Disney Genie+ and ILL$ Details & FAQ - Launches 10/19 at WDW, Paid "FastPass" at WDW and Disneyland (date TBD)

[Aluminum Falcon]

I think the majority of people will end up buying Genie+. I personally love this new system. Getting rid of the advanced booking was the best thing to happen IMO. It benefits people like me who rope drop all the time.

I agree, i think the average guest, or the 1 time visitor will still look at it as added value for the cost, although the overall price will be high by the end of a trip, $15 a day is a great way of marketing it, (if it's good enough for infomercials, it's good enough for Disney)!

 

[NuJoy]

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[lfracas1]

UPDATE: Some details on the new Genie and Genie+ posted on Carlye Wisel's instagram

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https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2021/08/introducing-disney-genie/
https://www.wdwinfo.com/disneylandc...ased-regarding-disney-genie-coming-this-fall/
The part we're most interested in is the paid "Fastpass" - now called Genie+ service which seems similar to Disneyland's MaxPass - but it is $15 per day per person at WDW, $20 per day per person at Disneyland. You can get 1 Lightning Lane Pass at a time and then get another pass once you've used the first one (there may be some kind of "cool down timer" between requesting passes though - I have heard 90 minutes.

However it seems to only include "Tier 2" attractions. For E-ticket attractions, it sounds like you will need to pay for individual attraction selections - but you can only get 2 of those per day it seems.

From the Disney Parks Blog:
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For even more convenience and flexibility, there are two other options for enjoying our theme parks, through a queue we are introducing called the Lightning Lane entrance that also saves you time in line:

• Disney Genie+ service (available for purchase): For the price of $15 per ticket per day at Walt Disney World Resort and $20 per ticket per day at Disneyland Resort, choose the next available time to arrive at a variety of attractions and experiences using the Lightning Lane entrance. You can make one selection at a time, throughout the day – from classics like Haunted Mansion to thrill rides like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and newer favorites like Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run (attractions subject to limited availability). This convenient option is the next evolution of the fan-favorite Disney MaxPass service from Disneyland Resort. Disney Genie+ will also include Disney parks-themed audio experiences and photo features to capture your memories – augmented reality lenses for those visiting Walt Disney World Resort and unlimited Disney PhotoPass downloads from your day if you are visiting Disneyland Resort.
• Individual attraction selections (available for purchase): Schedule a time to arrive at up to two highly demanded attractions each day using the Lightning Lane entrance – like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom Park and Radiator Springs Racers at Disney California Adventure park (subject to limited availability; attractions not included with Disney Genie+). Pricing for this option will vary by date, attraction and park and will be announced closer to launch.

Lightning Lane selections will be made on the same day of your visit and can be used across multiple theme parks, great for those who love the Park Hopper option. Attractions continue to offer a traditional standby queue, or a virtual queue at certain attractions like Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance – to maximize flexibility.

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. Can I still get a paper Fastpass or any kind of Fastpass for free?
A: No this is not an option any longer. The only options for "skip the line" for attractions is to pay for Genie+ for 40+ attractions at WDW and 15+ at DLR and for certain attractions to pay individually for a Lightning Lane Pass (prices have not been announced yet).

2. Do I need to buy the Genie+ for $15 to obtain a Lightning Lane pass for a Tier 1 attraction like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train?
A: No you do not need to buy Genie+ to get the Lightning Lane Pass.

3. What rides will be included in Genie+?
A: For WDW it is advertised that 40 rides will be included with Genie+. This means that some rides will not be included. The rides where you can buy an individual Lightning Lane Pass will NOT be included in Genie+. Disney has officially said that Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at WDW will not be included. On Touring Plans they have their guess at what will constitute "E-Ticket" or "Tier 1" attractions which will not be included in Genie+:



4. Will there be a Genie+ Annual option for Annual Passholders and Magickey holders like there was with MaxPass?
A: At this time, Disney will only be offering a pay per day option to all guests for Genie+ but they have stated they will consider other offerings in the future.

