Any recent experiences from people NOT using Genie+ or ILL?

[1GoldenSun]

I'm fairly local and go to Disney pretty often. To be honest, I haven't even taken the time to figure out how Genie+ and ILL work because I doubt we'll be using them. We certainly can't afford to pay for them every time we go.

But I have family visiting at the end of the month and I'm getting a little concerned. At first I thought we'd just manage without these "extras," but now I'm starting to rethink this. They visited once for a one-day trip to MK, and they say that when the kids are both big enough to ride everything they'll likely come back for one more trip, but with only three Disney visits total for this family, this trip is important.

Has anyone taken a trip recently and not used Genie+ and/or ILL? Do you wish you had? I'm already splurging on quite a few extras for this family because I love these kids, but if it'll make the trip go a lot better for them I may offer to pay for Genie+ for them.

 

[redboat45]

What does the I in ILL stand for? i know LL is lightening lane.

 

[MamaBelle4]

What does the I in ILL stand for? i know LL is lightening lane.

Individual, I believe.

 

[Chelseaaa]

I've been wondering about this as well, planning a rescheduled trip in May.

 

[redboat45]

Individual, I believe.

thank you! It was driving me bonkers!

 

[Her Dotness]

The catch is that someone will have to wake up each day before 7:00 a.m. just to TRY to get the rides they may want from Genie+. And quite a number of people report they got 1, 2 or none of those despite repeated refreshes.

Someone will also need to keep trying throughout the day to book.

The ILL rides can be bought separately, no Genie+ necessary. You're perhaps aware that scheduling can be a headache for those, too.

DH decided to experiment (without buying) with booking G+ rides we'd do when we were there in mid-November, not a busy time. He quickly gave up because the more desirable ones were gone within literally seconds. We'd have gotten none we really wanted.

Friends who were there that same week said they bought G+ for two days and couldn't get anything they wanted either. Huge money grab for nothing but an early wakeup and frustration, they said.

We had no significant issues doing standby. Yes, lines were long but moved steadily and on the whole took no more time than we've occasionally experienced in prior years. We just chatted, played video games on our phones or peoplewatched--easy for two overgrown kids to do but probably not so much for young ones.

So, I really don't know what to advise.

 

[Ensusieasm]

What does the I in ILL stand for? i know LL is lightening lane.

Yes, the i stands for individual LL’s. These are the lightning lanes not offered with genie plus. They are purchased separately

 

[01Sweetpea]

I was there the first week in Dec with my 3 20something yos doing 4 parks in 2 days, and FOR ME the $$$ for Genie+ & $ILL was worth it.
I was lucky to get $ILL for ROTR, FoP, Space mountain, & Everest for times that worked for our schedule. I paid for Genie+ for both days and used it as much as I could. I was on my phone more than I would have liked, and We did criss cross MK a few times, but in the end we got on just about every ride we wanted.

However, hubby & I are going part of Memorial Day weekend and doing 1 park a day for 3 days so it will be a slower paced trip, and no roller coasters. We’ll do EE, and not buy Genie+ or $ILLs.

 

[Turksmom]

We were there 3/2 to 3/9 and did not use G+ or ILL$. We did not ride TT, Frozen, Remy, SDD or 7DMT. We had planned to do the EPCOT rides during the extra hours for deluxe guests, but got rained out. We could have ridden them during the days we were at EPCOT with average wait times of 40-60 minutes.
I was willing to buy G+, but it wouldn't have been of much use between sold out rides and distant return times. We just alternated long waits with snack or pool breaks, or shows and shorter wait times, so it felt bearable. Getting there for the early morning helped and there were days that we'd go back closer to park close and do a high demand attraction with the shorter wait.
We liked using ILL$ in October and November, but the prices were lower and the times were accurate. If you are flexible with timing, I'd consider it to avoid at least one long wait. With young kids who want to ride just about everything at MK, and aren't patient with lines, G+ could be a good value.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

We travel for longish trips (usually 8 nights) and we wake up early, so we thing Genie+ is worth it, at least at Magic Kingdom, but that ILL is unnecessary. If you're able to rope drop each park twice, you can take care of the ILL attractions without buying anything.

 

[T'Lynn]

OP, I'm assuming you're not staying onsite because you're local? If that's the case then I would recommend G+ at Magic Kingdom at least. There is usually decent availability for great MK rides through much of the day. The times may not be instant but you can book quite a few.

I think planning to stay to park close will help too. Lots of rides have short wait times at the end of the day.

 

[dijid]

Two recent experiences in my family:
1. January '22. I was chaperone for DD and her BF, but did not enter DHS with them. Stayed offsite. They were mostly only interested in Star Wars related attractions. Rope dtop made no difference as guests had already been there 30 minutes. Were overwhelmed with crowds and waited 3 hours for RoTR, but got to ride it. Rode ToT but never was able to get on RnR and realized anything in Toy Story area wasn't going to happen. They spent a ton of time wandering around, looking, eating and souvenir shopping, but were happy despite riding hardly any attractions because experiencing Star Wars was their only goal.

