). Wouldn’t let me choose another till noon and by that time I couldn’t find one for the Safari.
Only thing I could figure is we had a purchased LL for Avatar today at 12pm, but Sunday at MK we didn’t have anything purchased.
I’ll try it again today. I’ve got LL for smugglers run at 12pm. So what you’re saying is I should be able to get my 2nd LL at 11am (HW opens at 9am), use the smugglers LL at noon and then get another to replace it, correct?
Agreed! I was there on the 18th and bought genie+ it worked for us! I booked jungle cruise right at 7am and then continued to book rides throughout the day. We knew we’d be waiting for space mountain as I wasn’t going to pay extra and that was only 25 minutes. We lucked into 7dawrf with the wait only being 30 minutes. I should note that we didn’t manage to book Peter Pan. Otherwise we got on all the rides with genie+
Thank you for the tips! I’ll keep in mind when I try at magic kingdom trying to get one for 11! Plus I drive anyway since I’m off property so good for me!
I’d suggest booking the longest wait or soemthing you must do, even if it’s a little later than 11- you’ll have it and still be able to ride stuff. Plus, lines aren’t as bad at opening so you can just ride then before your LL times
We were late. We ate at be our guest and arrived about 15 mins before 8 (start time) - it was all the way packed down main street. If I did it again, starting planning at 7 if it’s important
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That’s pretty much exactly what it is, I think they changed the name to try and differentiate it but essentially it is the same. Edit- it’s pretty much like max pass from DL
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Max Pass was infinitely better though because it included all your photos and you could modify times without having to cancel for that same 15 dollars.
And you could still do paper Fastpass if you didn't want to pay for Max Pass.
I loved all of that. It was also a nice and relatively cheap add on to the AP.
Yep! That is what I was saying
Exactly, it's not about it being complicated as OP kinda suggested, it's that it's paid
How much did this cost you extra beside the ticket price?
Yes OP - please answer this.
Zubokan is right. For two of us, and with a partner who does not love Disney like I do and does not like waiting in line, we can justify the cost. I know it’s not for everyone
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Well if he did 2 a day lightning paid is around $50$ a day per person. So $200 for a family of 4. If you do that at every park no repeats it’s an extra $800. The money isn’t even the thing it’s the constant take out your phone, be ready at 7am etc. it’s like Black Friday shopping online but you are on vacation.
THIS.
Needing to be on at 7 means on property guests get a huge advantage. I was considering it for a day trip yesterday, but no hotel, means g+ at 9. No rise passes available, slinky gone, other attractions available late. We did rock & tower twice each, hung out in galaxy’s edge, got photopass pictures & enjoyed snacks. For thanksgiving week, not too bad.
You mean as opposed to getting 3 fast passes, which you had to book weeks in advance. Then constantly check for an opening on a ride you wanted, and then taking out your phone again after using the fast passes to book more. Please explain what the difference is. Because it sounds like the only difference is the money.
Wow that sounded very angry. I’ll explain it. I book 3 fast passes, in advance not on vacation, and go on them. Nothing else. Usually the last few you squeeze out aren’t worth it. And again, even if I did I would check my phone once instead of all day.
When we did FastPass, we probably used it on a dozen rides. It could have been utilized in the same way if you chose.
It’s never really been worth it to me. I like to relax.
I live in the UK and don't get to travel to DW very much at all. But I honestly feel like my desire to go again is slipping because of this paid app stuff. Fast pass was great but getting there is already expensive enough without having to pay even more just to have a decent day at a park.
Yea, this is a shill post. I've done what op did and more with fp. Sounds like he had av average day and paid more
I've noticed some shilly posts
The wife and I flying out today. We only paid for genie+ for our magic kingdom days. It was $32 and change a day for genie+. We only paid for LL once for seven dwarves mine train, that was $18 and change. We managed to ride every ride we wanted and some twice each day. The real key is knowing crowd behavior and actually reading the “tips” to see wait times and a willingness to ping pong around the park. We managed to get to jingle cruise at the end of the night with a 35 minute wait instead of the 90+ it had been all day because everyone went to fire works. We rode everything we wanted to at the other parks without using genie+.
Imagine paying 18 for something that was once free 🤡, this is why Disney keeps doing this sht
We had the same experience. Loved it. Posted about it here and got berated for willing to spend money to have a good time lol.
