Fastpass return or replacement?

[AnnabelleTheTalkingTree]

Did anyone pick up on this from updated WDW FAQ about Genie+?
At Walt Disney World, the introductory pricing is $15 per ticket per day.

How long before that goes up?

They can't even just be happy with the fact that they are charging us, but already have to start putting it out there about where they're going to start charging MORE.

 

[JoJoGirl]

Rope drop for the Tier 1 “Individual Selection” rides is going to be brutal. Disney’s left guests with only two choices: pay up to $20 per person, or wait in a long standby line that moves at a snail’s pace. That’s even more incentive for everyone and their brother to stampede those rides first thing.

Resort guests will probably be able to ride one Tier 1 ride for free — IF they early-entry rope drop before the slow-moving lines build. Thing is, so many resorts are included in this “perk” that the early rope drop will still be insane.

**Offsite guests might as well sleep in, schedule their first Genie+ and purchase two Tier 1s from bed, and show up in the park later. Rope drop will be almost useless for them.**

eta: **This part was incorrect - very sorry. Offsite have to be in the park to book Tier 1 Genie+. What a mess!

 

[elmwyn]

So, why would I purchase Genie + for those parks. I didn't even use the FP system for those Tier 2 rides. AND if I have to purchase Genie + in order to pay for a LL for Tier 1 rides, that becomes not worth it. I will just wait in the SB line and play heads up with the family.

That's when the trick with the boarding groups comes through. There will be no line to stand in for Rise or Rat or Guardians or Tron.

There is literally no reason for Rat to go to boarding groups except as a cash grab. It has a higher hourly capacity then all of the other headliners in Epcot.

 

[MrBellatrixLestrange]

Did anyone pick up on this from updated WDW FAQ about Genie+?
At Walt Disney World, the introductory pricing is $15 per ticket per day.

How long before that goes up?

I feel for the frequent visitors as I expect you're right it will increase with time. For me, we have a trip planned in October and had already discussed that it might be our last to WDW for a while*. We would have been periodic visitors, maybe every 3-4 years, so this wouldn't have hit us as hard as those that come multiple times per year but the ever increasing costs will likely make WDW a trip every decade.

* There is a hardcore Star Wars fan in my family that is seriously contemplating the Galactic Star Cruiser experience with his wife. The rest of the family is unwilling to splurge that much but he may do it as a once-in-a-lifetime thing if/when he can.

 

[cakebaker]

Staying at Deluxe will offer the benefit of extra evening hours at Epcot and MK, currently each having one night per week. I would expect rides to be walk-ons/limited waits, including Tier 1s, based upon the number of Deluxe rooms. This could save the "pay-to-play" cost of up to $25 (est max but who knows at this point) per person per Tier 1 ride. This "saves" a family of four $100 per ride. With two Tier 1 rides per park, that would be $200 "saved". Multiply that times 2 parks, for total "savings" of $400 in a week. The price difference between moderate and deluxe resorts is typically going to be much more than $400 for a week. It is more like $400+ per day. I don't see the benefit to staying deluxe to obtain extra evening hours. I guess that the main benefit will have to be that you enjoy the resort and its amenities.

You can also get multiple rides- something no amount of money can buy anyone now, nevermind I don't have to deal with scheduling any rides. Those 2 things alone make it worth staying deluxe. I'm more about convenience and enjoying our trip than I am saving money. 2 hours of an uncrowded park, short waits for rides, no dealing with scheduling rides? Just having limited it to deluxe and dvc was a huge improvement, but with Genie, it's even better and I'm all in. But while I'm glad to at least know Genie is something I can deal with, we still won't go back until they actually start bringing back things we love like parades and shows.

 

[DefnotDLav]

Rope drop for the Tier 1 “Individual Selection” rides is going to be brutal. Disney’s left guests with only two choices: pay up to $20 per person, or wait in a long standby line that moves at a snail’s pace. That’s even more incentive for everyone and their brother to stampede those rides first thing.

