Enthusiastic about Genie+ touring

[havoc315]

Most of the complaints about Genie+ are related to price, since by and large, Disney is charging extra for things that used to be included. You don't seem to have a problem with it. Obviously you are allowed to have an opinion, as is everyone else. It seems weird to be "shocked" that people don't want to spend extra.

My opinion about your your initial touring plan here is that it's pretty unlikely to fully work the way you have outlined, but even if it did, it is just for a single person, which makes up a relatively small portion of people visiting Disney.

And for what it's worth, if someone doesn't like something because they have an opinion about it, you can't "correct" them with a factual statement about it. There doesn't seem to be that great of a misunderstanding about Genie+ on this board, and even if it were, suggesting that people are too scared or too dumb to understand it is pretty ridiculous.

I never ever said anyone was "too dumb"

If someone prefers a longer line than a shorter line -- that's their opinion.

If someone is happy with getting only 1-2 true FPs per day for "free" instead of getting 4-5 true FPs per day for $15, they are perfectly entitled to that opinion. I'm not shocked.

I am saying, the fee is for a vastly superior experience. Yes, I think my touring plan is very very likely to work, based on years of experience at Disney. And I think for most purchasers of G+, their touring plans will be vastly superior to their FP+ plans.

I'm only trying to correct the factual assertions that appear to be unfounded. Again, if someone doesn't want to pay $15 for a superior experience -- I have no argument with such person. I'm not "shocked" by that person at all.

G+ is not something that was "previously included." And that's the misunderstanding I am seeking to clarify. G+ is completely entirely different than FP+, and a vastly superior system. They are getting rid of something that was "free" but pretty poor, and replacing it with something far superior, for a charge.

 

[havoc315]

Where have you seen someone say that they think they'll have to buy Genie+ every day or won't be able to ride any rides? Can you link that comment/thread because while there is still confusion about the offerings (whether because Disney hasn't explained it or someone may not fully understand), it seems hard to believe that someone would think this.

Read this thread, it's all over. 1 poster said they will have to spend $1000 for 5 days. Many others have expressed doubt that there will be significant availability of G+ rides later in the day. Many have claimed that it forces everyone to be on their phone at 7am.

 

[sagosto]

So, why did I buy DVC again when the family staying at the $50 motel in Orlando has the same perks? At least FP gave me the impression, I was 'special' in some sense.

 

[Jennasis]

Some people will like it. Some won't. No point trying to convince the other person how wrong they are. Especially as it has no bearing on your trip. You go and do you.

I plan to be suspicious of it and grumble about how "back in the good ol' days it was free" while grudgingly mastering its use and cursing a storm every time I have to buy it or a individual attraction pass. To each their own. I don't care what others do.

 

[havoc315]

Lots of assumptions here. In your opinion you think you are making an objective assessment. I disagree and I think you are dismissing a lot of the mechanics. Perhaps G+ will work better for most guests, but it won't for everyone, including a lot of DVC and disboards members. You keep saying it will be shorter lines and more 'line skipping' but you don't really know that.

And let's face it, at this point it's all opinions. Ride availability is key and we cannot predict that. None of us can, unfortunately.

I can do math, of number of guests and availability. I can also talk based on experience with old FP and with MaxPass.

You are right, we won't know for certain until it actually takes effect.

So to all the people freaking out about how it's going to be awful -- They should take a breath and see how it works out.

If it really ends up that you end up paying $15, and can't get more than 1 or 2 decent rides per day with the system, I'll be the first to call for Disney to fix the system.
If it's not better than FP+, then it will be a major fail.

But there is every reason to believe this could be a major improvement, so why not give it a chance?

 

[Ermise]

If someone is happy with getting only 1-2 true FPs per day for "free" instead of getting 4-5 true FPs per day for $15, they are perfectly entitled to that opinion. I'm not shocked.

