First Use of Genie+ / ILL - Value Analysis

[sdk1231]

November 9: DHS/hop to Epcot. First time using Genie+ and ILL and frankly, I've read very little on the whole thing as everything I started to read made me more and more confused. As a result, I learned "on the job" so to speak, and did okay. Wasn't nearly as complicated/difficult as all the published "how to's" made it seem. Here's what I ended up with, and my personal view of value (it's early and I haven't had my coffee, but I believe my math is correct).

The Day: Liesurely arrival (not a rope drop), SWGE, Star Tours, Muppets, Vacation Fun, Sunset Blvd, ToT, lunch at Brown Derby, MMRR, Oga's Cantina, Cavalcade, hop to Epcot for Test Track, resort break, back to DHS for ROTR, skyline to Epcot for dinner at Biergarten and Harmonious.

Genie+ $60 ($15 per person x 4). Book 1 Lightning Lane at 7AM and another at 11AM, and then others as-you-go.

Tower of Terror Lightning Lane 12-1pm arrival window (booked at 7AM)

Test Track Lightning Lane 3-4pm arrival window (booked at 11AM)

Afternoon: In Epcot: lots of LL availability for everything but Test Track (and the 2 ILL choices, Frozen and Remy). The available LL choices for Epcot had stand-by wait times that were very low, so LL wasn’t really needed. In DHS, the afternoon/early evening LL ride availability was almost zero, but there was a lot of show availability.

Bottom Line: Paid 60 for family to Lightning Lane ToT and Test Track. ToT stand-by time was 75 minutes and TT was 60 min. That’s a spend of $7.50 per hour/per person spent to avoid 2 hours in line. For me – worth it. (edited to add: watch me contradict myself below )

Individual Lightning Lane $92 (2 rides for 4 people)

MMRR Individual Lightning Lane 1-2pm arrival window. $8 per person x 4 = $32 (booked at 7AM).

ROTR Individual Lightning Lane 6-7pm arrival window. $15 per person x 4 = $60 (booked at 7AM). Note: I got such a late return window because of a technical glitch. Dolphin resort reservation unlinked itself from MDE and caused me to be Not Eligible to book Lightning Lane at 7AM. I had to go in and re-link the resort reservation, then go back to Genie to book LL. In the time it took me to re-link the Dolphin resort reservation, the window for ROTR changed from 11AM to 6PM.

ILL Bottom Line: Paid $92 for family to LL MMRR and ROTR. MMRR stand by time was 75 min. ROTR stand by time was horrific, about 3 hours. ILL spend was about $5.75 per person/per hour to avoid 4 hours in line. For me – worth it.

Side Note: Lightning Lane Availability on the Tip Board constantly changes (just like Fastpass availability used to). So... if you're looking for a LL for a specific ride, keep refreshing the Tip Board and one might pop up.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

[DaniellePoppins]

Thanks for sharing. I'm curious to see how it works out for people.

 

[sdk1231]

Thanks for sharing. I'm curious to see how it works out for people.

Note - for an arrival day - You will be able to book your Lightning Lane from your house. To be honest, I wasn't actually on this trip. The trip was for my CM daughter and 3 other of my family members (who are all in My Family and Friends on MDE). I booked all of their Lightning Lanes from the comfort of my home. I'm an early riser and they are not. Plus, I have a trip planned for NYE and wanted to use their trip to learn how to use Genie in advance of my NYE trip. I now feel 100% confident using Genie and was glad to find that it's not nearly as complicated as it seemed to be. It's like the old Fastpass booking. But it costs money. But you don't have to worry about the ride Tiers for DHS/Epcot that were present in the old Fastpass system. I hated those FP+ ride tiers. And while ROTR costs a lot, I also hated the old "virtual queue" where you just had an "estimate" of the time your Boarding Group would be called.

