PR.. they are calling it a modified Maxpass. In their videos and literature, they repeatedly say it’s a version of maxpass. But no matter what you called it, there would be WDW regulars calling it “paid FP.”
Enthusiastic about Genie+ touring
- Thread starter havoc315
- Start date
PR.. they are calling it a modified Maxpass. In their videos and literature, they repeatedly say it’s a version of maxpass. But no matter what you called it, there would be WDW regulars calling it “paid FP.”
Thank you for the info. I wasn't the poster who was discussing it before.
I was not snippy at all. It has been said by multiple posters that cost is a factor, or the feeling that Disney is nickel and diming their guests at every chance they get and people are feeling negative about it. Yet, you question our opinions, and tell us that since we haven't tried it we really don't know.
It really does seem that you are having a hard time grasping that concept with comments like "it's possible BUT......"
There is no need to continue discussing it at this point. If you took as what I said snippy then I apologize.
So the wait is over, we can test all the myths...
The big myth being "I will HAVE to wake up at 7am"
"All availability will be gone in the early morning."
So...... It's about 9:20am as I write this.
The very good news: If you were sleeping in till 9am, and just now logging in to Genie+, you would find EVERY attraction at WDW still available. All G+ attractions, all individual purchase attractions. So if you are sleeping in and arriving later, you still have every option available.
That said, not every park and attraction is equal. If you slept it, it will "hurt" a bit in some regards.
Let's go through the parks briefly:
Magic Kingdom: I suspected things would be smoothest at Magic Kingdom due to the huge number of attractions. I was right. EVERY attraction still had morning availability. Individual purchase attractions are still wide open. You can book Mine train for 10am.
Most G+ return times are still in the 9am-11am window. The worst return time is Peter Pan -- at 9:26am, the return time is 11:25. So just under 2 hours. At EVERY other attraction, the return time is under 2 hours away. So if you decided to sleep in until 9:25, it didn't hurt you at all. You can still get any attraction at MK with a good return time.
Animal Kingdom - -- Things going smoothly as well.
Flight of Passage has a 60 minute standby line. But if you want to pay $11, you can ride right now without line, with a 9:30 return time.
G+ return times are all basically "ride now." For example, Safaris has a return time of 9:35 am. The worst return time in Navi, at 9:50am.
Epcot -- Going ok, not quite as smoothly at MK and AK. Of course, the park doesn't officially open until 10.
Earliest G+ still available for Test Track is 1:15 pm.
For individual purchased attractions, Frozen is wide open. But Remy's first availability is 11:45.
So if you slept in until 9:25 then went to book Epcot, you're still in very good shape, though don't expect to get an immediate return time for Remy or Test Track. At the current rate, Test Track might "sell out" by mid to late afternoon. Remy might sell out by evening.
Hollywood Studios -- By far, the worst park for lines. It was also the worst in FP+ days, being limited with 1 tier-1 attraction, which really had to be booked 60 days in advance..
Every ride is still available at 9:20 am, BUT:
Individual attractions: Rise of the Resistance is close to sold out, the earliest available purchase time is now 7:30 pm. (But Runaway Railroad is still wide open for almost the entire day)
Furthermore -- Return time for Millenium Falcon is 3:35 pm, and Slinky Dog is 7:05pm. So if you slept in, you can't get a reservation for those 2 e-tickets until afternoon/evening. And Slinky Dog will likely be gone by afternoon.
ALL other attractions still have morning availability. You could roll out of bed right now, click RNR with a return time of 11:15am. By the time you shower, grab coffee, get over to the park, it will almost be time to redeem that RNR G+.
So what have we learned thus far -- Even at 9:30 am (as I finish writing this post), availability isn't a major issue. Exceptions being primarily Rise of the Resistance and Slinky Dog, where it would behoove you to try to book those 2 earlier.
The big myth being "I will HAVE to wake up at 7am"
"All availability will be gone in the early morning."
So...... It's about 9:20am as I write this.
The very good news: If you were sleeping in till 9am, and just now logging in to Genie+, you would find EVERY attraction at WDW still available. All G+ attractions, all individual purchase attractions. So if you are sleeping in and arriving later, you still have every option available.
That said, not every park and attraction is equal. If you slept it, it will "hurt" a bit in some regards.
