Disney Genie announcement

[katyringo]

You guys are right. A couple blogs I read said you would be able to make both your individual lightening lane selections at 7am but the Disney blog says one at a time up to 2... hummmmm...

 

[DavidNYC]

I think that for most of the parks the limits on any individual guest will be a function of the once-per-attraction rule for Genie+. Aside from MK, which has 17 Genie+ attractions, there won't be a need to apply a cap on the number a guest can use. Epcot has 10 if you count both green and orange MS as separate attractions. HS has 12 (many of which are stage shows). And AK has 8, including FotLK, FFiF, and the Animation Experience.

DLR may be a different story given that there are considerably more attractions between DL and DCA.

And again - another element of this new system which causes guests to have to gamble with their day. Do I get the pass for 10am even though it's likely to have a low wait or do I wait since I'd prefer to ride it later even though I have no idea if I'll be able to get it? This system caters to one type of person only - the person who really just doesn't care about what they do when and will just take what is offered to them. Everyone else . . . not so much. And for those who actually try to plan around things like afternoon breaks or meals or late arrivals - massive increase in stress.

Here's one of my new planning challenges, thanks to G+/ILL$.

We land at 12:25 on the first day of our trip. Anticipating the shorter stand-by lines that we've seen without FP, or with a return of normal 60+ day FP, I had planned for us to go to DHS for the evening. DS really wants to ride RnRC and then we will do whatever else we can. In the past, to maximize time, I would have booked evening FP+ and felt comfortable, relaxed and excited with this start to our vacation. Now, I feel like who knows what things will look like or if there's any way to get off to a similar relaxed start. On a short day like that, I would have even paid $15 (or more) per person for 3 fastpasses booked in advance. But will I pay $15 pp for the potential to get more than one LL? I know I most likely won't be able to use any of the "next available" times if I get G+ at 7am (side question: If I'm checked into my hotel, but not on property yet, will I be given 7am perks?) So now, I have to sit and refresh, looking for when the next available time makes sense for our arrival and then decide if I want to gamble with that $45 and hope there would be at least one or two other LLs available after we use that. I suppose clarification to the 120 minute rule will help, but I'm still looking at monitoring an app rather than relaxing.

I really hope we get some fantastic reports out of how this system actually works for people. But considering our trip is booked over the Thanksgiving holiday, I'm not feeling very hopeful that it will work for us. The higher price points for the ILLs and the overall increase in crowds are seriously making us reconsider it. I'm concerned the higher crowds will make us feel G+ is necessary and that is a significant and very real $ factor that could change our minds to reschedule this trip. DS has already asked to switch to Universal, but we have WDW tickets purchased (which I'm considering switching to a later date if we cancel).

Exactly - such an obvious flaw of the system compared to the prior one and a perfect example of how Disney doesn't care about guest convenience any more, it's all about the money even when it majorly disadvantages huge numbers of guests. If this were a first system a park was introducing you'd look at it and say "it's not perfect but it offers some advantages". But when it replaces a system that provided far more flexibility to guests who may have different schedules - it shows a complete contempt for them. You will ride what Disney wants you to ride or you will pay extra either in terms of time or money. My guess has been this will be fine for early risers and rope droppers planning to spend an entire day at the parks who don't care when they ride things and be horrible for anyone who wants some semblance of control. (And even for the first group - it will likely involve far more time in lines than previously).

 

[Disturbia]

You guys are right. A couple blogs I read said you would be able to make both your individual lightening lane selections at 7am but the Disney blog says one at a time up to 2... hummmmm...

I’m reading this to mean you can’t have 2 booked for the same hour

 

[Disturbia]

Here's one of my new planning challenges, thanks to G+/ILL$.

