Does anyone like Genie+?

[cockermon]

We have been DVC owners for nearly 20 years and have not been to Disney World since the pandemic hit. We have a May trip coming up and are very apprehensive about visiting the parks with all the recent changes.
Reading about many negative experiences with Genie+ 1) You have to get up early every day to snag a ride (2) Limited number of rides you can schedule with Genie + (3) The long lines for lightening lanes (4) When the ride breaks down after waiting in the lightening lane for 45 minutes no replacement "fast pass" given. (5) Additional charge to already overpriced part tickets

We are tempted to avoid the cost of Genie+ entirely on this trip and resign ourselves to the fact that are park days are coming to a close after numerous trips and many years as Annual Passholders.
Has anyone had a positive park experience since Genie + was introduced? Any positive experiences to share?

 

[francie57]

We used it basically everyday on our recent trip. We are early risers so that wasn’t a problem for us. We had trouble trying to get the individual lightning lane one day. I was told on a previous trip to take screen shots of any messages you get due to internet problems. We did this and just went to guest services at the park and they helped us and got us the lightning lane we were trying for. We never had a long wait at all maybe 10 min at the most. If the ride breaks down you will automatically be given genie + for that ride for any time the rest of the day. This happened to us while in line for frozen and within 5 min it was in our account for an anytime return. We were able to do numerous genie+ rides each day. You just have to work the system. As soon as you use one you can get another one. We used it to park hop also and never had any problems.

 

[GBRforWDW]

In my opinion, Genie+ is designed for a sweet spot on crown levels. Too low and it's a waste of money because all the lines are short anyway. Too high, like recently, and passes are gone by the time you can select your third pass.

That being said, if you go in with the expectation of using it to have a few 10 minute waits instead of hour waits, you're probably going to be happier than people thinking they were going to get to use it all day. Ok, technically if you're paying for something, that should be what you get, but if you want to compare how UO does it, you have to compare their price too.

Most lightning lanes, at least the ones I had over our Christmas trip weren't typically long. 5-10 minutes for most. I had 1, Soarin', that was 45 minutes, but again, the exception, not the rule. My experience with rides breaking down after scanning in was that we did get an anytime pass. The additional cost isn't exciting for sure.it is what it is.

If your plan is only riding a couple rides and hitting up a couple shows, you can probably manage without genie+ as long as you don't mind standing in lines for those rides.

 

[Her Dotness]

We actually had a fairly good experience getting rides last November without using G+ or the ILL$ at all.

Yeah, the standby lines were looonnng on the popular older rides like HM or TSMM and often had numerous switchbacks. But they moved rapidly enough, we didn't mind terribly.

We're not the type who've gotta get on the ride within 5 minutes of reaching it so read books, news, message boards and played games on our iPhones. I think DH watched movies because he left his phone connected to our charger pack.

We got onto TSMM in about 45 minutes, which wasn't that far off wait times on it previously. Didn't try SDD as the standby for it was really looonnngg. 7DMT had an insane standby, couple hours, not long after early entry.

But, like you, we've been going to Disney long enough that we won't render a Dole Whip salty if we don't get rides we'd otherwise have done.

I won't lie and say we had as much fun on HM and others as with FP+ where you could FP it once and then (ahem!) haunt the area until the standby seemed doable. Used to ride HM 3-4 times a day by ropedropping it, getting right back on, FP and then standby if not a lengthy wait.

We decided to do standby or forget it after DH experimented a couple mornings with checking to see what rides we could get that we like if we bought G+. Within literally seconds of 7:00 a.m., anything we'd have wanted was gone, and we weren't about to keep checking phones all day in case we could've gotten something later. Especially since you can only do an attraction once per day on G+, then it's standby anyway.

Not at all worth the cost was our conclusion.

 

[cockermon]

I appreciate the comments. Guess we will have to see how the parks are during our trip prior to deciding if we want to try Genie+.

But we did have a wonderful DVC at Aulani in February and did not need to plan much to have a good time.

 

[Micca]

Bob Chapek???

