Walt Disney World Makes a Change on Disney Genie Plus

It really depends on the park. Genie+ worked beautifully in California where you can zip from ride to ride since few guests bother with it. In Florida, everyone gets Genie+, so you kinda have to as well if you want to even have a chance at getting a couple of quick rides in.

So basically, yes I've used it and will continue to do so.

I basically have two types of Disneyland visits: The ones where I show up when the park opens and I efficiently hit a bunch of rides before lines get long … and the ones where I buy Genie+ so I can take on rides at my leisure.

Your survey is skewed. It needs an option that says "I used it, I hate it, I have no choice but to buy it again."

The naming conventions are so screwed up I can barely discern if these rides are reserved for ILL, if they're part of the Genie+ LL lineup, or what.

"Walt Disney World has removed the August 7 expiration date from four attractions whose Lightning Lanes have been included with the $15-a-day Disney Genie+ line-skipping upcharge this summer." If they had expired, does that mean they would no longer have a lightning lane, and would have been standby only?

I hope Chapek gets a wart on his face.

I refuse to give Disney more money for this flawed system. The inability to experience attractions multiple times through the LL is a massive failure IMHO. I don't want to be coerced to use a LL for Star Tours to justify purchasing Genie+ simply because I used LL on all the rest of a decent attractions in DHS.

@thecolonel - The announcement refers to the "temporary" move of the listed attractions from the ILL service (paying for LL for each individual ride) to Genie+ over the summer. The initial plan was to move those rides to Genie+ in order to increase the service's popularity (and probably since ILLs weren't selling well for those attractions), but those rides were supposed to revert back to ILLs on August 7. If the plan had been maintained, those attractions would have gone back to ILL Sunday, but now those rides will stay on Genie+ for some indeterminant amount of time, which keeps up the value of Genie+.

I absolutely agree that Disney's terminology for this whole charade is confusing and annoying. Personally, I'm still waiting for Disney to explain the usefulness of Genie.

At this point I wish Disney would just switch to a true market-based system. Let prices fluctuate throughout the day based on supply and demand. A Lightning Lane for Muppet Vision may only be $0.50 while Rise of the Resistance would be closer to $15 (or more!).

Would this increase screen time for guests? Probably, although Disney could implement a price alert/automatic purchase at certain price points (doubtful given their current IT infrastructure).

Genie+/ILL has been implemented pretty terribly. Ultimately, while an exchange system would probably cause just as much bellyaching, it's likely the smoothest path going forward.

I haven't used it and have no interest in using it. I haven't gone to a Disney park in a long time and have no desire to do so again. I wish they had gone with a flat fee and no reservations required like Universal express. If they had done that I would be very happy to go back to Disney. The only way Disney will get me through the door now is if I ever get children. Despite my hatred for the way you need to plan everything at Disney going as a family with kids would be worth it I think to see the happiness in their faces. Then as soon as their old enough Universal only...lol

I've used it at DHS, my reservation time from logging on as soon as it opened was for 8 pm for GE when the stand by wait time was only 20-30 for over an hour. Decided to just wait in line, but wouldn't purchase it again.

So those responding "I have used it and would use it again" outnumber those responding "I have used it but would not use it again".

Interesting.

@TH - I'm not surprised by the poll results. The thing about Genie+, particularly at WDW, is that because guests were so engrained into using FP+ that Genie+ is essentially an extension of the old system, making it a necessity if you want to come close to mimicking how you visited WDW prior to the pandemic. People are using it because they don't know how to tour the parks without some sort of line skipping service, and Disney has perfectly priced it at $15/person/day, which gives them a solid return on the costs of developing and maintaining the system while putting right at the top of a typical guest's pain threshold for upcharges. However, that doesn't necessarily people like Genie+, and the reviews have generally been negative throughout its deployment.

"Would use it again" sustains a MASSIVE statistical lead!

This makes it ironic that the overall leading response is "I have not used it and have no interest in it:"

In other words, people who reject it before giving it a chance.

Funny.

And one other thing, Russell. This survey epitomizes the hateful cynicism about the Disney company that has infested the world wide wasteland. The "Let's hate all things Disney, only for the sake of hating all things Disney" crowd. The Dis Unplugged crew (arguably the best and most honest Disney travel vloggers on Youtube) said on their show something to the effect of "everyone of our associates didn't like the idea of Genie until they actually TRIED Genie".

