Disney Genie announcement

[DJFan88]

I'm thinking if Genie + is set up for next available time, then I don't have to worry about getting on at 7 a.m. if I don't want to go to the parks early. I can just purchase when I get to the park at whatever time, and decide if I want to purchase it then depending on lines and see what it gives me. I'm also assuming when I park hop, it will do the same and just give me next available time for that park as well. So for folks who aren't early risers this could work out well for them.

This works fine on lower crowds, but in high crowds times,
My only concern with that strategy is if I knew I was going later and may want it I would at least want it purchased and have made my first selection (for my most popular wait time ride at a time when I figure I’ll get there) since the way I understand it is: 1) the slots are limited and can be taken up , and 2) the amount of + upgrades to buy are as well. Now, how many of each and how that affects things remains to be seen , but based on getting rolling FPS in the past, it can give you a sense for the rides we all know that had FPS in the past, that capacity hasn’t changed.

 

[Marionnette]

But this would make a larger population of park guests happy. FP+ caterered to the planners too much apparently. I have no faith in Disney IT being able to pull off something like that anyways though!

Would it make a larger population happy? Someone who just got off of PP, rode IASW standby and would like to do HM soon is not going to be happy that all they can see available is Pooh and Philharmagic.

While I doubt that the software is sophisticated enough to target individuals for certain G+ slots. I'm pretty confident that the free Genie app will be diverting crowds away from the narrow walkway between PP and IASW by suggesting that the guest wander over to POTC or Buzz.

 

[DJFan88]

While I doubt that the software is sophisticated enough to target individuals for certain G+ slots. I'm pretty confident that the free Genie app will be diverting crowds away from the narrow walkway between PP and IASW by suggesting that the guest wander over to POTC or Buzz.

I agree. Since the + passes are limited and cost money they most likely won’t mess with you and you’ll be able to see all FPS (I know not correct term but really what it is), that are available at that time.
The free Genie people will be the diverted, and am guessing that should give them plenty of people to mess around with, even taking into account the people who will just go about their business without using any genie functions whatsoever

 

[ThistleMae]

This works fine on lower crowds, but in high crowds times,
My only concern with that strategy is if I knew I was going later and may want it I would at least want it purchased and have made my first selection (for my most popular wait time ride at a time when I figure I’ll get there) since the way I understand it is: 1) the slots are limited and can be taken up , and 2) the amount of + upgrades to buy are as well. Now, how many of each and how that affects things remains to be seen , but based on getting rolling FPS in the past, it can give you a sense for the rides we all know that had FPS in the past, that capacity hasn’t changed.

I don't think capacity will change but giving them out throughout the day would change the flow. Whereas FP+ would just be gone, and you'd be lucky to get anything else but tier two rides. IDK but I'm hoping folks would still be able to get LL passes throughout the day and night. Think about the PH, not being able to hop until 2 p.m. There would be nothing left if you purchased, then hopped and couldn't get anything at your second park.

 

[scrappinginontario]

I don't think capacity will change but giving them out throughout the day would change the flow. Whereas FP+ would just be gone, and you'd be lucky to get anything else but tier two rides. IDK but I'm hoping folks would still be able to get LL passes throughout the day and night. Think about the PH, not being able to hop until 2 p.m. There would be nothing left if you purchased, then hopped and couldn't get anything at your second park.

Not saying you're wrong, just that I see it differently.

I'm guessing G+ will work a lot like FP+ and everything will be released at the same time. The more interest there is in a ride, the less availability there will be earlier in the day as it fills quickly and the later the time will be presented. I feel (again, only my opinion) that some of the more attractive rides will fill their G+ allotment early in the day. Yes, some may open later as people choose to cancel and look for a different one or, plans change but who knows? Similar to FP+, I would hope for but not expect to get a G+ for a popular ride if I hop to that park. I see most of the availability later in the day being for less popular rides.

Time will tell. For now, everything is speculation.

 

[Violetspider]

Not saying you're wrong, just that I see it differently.

I'm guessing G+ will work a lot like FP+ and everything will be released at the same time. The more interest there is in a ride, the less availability there will be earlier in the day as it fills quickly and the later the time will be presented. I feel (again, only my opinion) that some of the more attractive rides will fill their G+ allotment early in the day. Yes, some may open later as people choose to cancel and look for a different one or, plans change but who knows? Similar to FP+, I would hope for but not expect to get a G+ for a popular ride if I hop to that park. I see most of the availability later in the day being for less popular rides.

Time will tell. For now, everything is speculation.

Exactly what I'm expecting, based in no small part how MaxPass operated. But getting later return times and not being able to grab additional LL's for tier 2 rides in the meantime, would be a real disincentive for purchasing G+. This is why I think Disney will have to allow some sort of timed "stacking" in order to incentivize the purchase. I really hope they come out with some clarifications soon.

