Disney Genie announcement

[bloomcruisers]

If offsite guests have to wait till they enter the park to register each day (which I understand isn’t quite clear yet) will you be able to pick that first attraction before confirming that you want to spend the money. I would hate to spend $15 x6 then find out the only thing left is a bunch of low crowd level rides. In other words will it be register and pick your first ride then put in CC info to confirm? Or register and pay, then get to see what your choices are?

 

[OhDannyBoy]

If offsite guests have to wait till they enter the park to register each day (which I understand isn’t quite clear yet) will you be able to pick that first attraction before confirming that you want to spend the money. I would hate to spend $15 x6 then find out the only thing left is a bunch of low crowd level rides. In other words will it be register and pick your first ride then put in CC info to confirm? Or register and pay, then get to see what your choices are?

I doubt you'd be able to see availability until you pay. Be nice if you could.

If you can't "preview" (for lack of a better word) maybe you can only buy it for 1 ticket so your only gambling $15. see what's available, and commit the other 5 assuming that will be allowed.

 

[JakeAZ]

I doubt you'd be able to see availability until you pay. Be nice if you could.

I actually think they will let you see what's available and what you are "missing out on" by not buying Genie.

It might show up as "only available with Genie+"

 

[condorthb]

I actually think they will let you see what's available and what you are "missing out on" by not buying Genie.

It might show up as "only available with Genie+"

makes sense.

 

[OhDannyBoy]

I actually think they will let you see what's available and what you are "missing out on" by not buying Genie.

It might show up as "only available with Genie+"

Could be. That would be nice and makes sense actually.

 

[Kbrb]

Does anyone really think disney will tell selected guests when to ride something for a shorter wait time? IE the free version will actually help and do what its supposed to

Or will they play with it to dump you in a long long line while sending you notifications to end the nightmare for $15. They can more or less do what ever they want data wise.

 

[DisneyFive]

For those who do not like the idea of G+ or will not pay for G+, would you rather that the FP+ system was left as-was, and ticket prices were raised across the board by $15/day/person (ie a 5 day ticket would have a price increase of $75 per person)? I am asking this question honestly, as I would rather have the option to buy or not buy this add-on, rather than have ticket prices raised for all tickets.

Problem is G+ and FP+ are comparing apples to oranges. They aren't the same, and G+ is actually quite inferior.

• FP+ allowed the ability to pre-book 3 rides per day for the entire duration of your stay. This is HUGE.
• FP+ was available for almost ALL attractions, including the top headliners. None of this pay per ride nonsense.

I guess to answer your questions, if in fact we could have the old FP+ system back, and increase the per ticket price by $15 per person per day I would GLADLY do that versus this new G+ and pay per ride system.

G+ and pay per ride will appeal the lowest common denominator guest... those that refused to put any effort into planning their vacation. Everything is day of now. No ability to pre plan (other than reserving which park they are going to any particular day). So now, those of us that actually would put effort into their vacation beforehand get forced into waking up early each day of our stay to start finding those precious attractions, some of which won't even be an option (due to pay per ride)

Dan

 

[JakeAZ]

Does anyone really think disney will tell selected guests when to ride something for a shorter wait time? IE the free version will actually help and do what its supposed to

Or will they play with it to dump you in a long long line while sending you notifications to end the nightmare for $15. They can more or less do what ever they want data wise.

I see the free version being (maybe) helpful on a low / moderate crowd day. It can see what lines look like and help you pick the right ones to get into.

However, I just don't see it being able to do much on high crowd days (which is what the parks will be like starting Oct 1)

 

[Landry]

Problem is G+ and FP+ are comparing apples to oranges. They aren't the same, and G+ is actually quite inferior.

• FP+ allowed the ability to pre-book 3 rides per day for the entire duration of your stay. This is HUGE.
• FP+ was available for almost ALL attractions, including the top headliners. None of this pay per ride nonsense.

I guess to answer your questions, if in fact we could have the old FP+ system back, and increase the per ticket price by $15 per person per day I would GLADLY do that versus this new G+ and pay per ride system.

G+ and pay per ride will appeal the lowest common denominator guest... those that refused to put any effort into planning their vacation. Everything is day of now. No ability to pre plan (other than reserving which park they are going to any particular day). So now, those of us that actually would put effort into their vacation beforehand get forced into waking up early each day of our stay to start finding those precious attractions, some of which won't even be an option (due to pay per ride)

Dan

FP+ wasn't nearly as good as MaxPass. FP+ had all the rides booked up before the day of while MaxPass gave you lots of opportunities for every ride more than once each day the time we were out at DisneyLand. G+ is a mix of FP+ & MaxPass (leaning more towards MaxPass) minus the headliners. We all have to get used to not being able to get on the top 2 rides for each park via LL's.

 

[Marionnette]

FP+ wasn't nearly as good as MaxPass. FP+ had all the rides booked up before the day of while MaxPass gave you lots of opportunities for every ride more than once each day the time we were out at DisneyLand. G+ is a mix of FP+ & MaxPass (leaning more towards MaxPass) minus the headliners. We all have to get used to not being able to get on the top 2 rides for each park via LL's.

That's a false statement. There were always plenty of FP+ available the day of. Even FOP FP+ could be obtained because Disney would drop more into the system in the late morning.

