Disney Genie announcement

[Avery&Todd]

Thanks to you both. Makes things more complicated for a travel/day1 parks, but good to know!



I'm not sure I'm following. This is our travel/day 1 itinerary. Flight departs RDU around 11am arriving around 1pm. We won't be in the parks until probably 2:30. I'd like to be able to start making our LL selections at 7am. I might even be able to make 2 additional reservations before we take off. But at 7am (and possibly the next 2 time slots I can request add'l LL), the timeslots are going to be too soon for us to actually use. If I select a diff park then our reservation, the system knows I won't be there until 2pm.

I really don't want to make 6 people, travel, arrive, tap into the morning park, just to immediately turn around and head to the park where we have LL! Does anyone have a suggestion?

If I just use our park reservation for the park we want to visit upon arrival, I'll have to keep refreshing until I see a time slot that we think we can use -- AND I can't use the morning to stack LLs. I mean, we're paying for park hoppers for that day and only using half the day AND paying for G+, it seems like we should be able to use G+ to our advantage without a time wasting tap in.

We're in the same boat except our non-stop flights from RDU will arrive at MCO at 9:30am - so still after the park opens.

And DH and I are AP holders, so I can't purchase Genie + until that morning, after midnight and before 7am, so I'll buy those and then literally as I'm boarding our 730am flight, I'll be selecting our first LL attraction for probably BTMRR about 1pm, then once we tap into the park, we should be able to select another LL attraction, probably Jungle Cruise, and maybe ride that before Thunder, so that after we ride Thunder we'll be able to book another...I THINK that's how it will work..

what I'm not banking on is having to wait 2 hrs from the LL that I booked once I tapped into the park that I can hopefully ride before my Thunder LL @ 1pm...

I'm hoping over the next 3 weeks there are other AP holders flying in can report back on what they did...

 

[Disturbia]

I have been playing with G+. My trip isn’t until November 2022 but I did make park reservations. When I go go to My Genie Day to to My Day it shows park hours and has Epcot as opening at 9 am and AK closing some days at 9 pm. I’m sure it’s nothing but odd to see.

Disney keeps changing hours. Just a week or so ago they added an hour to first week of Nov for AK and MK some days but not others, so I was hoping they would have after hours parties (we could do 3 parties for the price of Genie+ and LLIA$)

 

[Disturbia]

Would love that link as need to order one today for a trip in a couple of weeks!

We have a child who isn’t tall enough for some attractions. Each time you book a pass you select your party just like an ADR. Genie asks if you want height restrictions displayed when you set up your trip as well

 

[Jrb1979]

I'm so surprised so many trying to use Genie+ like FP+ by trying to book their 3 most important rides each day. Booking rides at your 2nd park first makes no sense. Doing that you're most likely only getting 3 LL a day. Why pay $15 for only 3 rides.

 

[Miffy]

Yes. Get an external charger and charge during meals. My phone drained before genie+ because I was always using it to take pictures and such.

Yes, I have a battery pack that I always bring with me to the parks. I was just wondering if I'm going to have to use it even more often than I already do!

Also, my sister and I have places where we know there are electric outlets (like by the elevators in the Seas pavilion at Epcot) and we do that too.

 

[SCDisneyfanatic]

Posted by MJJME:
7am for work? Sure. It’s work, I get paid to do it.
dont get up at 7am on vacation ever. Skiing, beach, Disney, etc. never, especially when I have to pay vs getting paid
think of it this way. You saved an hour, even 2 in lines. But you woke up 2 hours earlier to book your first ride. You were on your phone all day. You paid $175 for your family of 5.
what was different than the last time you visited MK? Did you ride different rides? Did you spend less time in the park from start to finish?
no. You woke up earlier Paid more money. Spent the same amount of time in the park.
look at it for Disney’s perspective. They had the same or less amount of guests. Fewer employees because the parks weren’t open as long. More money because those same people just paid more for the exact same experience.
this is a marketing ploy and it is frustrating that people fall for it.

You make some good points but are playing the "one size fits all" attitude. Me, for instance: 0700 is sleeping in. 0600 on work days and 0700ish every other day because I like getting up and doing things. So, for me 0700 is not giving back some time I don't want to give. This trip we have 2 young granddaughters going with us...first trip ever. They still need down time and some nap time each day so Genie+ allows us to save time on popular rides for little kids (Peter Pan for instance) but not miss out on rides we want them to experience. The cost at $15 per person per day is not an issue in the big scheme of things with the current cost. 1 night doing pizza instead of a nice restaurant more than makes up for a 4 day trip for our group at $15 each per day. The point is, some people can use this to an advantage to make their trip more enjoyable, so for them (like us) it's a good thing. For others that find it a ploy by Disney, well can't argue with your take...after all, all opinions are the same...opinions!! I'll report back after next week when we try this for real and give you my feedback on time vs cost vs convenience.