 

[sdk1231]

Still mulling this over... I spent $60 for Genie+ for group of 4. Got Tower of Terror at DHS (which the group could have gotten for free if they'd gotten up and rope dropped, as we did on our last trip). I got Test Track at Epcot for mid afternoon. TT is good, but I can live without it. Beyond that.... DHS had poor G+ LL ride availability in the afternoon/evening while Epcot, while having availability, also had very short stand-by wait times (and I really don't care for the Epcot rides all that much). SO... now I'm thinking that in future I might NOT purchase Genie+ for DHS/Epcot. Would still purchase Individual Lightning Lane for those in my party to have to ride ROTR. Sorry to contradict myself. I'll probably waffle back and forth over it until my next trip.

 

[HopperFan]

November 9: DHS/hop to Epcot. First time using Genie+ and ILL and frankly, I've read very little on the whole thing as everything I started to read made me more and more confused. As a result, I learned "on the job" so to speak, and did okay. Wasn't nearly as complicated/difficult as all the published "how to's" made it seem. Here's what I ended up with, and my personal view of value (it's early and I haven't had my coffee, but I believe my math is correct).

The Day: Liesurely arrival (not a rope drop), SWGE, Star Tours, Muppets, Vacation Fun, Sunset Blvd, ToT, lunch at Brown Derby, MMRR, Oga's Cantina, Cavalcade, hop to Epcot for Test Track, resort break, back to DHS for ROTR, skyline to Epcot for dinner at Biergarten and Harmonious.

Genie+ $60 ($15 per person x 4). Book 1 Lightning Lane at 7AM and another at 11AM, and then others as-you-go.

Tower of Terror Lightning Lane 12-1pm arrival window (booked at 7AM)

Test Track Lightning Lane 3-4pm arrival window (booked at 11AM)

Afternoon: In Epcot: lots of LL availability for everything but Test Track (and the 2 ILL choices, Frozen and Remy). The available LL choices for Epcot had stand-by wait times that were very low, so LL wasn’t really needed. In DHS, the afternoon/early evening LL ride availability was almost zero, but there was a lot of show availability.

Bottom Line: Paid 60 for family to Lightning Lane ToT and Test Track. ToT stand-by time was 75 minutes and TT was 60 min. That’s a spend of $7.50 per hour/per person spent to avoid 2 hours in line. For me – worth it.

Individual Lightning Lane $92 (2 rides for 4 people)

MMRR Individual Lightning Lane 1-2pm arrival window. $8 per person x 4 = $32 (booked at 7AM).

ROTR Individual Lightning Lane 6-7pm arrival window. $15 per person x 4 = $60 (booked at 7AM). Note: I got such a late return window because of a technical glitch. Dolphin resort reservation unlinked itself from MDE and caused me to be Not Eligible to book Lightning Lane at 7AM. I had to go in and re-link the resort reservation, then go back to Genie to book LL. In the time it took me to re-link the Dolphin resort reservation, the window for ROTR changed from 11AM to 6PM.

ILL Bottom Line: Paid $92 for family to LL MMRR and ROTR. MMRR stand by time was 75 min. ROTR stand by time was horrific, about 3 hours. ILL spend was about $5.75 per person/per hour to avoid 4 hours in line. For me – worth it.

Side Note: Lightning Lane Availability on the Tip Board constantly changes (just like Fastpass availability used to). So... if you're looking for a LL for a specific ride, keep refreshing the Tip Board and one might pop up.

I love that this was very much a different experience/usage than what I reported we did.

And this is why it will likely be successful, because everyone has different expectations. For me paid $15 per person for ToT and Test Track only would not have had value. I'd rather rope drop or wait in line at the end of the day, especially ToT where there is no nighttime entertainment.

I totally am about paying for ROTR and Remy, but I doubt I'd pay extra for any of the others.

