Everything Genie, Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane - Please Read Posts 1-7

[gzh6464]

According to the first post you do not have to have checked into the disney hotel yet on your arrival day to use the 7A G+ or ILL$ option.

Also oddly disney seems to allow you to check in virtually early to your hotel.

 

[GBRforWDW]

OK!! That is what I was looking for. I wondered if I should book those 2nd park passes later in the day--or early. I think i will start studying the Genie+ App too--as I think I can check the current return times, and when the various rides run out of passes. Thanks!

There's a website called thrill-data that has a color coded chart for each park and each day that shows pass availability throughout the day. It helps give an idea of what books up earliest and what lasts the longest,etc. Helps to plan what order you should grab each pass

 

[nurseberta]

HS day with G+ and ILL, early entry on site guests
Jan 21st, 2022 EE guests 8:30, offsite 9:00 opening

Wake up at 6:45am, play around on the app, sure you have everything ready.
Log on and refresh a few times, 7:00 on the dot world clock, grab SDD at 9:30, end up with 6pm. Don't accept it and refresh, get locked out of SD. switch to Rise, get pushed to log into the website, delay caused lost Rise. #1 my bad I forgot to shut off wifi.
Drop SDD and grab ToT instead.

Finish breakfast at 7:20ish, walk from Boardwalk and arrive at security for bag check and gates about 7:40 scan in and head to GE. People were heading to SDD, Rise or Rnr/ToT, others (offsite guests?) were milling around the shops. Rise had a line though at 7:48 it was not very long at all but was already down. Rather than chance getting stuck we opted to make the most of EE. Breeze by and head to MFSR tap/walk in at 7:55/ walk on. On the ride and off by 8:10am. Walk through GE taking a TON of pics of family in an empty park.

Head towards TSL, SDD line is long so skip it and head to RnR. Line is held on sunset boulevard waiting for official EE opening at 8:30. This is when I started to rethink the strategy for SDD. I end up dropping ToT and plan to wait for the reported (per touring plans) 9:32am drop and hope to get a midday SDD time.

Ride RnR and ToT standby during early entry 8:30-9:30, 15-20ish min wait for each not bad at all! At 9:30 I started to refresh for SDD, immediately at 9:32 I got an 11-12 that I took and then booked a MMRR for 9:45 mostly because we were headed back to do Rise.

Rise standby60 min ish, not bad at all, kind of like long lines on black friday, exciting because you know you are getting something good!!! then tap into SDD, book ToT, lunch at Woody’s lunch box, TSM standby.

Walk around shops on Sunset boulevard, ride ToT G+ and head out back to the hotel (Boardwalk) for a rest/hot tub/snacks.

At Hotel I booked RnR G+ for after 6, and upon park entry around 6 booked Star Tours (MFSR was out for the day)
Rode Star Tours, RnR, Sci-Fi dinner, walk around waiting for the park to close for our Oga’s at 9:30pm. Walk out at 10:15pm to an empty park, again amazing pics!! Without anyone in them!!!

Takeaways/ we criss-crossed the park which I didn't initially want to do. However, My kids 18, 19, 22 did not want to wait in lines longer than 15-20 min as soon as they got a taste of G+ and LL. They didn't understand the rules so I was on my phone lots managing LL, I was an amazing tour guide.
I thought it was 100% worth it, and we had a great time. If you want to make G+ worth it, you need to know the layout and do your homework. Otherwise I fear it will not feel worth it if you run into snags like I did and do not know how to adjust the plan. Which is hard to do without having spent time researching/preparing.

in this plan we did everything we wanted with ToT and RnR twice each. we were exhausted though and opted for late morning entry for all other parks. HS is mandatory RD in my opinion

 

[Ensusieasm]

HS day with G+ and ILL, early entry on site guests
Jan 21st, 2022 EE guests 8:30, offsite 9:00 opening

Wake up at 6:45am, play around on the app, sure you have everything ready.
Log on and refresh a few times, 7:00 on the dot world clock, grab SDD at 9:30, end up with 6pm. Don't accept it and refresh, get locked out of SD. switch to Rise, get pushed to log into the website, delay caused lost Rise. #1 my bad I forgot to shut off wifi.
Drop SDD and grab ToT instead.

Finish breakfast at 7:20ish, walk from Boardwalk and arrive at security for bag check and gates about 7:40 scan in and head to GE. People were heading to SDD, Rise or Rnr/ToT, others (offsite guests?) were milling around the shops. Rise had a line though at 7:48 it was not very long at all but was already down. Rather than chance getting stuck we opted to make the most of EE. Breeze by and head to MFSR tap/walk in at 7:55/ walk on. On the ride and off by 8:10am. Walk through GE taking a TON of pics of family in an empty park.