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

My earlier comments about ROTR and ILL$ caused this random thought to pop into my head. ROTR has gone to SB in lieu of BGs. So, if you don't purchase ILL$, you can still get in the SB line and wait to ride it (good news for those who complained about BGs and not being given the option to wait to ride).

But Remy is still a BG ride. So, if you are not successful in obtaining a BG for it, you can opt to purchase ILL$ for it instead. Since there's no SB option, one could make the argument that you are not just purchasing expedited LL access, but you are, in fact, paying to ride it. Because in that scenario (failed to get a BG), you wouldn't be able to ride it at all unless you pay.

That may strengthen the image of paying extra to "ride the rides" rather than paying extra to "skip the line." Which will, in turn, have more people questioning whether it was worth $X to ride that. There's already been a lot of speculation about families spending extra for, say, 7DMT ILL$ and then having buyer's remorse after riding it. ("That's it? I paid $X for that????")

 

[snikki]

My earlier comments about ROTR and ILL$ caused this random thought to pop into my head. ROTR has gone to SB in lieu of BGs. So, if you don't purchase ILL$, you can still get in the SB line and wait to ride it (good news for those who complained about BGs and not being given the option to wait to ride).

But Remy is still a BG ride. So, if you are not successful in obtaining a BG for it, you can opt to purchase ILL$ for it instead. Since there's no SB option, one could make the argument that you are not just purchasing expedited LL access, but you are, in fact, paying to ride it. Because in that scenario (failed to get a BG), you wouldn't be able to ride it at all unless you pay.

That may strengthen the image of paying extra to "ride the rides" rather than paying extra to "skip the line." Which will, in turn, have more people questioning whether it was worth $X to ride that. There's already been a lot of speculation about families spending big bucks for 7DMT LL and then having buyer's remorse after riding it. ("That's it? I paid $X for that????")

I think Remy will be standby within the next few weeks.

 

[amylevan]

I'm so surprised so many trying to use Genie+ like FP+ by trying to book their 3 most important rides each day. Booking rides at your 2nd park first makes no sense. Doing that you're most likely only getting 3 LL a day. Why pay $15 for only 3 rides.

FWIW, there are a lot of rides that G+ would only save you minimal to no time and you can only use once per ride. So setting it up to use at your 2nd park, during the busiest time of the day (afternoon) might be a best bet for some depending on what they want to ride and what wait times are.

And if return times start to fly through the day s more people use the system, I’m not sure how many more than 3 you’re likely to get anyhow. How many could people get in legacy FP? Because that is what this most closely resembles (except you can’t repeat rides).

 

[OhDannyBoy]

Yes, I have a battery pack that I always bring with me to the parks. I was just wondering if I'm going to have to use it even more often than I already do!

I'd say probably and plan for it.

 

[mshanson3121]

So I just got here and instead of reading the entire thread, can someone just kind of summarize it for me?

Apparently I have to re-answer this, because we're not allowed to use humor or make jokes anymore.

Many people do not like GP+. They find it unnecessarily complicated. Some people love it. Then there's been some arguing between the two groups. There's been some questions on how to use it, some answers and some first hand reports. That's the summary.

 

[Orsino]

then literally as I'm boarding our 730am flight, I'll be selecting our first LL attraction for probably BTMRR about 1pm,

From what I've read, you won't be able to do this like you think you can. I think it will be unlikely for you to be able to get a 1PM BTMRR LL at 7:30AM. Genie+ will give you first available which will likely be way before noon.

From what I've read, if you want afternoon LL booked at 7AM, you have to use hop privileges. In other words, reserve non-MK as your park reservation, then book BTMRR for 2PM as a hopped to park. You will have to visit your reserved park first though, so that may not be worth it.

 

[Avery&Todd]

From what I've read, you won't be able to do this like you think you can. I think it will be unlikely for you to be able to get a 1PM BTMRR LL at 7:30AM. Genie+ will give you first available which will likely be way before noon.

From what I've read, if you want afternoon LL booked at 7AM, you have to use hop privileges. In other words, reserve non-MK as your park reservation, then book BTMRR for 2PM as a hopped to park. You will have to visit your reserved park first though, so that may not be worth it.

