Express pass VS Genie+

[bocaj1431]

I just purchased Genie+ for DW and park to park unlimited express pass for US. $15 for 1 day at DW vs $130 for one day at US. We have not had any experience with Genie+. We will be there this March. Does genie+ really offer much in the way of lowering your wait times versus using express pass and it’s making a difference at US. Is it worth the $130 at US because it dramatically reduces the wait or does Genie+ work well enough that maybe we should reconsider going to US at all?

 

[CarolynFH]

They're two different animals. Unlimited Express Pass at UOR allows you to enter the EP line for a given ride as many times as you'd like, at any time that the ride is open. It's truly unlimited. G+ at WDW simply allows you the "privilege" of booking Lightning Lane entrance times in advance, only once each day for each ride, and with limits on how soon you can book another entrance time. Some people would argue that EP at UOR is worth more than G+ at WDW. For more specifics on how G+ works, please read at least the first 7 posts of this thread: https://www.disboards.com/threads/e...lightning-lane-please-read-posts-1-7.3856734/.

 

[bocaj1431]

They're two different animals. Unlimited Express Pass at UOR allows you to enter the EP line for a given ride as many times as you'd like, at any time that the ride is open. It's truly unlimited. G+ at WDW simply allows you the "privilege" of booking Lightning Lane entrance times in advance, only once each day for each ride, and with limits on how soon you can book another entrance time. Some people would argue that EP at UOR is worth more than G+ at WDW. For more specifics on how G+ works, please read at least the first 7 posts of this thread: https://www.disboards.com/threads/e...lightning-lane-please-read-posts-1-7.3856734/.

Thank you for sharing! If you have used UOR did you find it really cut down on wait time. Thanks for the link. Def will check it out.

 

[Schneewittchen37]

I can vouch for Express Passes being much more valuable than Genie+. It's easy to use, literally just get in EP line whenever with zero planning. Saves tons of time as well.

 

[CarolynFH]

Thank you for sharing! If you have used UOR did you find it really cut down on wait time. Thanks for the link. Def will check it out.

OMG yes! The Unlimited EP allows you to do everything in the parks more than once in a day. The only things you have to ride via long standby waits are the newer ones that don't have EP lanes yet. It's so worthwhile that twice now we've booked a night at one of the UOR deluxe hotels for our party (4 or 5 adults) and not even slept there, because it was cheaper than paying for the EP for those two days.

 

[lockets]

Cannot use Express Pass on Hagrids or Velocicoaster but other than that you can use it for everything else at any time and repeat.

G+ is, broadly, one selection of one ride every two hours without ability to repeat and roughly two headliner rides at each park are excluded from G+ and require a separate purchase or a standby wait if you don't want to spend the extra money.

Are you staying at Universal or Disney? If Universal - there are hotels that provide Express Pass as part of the reservation. If Disney then some people book a throwaway room at Universal to get the Express Pass for free, but you'd have to check into the math on that. At $130 total for Express Pass, a hotel room might be more and you're better off that you purchased it standalone.

 

[DavidNYC]

They are not remotely similar in any way whatsoever. Genie+ doesn't even give you anything. It just gives you access to a system with no promises on what you'll be able to ride and when. And the vast majority of people who use express pass get it free from staying in a deluxe resort.

 

[DavidNYC]

If Disney then some people book a throwaway room at Universal to get the Express Pass for free, but you'd have to check into the math on that. At $130 total for Express Pass, a hotel room might be more and you're better off that you purchased it standalone.

And remember - 1 night at a hotel gives you the express pass for two days . . . .

 

[bocaj1431]

I’m glad to hear the express plus is worth it and It turns out we would save by booking a room for one night. Thank you all for the information!

 

[gharter]

I’m glad to hear the express plus is worth it and It turns out we would save by booking a room for one night. Thank you all for the information!

The express pass is amazing! when we visit US, we always stay at one of the resorts with free Express Pass. while it makes no difference on some rides, its great to walk past the line as many times as we want (unlike WDW where its one and done - wish they would change this part back like it was with FP)

 

[MomOTwins]

Thank you for sharing! If you have used UOR did you find it really cut down on wait time. Thanks for the link. Def will check it out.

Meh, if you are there at a really busy time, it’s not great because everyone buys it. We waited close to an hour for Hogwarts express last night, but the standby line didn’t look long at all. So I asked a guy boarding the train on the standby side what he waited. 15 mins. The problem is unlike Disney fastpass back in the day (and I assume Genie+ but haven’t used it yet) where they keep the fast lane moving, Universal just fed a fixed number of people from each line into the attraction. This was really obvious on the coasters where they were feeding one party from standby, then next party from express etc. They count on the price to keep express line shorter, but when premier resorts are fully booked and people are buying the passes, like it was for us at spring break, we waited 30+ mins every line.

 

[bocaj1431]

The express pass is amazing! when we visit US, we always stay at one of the resorts with free Express Pass. while it makes no difference on some rides, its great to walk past the line as many times as we want (unlike WDW where its one and done - wish they would change this part back like it was with FP)

I just looked at the link one of the previous posters recommended for Genie+. So thankful for the moderators creating that.

After reading through the info I definitely agree with you about FP.
I spent many years learning all the ins and outs of planning from this forum and it seems like DW figured out a way to monetize all those tips. For example the tip about booking a dinner reservation at Rose and Crown in Epcot and timing it right so that you could see the fireworks from there. Now it’s listed as a paid experience.
I really enjoy DW but the changes over the years to what you get for your money and the increased cost are pushing me towards fewer trips with them.