2. February '22. DH and DS. Mid-week. Not a holiday week. Rainy and cold weather. Stayed onsite and went with a plan. Went early to DHS on day 1 and were surprised to have been let in early. Were on the first car for RoTR and were off it before 7:30. Got a bunch done early in their day, although some longer lines than expected. Had a break in the Cantina and then things got crazy busy. They were able to ride almost all the rides they wanted (gave up on Toy Story land attractions), but at one point went out to ride the Skyliner just so they could sit down. Overall had a good day, but spent more time waiting in lines than expected and were only slightly disappointed by not getting to do as much as they'd hoped. Honestly didn't feel G+ or ILL would have been worth it.

Day 2: MK. This is where it all blew up in their faces. Arrived super early only to just encounter constant ride breakdowns throughout the day. Lines were gigantic (like several hours for Peter Pan, extending beyond the extra ropes that had been added to Space Mountain) and their frustration grew. At one point they got on IASW just so they could ride *something* without a 2+ hour wait. By mid-afternoon DH had had enough as they had ridden very few rides at that point. They left and rode the monorail around just because he needed to get away from the park. (Apparently there were a lot of frustrated guests and the atmosphere wasn't at all magic.) During the fireworks they hopped onto Peter Pan and then in the next hour rode I believe it was 4 rides that they hadn't been able to ride earlier due to the long lines. If it hadn't been for that last hour it would have been a disaster. Still left disappointed at not having been able to ride BTMRR, SM or a couple others that had been high on the list. They were torn on whether G+ or ILL would have been worth it as the ride breakdowns affected everyone.

So, depending on your goals and strategy, it may or may not be worth it.

 

[1GoldenSun]

We are staying onsite (I live over an hour away), but they only have 3-day park hoppers, so we'll be trying to cram a lot into three short days. We're staying at a deluxe resort, so we will get the extra hours for MK one night. The kids are very young, so I'm really hoping hard that they'll be able to stay up so we can make the most of that time. We will also be rope-dropping every day. I absolutely wouldn't mind being up at 7:00am to schedule ride times, we will anyway in order to rope drop, but I don't really like the idea of having to spend a bunch of time on the phone all day trying to schedule things; I want to enjoy my family's company, and that somehow seems like it would ruin the relaxed, vacation feel for everyone.

I've been an annual passholder for years and there is absolutely nothing I need to do at this point, but I'm getting a taste of how stressful trip planning can be for people who don't visit often. There are so many attractions and activities that I love so much and want to share with the people I care about but it's impossible to do it all in three days!

I'm leaning toward trying to do what we can without it, knowing that they will be back. I know we'll have a fantastic time even if we can't do everything I'd like to!

 

[Lisa P.]

On our February vacation we were a group of 11: DD/DSIL, DS/DDIL, 5 young grands (ages 5y, 3y, 3y, 21 mo, and 4 mo), DH & myself. We stayed in a VRBO pool home offsite. It was not a holiday week but the parks were packed. All the kids and grandkids went to DHS for one day (no G+) and we all together went to MK for one day (with G+).

DHS without G+ or ILL$:

4 adults and 5 littles arrived early enough to rope drop M&M RR and waited about an hour, behind all the EE onsite guests. They probably should have RD'd SDD because it was their priority ride, after the kids had seen a POV video of it. But they weren't sure if a coaster should be the young kids' first ride of the day. So by the time they reached SDD mid-morning, they had to wait over 2 hours to ride SDD. The long waits with these age children were really difficult for all of them, made worse by unseasonably hot (90's) & humid weather.
Fortunately, a CM with a tablet approached the worn-out, waiting Moms & babies, took pity on them, and gave them 2 free LL return times for other rides (with limitations, not for headliners). After SDD, they all used the LL's for back-to-back rides on TSMM, which everyone thoroughly enjoyed. They then returned to the pool home for lunch and nap time.

DS/DDIL had FL AP's so they were "done" with their DHS visit for the day. DD/DSIL left their children with the rest of us and went back to DHS to try some more headliners, especially hoping to try RotR for the first time. In the last 4 hours of the day, they rode ToT and RnRC, ate some food, enjoyed the atmosphere, and got in line for RotR shortly before park close. It was a fun "date night" for them, after a rough morning. We all decided that with the number of long wait times for attractions that interested them in DHS, it would have been worth buying G+ there. Having small children with them made it matter more.

MK with G+ but not ILL$:

Since we were offsite, we RD'd JC and had less than a 10 minute wait since Adventureland is not open for EE. The Dads and 5y went to BTMRR standby (25 min) and we scheduled our 1st G+ LL for Pooh for after noon but we probably should have booked something earlier, while in line for JC or taken PPF which was for late afternoon already but we could have stacked other late rides in the meantime.

Over the course of the day, we got G+ LLs for Pooh, Buzz, Speedway, Princess M&G (wasn't needed), and BTMRR. The day was heavily punctuated by breaks for bathrooms, coffee, snacks, nursing, diapers, coffee, snacks, Dole Whips, coffee, etc. Having little kids in tow is SO different from bringing older kids and adults to the parks.