 

[DaniellePoppins]

Note - for an arrival day - You will be able to book your Lightning Lane from your house. To be honest, I wasn't actually on this trip. The trip was for my CM daughter and 3 other of my family members (who are all in My Family and Friends on MDE). I booked all of their Lightning Lanes from the comfort of my home. I'm an early riser and they are not. Plus, I have a trip planned for NYE and wanted to use their trip to learn how to use Genie in advance of my NYE trip. I now feel 100% confident using Genie and was glad to find that it's not nearly as complicated as it seemed to be. It's like the old Fastpass booking. But it costs money. But you don't have to worry about the ride Tiers for DHS/Epcot that were present in the old Fastpass system. I hated those FP+ ride tiers. And while ROTR costs a lot, I also hated the old "virtual queue" where you just had an "estimate" of the time your Boarding Group would be called.

Still mulling this over... I spent $60 for Genie+ for group of 4. Got Tower of Terror at DHS (which the group could have gotten for free if they'd gotten up and rope dropped, as we did on our last trip). I got Test Track at Epcot for mid afternoon. TT is good, but I can live without it. Beyond that.... DHS had poor G+ LL ride availability in the afternoon/evening while Epcot, while having availability, also had very short stand-by wait times (and I really don't care for the Epcot rides all that much). SO... now I'm thinking that in future I might NOT purchase Genie+ for DHS/Epcot. Would still purchase Individual Lightning Lane for those in my party to have to ride ROTR. Sorry to contradict myself. I'll probably waffle back and forth over it until my next trip.

This is exactly the stuff I'm looking to hear experiences of! I want to know if I can do reservations from NJ before my flight down on arrival day. And since I'm planning to do Epcot on arrival day for the afternoon/evening its good to know that there seems to be better availability for that time of day. Of course this all is based on time of year and crowds. Its still so new so no one has an idea really how it will play out during the bigger crowds of holiday times or spring break. We'll have a long wait to know how effective it is or how much its slowing down standby lines. I got Genie for my January trip because it looks to be more crowded than my September trip, but I don't intend to get for my September trip at this point since I can't see the value in paying for it every day/every park during the lowest crowd season of the year. Knowing how other people fare with it and my own experience in January will help me decide.

 

[parasail_of_congress]

Note - for an arrival day - You will be able to book your Lightning Lane from your house. To be honest, I wasn't actually on this trip. The trip was for my CM daughter and 3 other of my family members (who are all in My Family and Friends on MDE). I booked all of their Lightning Lanes from the comfort of my home. I'm an early riser and they are not. Plus, I have a trip planned for NYE and wanted to use their trip to learn how to use Genie in advance of my NYE trip. I now feel 100% confident using Genie and was glad to find that it's not nearly as complicated as it seemed to be. It's like the old Fastpass booking. But it costs money. But you don't have to worry about the ride Tiers for DHS/Epcot that were present in the old Fastpass system. I hated those FP+ ride tiers. And while ROTR costs a lot, I also hated the old "virtual queue" where you just had an "estimate" of the time your Boarding Group would be called.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but are you saying that you did all of the bookings for other people, and you weren't on the trip with them? I'm trying to figure out exactly how that would work specifically for Genie+ (knowing what rides people would want to ride, etc.). I guess it could work for ILL if you know everyone's schedule, but I suspect most people using would also be at the park.

 

[sdk1231]

Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but are you saying that you did all of the bookings for other people, and you weren't on the trip with them? I'm trying to figure out exactly how that would work specifically for Genie+ (knowing what rides people would want to ride, etc.). I guess it could work for ILL if you know everyone's schedule, but I suspect most people using would also be at the park.