 

[DJFan88]

I don't think capacity will change but giving them out throughout the day would change the flow. Whereas FP+ would just be gone, and you'd be lucky to get anything else but tier two rides. IDK but I'm hoping folks would still be able to get LL passes throughout the day and night. Think about the PH, not being able to hop until 2 p.m. There would be nothing left if you purchased, then hopped and couldn't get anything at your second park.

Not saying you're wrong, just that I see it differently.

I'm guessing G+ will work a lot like FP+ and everything will be released at the same time. The more interest there is in a ride, the less availability there will be earlier in the day as it fills quickly and the later the time will be presented. I feel (again, only my opinion) that some of the more attractive rides will fill their G+ allotment early in the day. Yes, some may open later as people choose to cancel and look for a different one or, plans change but who knows? Similar to FP+, I would hope for but not expect to get a G+ for a popular ride if I hop to that park. I see most of the availability later in the day being for less popular rides.

Time will tell. For now, everything is speculation.

Yes , I was thinking the same as scrappinmom. Often I could get better FPS later in the day, but it took some refreshing and finagling.
So if I get up and know I’m not going to MK until noon on a given day and want + I’m snagging my first FP for 12 noon at 7am. Then we’ll roll with it. Granted MK will be easier to get better ones easier, but it could a challenge at places like DHS or even a couple of regular + AK rides.

 

[J-Dog]

I think you could have talked to a CM and ridden and still got your ADR. They probably would have written you something, or called the restaurant.
What has been a problem is boarding groups and ADR's. People talked to a CM at one or the other, and have gotten advice on which could be done later. So, they were able to do both.

Thanks for the advice. Like I said, we were total rookies at the time.

I'm sure nobody knows, but will this tactic work for G+ or IAS?

 

[SCDisneyfanatic]

Okay, so I need some clarification as to how this works. We are going to be in WDW from 25-29 October. So, to use the LL I can book two passes starting at 0700 on the day we attend that park? We are doing EPCOT on the 25th...at 0700 I make my reservations for the LL for the rides. If I want to do certain rides not on the LL list because they are "Bigger Demand" rides like TT, I would have to purchase G+ at $15 per person per day. Is that correct or am I just really confused? Thanks in advance!

 

[luv2cheer92]

Okay, so I need some clarification as to how this works. We are going to be in WDW from 25-29 October. So, to use the LL I can book two passes starting at 0700 on the day we attend that park? We are doing EPCOT on the 25th...at 0700 I make my reservations for the LL for the rides. If I want to do certain rides not on the LL list because they are "Bigger Demand" rides like TT, I would have to purchase G+ at $15 per person per day. Is that correct or am I just really confused? Thanks in advance!

You can book your first G+ ($15/person) ride at 7. You can also book at least one IAS ride at 7(I don't believe they have clarified if you can book both then yet). The IAS rides are the higher demand rides and will be an additional cost. You do not need to have G+ for those rides, but it is in addition to G+.

 

[DJFan88]

Okay, so I need some clarification as to how this works. We are going to be in WDW from 25-29 October. So, to use the LL I can book two passes starting at 0700 on the day we attend that park? We are doing EPCOT on the 25th...at 0700 I make my reservations for the LL for the rides. If I want to do certain rides not on the LL list because they are "Bigger Demand" rides like TT, I would have to purchase G+ at $15 per person per day. Is that correct or am I just really confused? Thanks in advance!

Confused.

If you buy genie + for 15 dollars you will make 1 fast pass for 1 ride, then you will make another after you punch in to that ride based on availability and so on and so on. It will be all of the rides available except what Disney deems up to the 2 most popular in each park. This is yet to be exactly determined but we can speculate and know for sure Rise and 7 Dwarf is 2 of these.
Instead of Or in addition you may purchase up to 2 a day the most popular that they decide and for whatever price they decide. You can do that at 7 am if you are a resort guest, but if you are not on site you must wait until park opening.
There are many awesome blogs and podcasts out there that break this down well

 

[gottalovepluto]

Okay, so I need some clarification as to how this works. We are going to be in WDW from 25-29 October. So, to use the LL I can book two passes starting at 0700 on the day we attend that park? We are doing EPCOT on the 25th...at 0700 I make my reservations for the LL for the rides. If I want to do certain rides not on the LL list because they are "Bigger Demand" rides like TT, I would have to purchase G+ at $15 per person per day. Is that correct or am I just really confused? Thanks in advance!

As far as LL, that is just the physical line you walk through. Literally it’s nothing else.

(Yes, they could have made it more confusing but they would have had to put some effort into it.)

 

[scrappinginontario]

Exactly what I'm expecting, based in no small part how MaxPass operated. But getting later return times and not being able to grab additional LL's for tier 2 rides in the meantime, would be a real disincentive for purchasing G+. This is why I think Disney will have to allow some sort of timed "stacking" in order to incentivize the purchase. I really hope they come out with some clarifications soon.

I've heard (again, speculation) that if a guest gets a G+ for a ride that is in the future (let's say 6PM return time, grabbing it at 10AM) then at 12:00 (2 hours after booking it) a guest may be able to try to get another G+ reservation for something they can use earlier than 6PM. Again, all speculation until more details are released.

