Genie + usage poll

[cgattis]

$10 per person

Hmm. Good info—thanks!! I’m afraid I will find I’m one of those people Disney is targeting who pays for their trip ahead and then will say “I don’t care, I’m on vacation!!” and pays it.

 

[DisneyKidds]

We used it on 7 or 8 rides. We did HS in the morning, and then hopped over to AK. AK we were able to get immediate return times and get on whatever we wanted - but it also wasn't actually necessary at the point either. Most lines were walk ons by that point anyway. HS was a lot harder. We couldn't get a slinky dog until 12ish (with choosing right at 7am) - when we saw an earlier time pop up we lost it because we had to cancel and then rebook, so we never got on that. We had early entry and rope dropped MMRR, then his Toy Story Mania and Alien Swirling Saucers are walk ons by 9am and then RRC with maybe a 10 minute wait. Ended up picking up a ToT for 9:30ish when we lost SD. By the time we were able to use that, many return times were into the afternoon, making it pretty much useless for us us unless we used it for something unnecessary like the Frozen show or Beauty and the Beast. The only other ride at HS we ended up using for was Star Tours because that and Alien Swirling Saucers were the only ones you could get close return times for. I don't think we'll be using it again unless we go to MK.

This kind of experience highlights a flaw in this kind of poll, IMHO. Using G+ for 8 rides is likely to be viewed as some kind of success when someone evaluates the poll results. However, in reality (and correct me if I’m wrong) it seems like you got little value for the money you spent on G+. Since most of the rides you used it on in the AK were walk on anyway how much time waiting in lines did you actually save? That would seem to be the best barometer of success. Your conclusion is the key. Based on your results, even though you used 8 G+ LL reservations, you wouldn’t buy it again for use in the same parks.

Would you feel differently if you had kept your original SDD reservation and didn’t get hosed by dropping it and trying to move it up and missing out?

 

[Transferteck]

Hmm. Good info—thanks!! I’m afraid I will find I’m one of those people Disney is targeting who pays for their trip ahead and then will say “I don’t care, I’m on vacation!!” and pays it.

I understand. The only reason we bought those was because D23 had a special offer for free genie+ that day. Meaning we only had to pay the $10 for mine cart and not the $15 for g+.

 

[KristaZ]

This kind of experience highlights a flaw in this kind of poll, IMHO. Using G+ for 8 rides is likely to be viewed as some kind of success when someone evaluates the poll results. However, in reality (and correct me if I’m wrong) it seems like you got little value for the money you spent on G+. Since most of the rides you used it on in the AK were walk on anyway how much time waiting in lines did you actually save? That would seem to be the best barometer of success. Your conclusion is the key. Based on your results, even though you used 8 G+ LL reservations, you wouldn’t buy it again for use in the same parks.

Would you feel differently if you had kept your original SDD reservation and didn’t get hosed by dropping it and trying to move it up and missing out?

You're absolutely right - we felt the value was not there for what we paid. I doubt we saved more than 30 minutes across all the rides at AK - and that might even be a stretch. I think I would feel the same even if we didn't lose out on SDD - if we had kept it, we would have been stuck not picking anything else until 11, which pretty much would have meant not getting anything worthwhile in that park until after 3 or 4 at that point. We were among those who could do really well with FP+ and get fast passes for most rides by doing some refreshing throughout the day and I think I expected an experience more like that and that wasn't what we got.

 

[disneydreamer781]

-Dirty looks from the standby que because many feel it’s not fair (I understand that perspective 100% seeing as how FP used to be free for all).

Aaah! This brings back memories of the days we used to get the same dirty looks using FP.

 

[NorCalTim]

Never felt guilty about using fastpass as it was available to everyone..people with the ability to pay even more money might get a few more dirty looks though .

 

[SMF_mom23]

We couldn't get a slinky dog until 12ish (with choosing right at 7am) - when we saw an earlier time pop up we lost it because we had to cancel and then rebook, so we never got on that.

I'm sorry you missed out on SDD. That's one I'm hoping to finally experience on our June trip. Hopefully they add the feature to swap times in G+ for LLs soon.

 

[twinsmom44]

It’s going to be interesting to watch during busy weeks. There are going to be a lot of PO’ed guests if they purchase G+ and can’t get any useful return times. It’s one thing to complain about the lack of FP+ availability when it was free. It’s quite another to charge guests for something and have it not prove to be useful. $16/pp for Frozen or Beauty shows. No thank you. I foresee people demanding refunds (and yes I know it says no refunds but…)

I'm thinking the same thing. It always perturbed me when I saw a family with small children being talked into adding the meal plan credits at Christmas times while they are checking in when the Cast Members knew darn well that the only ressies they would likely get would be at 9-10 at night when the little ones should be in bed already. . I see the same thing happening during busy times...... I hope I'm wrong.

