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

[Chuckers]

Okay... question... I am arriving at the Contemporary on 4/6 at around 1pm. Can I buy Genie + while I am home and on the way to the airport? (I have a 4am pick up). And If so, can I also purchase an LL for GoTG or do I have to be physically at WDW do to this?

 

[scrappinginontario]

Okay... question... I am arriving at the Contemporary on 4/6 at around 1pm. Can I buy Genie + while I am home and on the way to the airport? (I have a 4am pick up). And If so, can I also purchase an LL for GoTG or do I have to be physically at WDW do to this?

Yes and yes. You can purchase and book both from home/airport or even airplane!!

 

[Tom_E_D]

Okay... question... I am arriving at the Contemporary on 4/6 at around 1pm. Can I buy Genie + while I am home and on the way to the airport? (I have a 4am pick up). And If so, can I also purchase an LL for GoTG or do I have to be physically at WDW do to this?

You can purchase Genie+ for the day and up to two ILLs per day from anywhere. You won't be able to purchase an ILL for Guardians at 4 AM though. Since you are checking into a Disney resort that day, you can buy it at 7:00. If you were not staying onsite, you would have to wait until Epcot's opening time that day. You can buy Genie+ anytime after midnight.

 

[Chuckers]

Yes and yes. You can purchase and book both from home/airport or even airplane!!

You can purchase Genie+ for the day and up to two ILLs per day from anywhere. You won't be able to purchase an ILL for Guardians at 4 AM though. Since you are checking into a Disney resort that day, you can buy it at 7:00. If you were not staying onsite, you would have to wait until Epcot's opening time that day. You can buy Genie+ anytime after midnight.

Thank you for that AWESOME NEWS!!! I can purchase Genie+ on the way to the airport! Then, I'll be on the plane at 7:00 am, so I'll be able to purchase the ILL while I am on the plane!!!

 

[lorileahb]

My kids are 14 and have no ability to get ILL or LL at 7 a.m. (right?)... so, can they log in as me on their phone... they grab the LL we want and me purchase the ILL we want? Or, would it mess things up having my account doing 2 different things at once? I didn't realize until someone else posted on here that you had to be 16 to book a Genie+ LL... I just assumed since you can walk the parks at 14, you could book LL. I know, I know - never assume...

 

[scrappinginontario]

My 13yo used my account on her device last summer and I used the same account on my device. We were able to do 2 different things at the same time.

 

[SRM11]

Ok, I have a stacking question.

Flying in late Saturday and with the time change/jet lag the kids are not going to want to spend a full day at the park.

If we want to go to MK in the late afternoon, can I use the G+ to keep stacking during the day to get a bunch of LL for the evening?

Example with MK opening at 8am:

Just before 8am - book a Jungle cruise which would have probably a 4pm-ish return time
8am - buy ILL for Tron
10am (2 hours after opening) - book Pirates with say a 1pm return time
12pm - Book Space Mountain for 230pm
2pm - Book BTMR for 4pm
4pm - Book Haunted Mansion for 6pm


Now this wouldn't work with all the return times I would get when initially booking, but can I keep going into the app and modifying the return times BEFORE they expire to later in the day? So I could show up to the park at 5pm and then have Jungle, Pirates, SM, BTMR, and HM all with staggered return times between 5 and 9pm or so?

 

[scrappinginontario]

Ok, I have a stacking question.

Flying in late Saturday and with the time change/jet lag the kids are not going to want to spend a full day at the park.

If we want to go to MK in the late afternoon, can I use the G+ to keep stacking during the day to get a bunch of LL for the evening?

Example with MK opening at 8am:

Just before 8am - book a Jungle cruise which would have probably a 4pm-ish return time
8am - buy ILL for Tron
10am (2 hours after opening) - book Pirates with say a 1pm return time
12pm - Book Space Mountain for 230pm
2pm - Book BTMR for 4pm
4pm - Book Haunted Mansion for 6pm


Now this wouldn't work with all the return times I would get when initially booking, but can I keep going into the app and modifying the return times BEFORE they expire to later in the day? So I could show up to the park at 5pm and then have Jungle, Pirates, SM, BTMR, and HM all with staggered return times between 5 and 9pm or so?

Need a little more information.

1. Where are you staying? If you are staying onsite you can purchase Tron at 7AM. ILL$ for Tron may/may not still be available at 8AMwhen the park opens. If you are staying offsite then yes, you need to wait until park opening to see if ILL$ is still available.

2. Not quite sure why you are waiting until 8am to book Jungle Cruise? I would suggest booking it at 7AM and then modifying later to a time that works for your schedule. It is easier they trying to keep an eye on return times and hoping to hit it at the right time.

3. You can try to book Pirates at 11AM and should be able to but you cannot determine what the return time will be. It will give you the next available return time. You can book that and then attempt to modify later for a time that works for you.

4. Same with BTMR. You can book that LL, if available but cannot choose the time. You cannot choose the time of a G+ LL reservation. You can only select the next available time.

