Disney World Genie+ No longer sold pre-arrival, subject to availability

[Marionnette]

I personally hope they make a blanket genie+ options over $50 per person. They need to limit demand. Too many people have it. Once demand for it goes down then it will function a lot better.

You control demand with price. Marketing 101.

You still did not answer my question. Do you believe that G+ is superior to FP+ in the way that it functions? Not from the perspective of the availability of attraction slots but how it actually works. IMO, the G+ system is clunky and not consumer friendly.

 

[cjlong88]

Out of curiosity....when was the last time Disney implemented a big change like this that was a positive change? People love to say "let's wait and see" but Disney's track record on this hasn't been encouraging at all.

I would say that implementing FastPass was a massive change that had a lot of early iterations and guest frustrations based on what I have gathered. When Genie+ was first announced, I found myself going into a deep dive of past posts on these boards searching for reactions to the implementation of FP and eventually FP+ out of simple curiosity. It’s so interesting to see some of the parallels between what was said on the boards then about FP and what is being said now about G+. It is quite uncanny. And this comes from me, a FP+ super user and fanatic (RIP FP+ ). I thought FastPass was an amazing system for how I toured the parks.

For what it’s worth, I’ve always been a “wait and see” person with everything in my life. I try not to negatively react or judge something quickly without experiencing it or getting more information first. To me, it’s not worth getting stressed about something that hasn’t happened yet. I know not everyone responds to change or issues the same way, and that’s totally okay.

I also didn’t start visiting the parks until 2018 when I was 30 years old, so my experience is very much limited compared to many of those on here who have been going significantly longer.

 

[SeasonneRose]

You still did not answer my question. Do you believe that G+ is superior to FP+ in the way that it functions? Not from the perspective of the availability of attraction slots but how it actually works. IMO, the G+ system is clunky and not consumer friendly.

I didn’t answer because it’s not relevant. But yes I do. I like genie+ It’s works well for me. They just need to sell less of them to make it even better.

Most Anyone under the age of 35 (which I’m not) prefers the online access. The older generations and the ones who long for the good old days of Disney are the only ones that are complaining and their Disney buying days are dwindling while the younger generations are upcoming. This make sense.

 

[lcmckenzie2022]

The customer perspective IS the emotional perspective.

Emotional is part of the customer perspective but I’m also saying that the Customer Experience IS the business perspective. I’ve worked for a few big brand head offices and it is a #1 priority for business decisions and goals. You can squeeze all the profit you can out of your customers, but if they aren’t happy and don’t want to come back and are spreading negative reviews and feedback - it will impact your business in the long-term. No business is invincible.

 

[SeasonneRose]

Emotional is part of the customer perspective but I’m also saying that the Customer Experience IS the business perspective. I’ve worked for a few big brand head offices and it is a #1 priority for business decisions and goals. You can squeeze all the profit you can out of your customers, but if they aren’t happy and don’t want to come back and are spreading negative reviews and feedback - it will impact your business in the long-term. No business is invincible.

The customers are perfectly happy as evidenced by the capacity in the parks. Disney is it’s own monopoly. Don’t like it, don’t buy. But I’m guessing people will. No one is leaving Disney.

And these minor changes are not the time bombs you think they are. People are reacting emotionally. And I have a marketing degree and mba - I fully understand the business aspects of this.

 

[Lilsia]

It was way underpriced. It’s a useless feature if everyone has it.

The price needs to triple at least. You control demand with pricing.

I agree. This was completely ill thought out in an obvious way. So that goes again to who is making these decisions? It is clear that they don't ever experience the parks like everyone else does.

 

[Marionnette]

I didn’t answer because it’s not relevant. But yes I do. I like genie+ It’s works well for me. They just need to sell less of them to make it even better.

Most Anyone under the age of 35 (which I’m not) prefers the online access. The older generations and the ones who long for the good old days of Disney are the only ones that are complaining and their Disney buying days are dwindling while the younger generations are upcoming. This make sense.

FP+ was online access.

