ILL is aptly named.

[wisblue]

Park open. Just like they do at DLR.

IMHO that is much more inconvenient for people who are already at the park and have to interrupt what they are doing to make a reservation.

You‘re never going to satisfy everyone.

 

[mom2rtk]

IMHO that is much more inconvenient for people who are already at the park and have to interrupt what they are doing to make a reservation.

You‘re never going to satisfy everyone.

It's not that complicated. We bought MaxPass while walking in during rope drop. Genie+ isn't that much different. Plus I don't see people on the DLR board complaining about it.

But yes, it's likely a matter of preference. Doesn't matter to me since I'm up by 7 but I absolutely see why some would intensely dislike it.

 

[wisblue]

It's not that complicated. We bought MaxPass while walking in during rope drop. Genie+ isn't that much different. Plus I don't see people on the DLR board complaining about it.

But yes, it's likely a matter of preference. Doesn't matter to me since I'm up by 7 but I absolutely see why some would intensely dislike it.

It‘s not a matter of being complicated, but if I’m at a park for early entry, I wouldn’t want to have to plan to be off of a ride a half hour later to book my first LL attraction.

I also like knowing before I get to the park what my first LL reservation is because it might affect where I go first during EE.

 

[KayKayJS]

No, you have absolutely no control over the time you get. They offer you choices but they are meaningless as you get whatever time is available when you charge drops. You also cannot change the time or even cancel it one purchased.

this happened to me yesterday. I clicked 12pm and it gave me 6-7 pm which didn’t work as we only had a babysitter until 4…

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

 

[mom2rtk]

It‘s not a matter of being complicated, but if I’m at a park for early entry, I wouldn’t want to have to plan to be off of a ride a half hour later to book my first LL attraction.

I also like knowing before I get to the park what my first LL reservation is because it might affect where I go first during EE.

As you said, a matter of personal preference. I just don't think it's a big deal. But Disney must, as they have chosen the 7 AM wakeup call for those on the East coast versus the rope drop plan on the West coast.

 

[stinkpickle]

I'm so glad we didn't mess with Genie at all last week. We had a great time, and my phone stayed charged.

 

[tgarre06]

ILL really does make me ill. Today’s frustration. I log into the app at 6:59:50. I go to the rip board and change to Animal Kingdom. Boom! FOP listed for 9am! Grab it!!! WTH now it says 10:15!! Grab that! I pay for it and it now says 12:30!!! What a worthless piece of crap system! It does not even lock in the time you pick, it just keeps going until your payment posts!!!

This irritated me on my Nov trip too!

 

[g-dad66]

My guess would be that OP didn't click the 10:15 fast enough and was shown the next closest thing which was 12:30?

Screen 1 - Tip board, always says "window starts at 9am" in the morning because that's park open but with RISE that is a lie about .0025 seconds past 7:00 am as we all know it. Magical spinning loading circle after you click that takes you to the "real" times.
Screen 2 - Past the tip board to "Select a Time" screen, spot where you actually select your preferred time - 9am was already gone and OP attempts to choose 10:15 as their option. Nothing is locked here and thousands of people are frantically clicking the times and the continue button at the bottom to get past this screen. 10:15 sells out here.
Screen 3 - Review your purchase - 12:30 is now shown here since it's still not locked in.
Screen 4 - (Purchase screen) This is the screen with the countdown that shows ten minutes to complete purchase. Then you go on to confirm your payment info.
I'm gonna try and slap screenshots on here (not mine - all credit to the bloggers). If you don't have the timer yet your ILLS are being sold out from under you at any other time. I think if it took more than ten minutes to check out they would bump you back a screen to confirm a new time instead of just selling you something you didn't agree to.

So the $64,000 question - did the time jump between screens 3 and 4 and it's hidden in the summary? Someone with an AP can probably just grab a park rez and test this out for us in the morning, actually. Any takers?


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Thanks for the screenshots! It really clarifies the procedure.

As you say, the $64,000 question is "Can the time showing on Screen 3 change?"

In OP's example, screen 1 may have shown 9:00 (Window STARTS at 9:00 am)
On screen 2, OP selects 10:15
Does screen 3 show 12:30? I suspect that it does, so that when payment is completed, time is still 12:30.

But as you also say, it would be good if someone can test this out going forward. If no one else is able to report on it before March, then I will try to do so on our mid-March trip.

 

[Sydnerella]

Disney doesn’t care. They are selling out every day, they have made the money already. I doubt they will ever fix it, as it doesn’t effect their bottom line.

Because the guest experience is NOT important to them. Only money is important.

If the guest experience were important would we have to get up every day on vacation before 7 AM to book lightning lanes and ILLs and would we have to book ADRs at 6 AM central or 5:30 AM central or whatever the H time they decide they want to release them, Deal with crappy glitches in the genie plus app while you’re trying to enjoy a Park day with our family but spending more time in the GET lines or just give up all together, and would we have to take unreliable crappy Disney transportation or walk without trams or lose the only reliable Disney transportation we had in the MagicalExpress?

No - the guest experience is not important to Disney and until we stop buying this subpar stuff they sell us without complaint they will not care.

 

[UrsulaTime]

It‘s not a matter of being complicated, but if I’m at a park for early entry, I wouldn’t want to have to plan to be off of a ride a half hour later to book my first LL attraction.

I also like knowing before I get to the park what my first LL reservation is because it might affect where I go first during EE.

