Help with Genie+ Rules

[rf53]

Although we have been to Disneyworld many times, it has been a while since our last visit so we have never used the Genie+ feature. I have been reading up and this is my understanding of how it works. I would appreciate corrections, additions, and tips. If I get it right then this post and your follow ups can be used by others who may have the same question.

These rules apply as of 01/10/2023

1. Genie+ may be purchased on the calendar day of your park visit using the Disney app.
2. The price fluctuates each day depending on how busy the park is.
3. Starting at 7am you may reserve the first attraction.
4. The app allows you to reserve for your entire party.
5. After reserving the first attraction you may reserve a second attraction either two hours after the park opens or immediately after redeeming the first reservation, whichever comes first.
6. Additional reservations may be made two hours after the last reservation or after redeeming the last reservation.
7. You mayonly reserve each attraction once per day.
8. There is no way to reserve two or more attractions at once.

Have I got it?

 

[Mrs.AMC]

Although we have been to Disneyworld many times, it has been a while since our last visit so we have never used the Genie+ feature. I have been reading up and this is my understanding of how it works. I would appreciate corrections, additions, and tips. If I get it right then this post and your follow ups can be used by others who may have the same question.

These rules apply as of 01/10/2023

1. Genie+ may be purchased on the calendar day of your park visit using the Disney app.
2. The price fluctuates each day depending on how busy the park is.
3. Starting at 7am you may reserve the first attraction.
4. The app allows you to reserve for your entire party.
5. After reserving the first attraction you may reserve a second attraction either two hours after the park opens or immediately after redeeming the first reservation, whichever comes first.
6. Additional reservations may be made two hours after the last reservation or after redeeming the last reservation.
7. You mayonly reserve each attraction once per day.
8. There is no way to reserve two or more attractions at once.

Have I got it?

8 is incorrect. That's solely based on the times you book your selections
I've had as many as 3 booked because some I start with I book late and work forward in time.

Unless you mean literally booking 2 attractions at once but I'm not sure how you'd do that anyway

 

[rf53]

8 is incorrect. That's solely based on the times you book your selections
I've had as many as 3 booked because some I start with I book late and work forward in time.

Unless you mean literally booking 2 attractions at once but I'm not sure how you'd do that anyway

Yes, I meant booking two attractions at one sitting. How is that done with Genie+? With the Fast Pass system I was accustomed to booking three per day prior to arriving in Orlando. This new system seems to limits you to booking one attraction every two hours and it must be done on the day you ride. At least that is what I was told when I called DW.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

2. The price fluctuates each day depending on how busy the park is.

Just to be clear, the price fluctuates from day-to-day, but not within each day. If the price is $17 on some Tuesday, it's going to stay $17 for the whole day. It's not like they'll raise the price after an hour if demand is higher than they expected.

Another worthwhile rule...

Genie+ is not park-specific and can be used at multiple parks if you have a Park Hopper ticket.

 

[Mrs.AMC]

Yes, I meant booking two attractions at one sitting. How is that done with Genie+? With the Fast Pass system I was accustomed to booking three per day prior to arriving in Orlando. This new system seems to limits you to booking one attraction every two hours and it must be done on the day you ride. At least that is what I was told when I called DW.

You have it right.
There's an entire thread here dedicated to all things Genie
Will give you everything you need to know, and then some.
Maybe try it too.
But looks like you have it down.
But even with FP+ you couldn't book 2 at once. You had to book them 1 at a time.
You didn't have to wait 2 hours but still did them 1 at a time.
Everyone is waiting 2 hours so, even on NYE we got in 5, 6 rides. No fewer than we ever did with FP
Not liking that it isn't free but it isn't a big loss in # of rides.
What I don't like much is the less control over times

 

[scrappinginontario]

I would recommend reading page one of the 'Everything Genie' thread as it summarizes how everything works.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Everyone is waiting 2 hours so, even on NYE we got in 5, 6 rides. No fewer than we ever did with FP

There's a lot of value if you click into your first LL early in the window. If the park opens at 9 and you click into your LL at 9:05, you're booking your second LL at 9:06 when most people aren't able to do so yet. That first domino can set you up for a lot of success because you'll be a half step ahead of everybody for the rest of the day.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

With some fairly recent mods to the MDE app, you'll be able to see when you're eligible for your next G+ reservation - we usually set an alarm on our phone to ring and remind us we want to go take a look later in the day (assuming we're using the '2-hr rule' at that point, not the 'book-after-tapping rule'!