We land at 12:25 on the first day of our trip. Anticipating the shorter stand-by lines that we've seen without FP, or with a return of normal 60+ day FP, I had planned for us to go to DHS for the evening. DS really wants to ride RnRC and then we will do whatever else we can. In the past, to maximize time, I would have booked evening FP+ and felt comfortable, relaxed and excited with this start to our vacation. Now, I feel like who knows what things will look like or if there's any way to get off to a similar relaxed start. On a short day like that, I would have even paid $15 (or more) per person for 3 fastpasses booked in advance. But will I pay $15 pp for the potential to get more than one LL? I know I most likely won't be able to use any of the "next available" times if I get G+ at 7am (side question: If I'm checked into my hotel, but not on property yet, will I be given 7am perks?) So now, I have to sit and refresh, looking for when the next available time makes sense for our arrival and then decide if I want to gamble with that $45 and hope there would be at least one or two other LLs available after we use that. I suppose clarification to the 120 minute rule will help, but I'm still looking at monitoring an app rather than relaxing.

I really hope we get some fantastic reports out of how this system actually works for people. But considering our trip is booked over the Thanksgiving holiday, I'm not feeling very hopeful that it will work for us. The higher price points for the ILLs and the overall increase in crowds are seriously making us reconsider it. I'm concerned the higher crowds will make us feel G+ is necessary and that is a significant and very real $ factor that could change our minds to reschedule this trip. DS has already asked to switch to Universal, but we have WDW tickets purchased (which I'm considering switching to a later date if we cancel).

We are planning to buy Remy on the day we check in so we have to wake up and book it before we travel to catch our flight. We have Epcot so worse case senerio we will just eat at F&W and ride Nemo and Living with the land. Genie+ wouldn’t make sense for us this day

 

[ssusca]

forgive me if this has been addressed previously. So Disney Genie+ is going to be available starting on 10/19. Will the old fast pass system be available up until then or is it gone now. I can't seem to find it in my app and we are going there this weekend.

 

[MrBellatrixLestrange]

forgive me if this has been addressed previously. So Disney Genie+ is going to be available starting on 10/19. Will the old fast pass system be available up until then or is it gone now. I can't seem to find it in my app and we are going there this weekend.

I'm pretty sure that was shut down for COVID and has never come back.

 

[SkyGuy]

forgive me if this has been addressed previously. So Disney Genie+ is going to be available starting on 10/19. Will the old fast pass system be available up until then or is it gone now. I can't seem to find it in my app and we are going there this weekend.

It’s gone. Everything is standby only except for Remy which is virtual queue only.

 

[Figment1990]

We are planning to buy Remy on the day we check in so we have to wake up and book it before we travel to catch our flight. We have Epcot so worse case senerio we will just eat at F&W and ride Nemo and Living with the land. Genie+ wouldn’t make sense for us this day

This is a good strategy. I might have to consider that as a plan.

 

[Disturbia]

We are planning to buy Remy on the day we check in so we have to wake up and book it before we travel to catch our flight. We have Epcot so worse case senerio we will just eat at F&W and ride Nemo and Living with the land.

And again - another element of this new system which causes guests to have to gamble with their day. Do I get the pass for 10am even though it's likely to have a low wait or do I wait since I'd prefer to ride it later even though I have no idea if I'll be able to get it? This system caters to one type of person only - the person who really just doesn't care about what they do when and will just take what is offered to them. Everyone else . . . not so much. And for those who actually try to plan around things like afternoon breaks or meals or late arrivals - massive increase in stress.



Exactly - such an obvious flaw of the system compared to the prior one and a perfect example of how Disney doesn't care about guest convenience any more, it's all about the money even when it majorly disadvantages huge numbers of guests. If this were a first system a park was introducing you'd look at it and say "it's not perfect but it offers some advantages". But when it replaces a system that provided far more flexibility to guests who may have different schedules - it shows a complete contempt for them. You will ride what Disney wants you to ride or you will pay extra either in terms of time or money. My guess has been this will be fine for early risers and rope droppers planning to spend an entire day at the parks who don't care when they ride things and be horrible for anyone who wants some semblance of control. (And even for the first group - it will likely involve far more time in lines than previously).

and I think the do whatever whenever crowd is what Disney wants to cater to as they are more impulsive. The family crowds (like us) are probably going to be more frustrated with this.

But I also see the benefit. It’s hard for parents with small children to constantly look at the phone, but it’s harder to wait in a 45-60 min line (all rides even small world and Winnie the Pooh were like that on June).

 

[snikki]

Here's one of my new planning challenges, thanks to G+/ILL$.