You are understanding correctly. I was not on this trip. 4 of my family members were on the trip. We are all linked on My Disney Experience under "My Family And Friends". I can make plans for all of them (you can allow share plans/manage plans for each person in My Family And Friends). So... at 7 AM, I pulled up Genie, Tip Board, selected the ride I wanted, clicked "book this ride" or whatever it is. That brought up a screen showing My Family And Friends with eligible Park Reservations. I checked the boxes next to their names and hit "Select". Did the same for their 2 Individual Lightning Lane selections. I knew what rides they wanted to go on. Those Lightning Lane selections then showed up under My Genie Day in their MDE app - and mine, since we have shared plans. (But I also texted them and told them the rides and times). At 11:00 AM, they were allowed to book a second Genie+ Lightning Lane. They were going to do that themselves, but they texted me and said "we're in a show, can you book it?" so I did. After they finished their 2nd Lightning Lane selection, they were able to book others.

 

[sdk1231]

I love that this was very much a different experience/usage than what I reported we did.

And this is why it will likely be successful, because everyone has different expectations. For me paid $15 per person for ToT and Test Track only would not have had value. I'd rather rope drop or wait in line at the end of the day, especially ToT where there is no nighttime entertainment.

I totally am about paying for ROTR and Remy, but I doubt I'd pay extra for any of the others.

HopperFan, after thinking about it some more, I think I agree with you. Still a learning curve on the whole Genie+ thing.

 

[Tilnar]

Just to add to the fun of the analysis, we got back Friday (the 5th) - was at Epcot on the 29 and HS on the 1st (wasn't park hopping with a 4-y-o) -- but we got a Remy virtual queue ticket (that ended up being called at 10:30 (also it's my understanding you can go any time *after* being called -- so I'm not sure I understand the stress, other than maybe not getting a boarding group at all) -- and by using the the half-hour early entry got on Rise at HS with < 30 minute wait (and it would have been shorter but some of our party got lost). [Did the same for Flight of Passage when we went to AK - managed to do it both mornings we went]

That to say, the direct cost for individual rides seems to largely be something you can side-step by going early.

 

[casperthegm]

Thanks for sharing. Interesting about the LL availability by afternoon at DHS. We're visiting in a few weeks and this is very helpful.

If I understand the policy correctly, our plan is to make our initial reservation at 7 am for an afternoon attraction return time, make another reservation 2 hours later for another afternoon return, and keep doing that through the morning (stacking for later). That way we can rope drop and get shorter lines early on, then cash in on the afternoon reservations later on when it's really busy. Based on what I've read here and elsewhere, I think this would work. Does that sound right/doable?

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

I think that I need a Genie Fairy Godmother, who stays at home and books all my LL and ILL$, while I just have fun. Any volunteers?

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Thanks for the information. The more folks learn and share, the better off we'll be when we go!

I have a question regarding purchasing G+. I know AP holders can only buy G+ the day-of their park day. I know a person with a 5-day pass, for example, can buy it ahead for all 5 days. But if a person has a 5-day pass, but only wants G= on one of the days, for some reason, can that person also buy just the one day of G+ the 'day of", like and AP holder? It sounded like the reason a non-AP could purchase ahead of time is because they have a fixed number of days. But are the 5-day pass holders obligated to buy the entire trip?

Thanks again for your analysis and for educating us about your experience.

 

[sdk1231]

Thanks for sharing. Interesting about the LL availability by afternoon at DHS. We're visiting in a few weeks and this is very helpful.

If I understand the policy correctly, our plan is to make our initial reservation at 7 am for an afternoon attraction return time, make another reservation 2 hours later for another afternoon return, and keep doing that through the morning (stacking for later). That way we can rope drop and get shorter lines early on, then cash in on the afternoon reservations later on when it's really busy. Based on what I've read here and elsewhere, I think this would work. Does that sound right/doable?

Well, I was able to make the initial reservation at 7AM. I was not able to make a second reservation until 2 hours after Park Open (which was at 9 that day). So I couldn't make my second reservation until 11 AM. That was what I'd read online (in the limited reading I'd done), and that was what happened in actual fact. There wasn't any guesswork about "when can I book my next one?". Genie tells you on the Tip Board. When I went on Genie prior to 11AM, it told me that I could make my next Lightning Lane at 11AM.