We waited standby for Jungle Cruise (5-10 min), Small World (15 min), Carousel x2 (10 min, 15 min), Peter Pan (55 min where having PB&J sandwiches on hand helped), Treehouse (no wait) for some while others rode Magic Carpets (20 min), Space Mtn (50 min during a brief drop in wait time) for some while others rode CoP (no wait) and Buzz (G+), Under the Sea LM (15 min), Mickey M&G (10 min), Barnstormer x2 (5 min), and a final, 2nd ride on Buzz (no wait). Our wait times were among the shortest waits for each of the rides that we saw for most of the day and we took advantage of Genie's projected patterns for wait times. For example, Small World posted a 45 min wait when we came outside after riding it. We tended to be ahead of the curve by going to the slower loading rides early and we only got in line if the posted wait was < 30 min, except for highest priorities.

While passing in front of the castle, we paused to catch the end of a drum corp performance, followed 10 minutes later by the Princesses Cavalcade. We also saw Buzz Lightyear hamming it up on a Tomorrowland stage. And we held the children up at eye level so they could see Enchantment which we all enjoyed very much. Note that we did NOT ride PotC, HM, or 7DMT - the first 2 would've been too scary and most of the kids are too short or timid for the 3rd. Splash was down for scheduled maint but wouldn't have suited the kids either. PeopleMover was down for most of the day. If we had used G+ differently, we might have been able to swap out some of our choices for some of those popular rides or Dumbo, TomS Island, Tiki, or RiverBoat.

Thoughts about G+ & ILL$ at MK & DHS with little kids:

We did feel that we got decent value from G+ at MK. However, since our group included so many little ones, and no teens, most of the headliners weren't really on our radar. So we probably wouldn't have missed it much if we just RD'd JC, then PPF, and went by the Tip Board/Projected wait patterns for everything else, as we did for all the standby rides. Having onsite access to morning EEH would have helped even more, IMO. If 7DMT was a priority, it could be accomplished during EE or ETPH, or may be worth paying ILL$. Maybe.

Now with a greater interest in headliners and fewer rides overall at DHS, I think our group would have benefited most from onsite access to morning EEH, RD'ing SDD and the rest of Toy Story Land, and trying for ILL$ for RoTR, then pushing priority remaining headliners toward the evening unless a reasonable wait time is found. There are several shows for the middle of the day that could appeal to kids... IJESS, BatB, LMRA, and Frozen Sing Along. G+ would have been helpful too but I suspect EE and having a better RD strategy would have been best.

 

[Scalemaster34]

Comes down to crowd levels and wait times.....

We went first of Dec and it was an optional feature that was great to have, but think a few cases (AK and Epcot) it was unnecessary.

Went the first of Feb and there were lots of attractions with 90 or 120+ minute waits.... without G+ and ILL your waiting in ALL of those. Just not enough hours in the day to ride everything, so you'll have to skip several attractions. Even with G+ and ILL you might find it a struggle to do everything without an extra day.

 

[randumb0]

I live 20 mins away. Haven't used Genie and don't plan to. Wake up ay 7 am? No thanks

 

[revdon64]

We did EPCOT on Tuesday without G+. We did Imagination, Soarin', Living with the Land, walked around world showcase, ate some food, and went back to the hotel early. It was a mob scene.

 

[Cadiewampus]

we were just there 3/8 to 3/11 and did not use G+. Only thing we didn't do but wanted to was TOT. Part of the time it was down and when it was running the wait was around 90 minutes. We have done it enough times that it wasn't that big a deal though. I think longest line we stood in was Ratatouille at about 90 minutes. Fun ride glad we waited. We did do Flight of Passage a couple of times wait was right around 60 minutes both times and ROTR was about the same.

 

[LuvAriel]

My daughter just returned home from a trip (3/10-3/15). They didn't purchase G+ BUT by day 4 which was MK they CAVED and purchased it as up until then they were only able to ride approx 4 rides a day MAX at HS, AK & Epcot. They missed many headliners and at that point they decided to splurge on the MK and thankfully they did as they rode all the headliners (except 7 dwarfs--couldn't get an ILL) but they were ok with that. They arrived each day to the parks around 9-10 am and would stay until closing and still could only manage approx 4 rides a day. Mind you it was the height of spring break and she has been at least 20 times to DW but still she said it was INSANE!!!

I think if they rope dropped they would've been more successful but they are not morning people hence why they were trying to avoid G+

 

[Cadiewampus]

My daughter just returned home from a trip (3/10-3/15). They didn't purchase G+ BUT by day 4 which was MK they CAVED and purchased it as up until then they were only able to ride approx 4 rides a day MAX at HS, AK & Epcot. They missed many headliners and at that point they decided to splurge on the MK and thankfully they did as they rode all the headliners (except 7 dwarfs--couldn't get an ILL) but they were ok with that. They arrived each day to the parks around 9-10 am and would stay until closing and still could only manage approx 4 rides a day. Mind you it was the height of spring break and she has been at least 20 times to DW but still she said it was INSANE!!!

I think if they rope dropped they would've been more successful but they are not morning people hence why they were trying to avoid G+

Did they see the fireworks show at MK? It was awesome