The Genie Usage, Tips and Strategy ONLY Thread

[Jrb1979]

It drives me crazy when people on the DIS recommend things like this to Disney--things they should limit, things they should charge more for, services they should eliminate. I often wonder if the posters of these suggestions work for Disney and are testing the waters. I mean, what Disney lover wants even more things taken away?

OK, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe a lot of Disney lovers want more limits, less service, and higher prices. I am not one of them.

I don't work for the Mouse or am testing the waters. Personally I think Genie+ should go away and bring in the Universal system but don't give it as a perk. It should be $150 a person for hoppers and MK and $100 a person at the other parks. No more return times just show up the ride and ride it.

 

[Miffy]

I don't work for the Mouse or am testing the waters. Personally I think Genie+ should go away and bring in the Universal system but don't give it as a perk. It should be $150 a person for hoppers and MK and $100 a person at the other parks. No more return times just show up the ride and ride it.

Apparently there's a general feeling on the DIS that WDW should continue raising prices for things that used to be free, that this is somehow better than either free or the current upcharges, and that those of us who are being priced out should just suck it up and use the standby lines and/or stay off-site and quit wishing things were their former, somewhat-more-affordable prices, or at least more affordable than your suggestions.

At the point at which I have to downgrade my resort to a Value (I tried this once and got zero sleep due to the noise), I will stop coming. I don't want to stay off-site. Part of the attraction of a WDW vacation to me is being in the bubble. Of course, this is good news for everyone who has hundreds more dollars to spend, since I'll be out of their way. And, oh yes, I'm an out-of-state AP holder. You probably want to triple the price of this as well. I've seen this suggested in other threads.

You may not work for the Mouse but you're inadvertently working in favor of their bottom line by encouraging them to raise prices on items that used to be free and that are already out of the ability of many people to afford.

 

[Jrb1979]

Apparently there's a general feeling on the DIS that WDW should continue raising prices for things that used to be free, that this is somehow better than either free or the current upcharges, and that those of us who are being priced out should just suck it up and use the standby lines and/or stay off-site and quit wishing things were their former, somewhat-more-affordable prices, or at least more affordable than your suggestions.

At the point at which I have to downgrade my resort to a Value (I tried this once and got zero sleep due to the noise), I will stop coming. I don't want to stay off-site. Part of the attraction of a WDW vacation to me is being in the bubble. Of course, this is good news for everyone who has hundreds more dollars to spend, since I'll be out of their way. And, oh yes, I'm an out-of-state AP holder. You probably want to triple the price of this as well. I've seen this suggested in other threads.

You may not work for the Mouse but you're inadvertently working in favor of their bottom line by encouraging them to raise prices on items that used to be free and that are already out of the ability of many people to afford.

I don't care what they do with APs. As we don't go often enough to have one. As far as Genie+ goes it's garbage, same with FP+ before it. I know Disney is different then other parks but when it comes to skip the line systems it doesn't work when everyone has access to it. There is a reason it's limited at every other park, none have the capacity for everyone to have it. I am in favor of pricing people out of Genie+ cause the less people who us it the more availability there would would be to guests.

Part of going to a theme park is waiting in lines.

 

[Miffy]

I don't care what they do with APs. As we don't go often enough to have one. As far as Genie+ goes it's garbage, same with FP+ before it. I know Disney is different then other parks but when it comes to skip the line systems it doesn't work when everyone has access to it. There is a reason it's limited at every other park, none have the capacity for everyone to have it. I am in favor of pricing people out of Genie+ cause the less people who us it the more availability there would would be to guests.

Part of going to a theme park is waiting in lines.

Really? I've found that all the WDW skip-the-line systems have worked quite well--FP, FP+, and G+. Maybe they don't work well on big holidays, but they work pretty well otherwise.

BTW, I had several last-minute trips where I was still able to take advantage of FP+. No 60-day-in-advance planning needed despite what other people have said. Maybe I just had some kind of magic touch with the system, but I seriously doubt that. I just persisted. And FP+ had a huge advantage over G+--it was FREE.

The problem, as I see it, with all those systems, if there was/is a problem, has been that guests (i.e., parkgoing customers) don't understand how to use them. I've given info to so many people while at WDW and often while in line about all 3 systems.

People do not plan their trips. So, advantage to those of us who do. That could be said of any trip anywhere. People who study up and plan ahead always have an advantage. That could be said of many things, not just vacations.

I cannot afford another $100 or $150 a day and neither can many other posters here, especially those who're going with a family bigger than 1 or 2 people. Nor do I want to stand in 3-hour-long lines. I'm at WDW for a total immersive experience, not to go to a couple of amusement parks, stand in lines, and ride coasters. That is another beast altogether, one I have zero interest in.