 

[Commodore]

I just came back from a trip with my first experience using Genie+. Overall we disliked it quite a bit.
1) Being required to get up at 7 am to get full use out of the product was unpleasant but not a gigantic deal. Only one day was it really an issue, when we sent our alarm incorrectly and woke up at 8, missing our shot to get a LL for slinky dog dash and smugglers run.
2) The parks were extremely busy, meaning the rides we really wanted were very difficult to obtain as many were booked completely before we could make our next selection (or were only available near park close on nights we did not intend to stay up late, having young-ish kids). It was frustrating having paid for the service and still not have a shot at LLs for the rides we wanted. We rarely were able to obtain more than 2 LLs for rides that really benefited from them.
3) The biggest issue for us was the lack of being able to plan your day while utilizing the services - we usually like to have a break in the middle of the day and that was very difficult to do without giving up on certain rides.
4) Tech wise the app is a frustrating experience; it is common to click on a time that works only to receive one that is many hours after what you clicked on. It is also annoying that you have to cancel an existing genie plus before being able to book one for another ride that is at a better time (which do become available sometimes); my typical experience was cancelling the existing reservation only to find that the new one was no longer available. That is a very frustrating experience and one that is handled better by the ADR system which lets you hold the time before you cancel the existing reservation. The APP also was glitchy and would crash upredicatably, and drained my phone battery so that it was mandatory to carry a recharger.
5) We didn't have any issue with ride breakdowns; when that happened we got an automatic LL to use for a specific set of rides. So no issues there. Our LL waits were also short, so it worked well when we got an LL.
6) All that said, I'd probably still buy the thing to get at least a few rides with lower waits; but it is not a good experience. I've done the universal express pass and that is a much better experience, though I realize it is much more expensive (though I was staying in a Disney Deluxe resort, so for me the genie eqivalent was something I'd have gotten for free at Universal - maybe adding to my sense that Genie+ is a poor value).

 

[soniam]

We liked it. We are early risers at the parks and do rope drop. We have APs, DVC, go frequently, and always stay onsite. It was a little clunky at Thanksgiving, but booking FP+ was always clunky too with Disney's bad IT. We actually really liked buying the ILL and are bummed that Runaway Railway went to G+. It makes it so much more difficult to get in anything in one day at DHSm which was already extremely hard. We have done it all multiple times now, so it's not a huge deal. We may not have always gotten 3 or more G+ in a day. We could have, but maybe the rides weren't what we wanted or they were at an inconvenient time or park. We knew what we were getting into and had set our expectations low, so it worked out. We also double teamed and had 1 of us getting G+ while the other got ILL at 7am. I don't mind planning and actually enjoy it. Now, if I could buy something like the Express Pass at Universal, which we always get by staying at their deluxe, I would probably do that in a heartbeat, even at the rate that Universal charges if not staying at deluxe.

EDIT: I think the people who liked FP+ and didn't mind getting up early are probably the ones that don't mind or even like G+/ILL. However, it didn't fix issues for the people who don't like to get up early. If you don't like planning, but don't mind getting up early, then it could be ideal, if you are don't mind the money.

 

[soniam]

I just came back from a trip with my first experience using Genie+. Overall we disliked it quite a bit.
1) Being required to get up at 7 am to get full use out of the product was unpleasant but not a gigantic deal. Only one day was it really an issue, when we sent our alarm incorrectly and woke up at 8, missing our shot to get a LL for slinky dog dash and smugglers run.
2) The parks were extremely busy, meaning the rides we really wanted were very difficult to obtain as many were booked completely before we could make our next selection (or were only available near park close on nights we did not intend to stay up late, having young-ish kids). It was frustrating having paid for the service and still not have a shot at LLs for the rides we wanted. We rarely were able to obtain more than 2 LLs for rides that really benefited from them.
3) The biggest issue for us was the lack of being able to plan your day while utilizing the services - we usually like to have a break in the middle of the day and that was very difficult to do without giving up on certain rides.
4) Tech wise the app is a frustrating experience; it is common to click on a time that works only to receive one that is many hours after what you clicked on. It is also annoying that you have to cancel an existing genie plus before being able to book one for another ride that is at a better time (which do become available sometimes); my typical experience was cancelling the existing reservation only to find that the new one was no longer available. That is a very frustrating experience and one that is handled better by the ADR system which lets you hold the time before you cancel the existing reservation. The APP also was glitchy and would crash upredicatably, and drained my phone battery so that it was mandatory to carry a recharger.
5) We didn't have any issue with ride breakdowns; when that happened we got an automatic LL to use for a specific set of rides. So no issues there. Our LL waits were also short, so it worked well when we got an LL.
6) All that said, I'd probably still buy the thing to get at least a few rides with lower waits; but it is not a good experience. I've done the universal express pass and that is a much better experience, though I realize it is much more expensive (though I was staying in a Disney Deluxe resort, so for me the genie eqivalent was something I'd have gotten for free at Universal - maybe adding to my sense that Genie+ is a poor value).