I do believe that my question was relevant because your entire premise is based on the assumption that a majority of guests who buy G+ feel as you do.

 

[redboat45]

Is there a way to add Genie+ to an already booked package ? I can't see anywhere to add it to my existing reservation

you have to go on the app and go to the genie page. Then select the day your tickets start, then "get genie +". It should come up then.

 

[Lilsia]

I've never been a fan of the virtual queue system. Just my opinion, but it seems to create way more demand for some attractions then you would have seen with a stand-by option. Like the original days of Flight of Passage, if someone really wants to ride, they can get their butt up early and wait well before rope drop, or the option to wait 3+ hours in line ... but you would at least be able to ride.

I think there are a lot of folks who would never want to rope drop or wait in long lines, but they have no problem hopping on their phones at 7AM and trying to snag a VQ pass. Not a fan of that personally ... if you really want to ride, get up early or wait in line. They say the VQ system gives everyone a equal shot, but you have way more people battling for the VQs than would be willing to rope drop or stand-by, and now you may not even get the option ride on your park day.

This was their way of making it so anyone with a DAS did not get a chance to automatically ride it. I think that they thought that it would cut down on the number of people trying to get on the ride. But they don't want to come out and actually say that of course. Because that is the only difference other then not having a huge line snake around the parks. When FoP first opened, the line went all the way into the Africa section.

 

[lcmckenzie2022]

The customers are perfectly happy as evidenced by the capacity in the parks. Disney is it’s own monopoly. Don’t like it, don’t buy. But I’m guessing people will. No one is leaving Disney.

And these minor changes are not the time bombs you think they are. People are reacting emotionally. And I have a marketing degree and mba - I fully understand the business aspects of this.

It remains to be seen. Most people are catching up on cancelled vacations right now and it seems to be getting common in posts and reviews to hear that people aren’t planning to return after their experience. We shall see.

Purchasing something also does not equate to happiness unless they have positive reviews /feedback afterwards and become a return customer. People are purchasing with an expectation. If it’s not met…

I understand you have an MBA - hopefully you’re an executive with an appreciation for the customer perspective and customer experience. It’s important to listen to customers - everyone here is a customer of Disney World - and we all have feedback and concerns. Dismissing it and saying that if you don’t like it, don’t buy it - other people are doing it (sure, they are now - what about long term?) is not - I hope - what Disney exec’s business plans are…because it doesn’t feed well into the Customer Experience. Nor does it give me much hope. And yep, we will be vacationing elsewhere going forward.

 

[Lilsia]

It remains to be seen. Most people are catching up on cancelled vacations right now and it seems to be getting common in posts and reviews to hear that people aren’t planning to return after their experience. We shall see.

Purchasing something also does not equate to happiness unless they have positive reviews /feedback afterwards and become a return customer. People are purchasing with an expectation. If it’s not met…

I understand you have an MBA - hopefully you’re an executive with an appreciation for the customer perspective and customer experience. It’s important to listen to customers - everyone here is a customer of Disney World - and we all have feedback and concerns. Dismissing it and saying that if you don’t like it, don’t buy it - other people are doing it (sure, they are now - what about long term?) is not - I hope - what Disney exec’s business plans are…because it doesn’t feed well into the Customer Experience. Nor does it give me much hope. And yep, we will be vacationing elsewhere going forward.

I am also curious to see how this will play out. Right now, the parks are very busy so it is hard to tell the real impact of these decisions. In a year or two when things settle down, I am hoping that it goes back to a more "normal" pattern and not always busy. Every time that I see someone say that they are not going back, I am secretly happy about it. I think that we all want to go back to when you don't have to wait 90+ minutes for most rides.

 

[Liquidice]

I didn’t answer because it’s not relevant. But yes I do. I like genie+ It’s works well for me. They just need to sell less of them to make it even better.

Most Anyone under the age of 35 (which I’m not) prefers the online access. The older generations and the ones who long for the good old days of Disney are the only ones that are complaining and their Disney buying days are dwindling while the younger generations are upcoming. This make sense.