Resort guests will probably be able to ride one Tier 1 ride for free — IF they early-entry rope drop before the slow-moving lines build. Thing is, so many resorts are included in this “perk” that the early rope drop will still be insane.

Offsite guests might as well sleep in, schedule their first Genie+ and purchase two Tier 1s from bed, and show up in the park later. Rope drop will be almost useless for them.

Thing is they can't sleep in if they are offsite and schedule Genie+. Will have to be in the park to do so I believe, making rope drop even worse.

 

[Brocktoon]

There is literally no reason for Rat to go to boarding groups except as a cash grab. It has a higher hourly capacity then all of the other headliners in Epcot.

RAT going VQ is also to probably pull demand away from the other VQ rides. Remember that WDW currently only has 1 VQ attraction. But in DL, they are limiting one VQ boarding group at a time, one per day per ride. I've got a feeling this will be the same at WDW, so you'll have to pick which VQ to try for in the morning, and then just open your wallet for the others

 

[MrBellatrixLestrange]

You know what's really funny.... before with FP+, quite often in parks like Epcot, I didn't even want the 3rd FP... it would be for Nemo or Figment or something that rarely had a long line. I would have loved another Tier one FP, but the other rides were not needed. So I would book basically a throw away FP early in the day so as to get through the initial 3 FPs, hoping to book another Tier 1 FP.
So, why would I purchase Genie + for those parks. I didn't even use the FP system for those Tier 2 rides. AND if I have to purchase Genie + in order to pay for a LL for Tier 1 rides, that becomes not worth it. I will just wait in the SB line and play heads up with the family.

I realize it is probably premature to ask as nobody has experience with this system but I'll be at Disney in October. Based on my experience it doesn't seem worth it to pay for the Genie + at Epcot (not enough riding to justify) and MK (Boo Bash will hopefully alleviate the need/limit any benefit). It also seems to me that AK doesn't have enough rides I'm interested in (FoP and KS but those may not be covered, love EE but is one ride really worth paying the extra cost?) so HS might be the only one for me and my family?

 

[JoJoGirl]

Thing is they can't sleep in if they are offsite and schedule Genie+. Will have to be in the park to do so I believe, making rope drop even worse.

Ugh, you’re right! I keep getting confused about who can book early. This is a killer all around!

 

[New Mouse]

RAT going VQ is also to probably pull demand away from the other VQ rides. Remember that WDW currently only has 1 VQ attraction. But in DL, they are limiting one VQ boarding group at a time, one per day per ride. I've got a feeling this will be the same at WDW, so you'll have to pick which VQ to try for in the morning, and then just open your wallet for the others

If you do the math on that, rat will be running with empty cars for much of the day. There is literally no capacity issue with this ride.

 

[Brocktoon]

Thing is they can't sleep in if they are offsite and schedule Genie+. Will have to be in the park to do so I believe, making rope drop even worse.

It sounds like offsite can still schedule Genie+ at 7AM ... they just don't have access for the paid 'tier 1' non Genie+

 

[DefnotDLav]

This is an awful move, IMO.

It hurts too many groups. There's your higher spend group who now has a diminished experience on their arrival day. Instead of settling in, going to MK with their 3 afternoon/evening FP's and watching fireworks, their only option is now standby or pay for LL and see what's even available in the afternoon.

For us our tickets just went up 15% at best and we get the same amount of rides in as we did before. I think enough people will use Genie+ that secondary attractions will have similar standby waits as FP+ times (they are banking on that). So if you don't pony up, I'm expecting to do less attractions for the same amount of money we paid before (probably will be more as I'm sure another ticket hike is coming).

Only positive is that the LL rides should see a lower standby than FP+ times. So SM may remain around 60-70 mins vs the 120-130 it had with FP+. FOP however will be a rough one without paying.