OR, what about when I land at MCO (at 9:30) I should be able to pop onto my phone and check for a later LL time then, right?

 

[DisneyKidds]

Posted by MJJME:
Don’t get up at 7am on vacation ever. Skiing, beach, Disney, etc. never….

Never? Not even a powder day or for an early low tide (better for surfing)?

 

[Disturbia]

At 7, if you want to book in the park you plan on hopping to, it shouldn't even give you options to book before 2pm.

Add the 2nd park you plan to hop to on your Tip Board for the day. Then, after logging in change the park (Genie should default to where your reservation is) to where you are hopping to and the time windows should start for when you can hop.

You can actually book LLIA$ in the second park. Someone correct me off I’m wrong but I believe you can book a Genie+ selection at the second park at 7 am or 2 hours after park1 opens (which is currently 11 am for MK and HS; 12 pm at Epcot), however if you do want to do standby in park1 9 am-1:30 pm, then book your first Genie+ at park 1 at day 9-10 am and second 2 hours after park opens (the 120 min rule) so at 11 am (at MK) for after 2 pm in park2 (eg Test track for 2-3 pm).

now I’m still unsure how long you can keep adding to your 9am-10 am pass (while holding a second pass for TT at 2 pm), but once you hit the second turnstile at a ride you can book second one right away (you don’t have to wait till 10 am like a CM told someone).

 

[snikki]

At 7, if you want to book in the park you plan on hopping to, it shouldn't even give you options to book before 2pm.

Add the 2nd park you plan to hop to on your Tip Board for the day. Then, after logging in change the park (Genie should default to where your reservation is) to where you are hopping to and the time windows should start for when you can hop.

But you would have to wait until availability for 2 pm starts right? At 7 am I can’t automatically book a splash LL at 2:15 pm just because I plan to hop there and it’s in my genie plans? I’m a little confused on this part.

I know for ILL I can definitely book whatever time I want for whatever park I want as long as it’s after 2 pm if it’s my my reserved park.

 

[leeniewdw]

We're in the same boat except our non-stop flights from RDU will arrive at MCO at 9:30am - so still after the park opens.

And DH and I are AP holders, so I can't purchase Genie + until that morning, after midnight and before 7am, so I'll buy those and then literally as I'm boarding our 730am flight, I'll be selecting our first LL attraction for probably BTMRR about 1pm, then once we tap into the park, we should be able to select another LL attraction, probably Jungle Cruise, and maybe ride that before Thunder, so that after we ride Thunder we'll be able to book another...I THINK that's how it will work..

This is where I have a question. If at 7:30am as you are boarding, the "next LL timeslot" is earlier than you'd be able to make it... then what? It's my understanding that the G+/LL only offers the next available timeslots. I did see talk about refreshing if the timeslots are later, but my concern would be that at 7:30 am, you choices are more like pre-noon, instead of 1pm. Like at this very moment, BTMRR LL time is 11:55am. There's not a way to force it to later.

That's my problem too - it's just that my arrival time is much later than yours.

 

[20KLeagues]

I'm so surprised so many trying to use Genie+ like FP+ by trying to book their 3 most important rides each day. Booking rides at your 2nd park first makes no sense. Doing that you're most likely only getting 3 LL a day. Why pay $15 for only 3 rides.

Thats not true......you can book the same number of rides.......2 hour rule still applies

eg.....
7am: book 2pm for SDD
9am park opens
11am, book MSFR for 3pm
1pm, book ToT for 4pm
3pm, book RnR for 5pm

 

[AZMermaid]

At 7AM, what times are people getting for slinky? I see it’s booking quickly, but at say, 7:05, what time is it booking for? I’m on the west coast so I dont want to get up at 4AM to look, lol! I’m trying to figure out a Slinky/Rise strategy. Can you book for the same party on two devices?

 

[DisneyKidds]

This is where I have a question. If at 7:30am as you are boarding, the "next LL timeslot" is earlier than you'd be able to make it... then what? It's my understanding that the G+/LL only offers the next available timeslots. I did see talk about refreshing if the timeslots are later, but my concern would be that at 7:30 am, you choices are more like pre-noon, instead of 1pm. Like at this very moment, BTMRR LL time is 11:55am. There's not a way to force it to later.

That's my problem too - it's just that my arrival time is much later than yours.

I think the only option is to keep refreshing until a time that suits your needs is offered. Now your G+ efforts just got more expensive…..IF you have to pay for WiFi on the plane so you can spend your whole flight with your nose in your phone..before you get to the park and spend the rest of the day with your nose in your phone!