At that 11AM "drop", the Lightning Lane reservations disappeared like.... well... lightning! You can't book a third LL until after you've ridden #2. And by that time, there's not much available. Very soon after that 11AM "drop", and most certainly by 2-3pm at DHS there was basically nothing but Star Tours, Aliens or shows. At Epcot there was plenty of availability for rides that had 5-10min standby waits.

You can book your 2 Individual Lightning Lanes independent of the G+ LL's. If that's what you mean by "stacking". Again, I'm no expert, didn't do any reading, just telling you what I experienced.

And yes, if you're a resort guest early entry rope-dropper, you can probably hit ROTR, SDD, MMRR or ToT and avoid some of the LL shenanigans.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Thanks for sharing. Interesting about the LL availability by afternoon at DHS. We're visiting in a few weeks and this is very helpful.

If I understand the policy correctly, our plan is to make our initial reservation at 7 am for an afternoon attraction return time, make another reservation 2 hours later for another afternoon return, and keep doing that through the morning (stacking for later). That way we can rope drop and get shorter lines early on, then cash in on the afternoon reservations later on when it's really busy. Based on what I've read here and elsewhere, I think this would work. Does that sound right/doable?

I know your other question was answered, but something else to keep in mind (apologies if you already know this). I don't believe you can select a return time - you get next available? I think it's more like original FP in that way, not FP+ where you could choose a window. I just noticed you specifically mention afternoon attraction return times. I think that would be luck of the draw, especially at 7AM.

 

[sdk1231]

Just to add to the fun of the analysis, we got back Friday (the 5th) - was at Epcot on the 29 and HS on the 1st (wasn't park hopping with a 4-y-o) -- but we got a Remy virtual queue ticket (that ended up being called at 10:30 (also it's my understanding you can go any time *after* being called -- so I'm not sure I understand the stress, other than maybe not getting a boarding group at all) -- and by using the the half-hour early entry got on Rise at HS with < 30 minute wait (and it would have been shorter but some of our party got lost). [Did the same for Flight of Passage when we went to AK - managed to do it both mornings we went]

That to say, the direct cost for individual rides seems to largely be something you can side-step by going early.

You had great luck! And you're right. Resort guest early entry rope drop is the way to side-step some of this. Re virtual queue for Remy... I have no experience with that. I think Remy has an Individual Lightning Lane option as well. I saw it on Genie yesterday.

The virtual queue situation that I mentioned disliking was the old system for ROTR... wake up prior to 7AM to frantically try to get a boarding group. If you don't get one, everyone's bummed. If you get one, YAY, but who knows what time it's really for? You go to DHS at the "estimated" time, then boarding groups slow... then get slower.... then stall for hours. By now it's past dinner time, you decide to go kill some time at Epcot and get some food (since you had to cancel your dinner ADR to hang around at DHS for hours). You get to Epcot, get some food, then BAM... boarding groups start flying! FAST! You have to scramble back to the Skyliner and get back to DHS. Could you dawdle your way over after your BG is called because they'll let you on even if it's past your time? Yes. But there's only a few hours of park time left and... the ride could go down. That exact scenario happened to me and I felt like my whole day was spent being hyper-focused on the ROTR virtual queue.

I'd MUCH rather pay $15 for the family members of mine who want to ride ROTR, purchase them a time slot and be done. Again though - perception of value is very individual. I'm old, my kids are teens/20's. I like to chill at the resort and drink my coffee in peace in the morning and my kids like to sleep in. Our early entry rope dropping days are pretty much things of the past...

 

[Tilnar]

Thanks for the information. The more folks learn and share, the better off we'll be when we go!

I have a question regarding purchasing G+. I know AP holders can only buy G+ the day-of their park day. I know a person with a 5-day pass, for example, can buy it ahead for all 5 days. But if a person has a 5-day pass, but only wants G= on one of the days, for some reason, can that person also buy just the one day of G+ the 'day of", like and AP holder? It sounded like the reason a non-AP could purchase ahead of time is because they have a fixed number of days. But are the 5-day pass holders obligated to buy the entire trip?