 

[shoegal9]

I realize it is probably premature to ask as nobody has experience with this system but I'll be at Disney in October. Based on my experience it doesn't seem worth it to pay for the Genie + at Epcot (not enough riding to justify) and MK (Boo Bash will hopefully alleviate the need/limit any benefit). It also seems to me that AK doesn't have enough rides I'm interested in (FoP and KS but those may not be covered, love EE but is one ride really worth paying the extra cost?) so HS might be the only one for me and my family?

I feel the same way. No way I will pay for this at Epcot or Animal Kingdom. Maybe not even Hollywood Studios. As far as the LL, I will only pay for Tron and Guardians (when open). The others I could do or not do and go on with my day. Genie + I would probably only purchase at MK once in a while when I have children.

BUT....as a DVC member, AP, and south Florida resident who goes to the parks frequently, our trips have become less about attractions and more about enjoying our resorts, Disney Springs, resort hopping & dining...

If I were an infrequent visitor I would probably feel like I had to pony up to accomplish the things I really wanted to do. And therefore, I realize why people aren't happy.

 

[Marionnette]

I realize it is probably premature to ask as nobody has experience with this system but I'll be at Disney in October. Based on my experience it doesn't seem worth it to pay for the Genie + at Epcot (not enough riding to justify) and MK (Boo Bash will hopefully alleviate the need/limit any benefit). It also seems to me that AK doesn't have enough rides I'm interested in (FoP and KS but those may not be covered, love EE but is one ride really worth paying the extra cost?) so HS might be the only one for me and my family?

I had the same thought and actually expressed it to my husband this morning as I explained the new Genie+. It might be worthwhile for the two of us at MK and maybe HS but Epcot and AK don't have enough attractions to justify spending $15 apiece to get tier 2 access.

 

[DefnotDLav]

Ugh, you’re right! I keep getting confused about who can book early. This is a killer all around!

Brocktoon is actually right below, I got it wrong. It's a tad confusing lol.

It sounds like offsite can still schedule Genie+ at 7AM ... they just don't have access for the paid 'tier 1' non Genie+

"For these guests, Individual Attraction Selections will become available to be booked at 7AM on the day of their visit, meaning they’ll have access to the most return times and be able to head to the parks having already secured their spot in line."

So to thank you for paying $280 for your formerly $190 Port Orleans stay, we now would like to give you the first opportunity to pay more!

 

[Brocktoon]

If you do the math on that, rat will be running with empty cars for much of the day. There is literally no capacity issue with this ride.

I agree that we may see a bunch of empty cars, but Disney may try to get Genie (free version) to keep throwing notices to the 1st timers or in-experienced guests that 'Hey, Rat VQ is open for reservation RIGHT NOW no wait' to make them think they won the lottery and pull demand from other VQs.

Based on the above, you'd be crazy to pay for Rat, but you'll have to wait until you use up one of your other free VQ reservations before you pick the Rat VQ.

But yeah, Rat is a fast loader and there is no legit demand reason for it to go VQ

 

[Brocktoon]

So to thank you for paying $280 for your formerly $190 Port Orleans stay, we now would like to give you the first opportunity to pay more!

Pretty much, that would be great way to sum it up

 

[MrBellatrixLestrange]

One other complication, that admittedly might not hit too many others, is that we'll have members of our group that would only be looking to do a ride or two each day, will they need to choose between paying extra for that limited benefit or watch the rest of the group skip the line on any attractions they want to ride while they sit in a line 3 times as long? I understand that no system they implement would suit everyone but supposedly making it so groups have flexibility may make it more difficult for groups that have differing priorities.

 

[TommyJK]

Exactly. I have no idea why people are excited for this. Especially when you can only make one at a time.

I'm excited about this in part precisely BECAUSE everyone can only make one reservation at a time. I'm not a "Stay on-site for a week+" Disney traveller. As such, I'm happy that when I go to visit next time all the good FP's won't be scooped up long before I even have a shot at them, nor do I want to play the "Pound the app" refresh game fighting for table scraps.

 

[ChipnDale79]

nor do I want to play the "Pound the app" refresh game fighting for table scraps.

but doesnt this just mean everyone is going to "pound the app" for everything all day long now?