Genie Service

[wnielsen1]

You need to expand your imagination!
Everyone sing along...
I-mag-i-na-tion.. I-mag-i-na-tion...
A dream, can be a dream come true.
With just that spark from me and you.

Sorry, sing-a-longs not available in Genie+. You'll have to wake up at 7 AM and pay extra.

 

[BillBrasky]

I think with Fastpass in general it was a daily occurence at a Disney park for someone in the standby line to not understand the idea of Fastpass, see people zipping by next to them, and then get upset and either throw looks, make comments, etc... I know I've even heard stories of a few physical altercations. Just based on misunderstanding. Now imagine that everyone in the standby line knows that everyone zipping by them in the SDMT line paid extra for that since it's not in Genie+. Does the $50 you pay to skip the line include health insurance for when you get sucker punched by a guy without sleeves screaming "you think you're better than me?"

 

[Drew729]

This system doesn’t really suit my style as a planner. I am still confused as to some of the hows and whys of the program.

How do you reservations at a table service 60 days out if you think it may conflict with a return time for a desirable ride. Would you have to miss one of the two things you want to do?

Why do I have to be on an app at 7am on vacation, how does that add flexibility to my schedule?

Do you have to take the next available time for any attraction? Will there not be any time slots say for later in the day that I can choose or is it always next available with G+?

 

[NoTime42]

This system doesn’t really suit my style as a planner. I am still confused as to some of the hows and whys of the program.

How do you reservations at a table service 60 days out if you think it may conflict with a return time for a desirable ride. Would you have to miss one of the two things you want to do?

Why do I have to be on an app at 7am on vacation, how does that add flexibility to my schedule?

Do you have to take the next available time for any attraction? Will there not be any time slots say for later in the day that I can choose or is it always next available with G+?

That’s where I think the ideal Genie would be great. If you follow the Genie’s recommended or planned ride, then the restaurant is always fine with you showing up when you do.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

Genie+ is similar what the original Fastpass program was when it started in 1999. You could go up to a ride that had a long line and get, out of a ticket dispenser, a ticket to come back and do the attraction at a later time during the day and not have to wait in the stand-by line.

To be fair, about the only thing they have in common is that you can get a time to come back to the ride while standing there. The similarities pretty much end there.

It's kinda like saying Coke is the same as water when it started 4 billion years ago.

 

[ziravan]

Wait till you see the AP increases. Coming soon….

And the concept is definitely tied to this thread. They have to get this blow (genie) out of the way so you have some time to recover for the next punch coming.

Saw somewhere, on Twitter I think, that they chose the wrong Disney Mascot; they should have chosen Scrooge McDuck.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

How do you reservations at a table service 60 days out if you think it may conflict with a return time for a desirable ride. Would you have to miss one of the two things you want to do?

Presumably that would not happen if the return time is fairly close to when you ask to get on the ride and you can really only "get in line" near when you are ready to ride. I.E. you can't really plan except for the2 paid lightening passes, and I would suspect similar to RotR, the restaurant would be flexible in those cases.

Do you have to take the next available time for any attraction? Will there not be any time slots say for later in the day that I can choose or is it always next available with G+?

Now that is a good question. Maybe I do not want to go immediately. I am guessing that's probably not an option with the Genie+; just the regular Genie. I.E. you can see a good time to come back, but the FP+ entrance is close to now (time enough maybe for a bathroom break, snack or hop into a store).

 

[kmorlock]

I see that I am going to be using more points at Hilton Head.

I just hope they don't start charging for beach access.

I was just thinking along the same lines! Although, I could definitely see an upcharge for entering the water $$$

 

[WilsonFlyer]

No you are not. You are paying more for more.

FP+ did not evaluate the projected lines and make recommendations of when you might return to a shorter line.
FP+ did not recommend or suggest that this might be a good time to get a meal / take a holistic view of the entire day.
FP+ did not make recommendations for rides based on what you might enjoy.
FP+ could often not be used time of (unless you were an expert clicker). You had to pre-plan.
If it works right, this will have quicker access to rides than FP+
If it works right, you will have a better chance of getting certain rides than you did with FP+ (many people could never get FOP, SDD, etc on FP+)
FP+ was not DAS friendly.
Frankly, this system is more fair then FP+ (certain people were experts at claiming tickets and did so to the detriment of others).

Call it what you want, but it is your OPINION that this is not as good. That is not a FACT. You still seem to have trouble understanding the meaning of the word.

I am not ready to say whether it's better or worse than FP+. TBH I thought FP+ was a terrible idea over FP and I thought FP was a terrible idea over stand-by only. Disney proved me wrong on both counts. They often surprise me, so I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

OK. Somebody's gotta call this out. It's fine if you want to drink the Kool-Aid, but the bottom line remains constant. FP and FP+ were free. It is now a paid privilege. That fact is beyond dispute. Something that was once free, you must now pay for if you want to continue to use it. You may consider other "services" it provides as niceties or even "pluses" that you consider to have monetary value, but at the end of the day, something that was once free (actually paid for as part of park admission technically) is now pay-more-to-play. Period.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

I was just thinking along the same lines! Although, I could definitely see an upcharge for entering the water $$$

Fortunately for you, that'll never happen. I didn't say anything when it was in jest, but since you seem to think it was serious, let me help out here. The beach isn't part of Disney's deed. If you don't believe it, ask the National Parks Administration or the State Parks Administration. Whichever one is in charge of that particular one. They'll explain it to ya. Virtually nobody in America is deeded any actual beachhead property. I'm sure there are possibly a very few exceptions somewhere, but I assure you they are few and far between.

