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

[RN_Mama_inFL]

Question regarding the AP Genie+ issue when other guests have Genie+ already added to their tickets….does this happen when those that already have Genie+ are included in your party (like you manage their plans in your MDE) or also if you are “linked” in your Friends/Family list?
My parents have tickets with Genie+ added but have their own MDE account. If we have AP’s and we were going to link to them, does that cause the issue with us purchasing Genie+ day of?

Figured I would come answer my own question. We just got back and I can report that I did NOT have a problem purchasing Genie+ each day prior to 7 am. First day I was awake and purchased at about 2 am. Next day at 6:45 am.

*(DH and I have AP’s and my parents had 3 day tickets with Genie+ already added. We were linked but they have their own MDE.)

 

[elgerber]

Figured I would come answer my own question. We just got back and I can report that I did NOT have a problem purchasing Genie+ each day prior to 7 am. First day I was awake and purchased at about 2 am. Next day at 6:45 am.

*(DH and I have AP’s and my parents had 3 day tickets with Genie+ already added. We were linked but they have their own MDE.)

very interesting. Will be curious to see more DP's on this going forward.
Not an issue for me now, as none of my party added Genie+ to their hoppers and now they would have to pay more for the ticket to add it.

 

[Stater2002]

Can someone possibly verify for me that I’m not going to have a problem booking G+ for our group? I love to overthink things sometimes. I am bringing my two girls and my mom, and we are all staying in one room. We all have tickets with G+ added, and we are linked. However, my mom still shows managed by my father’s account. Is this an issue? Her tickets and park reservations show up in my MDE

 

[CarolynFH]

Can someone possibly verify for me that I’m not going to have a problem booking G+ for our group? I love to overthink things sometimes. I am bringing my two girls and my mom, and we are all staying in one room. We all have tickets with G+ added, and we are linked. However, my mom still shows managed by my father’s account. Is this an issue? Her tickets and park reservations show up in my MDE

You'll be fine. It doesn't matter whose MDE profile is managed by whom. All that matters is that she's in your F&F list and set to share plans/make plans/allow you to make plans together.

 

[Stater2002]

Thank you!!!

 

[bonjourelle]

Hi everyone! First post, so bare with me if possible!

Today was my day to book dining reservations and the app was giving errors and caused me to miss out on some potentially wonderful reservations. I hopped over to the dining section and that appears to be very normal (and using the website is better). With that said, I am now dreading these 7 am genie plus bookings. Is the app as bad as it is with dining during these times? If so...any tips if I am getting errors?

 

[T'Lynn]

Hi everyone! First post, so bare with me if possible!

Today was my day to book dining reservations and the app was giving errors and caused me to miss out on some potentially wonderful reservations. I hopped over to the dining section and that appears to be very normal (and using the website is better). With that said, I am now dreading these 7 am genie plus bookings. Is the app as bad as it is with dining during these times? If so...any tips if I am getting errors?

It seems like a lot of people have experienced app issues and the best advice is to keep refreshing… there’s been evidence of “drops” (or possibly cancellations) popping up throughout the morning.

Basically, don’t give up! Keep looking

 

[MJ NH]

I was anti-G+ until I went to animal kingdom recently. I was able to do all the rides and shows we wanted to do. We even got FoP and Rapids twice. Our family usually gets all the rides we want in pass FP and No FP methods but the difference this time is we didn’t have to cross the park back and forth all day. We stayed on-site and did rope drop to FoP, while waiting for Pandora to open booked ILL for FoP for 9:15. So we rode the first time at 8am and the second time at 9:15. We did Navi River and ate a snack in between the two rides. We had G+ for Lion King at first show at 10am. Booked Safari for 1:50pm at 10am. Did all of Africa and Asia and lunch while waiting for Safari ( including Rapids ride). Booked Dinosaur for 4:20 at noon. Booked Rapids for 4:30 at 2pm. After Safari hit Discovery Island and Tough to be a Bug. Went to Dinoland and kids played in the Dino park. Rode Dinosaur ride walked off that and on to Rapids ride again. Thought about FoP again but decided to head out for the day at 5:15pm. Just needed Everest to be working for best Animal Kingdom day ever.

