Enthusiastic about Genie+ touring

[Kbrb]

Having read the op, I’m glad someone is happy with the system. But to say your shocked by the backlash is a bit blinkered to put it mildly.

I still come down to my 14 night on site trip. Add Me replacement $100 add genie for 10 days? X 3 of us $450 a few LL 240?

My trip is now 800 dollars more expensive than when I booked it. And I’m getting nothing for it I didn’t have before.

I love Disney but an extra 800? No I won’t be paying it.

 

[PinkTink63]

I'm shocked at the negative feedback and backlash about the Genie+ announcement. Seems it's pure apprehension about change.
Too many people, I believe, I erroneously viewing this as now having to pay $15 per day for FP+, and having to book every morning at 7am, instead of 60 days in advance.
But this is NOT FP+. It should end up being a superior product. And for most attractions, there should be plenty of availability through the day. You would only be booking at 7am, if you want a 9am return time.

So with recent changes... I'm going to share my optimistic view of touring the parks, as an onsite deluxe guest:

Animal Kingdom Day: -- Assuming FOP and Safari are the "upcharge" attractions:
7-8 - Book Navi River on Genie+, 8-9am return time
7:30: No need to pay an upcharge for FOP, just do it during Early Entry rope drop for no charge.
8:00 -- At regular opening, the standby line at Safari should be bearable without the need to pay any upcharge.
After Safari, backtrack, go do Navi River with Genie+ reservation towards the end of your Genie+ window..
By 9am -- Board Navi River with Genie+, book Expedition Everest, Genie+ return time around 10-11am
After Navi River, start going counter-clockwise -- Go do Dinosaur in Standby around 9:30, standby of 15-20. Play games around Dinoland
Around 10 -- redeem your Genie+ at Expedition Everest, book next Genie+ for River Rapids, around 12pm-1pm
After Expedition Everest -- Do some of the walking tours, see Lion King. eat lunch. See Bug movie if interested..
After lunch, 12-1, redeem Genie+ for River Rapids. As redeeming, book and evening Genie+ for your park hop evening park.

So every major attraction done at AK, without paying the individual attraction fees..... only paying the $15 Genie+, and skipping the need for any significant lines.

DHS -- Assume Slinky and ROTR are "up charge"
7 -- Try to get ROTR with regular free boarding group. If fail, pay the $20 fee for a ride reservation around noon. Pay for evening Slinky
Book Genie+ for Runaway Train, 9am-10am window
8:30 am -- early entry: Straight to TOT. As soon as completed, go right to RNR. Should be getting off RNR no later than 9:15.
From there, around 9:15, so redeem your Runaway Train Genie+. While redeeming, book Smuggler's Run, return time should be somewhere between 11am and 1pm. After Runaway Train --- Go ride Star Tours Standby (still early, line should be under 15 minutes), Muppetvision. Depending on ROTR and Smuggler's Run return times, maybe see BATB or other shows.
Between 11 and 1 (won't take the whole 2 hours) redeem your LL or boarding group for ROTR, use Genie+ for Smuggler's Run. Book another Genie+ for the evening for TSM.

After walking on to both Star Wars rides, go leave for the afternoon. Go to the pool. Take a 4-5 hour break.
Come back in the evening, use the Genie+ reservation for TSM. I could skip Saucers or do them late when the standby line is short. Might even be able to get a 8-9pm Saucers Genie+ reservation after doing TSM. Ride Slinky with the purchased LL.
Hopefully finish the night at Fantasmic.

Every major attraction at DHS accomplished, with time for a long mid-day break, and no significant lines. Used Genie+/LL for Runaway Train, Smuggler's Run, TSM, ROTR, Slinky. Used early entry for TOT and RNR. If I was successful getting a boarding group for ROTR, then didn't even need to purchase a time.

I'll do Epcot and Magic Kingdom later in another post. If I go to those parks on nights with extended hours, they will be super easy.

We are on vacation. I fly 3,000 miles and have to deal with jet lag to start with. Not everyone wants to get up at daybreak just to make some kind of reservation to go into a park. It’s just the whole system! I am looking for a less stressful vacation. I thought making dining reservations 6 months in advance was kind of ridiculous so I never did that but I did get up at 4am on the day I could book my fast passes and did that but it was just the one day.
i hope everything works out as planned for you.

 

[nkereina]

And I’m getting nothing for it I didn’t have before.