Let's go through the parks briefly:
Magic Kingdom: I suspected things would be smoothest at Magic Kingdom due to the huge number of attractions. I was right. EVERY attraction still had morning availability. Individual purchase attractions are still wide open. You can book Mine train for 10am.
Most G+ return times are still in the 9am-11am window. The worst return time is Peter Pan -- at 9:26am, the return time is 11:25. So just under 2 hours. At EVERY other attraction, the return time is under 2 hours away. So if you decided to sleep in until 9:25, it didn't hurt you at all. You can still get any attraction at MK with a good return time.
Animal Kingdom - -- Things going smoothly as well.
Flight of Passage has a 60 minute standby line. But if you want to pay $11, you can ride right now without line, with a 9:30 return time.
G+ return times are all basically "ride now." For example, Safaris has a return time of 9:35 am. The worst return time in Navi, at 9:50am.
Epcot -- Going ok, not quite as smoothly at MK and AK. Of course, the park doesn't officially open until 10.
Earliest G+ still available for Test Track is 1:15 pm.
For individual purchased attractions, Frozen is wide open. But Remy's first availability is 11:45.
So if you slept in until 9:25 then went to book Epcot, you're still in very good shape, though don't expect to get an immediate return time for Remy or Test Track. At the current rate, Test Track might "sell out" by mid to late afternoon. Remy might sell out by evening.
Hollywood Studios -- By far, the worst park for lines. It was also the worst in FP+ days, being limited with 1 tier-1 attraction, which really had to be booked 60 days in advance..
Every ride is still available at 9:20 am, BUT:
Individual attractions: Rise of the Resistance is close to sold out, the earliest available purchase time is now 7:30 pm. (But Runaway Railroad is still wide open for almost the entire day)
Furthermore -- Return time for Millenium Falcon is 3:35 pm, and Slinky Dog is 7:05pm. So if you slept in, you can't get a reservation for those 2 e-tickets until afternoon/evening. And Slinky Dog will likely be gone by afternoon.
ALL other attractions still have morning availability. You could roll out of bed right now, click RNR with a return time of 11:15am. By the time you shower, grab coffee, get over to the park, it will almost be time to redeem that RNR G+.
So what have we learned thus far -- Even at 9:30 am (as I finish writing this post), availability isn't a major issue. Exceptions being primarily Rise of the Resistance and Slinky Dog, where it would behoove you to try to book those 2 earlier.
mom2rtk
Invented the term "Characterpalooza"
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2008
I hate to break this to you. But the first day of the roll out is not an indication of how this is going to go long term. I thoroughly expect some glory days for those who want to use it right away. It will take a while for more to even know it exists and understand what it's all about.
I agree -- Need to see stress testing in different levels of crowds. All we can address, is how it's going so far. And so far, it's going great.
Mostly, I expect it to IMPROVE as time moves forward. They will make adjustments. For example, with ROTR "selling out," it would likely be preferable if they raised the price slightly, to keep more availability open through the day. They may re-think which attractions are individual purchase as well.
So, it may get better than we are seeing thus far. And in high crowds, it will likely be worse. But that's true of any FP system.
I'll note they appear to be ADDING capacity to G+ as necessary..
When I posted 20 minutes ago, Slinky Dog return time was 7:05 and MF was 3:35. NOW, 20 minutes later, Slinky Dog return time is 6:30pm and MF is 12:05pm.
I am watching to see what the earliest time any attraction "sells out." If no attraction "sells out" before 11am, then I would call the first day a major success. If most attractions are still available at noon-1pm, then I would similarly call it a major success.
mom2rtk
Invented the term "Characterpalooza"
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2008
Or they might decide to sell more of the standby capacity. That's going to be an issue going forward for those not willing to pay extra for it.
That's the case with any line skipping system -- It makes things worse for those who aren't skipping the lines. Only solution to that, is to go back to the last year -- no FPs for anyone.
So 11am update:
As expressed in my first 9:30am post -- DHS is the most challenging stress on the new system.
Rise of the Resistance "sold out" by about 10am. (So no need to wake up right at 7am, but if you want to purchase it, definitely want to get to it at some point before mid morning). Slinky Dog availability has been going in an out -- It's unavailable, then WDW adds a little capacity and it comes back. But now at 11am, availability seems to be gone.