 

[czmom]

I was anti-G+ until I went to animal kingdom recently. I was able to do all the rides and shows we wanted to do. We even got FoP and Rapids twice. Our family usually gets all the rides we want in pass FP and No FP methods but the difference this time is we didn’t have to cross the park back and forth all day. We stayed on-site and did rope drop to FoP, while waiting for Pandora to open booked ILL for FoP for 9:15. So we rode the first time at 8am and the second time at 9:15. We did Navi River and ate a snack in between the two rides. We had G+ for Lion King at first show at 10am. Booked Safari for 1:50pm at 10am. Did all of Africa and Asia and lunch while waiting for Safari ( including Rapids ride). Booked Dinosaur for 4:20 at noon. Booked Rapids for 4:30 at 2pm. After Safari hit Discovery Island and Tough to be a Bug. Went to Dinoland and kids played in the Dino park. Rode Dinosaur ride walked off that and on to Rapids ride again. Thought about FoP again but decided to head out for the day at 5:15pm. Just needed Everest to be working for best Animal Kingdom day ever.

This sounds fantastic and was very helpful! We are going in 2 weeks over the busy spring break week. AK will be an after lunch arrival day, so I was hoping to stack FP for when we get there. Looks like it just might work

 

[scrappinginontario]

I was anti-G+ until I went to animal kingdom recently. I was able to do all the rides and shows we wanted to do. We even got FoP and Rapids twice. Our family usually gets all the rides we want in pass FP and No FP methods but the difference this time is we didn’t have to cross the park back and forth all day. We stayed on-site and did rope drop to FoP, while waiting for Pandora to open booked ILL for FoP for 9:15. So we rode the first time at 8am and the second time at 9:15. We did Navi River and ate a snack in between the two rides. We had G+ for Lion King at first show at 10am. Booked Safari for 1:50pm at 10am. Did all of Africa and Asia and lunch while waiting for Safari ( including Rapids ride). Booked Dinosaur for 4:20 at noon. Booked Rapids for 4:30 at 2pm. After Safari hit Discovery Island and Tough to be a Bug. Went to Dinoland and kids played in the Dino park. Rode Dinosaur ride walked off that and on to Rapids ride again. Thought about FoP again but decided to head out for the day at 5:15pm. Just needed Everest to be working for best Animal Kingdom day ever.

Just to clarify, each attraction may only be booked once per day using G+ or ILL$. In order to ride a second time, OP rode standby.

 

[gzh6464]

HATE G+.....
OK I understand paying extra for a premium service but with its minimal extra cost most will use it not making it a premium service and limiting it's benefit (Express at Universal is more of a premium service). Not sure where Disney makes more - charging a low price and have more people use the service which limits its benefit (like now) or charging a higher price and having fewer people use the service but making the benefit more worthwhile.

Went during presidents week and had these observations:

You must be ready to book at 7A if you are staying on site. Even then you will not always get what you book ( tried to book PP for 9:30 that was offered - 3 seconds later service gave us 12:30 - all at 7:01 AM. At 12;40 when we finished PP and double tapped we tried to book next G+ and it would not let us do anything until 1p. Once you have evoked the 2hr rule and used it you can only book every 2hrs. So the OP's strategies are not straightforward/true unless you are lucky enough to get things very early (which during Pres week is impossible)

AK - if you are spending the entire day there don't purchase G+ or ILL$. Get up early and do Avatar at RD ( especially if you are a resort guest). Everest is closed. If you are not a resort guest and want to do Safari and avatar you may want to purchase one or the other and RD the other. Other than that the park can be easily done even in peak times without the extra expense of either. In non peak times definitely do no purchase.

EP - The same as AK hold true here if you get up early or are a premium resort guest and can use extra hours. While we were there frozen was G+! So only remy was ILL$. RD Remy, do TT single rider, and you will probably get through the top attractions there in a day even in busy times.

