Disney Genie announcement

[Grasshopper2016]

So you're saying that by not allowing rerides, the Standby lines will be shorter BECAUSE no one will buy Genie+?

I think the standby lines will likely be shorter due to a combination of: (1) fewer people being willing to buy Genie+ now, especially in parks like AK and EPCOT that don't have that many rides; and (2) those people who do buy Genie+ going on fewer LL rides per day---at all parks besides MK, which has an unusually large number of rides---simply because there are not that many rides that they want to use Genie+ at, and they are limited to doing each one only once.

In other words, without the re-ride ban, I would get Genie+ for EPCOT and go on TT and Soarin' several times in a row. With the re-ride ban, it wouldn't be worth it to me to buy Genie+ for my EPCOT day at all. And if I did decide to buy it, I would use it on maybe 5 total rides (Soarin', LWTL, TT, SE, Nemo?), rather than the 10 or more LL rides I would take if I could go on Soarin' and TT again and again.

 

[Leight19]

So you're saying that by not allowing rerides, the Standby lines will be shorter BECAUSE no one will buy Genie+? Is that right?

I mean, it's a logical conclusion, but it's unfortunately way too optimistic. The same type of people who bought into the dining plan will buy Genie+. It will, to our chagrin, be a success, at least at WDW, where the FOMO mentality is strong among visitors.

In my opinion, it will flop massively at DL because people will compare it unfavorably to Maxpass.

For me it’s more of an early peak behind curtain of what Disney is planning. My assumption, which may not be true, is they will dedicate less capacity to fast pass with this strategy then if they allowed unlimited. Part of this is because it sets hard limit on number of fp for users but also as you said because less will be willing to pay $15 for this then were willing to pay if unlimited.

 

[DLgal]

In other words, without the re-ride ban, I would get Genie+ for EPCOT and go on TT and Soarin' several times in a row. With the re-ride ban, it wouldn't be worth it to me to buy Genie+ for my EPCOT day at all. And if I did decide to buy it, I would use it on maybe 5 total rides (Soarin', LWTL, TT, SE, Nemo?), rather than the 10 or more LL rides I would take if I could go on Soarin' and TT again and again.

The flaw in your argument is that you are forgetting that you are still limited by the "return window" availability. So, even if you wanted to, you won't be able to just keep riding Test Track and Soarin "several times in a row." This is not like the Universal Unlimited Epxpress pass where you you just flash a credential and walk into the Lightning Lane.

When Disneyland had Maxpass, you could maybe get away with 2 or 3 rerides per day. You couldn't just endlessly do back to back rerides.

 

[DLgal]

For me it’s more of an early peak behind curtain of what Disney is planning. My assumption, which may not be true, is they will dedicate less capacity to fast pass with this strategy then if they allowed unlimited. Part of this is because it sets hard limit on number of fp for users but also as you said because less will be willing to pay $15 for this then were willing to pay if unlimited.

There is little chance that they dedicate less LL capacity due to this. They have set numbers for each ride based on hourly throughput and a ratio of LL to Standby that they have determined is the best to balance price and satisfaction for Genie+ purchasers.

I suspect this rule is strictly about keeping traffic flowing around the park.

 

[PepperjackDragon]

Or it’s just a strategy to get people ready for Genie + Unlimited (Gold etc edition)

 

[Grasshopper2016]

The flaw in your argument is that you are forgetting that you are still limited by the "return window" availability. So, even if you wanted to, you won't be able to just keep riding Test Track and Soarin "several times in a row." This is not like the Universal Unlimited Epxpress pass where you you just flash a credential and walk into the Lightning Lane.

When Disneyland had Maxpass, you could maybe get away with 2 or 3 rerides per day. You couldn't just endlessly do back to back rerides.

Obviously, the availability of LL windows would depend on what percentage of ride capacity is allotted to LL versus standby. If Disney allocated approximately 70% to LL (as was rumored to be the case with FP+), then I think it would be pretty easy to do multiple re-rides, if they were allowed. We used to do it all the time with FP+. And I have heard many people say that they did it successfully with Maxpass.