As to everything else at DHS -- Most attractions are within a 1-2 hour return time. MMRR is still available as early as 12:40. RNR is a 2 hour return time. The only attraction with a return time really longer than 2 hours, Millennium Falcon is 5pm.
So we see 3 attractions that "stress" the system at DHS, where you really do want to get started early.
Outside of DHS... things actually look great.
At MK:
Jungle Cruise is the ONLY attraction that is unavailable for the next 2 hours -- First availability is 1:50, so slightly under 3 hours. All the mountains are available within a 2 hour window. If you're just getting on the bus to go to MK and booking your first G+, you could get a Splash Mountain for 11:45, skipping the 30 minute line when you arrive. BTMRR is 12:30. Really, so far, the new system is flawless at MK.
At AK: Everything looks great. Most return times are within the next 1 hour. Navi is 11:40, Safari is 11:15 -- You could book it now, ride it in 10 minutes, and then book another G+.
Flight of Passage still has tons of availability -- Earlier return time you can individually purchase is 12:40
Epcot -- Park has been open for an hour. Things looking pretty good. You can essentially individually purchase a "ride now" at Remy. Test Track is the only ride with a return time longer than 2 hours, and it's not horrible -- It's 2:50. So it seems possible that Test Track will "sell out" but not likely until mid afternoon.
I'll check again around 12:30-1.
But so far, as I expected, the vast majority of rides have wide open availability. Only 1 individual purchase attraction that sold out -- none of the others are even close to selling out. Only 1 G+ attraction sold out, but not at 7am -- It remained available for 3-4 hours before "selling out."
mom2rtk
Invented the term "Characterpalooza"
- Joined
- Aug 23, 2008
Actually that isn’t the only option. And I get it, their circus, their monkeys. But let’s not pretend that would be the only alternative.
Sure it is. FP+ made the standby lines worse. It penalized anybody who didn't pre-book FPs, it penalized people who stayed off property and couldn't book FPs 60+ days in advance, etc.
Any line skipping system will penalize those who don't skip the lines. That's the definition of line-skipping. You're literally skipping over other people.
1 pm update:
Really, everything looking great at 3 out of 4 parks, and "ok" at the 4th park.
Animal Kingdom -- If you had G+, if you had G+, every ride is available as basically a walk-on. Nearly instant return times. Still plenty of availability for FOP
Epcot -- Same story except for Test Track, which has a 5pm return time. Test Track may "sell out" by mid afternoon.
MK -- Everything is available. For the most part, return times are within the next 1-2 hours. Jungle Cruise is the exception, with a 3:50 pm return time, so about 3 hours away.
DHS -- The only park with some restrained availability. Slinky Dog and ROTR are gone. Everything else remains available, but some of the return times are starting to his 2-4 hours. MMRR remains available with earliest return of 4:40. Millennium Falcon return time is 5:35, so slightly more than 4 hours. RNR and ToT and TSM are all around 2-2.5 hours.
What we see -- At least on a relatively low crowd day, G+/LL at MK should allow for LOTS of passes, 6-10 passes should be easily achievable in a day.
At AK -- There are simply fewer G+ attractions. But would be able to get a pass for essentially every ride.
At Epcot -- Can likely get a pass for every ride, but to guarantee yourself Test Track, you can't wait till the end of the day.
DHS -- You might not be able to get *everything* in the same day. You might have to actually wake up by 10am to book ROTR, if you want to spend money on it. You also need to prioritize Slinky Dog. But you should easily be able to get 3-4 quality G+ passes in a day at DHS. If you get up at 7am and prioritize Slinky, you can probably get passes for every real attraction, but it may take all day to do so, with waiting time in between. And if you're a late starter, might not be possible to get everything.
Really, everything looking great at 3 out of 4 parks, and "ok" at the 4th park.
Animal Kingdom -- If you had G+, if you had G+, every ride is available as basically a walk-on. Nearly instant return times. Still plenty of availability for FOP
Epcot -- Same story except for Test Track, which has a 5pm return time. Test Track may "sell out" by mid afternoon.
MK -- Everything is available. For the most part, return times are within the next 1-2 hours. Jungle Cruise is the exception, with a 3:50 pm return time, so about 3 hours away.
