Genie+

[Madame]

Just wrap it in a fixed price like Universal. Prices go up & I think there would be less grumbling if it weren’t such an unpredictable convoluted system.

Getting up every morning at 7? Like come on. Wasn’t that a selling feature of FP+? You could sleep in & were still guaranteed 3 rides.

And removing the top tier rides? You have to make a park reservation and aren’t guaranteed anything in that park after paying $15 per person (75$ usd per day for us) - they’re forcing people into the parks early bc everyone will want their $’s worth. Honestly, many trips we just did our 3 FPs daily. Just monetize the current FP system.

We have DVC points to burn (so many points ) - we’re going to use our DVC villa (bc we are spoiled with all that space) and get a deluxe reservation at Universal for 3 nights (so 5 days’ worth) for express pass (haven’t been in several years).

We’ll either rent a car or drive down - I mean magical express no longer exists so that was another sunk cost anyway. We’ll get a water Park AP for WDW for the other days of our trip and I think we’ll be set. Will we pay more than this ridiculous new system? I honestly don’t think so given that we’re a family of 5, plus I refuse to pay not knowing *exactly* what I am getting. WDW seems to only want DINKs now

 

[igrsod]

i don’t know about those wait times for FOP. We just came back and some mornings at rope drop FOP queue was easily 2 hrs. Really you had to get to AK an hour before park opening to get a 30 min wait for FOP.

So essentially if you arrive that early, you are still waiting 1 hour and 1/2 for the ride. I always think it's hilarious that people will get to the park entrance an hour before opening (or more) in order to ONLY wait 30-45 minutes for FOP. You still waited just in a different way.
With the old system, we just booked a FP 60 days in advance and rolled into the parks after a nice breakfast, refreshed, well rested and fed and went on the ride no stress. ugggghhhh. I will miss that.

 

[quandrea]

How do you figure? There will be 2 options. Pay to get on right away, or you can do stand-by which I've shown above that when 75% of the line isn't FP+, the waits for standby can actually be reasonable.

Your graph doesn’t figure in how LL will affect the standby line. That is an unknown quantity at this point.

I don’t think this can be spun as anything positive. They are offering less for more.

Our trips were always 12+ nights. We never wait in a single standby line. Our annual passes afforded us three fast passes per day, thereby eliminating the need for standby. That option no longer exists. My ticket has less value.

I will never pay for Genie+ for my family of five, nor will I pay for a la carte options. I’ve written Disney—not that it will help—but this will have me spending less at their resort, not more.

To be told there is still a stand by line when under the old system, I never needed a stand by line is offensive to me as a high affinity guest.

 

[quandrea]

Just wrap it in a fixed price like Universal. Prices go up & I think there would be less grumbling if it weren’t such an unpredictable convoluted system.

Getting up every morning at 7? Like come on. Wasn’t that a selling feature of FP+? You could sleep in & were still guaranteed 3 rides.

And removing the top tier rides? You have to make a park reservation and aren’t guaranteed anything in that park after paying $15 per person (75$ usd per day for us) - they’re forcing people into the parks early bc everyone will want their $’s worth. Honestly, many trips we just did our 3 FPs daily. Just monetize the current FP system.

We have DVC points to burn (so many points ) - we’re going to use our DVC villa (bc we are spoiled with all that space) and get a deluxe reservation at Universal for 3 nights (so 5 days’ worth) for express pass (haven’t been in several years).

We’ll either rent a car or drive down - I mean magical express no longer exists so that was another sunk cost anyway. We’ll get a water Park AP for WDW for the other days of our trip and I think we’ll be set. Will we pay more than this ridiculous new system? I honestly don’t think so given that we’re a family of 5, plus I refuse to pay not knowing *exactly* what I am getting. WDW seems to only want DINKs now

Yes, this system is not kind to families. Multiplication in this situation, becomes a nasty thing.

I’m reading that many people are heading to Universal. I understand the sentiment, but after one visit there, it holds no appeal for our family. Very dull and repetitive for us. Given that we own dvc, it leaves us with a conundrum. Like you, we have points to burn right now. Under normal circumstances, we have 860 points per year, so one can see just how much of our vacation dollars Disney got. I’m going to try touring a day or two under the new system without purchasing Genie+. If it goes badly, we are done. I’ll sell dvc, make a handsome profit and Disney will not be part of our vacations any more.

 

[migel]

Another money grab wrapped in a 'we're doing it to make your experience better', bow. The demand is surging back and Disney is okay with weeding out visitors on the lower end of the income scale. I've had an annual pass for several years, but likely no more. If and when they reinstate the AP, the price and black-out dates will increase, and perks like free parking will be excluded, except for only the highest tier passes. It's unfortunate, but it is a sign of the times.