MK - Only park where G+ was helpful ( somewhat). Our experience of invoking the 2hr rule right of the start was disappointing and limited the G+ passes we could get. We decided to use ILL$ at 7DMT and RD space mountain (which was a G+ not an ILL$). Worked our way through most of the other major attractions by SB (waits up to an hr - a little more/alittle less) or G+. PARK WAS PACKED AND UNPLEASENT TO WALK AROUND IF WE COULD WALK AT ALL>

DHS - RIPOFF!! We purchased G+ thinking it would help but ended up getting ripped off. At 7 we booked ToT at 11:15, ILL$ Mickey and Minnie ( because it was cheaper than ROR) and did RD for RoR,. After RoR we were able to standby in lines for TSM and Single rider RRC about 60-75m each. Then did ToT. By the time we finished ToT the was NOTHING LEFT ON G+ FOR ANYTHING (except muppets and Star tours - we didnt care about SDD but couldnt have gotten it anyway after 7:01 AM ( sorry for those staying off site). Sucked it up on a 90min wait for MF.We ended up paying $15/pp for G+ to do ToT! A waste. Yes it saved us 2 hours to eat,shop etc.

Summary:

If you are staying on site and take advantage of early and late park hours:

In low season G+ and ILL$ are not Necessary
In AK and Epcot - there is limited need for these services even in peak season
In MK they can be helpful especially in busy times
In DHS they have limited use (not in low season and not in high season since the number of passes is limited).

And despite refreshing frequently it is rare that new slots or earlier slots become available. People just don't want to take the chance to loose what they have or will not go through the effort to cancel what they have if they decide not to go.

 

[elgerber]

You must be ready to book at 7A if you are staying on site. Even then you will not always get what you book ( tried to book PP for 9:30 that was offered - 3 seconds later service gave us 12:30 - all at 7:01 AM. At 12;40 when we finished PP and double tapped we tried to book next G+ and it would not let us do anything until 1p. Once you have evoked the 2hr rule and used it you can only book every 2hrs. So the OP's strategies are not straightforward/true unless you are lucky enough to get things very early (which during Pres week is impossible)

Had you booked another LL at 11, that was for after the 12:30 time of your PP?

 

[gzh6464]

Had you booked another LL at 11, that was for after the 12:30 time of your PP?

Yes. We booked at the earliest available at 11 ( why wait until 12:40 when we were finishing PP) for something later. Point is why is double tapping available if you do earlier rides in the AM or dont use the 2hr rule.

For example:
At 7 book PP for 9:30. Double tap at 9:40, Book HM for 10;45, Double tap at 10:50, book POC for 12:30 - you will have gotten 3LL passes before 1p
But if you book something later in the morning after 11 AM (like my PP experience of getting it at 12:30) you will either wait til you double tap at 12:40 for your second LL or book something at 11 ( not wanting to wait until 12:40.) In this case you will only have a chance to book 2 LL before 1p.

Yes essentially if you are lucky enough to get stuff early and double tap you will get more benefit. Once you invoke the 2 hr rule and use it. You can only book every 2 hours.

 

[elgerber]

Yes. We booked at the earliest available at 11 ( why wait until 12:40 when we were finishing PP) for something later. Point is why is double tapping available if you do earlier rides in the AM or dont use the 2hr rule.

For example:
At 7 book PP for 9:30. Double tap at 9:40, Book HM for 10;45, Double tap at 10:50, book POC for 12:30 - you will have gotten 3LL passes before 1p
But if you book something later in the morning after 11 AM (like my PP experience of getting it at 12:30) you will either wait til you double tap at 12:40 for your second LL or book something at 11 ( not wanting to wait until 12:40.) In this case you will only have a chance to book 2 LL before 1p.

Yes essentially if you are lucky enough to get stuff early and double tap you will get more benefit. Once you invoke the 2 hr rule and use it. You can only book every 2 hours.

This is how it was designed to work. The PP LL that you used, was not the most recent LL that you booked. It goes by the most recent booking. If you had not booked at 11, you would have been able to book after you tapped in to PP. If your LL booked at 11, was before PP, you would have been able to book after riding that ride, because that was the most recent booking.

 

[MJ NH]

Just to clarify, each attraction may only be booked once per day using G+ or ILL$. In order to ride a second time, OP rode standby.