I certainly understand the overall frustration - an additional $800 is a budget buster for many. But I don't think its fair to say you're getting nothing for it that you didn't have before - you don't know how it works in practice yet! If it works like MaxPass, as its being modeled, you should have a much easier time obtaining LL passes throughout the day on popular rides than we ever did before. Standby waits should also average slightly less for times the LL return time doesn't work for you. It will improve on the pain points of FP+, so you will be getting that enhancement. I mean, is it worth $800? Only you can decide, the cost will be different for everyone. And we may come to realize that IAS and Genie+ every day of the trip is not even necessary. But there are intangible and residual benefits that will be realized as a result of the change

 

[ThistleMae]

I really feel badly for those families where the extra $ is a huge stretch. I don't want to give up on Disney, I love it too much. So instead I'm going to cut back on other things such as dinning and FP's and number of days to be able to still enjoy my vacation. Who knows, maybe this will work out to be something good. We just have to wait and see. The fact is, this is happening...so if you really want to keep going, try and figure out a way to make the trip a positive one.

 

[OhDannyBoy]

I really feel badly for those families where the extra $ is a huge stretch. I don't want to give up on Disney, I love it too much. So instead I'm going to cut back on other things such as dinning and FP's and number of days to be able to still enjoy my vacation. Who knows, maybe this will work out to be something good. We just have to wait and see. The fact is, this is happening...so if you really want to keep going, try and figure out a way to make the trip a positive one.

I hear you.

I have a trip planned for February. I'll haunt this board to learn what I can to make the most of the new system. I'm up and down as far as expectations but I'm sure we will have fun. Will it be worth a later in the year trip? We'll see.

 

[ThistleMae]

I hear you.

I have a trip planned for February. I'll haunt this board to learn what I can to make the most of the new system. I'm up and down as far as expectations but I'm sure we will have fun. Will it be worth a later in the year trip? We'll see.

Yes, exactly. I do have choices and I can decide to make the trip enjoyable or make it miserable because I liked the old system better. Change is inevitable in life. I do understand the frustration, but I choose to move on because I'd prefer to be happy instead of disappointed.

 

[katyringo]

I am super excited for Genie plus! Will using it for my solo trip and for the family.
For the solo trip I think it’s going to make doing exactly what I want to do on my trip easier..

Example I plan to hop to AK for just a few hours to catch the tree of life at night.. it would be great to be able to hop on Everest while there.. genie plus is going to allow me to possible book a fast lane for when I am there..

 

[ThistleMae]

I am super excited for Genie plus! Will using it for my solo trip and for the family.
For the solo trip I think it’s going to make doing exactly what I want to do on my trip easier..

Example I plan to hop to AK for just a few hours to catch the tree of life at night.. it would be great to be able to hop on Everest while there.. genie plus is going to allow me to possible book a fast lane for when I am there..

I hope you're right. Stay tuned in here for the reviews at rollout!

 

[Leia's Mom]

I am another who is super excited for Genie. My family got tired of my obnoxious planning many, many years ago. Getting up at a specified hour is just not happening (except for Rise of the Resistance). So I get some work done at the resort in the morning, and we go when we go. We randomly pick a park in advance because you have to. Then we go. The opportunity to have some fast passes that I wouldn't otherwise have on the days that I care about riding rides, would be fantastic. I am rather hoping it gets back to the old days of the paper fast pass tickets where our day was a bit more adventure filled and a little less planned (or just knocking out the good rides altogether). As an AP holder, I figure I'll only get Genie on the days that it matters what we ride. On the days that we do things like stroll around EPCOT for Food and Wine, won't do it. Now, that's me. I probably would have been devastated for this when my kids were little, money was so tight that these trips were planned to the penny. This would have knocked out those magical character meals or would have just meant more line time. . . Having said that, once my kids could read and it was available, that Disney Heads Up game and waiting in lines are some of my happiest memories with my kids. . . I guess I'm the pollyanna. If it means time in the park with my family, I'll probably figure out a way to love it.

 

[havoc315]

I certainly understand the overall frustration - an additional $800 is a budget buster for many. But I don't think its fair to say you're getting nothing for it that you didn't have before - you don't know how it works in practice yet! If it works like MaxPass, as its being modeled, you should have a much easier time obtaining LL passes throughout the day on popular rides than we ever did before. Standby waits should also average slightly less for times the LL return time doesn't work for you. It will improve on the pain points of FP+, so you will be getting that enhancement. I mean, is it worth $800? Only you can decide, the cost will be different for everyone. And we may come to realize that IAS and Genie+ every day of the trip is not even necessary. But there are intangible and residual benefits that will be realized as a result of the change

THIS sums it up nicely.

It really comes down to this: those who are more willing to pay will very likely see improvements over FP+, potentially significant improvements.
Those that used to book FPs at 6 am 60 days in advance and choose not to pay, will likely see some diminishment. (Though the free aspects of Genie may alleviate the loss somewhat, need to wait and see).

There seems to be a fear that passes will be even less available under the new system. While crazy things can happen, logic dictates that passes will be far more available under the new system.

