Is the genie worth it

[nicksinger8]

MK - 100% - so many attractions.

Disney Studios - yes, because fewer attractions but lots of elite ones that get very long lines.

AK - toss up especially as Flights of Passage you still need to pay for. I think if you get there early and use an unofficial guide touring plan you'll be fine.

Epcot - I wouldn't bother

 

[nesser1981]

We were there last week.

Yes, MK
Yes, 1000% yes for Hollywood Studios
We got it for Epcot since we'd budgeted for GoG and got in the virtual queue, it was nice, but I felt like we did a lot of jumping back and forth around the park, if we wouldn't have had it, it may have saved our feet, but we rode all the things except Frozen Ever After and my kids didn't even care about that one. I really got it for Remy, and booked at 7:07 and we ended up with a 6:30 - 7:30 LL, so I may have skipped Genie + at Epcot knowing what I know now.
Ak we didn't have it and only skipped Navi River Journey, we'd done it before. We did Everest Twice and everything else we wanted to do.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Depends.
1. How do you value your time?
2. How many hours will you be in the park? How many attractions would you like to do in each park?
3. Will you be park hopping?
4. Cost on that day?
5. Are you willing/able to start booking G+ at exactly 7am?
6. how much do you like/hate using a smartphone in the parks (assuming you have one)?
7. What's the weather?

Without G+, you may well wait an hour or more per big attraction. With G+, you cover a number of rides with minimal waiting, so you end up covering more rides in less time.

The more hours you plan to be in in the park, the more valuable G+ is.

G+ also works well with hopping, because when you get to the 2nd park, you can ride anything. (no re-rides with G+.) Often by mid-day, there isn't much left to pick, in part because passes are gone, but also because you only G+ each attraction once per day.

During a thunderstorm, many attractions stop running, so that can also limit what G+ passes are available. A short storm will have minimal impact, but storms that last all night will significantly impact one's G+ options.

 

[Scalemaster34]

MK & Hollywood I can see the value in it.

Epcot and AK not so much, but if you hopping to either MK or DHS than it can be made to have value as well. Issue is Genie+ and VQ can get you stuck in a park you don't want to stay in all day.

I really miss the old days...

 

[yorkieteacher]

This can really be answered only in hindsight. We wanted to sleep a little later on Epcot and Animal Kingdom days, so we bought it. We could have rope dropped early entry and gotten by without it. At AK we only used it for Navi and Safari. At Epcot we used it for Frozen And Soarin’, and rode Remy and Test Track during extended evening hours since we stayed at the Dolphin. We entered the parks at 10. Again, we could have rope dropped early entry and saved money but lost sleep. At MK and HS, we couldnt Have done nearly as much. We rope dropped those parks and had already gotten fast passes for Slinky and Jungle Cruise at 7am. we rope dropped Tower and Peter Pan, and from nine o’clock on in both parks we continually got LL’s as needed and filled in with attractions with lower waits. I’d advise anyone to get Genie+ for those parks or wait in 45-75 minute lines, and we were there February 5-10 with only moderate crowds.

 

[baozi]

Personally I think it is very useful when park hopping. With regular Genie+, 2 ILL and relatively long hours (like 11:00pm MK) I can do 4 parks, nearly every ride in Epcot, Animal Kingdom, HS and quite some highlights in MK.

 

[Trap]

not for us

 

[Sparrow'sLady]

I have not used it yet but I do see reasons to on our upcoming trip. I do not want to wait 2 hours for slinky or an hour and a half for test track. So yes, for that reason it is worth it.

 

[Kaleidodad]

I was initially annoyed by and skeptical of the Genie+ but have ended up being pretty satisfied when we've used it. I don't love spending more money, but I do love doing every ride/show in the parks and not waiting in lines. We did a 3-generation family trip including DHS and AK in January, and the G+ helped make those park days easier.

 

[Childs1stTime2Disney]

We got G+ for our park days (MK, HS, and AK) because we knew we were hopping in the afternoon.

The ability to stack rides at the second park and have a relaxing afternoon break and a stress free evening was well worth the cost. Were able to book great rides for the afternoon (MMRR, TOT, RnRC, TSMM at HS and Remy & Frozen at EP) and save a ton of time avoiding the standby lines at 3-4-5pm after the break at the resort.

I'd rather spend time at the pool or hanging at the resort 100% of the time every time over even the most beautifully themed queue.

If you're not going to hop or are OK with skipping headliners or are OK with long standby lines, then maybe it isn't as effective for you to get G+.

What is stacking rides?

 

[snayak]

What is stacking rides?

Stacking rides is when you book the LL in the morning for a return time later in the day, and continue to book (or "stack") them every 2 hours.

So you could book at 7am, 11am (assume 9am open), 1pm, and 3pm and have a bunch of stuff to do in the afternoon/evening as LL. We got lucky because we used our first LL of the day at 8:30 (Safari) so I could book at DHS immediately after that, not wait until 11am.

It is possible for the return times to overlap, so we just zoomed from attraction to attraction (RnRC -> TOT -> MMRR -> TSMM) and were done in like 2 hours.

 

[KaystotheKingdom]

My outlook on Genie plus has really shifted since it first came out. We go regularly, and when if first launched I was a fan, I thought $15 was reasonable for the value (though I always have and still dislike the individual LL)

Fast forward to today. We are bringing a family along with us for their first, once in
For at least a long while trip for April vacation- this is the target audience for genie plus, no?. I recommended they budget $29 per person for day just to be safe. Low and behold, today it is $35. While 6 bucks doesn’t seem like a lot, we are a party of 12.