[/QUOTE]

What? We got at least 3 "true" FPs per day, even for rides that are now considered top-tier rides and are no longer included in Genie+. Most days we would get 4 and when we went to Magic Kingdom we would typically get 5 or 6.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

There's a lot of extrapolation without the necessary information. Is WDW slow at releasing ALL the information, yes. Do we know whether they are going to run out of all selections for "good rides" if you don't get on there exactly at 7, no we really don't. But there are assumptions for sure.

 

[havoc315]

So, why did I buy DVC again when the family staying at the $50 motel in Orlando has the same perks? At least FP gave me the impression, I was 'special' in some sense.

On-site is definitely losing some perks, but also gaining some. You're getting early entry at EVERY park, EVERY day. And as DVC, you're getting evening hours, which will ONLY be for deluxe and DVC.

Compared to FP+, off-siters are indeed bigger "winners" than on-site guests. They go from being at a major disadvantage, to being on nearly equal footing.

But I suspect that G+/LL will lead to a better experience for all guests, both on-site and off-site.

 

[cygnusx1jg]

Speaking of unfounded factual assertions, you are stating Genie+ is vastly superior before it has been rolled out. What is indeed a fact is that people will be spending money on getting to do attractions quicker when this used to be free. It isn't yet a fact that Genie+ will be worth the extra cost. The experience we've had with Disney technology alone gives me concern that this will work properly. Time will tell, and I really hope in a few months I will be able to say you were correct.

 

[Turksmom]

For a family of 4, if they spend $15pp/pd for G+ and $20 pp/pd for IA$ (may be high or low as prices aren't released yet). It adds $700 to a five day trip, so the estimate of $1000 may be a bit over, but it's close.

 

[havoc315]

There's a lot of extrapolation without the necessary information. Is WDW slow at releasing ALL the information, yes. Do we know whether they are going to run out of all selections for "good rides" if you don't get on there exactly at 7, no we really don't. But there are assumptions for sure.

Yes, we do know. Because... math. Using DHS as the example, there are 8 G+ attractions. That equates to about 100,000 to 130,000 G+ slots per day.
Average attendance is 30,000 people. People can only book 1 G+ ride at a time. So 30,000 people can NOT fill 100,000 to 130,000 slots instantly at 7am.
Not all 30,000 will buy G+.

Assuming 20,000 purchase G+.... That means, worst case scenario, 20% of the daily G+ slots might get filled at 7am. And that's truly the WORST case scenario.

 

[MrWreckless]

Genie+ is $15 per day. Why would you buy FOP every dingle day of a trip?
so Genie+ for a family of 4, for 5 days is $300. Not $1,000. If you’re onsite, you can do all the pay attractions during morning Early Entry with low wait.

CURRENT pay attractions. When Tron comes online, will MK still only have 2 pay attractions? When GoTG comes online at Epcot, will it still only have 2 pay attractions?

 

[havoc315]

For a family of 4, if they spend $15pp/pd for G+ and $20 pp/pd for IA$ (may be high or low as prices aren't released yet). It adds $700 to a five day trip, so the estimate of $1000 may be a bit over, but it's close.

But they don't have to pay $20 per day for the individual attractions. In fact, for Rat and ROTR, they can still get a "free" pass using boarding groups. They can also ride those premium attractions during early hours, evening hours. And *gasp*, they can even use regular standby.
For that matter, they don't have to get G+ every day. With a good optimized touring plan, you could probably avoid long lines without ever purchasing G+. G+ will just give more flexibility in planning, the ability to skip lines at crowded times of day, etc.

So nobody will "have to" pay $700 for a 5 day trip.

 

[diskids2]

I'm trying to be optimistic too, but I think you are being overly generous regarding availability. However, I may think that way because I am going Christmas - New Years week.

 

[havoc315]

CURRENT pay attractions. When Tron comes online, will MK still only have 2 pay attractions? When GoTG comes online at Epcot, will it still only have 2 pay attractions?

Admittedly, that's unknown. My strong suspicion is that it will remain 2 rides per park, as a way of controlling demand for these ultra-popular attractions.