 

[Juventus]

So essentially if you arrive that early, you are still waiting 1 hour and 1/2 for the ride. I always think it's hilarious that people will get to the park entrance an hour before opening (or more) in order to ONLY wait 30-45 minutes for FOP. You still waited just in a different way.
With the old system, we just booked a FP 60 days in advance and rolled into the parks after a nice breakfast, refreshed, well rested and fed and went on the ride no stress. ugggghhhh. I will miss that.
[/QUOTE]
I find I hilarious people can't figure this out about ropedropping:
you are waiting before opening so not wasting park time and once finished said ride, most other rides still have very short rides. At AK, after getting there an hour early and walking on to fop (I have gotten there at 7:45 for 9:00 opening and have been off the ride by 9:00 multiple times), I can walk on / minimal wait on to NRJ, KS, and EE. Again, I've done this many times.
Easily do those 4 attractions within an hour and a half of park opening.

Not bad for waiting in line an hour early, then maybe 20 minutes more for the other rides.

Helps we are morning people.

 

[badiggio]

Yes, this system is not kind to families. Multiplication in this situation, becomes a nasty thing.

I’m reading that many people are heading to Universal. I understand the sentiment, but after one visit there, it holds no appeal for our family. Very dull and repetitive for us. Given that we own dvc, it leaves us with a conundrum. Like you, we have points to burn right now. Under normal circumstances, we have 860 points per year, so one can see just how much of our vacation dollars Disney got. I’m going to try touring a day or two under the new system without purchasing Genie+. If it goes badly, we are done. I’ll sell dvc, make a handsome profit and Disney will not be part of our vacations any more.

I was Universal once,and it was enough to satisfy my curiosity.Never again.it didn't have the same feel or "connection' for me and it was boring ,imo.

 

[quandrea]

I was Universal once,and it was enough to satisfy my curiosity.Never again.it didn't have the same feel or "connection' for me and it was boring ,imo.

Exactly how we feel. Our first and only three day visit wasn’t bad, but no need to ever go again. That’s why without the Disney parks (if it comes to that), we will unload our dvc. There won’t be any point. Maybe we will buy a vacation property in Newfoundland—my other favourite place to vacation. Way cheaper too.

 

[mshanson3121]

Exactly how we feel. Our first and only three day visit wasn’t bad, but no need to ever go again. That’s why without the Disney parks (if it comes to that), we will unload our dvc. There won’t be any point. Maybe we will buy a vacation property in Newfoundland—my other favourite place to vacation. Way cheaper too.

Not to derail, but NFLD is on my bucket list. Any tips, fave places to stay, things to do? Feel free to PM me. We've been wanting to do the western side/Gross More etc...

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

I find I hilarious people can't figure this out about ropedropping:

you are waiting before opening so not wasting park time and once finished said ride, most other rides still have very short rides. At AK, after getting there an hour early and walking on to fop (I have gotten there at 7:45 for 9:00 opening and have been off the ride by 9:00 multiple times), I can walk on / minimal wait on to NRJ, KS, and EE. Again, I've done this many times.

Easily do those 4 attractions within an hour and a half of park opening.

Not bad for waiting in line an hour early, then maybe 20 minutes more for the other rides.

Helps we are morning people.

Same. If you don't rope drop FOP (or e-tickets) then you will be waiting twice as long during park hours. We always do rope drop at least 30 minutes prior because sometimes they actually open the park earlier than the posted time!

At first I was all ticked off about the Genie+/LL, but now that I have had a chance to digest and see how I could make it work, I'm not as upset about it. It helps that my 5-day passes were "Free" with air miles and my whole resort stay ($2000 CDN) was paid in WDW gift cards (indirectly paid with by PC points, so free again).

This will be our last trip anyways, so whatev.

 

[Kickstart]

I'm all for it.

I'm not a "week+ on-site" Disney visitor. The old FP+ system too heavily tilted the tables to those type of visitors who scooped up all of the best FP+'s leaving the rest of us to fight over table scraps and/or "pound the app" all day to try and get anything good.

This is basically a digital version of the old paper FP system, or more accurately its almost identical to MaxPass at DL. Bring it!

Almost... if they made Genie+ free, and it included all ride tiers, then I think everyone would be on-board... And more willing to purchase the occasional IAS ticket.

Then it would be like the old paper system but much better, as there's no need for "runners" or to crowd around the FP machines.
And it helps address how FP+ favored those who stayed longer and planned better (although, it's kind of a head scratcher that Disney would want to move away from encouraging people to stay longer).

I do see your point. I've experienced both the paper FP and FP+ and WDW, and I remember thinking when FP+ came out that I felt sorry for those who aren't big planners. Paper FP still required a good plan to maximize it's value (and the leniency of them not really enforcing expired return times) but it didn't require 30/60 day advance planning, and it still offered value for a family that didn't do much planning (especially if they didn't mind waiting around for their late day FP).

... but, it's not free, and it doesn't include the top tier rides like the old paper FP. I guess I'll experience it next summer when we go and maybe I'll love it, but based on what I know currently, I'm not liking it.

 

[quandrea]

Not to derail, but NFLD is on my bucket list. Any tips, fave places to stay, things to do? Feel free to PM me. We've been wanting to do the western side/Gross More etc...