 

[Yinn]

OK. Somebody's gotta call this out. It's fine if you want to drink the Kool-Aid, but the bottom line remains constant. FP and FP+ was free. It is now a paid privilege. That fact is beyond dispute. Something that was once free, you must now pay for if you want to continue to use it. You may consider other "services" it provides as niceties or even "pluses," but at the end of the day, something that was once free (actually paid for as part of park admission technically) is now pay-more-to-play. Period.

I mean it wasn't technically free....the cost for it was covered in the price of the ticket. Maybe this just means Disney will lower ticket prices.

..it could happen right? When you wish upon a star? Pixie dust? Magic...?

 

[WilsonFlyer]

I mean it wasn't technically free....the cost for it was covered in the price of the ticket. Maybe this just means Disney will lower ticket prices.

..it could happen right? When you wish upon a star? Pixie dust? Magic...?

I fully expect to see the cost savings reflected in the upcoming AP announcement.

 

[limace]

No you are not. You are paying more for more.

FP+ did not evaluate the projected lines and make recommendations of when you might return to a shorter line.
FP+ did not recommend or suggest that this might be a good time to get a meal / take a holistic view of the entire day.
FP+ did not make recommendations for rides based on what you might enjoy.
FP+ could often not be used time of (unless you were an expert clicker). You had to pre-plan.
If it works right, this will have quicker access to rides than FP+
If it works right, you will have a better chance of getting certain rides than you did with FP+ (many people could never get FOP, SDD, etc on FP+)
FP+ was not DAS friendly.
Frankly, this system is more fair then FP+ (certain people were experts at claiming tickets and did so to the detriment of others).

Call it what you want, but it is your OPINION that this is not as good. That is not a FACT. You still seem to have trouble understanding the meaning of the word.

I am not ready to say whether it's better or worse than FP+. TBH I thought FP+ was a terrible idea over FP and I thought FP was a terrible idea over stand-by only. Disney proved me wrong on both counts. They often surprise me, so I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Hahahahahaha this cracks me up. In absolutely no way is this better than the free service-esp not at at Disneyland when it was day of all along. This May-and I stress MAY-have some touring itinerary ideas but I had incredibly sophisticated touring plans generated from the company that mastered this in the first place-Touring Plans-with no IT glitches and cost me about $15 a year. The fast pass component is much less than what we had for free before (and that’s not counting the fact that we can all safely assume there will be huge technical glitches with implementation).

 

[limace]

I fully expect to see the cost savings reflected in the upcoming AP announcement.

I can’t tel if you’re serious but assuming you’re not. The DL prices did not decrease.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

I can’t tel if you’re serious but assuming you’re not. The DL prices did not decrease.

That post was a lot of different things, but serious wasn't one of'em.

 

[Yinn]

That post was a lot of different things, but serious wasn't one of'em.

Are you sure? I did the calculation. Genie+ is $15/ticket/day. AP is eligible for 365 days. By my calculations, Disney will be discounting the APs to $0 then paying every AP holder at least $4500.

 

[dvc lover 1970]

No you are not. You are paying more for more.

FP+ did not evaluate the projected lines and make recommendations of when you might return to a shorter line.
FP+ did not recommend or suggest that this might be a good time to get a meal / take a holistic view of the entire day.
FP+ did not make recommendations for rides based on what you might enjoy.
FP+ could often not be used time of (unless you were an expert clicker). You had to pre-plan.
If it works right, this will have quicker access to rides than FP+
If it works right, you will have a better chance of getting certain rides than you did with FP+ (many people could never get FOP, SDD, etc on FP+)
FP+ was not DAS friendly.
Frankly, this system is more fair then FP+ (certain people were experts at claiming tickets and did so to the detriment of others).

Call it what you want, but it is your OPINION that this is not as good. That is not a FACT. You still seem to have trouble understanding the meaning of the word.

I am not ready to say whether it's better or worse than FP+. TBH I thought FP+ was a terrible idea over FP and I thought FP was a terrible idea over stand-by only. Disney proved me wrong on both counts. They often surprise me, so I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Um...do you realize that you are now paying for something that was once included in your park ticket? Disney tickets are already expensive but once you enter you are in the bubble. Now you have to pay to get on rides.

 

[davper]

No you are not. You are paying more for more.

FP+ did not evaluate the projected lines and make recommendations of when you might return to a shorter line.
FP+ did not recommend or suggest that this might be a good time to get a meal / take a holistic view of the entire day.
FP+ did not make recommendations for rides based on what you might enjoy.
FP+ could often not be used time of (unless you were an expert clicker). You had to pre-plan.
If it works right, this will have quicker access to rides than FP+
If it works right, you will have a better chance of getting certain rides than you did with FP+ (many people could never get FOP, SDD, etc on FP+)
FP+ was not DAS friendly.
Frankly, this system is more fair then FP+ (certain people were experts at claiming tickets and did so to the detriment of others).