5. What happens if I buy a Lightning Lane pass for a Tier 1 attraction and the ride is down?
A: We honestly don't know yet at this point. Total conjecture - but I would assume you could potentially trade it for a different Lightning Lane Pass for a different ride OR you could get a full refund - but nobody knows for sure yet.

6. Do I have to purchase Genie+ for the entire length of my trip?
If purchased as part of a vacation package ahead of your visit, Genie+ is purchased for the entire length of the stay at $15 per ticket per day.
If not purchased ahead of time, Genie+ can be added on a day-by-day basis.

7. Will Genie+ and Individual Attraction purchases be available during Extended Evening Hours and Early Entry for Walt Disney World Resort hotel guests?
No, only standby lines will be in use during these times.

8. Will Genie+ and/or individual Lightning Lane attractions work with Park Hopping?

Yes, you will be able to make a reservation for after 2 pm in a different park than the one where you started your day and have your Disney Park Pass reservation.

If they were truly customer focused (which they are not anymore), they would lower ticket price’s in conjunction with this change.

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

Ethically, “limited availability” cannot be interpreted as no availability or almost no availability…that is a “while supplies last” scenario. Further, “limited availability” when something is free does not hold the same interpretation as when money is exchanged for service. This is why I strongly suspect G+ will not have a day’s list of attractions and times to choose from at 7:00am whereby some attractions can be completely reserved up for the whole day. If G+ includes the ability to park hop, then one is going to expect to hop out of the system in one park and hop back into the system at the next, continuing to use the system in the identical fashion. In the case of G+, I suspect “limited availability” will mean one should not expect wide availability of choice in what attraction is available at any given moment or when one can ride said attraction. I think they are going to reserve choice for the LL$.

i completely agree with this, there has been a lot of speculation on these boards that you will be able to book a ride with LL hours in advance, and i just don't see Disney laying it out in that way. I feel like Genie+ is Disneys way of controlling crowds throughout the park, and it would be counterintuitive to give out all the LL before the park even opens. I also have a funny feeling that guests will not receive the same lineup of LL when opening their app, ie( some would get BTM, PP, and Pirates, and another guest may get SW, Pooh, and Splash).

 

[NuJoy]

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[CWTC]

Yes…probably even depending on what was plugged into a family’s Tip Board on the Genie app.

This is one of the unknowns that has the potential to really tick me off - I do not want to be presented with LL or G+ options based on my tip board. We might want to ride something that the algorithm would not predict and want to decide for ourselves what LL pass/G+ pass to pick.

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

If they were truly customer focused (which they are not anymore), they would lower ticket price’s in conjunction with this change.

that wouldn't happen, companies in general, especially publicly traded companies rarely if ever roll back prices.

 

[Liquidice]

My guess in terms of availability for G+ LL passes is look at MaxPass and how that worked. Did MaxPass allow you to book a Fastpass hours in advance? People were paying for MaxPass as well. I actually don't know the answer here as I've never used MaxPass.

 

[NuJoy]

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[Aluminum Falcon]

This is one of the unknowns that has the potential to really tick me off - I do not want to be presented with LL or G+ options based on my tip board. We might want to ride something that the algorithm would not predict and want to decide for ourselves what LL pass/G+ pass to pick.

Obviously we could be way off on that point, but I feel like Disney has had enough of certain guests taking advantage of their systems, and they are implementing new rules/services to try and gain control back ie.(purchase limits per guest, and Genie)

 

[Liquidice]

that wouldn't happen, companies in general, especially publicly traded companies rarely if ever roll back prices.

The exception being technology companies who often lower their prices as technology gets cheaper.

Just an example of an IT company that continuously lowers prices - https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/category/price-reduction/

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

My guess in terms of availability for G+ LL passes is look at MaxPass and how that worked. Did MaxPass allow you to book a Fastpass hours in advance? People were paying for MaxPass as well. I actually don't know the answer here as I've never used MaxPass.

the only reason I don't think so, is that Disney chose to relaunch the system at DL as well, and based on their willingness to design their "fast pass" system per park, I can't see why they would change Max Pass at DL if they were going to relaunch the same system under a different name.

