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

[Gr8scott]

I see the comparison between Genie+ and Universal’s Express Pass on these boards quite a bit. Last year we visited Universal and stayed at the Royal Pacific hotel which included the Express Pass Unlimited and was within walking distance to the parks. We didn’t need to make park reservations, could freely go between parks whenever we wanted, all but two rides were included that we could utilize the express line as many times as we wanted. All at less cost than a comparible room within walking distance to any of the parks at Disney. It was absolutely refreshing to leave my phone in my pocket save for using the park map to get around.

From a convenience perspective it’s not even close to the system Disney has in place that continues to get more complicated by the day. Just get up when you want, head to the parks and enjoy your vacation. I’m not sure things have changed recently but it’s worth checking out.

 

[SLThomas318]

It definitely depended on how you used FP+. We often would go to WDW for 7-8 days, sometimes even more and we'd visit each park for 2 days, meaning we'd get 6 FP+'s per park over the course of our vacation and often after we got our 3 FP's we wouldn't spend a lot of time trying to get another since you knew you had 3 more coming another day and we usually got all of the headliners in those 6 FP's.

You could certainly fiddlefaddle with FP+ and often get some good rides after your first 3 but you didn't need to. To get those first 3 rides, Genie+ requires you to use the phone.

I think people's experience with Genie+ varies quite a bit not just on how much they researched it and how much experience they have using it (I'm sure more tech inclined people also have an easier time with it) - but also on how crowded the parks were. I've heard people traveling recently say the parks were super crowded but the crowd level was only a 5/10. I'd expect the way Genie+ works today is a much better experience with a 5/10 crowd level than a 10/10.

It also depends on the park too. Generally speaking, MK and HS are the 2 parks where Genie+ makes the most sense since they have the most rides. With Epcot and AK you don't really need it. For MK because it has the most rides, I've heard generally good things about it, while HS I've heard mostly bad things about it. Recall that in the FP+ days, Disney tiered the rides at HS and you could only get 1 Tier 1 Fastpass and then 2 Tier 2 Fastpasses. Disney is not currently doing that for Genie+ and I think that this may be related to the worse experiences at HS.

Hopefully the changes being made will create a better experience for those 10/10 days too though.

100% with the positive reports and lower crowds. Didn’t touring plans run numbers and genie+ was most useful on mid-crowd days and worse on high crowd days (everything runs out).

And how you tour really changes your perspective/opinion. We have young kids so we usually scheduled am fp, left for pool/break, and returned for an adr or more rides. Genie+ is the worst for our touring style. We are going into our summer trip without it and seeing how it goes.

I agree people forget about the tier’s… with fp if you wanted more then 1 headliner at epcot/hs then you had to refresh like crazy and get lucky or book multiple park days.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

100% with the positive reports and lower crowds. Didn’t touring plans run numbers and genie+ was most useful on mid-crowd days and worse on high crowd days (everything runs out).

And how you tour really changes your perspective/opinion. We have young kids so we usually scheduled am fp, left for pool/break, and returned for an adr or more rides. Genie+ is the worst for our touring style. We are going into our summer trip without it and seeing how it goes.

I agree people forget about the tier’s… with fp if you wanted more then 1 headliner at epcot/hs then you had to refresh like crazy and get lucky or book multiple park days.

Yeah I had my issues with fastpass+ too. One being the tiers as you mentioned.

I just……I miss the old days I guess. Sept 2021 proved this when our longest wait at UOR was during HHN (posted 75 for beetlejuice and waited 55) and FoP at WDW (posted 60 waited 45).

Le sigh

 

[SLThomas318]

Yeah I had my issues with fastpass+ too. One being the tiers as you mentioned.

I just……I miss the old days I guess. Sept 2021 proved this when our longest wait at UOR was during HHN (posted 75 for beetlejuice and waited 55) and FoP at WDW (posted 60 waited 45).