Call it what you want, but it is your OPINION that this is not as good. That is not a FACT. You still seem to have trouble understanding the meaning of the word.

I am not ready to say whether it's better or worse than FP+. TBH I thought

FP+ was a terrible idea over FP and I thought FP was a terrible idea over stand-by only. Disney proved me wrong on both counts. They often surprise me, so I am willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

In my opinion, you are paying more for less.
There is a 3rd party app that does a lot better job of determining the best time to ride
I don't need an app to tell me when is a good time to eat.
How does any app know what ride I might enjoy. It doesn't. What it will do is try to shuffle you to a less utilized ride benefiting the park.
If you call planning your day at 7am the day of, preplanning. I hate to think to think how your handling other important planning.
With FP+, I could get 3 FP for 1st thing in the morning and know months ahead of time what my day was going to look like. And if I couldn't get what I wanted in that park, I could change parks to see if there was a better result. With this, I am stuck with what they decide to give me for as time. Stressing 1st thing in the morning to plan the day is not relaxing. I want all that done before I get here and just enjoy my time while here. While I was not a fan of having to know months ahead of time what I wanted to do each day. The morning of is just worse. At the very least make the day before. Give me some chance to adjust.
If it works right...I present you the yeti, special event ticket sales, magic bands that won't open your room and have to wait for a CS to make their way to you to let you in.
I can't speak for DAS. I have no experience or 2nd hand knowledge.
Unless you were amish, everyone had the same access to get a FP+ of their choosing. The longer you waited, the less likely you would get the popular rides.

I mean it wasn't technically free....the cost for it was covered in the price of the ticket. Maybe this just means Disney will lower ticket prices.

..it could happen right? When you wish upon a star? Pixie dust? Magic...?

And this is why people are so upset. Because what was included in the cost of entrance is now a separate charge but the cost of entrance does not go down. So essentially. ticket prices increases 10% if you only get G+ and another 10 to 15% if you pay for the e-ticket ride. If Chapek raised the prices 25%, the internet would lose their collective mind 100x worse then we are now. It would have been a great idea to lower the ticket prices to make a disney trip more affordable and then charge for G+ and have the up charge for the extras if guests wanted them. Guests would love him for it.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

OK. Somebody's gotta call this out. It's fine if you want to drink the Kool-Aid, but the bottom line remains constant. FP and FP+ were free. It is now a paid privilege. That fact is beyond dispute. Something that was once free, you must now pay for if you want to continue to use it. You may consider other "services" it provides as niceties or even "pluses" that you consider to have monetary value, but at the end of the day, something that was once free (actually paid for as part of park admission technically) is now pay-more-to-play. Period.

Still though, not really true. They took away something, yes - but they gave you something else. Genie+ is NOT equivalent to FP+. It's different. They are not making you pay for the same thing that was free before. You are paying for the different thing. You got something else for free that you did not get before. They took away your free box of kleenex and gave you a free roll of paper towels instead and are charging you for a handkerchief.

Further, no one in their right minds thought it was going to stay free forever. We knew there was going to be a tiered system coming in. We knew Genie was going to be coming along. We knew pretty much every other major park company charged for their tiered lines. We knew Disney was charging in all the other parks. We knew it would not be exactly the same as DLP. We knew they were not happy (and have not been) with FP+ for quite some time (years).

Would I have liked it if there was still a free portion to Deluxe Resort Guests? Of course. In fact, I am kinda surprised there is not. (Maybe there is more to come along those lines). But I never for one moment expected there to be no fee attached to this new service. To be honest, it's a lot less than I was expecting it to be and it's delivering more than I expected it to deliver. So add those things up, and I still think it's a pretty good deal - and if it delivers, I am quite okay with it.

But in either case, I still argue your statement. You are claiming that Genie+ is exactly equivalent to FP+ and it's not.

 

[TiggerBouncy]

Um...do you realize that you are now paying for something that was once included in your park ticket? Disney tickets are already expensive but once you enter you are in the bubble. Now you have to pay to get on rides.

Nope. You are not. You are paying for something different. And you do not have to pay to get on any rides, and you know it. That doesn't help your argument. You only have to pay to skip the lines. You can get on every single ride in the park without paying a single cent more than your ticket.

In my opinion, you are paying more for less.
There is a 3rd party app that does a lot better job of determining the best time to ride
I don't need an app to tell me when is a good time to eat.

Now that is a very different (and reasonable) argument. First, yes - you are talking from your opinion which you are quite correct (not a fact). And you are entitled to it. I also do not argue that there are other apps that may do it better than Disney (TBH, kinda hard for me to say since I have not seen Disney's product yet, so I reserve judgement).

But of course you have an option there, too. If you do not see the value in the product, don't buy it. The good news is you can still get on every ride using your own Touring plans to help you determine the best order to ride them in.