We could never get Express Pass equivalent at WDW by staying at a deluxe. There are just too many guests. It would have to be an additional charge closer to what Universal charges on a busy day/person and probably it would be the limited/one ride per attraction version. I would still probably get it though.

 

[DizKids2]

Aside from the extra cost part, we really didn't mind it, with the exception of HS, where the park is so busy it feels like you don't really get much value, but it would probably be like that if FP+ was brought back now too. What I like over FP+ is that I don't have to plan the day out way in advance. We have only used Genie+ in moderately busy times, not very busy times, so our experience may be different from others

What I don't like is the difficulty for people who are not great with technology. My in-laws and their friends, all in their 70's, were at Disney a couple of weeks ago and they were completely confused when I tried to explain the system to them. I actually logged on to their account to snag an ILL for Ratatuille for them since they couldn't figure out how to use it.

 

[kanerf]

Nope, poor replacement for FP+. The biggest problem is that you cannot plan your day ahead of time (at least I can't as an AP holder). You also can only make one reservation and then cannot do anything else until that one has come and gone.

 

[nyy]

For those that liked it, did you find that you were crisscrossing the parks all day? Our family would not want to do that.

 

[Westerner]

You also can only make one reservation and then cannot do anything else until that one has come and gone.

Correction: you can make your next G+ reservation at the earlier of:

• you use the previous one (as you said)
• Or 120 minutes after you booked the previous one, even if it hasn’t been used yet

 

[DduzDis]

Correction: you can make your next G+ reservation at the earlier of:

• you use the previous one (as you said)
• Or 120 minutes after you booked the previous one, even if it hasn’t been used yet

This was not my experience. I was held to 120 mins after park opening or previous booking after park opening. I never saw a benefit of booking for 9am and then getting another one until after the 120 past opening time elapsed.

 

[Westerner]

This was not my experience. I was held to 120 mins after park opening or previous booking after park opening. I never saw a benefit of booking for 9am and then getting another one until after the 120 past opening time elapsed.

Yes. The 120 minute timer doesn't start until park opening.

 

[CKCruising]

We used it last week (massive crowds). Not a fan...
1) The app is unpredictable at best. Once everything is available at 7:00, some mornings I had to sign in 4 or 5 times (fingerprint scan). By the time it logs in at 7:01, SDD and RotR are gone. The first morning, I booked the Falcon. Later when SDD came available, I couldn't book it.
2) More availability comes up, so if you wait, you may get what you want (or not). We got a SDD slot at 7:30 but to get that, we had nothing from 7:00 to 7:30...unneeded stress on vacation.
3) You have to take the time they give you. Makes planning a day impossible. You can't switch what you have if you see a better time.
4) For HS, we did a 7:00ish reservation. At 10:30, there was basically TSM or Saucers available. No headliners at 12:30. We found hopping to MK gave use a couple of options to stack.
5) RotR was down during our return time. Our ILL was extended for the full day.
6) RotR went down during our ride (after returning from (5)). We were evacuated and got a ILL to use at any time on any ride. This would be good if you were on TSM and it went down, you could ride RotR with that pass.
7) We only had park internet (no data plan), I wouldn't recommend that as there are dead spots in the parks and there is no service on the transportation. This was probably more specific to us.

Personally, I would rather have the Universal service (If I remember it was 60-80) but at least it let you ride every ride once without scheduling.

 

[Westerner]

Personally, I would rather have the Universal service (If I remember it was 60-80) but at least it let you ride every ride once without scheduling.

It's gone up. Universal Express pass limited (allows every ride once except Hagrids/Velocicoaster/Pteranadon) starts at $80. For most dates and if you want to hop it's higher. When we went in early March it started at $100 and went up closer to our dates. They can hit $300+ day of. My comparison of UEx vs G+ is here.