 

[Scubadaddy32]

It’s going to be interesting to watch during busy weeks. There are going to be a lot of PO’ed guests if they purchase G+ and can’t get any useful return times. It’s one thing to complain about the lack of FP+ availability when it was free. It’s quite another to charge guests for something and have it not prove to be useful. $16/pp for Frozen or Beauty shows. No thank you. I foresee people demanding refunds (and yes I know it says no refunds but…)

FP was a way for guest to control their experience. Genie is a way for WDW to control the guest. LOL
Yep... I've been tracking this for days and rides like SDD and even SR were hours out at park opening for non-resort guest. It's not even that busy right now. Ha
Currently it's 11: 15 AM
Alien Swirling Saucers next available 1:10 PM
Mickey and Minnie's (Pay $10.00) next available 3:20 PM
Smugglers Run next available 5:10 PM
Rockin Roller Coaster next available 2:10 PM
Slinky Dog Dash NOT AVAILABLE AT 11 AM
Star Tours next available 11:40 PM
Toy Story Mania next available 2:30 PM
Tower of Terror next available 2:20 PM
RotR was gone a long time ago.
It's 11:15 AM All of the standby lines are at least 50 minutes plus outside of Swirling Saucers and Star Tours.

 

[bffdisney]

FP was a way for guest to control their experience. Genie is a way for WDW to control the guest. LOL
Yep... I've been tracking this for days and rides like SDD and even SR were hours out at park opening for non-resort guest. It's not even that busy right now. Ha
Currently it's 11: 15 AM
Alien Swirling Saucers next available 1:10 PM
Mickey and Minnie's (Pay $10.00) next available 3:20 PM
Smugglers Run next available 5:10 PM
Rockin Roller Coaster next available 2:10 PM
Slinky Dog Dash NOT AVAILABLE AT 11 AM
Star Tours next available 11:40 PM
Toy Story Mania next available 2:30 PM
Tower of Terror next available 2:20 PM
RotR was gone a long time ago.
It's 11:15 AM All of the standby lines are at least 50 minutes plus outside of Swirling Saucers and Star Tours.

Seems like they should make the IAS (pay extra) for SDD and not Runaway Railway

 

[SMF_mom23]

Seems like they should make the IAS (pay extra) for SDD and not Runaway Railway

I think the reason they left it at SDD is strictly because they thought it would draw more people to G+ vs switching it with MMRR. IMO, MMRR is the ride I'm more likely to purchase an IA$ for, but I've never ridden SDD as the SB line @ 75 minutes, iirc, was way more than I was willing to do on my last trip.

ETA: With SDD on G+ in addition to some of the other rides, I'm more likely to purchase it in June on my HS day PLUS spend for MMRR for our family of 5. (Note "more likely" doesn't mean I'm 100% going to, just that I'll give it more consideration.)

 

[vincep]

How long before Genie+ goes to $20 a day? And will Rise be $25 during Christmas? They probably could get$30.

 

[meremac]

My situation was a little unique. A client (who also happens to be one of my closest friends) added Genie+ for her HS day this week. She was kind of struggling with it so I offered to log in as her and take over from home. Obviously this isn't something I would feel comfortable doing for anyone but like I said, she is a very good friend. By the time she texted me, it was close to 9am and SDD was gone. They did Runaway Railway during Early Entry and went to SDD but the line was already long so I told her to get in line for TSM standby. Meanwhile I made Genie+ for them to ride TSM again right after (I knew their DS5 would love it and I was pretty sure the line would be long by the time they got off). I had her text me when they scanned in for TSM and I made one for Swirling Saucers for right after. Then I started looking for Smugglers Run. That took a bit of refreshing because I was trying to get something for right after their Droid depot appointment, but I was successful after about 10 minutes of trying. Meanwhile they did Lightning McQueen, Disney Jr Dance Party, saw that movie short, and had lunch. I set an alarm and as soon as two hours had passed from when I made their Smugglers reservation, I decided to buckle down and try to be a SDD hero . After about an hour of refreshing, a Genie+ return time popped up for late evening so I grabbed that. After Droid Depot and Smugglers, they took an afternoon break and I stacked a couple more Genie+ reservations for when they came back. They ended up using only one of those since DS was enjoying the pool too much . After they had dinner at Brown Derby, they used that SDD reservation I had found earlier in the day, then did TSM one more time standby (by then it was only a 15 minute wait), then got in line at the very end of the night for another ride on RR. They thought Genie+ was definitely worth it.

 

[PaladinButters]

How long before Genie+ goes to $20 a day? And will Rise be $25 during Christmas? They probably could get$30.

Probably next summer with the ticket increases. MaxPass at DL went from $10 to $15 to $20 real quick like that.

