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

[NJlauren]

Keep in mind, since HS is your 2nd park that you're hopping to, you won't actually be able to grab a G+/LL for SDD until the return times have reached 2PM for SDD at HS. That's going to complicate things a bit. Really not sure how long it might take to get to 2PM. But not sure I'd want to schedule something else first and then wait until 2 hours after park opening to see if SDD is still available. It's an interesting scenario for your friends - if HS is their first park, they can actually book SDD ASAP, and begin modifying! Good luck - you have an interesting scheduling situation there.

Agreed it’s a bit of a unique situation! But I’m hopeful I can make it work, it’s the one request one of the kids had, so I’m trying to make it happen!!

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Agreed it’s a bit of a unique situation! But I’m hopeful I can make it work, it’s the one request one of the kids had, so I’m trying to make it happen!!

It's a fun ride - for kids of all ages!

 

[OldeSkuller]

Park Hopper Genie+:

I plan on doing two parks in one day in June.
I plan on doing MK and DHS, starting with MK and then ending at DHS.
There are only a couple rides at each park I want to do; if I can do more than that, that would be a bonus.
* At MK, Haunted Mansion and Pirates are a must. But since I am trapped at MK until two, I'm sure I will get those accomplished at the very least.
* At DHS Tower of Terror is a must, but I'd like to do Rise if possible.
From what I've read I can't book for the second park(DHS) until after two o'clock and once I have checked in to DHS; is that correct?
If so, what are the chances I could even get those rides for LL at DHS?

I should also mention, I will be by myself. Are there "ask a cast member if you are a single rider" signs in those ride lines?

 

[Tom_E_D]

Park Hopper Genie+:

I plan on doing two parks in one day in June.
I plan on doing MK and DHS, starting with MK and then ending at DHS.
There are only a couple rides at each park I want to do; if I can do more than that, that would be a bonus.
* At MK, Haunted Mansion and Pirates are a must. But since I am trapped at MK until two, I'm sure I will get those accomplished at the very least.
* At DHS Tower of Terror is a must, but I'd like to do Rise if possible.
From what I've read I can't book for the second park(DHS) until after two o'clock and once I have checked in to DHS; is that correct?
If so, what are the chances I could even get those rides for LL at DHS?

I should also mention, I will be by myself. Are there "ask a cast member if you are a single rider" signs in those ride lines?

Rise is not available on Genie+. It is an ILL. That's a separate purchase.

If you were only going to use it for Haunted Mansion, Pirates and Tower of Terror, I'd say buying Genie+ is a questionable purchase. Nevertheless, I recommend that you do buy it and use it for other rides too. If you are spending a full day in the parks, you should easily be able to get 6-12 rides with it.

You can book your first Genie+ at your second park when its return time is 2:00 or later. You do not need to wait until 2:00 or until after you enter the second park. Today, Tower of Terror had a return time of 2:00 at 11:27 AM. Slinky had a return time of 3:45 at 7:02 AM. If you want to ride Slinky (even though I realize it isn't your top priority), you should book it as your first Genie+ shortly after 7:00. If not, I'd book one of the more popular Genie+ attractions at MK (Jungle Cruise or Peter Pan) as your first Genie+. Some of the meet and greets (Ariel, Mickey or Cinderella) would not be bad choices either, if you are inclined to do those.

There are no single rider lines for Haunted Mansion, Pirates or Tower of Terror. Sometimes, for ToT they will ask for singles when you're at or very near the end of the line if they need to fill an empty seat, but you have to go through most of the line with everyone else first. They might do that for Pirates too, but I can't recall it happening. The way the line is for Haunted Mansion, that wouldn't work there. As it is, some of the doom buggies ride empty because they can't get people into the seats fast enough.

 

[petunia]

We have been to wdw many times, but never parked hopped..going on a last minute trip and hoping to do the 4 parks in 2 days..but trying to understand how G+ works with hopping. We successfully used G+ last year. And how to virtual queues play into the mix..ie if we start at epcot, can we try and get a queue for GoG at 7, then would we be able to try for Tron at MK at 2pm? And would those have anything do with my G+, or can I also book something ie Soarin.

Goals:
Day1 start at Epcot, end at MK
Guardians (VQ)
Soarin (G+)
Test Track (G+)
Spaceship Earth walk on
Then MK
Tron (VQ)
Space Mountain (G+)
any other thing we fit it (G+)

Is this possible..will I be able to try and get Guardians at 7 by virtual queue, as well as one G+ like maybe test track..then after I scan for test track I could either book another for epcot, or book something for after 2 at MK? And then at 2 I could book Tron via virtual queue? Am I understanding correctly? Or is basically the better way to have a chance to ride Tron to just not park hop and only do MK? Or if we are willing to pay for Tron, should we be ok to wing it, and if we dont get a virtual queue we will still have the option to pay via LL?