Okay, so I need some clarification as to how this works. We are going to be in WDW from 25-29 October. So, to use the LL I can book two passes starting at 0700 on the day we attend that park? We are doing EPCOT on the 25th...at 0700 I make my reservations for the LL for the rides. If I want to do certain rides not on the LL list because they are "Bigger Demand" rides like TT, I would have to purchase G+ at $15 per person per day. Is that correct or am I just really confused? Thanks in advance!

I honestly don't think we know the answer to this exact question until further details are released by Disney. Hopefully you will have time between when more details are released/official start date of Genie, to learn move before your late October trip.

 

[serenitygr]

I believe the “two parks per day at an additional cost” are pure speculation as well. For all we know, Disney could decide to make 3-4 of the most popular rides in magic kingdom “pay per ride”, and 2 at a different park. We just know so little….

 

[DJFan88]

I believe the “two parks per day at an additional cost” are pure speculation as well. For all we know, Disney could decide to make 3-4 of the most popular rides in magic kingdom “pay per ride”, and 2 at a different park. We just know so little….

Iin their release they stated up to 2 rides per park.
Here is the release link with lots of info:
https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2021/08/introducing-disney-genie/

 

[mdmost]

If it's like Maxpass in DLR, it will be fairly easy to book a ride for park open. The question will be do you have times to pick from for the entire day or is it first come, first served for park opening?I'd imagine the additional pay rides will only have a certain amount of slots open. I haven't watched any in-depth videos on it yet as we were preparing for our trip recently and didn't want to bother worrying about something that wouldn't be running until well after we were gone.

At DLR, you would have access to Maxpass as soon as you were tapped in at the front entrance but it was only for times close to opening until the Maxpasses ran out. So when you get through the front entrace, you could jump on and grab your first Maxpass. So if you got there at Rope Drop, you could have something waiting to ride at a time after park opening. For example, you could grab a 9am-10am Space Mt pass. You could then go ride Star Tours or something similar in Tomorrowland. When you tapped in for your Maxpass ride or the time for the ride had arrived, you could then select your next Maxpass. It was fairly easy to go from Maxpass to Maxpass, filling in low wait rides in between. The big ones like Radiator Racers or Guardians Breakout would fill up fast in California Adventure so you may only get RR at 11am or later. So you had to make a choice of what you wanted to spend that morning Maxpass on. There was wiggle room like scrappin talked about earlier. An hour before your Maxpass, you could make a 2nd. We would usually book Radiator Racers for whatever time was on there and then ride the lower wait rides until we were able to book our next one. We didn't really have that issue in DLR. I'd imagine Smuggler's Run was the new tough to get Maxpass but we never were there to experience it.

All of what I wrote above would now start at 7am instead of park opening. So at your hotel, you could book Space Mt or Splash Mt at 7am for whatever times are available at that moment. Then you work your ride plan around that. I think it could be a good system but there will be some gnashing of teeth around it. I'm very interested in seeing how it all works and how people use it to help minimize their wait times. We're going back to DLR after school is out next May and there's a lady I follow who gave us great guides to utilize Maxpass that I'd assume will do the same with Genie+.

 

[Grasshopper2016]

I plan to purchase Genie+ (at least for my non-EPCOT days). But I, for one, will be really angry if I use my first LL pick for, say, POTC an hour after opening, and then, by the time I scan in for that ride, the only available options for a second LL pick are either (1) comparatively undesirable rides like Monsters Inc. and Magic Carpets or (2) time slots for rides like BTMRR and HM in the evening. That will mean that I basically paid $15 for two good (but not top-tier) fastpasses.

I think that Disney had better find a way to prevent that from happening, even on crowded days.

 

[DJFan88]

I plan to purchase Genie+ (at least for my non-EPCOT days). But I, for one, will be really angry if I use my first LL pick for, say, POTC an hour after opening, and then, by the time I scan in for that ride, the only available options for a second LL pick are either (1) comparatively undesirable rides like Monsters Inc. and Magic Carpets or (2) time slots for rides like BTMRR and HM in the evening. That will mean that I basically paid $15 for two good (but not top-tier) fastpasses.

I think that Disney had better find a way to prevent that from happening, even on crowded days.

I wouldn’t use POTC for my first selection. There are many times during the day when the wait for that is low and I always remember those passes being available.

 

[Turksmom]

Iin their release they stated up to 2 rides per park.
Here is the release link with lots of info:
https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2021/08/introducing-disney-genie/

The release said you could purchase 1 or 2, but I couldn't find information on how many would be in each park

 

[scrappinginontario]

Iin their release they stated up to 2 rides per park.
Here is the release link with lots of info:
https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2021/08/introducing-disney-genie/

I'm interpreting it differently. This is a quote from the link you posted:

• '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.'

Personally, I think guests will be limited to 2 IA$ purchases per day. They can both be purchased for the same park or for different parks but a limit of 2 per guest will be in place regardless.

That's just my interpretation though.