And you probably already know this, but you will be able to book for your entire party (as you mention above), but they all need to be linked to your MDE Friends and Family to do so.

One final related item (sorry!), Genie+ and the Individual LL purchases are not related. You do not need to purchase G+ to purchase an ILL, if you decide to do so.

 

[coasternut22]

Watch the YouTube channel Earscouts. He has the best G+ tutorial videos out there. Also watch the most recent G+ video on the Mammoth Club channel (G+ tips for 2023). She does a really good job of explaining everything in that video.

 

[rf53]

There's a lot of value if you click into your first LL early in the window. If the park opens at 9 and you click into your LL at 9:05, you're booking your second LL at 9:06 when most people aren't able to do so yet. That first domino can set you up for a lot of success because you'll be a half step ahead of everybody for the rest of the day.

Good advice. The cast member I spoke to on the phone told me her strategy is to select an attraction at 7am for as close to park opening as available, then do standby queues until the first reserved attraction time, click in, and immediately reserve another. She said using that “leapfrog” method you will get the most value from Genie+. She added the only drawback could be the availability of the main attractions but she suggested going early to get those in. Does that make sense?

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Good advice. The cast member I spoke to on the phone told me her strategy is to select an attraction at 7am for as close to park opening as available, then do standby queues until the first reserved attraction time, click in, and immediately reserve another. She said using that “leapfrog” method you will get the most value from Genie+. She added the only drawback could be the availability of the main attractions but she suggested going early to get those in. Does that make sense?

The only hiccup is that you can't see what time you're booking when you make your first reservation at 7am. Disney got rid of that because people would see something like 9:15, but by the time they clicked on it, the time had gone up to 9:45 in that initial 7am rush and people were getting upset. Instead, you book that first reservation blind to the time until you actually have it. You're best off just picking what you're going for and getting whatever you get without worrying too much about time.

 

[rf53]

The only hiccup is that you can't see what time you're booking when you make your first reservation at 7am. Disney got rid of that because people would see something like 9:15, but by the time they clicked on it, the time had gone up to 9:45 in that initial 7am rush and people were getting upset. Instead, you book that first reservation blind to the time until you actually have it. You're best off just picking what you're going for and getting whatever you get without worrying too much about time.

That is a hiccup! I had not heard that before. This system leaves a lot to be desired. I don’t like being a slave to the app all day and hoping my phone battery doesn’t die. The last time I was in DW was February of 2020. I had to deal with getting up at 4am to get to the studios and try to luck into the virtual queue for Rise of the Resistance. It seems Disney is making things harder, not easier as we go along. How do international visitors without cell phones cope with this? I sure miss Fast Pass!

 

[CaptainAmerica]

That is a hiccup! I had not heard that before. This system leaves a lot to be desired. I don’t like being a slave to the app all day and hoping my phone battery doesn’t die. The last time I was in DW was February of 2020. I had to deal with getting up at 4am to get to the studios and try to luck into the virtual queue for Rise of the Resistance. It seems Disney is making things harder, not easier as we go along. How do international visitors without cell phones cope with this? I sure miss Fast Pass!

I don't necessarily love the system either but the "it ties you to your phone all day" thing is overblown to me once you actually use it. If you're booking 5-6 lightning lanes over the course of the day, and it only takes you like 2 minutes to book one, it's only really creating 10 minutes of phone time.

You'd spend WAY MORE than 10 minutes crisscrossing the park to pick up a paper FastPass for Space Mountain, go ride Splash Mountain, go back to ride Space Mountain, return to Frontierland to get a new paper FastPass for Big Thunder, go do something in Fantasyland, etc. The walking all over creation for paper tickets was a much bigger time suck than whatever amount of time you need to spend on your phone.

 

[rf53]

I don't necessarily love the system either but the "it ties you to your phone all day" thing is overblown to me once you actually use it. If you're booking 5-6 lightning lanes over the course of the day, and it only takes you like 2 minutes to book one, it's only really creating 10 minutes of phone time.