And for Day 2 start at AK, end at DHS
Pandora (wait in line or LL)
Safari (G+)
Everest (G+)
Dinosaur (walk on)
Then DHS
Slinky (G+)
MMRR (G+)
ToT (G+)
Toy Story (G+)

Should I book Slinky & MMRR right away in the am, and just standby at AK? Is this allowed, as in can I book my + for the park I will hop to instead of where Im starting?

Thanks!

 

[OldeSkuller]

Rise is not available on Genie+. It is an ILL. That's a separate purchase.

If you were only going to use it for Haunted Mansion, Pirates and Tower of Terror, I'd say buying Genie+ is a questionable purchase. Nevertheless, I recommend that you do buy it and use it for other rides too. If you are spending a full day in the parks, you should easily be able to get 6-12 rides with it.

You can book your first Genie+ at your second park when its return time is 2:00 or later. You do not need to wait until 2:00 or until after you enter the second park. Today, Tower of Terror had a return time of 2:00 at 11:27 AM. Slinky had a return time of 3:45 at 7:02 AM. If you want to ride Slinky (even though I realize it isn't your top priority), you should book it as your first Genie+ shortly after 7:00. If not, I'd book one of the more popular Genie+ attractions at MK (Jungle Cruise or Peter Pan) as your first Genie+. Some of the meet and greets (Ariel, Mickey or Cinderella) would not be bad choices either, if you are inclined to do those.

There are no single rider lines for Haunted Mansion, Pirates or Tower of Terror. Sometimes, for ToT they will ask for singles when you're at or very near the end of the line if they need to fill an empty seat, but you have to go through most of the line with everyone else first. They might do that for Pirates too, but I can't recall it happening. The way the line is for Haunted Mansion, that wouldn't work there. As it is, some of the doom buggies ride empty because they can't get people into the seats fast enough.

Thank you for your response on the park hopper genie+ question

With that I think I have a gameplan.

Midnight purchase genie plus.
At 7:00 am, I'll book my first LL for Tower of Terror for around 5:00 pm if available. Is that even possible? I have a feeling that the LL return time slots only become available bit by bit through out the day. That will make my gameplan even more difficult. But I guess I could snag it, and just keep modifying it for later times, right? Thats kind of a pain..
At 8:30am(when DHS opens) I'll try to purchase Rise of the Resistance as an ILL for late in the evening. I don't know if they offer a 6:00pm or 7:00pm slot, but that is what I am going to shoot for. It might have sold out before I even get a chance since I don't have early purchase(staying at universal property instead), but that is what I am aiming for.

*I figured I would book LL first for DHS since they will have longer lines than MK seeing the MK has more rides distributed amongst the park guest population than DHS does. And it will be much hotter by then(late afternoon and evening).

At 9:00 am, I'll enter MK, but I guess I can't book another LL until 11:00 am, right? Two hours after the park opens, even though I booked one at 7:00 am. In the meantime I'll just stand in line at HM, and then maybe get a dole whip to cool down. Can I eat that Dolewhip whilst in line for Pirates?

At 11:00 I can finally book another LL. And then repeat every two hours or when I use the previous LL. Hopefully I can get Thunder Railroad. The rest I'll just fill in with shorter line stuff, People Mover, Carousel of Progress, hopefully see the Dapper Dans on mainstream,

I don't know how long it takes to get from MK to Epcot via monorail, and then from there to DHS via Skyliner, but I am just going to be safe and say an hour. I hope to stop by the Rose&Crown for a pint before taking the skyliner, and maybe a dessert from Fance. So if I leave MK via rail by 2:00-3:30, that should give me just a bit of time for a drink at Epcot, and maybe a dessert. And of course I can always try to modify the time for the TOT for a later slot if available.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Midnight purchase genie plus.
At 7:00 am, I'll book my first LL for Tower of Terror for around 5:00 pm if available. Is that even possible? I have a feeling that the LL return time slots only become available bit by bit through out the day. That will make my gameplan even more difficult. But I guess I could snag it, and just keep modifying it for later times, right? Thats kind of a pain.

Since LL is offered 'next time available', it will take some time to get to TOT at 5PM. You might actually be better off booking something else sooner, and then trying TOT 2 hours after park opening - not sure if you'd have something else in mind. If not, book TOT as soon as you can (2PM, if it's a park hop), and then modify the times until it's later where you want it. But TOT at 5PM could take hours, depending on crowds. Good luck with your strategies! Hope they work out.....