This is ABSOLUTELY CONSISTENT with the video brain trust that HAMMERED on the Halcyon without ever EXPERIENCING the Halcyon. They saw videos and read press material but they never boarded the ship.

I have offered up a substantial number of posts on various platforms saying the most comprehensive and objective assessment of Disney's Star Wars hotel is published as a multi-part series written by my kind of pal RM. I would add "here's a link. Invest the time".

The fact that there are people how would dump on a Disney service/experience without ever engaging in those products certainly affirms the existence of widespread cynicism when it comes to the brand called Disney.

(THC pauses to acknowledge the applause).

While TH grows old waiting for the applause ( that never came ) we can complaint about Disney managment producing a solution for the problem they created themselves and THEN they charge US for it. Whats not to love?????

@Pablo: You can "complaint" all you want. But it really rings hollow if you complain about a product's value if you haven't used it. And that's ESPECIALLY accurate when you toss up a comment on a thread where the majority of those who paid for the service said they'd buy it again.

Swing and a miss.

A 6 to 7 percent difference is a very flimsy " majority ", specially when our point of reference is a relativitly small sample. On the other hand my problem is that the "product" solves a problem created by the same company that uses and regulates access to rides and attracttions but expects us not only to pay more to enter the Park, but in adittion to that, pay extra for a better experience, when they have other resources to fix that, but they want to convice us that they are doing us a favor. In this thread, that opinion is not on the fringe, as you May want to suggest. That Swing brougth home 2 runs.

Name the "other resources" please.

Cancel all FOTL gimmics ( no bottlenecks that add to Long lines ). Distribute the entry to the Park giving Disney hotel guests 1 to 2 hours advantage to the general public and not Just 30 minutes, . Making Park Wide events ( like the parade) maybe twice a Day , to draw crowds in line in conflicting busy hours. Just a couple examples

And where exactly is the industry, studied data that shows such solutions haven't been:

1. Evaluated.

2. Determined to have been effective.

Extra magic hours ( by Disney itself ) and they were popular among Disney fans. Disney( and everybody ) was okay before fastpass. So capped attendance ( vía park reservation ) and no FOTL should keep lines moving ( along well staffed rides and attracctions ) All stategy Brooks did point out that going to a ride during the fireworks and /or the parade could give you a shorter line. You never heard of those??

But you offer no data related to impact/consequence.

Impact: How substantial would such approaches have on actual wait times?

Consequences: How much would these approaches effect operating costs?

You are absolutly rigth. I have no hard data. But The question is Who does? And how can we access to those numbers? But the reality is that extra magic hours was a popular perk ( promoted by Disney itself ). A lot of Books and videos about visiting Disney did mention those strategy points (For many years ) In this site and many others there are avocates for the no FOTL option. But in the end, any option that does not overcharge costumers them and forces them to be submerged in their phones or behave in a pre-programmed ( and prepaid) way is worth traying. How much does it cost? To the uber rich board of directors, almost nothing.

And many indepentent guides hava actually timed the lines with and without fastpass plus ( now ligthing lane ) and the results usually shows that for people in general lines are longer in the stand by including in rides that did not have congestión even in pre pandemic times.

I haven't used Genie+ yet, but will be trying it at Disneyland this coming weekend. It seems very reasonable and fair to me especially at the low cost...while it sucks that it costs ANYTHING, it feels like the value should be there relative to the cost. And if we don't love it on day 1, we don't have to get it again on day 2.

On that note: If anyone has used Genie+ or Individual Lightning Lane recently at Disneyland specifically, and has any suggestions/tips/tricks/strategies for how to maximize the value of these services beyond the standard strategies found on-line, please post -- all info is greatly appreciated!!

Thanks!!

My objection to Genie+ is that is a pay service that replaces a free service (FP+) and actually is a lesser version of that free service. I refuse to pay for something that is inferior to what used to be complimentary simply because Disney want to make an extra few bucks.

Now, if Genie+ mimicked MaxPass from Disneyland/DCA as what was initially anticipated when Disney announced they were going to start charging for the queue avoidance system, I might consider using it. However, the fact that it's even inferior to that former pay service is a huge negative for me, and I'm not about to pay for something that can't even get within 25% of what we were able to do with the free FP+ service.

This only furthers my complaint that over the past 2-3 years Disney's MO is charging more for less - a kind of "shrinkflation" for theme park guests. The manipulation on both ends (price AND quality/quantity) really gets on my nerves.