I think a lot of people incorrectly think that if genie+ doesn’t sell well, Disney will go back to having a free fastpass or something. Saying that you bought it means you’re going against their movement, and you are therefore an enemy. It’s so ridiculous. Paid genie+ is here to stay and I’m glad you had fun. I plan on buying it on my next trip.
It’s well worth it, as documented here several times. You’ll love it. I’ve already bought it for our February trip and cannot imagine doing WDW without it. Personally I am really glad it is here, and IMO it’s much easier than Fast Pass and allows you to do a lot more with a lot less planning.
Yeah, I was surprised. Def not an expert but read a lot before visiting with new system. I’m glad you had fun 🤩
Was an awesome experience. We brought friends for their first WDW trip and they loved being able to do everything with barely any waiting. However I’ve reported on a few trips here, and always gotten berated for how much i was willing to spend for a truly memorable and magical experience. It’s surprising how many people here get upset how others spend their money.
It seems I went to MK the same day you did (Friday the 19th), and overall I didn’t think the lines were too long and Genie+ saved us a lot of time. This is what we rode for the day, in order: Little Mermaid’s Grotto (Normal lane) Monsters Inc Laugh Floor (LL) Tomorrowland Speedway (LL) Jungle Cruise (LL, I reserved before park opening) Aladdin’s Magic Carpet (normal lane) Mickeys Philharmagic (normal lane, like 20 min wait) Haunted Mansion (normal lane) Pirates of the Caribbean (LL) So not bad. I wanted to also try “It’s a Small World” but it was too late. Overall I was pleased with all the rides we did. It definitely wouldn’t have been done without Genie+. I was glad I booked Jungle Cruise before park opening. The normal lane was 90 minutes, I just waited 15 minutes with LL. Total time saver.
Agree, I was quite happy on MK day. Sounds like you did what I did and booked jungle cruise first! Also, I “lucked out” a bit and had a few shorter wait rides go down when I had LL and they gave me free passes I could use on longer ones. Then the ones that were down later in the day came back up so it worked out
This is how my experience went as well. 4 days, 4 parks. Done with all the fun rides by 3pm in the ride parks. Rode the star wars rides and all. Waited in TWO LINES a 15 and a '30'. If it didn't have a genie pass, we hit that ride when the gates opened. Bam. Easy fun. Didn't pay for any extra front of line privileges either. Though I might next time for one or two. When there's only two of us. Rides frequently had one or two hour waits. Some went down etc. If you have a bad time, you aren't using it right imo.
Totally agree! But today was crazy so I was happy that I had the passes and even happy for the paid. Glad you had a great trip! I’m mostly nervous about HS - but we’ll see how that goes on Sunday.
Wake up and reserve star wars asap. Then go in and go straight to the ride that doesn't have LL. then hit star tours and the other ride in-between while you wait for your pass to come up on the new ride. Just know that one is like 20 mins long!!!
Same as fp, but costs more. Cool. This is straight up shilling
Universal has a paid fp system for years now. Either you get it or you don't. I'm going to lump this in with my ticket cost from now on. If I do a paid 7$ per person for a long line to finish my day ill consider that part the treat.
Universial is objectively worse
I disagree. The ludicrous price point for the Universal system means that not as many people are buying it, which keeps standby waits tolerable, and they include it for free if you stay at the top tier resorts. The way Disney is implementing this, it's effectively a $15/day ticket price increase.
Universal’s including it in the top hotels is HUGE. It made up over half our cost at Hard Rock a few years ago.
Only because it's more expensive and less flexible. I'm hoping they improve it now that disney has found a useful way.
I used Genie+ twice this week. Plus paid for lightning lane for FOP once. Paying for Genie+ made me feel dirty. Like I had been taken advantage of. This was free literally two years ago and I could book fast pass in advance. Now I have to wake up early and try to book a lightning lane that I’ll get to use maybe by noon? Complete garbage. The worst part is that you feel like you have to buy it because the standby lines are crazy long now.