 

[cjlong88]

G+ and pay per ride will appeal the lowest common denominator guest... those that refused to put any effort into planning their vacation. Everything is day of now. No ability to pre plan (other than reserving which park they are going to any particular day). So now, those of us that actually would put effort into their vacation beforehand get forced into waking up early each day of our stay to start finding those precious attractions, some of which won't even be an option (due to pay per ride)

The people who don't put any effort into planning their vacation to WDW probably won't know about Genie+ just like they didn't know about FP+. These are the same people who stroll into the park at 10am and are shocked that it's busy. As the planners, we will always have the advantage because we will have various tools and strategies to lower our wait times. And even if they do know about Genie+, that doesn't necessarily mean they will know how to use it effectively so they can get the most of out of their experience (just like FP+).

 

[OhDannyBoy]

G+ and pay per ride will appeal the lowest common denominator guest... those that refused to put any effort into planning their vacation. Everything is day of now. No ability to pre plan (other than reserving which park they are going to any particular day). So now, those of us that actually would put effort into their vacation beforehand get forced into waking up early each day of our stay to start finding those precious attractions, some of which won't even be an option (due to pay per ride)

Dan

What makes you think the guest who knew nothing of FP+ will know anything about Genie+?

Relax, as soon as this rolls out and the wonderful people here on this board get to using it, you'll figure out how to use it to your advantage just like you did with FP+.

 

[Orsino]

For those who do not like the idea of G+ or will not pay for G+, would you rather that the FP+ system was left as-was, and ticket prices were raised across the board by $15/day/person (ie a 5 day ticket would have a price increase of $75 per person)? I am asking this question honestly, as I would rather have the option to buy or not buy this add-on, rather than have ticket prices raised for all tickets.

Genie+ exists as a hammer for Annual Passes. As you say, Disney could have raised ticket prices by 15 dollars per person per day for 'normal' tickets, but they can't put as simple a price increase on Annual Passes. I view genie+ as a way to make annual passes have a quasi-sliding scale pricing. People who go to WDW with an annual pass and want Genie+ will have to pay more than annual passholders who go less.

My wild and unfounded guess is that FP+ was best understood and therefore leveraged by Annual Passholders. Experience matters! Cutting AP powerusers out of the FP racket unless they pony up more money is Disney's "solution" to making the experience better for less experienced guests.

 

[twodogs]

Problem is G+ and FP+ are comparing apples to oranges. They aren't the same, and G+ is actually quite inferior.

• FP+ allowed the ability to pre-book 3 rides per day for the entire duration of your stay. This is HUGE.
• FP+ was available for almost ALL attractions, including the top headliners. None of this pay per ride nonsense.

I guess to answer your questions, if in fact we could have the old FP+ system back, and increase the per ticket price by $15 per person per day I would GLADLY do that versus this new G+ and pay per ride system.

G+ and pay per ride will appeal the lowest common denominator guest... those that refused to put any effort into planning their vacation. Everything is day of now. No ability to pre plan (other than reserving which park they are going to any particular day). So now, those of us that actually would put effort into their vacation beforehand get forced into waking up early each day of our stay to start finding those precious attractions, some of which won't even be an option (due to pay per ride)

Dan

Thank you for that thoughtful response. It has been interesting to see the various responses on this; Disney could not make everyone happy no matter what they chose. For me, I thought FP+ really penalized the last minute visitor over the person who booked the trip months ahead. As a planner, it was ok by me, but I could see last minute trips would be disadvantaged (but could still take advantage of "refresh").

To your first statement, unfortunately, I don't think Disney was trying to improve the guest experience or create a superior product for the guest by changing to G+. They are trying to increase profits. And they will keep doing that in various ways until the changes make enough people lose value in the experience to cause a loss of profits. Then they have found the tipping point. I don't think they have found it yet, based on these boards and attendance at the parks and the special events. So I expect them to keep pushing and pushing until they find that point, back off slightly, and sit there and rake in the cash. And I will have to see for me personally where my tipping point is. Right now, I am willing to try G+ because I loved MP at DLR so much and felt it was a good value for my family/touring style and much better than FP+. Time will tell for me, and for many of us.

 

[ZeeWP]

For the IA$, how does Disneyland Paris do it? There is a chance they might do it the same way. I was hoping it was gonna be like, "There is a Lightning Lane pass for Slinky Dog Dash at 10:30 AM for 10 dollars. would you like to purchase?" But would that be to Disney's benefit?

 

[ZeeWP]

I just looked it up (https://www.disneylandparis.com/en-us/attractions/disney-premier-access/). If you can see the picture below, it is saying that there is a pass at that time and you can buy it. It doesn't have the cost on that page though.

ETA: no this one I found has all the info before you buy.

 

[ThistleMae]

I'm looking at different boards and articles everyday to learn more and get opinions. Is it me or is interest dropping off on this subject?

 

[itf]

I'm looking at different boards and articles everyday to learn more and get opinions. Is it me or is interest dropping off on this subject?

not much more to say untiI we see the reality on the ground I guess.

 

[shawthorne44]

What makes you think the guest who knew nothing of FP+ will know anything about Genie+?

Caveat: I am someone that was hoping for a MaxPass-ish replacement for FP+, and I would have paid for the cell phone option. So, I'm happy about Genie+.

But as someone that loves to research vacations, I can maximize any these systems as long as it is out for long enough for others to figure out. Or, at least I'm told all the rules.

But, I suspect that Genie+ will be so easy, the average clueless guest will be on equal footing. It will keep saying "Here is the next rides passes." So, no more, Grab 4th FP+ and Modify.

There isn't much hope that people wouldn't know about it, since the MDE will push it.

 

[Peach026]

I am confused on how Genie + will work at WDW regarding memory maker... Hoping you guys can help! We always buy MM, sounds like its added on G+ - but only for the day?? Add to the mix - PER PERSON where before MM was you just buy it once for your party. I'm totally lost here, help a girl out please !