Genie + and DAS? Does Genie + help make things easier in some parks over others?

[CATANDSAL1009]

I plan to get the DAS in June for my son. We plan to go to MK two times, HS and Epcot. I was curious if Genie + with DAS is more beneficial in some parks over others? TIA.

 

[gap2368]

I would think yes. MK has more rides then other parks do

 

[tobikaye]

I haven't been back since G+ started, but I figure when we return, I will not be doing G+ for Epcot or AK with my sister. She just does not do enough attractions at those that G+ would be helpful.

I probably will get G+ for MK and DHS for us since she likes more attractions and it would help her do more in a day than with just DAS. We were only able to do about 3-4 attractions at each park this past June between her need to rest and rains. If she could have handled regular lines, we could have waited out the rain in some of the indoor queues.

 

[momz]

I am going next week. We plan to get Genie + on our MK and DHS days. Those 2 parks have more people in a smaller space. Also Epcot and AK have a lot to do in between rides so it won't be a big deal to kill some time during DAS wait time. Whereas MK and DHS have so many rides to try to get in, and not much to do outside of the rides, I'm hoping that Genie + helps us do more at those parks.

 

[CATANDSAL1009]

I am going next week. We plan to get Genie + on our MK and DHS days. Those 2 parks have more people in a smaller space. Also Epcot and AK have a lot to do in between rides so it won't be a big deal to kill some time during DAS wait time. Whereas MK and DHS have so many rides to try to get in, and not much to do outside of the rides, I'm hoping that Genie + helps us do more at those parks.

That's a good point. Thanks.

 

[Gentry2004]

I am torn on this. We go in December and haven’t been since 2018. With the 2 DAS rides pre-booked plus the ability to use the app in the park, I’m really wondering if we even need Genie+. If we do it, would be MK and maybe HS. But we will also have two days at every park so I will probably just see how it goes the first day. I’ve been playing with touring plans looking at the app wait times and it seems doable. We are able to rope drop and stay a good part of the day though.

 

[ajgardner]

Just got back and it would have been extremely difficult for my family without both DAS (including the 2 pre-registered rider) and Genie+. It Was just so busy and lines were long all day. It was a short trip for us though so we only had a day (or less) at each park.

 

[CATANDSAL1009]

Just got back and it would have been extremely difficult for my family without both DAS (including the 2 pre-registered rider) and Genie+. It Was just so busy and lines were long all day. It was a short trip for us though so we only had a day (or less) at each park.

That's good to know. I worry that the wait time in between may be too long and figure with the Genie + it will provide that extra security. Did you feel w/o the genie + it would have been lots of waiting around and did you think it was more helpful in one park over another?

 

[ajgardner]

That's good to know. I worry that the wait time in between may be too long and figure with the Genie + it will provide that extra security. Did you feel w/o the genie + it would have been lots of waiting around and did you think it was more helpful in one park over another?

For us, yes way too much waiting around without the Genie+. The week we went lines everywhere were incredibly long, so there really were no “filler” rides that we could have gone on while waiting for our next ride. The two preselected DAS rides, the genie+ rides and the DAS selected in the park made the day much easier to navigate for our needs. We felt it was useful at all the parks but can definitely see how others may feel it wasn’t worth the money for just a couple rides.

 

[Selket]

One good thing about Genie+ is that you can purchase it daily vs. in advance so you can try it for a day or two and see how well it works for you. I think it can help you experience more attractions quickly with less down time in between.

What I found frustrating is that sometimes the return time I got was for later in the day for something I wanted to do and I wanted to park hop (like if your slinky dog return time is 5pm even tho you tried first thing in the morning for it but you planned to hop to Epcot at. 4pm). With park reservations I couldn't flip my day around and start at Epcot and hop to DHS for Slinky - for example. Genie+ drove me crazy with that part but I was able to make it work for other things.

It's probably worth digging into the Genie+ threads on the attraction board to see how people have used it/what works best. Plus you never know what changes they'll make to it by the time you go this summer!

 

[momz]

We just got home from our trip. DAS was what made our trip better without a doubt.

As far as Genie plus…we used it at magic kingdom and at HS but only for one day at each even though we had two days booked. I found that Genie plus return times did not work well with our advanced DAS reservations. For example, I had advanced DAS for Rockin’ Roller Coaster at 12, and for Tower of Terror at 12:30. But the Genie plus assigned our time for Smuggler’s run also at 12. We ended up missing our roller coaster ride and booking it for a later time using our day-of DAS. We could not have made it through the lines and been able to travel back and forth across the the park to hit all three. Others could probably do that, but we could not.

Anyway, we did not get genie plus for our second days in these parks. I feel
that sticking with our DAS rides made for a much more relaxed experience. We weren’t chasing down our return times. It’s important to note that day-of DAS returns don’t expire until park close…that helps a lot.

The parks were so busy. And lots of people were waiting in those long lines. It’s the one time in my life that having a disability became an advantage. . Would rather not have the disability though.

 

[Gentry2004]

We just got home from our trip. DAS was what made our trip better without a doubt.