My 2 cents here - I like online access to everything - I'm comfortable with it, but I also like pre-planning instead of trying to get things day of.

Its nice to know 30-60 days in advance that I have secured some number of "skip the line" rides and I can go and enjoy my vacation. It isn't about being tied to my phone or anything - but it has to do with knowing ahead of time what my plans will be versus not knowing. Disney World already requires quite a bit of planning, so adding Fastpass to it was not that much extra.

It has nothing to do with age imho but has to do with whether you prefer pre-planning or more of a "go with the flow" attitude.

For me, I would have preferred a Fastpass+ system that costed money. I think they could have even done something like ... giving you 1 free Fastpass and then charging for more. If you want 3 free Fastpasses, you have to pay ahead of time. You could still limit the availability of Fastpasses per ride per day to handle the supply side of the house.

But, I agree - fixing the supply issue on Genie+ -- assuming they do it correctly to keep lightning lanes short (and hopefully also keep standby lines moving) can only make it better.

 

[Lilsia]

My 2 cents here - I like online access to everything - I'm comfortable with it, but I also like pre-planning instead of trying to get things day of.

Its nice to know 30-60 days in advance that I have secured some number of "skip the line" rides and I can go and enjoy my vacation. It isn't about being tied to my phone or anything - but it has to do with knowing ahead of time what my plans will be versus not knowing. Disney World already requires quite a bit of planning, so adding Fastpass to it was not that much extra.

It has nothing to do with age imho but has to do with whether you prefer pre-planning or more of a "go with the flow" attitude.

For me, I would have preferred a Fastpass+ system that costed money. I think they could have even done something like ... giving you 1 free Fastpass and then charging for more. If you want 3 free Fastpasses, you have to pay ahead of time. You could still limit the availability of Fastpasses per ride per day to handle the supply side of the house.

But, I agree - fixing the supply issue on Genie+ -- assuming they do it correctly to keep lightning lanes short (and hopefully also keep standby lines moving) can only make it better.

I agree with this being a combination of personality and you circumstances. Many people complained about having to pre-plan the FP+. Some just didn't want to, and some where local and were able to just go the day of. I think that every system is going to be an issue for someone depending on their circumstance. The biggest problem with Genie+ was that they oversold it. I would love for them to say how many they plan on selling with this change.

 

[Liquidice]

I agree with this being a combination of personality and you circumstances. Many people complained about having to pre-plan the FP+. Some just didn't want to, and some where local and were able to just go the day of. I think that every system is going to be an issue for someone depending on their circumstance. The biggest problem with Genie+ was that they oversold it. I would love for them to say how many they plan on selling with this change.

If you watch the TouringPlans YouTube videos on Genie+ they have a great analysis of Lightning Lane availability and how crowd level impacts the availability. It will be extremely interesting to see their analysis after these changes are made to see if it is actually making any difference or if it is exactly the same.

 

[Suzabella]

The customers are perfectly happy as evidenced by the capacity in the parks. Disney is it’s own monopoly. Don’t like it, don’t buy. But I’m guessing people will. No one is leaving Disney.

And these minor changes are not the time bombs you think they are. People are reacting emotionally. And I have a marketing degree and mba - I fully understand the business aspects of this.

I disagree. What we are seeing now is 'revenge travel'; people who have had trips on the books for 11 months (the DVC home resort priority) or longer, people from other countries who are just now able to travel, those who have excess DVC point to use or lose due to Covid, people who already have trips in the works prior to the latest changes and people who have credits from cancelled trips on the books.

I think we'll see the crowd levels decrease due to lack of APs, lack of value due to increase prices, due to people having less discretionary funds to spend with rising food and gas prices and overall frustrations due to all the things Disney has implemented (Disney Genie+) or taken away (ME) in the last 6 or so months.

 

[SeasonneRose]

I disagree. What we are seeing now is 'revenge travel'; people who have had trips on the books for 11 months (the DVC home resort priority) or longer, people from other countries who are just now able to travel, those who have excess DVC point to use or lose due to Covid, people who already have trips in the works prior to the latest changes and people who have credits from cancelled trips on the books.