 

[Stewa646]

Do ILL ever go back on sale in the late afternoon or evenings. For example if tron or GOG sell out in the morning is there ever a chance to buy later in the day or are they ALWAYS done once gone.

 

[Tom_E_D]

Thank you for your response on the park hopper genie+ question

With that I think I have a gameplan.

Midnight purchase genie plus.
At 7:00 am, I'll book my first LL for Tower of Terror for around 5:00 pm if available. Is that even possible? I have a feeling that the LL return time slots only become available bit by bit through out the day. That will make my gameplan even more difficult. But I guess I could snag it, and just keep modifying it for later times, right? Thats kind of a pain..
At 8:30am(when DHS opens) I'll try to purchase Rise of the Resistance as an ILL for late in the evening. I don't know if they offer a 6:00pm or 7:00pm slot, but that is what I am going to shoot for. It might have sold out before I even get a chance since I don't have early purchase(staying at universal property instead), but that is what I am aiming for.

*I figured I would book LL first for DHS since they will have longer lines than MK seeing the MK has more rides distributed amongst the park guest population than DHS does. And it will be much hotter by then(late afternoon and evening).

At 9:00 am, I'll enter MK, but I guess I can't book another LL until 11:00 am, right? Two hours after the park opens, even though I booked one at 7:00 am. In the meantime I'll just stand in line at HM, and then maybe get a dole whip to cool down. Can I eat that Dolewhip whilst in line for Pirates?

At 11:00 I can finally book another LL. And then repeat every two hours or when I use the previous LL. Hopefully I can get Thunder Railroad. The rest I'll just fill in with shorter line stuff, People Mover, Carousel of Progress, hopefully see the Dapper Dans on mainstream,

I don't know how long it takes to get from MK to Epcot via monorail, and then from there to DHS via Skyliner, but I am just going to be safe and say an hour. I hope to stop by the Rose&Crown for a pint before taking the skyliner, and maybe a dessert from Fance. So if I leave MK via rail by 2:00-3:30, that should give me just a bit of time for a drink at Epcot, and maybe a dessert. And of course I can always try to modify the time for the TOT for a later slot if available.

Yes, the Tower of Terror return time slots only become available bit by bit throughout the day. Today, the first slot for 2:00 or later became available around 11:49; the first for 5:00 became available around 2:10. Trying to get one at 7:00 is way too early. I guess you could get a Slinky LL then and modify it to Tower later, but if you're not going to use your first Genie+ on Slinky itself, I would recommend booking your first Genie+ for something in MK. If you don't like the suggestions I made yesterday, there is nothing wrong with using it on Haunted Mansion, Pirates or Big Thunder Mountain. While those aren't high priority Genie+ attractions, a Genie+ LL should at least save you some time over using the standby line. All the time slots for Tower between 2:00-5:00 will not all disappear before you have a chance to book one. Start looking for one at your next opportunity to book at 11:00 or later. Your June date might be busier than the past few days, but I doubt there will be a difference of hours in booking times.

I don't know how long it will take to get from MK to DHS via monorail, walking through Epcot while buying food and drink, and then skyliner, but an hour sounds optimistic.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Do ILL ever go back on sale in the late afternoon or evenings. For example if tron or GOG sell out in the morning is there ever a chance to buy later in the day or are they ALWAYS done once gone.

This heat map from Thrill-Data.com shows that ILL$ occasionally go back on sale during the day but it's at various times and it's really about being in the right place at the right time.

 

[OldeSkuller]

Thank you Tom_E_D and Thanxfornoticin.

Genie+ is complicated and your answers really help me wrap my head around it.
I’m going to take your advice and book the 7:00 for LL for something at MK and try later for TOT.

 

[petunia]

Rise is not available on Genie+. It is an ILL. That's a separate purchase.

If you were only going to use it for Haunted Mansion, Pirates and Tower of Terror, I'd say buying Genie+ is a questionable purchase. Nevertheless, I recommend that you do buy it and use it for other rides too. If you are spending a full day in the parks, you should easily be able to get 6-12 rides with it.

You can book your first Genie+ at your second park when its return time is 2:00 or later. You do not need to wait until 2:00 or until after you enter the second park. Today, Tower of Terror had a return time of 2:00 at 11:27 AM. Slinky had a return time of 3:45 at 7:02 AM. If you want to ride Slinky (even though I realize it isn't your top priority), you should book it as your first Genie+ shortly after 7:00. If not, I'd book one of the more popular Genie+ attractions at MK (Jungle Cruise or Peter Pan) as your first Genie+. Some of the meet and greets (Ariel, Mickey or Cinderella) would not be bad choices either, if you are inclined to do those.