We land at 12:25 on the first day of our trip. Anticipating the shorter stand-by lines that we've seen without FP, or with a return of normal 60+ day FP, I had planned for us to go to DHS for the evening. DS really wants to ride RnRC and then we will do whatever else we can. In the past, to maximize time, I would have booked evening FP+ and felt comfortable, relaxed and excited with this start to our vacation. Now, I feel like who knows what things will look like or if there's any way to get off to a similar relaxed start. On a short day like that, I would have even paid $15 (or more) per person for 3 fastpasses booked in advance. But will I pay $15 pp for the potential to get more than one LL? I know I most likely won't be able to use any of the "next available" times if I get G+ at 7am (side question: If I'm checked into my hotel, but not on property yet, will I be given 7am perks?) So now, I have to sit and refresh, looking for when the next available time makes sense for our arrival and then decide if I want to gamble with that $45 and hope there would be at least one or two other LLs available after we use that. I suppose clarification to the 120 minute rule will help, but I'm still looking at monitoring an app rather than relaxing.

I really hope we get some fantastic reports out of how this system actually works for people. But considering our trip is booked over the Thanksgiving holiday, I'm not feeling very hopeful that it will work for us. The higher price points for the ILLs and the overall increase in crowds are seriously making us reconsider it. I'm concerned the higher crowds will make us feel G+ is necessary and that is a significant and very real $ factor that could change our minds to reschedule this trip. DS has already asked to switch to Universal, but we have WDW tickets purchased (which I'm considering switching to a later date if we cancel).

We aren’t going until late next year but we’ve always hit a park on arrival day since FP+ was released. It’s cheap to add on the ticket and you are guaranteed 3 rides. Next trip we don’t know if we will do that due to this change. We plan on flying in around noon instead of our usual 6 am flight and landing by 8 am so it’ll be a later start for LL. I don’t want to risk buying G+ In the morning and only getting on. Unless the system allows you to see what’s available before you buy it and I can decide to purchase it once we are in the park.

 

[snikki]

We are planning to buy Remy on the day we check in so we have to wake up and book it before we travel to catch our flight. We have Epcot so worse case senerio we will just eat at F&W and ride Nemo and Living with the land. Genie+ wouldn’t make sense for us this day

What worries me with this is flight delays or any other issues. It’s the same reason we don’t book prepaid shows for arrival day. Although I did book a dessert party once on arrival day but I was nervous about it.

You have given me a new idea now. It would make sense for us to do DHS and buy ROTR and MMRR. We haven’t been since these opened. Then maybe hop to MK for the nighttime show. Hmmmm.

 

[JoJoGirl]

So my flight down in December is scheduled to depart at 7:10 am. Maybe I’ll get lucky and have a short flight delay so I can pick up an ILL$ before takeoff. It could happen!

 

[CarolynFH]

I apologize if this has already been answered: Does anyone know if Disney Gift Cards can be added to MDE as a form of payment ( which can then pay for Genie+ and IA$ ) or will it only allow a credit/debit card or both? Thanks for the info!

As a previous poster said, you can't add the GC number to MDE, you have to input it every time. However, you can save the GC number as a note on your phone (or text it to yourself) so that you can simply copy and paste it each time as opposed to entering each digit every time you use it. Works for mobile ordering at QS as well.

 

[Jonfw2]

Here's a question that I think could become very relevant when I dream of Genie...

After the initial introductions of MaxPass and FastPass+, how much modification was done? How many details changed- especially early on- to refine the programs once the real experience of them was known?

 

[fabfemmeboy]

and I think the do whatever whenever crowd is what Disney wants to cater to as they are more impulsive. The family crowds (like us) are probably going to be more frustrated with this.

But I also see the benefit. It’s hard for parents with small children to constantly look at the phone, but it’s harder to wait in a 45-60 min line (all rides even small world and Winnie the Pooh were like that on June).