 

[bocaj1431]

Meh, if you are there at a really busy time, it’s not great because everyone buys it. We waited close to an hour for Hogwarts express last night, but the standby line didn’t look long at all. So I asked a guy boarding the train on the standby side what he waited. 15 mins. The problem is unlike Disney fastpass back in the day (and I assume Genie+ but haven’t used it yet) where they keep the fast lane moving, Universal just fed a fixed number of people from each line into the attraction. This was really obvious on the coasters where they were feeding one party from standby, then next party from express etc. They count on the price to keep express line shorter, but when premier resorts are fully booked and people are buying the passes, like it was for us at spring break, we waited 30+ mins every line.

So then when it’s busy, like during spring break, the stand by lines are the better choice? I just assumed that if the express line had an hour wait then the stand by would be like two hours.

 

[MomOTwins]

So then when it’s busy, like during spring break, the stand by lines are the better choice? I just assumed that if the express line had an hour wait then the stand by would be like two hours.

I guess I would say usually the express line was shorter but not necessarily. The lines weren’t managed very well. And in some places like Gringotts they merge the two lines really early and the main wait happened after the lines merged. I probably went in with too high expectations after reading everyone say how easy it was, but to me it did not feel like a skip the line pass—more like how sometimes self-checkout at the grocery store lets you bypass a big wait, and sometimes it ends up taking longer than the register checkout.

 

[lockets]

I’m glad to hear the express plus is worth it and It turns out we would save by booking a room for one night. Thank you all for the information!

You made sure to book at one of the 3 hotels that offers express pass right?

 

[DavidNYC]

So then when it’s busy, like during spring break, the stand by lines are the better choice? I just assumed that if the express line had an hour wait then the stand by would be like two hours.

First - everyone does not buy it. There are a limited number for sale to people not staying in hotels. It is also a very very rare occurrence (and basically caused by someone mismanaging the line) that someone on standby will wait less than express. They adjust ratios to account for that so that express is not more than half of the posted standby. And other than Gringotts and sometimes Hogwarts Express - it's almost always far less than half (those two rides are longer because the place where the two lines merge is a bit further back than on other rides.

 

[DoryGirl1963]

First - everyone does not buy it. There are a limited number for sale to people not staying in hotels. It is also a very very rare occurrence (and basically caused by someone mismanaging the line) that someone on standby will wait less than express. They adjust ratios to account for that so that express is not more than half of the posted standby. And other than Gringotts and sometimes Hogwarts Express - it's almost always far less than half (those two rides are longer because the place where the two lines merge is a bit further back than on other rides.

Agree completely - this has been our experience with Express Pass at UO - with very rare exception, cuts the waits to 5-15 minutes max including when we there at Christmas.

 

[Kjdisney]

I don’t want this to sound like I’m bashing Universal Orlando, because we did enjoy a lot of it. But my husband and I just got back from a Universal/WDW trip and we found the value of Genie+ much superior to Universal’s express pass.
I had the impression it would be minimum waiting with the express pass and our first day, it wasn’t too bad maybe 15-20 minutes each ride. The next day though was awful, the shortest wait was 25 minutes for MIB! Daigon Alley was so crowded it almost seemed claustrophobic, and we just got to the point where we were just not enjoying the experience.

I am not super great with apps, so was a bit nervous about Genie +, but I had no problem getting 7-12 rides a day with no wait. You really do walk on to boarding.
Everyday we could have done more rides with Genie+, but we had done all the ones we wanted. The difference was considerable! The downside to Genie + was getting up at 7am, but we were up most days so not a problem for us. Also there were times things showed not available, but most came back with times if you tried later.

We didn’t pay extra for the express pass since we stayed at Portifino Bay, but our park to park ticket was more expensive than our WDW ticket with park hopper, genie + and 2 paid rides.
We felt the fact there was so much more to do in WDW besides rides, as well as the much longer times the parks were open, made WDW a better value and experience. We would though go back to Universal if it was low crowds.

 

[bocaj1431]

I guess I would say usually the express line was shorter but not necessarily. The lines weren’t managed very well. And in some places like Gringotts they merge the two lines really early and the main wait happened after the lines merged. I probably went in with too high expectations after reading everyone say how easy it was, but to me it did not feel like a skip the line pass—more like how sometimes self-checkout at the grocery store lets you bypass a big wait, and sometimes it ends up taking longer than the register checkout.

That makes sense. Hopefully will have a little luck. If not, we will just have to be happy we are somewhere warm with no snow.

 

[bocaj1431]

I don’t want this to sound like I’m bashing Universal Orlando, because we did enjoy a lot of it. But my husband and I just got back from a Universal/WDW trip and we found the value of Genie+ much superior to Universal’s express pass.
I had the impression it would be minimum waiting with the express pass and our first day, it wasn’t too bad maybe 15-20 minutes each ride. The next day though was awful, the shortest wait was 25 minutes for MIB! Daigon Alley was so crowded it almost seemed claustrophobic, and we just got to the point where we were just not enjoying the experience.

I am not super great with apps, so was a bit nervous about Genie +, but I had no problem getting 7-12 rides a day with no wait. You really do walk on to boarding.
Everyday we could have done more rides with Genie+, but we had done all the ones we wanted. The difference was considerable! The downside to Genie + was getting up at 7am, but we were up most days so not a problem for us. Also there were times things showed not available, but most came back with times if you tried later.

We didn’t pay extra for the express pass since we stayed at Portifino Bay, but our park to park ticket was more expensive than our WDW ticket with park hopper, genie + and 2 paid rides.
We felt the fact there was so much more to do in WDW besides rides, as well as the much longer times the parks were open, made WDW a better value and experience. We would though go back to Universal if it was low crowds.

Good to know you can try later in the day for rides and there is a possibility of availability. This is the first time we are not staying on property and was worried about not having early access.