A couple ?'s

[kitkat4622]

So we are probably going to be taking our last trip to Disney sometime in 2023 as both my husband and I are planning on retiring so these trips are probably not going to happen so I have a few questions
1. is Genie+ an absolute necessity? I don't want to be tied to looking at my phone more often then I really want to.
2. do any of the new rides: GotG, RotR or Remy's have normal stand by lines or do you have to get up at 7am to try and get in a boarding group.

I think those are my only 2 questions (for now)
TIA

 

[trompettecon]

1. Yes for HS, MK, and depending on how many rides you want to do in AK = yes
2. Currently, all rides except GotG have standby. I imagine GotG will have standby by 2023 but I could be wrong.

In my opinion, the only way to avoid Genie is if you will be staying on property and willing to rope-drop.
I had great success doing G+ and rope dropping. IMO again, if this will be your last trip do it all. Enjoy. YOLO.

 

[hildarumpole]

Genie+ is not necessary, especially if you can travel during non-holiday slowish times. We went 1st week of May and did not use Genie+, but took advantage of extra early hours for resort guests and rode everything we wanted by doing rope drop, midday break and evening return without excessive waits. We also used Touring Plans app to create park plans each day and check wait times, which were more accurate the MDE. I rarely looked at my phone the entire trip, mostly just to take photos and check messages. By 2023 GotG line situation may change, but right now it's virtual queue and ILL.

 

[Tawney]

1. is Genie+ an absolute necessity? I don't want to be tied to looking at my phone more often then I really want to.

While not "necessary", I do think that the addition of Genie+ made our MK and HS days much more enjoyable. We got so much done using G+ on both of those days, way more than we would have been able to otherwise. While we did not use it at AK or EC, we did purchase one ILL at each of the four parks, and at the time of our trip Remy' still had the virtual queue which was helpful.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

I don't use Genie +. I think it depends on how busy it is and how much you want to skip the lines for attractions, and if you are not picky about which attractions you do. Many days I've been able to get on several rides. I did wait 45 minutes for the jungle cruise once. Done with that for awhile

No idea what will happen next year, but for now the only ride with no standby is GOTG. For that one you need to make the VQ or buy an ILLS but there is also a VQ drop at 1 PM if you are going to be at Epcot that time, plan to stay late and really really don't want to try at 7.

 

[subtchr]

Many things will change by your trip, so be sure to keep watching for updates. As of now you can't add Genie+ until you arrive, so you don't need to make that decision until your trip.

I do have to mention -- when we retire, we plan to visit Disney MORE, not less. Having the flexibility to travel without work constraints sounds amazing to us! Do you really think you'll be able to stay away?

 

[erinch]

We are here right now. Yesterday, genie+ saved us 360 minutes in line at DHS. And I did spend a fair amount of time on my phone refreshing for LLs. We did not arrive in the park till 1:30, and had a more than hour long late lunch at Brown Derby. We did not buy or wait in line for Rise. I got every LL but Alien Saucers and Slinky.

Earlier this week we saved about 240 minutes at both AK and Epcot. I didn’t bother to add up the time saved at MK. Going today and will do so.

 

[RoseGold]

2023 is a long way away, and who knows if they will even have G+ or how they will be handling the lines.

I would definitely recommend planning for weekdays when kids are school. Huge difference in crowd levels. And I would consider staying DVC/Swolphin for the late night hours.

 

[Jennasis]

G+ is by no stretch of the imagination UNNECESSARY at any of the parks. A solid touring plan using early entry will accomplish as much or more with less headache.

 

[hildarumpole]

Another thing to consider is the frustration factor of MDE. It's glitchy, so if park plans hinge on it firing on all cylinders on demand, you may be disappointed. Would you rather spend a little extra time in a ride line or at Guest Services trying to fix an app malfunction?

 

[parasail_of_congress]

So we are probably going to be taking our last trip to Disney sometime in 2023 as both my husband and I are planning on retiring so these trips are probably not going to happen so I have a few questions
1. is Genie+ an absolute necessity? I don't want to be tied to looking at my phone more often then I really want to.
2. do any of the new rides: GotG, RotR or Remy's have normal stand by lines or do you have to get up at 7am to try and get in a boarding group.