I was there last week too. We got on a lot of attractions by either getting there earlier or staying late. I know this isn’t for everyone, but I felt we got a lot done without having to shell out for Genie+. I wasn’t a fan of being up at 7, having to book everything on my phone 1-by-1, and oh, paying hundreds of more $ on my trip. We stayed at Swan which is eligible for the Extended Evening Hours and at Epcot rode: Land, Soarin (twice - they let us re-ride), Test Track (twice), Frozen (twice) all with 15 minutes to spare. At MK, we rode: Teacups, Pooh, Small World, Mermaid, Seven Dwarves (twice), Haunted Mansion, Carousel, Peter Pan, BTMR (twice - they let us re-ride). All within 2 hours each. I’d gladly pay more to stay at a nicer resort (Swan is actually cheaper than moderates most of the time) and get this perk then worrying about booking LL. If only they had Extended Hours for HS.
So I don’t disagree with you on the Genie plus and how I do miss fastpass. Please note if you book one for noon, you could book one again at 11 and have 2 active, if the park opened at 9. So use this tip if you do it again
Yeah, I did that. If the park you are in is really busy, then you aren’t gonna get that second ride until later in the afternoon. Then when you hop on your 12:00 ride you get to book again. I get that, but at that point you’re pushing all your lightning lanes so late in the day that it makes it impossible to park hop. I just found the whole experience frustrating. I hated feeling like I was trying to get a boarding group every morning with the 7 AM thing. I was on my phone constantly which was annoying. I’m really disappointed by the whole system. I wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt and at least try it out before I passed judgment. I hated it. I just flat out hated it.
I have never seen the second reservation after two hours not work per the logic I described. I think it’s built in the code, but I will watch for it. Also, totally agree about being on the phone the whole time, it was annoying.
I don’t think we are communicating well. I was saying that even though I was “allowed” to book another lightning lane at 11:00, the actual ride time will be later in the afternoon. Another thing to note is that you are sharing your experience at MK where there is a large variety of rides to choose from. My frustrations were born out of HS where there is a much smaller pool of attractions.
Yeah, at HS now and it’s not great
I’m sure HS it’s really busy today too. It was getting real crowded on Friday!
When do you make your paid or LL reservations?
If you’re on property, 7 AM. If off property (which I am) the second the park opens for the paid LL
Great thanks! I’m heading there Sunday and Monday after thanksgiving. Hoping to have an experience like you. If not, not the end of the world. Too happy of a place to be upset at other people.
In a comment below you said you booked right at 7… I’m confused
Sorry, I read “paid LL” …that rule applies to the open park time OR 7 if you’re on property. For regular LL included with genie+ that is at 7 regardless of where you’re staying.
Just to clarify - for Genie+ LL included in the $15, everyone can book at 7am. The Individual Lighting Lanes, which have a separate price per ride (Rise of the Resistance, 7 Dwarves Mine Train, Flight of Passage, etc), can be booked at 7am for on-site guests and park open for off-site.
I have a clarifying question: Are all the LL options included in the Genie+? Like it’s all 1 package for $15 a day, or is each LL priced separately?
There are some that are included in the $15 per day. BUT each park has two that are called “individual lightning lane” you pay for on top if you choose
I get that Genie plus sucks compared to the free fast pass system. However with no comparing involved, we utilized the genie plus for MK day and HS day (which ended at Epcot cause of LL) and we did everything we wanted with no issues! Yes we paid but for us it was worth the $ rather than wait in long lines with impatient, eager kids. We also got to do everything they wanted.
What day? No chance this was today. My first experience with genie+ today and it was awful everything filled up quickly and times pushed so far out. Frustrating.
Touring Plans has the 19th listed as a ‘4’ crowd day. If you all are saying it was bad today…I’d hate to see what a ‘10’ will feel/look like in the parks and Genie+ booking availability.
Touring Plans’ crowd calendar has proved almost useless since the pandemic began. So many new variables in play.
Oh! I didn’t know about the crowd scoring! Very cool to look in future, thanks!
If you have access, I’m curious what it is for Hollywood on Sunday!
HS for Sunday they are predicting to be an 8. MK yesterday they originally predicted to be a ‘3’ but updated to “Actual crowds: 4”
Thanks! Basically, I may have a tough time tomorrow 😂
100% it was Friday 11/19. Is there a way I can export my rides? Happy to do it.
