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

[DVC92]

Pure greed! I'll see how long the standby lines are in the spring and fall when I go. If they are ridiculous, I may just up and sell.

 

[Future_WorldPhonencian]

The $15 option will be a boon for park hopping and mk guests, not so much at AK, i still want to see whats included and not included at each park before passing judgement. I can see my family of 5 doing genie plus maybe 2 days on our weeklong trip and maybe ponying up for 1-2 of those lightning lanes depending on the price

 

[igrsod]

I have 2 initial questions???
1. What are the actual rides included, or on the flip side, not included in the $15 per day?
2. How many tier 2 rides do you think you will fit into a day for your $15?

The answers to these questions will determine whether we will pay for it or not.

 

[5DisneyNuts]

Loved max pass in Disneyland - this seems to be very similar. I know this costs more, but looking forward to not getting up at the crack of dawn however many days before the trip to book fast passes. Still need to plan dining in advance . . . .

I think this is the part that bothers me as much as the cost. I preferred to schedule things in advance at the crack of dawn and set expectations 60 days in advance as opposed to having to get up at 7am every morning of my vacation to see what I can get whether it's a boarding group, Genie + ride or a paid LL ala carte ride. I think with both onsite and offsite accessing Genie + basic rides at 7am the times and popular rides are going to go quickly.

Once again, I'm not judging anything until things actually unfold. Many people who were dreading this announcement seem pleasantly surprised. And also once again, I don't think it will be as bad as some seem to be insisting on. But also once again, people will continue to complain about something that hasn't even started or had all details fully released yet. But not sure why I'm surprised.

It seemed to me that the reaction on social media overall was pretty negative. I agree with keeping an open mind, but right off the bat, with the details released so far, my exact trip from March 2020 is going to cost my family somewhere around $1000 + more and I'll be getting up every morning at 7am to forage for rides. So right now, I'm feeling somewhat negative.

I also realize nothing stays the same and WDW is a for profit company.

 

[Alexis56578]

I think I need to see how it works and how it affects everything before I form an opinion. I was never a fastpass+ refresher anyway. I'm fine with getting my initial and going with the flow.

I definitely don't agree that you won't be able to ride anything without it. Like I said, I'm not a fastpass refresher and we rode everything we wanted to our last visit. Longest wait was 30 for haunted mansion.

But with our upcoming trip being a party of 6, I'm not thrilled about the cost.

 

[5DisneyNuts]

The $15 option will be a boon for park hopping and mk guests, not so much at AK, i still want to see whats included and not included at each park before passing judgement. I can see my family of 5 doing genie plus maybe 2 days on our weeklong trip and maybe ponying up for 1-2 of those lightning lanes depending on the price

I was wondering this. Are you able to add Genie + just for some days or will it be like park hoppers and the non-expiring option that got added to the length of stay? Thank you.

 

[DPgrlz]

I mean, if it had been like Universal, I would’ve been pretty upset. It’s hugely expensive there. Universal is charging $90/person per day for unlimited express pass. Compare that to WDW, where you pay $15/person per day for access to nearly all the rides.

Yes, that's what I was thinking. I see a lot of people say that Universal is so much cheaper, better rooms etc. But every time I've priced it out it has been the same as Disney. Maybe I pick the wrong dates?

 

[mercuryvenus]

Yes, that's what I was thinking. I see a lot of people say that Universal is so much cheaper, better rooms etc. But every time I've priced it out it has been the same as Disney. Maybe I pick the wrong dates?

I’ve always thought Universal was more expensive for what you get.

 

[RamblingMad]

Yes, that's what I was thinking. I see a lot of people say that Universal is so much cheaper, better rooms etc. But every time I've priced it out it has been the same as Disney. Maybe I pick the wrong dates?

No idea how you price it out. It's always significantly cheaper for me.

 

[tinkerhon]

Disney is getting hammered in the comments on social media.

As they should !

 

[Narcoossee11]

You don't have to pay to ride rides.

You won't pay in money BUT in time. Maybe twice as long so the GENIE appears to be a good value.

 

[luv2cheer92]

Yes, that's what I was thinking. I see a lot of people say that Universal is so much cheaper, better rooms etc. But every time I've priced it out it has been the same as Disney. Maybe I pick the wrong dates?

Universal is always just as much, if not more for me compared to Disney. At least day for day. My Universal trips are usually a little shorter, making them cheaper that way. But comparing the daily cost, its usually close, if not more for Universal.

 

[Narcoossee11]

Disney is getting hammered in the comments on social media.

They will survive . They knew people will shout and yell then open their wallet.

 

[Richelle305]

Honestly thought it wasn't that bad when I saw the prices because I was assuming worse. However, when I think about the people coming here as a family and staying for multiple days...Its going to be rough especially since Disney got rid of a lot of other perks. I feel like a lot of the changes Disney is making hurts those that are flying in from out of state.

 

[tinkerhon]

Think I just got my answer-- reading the entire article--- Genie will be part of MDE, and not replacing it - (I think)

 

[deltadisney]

So is the Genie thing free...the part about making itineraries and what not, and only the Genie+ part an add-on?

Yes.

 

[Brocktoon]

Apologies if this is a REALLY stupid question, and possibly a bit off-topic. Is Genie REPLACING the current version of MDE?
I dont use the MDE app-- I Im kind of old-school (not to mention a little old) , and I always use the web.

My DD has the app--- shes the tech savvy one. So, when this goes live, will MDE still exist in its current form?
TIA !!

Not a stupid question at all. The official announcement video states that Genie is 'built into the existing mobile apps'. So, does that mean it'll be part of an app update? Or will it be another app to download, but it'll open automatically/link via the current apps like the Play Disney Parks app?

 

[KeyLargoCards]

No idea how you price it out. It's always significantly cheaper for me.

Both vacations definitely depend on how you do them. Prior to owning DVC, I would always rent points to get the deluxe resorts at a discount and do a 7 day trip w/7 days of tix. Universal, we'll do a week and only get ~4 day park to park. ALWAYS staying on property (Portofino) to get the unlimited express pass. Our Universal trip cost a bit less (maybe 10-15%), but not sure I would say significantly. Its all about the value too though, as in 7 park days across the 4 Disney parks we can pretty much stay busy doing new things. Just 4 days at the 2 Universal parks, and we've done everything we want, often many times, and have run out of new things to try. On the other hand, obviously, the unlimited express pass adds a ton of value.

 

[Dis Dragon]

Think I just got my answer-- reading the entire article--- Genie will be part of MDE, and not replacing it - (I think)

Genie is a new platform, not MDE.

 

[RamblingMad]

Both vacations definitely depend on how you do them. Prior to owning DVC, I would always rent points to get the deluxe resorts at a discount and do a 7 day trip w/7 days of tix. Universal, we'll do a week and only get ~4 day park to park. ALWAYS staying on property (Portofino) to get the unlimited express pass. Our Universal trip cost a bit less (maybe 10-15%), but not sure I would say significantly. Its all about the value too though, as in 7 park days across the 4 Disney parks we can pretty much stay busy doing new things. Just 4 days at the 2 Universal parks, and we've done everything we want, often many times, and have run out of new things to try.

Universal is like DL/DCA. You can do it over an extended weekend. An no reason to really pay up for rooms there as they're all pretty good. I've never had the express pass, and I didn't have a hard time doing all of the rides I wanted to do multiple times.