 

[McCrae]

I just came back from a trip with my first experience using Genie+. Overall we disliked it quite a bit.
1) Being required to get up at 7 am to get full use out of the product was unpleasant but not a gigantic deal. Only one day was it really an issue, when we sent our alarm incorrectly and woke up at 8, missing our shot to get a LL for slinky dog dash and smugglers run.
2) The parks were extremely busy, meaning the rides we really wanted were very difficult to obtain as many were booked completely before we could make our next selection (or were only available near park close on nights we did not intend to stay up late, having young-ish kids). It was frustrating having paid for the service and still not have a shot at LLs for the rides we wanted. We rarely were able to obtain more than 2 LLs for rides that really benefited from them.
3) The biggest issue for us was the lack of being able to plan your day while utilizing the services - we usually like to have a break in the middle of the day and that was very difficult to do without giving up on certain rides.
4) Tech wise the app is a frustrating experience; it is common to click on a time that works only to receive one that is many hours after what you clicked on. It is also annoying that you have to cancel an existing genie plus before being able to book one for another ride that is at a better time (which do become available sometimes); my typical experience was cancelling the existing reservation only to find that the new one was no longer available. That is a very frustrating experience and one that is handled better by the ADR system which lets you hold the time before you cancel the existing reservation. The APP also was glitchy and would crash upredicatably, and drained my phone battery so that it was mandatory to carry a recharger.
5) We didn't have any issue with ride breakdowns; when that happened we got an automatic LL to use for a specific set of rides. So no issues there. Our LL waits were also short, so it worked well when we got an LL.
6) All that said, I'd probably still buy the thing to get at least a few rides with lower waits; but it is not a good experience. I've done the universal express pass and that is a much better experience, though I realize it is much more expensive (though I was staying in a Disney Deluxe resort, so for me the genie eqivalent was something I'd have gotten for free at Universal - maybe adding to my sense that Genie+ is a poor value).

I have very similar feedback and thoughts to you. Have you shared you thoughts with DVC? I did following my recent trip. Only way this will change is if enough people complain.

 

[RoseGold]

During the marathon, I could have just put some money in a Mickey balloon and let it go. Availability was so limited. ILL$ was great though. I was glad to pay a few bucks and pick a time at Remy.

 

[Miffy]

OP, make sure to understand the difference between Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane (ILL$). They are two separate things even though they seem like they're connected since you end up in the Lightning Lane (LL) no matter which thing you book.

You do NOT need to purchase G+ in order to purchase ILL$.

ILL$ are available for the top headliners in each park--FOP at DAK, RotR at DHS, Remy at Epcot, and 7DMT at MK. This is true until August 7th, when some other attractions may revert to be ILL$.

If you want to ride any or all of these rides without waiting in a long line or either being at the front of the line at RD and making a dash for it or waiting until near park close and hoping the ride is still up and running, then you should buy an ILL$. Yes, I'd prefer not to pay for this, but it is worth it, since the lines for these rides can be epic.

If you're staying onsite, you can purchase an ILL$ at 7 a.m. Yes, MDE has major glitches when it comes to booking these. I've been kicked out while it was processing my payment. And make sure you know your Disney login, because they will ask for it. You get your choice of times, sort of, but by the time you book, the time you selected may have been changed. If it's an attraction on your must-do list, then take whatever they give you and work out the rest of your day around that.

Certainly none of this makes planning easy. And if you fail to get the ILL$ and/or G+s you want, you can't easily change your park reservation.

I don't like this system, but it is workable, depending on what you want to use it for and how much you're willing to spend. Or, otoh, how long a line you're willing to stand in for any ride.

We use G+ at DAK to ride the safari twice--once at RD and once with G+--and for NRJ. Sometimes this doesn't work out, since NRJ might not be available for a time that works out for us. We've learned to go with the flow and not mind (too much!) if we paid for G+ and got only 1 ride out of it. We think of it as ILL$-minus.

The people who seem to be getting the most out of G+ are people who stay in their reserved park from open until close and are willing to crisscross the park and ride pretty much anything that shows up in G+. This works very well at MK.

Only you can figure out if it's worth it for you. And if you do decide to use G+ and/or ILL$, please read up on both of these before your trip. There's strategizing involved. A lot of strategizing.

ETA: G+ can also work well if you book G+ attractions for the late afternoon or evening and stack them during the day. This requires not just strategizing but also diligence, since you need to book everything at 2-hour intervals and spend a lot of time refreshing your MDE in order to get times you want.

Yeah, I'm not a fan but I have learned how to work the system a bit.