Head towards TSL, SDD line is long so skip it and head to RnR. Line is held on sunset boulevard waiting for official EE opening at 8:30. This is when I started to rethink the strategy for SDD. I end up dropping ToT and plan to wait for the reported (per touring plans) 9:32am drop and hope to get a midday SDD time.

Ride RnR and ToT standby during early entry 8:30-9:30, 15-20ish min wait for each not bad at all! At 9:30 I started to refresh for SDD, immediately at 9:32 I got an 11-12 that I took and then booked a MMRR for 9:45 mostly because we were headed back to do Rise.

Rise standby60 min ish, not bad at all, kind of like long lines on black friday, exciting because you know you are getting something good!!! then tap into SDD, book ToT, lunch at Woody’s lunch box, TSM standby.

Walk around shops on Sunset boulevard, ride ToT G+ and head out back to the hotel (Boardwalk) for a rest/hot tub/snacks.

At Hotel I booked RnR G+ for after 6, and upon park entry around 6 booked Star Tours (MFSR was out for the day)
Rode Star Tours, RnR, Sci-Fi dinner, walk around waiting for the park to close for our Oga’s at 9:30pm. Walk out at 10:15pm to an empty park, again amazing pics!! Without anyone in them!!!

Takeaways/ we criss-crossed the park which I didn't initially want to do. However, My kids 18, 19, 22 did not want to wait in lines longer than 15-20 min as soon as they got a taste of G+ and LL. They didn't understand the rules so I was on my phone lots managing LL, I was an amazing tour guide.
I thought it was 100% worth it, and we had a great time. If you want to make G+ worth it, you need to know the layout and do your homework. Otherwise I fear it will not feel worth it if you run into snags like I did and do not know how to adjust the plan. Which is hard to do without having spent time researching/preparing.

in this plan we did everything we wanted with ToT and RnR twice each. we were exhausted though and opted for late morning entry for all other parks. HS is mandatory RD in my opinion

On that same morning there was a glitch for folks trying to buy ILL’s at 7am. The system wasn’t working correctly till later that morning.

 

[nurseberta]

On that same morning there was a glitch for folks trying to buy ILL’s at 7am. The system wasn’t working correctly till later that morning.

wish I knew that!! we rechecked multiple times but with my SDD, I eventually assumed it was out for the day!!!

 

[Ensusieasm]

wish I knew that!! we rechecked multiple times but with my SDD, I eventually assumed it was out for the day!!!

The glitch seemed to affect buying ILL’s only....so just RoTR and MMRR

 

[scrappinginontario]

Thurs, Feb 3rd. DHS Park Reservation.

Chose a slow morning (after booking 7AM SDD LL), pool time, went to DS for lunch then to DHS.

Arrived at 2:30 and rode an attraction we didn't have a LL for. At 3:00 we hadn't used any of our LL's and had the following stacked:

3:35 - 4:35 Star Tours (booked at 1:00)
3:45 - 4:45 Toy Story Mania (booked at 11:00)
3:55 - 4:55 Slinky Dog Dash (booked at 7:00)
6:00 - 7:00 Tower of Terror (booked at 3:00)

The thing that worked well for us the few days I purchased Genie+ was to set an alarm for 5 mins before we were eligible to book the next LL. That way we weren't spending all our time clock watching. Also, in the 5 min window we would look at return times to determine what we were going to try to book when our window opened. We could have booked more LL after 5:00 but there wasn't anything available we wanted to book.

It was a bit of a learning curve but for the crowd levels we experienced last week, Genie+ worked well for MK and DHS. We did not purchase for the other parks or purchase any ILL$. The only 3 ILL$ we wanted we rode at rope drop (Remy) or park close (RotR and SDMT).

 

[accm]

Wanted to share our experience with getting a child swap at Slinky since it was different than how it worked with FP+
We went to the CM with the iPad, who loaded the child swap onto my son’s magicband. Where it was different from FP+ was that my husband, who was staying behind, did not get a swap. Instead, he had to wait for his turn to tap in and use his LL.

This causes two issues - 1) you can’t book a new LL until the second person goes through, putting you at a disadvantage. And 2) what if you’re close to the end of your LL window, and the second person’s LL window times out before it’s their turn.

 

[GBRforWDW]

This causes two issues - 1) you can’t book a new LL until the second person goes through, putting you at a disadvantage. And 2) what if you’re close to the end of your LL window, and the second person’s LL window times out before it’s their turn.

If the second is true, then you'll get to take care of 1 soon anyway. Also, if 2 is true, there's a 15 minute grace period to use the pass. If still can't get there in time, simply explaining he's the second half of a rider swap and the first half took longer than expected or were occupied with another reservation and couldn't get there sooner

If 1 by itself, most rides where you need rider swap are going to be shorter with hopefully short LL lanes, so while you may be delayed a little, it shouldn't affect your next pass time too much.