DHS -- The only park with some restrained availability. Slinky Dog and ROTR are gone. Everything else remains available, but some of the return times are starting to his 2-4 hours. MMRR remains available with earliest return of 4:40. Millennium Falcon return time is 5:35, so slightly more than 4 hours. RNR and ToT and TSM are all around 2-2.5 hours.
What we see -- At least on a relatively low crowd day, G+/LL at MK should allow for LOTS of passes, 6-10 passes should be easily achievable in a day.
At AK -- There are simply fewer G+ attractions. But would be able to get a pass for essentially every ride.
At Epcot -- Can likely get a pass for every ride, but to guarantee yourself Test Track, you can't wait till the end of the day.
DHS -- You might not be able to get *everything* in the same day. You might have to actually wake up by 10am to book ROTR, if you want to spend money on it. You also need to prioritize Slinky Dog. But you should easily be able to get 3-4 quality G+ passes in a day at DHS. If you get up at 7am and prioritize Slinky, you can probably get passes for every real attraction, but it may take all day to do so, with waiting time in between. And if you're a late starter, might not be possible to get everything.
Meh, this is about how I expected it to go. The much desired rides would get taken quickly and the walk-ons would be readily available. As far as I know, SDD is booked solid for the day? RotR is as well I think? Haven't seen any updates recently. Basically nothing has changed besides having to pay and the added stress of doing it all day of. All those LLs available now were available 60+ days out. The ones that sell out quickly also sold out quickly at 60+ days out. They just removed your ability to pick times that worked for you (unless you get lucky on the app and the stars align) and made you pay for it.
I am really not a fan of having to book whatever time slot they give me, then try to figure out my day around that. It's stressful and not really fun anymore. I know some people didn't like having to book 60+ days out, but it gave my wife and I a way to really plan our days and figure out when we wanted to go shopping, when we wanted to eat, etc. Plus it helped build the excitement leading up to the trip. Now there's a possibility that if I book an ADR, I may not get a time for SDD or other much sought after ride because there's no times available that work around it. Also not a huge fan of staring at my phone all day and having to keep it charged since I'll be the primary LL booking person. I just don't see the value of paying $15 to have my day dictated for me. Oh well. It was fun while it lasted.
I am really not a fan of having to book whatever time slot they give me, then try to figure out my day around that. It's stressful and not really fun anymore. I know some people didn't like having to book 60+ days out, but it gave my wife and I a way to really plan our days and figure out when we wanted to go shopping, when we wanted to eat, etc. Plus it helped build the excitement leading up to the trip. Now there's a possibility that if I book an ADR, I may not get a time for SDD or other much sought after ride because there's no times available that work around it. Also not a huge fan of staring at my phone all day and having to keep it charged since I'll be the primary LL booking person. I just don't see the value of paying $15 to have my day dictated for me. Oh well. It was fun while it lasted.
Yes, SDD and ROTR are "sold out" for the day. It's 1:48pm, and everything else is still available.(I'm guessing Millennium Falcon "sells out" by about 3pm)
So.... FOP, Mine Train, Millennium Falcon, Test Track, and a few others were not typically available much short of the 60 day window. It's 1:48pm, and they are still all available for same-day booking. Flight of Passage is still basically wide open -- ride any time you want, after 3pm. So no, you didn't have that kind of flexibility under FP+.
I can get that you preferred having your whole day fully set 60 days in advance. But it appears that G+/LL is very successfully massively increasing same day availability through the day. Outside of DHS, appears to be totally stress free -- Get almost any ride you want, at any time you want. At Magic Kingdom, appears you can redeem a new pass every 20 to 90 minutes or so, sometimes sooner.
As I write this, it's 1:53 -- I can get a 2pm Buzz. By the time I walk over to Buzz, it's 2pm, I can redeem. I can buy Space Mountain as a "ride now." (while I'm at it, I'll buy the Mine Train which now has a 3:20 return time). And as soon as I enter the queue for Buzz at 2, I can book Tomorrowland Speedway for about 2:40.