5. Please see above. Please review how G+ and LL works re booking. You are given next available time and how quickly/slowly those times changes from day to day.

To your final question, yes, you have modify times after booking and those times can overlap. You just need to be sure you allow yourself adequate time to move from attraction to attraction within your return window or, modify again prior to LL expiring.

 

[SRM11]

Need a little more information.

1. Where are you staying? If you are staying onsite you can purchase Tron at 7AM. ILL$ for Tron may/may not still be available at 8AMwhen the park opens. If you are staying offsite then yes, you need to wait until park opening to see if ILL$ is still available.

2. Not quite sure why you are waiting until 8am to book Jungle Cruise? I would suggest booking it at 7AM and then modifying later to a time that works for your schedule. It is easier they trying to keep an eye on return times and hoping to hit it at the right time.

3. You can try to book Pirates at 11AM and should be able to but you cannot determine what the return time will be. It will give you the next available return time. You can book that and then attempt to modify later for a time that works for you.

4. Same with BTMR. You can book that LL, if available but cannot choose the time. You cannot choose the time of a G+ LL reservation. You can only select the next available time.

5. Please see above. Please review how G+ and LL works re booking. You are given next available time and how quickly/slowly those times changes from day to day.

To your final question, yes, you have modify times after booking and those times can overlap. You just need to be sure you allow yourself adequate time to move from attraction to attraction within your return window or, modify again prior to LL expiring.

Appreciate the reply! Thank you

Not onsite - and going off the thrill data website, it looks like ILL for Tron is still available in the afternoons, so not too worried about the 8am part. Joining the virtual queue would likely need me back at the park too early, so ILL for the evening it is.

Same with waiting to book Jungle cruise... for example today if I booked at 8am the return time was 330, and if I waited until 930 ish the return time would be 430.

I bought 5 day tickets because with the Canadian resident sale, it was cheaper for a 5 day than a 4 day. We only planned on going for 4 days to the parks, so if I can plan ahead on my phone from the pool and get in an extra evening and power through some rides, we can have a little more leisurely time next time at MK, or get in a few doubles of the rides they kids want to go on again.

So it does sound like if I am on it and plan it out the return times between 5 and 9pm, I could get in 5-6 rides plus Tron without much issue.

 

[ExcitedForWDW]

Need a little more information.

1. Where are you staying? If you are staying onsite you can purchase Tron at 7AM. ILL$ for Tron may/may not still be available at 8AMwhen the park opens. If you are staying offsite then yes, you need to wait until park opening to see if ILL$ is still available.

2. Not quite sure why you are waiting until 8am to book Jungle Cruise? I would suggest booking it at 7AM and then modifying later to a time that works for your schedule. It is easier they trying to keep an eye on return times and hoping to hit it at the right time.

3. You can try to book Pirates at 11AM and should be able to but you cannot determine what the return time will be. It will give you the next available return time. You can book that and then attempt to modify later for a time that works for you.

4. Same with BTMR. You can book that LL, if available but cannot choose the time. You cannot choose the time of a G+ LL reservation. You can only select the next available time.

5. Please see above. Please review how G+ and LL works re booking. You are given next available time and how quickly/slowly those times changes from day to day.

To your final question, yes, you have modify times after booking and those times can overlap. You just need to be sure you allow yourself adequate time to move from attraction to attraction within your return window or, modify again prior to LL expiring.

This is fantastic information!

 

[lorileahb]

How long do you have to modify a Genie plus Lightening Lane selection... until the current window opens or can you modify it during the current window as long as you modify it before the window expires?

And, related, on days like today where Genie+ starts to be almost real time at the end of the day... I'm worried I'll book Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain at 3 and 5, and then have to be on my phone constantly adjusting so they don't expire until we need them later in the evening. But if I don't grab them at 3 and 5, and they don't become almost real time, then we'll miss getting them. How to figure it out?

 

[SquashBanana]

If I'm trying to book G+ at 7:00 a.m. on multiple devices that have the same friends and family list (but different MDE accounts) and all devices show different available return times, does the system temporarily "hold" the return times for each device until we take a few moments to compare devices to see which one got the time we want to keep?

Thanks!

 

[tony67]

So just did a 5 day visit with G+ as a solo the week of the 26th.

Lots of this is maybe a rehash of things others have said - but this is my experience with it.

I'd say overall it worked out well...I probably did a lot more rides than I would have done otherwise.
I had a hopper as I cant imagine going and not getting a hopper - I think that is key to maximizing G+.

One thing I figured out day one - if you book Tron you may not get called till very late in the day and it blocks you from booking the 1PM drop of Guardians. Basically I felt stuck in that park all day - so I wont do that again.

Best advice is to book the 7AM group of Guardians and then go to a totally different park- unless you have a very low group.

So each morning I booked Guardians at 7AM and went to MK to check in and do a couple of rides which had reasonable wait times. It does seem all wait times are double what they actually are. One time Space mountain said 60 minutes, but it was maybe 15...so...YMMV.