 

[MMSM]

I have looked all over for this information. Is it difficult to manage genie plus when 2 people from my family going to HS first and 2 people going to Epcot first? We then all plan on being at MK in evening. So in theory 7am- booking SDD for two and TT for the other two and ILL for Remy for different times. Is Remy bad standby for EE?

 

[scrappinginontario]

I have looked all over for this information. Is it difficult to manage genie plus when 2 people from my family going to HS first and 2 people going to Epcot first? We then all plan on being at MK in evening. So in theory 7am- booking SDD for two and TT for the other two and ILL for Remy for different times. Is Remy bad standby for EE?

This is doable but will be challenging if only 1 person is trying to book all 3. Is there a 2nd person in your party who can sign in at 7AM and help you out?
If you have to do it yourself I would recommend this order:
1) SDD
2) Remy
3) TT

You should be able to get all 3, the bigger challenge could be how far out times will quickly get for SDD and Remy.

Are you asking about evening extra hours by EE? I don’t believe evening lines have been too long for any attractions but it’s best to check the Extra Evening Hours thread.

 

[MMSM]

This is doable but will be challenging if only 1 person is trying to book all 3. Is there a 2nd person in your party who can sign in at 7AM and help you out?
If you have to do it yourself I would recommend this order:
1) SDD
2) Remy
3) TT

You should be able to get all 3, the bigger challenge could be how far out times will quickly get for SDD and Remy.

Are you asking about evening extra hours by EE? I don’t believe evening lines have been too long for any attractions but it’s best to check the Extra Evening Hours thread.

This is doable but will be challenging if only 1 person is trying to book all 3. Is there a 2nd person in your party who can sign in at 7AM and help you out?
If you have to do it yourself I would recommend this order:
1) SDD
2) Remy
3) TT

You should be able to get all 3, the bigger challenge could be how far out times will quickly get for SDD and Remy.

Are you asking about evening extra hours by EE? I don’t believe evening lines have been too long for any attractions but it’s best to check the Extra Evening Hours thread.

I will have more than one person on MDE trying to grab these. Early entry for Epcot, has Remy been okay? I would need SDD for before Noon. Other posters say not to do Smugglers and Rope Drop SDD because they are letting people on Smugglers Early. I don't think my son and I can Rope Drop TT successfully because we will be by International Gateway and I heard that it will be at 45 min because I am not in the front. However, Remy is right there. So do I buy it or can my son and I rock it during Early time?

 

[scrappinginontario]

I will have more than one person on MDE trying to grab these. Early entry for Epcot, has Remy been okay? I would need SDD for before Noon. Other posters say not to do Smugglers and Rope Drop SDD because they are letting people on Smugglers Early. I don't think my son and I can Rope Drop TT successfully because we will be by International Gateway and I heard that it will be at 45 min because I am not in the front. However, Remy is right there. So do I buy it or can my son and I rock it during Early time?

Sorry, EE can be Expedition Everest, Extra Evening Hours or Early Theme Park Entry (ETPE).

Remy is doable during ETPE for sure as long as you are willing to arrive early. We did Remy during ETPE 2 weeks ago today. The biggest thing that makes the difference for IG guests is that you need to arrive at IG as early as you can.

We arrived at the Pop Skyliner 85 mins before ETPE started and it was still 30 mins after ETPE began before we rode. By the time we got off and walked across the bridge towards UK the Remy line stretched to the far side of the bridge!!

 

[AGP]

I am considering given Genie + a try for our trip coming up this week…. And have a few genie + questions:
1) Is it really a big disadvantage if I don’t buy genie+ before we go and decide to buy for just one day when I’m there? When can I get on and buy it in the morning- is it basically any time after midnight - or not until 7am? And how long does the process take?
2) Do I have to “tap into” the ride if I have a LL booked or can I miss it without causing any issues to my other plans (besides having to wait until the 120 Min to book another one)?
3) Are you allowed to have LLs booked at different parks if you have a hopper pass? Like can I book ones for later in a park I want to hop to later but also still book LLs in the reserved park for earlier? I recall with the old FastPass that you couldn’t have them booked at different parks (but maybe I misremember)…

Thank you!

 

[3gr8boys]

You may find this thread helpful....

https://www.disboards.com/threads/e...lightning-lane-please-read-posts-1-7.3856734/
ETA AGP's question now merged to the thread

 

[bocaj1431]

Thanks to the moderator for the explanation of how this all works! It was a bit confusing for me prior to reading this thread. I feel bad for all those booking a vacation at DW and not knowing about these forums. I can’t imagine trying to use Genie+ without all the the tips from the DIS. I have been going to DW since 2000 and find this new system to be more of a hassle. I love DW but I’m glad we only have one day at Disney and the rest at Universal. I feel you get less and less for what you pay for a DW vacation.