 

[shawthorne44]

I am eager too.

But then that might be because of the type of visitor we will be. We will be first-time, one-and-done visitors. We'll be there for 10 park days and want to do everything including the old, minor attractions. We also don't have the luxury of saying "I won't wait in a line for more than 30 minutes because I'll just try next visit." We are also early-risers.

The only thing I am slightly annoyed about is that it seems that even off-site can reserve at 7am. The news seems to have flip-flopped on whether 7am is on-site only or everyone.

 

[georgina]

I am super excited for Genie plus! Will using it for my solo trip and for the family.
For the solo trip I think it’s going to make doing exactly what I want to do on my trip easier..

Example I plan to hop to AK for just a few hours to catch the tree of life at night.. it would be great to be able to hop on Everest while there.. genie plus is going to allow me to possible book a fast lane for when I am there..

As a frequent solo traveler, the Everest single rider line was often faster than the FP line. I'm hoping the lightning lane stuff doesn't affect SR lines.

 

[btuftee]

As a frequent solo traveler, the Everest single rider line was often faster than the FP line. I'm hoping the lightning lane stuff doesn't affect SR lines.

Can't imagine it will - it's just the reality of odd-numbered boarding groups. That shouldn't change at all.

The only thing I am slightly annoyed about is that it seems that even off-site can reserve at 7am. The news seems to have flip-flopped on whether 7am is on-site only or everyone.

Agreed - if this is an "everyone" perk, it really diminishes the value of the on-site hotel purchase. Disney already has about 30k hotel rooms on-site, so the number of resort guests who can log on at 7am and make their first LL reservation is going to be sizeable. If you toss in all of the offsite guests as well, it'll really skew the opening LL distribution. On the other hand, Disney wants people to buy Genie+, so you'll probably get a few more offsite guests to buy it if everyone gets to use it at 7am. I guess it's a question of how Disney wants to incentivize its resort guests. The extra evening hours are only for the deluxe guests (less than a third of all on-site rooms), but the moderate and value guests don't have as many perks.

 

[ThistleMae]

Can't imagine it will - it's just the reality of odd-numbered boarding groups. That shouldn't change at all.



Agreed - if this is an "everyone" perk, it really diminishes the value of the on-site hotel purchase. Disney already has about 30k hotel rooms on-site, so the number of resort guests who can log on at 7am and make their first LL reservation is going to be sizeable. If you toss in all of the offsite guests as well, it'll really skew the opening LL distribution. On the other hand, Disney wants people to buy Genie+, so you'll probably get a few more offsite guests to buy it if everyone gets to use it at 7am. I guess it's a question of how Disney wants to incentivize its resort guests. The extra evening hours are only for the deluxe guests (less than a third of all on-site rooms), but the moderate and value guests don't have as many perks.

I agree the moderate and value only get 1/2 hour emh in the morning. If everyone gets to buy genie at 7 a.m. the only perk left is to purchase LL for the Tier one attractions. I will be thinking of staying off site for next trip even though I don't really want to. At least I'll check out what's available and price shop. I think there will be more staunch fans shopping off property as well.

 

[cgattis]

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. I’m never going to try to change anyone’s opinion.

I will address factually incorrect statements. And there are a lot of people saying things that just aren’t true, such as implying that all the reservations for the day will be gone at 7:15 am.

You continue to label your assumptions as factual and others’ assumptions as lies. I appreciate the diligence in your explanations, but until this thing goes live, all your “facts” (other than the tidbits Disney has shared) are just assumptions too. I don’t understand why you can’t or won’t admit that. If you’d just lead with “under the assumption that xyz is true,” you’d be on track.

 

[havoc315]

You continue to label your assumptions as factual and others’ assumptions as lies. I appreciate the diligence in your explanations, but until this thing goes live, all your “facts” (other than the tidbits Disney has shared) are just assumptions too. I don’t understand why you can’t or won’t admit that. If you’d just lead with “under the assumption that xyz is true,” you’d be on track.

Everything I've said it based on the information Disney shared. So I will adapt, "under the assumption that Disney isn't lying.."

 

[FCDub]

You continue to label your assumptions as factual and others’ assumptions as lies. I appreciate the diligence in your explanations, but until this thing goes live, all your “facts” (other than the tidbits Disney has shared) are just assumptions too. I don’t understand why you can’t or won’t admit that. If you’d just lead with “under the assumption that xyz is true,” you’d be on track.

So everyone else gets to concoct doom-and-gloom sky-is-falling scenarios – with no proof – about a system that hasn’t yet rolled out but not the OP with the opposite? Why is everyone here just predestined to assume the worst?