I’ll send a pm in a bit.

 

[badiggio]

Exactly how we feel. Our first and only three day visit wasn’t bad, but no need to ever go again. That’s why without the Disney parks (if it comes to that), we will unload our dvc. There won’t be any point. Maybe we will buy a vacation property in Newfoundland—my other favourite place to vacation. Way cheaper too.

That's the way I feel about Aulani;without the parks ,imo,it's an overpriced hotel in Ko Olina with a couple of people in costumes.I've been there to 'visit" a few times ,as we always stay at the Ko Olina Beach villas,across the field from it.

 

[quandrea]

Not to derail, but NFLD is on my bucket list. Any tips, fave places to stay, things to do? Feel free to PM me. We've been wanting to do the western side/Gross More etc...

Tried to pm and system wouldn’t let me. Maybe adjust your privacy settings and I’ll try again.

 

[Heather07438]

That's probably a fair assessment on what Rope Drop might be, but on the flipside if that is true, with so few people having an FP+ for it now and if a ton of the on-site guests rope drop it too, then the Stand-by line many other times of the day will likely be relatively reasonable. You may likely not even need to buy G+ for your AK day.

Here's a quick little comparison on what FP+ did to standby.

FOP's standby wait times this past Wednesday (3rd Wed of Aug) when there is no FP+ filling it up (and even less park hours).

View attachment 598542

Here is standby the 3rd Wednesday of Aug in 2019 when FP+ was in full use

View attachment 598544

I think we will see a reduction in standby and here's why:

Under the old system familiar guests often rode twice, they'd ropedrop and use FP later to do again. Some knew the drop times too. That's how we worked FoP, we didn't rope drop it but we'd plan our 3 FPs (including FoP) in the first hours to be done by noon, then pick up another FoP at the ~1pm drop. We could've rode 3 times but we liked doing a leisurely ropedrop at Safari.

The new system is going to cut down on the amount of people riding twice. Having to pay will discourage most people from taking that second ride. That's going to help standby move much better. I'd be okay waiting 45-60 minutes to get on FoP but wouldn't choose to wait a second time, and that's probably common as well.

 

[CanucksRock]

I still laugh at my family, when they were disappointed when we used a FP+ for FOP …. because they enjoyed the queue so much

I certainly won’t be paying for LL+ …but then I been on the headliners a multitude of times. So I’m not really the customer for this. (We did FOP 3 times in a day during Sept 2020 trip)

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

The new system is going to cut down on the amount of people riding twice. Having to pay will discourage most people from taking that second ride. That's going to help standby move much better. I'd be okay waiting 45-60 minutes to get on FoP but wouldn't choose to wait a second time, and that's probably common as well.

I never thought of this, but I think it's a good point.

 

[mshanson3121]

Tried to pm and system wouldn’t let me. Maybe adjust your privacy settings and I’ll try again.

Okay will do now!
Eta: I checked, very weird, my settings allow messages!

 

[boogienights]

With only my adult daughter and I heading to Florida in February (depending on covid) I am probably in the minority in loving G+ and LL. We'll be spending 4 days at Disney (no hoppers) and 2 at Universal. The first 3 days will be at Royal Pacific to take advantage of unlimited express pass at US and then switch over to Endless Summer Resort for the rest of our stay. ESR is a fraction of the cost of Disney resorts (and across the street from shops for food/snacks/drinks/sundries and Walgreens for covid tests). We'll be using Lyft or Uber to get to WDW. The combined cost of Uber/Lyft and ESR is still less than just about any WDW resort. I think the only exception is the campground. Not having to use Disney transportation or rent a car is a huge bonus. With only 4 days, G+ will cost $120. Totally doable especially since being across the street from shops will reduce other costs exponentially. We would definitely use LL for ROTR and RAT regardless of price. These are the only 2 rides we havent been on yet. If we don't get on even with LL, oh well, not the end of the world. I don't much care about 7DMT or Slinky and can happily skip them. Other popular attractions would be wait and see how long the standby lines are, get in line right before park close or bite the bullet and buy LL if available....and that's the beauty of it. I don't have to worry about scheduling anything 3 or 6 months in advance except the park itself. This is way more relaxing to me. I have to bring my phone to the park anyway, to take pics, summon Uber, stay in touch with my elderly mother, etc, so no prob making reservations day of. Rope drop? Dunno about that yet. We'll see how it all plays out. With resort guests having early access everyday, there may no longer be a benefit in this. I'll still get to the park as it opens to make my first reservation but probably won't be arriving an hour before opening. All in all, I'm loving this new system. I can appreciate, however, how this will be awful for those with larger families who want to stay onsite for a week or more. This system is great for couples staying offsite. My way of dealing with mid-afternoon breaks when staying offsite... Uber/walk/ferry to the closest resort and take a nap in the lobby. Again, easy to do with two adults travelling together, not great for families with littles.

 

[quandrea]

Okay will do now!
Eta: I checked, very weird, my settings allow messages!

Why don’t you send me one and I’ll reply. Still not working for me.