Thanks again for your analysis and for educating us about your experience.

Anyone with any kind of ticket can choose to add day of -- what you can't do it pre-buy for only some days. If you pre-buy for a 5-day ticket, you need to get all 5.

 

[Tilnar]

You had great luck! And you're right. Resort guest early entry rope drop is the way to side-step some of this. Re virtual queue for Remy... I have no experience with that. I think Remy has an Individual Lightning Lane option as well. I saw it on Genie yesterday.

The virtual queue situation that I mentioned disliking was the old system for ROTR... wake up prior to 7AM to frantically try to get a boarding group. If you don't get one, everyone's bummed. If you get one, YAY, but who knows what time it's really for? You go to DHS at the "estimated" time, then boarding groups slow... then get slower.... then stall for hours. By now it's past dinner time, you decide to go kill some time at Epcot and get some food (since you had to cancel your dinner ADR to hang around at DHS for hours). You get to Epcot, get some food, then BAM... boarding groups start flying! FAST! You have to scramble back to the Skyliner and get back to DHS. Could you dawdle your way over after your BG is called because they'll let you on even if it's past your time? Yes. But there's only a few hours of park time left and... the ride could go down. That exact scenario happened to me and I felt like my whole day was spent being hyper-focused on the ROTR virtual queue.

I'd MUCH rather pay $15 for the family members of mine who want to ride ROTR, purchase them a time slot and be done. Again though - perception of value is very individual. I'm old, my kids are teens/20's. I like to chill at the resort and drink my coffee in peace in the morning and my kids like to sleep in. Our early entry rope dropping days are pretty much things of the past...

To be fair, I didn't experience "lateness" for a virtual queue callback, so I hadn't really considered it going the other way (was more thinking, "So what if they call when I'm doing something else) -- but, as I said, we don't hop at the moment with a 4-y-o.... and, I confess, I wasn't thinking about breakdowns (probably should have when I think about how often Rise was breaking down).

That said, at the moment, Remy's the only Virtual, and I'm not sure if I was super-lucky or if there's just less interest in it (compared to Rise) -- but things seemed to be more or less smooth and worked well. (I will admit it's a little painful to get up for a 7am virtual when going to Epcot - the park that opens latest! -- but it meant we didn't have to buy 3 [+2 for the others we were traveling with] Individual Ride passes - so that seemed worth it to me. I suppose one could always just go back to sleep afterwards. )

Given how insane the (now "normal") lines are for Rise, I totally understand why it could be worth buying that one individually (it might actually be the only one, really) -- but at the same time, to me, that just even further drives down the value of "normal" G+ -- and when I mix that with the fact that both Slinky and ToT were down for hours on my first day at HS, I just can't do it. Especially while my little kid doesn't let me potentially book returns that are late afternoon or evening. (When she's older and can stay at the park all day, I'm sure my perspective will be very different).

 

[scrappinginontario]

Just to add to the fun of the analysis, we got back Friday (the 5th) - was at Epcot on the 29 and HS on the 1st (wasn't park hopping with a 4-y-o) -- but we got a Remy virtual queue ticket (that ended up being called at 10:30 (also it's my understanding you can go any time *after* being called -- so I'm not sure I understand the stress, other than maybe not getting a boarding group at all) -- and by using the the half-hour early entry got on Rise at HS with < 30 minute wait (and it would have been shorter but some of our party got lost). [Did the same for Flight of Passage when we went to AK - managed to do it both mornings we went]

That to say, the direct cost for individual rides seems to largely be something you can side-step by going early.

There have been reports of guests being denied boarding if their return window has expired which is why many are stressed. Until you show up and try you won't know if you'll be allowed to ride or not. Personally, I wouldn't risk it.