There are no single rider lines for Haunted Mansion, Pirates or Tower of Terror. Sometimes, for ToT they will ask for singles when you're at or very near the end of the line if they need to fill an empty seat, but you have to go through most of the line with everyone else first. They might do that for Pirates too, but I can't recall it happening. The way the line is for Haunted Mansion, that wouldn't work there. As it is, some of the doom buggies ride empty because they can't get people into the seats fast enough.

Am I reading correctly that I could book Slinky at 7am, for a time after 2 pm, even if my first park is not DHS? So the app doesnt give you issues even if thats not your "reserved" first park? Also, do you have reserve the park you hop to as well?

 

[NJlauren]

Am I reading correctly that I could book Slinky at 7am, for a time after 2 pm, even if my first park is not DHS? So the app doesnt give you issues even if thats not your "reserved" first park? Also, do you have reserve the park you hop to as well?

But the return time for everyone needs to be after 2pm. For slinky that’s usually a few seconds after 7am, but say for tower or terror it will be a bit later in the day. I am attempting this tomorrow, I want to book slinky for 6-830pm, and I plan on it being my first LL I book. I think my plan is book at at 7 and start modifying right away until I get my desired time. DHS is my second park

 

[thanxfornoticin]

But the return time for everyone needs to be after 2pm. For slinky that’s usually a few seconds after 7am, but say for tower or terror it will be a bit later in the day. I am attempting this tomorrow, I want to book slinky for 6-830pm, and I plan on it being my first LL I book. I think my plan is book at at 7 and start modifying right away until I get my desired time. DHS is my second park

We have found this to absolutely be the best approach. Modify for later while maintaining the '2-hr' window to book another. Have fun!

 

[Tom_E_D]

Am I reading correctly that I could book Slinky at 7am, for a time after 2 pm, even if my first park is not DHS? So the app doesnt give you issues even if thats not your "reserved" first park? Also, do you have reserve the park you hop to as well?

You only reserve the first park you go to. If you have park hoppers, you then just go to whatever other park you want after 2:00. As NJLauren already explained, you can book your first Genie+ LL in your second (or third or fourth) park as long as the return time is 2:00 or later. For Slinky, that can happen in seconds; it's usually not longer than a few minutes.

 

[condorthb]

Rode every ride at Epcot without Gene+ today. By 9:15 rode Ratatouille, Frozen and Test Track.

 

[sanibel11]

Has anyone booked a virtual queue yet with the 4 park magic ticket And no park reservation? Anxious to know how this works?!

 

[scrappinginontario]

Has anyone booked a virtual queue yet with the 4 park magic ticket And no park reservation? Anxious to know how this works?!

Someone with these tickets posted they’re able to. They got to the place where they would finalize and stopped as they were not going to the park today. Having tickets in their MDE account allowed them to book.

 

[NJlauren]

I am reporting back on booking slinky at 7am. As a refresh it was my 2nd park of the day but the people we were traveling with it was their 1st park.

I got right on at 7am, and got a time right around 5 which was a tiny bit to early for us I spent about 3/4 minutes modifying and ended up settling on a 5:50-6:50 time.

The one thing that went against what I thought was true was I was at AK as my first and I thought the LL 2 hours window started from your first park, it was not letting me book my 2nd LL till 1030. This could be that we booked with people starting at HS, or me miss understanding the rules. However it didn’t cause many issues we had imo a very successful day.

I was offsite, so at 8 I was able to book a ILL for FoP for 1:50-250, a bit later then I wanted but I settled as I didn’t want it to push later. We got to AK around 915, Activated my DDs AP, headed to dinosaur 5 minute wait (walk on), then did triceratops spin, walk on waited for the ride to finish and got on, then we headed to Everest it was down so we did a bunch of photo pass pics, and decided to do tough to be a bug, a first for me and also walked right in. Then we did the 11am Nemo show, I booked us a LL for Everest at some point here and headed there next. Then booked us a safari LL. We did lunch and snacks had some time to kill and then did our ILL for FoP.

Then we hopped to HS, here is what we did/stacked. LL for tower, Star tours stand by, meet Olaf stand by, early dinner at H&V, tower stand by (40 minutes), slinky around 7 as LL was converted to anytime do to rain, TSMM LL, Rise ILL, LL forMickey and Minnie Rail way, we had Rocking Roller coast LL but opted to do Fantasmic instead.

Not my best LL day but over all I was very happy!

 

[GBRforWDW]

The one thing that went against what I thought was true was I was at AK as my first and I thought the LL 2 hours window started from your first park, it was not letting me book my 2nd LL till 1030.

No, It has always been this way, the 2 hours begins when the park where you booked your LL opens.

Sounds like a fun day, hopefully you didn’t have too much rain!