Genie plus

[Ddean52]

Just trying zero in on this. So, there is no way to enjoy a park and use genie plus without keeping my cell in my hand all day? Look I've read about g+,but never used it. Do people buy genie+ and use it all day without adding and deleting choices as options become available? If adding and deleting is required to be efficient through the course of a day, is it really magical. Is it any fun?
I'll be doing WDW in June with family ...but I have this feeling of dread about this trip. At Disney prices I should be elated No?

 

[Smugpugmug]

I only used Genie+ for one day at Magic Kingdom in February (I didn't bother with HS) and I found myself using my phone semi frequently to "fiddle faddle", a term coined by Molly from Allears meaning constantly refreshing the screen for a sooner LL time. I was also using my phone to mobile order, check wait times and to scan QR codes at table service restaurants.

I didn't find it to be fun, if anything it was really annoying to have to search for LL times for your must do rides that weren't 2+ hours away. If you really want to take advantage of Genie+ to its fullest you will need to be keeping track of the tip board on your phone all throughout the day. I wasn't glued to my phone every second of the day but as soon as I scanned into a LL I was immediately on my phone fiddle faddling for another one.

 

[pens4821]

I used it three times for our stay. I stacked for evening. So every two hours I was on my phone for maybe 30 seconds getting LL. My HS day I did spend a little time constant refreshing for better rides, but one time I was relaxing at the resort and one time I was sitting on a bench waiting for others to finish riding. Purchasing it in the morning was very simple.

So, in my experience, I was on my phone maybe an average of 5 more minutes per day than I’d have been if not using +.

 

[scrappinginontario]

I didn’t find I was on my phone any more with Genie+ than I was the days we didn’t use it. We used it 3 days and I was an afternoon/evening stacker too. Grabbed a LL, set a 2 hour timer and go.

There’s the option to try to get better return times but that wasn’t something we chose to do.

 

[Dizziman]

Just trying zero in on this. So, there is no way to enjoy a park and use genie plus without keeping my cell in my hand all day? Look I've read about g+,but never used it. Do people buy genie+ and use it all day without adding and deleting choices as options become available? If adding and deleting is required to be efficient through the course of a day, is it really magical. Is it any fun?
I'll be doing WDW in June with family ...but I have this feeling of dread about this trip. At Disney prices I should be elated No?

Here was my experience in March.

After the 7 am initial pick, I did find myself on my phone more than in past Disney trips.

I would set alarms on my Fitbit to remind myself of the minute the next pick could be made, so "in theory" I wouldn't have to keep checking the my phone. However, in reality, I checked my phone often to refresh the currently available lightning lane times, to see if we could find a better time or something different altogether.

It seemed worthwhile to keep refreshing because different times and opportunities would continue to pop up randomly, so I wanted to stick close to the screen to ensure I didn't "miss" something better. Yet it was frustrating that return times would sometimes switch wildly from one refresh to the next.

You didn't "need" to be constantly on your phone, but if you're looking to find one or two attractions that have seemingly "sold out" their lightning lanes, you're only recourse is to keep refreshing your phone because that is how my wife and I were able to find times that popped up during the day for Rat, FOP, and some other Genie+ only attractions.

I'll admit on our last day I did have a mini breakdown because, if you want to try to get one of these better times or attractions that suddenly appear, you have to cancel your existing selection (as opposed to modifying it) and pick the new selection. However, by the time you cancel the old selection, the new selection/time might be gone. And now you're out both. I got very angry/frustrated on our last day due to this. In retrospect it seems silly to get upset, but in that moment when you're trying to get what you want and it's right in front of you, it's frustrating to lose both options.

I didn't have any technical problems with the app/Genie+, and from what I had read here my expectations were at a 2/10. Now that I've experienced it, I'd say it was more a 5/10. Still disappointing and plenty of room for significant improvement, but not a complete disaster. Besides the upcharge, the worst part was constantly refreshing your phone. But again, that was only if you were specifically looking for something different to possibly pop up.

 

[MainMom]

Just trying zero in on this. So, there is no way to enjoy a park and use genie plus without keeping my cell in my hand all day? Look I've read about g+,but never used it. Do people buy genie+ and use it all day without adding and deleting choices as options become available? If adding and deleting is required to be efficient through the course of a day, is it really magical. Is it any fun?
I'll be doing WDW in June with family ...but I have this feeling of dread about this trip. At Disney prices I should be elated No?

I think you have to make some decisions about what is important to you. I’ve decided that I will only refresh and look for other options when it’s my time to book (2 hour window has opened). Once I choose something I’m sticking with it. For me the gamble of canceling and trying to get what I just saw is not worth it. It’s too many steps and this system seems to let things disappear.

Now I will spend a bit of time refreshing when it’s time to schedule the next one. I also have my DD to help with this. How long I spend depends on what I’m doing. Standing in line & relaxing at the hotel I’ll stay on longer. Trying to enjoy my day in the park, maybe not as long.

I‘m a planner and G+ has alot of components that go against my nature. I’m trying to get these compromises in my head so I don’t spend my whole trip on my phone and stressed out.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

I didn’t find I was on my phone any more with Genie+ than I was the days we didn’t use it. We used it 3 days and I was an afternoon/evening stacker too. Grabbed a LL, set a 2 hour timer and go.