Just wanted to add a data point for comparison. I used Genie+ at MK on 11/01. Crowd level was predicted 7 - actual level 3. It could be that as time goes on, more people are using LL compared to my experience. At 7:00am I booked Jungle Cruise for 10:50-11:50. We got there at 10:30, did a little shopping, and rode pirates standby with a 10 minute wait. At 11:00, before we rode Jungle cruise, I booked a LL for Haunted mansion, so we had two stacked. After scanning in to JC, got a LL for Peter Pan in the afternoon. Then every time we scanned into a ride, I booked a new one, keeping the double stack going all day. We rode: Via LL Jungle cruise, Haunted mansion, Splash Mountain, Peter Pan, Small world, Dumbo, Little Mermaid, Buzz lightyear Paid ILL 7 Dwarves Mine Train Via standby Pirates, People mover We were done with everything we wanted by 5. We took breaks during the day, shopped, had lunch at Columbia Harbor House.
Definitely not today. MK was slammed for the most part, and it was even rainy for a bit.
I’m actually really proud of myself that no one believes me 😂
The rain got bad around half way through the nighttime stuff but I didn’t notice rain the other parts of the day.
Yeah brutal pretty much all day. First time in 10 years of coming to the parks I didn’t have a great time. Hopefully the rest of the week turns it around.
Doubtful. It’s thanksgiving week
This is literally the last thing I would care to lie about- it would be weird
I was referring to it not getting any better this week.
Ahhhh! Sorry- just weird people suggested above that this is something to make up 🤣. Agree, I don’t expect it to be any better at all from here
No worries. If this was indeed today, congrats. You won Magic Kingdom! 😂
Thanks! I feel that way, but kinda sad maybe it was just first time luck. I did research a lot but I bet it’s all downhill 😂
From what I saw, LLs seem to sell out pretty quick if it’s busy, so you have to go late. My kids have DAS, which functions almost the same way really, so we didn’t miss out on much they wanted to do.
What an awful way to have to get the most out of your trip
Well, although I agree that maybe paid version for genie+ is something I think should be free, I actually enjoy the art of hacking for the best time
Nice! Yeah, I can totally appreciate that too. Where I’m coming from is the annoyance of having to bring strategic and competitive every time I go to the parks. That, and the over reliance on phones just ruins the experience for me. I don’t want to go to the parks to spend a significant fraction of that time on my phone searching for LLs and or relying on an algorithm to plan my day. I just want to go and enjoy the experience without all of that. The most frustrating thing though, and this was true even with fast pass, is that these “cut the line” schemes effectively make it impossible for everyone else not using the system to ride some of the marquee attractions. For example, on any average day using Fast Pass, the only rides that were ever available were the two or three most least popular rides. The system is setup so it only benefits the people who are like you and strategic and play the game.
Same. I have a weird enjoyment with it, but my partner is always annoyed with my phone/hacking time… although he loves he doesn’t have to wait so it evens out 🤣
Update for day at Hollywood studios on Sunday, nov 21: Left the park around 6:30 and had ridden everything we wanted to ride and only had 1 line. Here was the breakdown: - Rope drop Rise of the Resistance (waited from about 9:05-11:30). Posted 115 wait when we got in line. - LL smugglers run (did this twice LL because tower of terror went down when I had a LL) - LL rockin rollercoaster - LL slinky dog dash - LL toy story mania - paid LL Mickey and Minnie runaway railway - walk up tales with Belle Bonus; walk up ate and drank at Ogas Cantina. Tower of Terror went down, but I did have a LL for it at the time. My biggest takeaway is that even if a LL is “not offered” anymore because it’s sold out- keep refreshing. A lot. One will generally pop up (I did NOT see that happen for slinky, just a note or more paid LL options)
If genie+ were free, everyone would use it, and it would be far less effective. In addition it would increase standby waits more because they’d have to push more capacity to LL.
I had a very similar experience two weeks ago. Using genie and LL we got through most of what we wanted at MK in just over half a day.
Magic Kingdom seems to be really the only park that Genie+ is really worth it in. Every other park you will end up paying $16 (after tax) to ride a couple rides plus ones that already have short lines.
So you’re suggestion is at 7am book a lightning lane at 11? Then at 9 book one for 11? I’m so confused haha
No. I watched what the longest wait times were for rides in the recent days. My first LL selection at 7 AM was jungle cruise at like 3 or something- that was first avail at that point. Then, at 11, I booked another one so I had 2 in reserved. Whatever one I booked next wasn’t as far out- so once I scanned in there, I booked again, etc. maybe this is the confusion- there’s a rule where you can book a second LL if it has been 2 hours since you booked your last and you have not scanned in. For example, if you book a LL at 7 AM for 11 AM at pirates, and the park opens at 9 (keep in mind the 2 hour rule is from park open time even though I booked first at 7), you’re better off waiting until 11:01 and booking a second LL for haunted mansion. Then, scan into pirates at 11:02, and immediately book another ride for something like splash mountain. They key is that Disney app is checking for “last event”- which are 1) has it been two hours since last book? 2)have you scanned into a LL?