I agree, but this is worse for the "do whatever, whenever" crowd. I should know - that's what we are! Between having to choose what park we'll want to go to several months in advance, then needing to get up at 7 am on our vacation to pick out our first ride when we don't even know when we'll mosey into the park yet, to having to zigzag across the park based on what times Genie+ wants to throw us, having to decide when we want to burn our one and only expedited line for a particular attraction...no thanks. I much prefer the Maxpass/FP- option of seeing what ride time was available and just...grabbing it or not. If it was far enough in advance, it would stack (mostly for WOC and sometimes RSR). If not, if I thought we might hop to the other park before then, if I would rather just brave the standby line, then I'd grab something else. No waking up 3 hours before the park opens to frantically fight with my phone on a lousy network, no being locked into a FP before we're even in the park, no picking where we'll be from open-until-2 months in advance. And no limit of only one FP per ride no matter how long the FPs last for that attraction!

 

[fabfemmeboy]

Here's a question that I think could become very relevant when I dream of Genie...

After the initial introductions of MaxPass and FastPass+, how much modification was done? How many details changed- especially early on- to refine the programs once the real experience of them was known?

I know FP+ changed several times, especially with regards to the tiers and how/whether you could pull a 4th pass later in the day.

I don't recall many - if any - changes to MaxPass when it came out. Really they were just trying to replicate and digitize the FP- experience at the time, so there were no tiers and the same rules were in place re: stacking as had already existed. The main FP change I remember at DL was when they finally linked the systems at both parks so you couldn't have an active FP at each park at the same time, but I don't remember if that predated MaxPass or not. It may have been that MaxPass was linked and it took them a bit to connect it to paper FP and both paper FP systems to each other? Anyway. It wasn't so much an active change as finally fixing an unintended flaw in the system.

 

[DavidNYC]

But I also see the benefit. It’s hard for parents with small children to constantly look at the phone, but it’s harder to wait in a 45-60 min line (all rides even small world and Winnie the Pooh were like that on June).

Yes and no. I agree with you it's harder to wait in a 45-60 minute line. But whereas before parents with young children could say let's plan for 3-4 hours in the afternoon and do a handful of kids rides - now they'll spend their morning trying to time getting the first pass at a time they're planning to arrive and then get off, say, Small World and say "well - we can wait on a 45-60 minute line or we can get the lightning lane 3 hours from now when we were hoping to be heading back to the hotel with the kids. And if we decide to stay until then - we now have 3 hours to fill with standby lines . . . As I said - if this were a brand new system in a park that was previously all standby - you wouldn't feel this because you're in no worse shape than before even if you couldn't fully utilize it. But this takes a significant portion of their guests and makes it far far worse for them while offering minor benefits to others (at an added cost). I see no situation in which getting relieved of the stress of making plans for 3 rides 30-60 days out hasn't been replaced by far greater stress while you're in the park (unless you just don't care what and when you ride).

 

[michaeldorn1]

As a previous poster said, you can't add the GC number to MDE, you have to input it every time. However, you can save the GC number as a note on your phone (or text it to yourself) so that you can simply copy and paste it each time as opposed to entering each digit every time you use it. Works for mobile ordering at QS as well.

Great idea!!

 

[Jrb1979]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1447654960724905992

Hope this answers some questions.

 

[Disturbia]

Yes and no. I agree with you it's harder to wait in a 45-60 minute line. But whereas before parents with young children could say let's plan for 3-4 hours in the afternoon and do a handful of kids rides - now they'll spend their morning trying to time getting the first pass at a time they're planning to arrive and then get off, say, Small World and say "well - we can wait on a 45-60 minute line or we can get the lightning lane 3 hours from now when we were hoping to be heading back to the hotel with the kids. And if we decide to stay until then - we now have 3 hours to fill with standby lines . . . As I said - if this were a brand new system in a park that was previously all standby - you wouldn't feel this because you're in no worse shape than before even if you couldn't fully utilize it. But this takes a significant portion of their guests and makes it far far worse for them while offering minor benefits to others (at an added cost). I see no situation in which getting relieved of the stress of making plans for 3 rides 30-60 days out hasn't been replaced by far greater stress while you're in the park (unless you just don't care what and when you ride).

I completely agree as we maximized fast pass plus and always had secured SDMT and FOP fast passes (5 of us) for the evening (came to the parks relaxed and took mid day breaks). I loved fastpass+ because we didn’t need to do a lot, just what we loved.

however, we don’t have that choice now.