And even if you’re right that I would only be able to get 2-3 re-rides, that still makes a huge difference. That’s the difference between a user doing 5 LL rides in EPCOT and 8 rides—60% more.

 

[Disturbia]

Or for those that don’t do a lot of re-rides or use other ways to re-ride rides that didn’t include FP. There are certain rides we do ride over and over but we never were big FP refresh people. We got maybe an additional FP or two a day after our initial 3 but most days we didn’t even get 1 extra one.

We re-ride things since we go on longer trips (8-10 nights) and hit each park multiple times and utilize rope drop and end of the night short lines. We did ToT 4 times in a row late at night one trip. We were the last ride of the night too. We did the same with EE one morning. Same with TSM and Splash. We did all this without FP and I think we will continue even with Genie+.

We weren’t fast pass+ refresh people either. We just did our 3 morning, booked 4th before taking a break and coming back for ADRs and hopping on anything that had ok waits. It was free though so we expected some advantage for paying.

 

[snikki]

We weren’t fast pass+ refresh people either. We just did our 3 morning, booked 4th before taking a break and coming back for ADRs and hopping on anything that had ok waits. It was free though so we expected some advantage for paying.

I understand that. I was just trying to show there are other ways to redo rides without FP or G.

 

[disneyseniors]

What abuse? My guess is they're trying to hold back capacity to monetize additionally somehow.

mom2rtk: I always loved your daughters wonderful photos, done in a series over the years. It looks like you have been a big fan of disney, and Now, they have even gotten to you. That should set off some alarms to WDWco, if they even care anymore. This is awful, and our family is not going back, but they don't care because someone else will fill the gap. And, THAT, is the problem.

 

[elgerber]

Do we know yet how we pay for it? Will it just charge to the room, or will it be like mobile ordering, where you have to use a cc or type in a gift card every time? I have a bunch of gift cards I want to use.

 

[fly girl]

The flaw in your argument is that you are forgetting that you are still limited by the "return window" availability. So, even if you wanted to, you won't be able to just keep riding Test Track and Soarin "several times in a row." This is not like the Universal Unlimited Epxpress pass where you you just flash a credential and walk into the Lightning Lane.

When Disneyland had Maxpass, you could maybe get away with 2 or 3 rerides per day. You couldn't just endlessly do back to back rerides.

Yes! This!!

It is not like my family took all the MaxPass slot availability which I read pages ago when someone chimed in that they liked the one shot availability. Sure, I was a refresher, so we could get RSR or FOP again. It was there for anyone to grab. So what if I rode it already? I think the same reasoning should be with Genie+. If a slot is available and I paid the premium, I should be able to use it. This one and done is for the birds. There are many rides we don't go on, or don't need LL for (Figment, I am looking at you.)

It isn't like G+ guest will ride it 5 times before a standby guest will get to ride. Not at all. And if I am not mistaken, with MaxPass you couldn't get the same ride back to back. (example: I couldn't ride TSMM, go on app to get another FP and get TSMM again. I could get it after I got a FP for something else like Incredicoaster.)

I also do not agree with those that think the standby lines are going to move so much faster with this system. Have you been at a busy time with no FP+ or MaxPass? Lines are slow. We went to WDW during spring break and it was not enjoyable. I don't want to wait 45 minutes for a ride. I just don't. Been there, done that, and will pay a premium to not have to do it again. YMMV.

Unfortunately, Disney took away an important piece of that premium. Now the premium is subpar.

 

[fabfemmeboy]

So you're saying that by not allowing rerides, the Standby lines will be shorter BECAUSE no one will buy Genie+? Is that right?

I mean, it's a logical conclusion, but it's unfortunately way too optimistic. The same type of people who bought into the dining plan will buy Genie+. It will, to our chagrin, be a success, at least at WDW, where the FOMO mentality is strong among visitors.

In my opinion, it will flop massively at DL because people will compare it unfavorably to Maxpass.

That's partly it, but mostly because even if the same number of people buy Genie+ regardless, the total number of people who could be in the line would be dramatically reduced.