So with absolutely no pre-planning required: I can do the 3 Tomorrowland attractions at Buzz at 2, Space at 2:20, and Speedway at 2:40. As I enter speedway, I can book Peter Pan for likely a 4pm return time (it's 3:25 return time now). So after speedway, I can walk over to Fantasyland. ride Mine Train at 3:20. At 3:40, grab a snack. At 4:00pm, ride Peter Pan.
So with absolutely no pre-booking before 1:53pm, in the window from 1:53 to 4:05, just over 2 hours, I can book AND redeem 5 passes...
Good luck doing that under FP+.
OhDannyBoy
DISdad #850
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2014
I like the enthusiasm and if things stay at least somewhat the same in terms of availability then this isn't too bad.
Let's see how the weekend goes.
Let's see how the weekend goes.
First big test will be Thanksgiving weekend. It certainly won’t be as good as it is today, but if you can realistically still get 4-5 good passes in a high crowd situation, then it’s a winner.
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2010
Yes, Thanksgiving will be a better test as a lot of today's waits are very reasonable. I've been monitoring them on Touring Plans all day.
At 3:00
Barnstormer: 10 (8 on TP)
BTMRR: 30 (but 12 according to TP)
Buzz: 25 (17 on TP)
Haunted Mansion: 45 (25 on TP)
Jungle Cruise: 75 (57 on TP)
SDMT: 70 (43 on TP)
Space: 35 (23 on TP)
Splash: 35 (18 on TP)
I'd happily wait in any of those standby lines!
At 3:00
Barnstormer: 10 (8 on TP)
BTMRR: 30 (but 12 according to TP)
Buzz: 25 (17 on TP)
Haunted Mansion: 45 (25 on TP)
Jungle Cruise: 75 (57 on TP)
SDMT: 70 (43 on TP)
Space: 35 (23 on TP)
Splash: 35 (18 on TP)
I'd happily wait in any of those standby lines!
Yes. Or, I'd happily pay $35 to turn them all into walk-on. ($15, plus individual purchase on Space and Mine Train).
It appears in a low crowd day, G+ becomes a way to make most rides into near walk-on. Next test will be what to do in a high crowd day.
3:15 pm update:
Notably, return times are mostly getting better, not worse. Most of Magic Kingdom would be a walk-on at this point with G+. Animal Kingdom, totally walk-on. (but lines are already short... so turning short line into walk-on)
At Epcot --Everything has improved. It's 3:23 now, can book a Test Track return time of 3:45.
DHS remains the only challenging park --Millennium Falcon just "sold out" in the last 15 minutes or so. So DHS already has 3 sold out attractions -- selling out respectively at 10, 11 and 3ish.
Notably, return times are mostly getting better, not worse. Most of Magic Kingdom would be a walk-on at this point with G+. Animal Kingdom, totally walk-on. (but lines are already short... so turning short line into walk-on)
At Epcot --Everything has improved. It's 3:23 now, can book a Test Track return time of 3:45.
DHS remains the only challenging park --Millennium Falcon just "sold out" in the last 15 minutes or so. So DHS already has 3 sold out attractions -- selling out respectively at 10, 11 and 3ish.
My last update of the day… shortly before 5pm..
So the fear that FP availability would be gone by morning for all good attractions was unfounded, at least in a low crowd day.
In 3 parks, every ride still has significant availability.
Only 3 rides, all in DHS, have sold out by 5pm- Slinky, Falcon and ROTR.
Rides that commonly had very limited same day FP+ availability are largely wide open: Mine Train, FOP—still have every time slot open.
All the mountains at MK are open.
If every day we’re like this, there would be no basis to complain except cost.
Will have to continue to watch for the next few weeks… see how it does in Thanksgiving crowds. There will definitely be less availability than today, the question will be how much less.
So the fear that FP availability would be gone by morning for all good attractions was unfounded, at least in a low crowd day.
In 3 parks, every ride still has significant availability.
Only 3 rides, all in DHS, have sold out by 5pm- Slinky, Falcon and ROTR.
Rides that commonly had very limited same day FP+ availability are largely wide open: Mine Train, FOP—still have every time slot open.
All the mountains at MK are open.
If every day we’re like this, there would be no basis to complain except cost.
Will have to continue to watch for the next few weeks… see how it does in Thanksgiving crowds. There will definitely be less availability than today, the question will be how much less.
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