I think we'll see the crowd levels decrease due to lack of APs, lack of value due to increase prices, due to people having less discretionary funds to spend with rising food and gas prices and overall frustrations due to all the things Disney has implemented (Disney Genie+) or taken away (ME) in the last 6 or so months.

I disagree. Disney was having capacity issues before Covid. Yes I think it’s heightened now but I don’t think it’s going down.

Only time will tell. But I doubt everyone complaining about genie+ suddenly never goes to Disney again.

 

[SeasonneRose]

My 2 cents here - I like online access to everything - I'm comfortable with it, but I also like pre-planning instead of trying to get things day of.

Its nice to know 30-60 days in advance that I have secured some number of "skip the line" rides and I can go and enjoy my vacation. It isn't about being tied to my phone or anything - but it has to do with knowing ahead of time what my plans will be versus not knowing. Disney World already requires quite a bit of planning, so adding Fastpass to it was not that much extra.

It has nothing to do with age imho but has to do with whether you prefer pre-planning or more of a "go with the flow" attitude.

For me, I would have preferred a Fastpass+ system that costed money. I think they could have even done something like ... giving you 1 free Fastpass and then charging for more. If you want 3 free Fastpasses, you have to pay ahead of time. You could still limit the availability of Fastpasses per ride per day to handle the supply side of the house.

But, I agree - fixing the supply issue on Genie+ -- assuming they do it correctly to keep lightning lanes short (and hopefully also keep standby lines moving) can only make it better.

I do prefer knowing ahead of time and I think this is the downfall of what they’ve announced.

But I also don’t think this is the end goal. They’re going to announce that deluxe or on-site will get to do advance purchase imo.

 

[SeasonneRose]

It remains to be seen. Most people are catching up on cancelled vacations right now and it seems to be getting common in posts and reviews to hear that people aren’t planning to return after their experience. We shall see.

Purchasing something also does not equate to happiness unless they have positive reviews /feedback afterwards and become a return customer. People are purchasing with an expectation. If it’s not met…

I understand you have an MBA - hopefully you’re an executive with an appreciation for the customer perspective and customer experience. It’s important to listen to customers - everyone here is a customer of Disney World - and we all have feedback and concerns. Dismissing it and saying that if you don’t like it, don’t buy it - other people are doing it (sure, they are now - what about long term?) is not - I hope - what Disney exec’s business plans are…because it doesn’t feed well into the Customer Experience. Nor does it give me much hope. And yep, we will be vacationing elsewhere going forward.

Disney doesn’t seem too focused on customer experience. And let me be clear, this is not what I think should be happening but what IS happening. I’m not making a personal emotion based observation.

Fact is, like any product or service if you don’t like the price don’t buy it. That is how consumers vote - with their pocketbooks. If there is truly the backlash that you think then the parks will see a sharp decline prompting the company to make changes. If there’s not then the company’s only goal is to maximize profits. Period.

 

[SeasonneRose]

If you watch the TouringPlans YouTube videos on Genie+ they have a great analysis of Lightning Lane availability and how crowd level impacts the availability. It will be extremely interesting to see their analysis after these changes are made to see if it is actually making any difference or if it is exactly the same.

Changes in and of themselves aren’t going to move the needle. What needs to happen to see any demonstrable increase in the genie+ experience is to decrease demand. And without disrupting profits the inky way you do that is to increase the price.

Too many people have genie+ rendering it useless and frustrating. Less people need to have genie+ if they want to experience to be a net positive for the users that do have it. Those who can’t afford it are always going to have a negative or indifferent position so there’s no sense in appealing to that demographic. Those who can afford it and are mad they either purchase it begrudgingly or don’t purchase it - and that’s where the data will come into play over the next year or so.

 

[lcmckenzie2022]

Disney doesn’t seem too focused on customer experience.

The one thing we can agree on.

Again, I think time will tell on the latter comment re: attendance. Post-revenge travel.