 

[dangal]

GENIE+ for ANNUAL PASSHOLDERS

- Guests who have an AP and all guests on their reservation have an AP, will be eligible to purchase G+ after midnight

- Guests who have an AP and other guest on their reservation have regular tickets that have NOT had G+ purchased for length of stay, will be eligible to purchase G+ for all guests after midnight

- When Annual Passholders are attempting to purchase Genie+, they may encounter a glitch IF the other people on their reservation have:

- regular park tickets AND​

- those guests purchased Genie+ for length of stay for their tickets​

- If this is your situation, you will not be able to purchase Genie+ for your Annual Pass at midnight. The system will not allow the purchase.

- The best option to fix is to call 1-407-939-4357 before 7:00 am and purchase Genie+ for AP(s). This number seems to be dedicated to Genie+ challenges and does not normally have a long wait time. Purchasing before 7:00 am will allow all guests to book Genie+ at 7:00 am.

- A common suggestion for the AP glitch is for guest services to advise guests to uninstall and reinstall the app. This does not fix the problem. Calling the number above should allow G+ to be purchased. Unfortunately it will mean a call each day you wish to add G+.

what if one person has ap and the others done, but Genie + is added for the week?

GENIE+ for ANNUAL PASSHOLDERS

- Guests who have an AP and all guests on their reservation have an AP, will be eligible to purchase G+ after midnight

- Guests who have an AP and other guest on their reservation have regular tickets that have NOT had G+ purchased for length of stay, will be eligible to purchase G+ for all guests after midnight

- When Annual Passholders are attempting to purchase Genie+, they may encounter a glitch IF the other people on their reservation have:

- regular park tickets AND​

- those guests purchased Genie+ for length of stay for their tickets​

- If this is your situation, you will not be able to purchase Genie+ for your Annual Pass at midnight. The system will not allow the purchase.

- The best option to fix is to call 1-407-939-4357 before 7:00 am and purchase Genie+ for AP(s). This number seems to be dedicated to Genie+ challenges and does not normally have a long wait time. Purchasing before 7:00 am will allow all guests to book Genie+ at 7:00 am.

- A common suggestion for the AP glitch is for guest services to advise guests to uninstall and reinstall the app. This does not fix the problem. Calling the number above should allow G+ to be purchased. Unfortunately it will mean a call each day you wish to add G+.
[/QUOTE]

 

[scrappinginontario]

what if one person has ap and the others done, but Genie + is added for the week?

GENIE+ for ANNUAL PASSHOLDERS

- Guests who have an AP and all guests on their reservation have an AP, will be eligible to purchase G+ after midnight

- Guests who have an AP and other guest on their reservation have regular tickets that have NOT had G+ purchased for length of stay, will be eligible to purchase G+ for all guests after midnight

- When Annual Passholders are attempting to purchase Genie+, they may encounter a glitch IF the other people on their reservation have:

- regular park tickets AND​

- those guests purchased Genie+ for length of stay for their tickets​

- If this is your situation, you will not be able to purchase Genie+ for your Annual Pass at midnight. The system will not allow the purchase.

- The best option to fix is to call 1-407-939-4357 before 7:00 am and purchase Genie+ for AP(s). This number seems to be dedicated to Genie+ challenges and does not normally have a long wait time. Purchasing before 7:00 am will allow all guests to book Genie+ at 7:00 am.

- A common suggestion for the AP glitch is for guest services to advise guests to uninstall and reinstall the app. This does not fix the problem. Calling the number above should allow G+ to be purchased. Unfortunately it will mean a call each day you wish to add G+.

The response is in the portion you quoted. I've highlighted it above and the suggested resolution. Not ideal but the current best option.

 

[Westerner]

The thing that worked well for us the few days I purchased Genie+ was to set an alarm for 5 mins before we were eligible to book the next LL. That way we weren't spending all our time clock watching.

Yes, this worked for me too! Setting an alarm just before the next eligible booking time helped me cut down on fiddling with the phone.

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

Hi, we used G+ in November but my understanding is that eligibility to book another attraction has changed. I read the first few posts but I’m still confused so I’m hoping you can help.

In November, we were eligible to book a new G+ either 2 hours after the last booking, and also after tapping into a current booking. Example- we booked SDD for 11-12. I booked a second G+ at 11:01 for later in the day (before riding SDD) and then a third G+ at 11:05 after tapping twice into SDD.

I hear this does not work anymore- can anyone explain in more detail how the above example wouldn’t work? I’m assuming that now, after tapping into SDD, I would be ineligible to book a new one until 2 hours after I booked G+ number 2 or until I redeemed G+ number 2- is that correct?

thanks for explaining!!