I think those are my only 2 questions (for now)
TIA

1. Genie+ is not an absolute necessity for anything, but it ultimately depends on when you are going, what your expectations are for riding rides and how you plan to visit (will you rope drop and/or stay all day).

 

[kitkat4622]

I do have to mention -- when we retire, we plan to visit Disney MORE, not less. Having the flexibility to travel without work constraints sounds amazing to us! Do you really think you'll be able to stay away?

it won't be a matter of "can I stay away" it will be more a matter of "can I really afford to go?"
I will never go in to debt to go on a vacation so if I cannot pay if full with basically cash payments from my checking account then it will be a no go for me

 

[Darklord77]

G+ is by no stretch of the imagination UNNECESSARY at any of the parks. A solid touring plan using early entry will accomplish as much or more with less headache.

We just got back, the wait times were pretty high and without Genie+ there would have been 0% chance we could have experienced everything we did without it. No amount of planning can overcome a situation where the Haunted Mansion is a 65 min wait and a Small World is 45 min. It was crazy busy even during that early entry half hour, Peter Pan was 45 min less than 10 minutes after the park opened for early entry. The only park where I though Genie+ might not have been needed was Animal Kingdom. I used most of my LL passes that day to stack return times that evening at Hollywood Studios.

 

[Darklord77]

Another thing to consider is the frustration factor of MDE. It's glitchy, so if park plans hinge on it firing on all cylinders on demand, you may be disappointed. Would you rather spend a little extra time in a ride line or at Guest Services trying to fix an app malfunction?

I used it 4 days and had no glitches other than some learning pains while I was using it.

 

[DisneyMama811]

Many things will change by your trip, so be sure to keep watching for updates. As of now you can't add Genie+ until you arrive, so you don't need to make that decision until your trip.

I do have to mention -- when we retire, we plan to visit Disney MORE, not less. Having the flexibility to travel without work constraints sounds amazing to us! Do you really think you'll be able to stay away?

not everyone is rich, for many people especially if you don't live locally Disney is too expensive to be a frequent thing. Add in being retired to that where your income is drastically reduced that makes it more difficult. I think you're just joking but just a gentle reminder, you never know someone's life situation and It's no ones place to judge whether or not they go to Disney frequently or not. There are MANY places in the world to visit besides Disney

 

[gharter]

I would say Genie + is very helpful in HS and MK. Mandatory no, but better using it.
AK - helpful for the popular rides - Safari and Everest, maybe dinosaur, but not necessary.
EPCOT - wouldn't waste my money in the past. For the time that Remy and Frozen are set as LL, it might be worth it.

 

[subtchr]

it won't be a matter of "can I stay away" it will be more a matter of "can I really afford to go?"
I will never go in to debt to go on a vacation so if I cannot pay if full with basically cash payments from my checking account then it will be a no go for me

Makes sense! We are not especially wealthy by any means, but we do joke that we plan to spend our kids' "inheritance" on travel when we fully retire.

not everyone is rich, for many people especially if you don't live locally Disney is too expensive to be a frequent thing. Add in being retired to that where your income is drastically reduced that makes it more difficult. I think you're just joking but just a gentle reminder, you never know someone's life situation and It's no ones place to judge whether or not they go to Disney frequently or not. There are MANY places in the world to visit besides Disney

There certainly wasn't any judgement at all with my comment...hence the winking face. And of COURSE there are many places to visit. We enjoy exploring in many different ways.

 

[farfaraway]

We went in mid May and did not use Genie+. We did rope drop at HS and Epcot and took advantage of extra evening hours. We rode practically everything we wanted. We even took a break in the middle of the day to rest, refresh and get out of the heat. Honestly, Genie + may have helped in MK and HS but we were fine without it. IF we go again and it's still crowded, I'd highly consider getting it for those 2 parks.