 

[Disturbia]

Guys this is a usage thread so any opinions will be removed by the mods.

 

[Runnsally]

I get that and it would suck. The main reason LLs run out so quickly is due to lack of capacity. They don't have enough attractions for the amount of people buying Genie+.

Also unlike FP a lot of the early morning LLs go unbooked further reducing overall capacity to accommodate LLs.

 

[lovethesun12]

I think that power users are already at an advantage with G+, even though G+ is supposed to level the playing field. But the ins and outs are complex enough that, like FP+, only those who've studied up know how to use it to their best advantage. And even those of us who've studied and used it several times still have questions about it. The system is hardly intutive.

Edited for clarity.

Power users/researchers will always have some sort of advantage.

That said, I really do think genie+ has levelled the playing field for 2 reasons.
1) you can only book a ride once all day
2) you can book top tier rides day of.

With genie+ at MK, I think a newbie could pretty easily still ride every ride in the park without huge waits in line despite power users. With FP+, I think the power users were the main ones doing that and newbies missed out.

 

[lovethesun12]

I don't care what they do with APs. As we don't go often enough to have one. As far as Genie+ goes it's garbage, same with FP+ before it. I know Disney is different then other parks but when it comes to skip the line systems it doesn't work when everyone has access to it. There is a reason it's limited at every other park, none have the capacity for everyone to have it. I am in favor of pricing people out of Genie+ cause the less people who us it the more availability there would would be to guests.

Part of going to a theme park is waiting in lines.

I really don’t get how anyone can say genie+ is garbage. We rode every ride in the park with no wait, and we even took breaks in the afternoon. I thought it was excellent.

 

[jezza12]

Hi guys..Starting in AK looking to stack in MK for PM, with the new Genie + change lightening lane.. could I book something at AK..opens 30 mins earlier..then change it to something at MK hoping to get my next LL at 2 hours after AK opens not 2 hours after MK opens

 

[disneylover102]

Hi guys..Starting in AK looking to stack in MK for PM, with the new Genie + change lightening lane.. could I book something at AK..opens 30 mins earlier..then change it to something at MK hoping to get my next LL at 2 hours after AK opens not 2 hours after MK opens

Nope. You can’t modify to another park

 

[Mango7100]

I really don’t get how anyone can say genie+ is garbage. We rode every ride in the park with no wait, and we even took breaks in the afternoon. I thought it was excellent.

Same. I didn’t like paying for it, but we went 12/27-1/2 and never waited more than 25 minutes for anything except VQ Guardians. Got 6-9 LLs per day. Well worth it—without we would have accomplished less than half of what we did. It saved hours standing in line per day. I will cut out other spending to pay for Genie if needed

 

[disneyfan123]

I have to say being able to change your time for rides is a game changer and makes G+ more tolerable. We bought it twice on our current trip and were able to stack lots of rides for the evening, which meant we could walk on everything. Now, to be fair, the lines have been pretty low anyways, but at least it meant we knew we were getting on the rides we wanted and it's nice to have that piece of mind.

I really liked being able to book a time for 4pm, knowing I wouldn't use that time, but at least I had my reservation, and I could continually change that time to one that suited us better.

 

[Chuck96]

I also agree that "Modify Plans" is a real improvement. It was my second visit using it (first was Jan 2022), and I had real success with it on our busier multi-park days. The downside is I spent quite a bit of time checking G+ while in line ir elsewhere (or at a meal), and I don't love that. But that is on me, and I can ensure I balance that with being in the moment with my family.

 

[DisneyMama811]

someone please help
ok, I feel like a real dummy but I just can't get my head around Genie + we are officially a week from our vacation and I'm trying my best to understand

ok we are onsite guests planning to rope drop MK on our first day... for early entry MK opens at 830 on 1/17 so if I've purchased G+ and log on at 7am and snag us a LL for Splash Mountain (very high priority for us) and the time given to me is say 4:15pm.... does that mean I can't book anything else til we've used that? or does it mean I can't book my next one til 1030am... two hours after the park is open... or is it 11 which is two hours after the park opens for everyone?? I'm so confused I really feel like an idiot.

 

[scrappinginontario]

someone please help
ok, I feel like a real dummy but I just can't get my head around Genie + we are officially a week from our vacation and I'm trying my best to understand

ok we are onsite guests planning to rope drop MK on our first day... for early entry MK opens at 830 on 1/17 so if I've purchased G+ and log on at 7am and snag us a LL for Splash Mountain (very high priority for us) and the time given to me is say 4:15pm.... does that mean I can't book anything else til we've used that? or does it mean I can't book my next one til 1030am... two hours after the park is open... or is it 11 which is two hours after the park opens for everyone?? I'm so confused I really feel like an idiot.