As far as Genie plus…we used it at magic kingdom and at HS but only for one day at each even though we had two days booked. I found that Genie plus return times did not work well with our advanced DAS reservations. For example, I had advanced DAS for Rockin’ Roller Coaster at 12, and for Tower of Terror at 12:30. But the Genie plus assigned our time for Smuggler’s run also at 12. We ended up missing our roller coaster ride and booking it for a later time using our day-of DAS. We could not have made it through the lines and been able to travel back and forth across the the park to hit all three. Others could probably do that, but we could not.

Anyway, we did not get genie plus for our second days in these parks. I feel
that sticking with our DAS rides made for a much more relaxed experience. We weren’t chasing down our return times. It’s important to note that day-of DAS returns don’t expire until park close…that helps a lot.

The parks were so busy. And lots of people were waiting in those long lines. It’s the one time in my life that having a disability became an advantage. . Would rather not have the disability though.

Thank you for this point of view. I was actually wondering if having DAS and Genie+ was sort of complicated - trying to keep track of the return times as well as when you are eligible to rebook with both services. We are going the week of Dec. 16 so I am very concerned about crowds - but still torn on Genie+. We may do it one day like you, but not other days. And definitely not for Epcot and Animal.

 

[momz]

Thank you for this point of view. I was actually wondering if having DAS and Genie+ was sort of complicated - trying to keep track of the return times as well as when you are eligible to rebook with both services. We are going the week of Dec. 16 so I am very concerned about crowds - but still torn on Genie+. We may do it one day like you, but not other days. And definitely not for Epcot and Animal.

Epcot and Animal Kingdom were our best days. Much less hectic.

 

[VeryBerry]

We just got home from our trip. DAS was what made our trip better without a doubt.

As far as Genie plus…we used it at magic kingdom and at HS but only for one day at each even though we had two days booked. I found that Genie plus return times did not work well with our advanced DAS reservations. For example, I had advanced DAS for Rockin’ Roller Coaster at 12, and for Tower of Terror at 12:30. But the Genie plus assigned our time for Smuggler’s run also at 12. We ended up missing our roller coaster ride and booking it for a later time using our day-of DAS. We could not have made it through the lines and been able to travel back and forth across the the park to hit all three. Others could probably do that, but we could not.

Anyway, we did not get genie plus for our second days in these parks. I feel
that sticking with our DAS rides made for a much more relaxed experience. We weren’t chasing down our return times. It’s important to note that day-of DAS returns don’t expire until park close…that helps a lot.

The parks were so busy. And lots of people were waiting in those long lines. It’s the one time in my life that having a disability became an advantage. . Would rather not have the disability though.

According to Disney, DAS return times don't expire. (copying the text here: "Please keep in mind that DAS return times are valid until the park closes or an attraction closes for the day. And a party can only hold one active DAS return time at once (not counting DAS Advance ride times.") DAS Advance planning option (the two rides for pre-registering for DAS) is different, those two rides do have 1-hour return windows.

 

[Disneyfan754321]

I just did this.. at Magic Kingdom I was told by the cast member to see how it goes. It was great advice for MK. We did not need it. I planned lunch near 7DMT so the 90 minute wait was not so bad. The rest of the park was a breeze.
HS we definitely needed it well worth the money. The return time for smugglers run was 3 hours. So I took that on my DAS and used G+ to plan around it.

 

[bambialways4ever]

With Genie+ and DAS at Hollywood Studios, we rode every single ride in the park (except Alien Saucers, but we did Midway Mania twice) and left at 3, walked in the front gates at 8:25. We even had lunch at Woody's, and watched the Indiana Jones show. This was last week of March.

 

[SueM in MN]

One thing to keep in mind about Genie+ is that Disney recently added this statement about Genie+ in several places (my bold):
“On average, guests can enter 2 to 3 attractions or experiences per day using the Lightning Lane entrance if the first selection is made early in the day.”

So, although some people are reporting better, Disney is managing expectations to not expect much.
WDW Genie + page

 

[Gentry2004]

One thing to keep in mind about Genie+ is that Disney recently added this statement about Genie+ in several places (my bold):
“On average, guests can enter 2 to 3 attractions or experiences per day using the Lightning Lane entrance if the first selection is made early in the day.”

So, although some people are reporting better, Disney is managing expectations to not expect much.
WDW Genie + page

Which at 2 attractions makes each ride as expensive as some ILL$.

 

[eeudj]

According to Disney, DAS return times don't expire. (copying the text here: "Please keep in mind that DAS return times are valid until the park closes or an attraction closes for the day. And a party can only hold one active DAS return time at once (not counting DAS Advance ride times.") DAS Advance planning option (the two rides for pre-registering for DAS) is different, those two rides do have 1-hour return windows.

I am
Sorry I am confused.. I was able to qualify and get 2 preassigned passes. Do I need to wait until those times expire to book my first in park DAS? And can I only have one of those booked at a time? I purchased Genie thinking it would make trip more enjoyable for kids, thinking I could only book DAS after my preassigned times .. which are late in the day.

 

[lanejudy]

No, the DAS Advanced Selections are completely separate from. DAS Return Times obtained ed I the park. As soon as the DAS-holder taps into a park you can reserve a DAS Return Time, and it will be the current standby minus 10 minutes. You cannot get another DAS Return Time until you use the first, and so on. But the 2 Advanced Selections do not impact use of DAS in the park.