If everyone who has G+ can theoretically be in the LL at any given time for a particular ride, whether they've ridden it yet or not, then the LL will certainly have more people than if those same people can only use LL once for that ride. Why? Because some people will use theirs earlier in the day and not be able to use it again, meaning they won't be in those lines later in the day. Others will save their one shot for later in the day, meaning they won't be in the LL in the morning. And so on, and so forth. Because there will be fewer people in LL at a time than there would otherwise be, the SB lines will move faster than they would if re-rides were allowed. However, the SB lines won't move faster than they have been without any kind of FP/LL/G+!*, so all of the complaints people had this summer about how long lines were and wishing FP were back? Not going to be fixed.

I fully agree about DL though. Especially because, unlike at WDW with FP+ where you had to pull three different ones, sometimes from different tiers, etc. and could only re-ride if you lucked out with a refresh after you'd used or burned those three...at DL I could keep pulling times for the same ride all day if I wanted - and I usually did. Even on a crowded Saturday, I would get a couple FP on each of my favourite rides, and so did the people who had sprung for Maxpass. Add in that most of the crowd at DL is locals who can just ride it next weekend if it's too crowded today, and add in that there's no Genie+ add-on for APs like there used to be for Maxpass, and I can't see anyone but a handful of tourists buying it.

 

[jo-jo]

I'm not happy about no rerides. DH and I no longer go on anything faster than webway. But if able. in the past might hit Buzz four times during the day. At MK, we go on about 6 rides. Not even every kiddie ride. Knees don't bend enough for tea cups and the like.

 

[Disturbia]

I think there should be one or two pre booked fast passes (Included for Resort Guests) for non Tier1 rides with high waits (eg one of the mountains, MMRR, frozen, Navi) so it frees up time and all the non genie+ users don’t need to rope drop. Fast passes (when limited) spread out crowds. The fast pass booking system is still being used by DAS.

Maybe genie will start granting wishes and give you an anytime pass for one ride.

 

[MainMom]

With the new announcement I think stand by lines will move much quicker. We do plan on buying it but I’m also anxiously waiting to read trip reports and how people utilize it and what loop holes they find. We don’t go until late next year so lots of time to see.

Same! Anxiously waiting the reports on how to best maximize Genie+. Our trip is next June so I have time to get a good feel of it.

 

[jodybird511]

Like I said, I think what it really comes down to is people don't want to believe it cause it's not what they want to hear.

Actually, some of us just don't really care that much. It's going to be what it's going to be, regardless of my opinion. There are definitely bigger worries that I have right now, so I'll just wait for the final word from Disney and move on with my life. I hope rerides are allowed, won't be surprised if they're not. I'll continue going to Disney either way and may or may not purchase Genie+. Meh...

 

[thptrek]

Going in two weeks and every morning I am checking to see if Genie has come out. Would prefer it the first day of Genie is not our first day of vacation.

 

[Disturbia]

Don’t worry; I bet we will be the ginea pigs going first week of Nov. when they don’t have Halloween or Christmas parties going on during that week, so that’s usually when they drop bombshells (last year they changed ROTR procedure and I didn’t get notified).

I am not going to wake up every morning trying to scan my card into the system in dim light, swearing silently while trying not to wake up the kids and try to get 2 fast passes just because of the added stress (We can certainly afford it).

Disney needs to improve guest experience rather than finding ways to make it worse.

 

[PepperjackDragon]

Am I missing something? I did not understand any of this.

Don’t worry; I bet we will be the ginea pigs going first week of Nov. when they don’t have Halloween or Christmas parties going on.

I now figured out that my tickets get blacked out at midnight and my credit card disappears so I don’t get Disney visa offers and notifications (incl the ROTR procedure change) that they send out at midnight. I am not going to wake up every morning trying to scan my card into the system in dim light, swearing silently while trying not to wake up the kids and try to get 2 fast passes just because of the added stress (We can certainly afford it).

Disney needs to improve guest experience rather than finding ways to make it worse.

 

[Disturbia]

Am I missing something? I did not understand any of this.

I removed my IT issues rant; makes more sense now. I kept getting some pop ups on this page and going back and forth and having to retype; accidentally deleted the Space220 issues we had a few weeks ago (IT crashes, re entering credit cards etc); issues I’m sure will repeat when genie+ goes live.