And again, people are responding "I've used it and will use it again" because WE HAVE NO CHOICE. If you don't buy Genie+, you're hosted. So yes, I bought it, I hate it, I think it's a ripoff, but what am I going to do, stand in the standby lines? Nope.

As of now, a Disneyland ticket necessarily includes the additional price of Genie+.

And what does stop Disney from including the genie plus in the ticket for the general public or at least Disney hotel guests? Nothing. Is Just corporate greed.
On the other hand, an interesting point did come un in the debate. How much does a full and well trained staff crew on a ride afects waiting times on rides?? Robert was a cast member and some others were too, or at least had a similar position in other parks. Perhaps they can shed a light on the subject.

Actually, it's not corporate greed, Pabloatthepark. It is corporate responsibility. If Disney doesn't price their products appropriately within the parameters of the market they have largely created, then they have not acted in a responsible corporate manner to their stockholders and employees.

A great example of corporate greed would be Martin Shrkeli and the price of the drug Daraprim. In that case, people had little to no choice with their need for a lifesaving drug. When it comes to entertainment, we have many other choices than Disney.

And when it gets down to it, can anybody think of another company that has ingrained itself in American culture and now world culture for such a long time at such a high level of quality and has provided us with so much entertainment value? They've earned the right to rake in the cash whether we like it or not. We just have to adapt our expectations and our engagement with the new Disney which isn't like the Disney of the 2010s or the 2000s or the 1990s or the 1980s (the best!). One day we may look back and say, "I wish Disney were like they were in 2022."

Agree with Tim on this one. I'm no fan of Disney parks but people need to stop calling every price increase there "greed". They are a business in the business of making money!!! If people aren't happy with the pricing then don't go! I stop going because I can't pay for what I want. I don't care of the price I just want a real express pass that doesn't require reserving rides. I've tried their VIP tour before and didn't find the value in that simply because you still need to wait in line and it doesn't even include any meals during the day.

I do agree. Maybe its not greed the correct term. Maybe its Disloyalty. I love Disney to bits. They are part of childhood. Like the muppets, like marvel and starwars, and now they are all together!!!. But they know that a vast majority of their most loyal fans are Hard working families, that invest a lot of work and money to them. But they move the goal ever further away. Thats fustrating.
Disney has every rigth to charge whatever they want. Its a private company, not a public service. But its the disloyalty that hurts, when does not go both ways.

"Actually, it's not corporate greed, Pabloatthepark. It is corporate responsibility. If Disney doesn't price their products appropriately within the parameters of the market they have largely created, then they have not acted in a responsible corporate manner to their stockholders and employees."

*whispers*

they're the same thing — though I'd push back on the notion they're acting on behalf of their employees; at least, the ones outside of the c-suite.

Disney needs an outrageously expensive Unlimited Express clone. Only way I am going back. Not a planner, so I cannot be on my phone all day scheduling rides.

Give me a lanyard with a card that scans and I am all good.

Jacob, when it comes to corporations operating in a competitive market, I don’t think the concept of corporate greed applies. A trip to Disney is an optional experience (at least for most of us), and like any premium entertainment or consumer product, Disney should charge what the market will bear. Professional athletes and upper tier singers and actors, just to name a few, all make ridiculous amounts of money in comparison to the rest of society. Are they greedy? I don’t think so. They’re just paid what the market will bear.

Really the problem that Disney has is a perception problem. They want to appear like an everyman’s company so they can easily market their consumer products like toys and videos, but their parks are a premium product, and like a Louis Vuitton purse, not everybody can afford to have one. As a result many of us feel left behind or even betrayed as they transition the parks to an upper end clientele, and the process is painful.

Disney has different movie studios for different audiences, why can’t they have different levels of theme parks for different economic groups? Personally, I think Disney should take the plunge and purchase the Six Flags parks and rebrand them as Disney Adventure Parks and bring them up to a Disney-lite standard. I believe that they’re so bulletproof right now that they could easily overcome any perception of loss of quality.

I kinda agree on some of the concepts, and once again. The company is free to cater to any kind of costumers they want. If I cant afford that well...thats that. Is the same reason I dont own a ferrari. The thing is...is this genie plus a superior, better, more practical product that they had before?? No. And thats the issue, and they are putting the burden of the costumers, with very few other options. I mentioned before. I Would be Willing to pay a more expensive ticket if the experience were better. But paying extra to have a shorter line in few rides and longer lines in everything else, with a heavy logistical burden on top in a vacation ?? Nope