Genie Plus a Nightmare with Large Group

[lauris87]

At Disney now with a group of 14. Genie Plus is an absolute nightmare for us. We are all linked but when you go to make a reservation at 7am it won’t let us do it for some people. Customer service on the phone says this is a known issue because we booked the Genie plus package together with our reservation a year ago and because of the known issues with it that are not fixable they don’t sell that package any more. He said the workaround is to call customer service every morning at 7am and have them book for us but you wait in line on the phone for like 30 minutes then they can’t override the times that are available. I am beside myself and in tears. We have spent tens of thousands of dollars for 14 of us to go to Disney and they basically said genie plus doesn’t work for us the way it’s supposed to and they know it and can’t fix it. Heading to a blue tent now in the park hoping for better help than what I got on phone. Anyone experience this??

 

[Ben E N]

Go to one of the blue Guest Services umbrellas when you are in the park. Explain your problem, and the exact first reservation that you were trying to get. It is not a guarantee that they can secure exactly what you are looking for, but the people working at the parks are not trying to stick it to you, either. Include screenshots of your booking trouble, if at all possible.
I'm sorry for your frustration. I tired booking for a group of 6 this past summer, and that was difficult enough, I couldn't imagine the pressure and disappointment you must feel when 7 am comes up.

 

[isabellea]

Do a search in the board but I believe there’s a max of people you can book for G+ and ILL$. One is 10 and the other is 12. That means you need to split your group in 2 and try to get return time as close as possible to ride together in your 1h window.

 

[mitchwebb]

Dreading try to make reservations this week. Will have seven for first part and ten for the second.

 

[CVTmarie23]

We have been recently with a group of 15 and another trip with a group of 14. It was a nightmare both times unfortunately. We didn't pre buy genie plus so we didn't have that issue but we had so many issues day of. We split into 2 groups and the issues were different every time. One day one group was able to buy right at 7am where my app just showed spinning until 7:10 so when I was able to book, half our party was at a totally different time. The blue umbrellas were unable to fix it so they just had the first group go late with the 2nd group. Then randomly some people would not show up as eligible, it was just constant glitches and wasted time at the blue umbrellas. It was frustrating for spending so much money on a system they know is broken.

 

[lauris87]

We have been recently with a group of 15 and another trip with a group of 14. It was a nightmare both times unfortunately. We didn't pre buy genie plus so we didn't have that issue but we had so many issues day of. We split into 2 groups and the issues were different every time. One day one group was able to buy right at 7am where my app just showed spinning until 7:10 so when I was able to book, half our party was at a totally different time. The blue umbrellas were unable to fix it so they just had the first group go late with the 2nd group. Then randomly some people would not show up as eligible, it was just constant glitches and wasted time at the blue umbrellas. It was frustrating for spending so much money on a system they know is broken.

Oh wow. That is awful. Yeah, the current genie plus system is NOT user friendly for large groups AT ALL. I feel like if you book with a large group, there needs to be an option to get passes for your group all together or have the ability to work with guests services to secure things prior to the trip or something. I mean, it is costing us tens of thousands of dollars for our group to be here this week, and for genie plus to not be working as it should is beyond unacceptable.

 

[lauris87]

Do a search in the board but I believe there’s a max of people you can book for G+ and ILL$. One is 10 and the other is 12. That means you need to split your group in 2 and try to get return time as close as possible to ride together in your 1h window.

Oh yes, I definitely did my homework prior to the trip for months. I learned everything I could, trained my group, made sure we were all linked…we had two captains making ILL’s and two captains making genie plus….and then fail. The Disney cast members admitted this is an issue with packages sold with genie plus attached, which is why they don’t sell it that way any more. So they flat out know we would have difficulty, but we were totally blindsided. Totally disappointing considering the tens of thousands of dollars it is costing for us to be here this week…

 

[lauris87]

Go to one of the blue Guest Services umbrellas when you are in the park. Explain your problem, and the exact first reservation that you were trying to get. It is not a guarantee that they can secure exactly what you are looking for, but the people working at the parks are not trying to stick it to you, either. Include screenshots of your booking trouble, if at all possible.
I'm sorry for your frustration. I tired booking for a group of 6 this past summer, and that was difficult enough, I couldn't imagine the pressure and disappointment you must feel when 7 am comes up.

Yes, I went to the blue umbrella this morning and she definitely took care of us today. I am very thankful for Madison, the cast member who worked with me. I actually cried at the end of working with her because it’s been enormous pressure and beyond frustrating, and she really did take care of us today (with anytime passes for slinky and comped ILL for Rise for our whole group). I am Leary about the rest of the trip though as we are here for 5 more days and I don’t want the daily frustration if things don’t work as they should.

 

[holden]

I have had wonderful experiences with the "blue tent" CMs during the past several trips. Each time I visited them it was for an issue with Genie+. Each time they were able to help me to my satisfaction. I wouldn't hesitate to go to them as many times as you need to. I'd also ask to see a supervisor so you can express how much of your time those visits are eating up. I'm sure they are aware of the issue, but it's always a good idea to let someone in charge know what's going on.

 

[lauris87]

I have had wonderful experiences with the "blue tent" CMs during the past several trips. Each time I visited them it was for an issue with Genie+. Each time they were able to help me to my satisfaction. I wouldn't hesitate to go to them as many times as you need to. I'd also ask to see a supervisor so you can express how much of your time those visits are eating up. I'm sure they are aware of the issue, but it's always a good idea to let someone in charge know what's going on.

Very good advice!

 

[Boopuff]

Can't two people each book for 7? get on at the same time and click away?

 

[Delirium]

Disney has always been difficult to manage with large groups.

 

[hotblooded]

Disney has always been difficult to manage with large groups.

It used to be pretty easy to walk up to a paper Fastpass kiosk with a stack of tickets.

 

[lauris87]

Can't two people each book for 7? get on at the same time and click away?

Yes, that is how it is supposed to work, however, I have found out through this whole process in working with the guest experience people at the blue tent, that if you purchased a package with genie plus a while ago (like a year ago), the features do not all work properly all of the time (meaning, it will say members of your group are ineligible to book a pass, when they actually are eligible), and the only way to fix is by visiting a blue tent in the park. Because of all the technical glitches with this package, they no longer sell it that way. So the people who bought it this way are just pretty much out of luck. I did not know this so I spent over 1.5 hours on the phone during my vacation, and a lot of frustration on the first two mornings of our trip, which could have been avoided if Disney was up front with the issue (since they are FULLY aware)

 

[luvtoall]

oh, I can feel your stress. It is disheartening to be put in such a position. Just ugly.
So happy to hear the blue tent was able to give some comfort. Good vibes for the rest of the week.

 

[wilkydelts]

Are you referring to the issue where is some party members have it pre-bought and the other members try to buy it day of it doesn’t let them purchase it or are you talking about a different issues? I’m not sure what exactly you are explaining but you are also the first to come here so trying to figure it out.

 

[HopperFan]

It used to be pretty easy to walk up to a paper Fastpass kiosk with a stack of tickets.

Hey you didn't even need real tickets to get a FP so that made it so much easier as well.

 

[DSLRuser]

large group is a nightmare. would split any party of 6 or more into smaller group