I’d recommend you read the posts on page 1 of the Everything Genie thread. It breaks things down.

if you book your first G+ at 7AM, You can book your second LL 2 hours after official park opening.

 

[godfather927]

I have to say being able to change your time for rides is a game changer and makes G+ more tolerable. We bought it twice on our current trip and were able to stack lots of rides for the evening, which meant we could walk on everything. Now, to be fair, the lines have been pretty low anyways, but at least it meant we knew we were getting on the rides we wanted and it's nice to have that piece of mind.

I really liked being able to book a time for 4pm, knowing I wouldn't use that time, but at least I had my reservation, and I could continually change that time to one that suited us better.

Exactly. Just came back from a 10 day trip and I used modify constantly to better stack and get return times to line up much nicer than our previous trip in April. This allows for far less zig-zagging in the park, but doesn't quite allow it to be eliminated completely due to some in-demand rides still selling out too fast to allow for desirable return times to be lined up.

For families like ours where rope-dropping isn't really feasible, this new ability to modify return times is a massive benefit to our stacking strategy.

 

[wilkydelts]

Just back, from a 10 day trip (12/28-12/6) with a party of 10. Here are my overall thoughts. I am reposting this in genie+ thread as well since most relates to genie+

1. Christmas crowds are high but with a good plan, genie+, and refresh method things work out fine and never felt swamped or overcrowded

2. Genie+ works and is necessary. I had it pre-paid at $15 so my feelings may be much different if I paid $29 a day

3. If you spend windows of time refreshing you will a high chance of getting what you want, I turned Star Tours into Slinky and Toy Story Mania. I will say there is one exception and that appears to be Frozen. (I did not try to refresh to Remy) I spent hours refreshing for Frozen with no success. This has led me to believe: SPECULATION ALERT!!, if you have a Remy in your account they are somehow blocking you from seeing Frozen availability pop up.

4. Zero need to wake up more than 5 minutes before the opening of Magic Kingdom to book genie+ if you intend to sleep in.

5. There is genie+ availability booking benefits to hoping to EPCOT since you will be ahead of EPCOT's two hour booking windows by starting your booking at a different location.

6. Got in line for RotR at 8:40 and took us 25 to get to Rey Room. Posted at 85 minutes.

7. Staying at Grand Floridian and regularly going to EPCOT is exhausting, I am not a fan of the EPCOT Monorail any longer. Give me a bus straight there instead.

8. Disney food has always been over priced unfortunately it is becoming even worse for the quality you get. Sebastian's Bistro was by far the best food we had all week and was ironically some of the cheapest and all you can eat.

 

[4My3KGirls]

Exactly. Just came back from a 10 day trip and I used modify constantly to better stack and get return times to line up much nicer than our previous trip in April. This allows for far less zig-zagging in the park, but doesn't quite allow it to be eliminated completely due to some in-demand rides still selling out too fast to allow for desirable return times to be lined up.

For families like ours where rope-dropping isn't really feasible, this new ability to modify return times is a massive benefit to our stacking strategy.

Heading there in two days, the one thing I am unclear on is whether modifying considered a "new action", meaning does it restart the 120 minutes on that selection.... or if you modify, you are still able to do another 120 minutes from the point of making the original reservation?

Thursday we are starting with early entry rope drop at HS, then hopping to MK, so I after doing what we can at HS before lunchtime, I am going to try to stack at MK for the evening. (So any tips on that are appreciated as well.)

TIA

 

[disneylover102]

Heading there in two days, the one thing I am unclear on is whether modifying considered a "new action", meaning does it restart the 120 minutes on that selection.... or if you modify, you are still able to do another 120 minutes from the point of making the original reservation?

Thursday we are starting with early entry rope drop at HS, then hopping to MK, so I after doing what we can at HS before lunchtime, I am going to try to stack at MK for the evening. (So any tips on that are appreciated as well.)

TIA

Modifying does NOT restart the 2 hour window. That’s part of what’s so great about it. You can reserve whatever time is available and then keep modifying it throughout the day and it won’t hurt you. For stacking for MK you’ll want to prioritize stacking Jungle Cruise, Peter Pan, and the mountains (in that order). Pay attention to what seems to be running out fastest on that day

 

[lovethesun12]

Question: does genie+ work the exact same way in Disneyland as WDW?