Genie + and ILL planning overload- Need help w Strategies

[justprettynpink]

This board is so awesome...I am just overwhelmed with this Genie+ and ILL stuff...last visit to Disney was a masked visit and the only thing I need to do was successfully get into the VQ for Rise.

I thought it would be easier to ask for help planning. We are a group of 8 (4 generations). My grandson is over 40 inches (not sure how much more) so this is his first visit for him to be able to ride the big rides (most of them). My brother is a Star Wars fan and has not been to HS since it was added. We are going in 3 weeks and staying onsite deluxe. I have tried to pick the parks with a predicted crowd level of a 6 or lower.

What would you do Genie+ and ILL wise? I think I would want G+ and ILL for HS but should I do it on Day1 or Day 3? or both? Do I need it for Epcot?

Day 1
HS at rope drop (Early morning) Top 3 rides we want Rise, SD, TOT
Stay until 2 or 3
Nap
Hop to MK around 5 or 6 to stay until 1 am

Day 2

Late arrival to Epcot (and spend the whole day there) Top 3 Remy, Test track, maybe Guardians for the big people

Day 3

AK (Early morning) - Top Pandora
Nap?
Hop to HS

Thank you in advance for your help and suggestions. So if this post seems to ramble - just the current state of my mind...lol

 

[mlggirl]

Don't stress too much about the crowds - I have heard the crowd calculators are a general guideline only and can be inacurate. Mostly pay attention to events as these dramatically change crowds

polkadotsandpixiedust.com/walt-disney-world-calendar-of-events-2023/

I am going next week and only planning on G+ for HS and MK, not needed for Epcot and AK if you are good with getting there early in the mornings. I ended up purchasing a year of Touring Plans to help me with all of the craziness, you can make super detailed plans with walking times and estimated waits so nothing is left to chance.

 

[katied]

Day 1… if you rope drop HS, may be ok. Rise is very glitchy, and goes down a lot, so can be a time suck and throw off the day. We’ve always bought the LL for this so we are not stuck, and then rope drop SDD. TOT is running at 50%, so lines can get long… but should be ok first thing. (After SDD). If you want, you can stack MK then for the afternoon…

Day 2 with late arrival to Epcot I would do Genie+. try for virtual at 7 am for Guardians… if you don’t get it, the buy. Book Remy at 7 am also (you can modify time, but this goes first). Next booking, you need to book Test Track. Again, you can modify to get your times, but never skip a booking window…. Then, you can add on from ther.

Day 3… AK - if you rope drop, the go to FOP first, the the river ride. If you want to, you could buy Genie + and stack for HS afternoon… but can decide after day 1 based on what you got through, etc.

if it was me, I would buy Genie + for all three days just to make life a bit easier and hove more down time /less line time… but you could manage without if the cost is an issue.

 

[katied]

Oh, and if you are booking for a hop... You need to make sure you book at all your booking windows… let’s say you are at AK at 7 am… can book next at 9 am, and you want to book Test Track, but you can’t because the return time is 1 pm, which you cannot book in the system because you can’t hop before 2 pm… just pick something… like Frozen, that has a return time after 2 pm and book. You can modify this later. Now. Your next booking window is 11 am… if you wait until you see the return times for the rides you want work out.. you push out your booking windows. So, modify is your best friend if you are stacking for a hop. Make sense?

 

[justprettynpink]

Thank you Katied

 

[Juliet25]

We went March 2022 and bought G+ for HS, EP, and MK (didn’t do AK). I followed all the rules and suggestions, and had a really disappointing experience. In HS, we planned to ILL SW and never got the chance. Our first G+ was for SDD, and we got it for late PM. After that, there was nothing available. We used it for ST and Frozen Sing-a-Long, neither of which were needed. Basically we spent $15 each to ride SDD. I can say that the LL for SDD was super quick, so it was nice to proceed to the front. Not sure that was worth $60.

EP, same experience. We rope dropped Remy. Got LL for TT and all that was left was SE and stuff like Figment ride. Total waste of money.

MK was a better experience. It was worth it in that park.

I think G+ is an awful system, so I’m not going to suggest it for any park other than MK.

 

[Juliet25]

Since you’re staying deluxe, take advantage of the extended hours in MK and EP. They may even have them for HS while you’re there.