One of the days I did not get Guardians, but was able to get Tron (I was kind of surprised by that), so I went right to Epcot, checked in and headed to studios and then over to MK around 11. I lucked into begin called for Tron before 1 and checking in. Got the VQ for Guardians well in line for Tron (which is a long line)

I also found it best to stack MK rides for later in the day and keep adjusting them. So later in the day when I came back I had 4 or so rides stacked up. Id say get Jungle Cruise at 7AM as that seems to be the hardest to get. (or Slinky dog at Studios). having several of those all stacked is great. Then I usually head back to Epcot and get a g+ for Soarin late in the day- so that worked out well.

Depending on the estimated wait for Guardians head to Epcot or another park as soon as you can. Just try to be on Guardians before 1Pm if at all possible.
I was able to do this the next four days and since I had been in MK earlier I was also able get get the 1Pm drop of Tron each day.
I was also able to get the 6PM drop of both on the late deluxe nights - but that again is just luck.
I was solo so that may make it all easier.

You also want to be aware of the next time you can book - I set an alarm so I was not late for it.
Also - if you have an upcoming window and use a fast pass I have seen it move that window out an hour - not sure why but it did. So it might be better to wait 5 or 10 minutes till your window opens book your next LL and then use the LL

Every time you use one check your window and update you alarm if it changed. Also I learned the hard way - don't ever cancel - modify - if you cancel you just loose it.

So although I dislike the 1 ride every two hours, getting up at 7AM and paying for it and the having to keep an eye on when you can book your next ride, it did work out well for me.

One thing though - its a lot of walking and a lot of crisscross the parks.
Things are also not set up well to go from park to park.
Some buses don't start between parks till 10AM and going to Epcot via monorail does not run earlier in the day so you have to take the resort monorail and cross over etc..

So I was doing 35k steps a day and my feet were really killing me. Similar days at Universal were 26k steps a day and no foot issues. Disney is just a lot of work - even with G+

I could probably skip G+ and just use the VQ, but having those stacked rides is really nice and there is plenty to do well waiting - like eat lunch or do Carousel of Progress, small world etc... Lots of secondary rides you don't need G+ for

 

[tony67]

One other thing to mention - the photo part of G+ with Android does not seem to work well - I gave it all the permissions it needed and it worked occasionally

 

[mmouse50]

My 16 year old will be going with her dance group duting spring break - i will not be going. Could she use my log in info on the MDE to purchase ILL?

 

[Tom_E_D]

How long do you have to modify a Genie plus Lightening Lane selection... until the current window opens or can you modify it during the current window as long as you modify it before the window expires?

And, related, on days like today where Genie+ starts to be almost real time at the end of the day... I'm worried I'll book Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain at 3 and 5, and then have to be on my phone constantly adjusting so they don't expire until we need them later in the evening. But if I don't grab them at 3 and 5, and they don't become almost real time, then we'll miss getting them. How to figure it out?

You can modify a G+ LL reservation after the return window has opened. I've done it.

 

[herewegooo]

Great info, everyone!

We are doing a park hopper April 2nd and I'm trying to strategize for a park hopper. Family of five. Here's our plan.

Rope drop at MG- two of us will go over to Epcot around 2pm to do Guardians. 4pm-closing at HS.

If I get the ILL at 7am, should I be able to land a morning Tron and a 2-4ish Gaurdians? I'm scared to risk the virtual Q since we have a pretty strict timeline.

Planning to road drop the Mine Train.

Thanks for any input!

 

[scrappinginontario]

Great info, everyone!

We are doing a park hopper April 2nd and I'm trying to strategize for a park hopper. Family of five. Here's our plan.

Rope drop at MG- two of us will go over to Epcot around 2pm to do Guardians. 4pm-closing at HS.

If I get the ILL at 7am, should I be able to land a morning Tron and a 2-4ish Gaurdians? I'm scared to risk the virtual Q since we have a pretty strict timeline.

Planning to road drop the Mine Train.

Thanks for any input!

You don't have any control over what VQ you get or when you are called. Last year we got a Tron VQ 2 days. One day our return time was before park opening, the other day it was at 4:45PM. You don't know until you get it what group you are given nor when you will be called.

You will not be able to even try for a GotG VQ until you enter Epcot. If you don't enter the park until 2PM, the 1PM VQ may/may not be available but personally I'd be shocked that if you tried at 2PM you'd ride by 4PM. Most likely your group would not be called back until evening.

 

[herewegooo]

Thanks! So, if I want to ride Tron before lunch and GotG afterwards, ILL is the way to go? We are staying at RIV, so can book at 7am.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Thanks! So, if I want to ride Tron before lunch and GotG afterwards, ILL is the way to go? We are staying at RIV, so can book at 7am.

If you want guaranteed times, yes, you would need to purchase ILL$. You can always try for a Tron VQ at 7am, see what group you're given and then assess from there. If you have a lower VQ you should be able to ride as long as the ride is functioning properly and would save the purchase price of 2 ILL$.