You'd spend WAY MORE than 10 minutes crisscrossing the park to pick up a paper FastPass for Space Mountain, go ride Splash Mountain, go back to ride Space Mountain, return to Frontierland to get a new paper FastPass for Big Thunder, go do something in Fantasyland, etc. The walking all over creation for paper tickets was a much bigger time suck than whatever amount of time you need to spend on your phone.

I’m not referring to paper fast passes. There was a time a few years back when as long as you were staying in a Disney resort you could select several fast passes online weeks prior to your visit. The only limit was they had to be at different times slots and there were categories of attractions that could not be lumped together. That system worked for me. It was a great way to plan your day and once you arrived you could make adjustments as needed. All for free by the way. Those were the days!

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I’m not referring to paper fast passes. There was a time a few years back when as long as you were staying in a Disney resort you could select several fast passes online weeks prior to your visit. The only limit was they had to be at different times slots and there were categories of attractions that could not be lumped together. That system worked for me. It was a great way to plan your day and once you arrived you could make adjustments as needed. All for free by the way. Those were the days!

Rewind five years and read boards like this one.

"I hate that Disney forces me to plan what I'm going to do weeks in advance" was the most common comment you'd read about FastPass+. Most people hated it.

I agree with you, I liked FastPass+. I liked the planning, I knew the system, and I was good at it. But you and I were in the minority.

 

[rf53]

Rewind five years and read boards like this one.

"I hate that Disney forces me to plan what I'm going to do weeks in advance" was the most common comment you'd read about FastPass+. Most people hated it.

I agree with you, I liked FastPass+. I liked the planning, I knew the system, and I was good at it. But you and I were in the minority.

Great minds think alike!

Seriously, being able to secure popular attractions weeks in advance was a major bonus. If you knew what you were doing it was easy to create a great experience. Now it is luck of the draw and pay for play to boot. I’ve read that many, many people are opting out of going to Disney and I can’t say I blame them.

 

[rf53]

The only hiccup is that you can't see what time you're booking when you make your first reservation at 7am. Disney got rid of that because people would see something like 9:15, but by the time they clicked on it, the time had gone up to 9:45 in that initial 7am rush and people were getting upset. Instead, you book that first reservation blind to the time until you actually have it. You're best off just picking what you're going for and getting whatever you get without worrying too much about time.

By the way, I just read this in the Genie+ thread suggested above. This may be a hack to your issue of blind booking the first attraction at 7am.

“Between 7:00 - 7:30AM, to see return times for attractions, click the attraction you’re considering booking. Return time will then be displayed.”

 

[CaptainAmerica]

“Between 7:00 - 7:30AM, to see return times for attractions, click the attraction you’re considering booking. Return time will then be displayed.”

Yes, but clicking, then deciding that you don't like the time, then going back to click something else, then checking THAT time, is a waste of time when seconds matter. It takes too long and all the early slots at the other attractions are getting gobbled up. You shouldn't be doing back-and-forth agonizing over decisions at the 7am drop. Just get something booked ASAP.

 

[rf53]

Yes, but clicking, then deciding that you don't like the time, then going back to click something else, then checking THAT time, is a waste of time when seconds matter. It takes too long and all the early slots at the other attractions are getting gobbled up. You shouldn't be doing back-and-forth agonizing over decisions at the 7am drop. Just get something booked ASAP.

How about if we use two cell phones and a linked account? That may solve the issue.

 

[rf53]

Yes, but clicking, then deciding that you don't like the time, then going back to click something else, then checking THAT time, is a waste of time when seconds matter. It takes too long and all the early slots at the other attractions are getting gobbled up. You shouldn't be doing back-and-forth agonizing over decisions at the 7am drop. Just get something booked ASAP.

I see your point, but this is where the system is a failure for the guest. Either you roll the dice and select an attraction you want risking a late return time which limits your next selection until 2 hours after park opening, or you take a few seconds more to select any early return time for some other attraction in order to maximize Genie+ usage, but at the risk of losing a shot at an attraction you want. It is lose-lose, or at best a gamble. Not exactly guest friendly for the prices we pay these days.