Correct, standby on the other two times. But mentally for our family waiting in line earlier and than do lightning the second time was great for us. And it was a shorter wait on both the first time than if we did the other way around. It also allowed us to ‘wait’ by doing other things we would not do if we are standing in line. I’m not sure when slow times are anymore. Every time we go it’s over 100 minutes for avatar ride. With Everest down (and Dinosaur went down for awhile toothat da) everyone there was group to the other 3-4 rides in that park. At the end of the day we didn’t have to run(speed walk), didn’t have to crisscross the park, got to enjoy the day, and hit everything we wanted. I also knew I only had to check my phone every two hours. And like I said we left early or we could have hit FoP at the end of the day (for the third time) and that would have been the only time we truly had to wait for it.

 

[gzh6464]

This is how it was designed to work. The PP LL that you used, was not the most recent LL that you booked. It goes by the most recent booking. If you had not booked at 11, you would have been able to book after you tapped in to PP. If your LL booked at 11, was before PP, you would have been able to book after riding that ride, because that was the most recent booking.

Wow so if at 11 We were lucky enough to get something at 12 (unlikely in the crazy traffic day) and double tapped it at 12:15 we could have booked something else before even doing our 12:30 PP. That would imply we get 3LL passes even before we used up our first one. Thats crazy! So no only is there a booking strategy to getting what you want but a strategy to just get the earliest possible of anything. No wonder this system is so confusing to everyone and more confusing to the 2 hour rule. Strategy is to get stuff as early as possible without invoking and using the 2 hour rule.

Sorry but this seems a grouchy suggestion but they should simply use one or the other (2 hour rule or double tap) and not this hybrid system that is confusing.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

Wow so if at 11 We were lucky enough to get something at 12 (unlikely in the crazy traffic day) and double tapped it at 12:15 we could have booked something else before even doing our 12:30 PP. That would imply we get 3LL passes even before we used up our first one. Thats crazy! So no only is there a booking strategy to getting what you want but a strategy to just get the earliest possible of anything. No wonder this system is so confusing to everyone and more confusing to the 2 hour rule. Strategy is to get stuff as early as possible without invoking and using the 2 hour rule.

Sorry but this seems a grouchy suggestion but they should simply use one or the other (2 hour rule or double tap) and not this hybrid system that is confusing.

It's the same as the original FP system. 2 hours or once you've used your most recent FP - whichever is earliest. The difference is you don't have to run to each attraction to pull a ticket.

 

[lockets]

It's the same as the original FP system. 2 hours or once you've used your most recent FP - whichever is earliest. The difference is you don't have to run to each attraction to pull a ticket.

The problem I found is it’s been impossible to get one earlier LL and another early LL and another etc. Everything doesn’t fall into a neat sequence like that esp on crowded days and double especially for popular rides.

It’s great they have that option. Just wasn’t a available at all for us. It’s more like one popular ride in the morning and the next popular ride is already into the afternoon. If you don’t grab that LL then that popular ride sells out and it’s gone.

And I started at 7 AM as I was on site.

As I stated in another post - many are talking about this strategy, but it would be nice to suss out the percentage that it actually works for in reality. I might create a survey on a seperate thread just to get and give some clarity

 

[disneylover102]

Hey y’all, just barely hopping on this thread. I’m in the DCP and I have a reservation for Epcot tomorrow and I’m gonna buy genie+ and be at the parks I’ll day (I’m planning on hopping to AK around 2 and then eventually heading to HS to finish). I’m used to genie+ at Disneyland which works way better than WDW. But I’ll do the best I can!

What strategies have you all found helpful for getting the earliest possible time at 7 AM? Pinning the ride you want to your tip board and repeatedly refreshing? Tapping through really fast to book it? Entering the app right at 7? I’m gonna be trying for Frozen which I expect will go very fast. Thanks!

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

The problem I found is it’s been impossible to get one earlier LL and another early LL and another etc. Everything doesn’t fall into a neat sequence like that esp on crowded days and double especially for popular rides.

It’s great they have that option. Just wasn’t a available at all for us. It’s more like one popular ride in the morning and the next popular ride is already into the afternoon. If you don’t grab that LL then that popular ride sells out and it’s gone.

And I started at 7 AM as I was on site.

As I stated in another post - many are talking about this strategy, but it would be nice to suss out the percentage that it actually works for in reality. I might create a survey on a seperate thread just to get and give some clarity

I think the most disappointing thing about it is that it apparently doesn't hold the time once you select it. At least the paper FP's showed what you were going to get or at most might flip 5 or 10 minutes forward and not potentiallly hours.