Le sigh

I miss going into the trip with a plan... the idea of dropping thousands of dollars and being at the mercy of what genie+ gives me is frustrating. We used it for a short trip after Thanksgiving and we were not impressed to the point that we are not buying it for our upcoming trip in June. You can research genie+ till you are the blue in the face and you still don't know what will happen at 7am... feels like gambling and I don't like to gamble. I'm trying to remain cautiously optimistic that this will work itself out... there are growing pains with anything new.

 

[BroadwayHermione5]

I miss going into the trip with a plan... the idea of dropping thousands of dollars and being at the mercy of what genie+ gives me is frustrating. We used it for a short trip after Thanksgiving and we were not impressed to the point that we are not buying it for our upcoming trip in June. You can research genie+ till you are the blue in the face and you still don't know what will happen at 7am... feels like gambling and I don't like to gamble. I'm trying to remain cautiously optimistic that this will work itself out... there are growing pains with anything new.

I’m a planner too. TS is our jam too. I’m up that however many days prior. Also with fastpass plus I could plan to be in similar areas of the park and not jumping around.

 

[Jrb1979]

I miss going into the trip with a plan... the idea of dropping thousands of dollars and being at the mercy of what genie+ gives me is frustrating. We used it for a short trip after Thanksgiving and we were not impressed to the point that we are not buying it for our upcoming trip in June. You can research genie+ till you are the blue in the face and you still don't know what will happen at 7am... feels like gambling and I don't like to gamble. I'm trying to remain cautiously optimistic that this will work itself out... there are growing pains with anything new.

I think capping sales will help a lot. Less people that have it the more availability day of there should be. IMO this should have happened day 1. The problem Disney faces is that everyone is used to it being available for everyone. As you can see it doesn't work well when this many people have it.

 

[Boski]

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.

Dude you should have been around during the paper fast pass days.

Also #bringbackpaperfastpass

 

[HopperFan]

Sure they can if people continue to buy it. It’s only inferior if it’s not selling. You all are looking at this from your personal consumer perspective and not the business perspective. It’s making money. Too many people have it. That is the problem.

You control demand by raising prices. Genie+ will become more exclusive and more expensive. End of story.

People buy inferior products all the time because they don't know any better. At Disney especially many going don't know anything about the operations of the park and could easily be convinced they have to have it. That does NOT make it a good product. Just like paying Disney dining prices doesn't make it a good meal. And we all are making assumptions it is selling well - if it were why the changes now - probably to create demand. Second QTR might not have had as many gullible guests like the first QTR of Genie+.

So you feel that G+, in its current form, is a superior product to FP+ in its most recent form? If so, that's where you and I disagree. I thoroughly believe that if G+ had worked more like FP+, there would have been less criticism of the initial price tag. An inferior product can still be peddled to the masses when there is nothing else but that bad product to purchase.

If they were to market G+ as it is today and then a pricier G× that allowed pre-selection of 3 attractions (similar to how DAS currently works and how CL FP+ worked), which would you choose? I'm sure that there will always be people who choose the more affordable option. But for my money, I would welcome the ability to pre-select my ride times instead of fiddling with my phone every morning and intermittently during the day. I would pay more for that. In fact if they offered a G×+ that included one ILL$ per day (pre-selected), I would happily pay for that.

Dissatisfaction with G+ is not solely about the price tag. It has a lot more to do with the its clumsiness.

Not talking to me but NO it is greatly inferior to FP+. I think the price is very reasonable but the product you get is clunky, inflexible and makes touring much harder. I would have paid even more for FP+.

They had a working system, all they had to do was make some minor changes and add a price tag and they wouldn't be having all these problems and complaints. I would have been very happy to pay $15-20 per day to roll one all day long. Flexible with choices. I would even give up the 3 in advance. Removing those three pre-booked opens up the inventory for the E ticket rides the day of so they wouldn't be as hard to get.