I agree...I'm glad ILL$/Genie + booking starts before park open; I suspect, from my one experience with MaxPass, that I may not be as handy with my phone and ride-grabbing apps as other people. Especially when it comes to doing it in real time, while trying to think (which ride? which time? where will we be then?) and walk around a theme park (reminder to self, no walking while using app).

I'd rather get at least one selection over with in bed or on a bus instead of pulling myself out of the moment in the park.

Btw, I'm really glad that everyone is sharing their experiences, good and bad. It's interesting and helpful, as always.

 

[PaladinButters]

I agree...I'm glad ILL$/Genie + booking starts before park open; I suspect, from my one experience with MaxPass, that I may not be as handy with my phone and ride-grabbing apps as other people. Especially when it comes to doing it in real time, while trying to think (which ride? which time? where will we be then?) and walk around a theme park (reminder to self, no walking while using app).

Did the at the gates thing with maxpass at DLR, the massive crowds of people running to the rides at rope drop..... imagine them all running with their phones in front of their faces trying to grab passes. A little extra danger in the morning to wake everybody up I guess.

In all seriousness, I’m sure the 7 am thing was done on purpose to force guests to wake up early under some theory that the longer guests are awake on vacation the more they are spending money.

Consider it another way - Disney (the resort vacation) is functionally open by seven anyway. Busses are running, breakfast is being served, the day has started.

 

[meremac]

One thing that I think is dramatically overstated by many posters is the idea that Genie+ and ILL force you to be staring at your phone all day.

With a little planning in advance to learn the basics of how the system works, and how it affects the attractions you are most interested in, you can use Genie+ and ILL to save yourself a lot of time waiting in lines while only going to your phone to make a reservation once every hour or two at the most.

There are a LOT of things that are dramatically overstated about Genie+ IMO, and I absolutely agree on this one. I was on my phone WAY less with Genie than I was with FP+. We found ILL$ and Genie+ to be quite efficient and worthwhile honestly. Does it always work perfectly? Of course not. Nothing does. But things went very smoothly for the most part, we got to do everything we wanted with little wait, and we had time to enjoy each other and be in the moment. It's just a matter of learning how to use the system to its fullest.

 

[kverdon]

So this morning was an absolute FUBAR!!!!!

Got on again right at 7 to get a Remy ILL. Chose 4:40 and it froze with the message “Adding Magical touches” This happened 3 times. I then tried again and go all the way to Purchase when I got a “Booking Error You selection has been released Start Over” I got this an additional 34 times!!!! **34**!!!! This is intolerable!!!! I am going to go over each and every one of those 34 screenshots at Guest Relations!

 

[vincep]

With Fast Pass plus I could stay late in the parks-my favorite time-sleep in late, have my fast passes arranged for the next day and spend very little time on the phone. I'll be saving a lot of money in the future. Sad. Execs make at least 8 figure salaries and Disney fans keep throwing more money at them. One thing you've got to admit about Biden the economy is flourishing under him like never before and even with the highest inflation in more than 30 years people have far more money than ever to more than make up for it.

 

[pixiedust2u]

There are a LOT of things that are dramatically overstated about Genie+ IMO, and I absolutely agree on this one. I was on my phone WAY less with Genie than I was with FP+. We found ILL$ and Genie+ to be quite efficient and worthwhile honestly. Does it always work perfectly? Of course not. Nothing does. But things went very smoothly for the most part, we got to do everything we wanted with little wait, and we had time to enjoy each other and be in the moment. It's just a matter of learning how to use the system to its fullest.

I’m glad to hear some positive feedback and that it worked out for you.

I do think there’s a lot more to it than “learning how to use the system to its fullest”. There seem to be many factors including crowd levels, technology glitches, broken down rides- all that influence how successful genie+ is for a guest on a given day.

 

[kverdon]

Well an hour in and it’s still giving “Booking Failure” messages. Going to a hard day at EPCOT Quest Relations at this rate.

 

[Turksmom]

Well an hour in and it’s still giving “Booking Failure” messages. Going to a hard day at EPCOT Quest Relations at this rate.

I hate to ask the obvious, but have you uninstalled and reinstalled the app on your phone?

 

[igrsod]

I have used Genie+ and ILL$ on our last trip.

We didn't buy Genie+ as I refuse to do that, but were gifted it for one day due to an issue at the hotel. While we used it pretty efficiently and appreciated having it, we did that same park another day during our trip without Genie+ and did just as much as we did
with Genie+... just different strategies. I still wouldn't pay for it. There are so few rides that are "must dos" for us as we go to WDW at least once a year, that we are able to do those each trip no problem.
As for the ILL$, we purchased it for Remy as we really wanted to ride it and we overslept our alarm to get into the VQ. So we bit the bullet and bought it. Wouldn't do it now as you CAN wait stand by.

The whole system just doesn't work well, and adds frustration and stress to a vacation where I'm trying to not be stressed.

I am a person who loves to plan... I do it for free for all my friends WDW trips. I loved getting the FP and ADRs to line up.... planning a great, efficient tour around the parks. Those days are gone now. You just can't do it with this new system.

 

[kverdon]

I hate to ask the obvious, but have you uninstalled and reinstalled the app on your phone?

Yes. However, should you care to reflect upon it, the fact that there are still ILL passes out there to be booked 1+ hours out should be sufficient indication that the system is Broken.