There’s the option to try to get better return times but that wasn’t something we chose to do.

This approach was pretty much what we experienced, as well. We didn't spend that much more time on the phone than prior to G+. That being said, we expect G+ won't be for everyone, and we're likely to only use it on certain days when we're going to certain parks. But no one will need to be glued to their phone all day to use it. The biggest difference with G+ for us (besides the extra purchase) was setting an alarm to remind us to check when we could schedule another LL - it was not a big stresser.....

 

[Mango7100]

We have used it during two stays In Nov 2021 and March 2022, and I didnt find myself on my phone more than usual. In fact, I would say less because we were power refreshers with FP, and I was not willing to risk cancelling a LL for a better one only to have it gone. I would hunt around for maybe 5 min when it was time to book the next one, but that’s it

 

[3gr8boys]

Genie+ kept us out of long lines last week and I did not find myself glued to my phone. I made choices about when to be on the phone hunting for good LLs (waiting for food, while window shopping, in the short lines we did wait in) and when to put it away (on rides, in shows, having meals together). We accomplished so much more with Genie+ than we would have otherwise. (I just posted "We had a Fantastic Week thanks to Genie+ in this forum.)
ETA we were a party of 5

 

[LiveLikeJack&Sally]

We used Genie + for a party of 7 last week of March and didn’t find it stressful to use or noticed that we were on our phones more than usual. We too set a timer like others have said, and we searched for what was available. We also tended to use our picks to “stack” for the second half of our day. That method, combined with rope drop worked well for us and we did everything we wanted to. Also, what worked well for us, was that we had two people searching for and making picks for our group, and whoever found something we wanted, that person booked it.

 

[MainMom]

We used Genie + for a party of 7 last week of March and didn’t find it stressful to use or noticed that we were on our phones more than usual. We too set a timer like others have said, and we searched for what was available. We also tended to use our picks to “stack” for the second half of our day. That method, combined with rope drop worked well for us and we did everything we wanted to. Also, what worked well for us, was that we had two people searching for and making picks for our group, and whoever found something we wanted, that person booked it.

I am traveling with a party of 7 in the beginning of June. Did you find that you were able to book G+ easily for 7? We’re the times what you wanted? I’ve seen reports that party size doesn’t matter, but I’ve also seen the opposite. Just curious how you felt about it. Thanks!

 

[LiveLikeJack&Sally]

I am traveling with a party of 7 in the beginning of June. Did you find that you were able to book G+ easily for 7? We’re the times what you wanted? I’ve seen reports that party size doesn’t matter, but I’ve also seen the opposite. Just curious how you felt about it. Thanks!

Hello! Yes, we found it easy to book for all 7 of us with Genie +. I felt like we were getting the best times/choices depending on what was available and I didn’t think our party size limited us from seeing what was there. We did refresh here and there to try and get better times if we wanted to find something available as soon as possible…mainly did this in evening hours. It was obviously easier to pull times at MK since more attractions there. For instance, on arrival day we were able to do Pirates, BTMR, Haunted Mansion, Small World (standby) Pooh, Buzz and SDMT which we purchased for all of us at 7 and rode during fireworks. That day we didn’t get to MK until 1pm, and we took a long lunch break to Epcot and then came back in evening. I’m glad we decided to purchase Genie + as we were on the fence after reading some reports of people not getting much use out of it, but we felt it was worth it for us, especially since it was so busy when we went.

 

[MainMom]

Hello! Yes, we found it easy to book for all 7 of us with Genie +. I felt like we were getting the best times/choices depending on what was available and I didn’t think our party size limited us from seeing what was there. We did refresh here and there to try and get better times if we wanted to find something available as soon as possible…mainly did this in evening hours. It was obviously easier to pull times at MK since more attractions there. For instance, on arrival day we were able to do Pirates, BTMR, Haunted Mansion, Small World (standby) Pooh, Buzz and SDMT which we purchased for all of us at 7 and rode during fireworks. That day we didn’t get to MK until 1pm, and we took a long lunch break to Epcot and then came back in evening. I’m glad we decided to purchase Genie + as we were on the fence after reading some reports of people not getting much use out of it, but we felt it was worth it for us, especially since it was so busy when we went.

Thanks so much! It’s nice to read about larger party experiences.

 

[kilik64]

Genie+ kept us out of long lines last week and I did not find myself glued to my phone. I made choices about when to be on the phone hunting for good LLs (waiting for food, while window shopping, in the short lines we did wait in) and when to put it away (on rides, in shows, having meals together). We accomplished so much more with Genie+ than we would have otherwise. (I just posted "We had a Fantastic Week thanks to Genie+ in this forum.)
ETA we were a party of 5

This.

Can you be glued to your phone and maybe have better success at getting the perfect g+ day? Sure. Is it fun or enjoyable? Probably not.

Just book when you can book and stick with what you book, cant have FOMO if you dont keep looking...

 

[3gr8boys]

I agree with PP Dizziman that the having to cancel to book a new LL (no way to modify) is limiting. Our approach was to book a LL if we found one that worked for us. Once booked, we left it alone until we were eligible to book another. If the time came to book another and nothing appealing was available, we started the refreshing game instead of booking our next one right away.