I agree with you, however there is still a pitfall to the FP+ system. Many of th emost popular rides - 7DMT, FOP, - ran out very fast. So, if I'm someone who paid the money, logged on right at the start of my alotted window, and still couldn't get my most-wanted attractions, I might be a bit upset about that too. They still run into this problem because demand is just too dang high! More people want to do it than they can accommodate in a day, and I'm not sure that price increases will deter the rabid fanbase much.

I usually booked my FP+ about 2-3 weeks out even when staying onsite. I rarely had trouble getting anything I wanted except for 7DMT and even sometimes I got it. I remember getting on the APP, spinning a few times and picked up Frozen for the family with just enough time to walk there. I rarely used SB, just would spin each time we got into a line and picked up our next ride.

Now if they kept FP+ but removed the 3 in advance, there would have been lots more inventory. Don't let people use more than once per ride. There is no way there are as many people buying that used to use FP+. The SB line times show most folks are in SB. I've been twice with Genie+ and the LL are empty compared to FP+. Disney just did a poor job of working the numbers, determining demand and figuring proper allotments.

My DS said they would have been smarter to just go back in time, put ILL on all the most popular rides, not just E tickets, but popular like Peter Pan. Just like MagicBands increased spending, let MDE work it's magic on letting folks buy ILL AND have some choices in a few times. Give folks a little power in the decision and now it's on them how they plan their day.

 

[SeasonneRose]

People buy inferior products all the time because they don't know any better. At Disney especially many going don't know anything about the operations of the park and could easily be convinced they have to have it. That does NOT make it a good product. Just like paying Disney dining prices doesn't make it a good meal. And we all are making assumptions it is selling well - if it were why the changes now - probably to create demand. Second QTR might not have had as many gullible guests like the first QTR of Genie+.

Not talking to me but NO it is greatly inferior to FP+. I think the price is very reasonable but the product you get is clunky, inflexible and makes touring much harder. I would have paid even more for FP+.

They had a working system, all they had to do was make some minor changes and add a price tag and they wouldn't be having all these problems and complaints. I would have been very happy to pay $15-20 per day to roll one all day long. Flexible with choices. I would even give up the 3 in advance. Removing those three pre-booked opens up the inventory for the E ticket rides the day of so they wouldn't be as hard to get.

I usually booked my FP+ about 2-3 weeks out even when staying onsite. I rarely had trouble getting anything I wanted except for 7DMT and even sometimes I got it. I remember getting on the APP, spinning a few times and picked up Frozen for the family with just enough time to walk there. I rarely used SB, just would spin each time we got into a line and picked up our next ride.

Now if they kept FP+ but removed the 3 in advance, there would have been plenty lots more inventory. Don't let people use more than once per ride. There is no way there are as many people buying that used to use FP+. The SB line times show most folks are in SB. I've been twice with Genie+ and the LL are empty compared to FP+. Disney just did a poor job of working the numbers, determining demand and figuring proper allotments.

My DS said they would have been smarter to just go back in time, put ILL on all the most popular rides, not just E tickets, but popular like Peter Pan. Just like MagicBands increased spending, let MDE work it's magic on letting folks buy ILL AND have some choices in a few times. Give folks a little power in the decision and now it's on them how they plan their day.

That’s your opinion. I quite like genie+. Just because you don’t doesn’t make it inferior. Or perhaps it makes it inferior to YOU.

It has nothing to do with if I know better or not. I know what is happening right now vs trying to compare it to a bygone era. I think house prices today are worse than 30 years ago - doesn’t make them inferior.

 

[fla4fun]

I think Disney is aware that guests are not happy, and they are making these changes so they can make more changes later based, in part, on the guest complaints. The changes could include increasing the price so fewer people will use it, limiting the number of Genie+ they sell, or making alterations to the product itself without having to grandfather in as many pre-purchased Genie+ guests.

This change doesn’t affect me because I have no plans to pay for Genie+. I was there last week, and just waited in standby lines if the wait was short enough. I have one advantage, in that I do not like thrill rides, so many of the rides with long waits I won’t be riding anyway. I just have to do one early MK day so I can ride PP and HM.