As regular visitors I’ve become numb to a lot of the money grabbing truthfully. However, when I had to sit down and actually walk through the ins and outs of of a Disney vacation with these friends , I have to be honest- I felt a bit of embarrassment.. I am also genuinely concerned we will get to the end of the trip and this family will feel they did not get the value from what they spent which would just be so sad. Disney World is such a special place but they do not have the emotional attachment that many of us have, which undoubtedly adds to our perception of value.

All this to say I really love Disney World, but if you can’t even plan and budget because the direction of the wind might cost you more money, I think we need to re evaluate our vacation destinations.

 

[Scalemaster34]

My outlook on Genie plus has really shifted since it first came out. We go regularly, and when if first launched I was a fan, I thought $15 was reasonable for the value (though I always have and still dislike the individual LL)

Fast forward to today. We are bringing a family along with us for their first, once in
For at least a long while trip for April vacation- this is the target audience for genie plus, no?. I recommended they budget $29 per person for day just to be safe. Low and behold, today it is $35. While 6 bucks doesn’t seem like a lot, we are a party of 12.

As regular visitors I’ve become numb to a lot of the money grabbing truthfully. However, when I had to sit down and actually walk through the ins and outs of of a Disney vacation with these friends , I have to be honest- I felt a bit of embarrassment.. I am also genuinely concerned we will get to the end of the trip and this family will feel they did not get the value from what they spent which would just be so sad. Disney World is such a special place but they do not have the emotional attachment that many of us have, which undoubtedly adds to our perception of value.

All this to say I really love Disney World, but if you can’t even plan and budget because the direction of the wind might cost you more money, I think we need to re evaluate our vacation destinations.

I might could live with the money grabbing that Genie+ feels like... if it wasn't such a hassle to use. You have to be up and ready by 7AM, you take what you can get when you can get it. And hope that the you'll be able to fit in your already made ADR or plans for park hopping. Fastpass allowed you to plan your day in advance... if you didn't book a last minute trip.

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

Not for the 35 per person it costs today

 

[tofubeast]

Can you believe it is $35 +tax today (4/4) for G+? YIKES. I would not say it is worth it, especially if you have several in your party. Not at that rate!

I would not recommend it if your budget is tight and this isn't a 'once in a long time' kind of trip for you. I have used genie mainly for DHS so as to be able to do it all, but that was because it was a very busy day in the parks. MK is the best use of genie.

I would not pay for genie at EPCOT or AK. For AK, aim to go mid-afternoon and stay until closing. You will be able to hit up most if not all the rides, depending if you pay for ILL for Flight or get in line just before closing time.

 

[FredPinsocket]

Magic Kingdom is worth the extra cost, although at $35 I’d probably pass. There are some standby lines I refuse to stand in (Peter Pan being #1 on that list), so LL is the only way I’ll realistically be able to ride everything I want in a single day.

Epcot and AK are not worth the extra cost, even if it’s $15. There just isn’t enough value at either of those parks to justify any added costs.

Hollywood Studios is a toss-up, but I’d say it’s also worth the extra cost because of the Toy Story/Star Wars options mixed in with Runaway Railway and Tower of Terror.

 

[emmabelle]

we'll be there at the end of the month. I'll buy it for MK probably not for Epcot. We just have 2 Disney days before our Fantasy cruise. Only originally wanted to do F&G but then Tron opened and I had FOMO. Then I thought why not do a day at Uni also with our AP's? Funny how that happens?

 

[KaystotheKingdom]

I might could live with the money grabbing that Genie+ feels like... if it wasn't such a hassle to use. You have to be up and ready by 7AM, you take what you can get when you can get it. And hope that the you'll be able to fit in your already made ADR or plans for park hopping. Fastpass allowed you to plan your day in advance... if you didn't book a last minute trip.

You’re absolutely right- the hoops you jump through to get your family set up for a smooth day is very unnecessary. Moms and dads deserve a vacation also!

 

[KaystotheKingdom]

Magic Kingdom is worth the extra cost, although at $35 I’d probably pass. There are some standby lines I refuse to stand in (Peter Pan being #1 on that list), so LL is the only way I’ll realistically be able to ride everything I want in a single day.

Epcot and AK are not worth the extra cost, even if it’s $15. There just isn’t enough value at either of those parks to justify any added costs.

Hollywood Studios is a toss-up, but I’d say it’s also worth the extra cost because of the Toy Story/Star Wars options mixed in with Runaway Railway and Tower of Terror.

I love Peter Pan. I don’t 60+ wait love Peter Pan.

Personally, within reason, I don’t mind longer waits. If it was just me or all adults I’d probably just wait to be honest.

Can you believe it is $35 +tax today (4/4) for G+? YIKES. I would not say it is worth it, especially if you have several in your party. Not at that rate!

I would not recommend it if your budget is tight and this isn't a 'once in a long time' kind of trip for you. I have used genie mainly for DHS so as to be able to do it all, but that was because it was a very busy day in the parks. MK is the best use of genie.

I would not pay for genie at EPCOT or AK. For AK, aim to go mid-afternoon and stay until closing. You will be able to hit up most if not all the rides, depending if you pay for ILL for Flight or get in line just before closing time.

Sold out by 10 am at $35 dollars no less. Will we see $40 tomorrow? TBD

 

[thanxfornoticin]

I love Peter Pan. I don’t 60+ wait love Peter Pan.

Personally, within reason, I don’t mind longer waits. If it was just me or all adults I’d probably just wait to be honest.

Sold out by 10 am at $35 dollars no less. Will we see $40 tomorrow? TBD

At least..... It's a nasty cycle - it's so busy, that folks feel they need G+/LL to get value out of their overall experience, so they buy it. So many people are buying it, the demand is allowing Disney to bump up the price. And a month from now, some of the conversation will be - 'look, G+ is only $22 today - glad it's more reasonable now......'!