 

[mom2rtk]

My situation was a little unique. A client (who also happens to be one of my closest friends) added Genie+ for her HS day this week. She was kind of struggling with it so I offered to log in as her and take over from home. Obviously this isn't something I would feel comfortable doing for anyone but like I said, she is a very good friend. By the time she texted me, it was close to 9am and SDD was gone. They did Runaway Railway during Early Entry and went to SDD but the line was already long so I told her to get in line for TSM standby. Meanwhile I made Genie+ for them to ride TSM again right after (I knew their DS5 would love it and I was pretty sure the line would be long by the time they got off). I had her text me when they scanned in for TSM and I made one for Swirling Saucers for right after. Then I started looking for Smugglers Run. That took a bit of refreshing because I was trying to get something for right after their Droid depot appointment, but I was successful after about 10 minutes of trying. Meanwhile they did Lightning McQueen, Disney Jr Dance Party, saw that movie short, and had lunch. I set an alarm and as soon as two hours had passed from when I made their Smugglers reservation, I decided to buckle down and try to be a SDD hero . After about an hour of refreshing, a Genie+ return time popped up for late evening so I grabbed that. After Droid Depot and Smugglers, they took an afternoon break and I stacked a couple more Genie+ reservations for when they came back. They ended up using only one of those since DS was enjoying the pool too much . After they had dinner at Brown Derby, they used that SDD reservation I had found earlier in the day, then did TSM one more time standby (by then it was only a 15 minute wait), then got in line at the very end of the night for another ride on RR. They thought Genie+ was definitely worth it.

So the rule is..... Genie+ is "worth it" if you have concierge service.

Great friend. And I'm glad they had a great day. But honestly, I read that story and only see what a distraction it would be to attempt to do all of that myself while in the parks.

 

[_19disnA]

^^ I agree, doubt the typical person at the park wants to spend the day with their nose stuck in the phone. The whole Genie thing seems way too complicated and the casual user will likely not understand how it works, probably just give up or never even bother with it. We used our 3 daily FastPass during our last trip and really didn't think it added much, can't see paying more for all of this extra complication.

 

[meremac]

So the rule is..... Genie+ is "worth it" if you have concierge service.

Great friend. And I'm glad they had a great day. But honestly, I read that story and only see what a distraction it would be to attempt to do all of that myself while in the parks.

Lol no not just if you have concierge service. I had like five other clients this week who also had a lot of success with it on their own. Since this post was specifically asking for personal experiences, I just didn't feel like it was fair to vote and provide data for my other clients since I didn't actually do it. My friend is wonderful and I love her, but she will be the first to admit that she gets overwhelmed with this kind of stuff. Based on my other clients' positive experiences this week, she is the exception. But she figured it out over the last couple of days and ended up having a lot of success on her own after my help at HS. The biggest problem was that she didn't follow my plans , and she made her first Genie+ reservation for the wrong thing. This meant that we didn't start getting Genie+ reservations until 9am, so it required a little more effort to fix. That hasn't been happening with my other clients, and it's honestly been a breeze for most of them.

 

[meremac]

^^ I agree, doubt the typical person at the park wants to spend the day with their nose stuck in the phone. The whole Genie thing seems way too complicated and the casual user will likely not understand how it works, probably just give up or never even bother with it. We used our 3 daily FastPass during our last trip and really didn't think it added much, can't see paying more for all of this extra complication.

See my response above. My other clients had a lot of success on their own and provided positive feedback. I just didn't think it was fair to vote for them since I didn't actually do it. I just give my clients a tutorial in advance along with some strategies and plan a/b/c tips. Armed with that knowledge, they are almost all doing just fine.

 

[vincep]

What if you don't get up at 7am. My favorite time in the parks is the evening. So if you don't want to get on your phone immediately at 7 will Genie plus work if you don't start programming it first thing in the morning until say 8-9 and then before you head into the park you first want to get breakfast at Kona or the Grand Floridian Cafe? Or is there the possibility of losing out on favorite rides even later in the day?

 

[chaoskids]

I think it truly depends on what you hope to accomplish for your trip. We are both 50+ DVC and AP traveling without our adult children and extended family who usually accompany us. So pool/relax time is a priority. We are here for 9 days and doing AK and HS once, Boo Bash and food and wine a lot. We've used it twice so far; once at HS and once at DS. We planned to use it at HS since we went to HS straight from the airport. We purchased la$ for RoTR. Got a + for Tot tapped in then got + for TSM. Didn't realize you could refresh and find a better time, so our TSM was a wait so we purchased MMRR though we hadn't planned too. Road MMRR then TSM then + for RNR and used our la$ for RoTR and hit the pool by 1230 pm.
Today we planned to only purchase la$ for FOP at AK. We wanted to ride it twice so we arrived early and rode it with Resort ETPE. It showed a short wait when we got off so we got back in line. Mistake. In line longer than projected. The purchased LL begin entering the line and influenced the wait time. Went to EE. We were in the standby line when we realized we wouldn't make it back to our purchased FOP so got out of line and paid for LL for EE and had a 5 minute wait. My goal was pool by 1230 and we have evening plans so we purchased Gene+ rode dinosaur, the Safari and Kali and back to our resort and at the pool by 1230.

Had we skipped the second free ride on FoP, we would not have made any additional Genie purchases.