 

[SeasonneRose]

I think Disney is aware that guests are not happy, and they are making these changes so they can make more changes later based, in part, on the guest complaints. The changes could include increasing the price so fewer people will use it, limiting the number of Genie+ they sell, or making alterations to the product itself without having to grandfather in as many pre-purchased Genie+ guests.

This change doesn’t affect me because I have no plans to pay for Genie+. I was there last week, and just waited in standby lines if the wait was short enough. I have one advantage, in that I do not like thrill rides, so many of the rides with long waits I won’t be riding anyway. I just have to do one early MK day so I can ride PP and HM.

I think you’re absolutely right.

 

[HopperFan]

That’s your opinion. I quite like genie+. Just because you don’t doesn’t make it inferior. Or perhaps it makes it inferior to YOU.

It has nothing to do with if I know better or not. I know what is happening right now vs trying to compare it to a bygone era. I think house prices today are worse than 30 years ago - doesn’t make them inferior.

Not just my opinion. And my wager is that you are greatly outnumbered. Folks that have been around a long time and spending lots of time at the parks, and here, bring valid issues to the conversation about this particular product. It needs work.

I think Disney is fully aware of this which is why there is scrambling on both coasts and they are already back pedaling the product.

 

[SeasonneRose]

Not just my opinion. And my wager is that you are greatly outnumbered. Folks that have been around a long time and spending lots of time at the parks, and here, bring valid issues to the conversation about this particular product. It needs work.

I think Disney is fully aware of this which is why there is scrambling on both coasts and they are already back pedaling the product.

Doesn’t matter if I’m outnumber lol. Disneys still going to do what they want regardless of you, me or anyone else agrees. I don’t state my opinion here for anyones justification - I am quite indifferent to anyone agreeing with me or not on this anonymous forum.

You need to understand how supply and demand correlate to one another. Which by this statement I don’t think you do. Disney isn’t backpedaling. They’re dealing with a demand problem.

 

[Jrb1979]

Not just my opinion. And my wager is that you are greatly outnumbered. Folks that have been around a long time and spending lots of time at the parks, and here, bring valid issues to the conversation about this particular product. It needs work.

I think Disney is fully aware of this which is why there is scrambling on both coasts and they are already back pedaling the product.

Yes they are aware of the issues but I don't think there is going to be drastic changes as many think. Capping sales is already a huge improvement. It's a big reason Genie+ isn't working.

 

[SeasonneRose]

Yes they are aware of the issues but I don't think there is going to be drastic changes as many think. Capping sales is already a huge improvement. It's a big reason Genie+ isn't working.

Exactly. There is a demand problem. And the way you deal with spiraling demand is to raise prices. They will cap sales and raise prices accordingly to avoid lost revenue. That will drastically improve the genie+ experience because the core problem with it is that too many people use it.

 

[SeasonneRose]

VIP tours don’t work if everyone can afford them and take them. Genie+ is no different.

 

[Boski]

It has nothing to do with if I know better or not. I know what is happening right now vs trying to compare it to a bygone era. I think house prices today are worse than 30 years ago - doesn’t make them inferior.

The Disney product happening right now is inferior to that of years ago.

 

[SeasonneRose]

The Disney product happening right now is inferior to that of years ago.

Housing prices today are inferior to those of years ago. Almost anything compared to what happened years ago is going to be inferior because it’s change and usually towards capitalism.

 

[Boski]

Housing prices today are inferior to those of years ago. Almost anything compared to what happened years ago is going to be inferior because it’s change and usually towards capitalism.

You think capitalism wasn't around back in the day? But to my point, I wasn't talking about pricing, I was talking about the parks themselves.

 

[SeasonneRose]

You think capitalism wasn't around back in the day? But to my point, I wasn't talking about pricing, I was talking about the parks themselves.

That was your takeaway?
And this is why I’m not arguing anymore. The lack of deductive reasoning skills online isn’t worth the stress.