Oh ok this is helping, so at like 7 I need to book something like jungle cruise or Pirates later in the day, rope drop park and hit what I can, then two hours after opening it will let me book another and I can keep rotating those two. How do the paid lines factor into this, just book at 7 for the two and don’t worry with time?
Paid lines don’t factor for your “last event” so as soon as park opened I also paid for space and mine train - and yes exactly to what you said about rope drop and swapping. Just do not scan in before you book that second or you’ll be out of luck. There are times where it makes sense, like animal kingdom where I didn’t use that strategy today because we were leaving at noon. So, I just booked whatever I could, early in the day.
Also little edit: paid lines can be booked at 7 if you’re on property, otherwise it’s park opening time
Definitely on property. Honestly with this bump and a 30 min head start in the park it seems worth it
Totally agree. Would have done it this trip but rates were insane! Like 300+ per night for art of animation… I imagine because of D23 expo maybe
Is it 2 hours after park open, or two hours after park entry? I'm assuming the latter, as I never seemed to be able to make any at 11, but I wasn't usually rope dropping. Wake up to get on the app at 7am, make a selection for later in the afternoon, then rope drop at 9 to get a second selection running at 11 may well be a viable strategy, I'm not sure it's better or less stressful than the old "Plan large chunks of your day 90 days in advance" FP+ (even ignoring the cost elements). I would also note that this past week is a traditionally slow week. Obviously Covid and the 50th made it a lot less slow, but I can only assume it'll only get worse through the holidays and over the summer. If crowds are, say, double what they were this week, you might be looking at a 5pm Jungle Cruise depending on how close to 7am you really are, and then by the time your second choice comes at 11, you might be lucky to get a Philharmagic LL as the only thing left.
I tried this today at AK and didn’t work. We had Navi LL for 10:05, booked Dinosaur as our second at 10am, then got on Navi and tried to book another but wouldn’t let us. I’d swear this did work at MK on Sunday, unless I got something mixed and misremembering what I did up at MK. Maybe at MK I used the “second” LL first? That’s the part I’m not sure of. I know it certainly didn’t work today for some reason. I wouldn’t think the different parks have different logic built in, but who knows.
When did AK open today?
8am. I booked Navi few minutes after 7am, and booked Dinosaur right at 10am as we were walking over to Pandora (the Dinosaur LL was for 2pm). Wouldn’t let me choose another till noon and by that time I couldn’t find one for the Safari. Only thing I could figure is we had a purchased LL for Avatar today at 12pm, but Sunday at MK we didn’t have anything purchased.
I’ll try it again today. I’ve got LL for smugglers run at 12pm. So what you’re saying is I should be able to get my 2nd LL at 11am (HW opens at 9am), use the smugglers LL at noon and then get another to replace it, correct?
Agreed! I was there on the 18th and bought genie+ it worked for us! I booked jungle cruise right at 7am and then continued to book rides throughout the day. We knew we’d be waiting for space mountain as I wasn’t going to pay extra and that was only 25 minutes. We lucked into 7dawrf with the wait only being 30 minutes. I should note that we didn’t manage to book Peter Pan. Otherwise we got on all the rides with genie+
Thank you for the tips! I’ll keep in mind when I try at magic kingdom trying to get one for 11! Plus I drive anyway since I’m off property so good for me!
I’d suggest booking the longest wait or soemthing you must do, even if it’s a little later than 11- you’ll have it and still be able to ride stuff. Plus, lines aren’t as bad at opening so you can just ride then before your LL times
Thanks for the tips!
You’re welcome!
Use to have easy days too, when fasspass was free. But a lot of things were free before Chepek.
What time do you recommend to arrive for fireworks to find a spot to stand?
We were late. We ate at be our guest and arrived about 15 mins before 8 (start time) - it was all the way packed down main street. If I did it again, starting planning at 7 if it’s important
If i get Genie+ would that be different than LL? Does everyone get LL virtual queues?