 

[Liquidice]

Obviously we could be way off on that point, but I feel like Disney has had enough of certain guests taking advantage of their systems, and they are implementing new rules/services to try and gain control back ie.(purchase limits per guest, and Genie)

Don't you think people will figure out a way to "game" the tip board though?

Either by just selecting that you're interested in everything or by selecting you're interested in nothing? Or changing what you're interested in to create the right combination to ensure Space Mountain comes up or whatever you're looking for. Maybe have multiple people in your party have different interests to ensure you see everything ... that assumes they're going to filter like that.

I could imagine it would just be a sorting thing though - sort by rides you think I'm most interested in, and it will still show everything.

 

[Liquidice]

the only reason I don't think so, is that Disney chose to relaunch the system at DL as well, and based on their willingness to design their "fast pass" system per park, I can't see why they would change Max Pass at DL if they were going to relaunch the same system under a different name.

Well the change has to do with the introduction of the Individual attraction Lightning Lanes at both parks and the elimination of paper fastpasses. My assumption is the backend code that is used for Genie+ is based on MaxPass. We're all just speculating here, so even if it is based on the same codebase, they could have easily tweaked it to work differently in terms of how they offer up passes - but my guess is just that it works like MaxPass did with the exception of not offering any Tier 1 rides anymore.

 

[BrianL]

My guess in terms of availability for G+ LL passes is look at MaxPass and how that worked. Did MaxPass allow you to book a Fastpass hours in advance? People were paying for MaxPass as well. I actually don't know the answer here as I've never used MaxPass.

With MaxPass every attraction had a "Now Distributing" time that moved forward as slots got taken up. It was possible to choose an attraction that had a return time that was currently hours away. It worked the same as Paper FP as the slots were given out in order.

 

[NuJoy]

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[Aluminum Falcon]

Don't you think people will figure out a way to "game" the tip board though?

Either by just selecting that you're interested in everything or by selecting you're interested in nothing? Or changing what you're interested in to create the right combination to ensure Space Mountain comes up or whatever you're looking for. Maybe have multiple people in your party have different interests to ensure you see everything ... that assumes they're going to filter like that.

I could imagine it would just be a sorting thing though - sort by rides you think I'm most interested in, and it will still show everything.

i think the app will be intuitive enough to not offer over a certain amount of LL at a time, I think it will constantly be shuffling the deck so you can't "game" it

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

Well the change has to do with the introduction of the Individual attraction Lightning Lanes at both parks and the elimination of paper fastpasses. My assumption is the backend code that is used for Genie+ is based on MaxPass. We're all just speculating here, so even if it is based on the same codebase, they could have easily tweaked it to work differently in terms of how they offer up passes - but my guess is just that it works like MaxPass did with the exception of not offering any Tier 1 rides anymore.

That could be, but based on how long Disney has been working on this, (one person on these boards accurately predicted this over 10 years ago), i just can't imagine that they are going to relaunch a system that they already had up and running, the amount of time wasted, and dollars spent would be nuts. They could have easily implemented this system years ago if that was the case

 

[Bbrown0804]

Goodness. So let me get this straight, for a family of 5 who could utilize fastpasses before, we are now looking at an additional cost of $75 a day for the genie passes, but really only every 2 hours so maybe 5 rides, and then an additional $75-$100 to pay for 2 popular rides (the rides that bring us to Disney!). So now a very expensive trip to begin with just increased by almost $200 a day.

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

Goodness. So let me get this straight, for a family of 5 who could utilize fastpasses before, we are now looking at an additional cost of $75 a day for the genie passes, but really only every 2 hours so maybe 5 rides, and then an additional $75-$100 to pay for 2 popular rides (the rides that bring us to Disney!). So now a very expensive trip to begin with just increased by almost $200 a day.

Potentially, and people will pay for it if that’s the case. I know based on what Disney has posted, you can only have 1 LL at a time, the rest on this board seems to just be speculation, but it’s a fun conversation haha