Much like, if you went back 10 years, Soarin and TSM had incredible demand and long lines. So 10 years ago, they would have gotten the LL treatment. But now, 10 years later, it would be Frozen and Slinky Dog.
So Magic Kingdom may start with Mine Train and Space Mountain, but Space Mountain will eventually be replaced by Tron.
Epcot will start with Test Track and Rat, but when GOTG opens, it will replace one of them.

 

[havoc315]

I'm trying to be optimistic too, but I think you are being overly generous regarding availability. However, I may think that way because I am going Christmas - New Years week.

I suspect less availability Christmas week. My projections are based on an "average" week.
But Christmas week sucks under every system.

 

[Turksmom]

You started the conversation about "optimizing" the day with the use of G+ and IA$. They certainly have the free options available, but then they are having a "sub-optimal" experience. And ask thousands of people who tried and failed to get ROTR boarding groups how easy it is to just do that

 

[dez1978]

you still can do it all for free. That hasn’t changed. Paying just gives you more flexibility. Far more flexibility than you ever got for “free.”

no theres a huge difference between waiting in a standby line for free and having fastpasses for free. Lets not act like those are at all the same thing. I could schedule my 3 fp and then get more all day and never stand in line for free. Now for free I can ride as many rides as time allows standing in the standby line. Those are not the same.

 

[havoc315]

no theres a huge difference between waiting in a standby line for free and having fastpasses for free. Lets not act like those are at all the same thing. I could schedule my 3 fp and then get more all day and never stand in line for free. Now for free I can ride as many rides as time allows standing in the standby line. Those are not the same.

In multiple trips, for my party of 7 people, I never ever was able to get more than 1 good FP per day at Epcot, AK or DHS.

It's total fiction that most people could get lots of great FPs for free. You were limited by the tier system. You were limited to top attractions which would have no availability. I never ever was able to get a fastpass to FOP because there was never any availability in the 60-63 days window. One trip, the earliest availability was the 65th day, but we were only staying 4 days.

So I'm not pretending it's the same thing. I see it as going from 1-2 decent FPs per day at most parks, to getting 4-6 good passes per day for a fee.

So yes, I'm paying more, to get more.

With minimal planning, I can now get every ride at Epcot/DHS and Animal Kingdom without a line, as opposed to the old days of getting a fastpass for just 1 decent ride. And then getting stuck with fastpasses to Muppetvision and BATB.

 

[nkereina]

Haven't read all the replies, but I tend to agree with OP. From what I can gather, the Genie+ model is essentially the same as MaxPass at Disneyland. The cost and the Individual Attraction Selections are different, but it seems the functionality will otherwise be the same. This makes sense because MaxPass has received positive feedback for years, and the infrastructure was already in place making the turnaround time to implement something like this a little bit less.

As someone who has used MaxPass a few times, its a great system. With MaxPass, you can't purchase it until you are in the park. Once you have it, you are able to see the next available return time for attractions and decide what you want to do. There is no booking a time of your choice like we did with FP+. You either take or leave the next available time. This allows return times to be available throughout the day. Its essentially the same as the old paper fast pass system, but done electronically without running across the park. With MaxPass, you can obtain another pass after you either use the first one you obtained OR after a varying waiting period expires. So if you grab a Big Thunder return time of 3pm and its currently 10am, there may be a two hour waiting period (for example) before you can grab another pass, allowing you to obtain a second pass after 12pm while you wait for Big Thunder. No word on whether this element of MaxPass will translate to Genie+ yet, but I'm hopeful there will be something similar.

I also think the addition of the IAS will help with Genie+ availability throughout the day. And both IAS and Genie+ will help with standby wait times, since presumably not as many people will be using the Lightning Lanes as they did with the free FP+. This means less stopping of the standby queue to allow LL people through, therefore faster standby queues.

I think those of us that have experienced MaxPass can see the potential benefits a little better, and its easier to visualize the potential residual benefits. I am curious to see if the IAS will be independent of Genie+ - meaning can you hold a Genie+ pass and an IAS simultaneously. And, can you buy an IAS without having purchased Genie+.