 

[igrsod]

I don't think Genie+ is something that will be necessary at all parks on all days. I can't see why I would need it at Epcot or Animal Kingdom at all. Magic Kingdom, I'm on the fence about, because there are so many more rides, everyone is more spread out.... there is nothing that we MUST do... we just ride what we ride. Hollywood Studios is the one where I think we will buy Genie+ as there aren't enough rides and the lines get so long... there are many rides that we LOVE to do there, so I see the Genie+ option as a good value there.
Time will tell when we see it in action. If it doesn't effect standby wait times too much, we will probably just wait in standby for most days.

 

[havoc315]

I agree the moderate and value only get 1/2 hour emh in the morning. If everyone gets to buy genie at 7 a.m. the only perk left is to purchase LL for the Tier one attractions. I will be thinking of staying off site for next trip even though I don't really want to. At least I'll check out what's available and price shop. I think there will be more staunch fans shopping off property as well.

Notably, it seems likely that Deluxe on-site guests may often easily do without much use of G+/LL if they use the morning and evening extended hours. Lots of opportunities to do e-ticket attractions without paying for G+/LL.

Mod/value guests will have some such opportunity — morning extended hours.

G+/LL is the best value for off-site guests. It’s highly unlikely that LL attractions will sell out before 9am most days.
The cost of G+/LL is generally lower than the cost of staying onsite. So G+/LL May prove to be a great equalizer for off site guests.

 

[cw1380]

Hello all, been following the thread since the beginning and there are valid points on both sides. Ultimately, I don't see this really benefitting anyone but Disney starting out. It may level out later on with fewer people coming to the parks (especially if they had a huge blowout trip for the 50th) but here's the thing I'm struggling with in regards to those who say there will be passes available for anything at any time... the fast pass allotment hasn't changed, has it? Like, there's still going to have to be the same number of fast passes/LL passes given out as there were before to accommodate both Genie+ purchasers and standby guests, right? So what if at 7 am, the passes for BTMR completely sell out for the day? Alternatively, what if every hour, on the hour, the passes for BTMR sell out for the following hour? What happens then? You can't really complain because there are LL passes available for Pooh/Speedway/Barnstormer, so technically, Disney is delivering, just not what you want.

I daresay this new system will actually make it harder for folks who used to find it difficult to grab fast passes at the 60/30 day mark because now instead of trying to get those LL passes early, you'll all be fighting for them at the same time. And yes, I'm well aware that not all people will want to ride BTMR as their first LL of the day, but let's be honest, there has always been a system regarding which pass to get first because it sells out the quickest, I don't think that will change, even if they spread the LL passes out throughout the day (unless they trickle them out at random intervals every hour, but I don't see the system being this complex). There's also the loss of fast passes that pop up because people cancel them because they decided not to got to that park that day or ride that ride. Instead, you've already been locked into that park (reservations) and you're all vying for the passes that day, so you know you're going (7AM start time).

I'm all for initiating new systems and trying to level the playing field and spread guests out among the parks. I honestly think Disney will probably accomplish this well enough with the free system and the unprepared guest (those who show up without any planning) who will benefit greatly from the free system. However, I think those that knew how to grab fast passes at 60+ days before and knew how to refresh MDE to grab additional fast passes after their initial 3, will also know when to refresh Genie+ to grab the LL passes for the day/hour/ what have you. So this assumption that if you pay the $15 you'll be able to do whatever you want to your heart's content seems a little overly optimistic. This is Disney we are talking about here, if they can oversell Genie+ and still have guest satisfaction remain neutral, they will. They also have to do very little to fulfill their end of the contract. If you pay $15 and there's a LL pass for Under the Sea with the Little Mermaid, then Disney has provided.

Final note, my family had a big, 9-person, 4 room, 14-day trip planned. We've been saving for it since 2019 and the pandemic made us want to add even more experiences to our growing list. However, since Disney re-opened, we've switched to a rental house because MDE was cancelled, Pop century jumped $50 a night per room, no FP+ to grab at 60+ days. Then we dropped our park days down to 5 from 10 because Genie+ added extra expenses to our planning (we are likely only getting it for our MK days since it's seemingly useless for the other parks and then only after I've read reviews on how it actually functions here). Instead we're going to give Universal a try for 2 days, and Discovery Cove for a day and possibly LegoLand for the littles. Funny thing is, after I calculated everything up and removed the dessert parties we were going to attend (no idea if those are coming back) we broke even with more experiences and fun to be had. Will we stop going to Disney entirely? Probably not. Will Disney get less money from us in the long run? Probably about even. Will we get priced out of vacations to Disney? I'd say we're on the way. The good news is, there's a great big beautiful tomorrow with a great big world we can explore that doesn't have to be in the Disney bubble and it seems like Disney wants us to know that with every cut of an experience and increase in price.