Is WDW genie like the DL genie?

[sandyplayer]

The reason I am asking. We are not the typical disboard people who go to Disney once or more times per year. We are every 2-4 year visitors who stay on site and stay 3-6 nights.

We took our family during paper fast passes. Then 2 or 3 times with the online fastpast plus (or whatever it was called) which required book 3 pastpasses with tiers ahead of time.

We went to Cali in 2018 and used their system and honestly felt it was superior. I know that’s not a popular opinion but for us it worked amazingly. We were thrilled WDW introduced it.

when I try to figure out the differences and if the WDW crowd just doesn’t love the change or if it’s worse, I can’t find an explanation.

can anyone explain why the new system is so hated? Anyone who went to DL and can explain the difference if there is one.

the lightning lane wasn’t a thing in DL so maybe this is part of the issue?

 

[MouseMapper]

Hi - the short answer is that yes, Disney's new Genie+ ride reservations are very similar to the MaxPass system that Disneyland was using prior to the COVID-19 pandemic closure. Back then, guests at Disneyland Resort parks could purchase MaxPass for $20/person/day, and it would allow them to book Fastpass reservations online through the Disneyland app once they entered the park. I visited Disneyland for the first time in 2019 and was a huge fan of this system, personally.

Disneyland's new Genie+ system, which launched in December, is essentially the same service for the same price. Guests can book reservations for the "Lightning Lane," which is the old FastPass lane, for select attractions. However, certain rides are not included with Genie+ (including Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Space Mountain, for example). These rides are considered pay per ride, and guests must purchase them separately, with prices ranging from $7-20 per ride. These are called Individual Lightning Lane attractions (ILLs). Park goers are entitled to purchase up to two per day, if they wish.

The service is slightly different at the Walt Disney World Resort. It costs $15/person/day, but it does not include PhotoPass downloads, like it does at Disneyland. Guests can also book some ride reservations before park opening and/or before entering the park. All guests can book their first regular Lighting Lane reservation starting at 7am. Guests staying on property can also book their two Individual Lightning Lane reservations starting at 7am; all other guests must wait until park opening to do so. Additional regular Lightning Lane reservations may then be made either (1) two hours after park opening or (2) once the first Lightning Lane reservation has been redeemed.

I think that the main difference is that the new Genie+ system does not have a free alternative. With Disneyland's MaxPass, guests could choose to use the paper FastPass system for free. Guests purchasing Genie+ also do not get Lightning Lane access to some of the most popular rides, which must be reserved separately for an additional price. In my opinion, these differences are what make the new service less popular than its predecessors.

 

[mom2rtk]

It's vastly different because there are so many fewer rides per park and the parks aren't side by side, so much harder and time intensive to access additional rides in another park.

 

[glocon]

It's vastly different because there are so many fewer rides per park and the parks aren't side by side, so much harder and time intensive to access additional rides in another park.

Agree. I feel like from everything I’ve read about G+, this is the biggest reason it doesn’t work well at wdw. Just not enough rides per park. So passes run out or get pushed out to much later in the day. All that is left are shows pretty much by early afternoon. Of course, I haven’t tried it yet so this is not from personal experience.

 

[MouseMapper]

Agree. I feel like from everything I’ve read about G+, this is the biggest reason it doesn’t work well at wdw. Just not enough rides per park. So passes run out or get pushed out to much later in the day. All that is left are shows pretty much by early afternoon. Of course, I haven’t tried it yet so this is not from personal experience.

There's no doubt that this is true, but the same issue occurred with the old paper FastPass system, too. Even during the era of FastPass+, where guests were guaranteed three pre-scheduled FastPasses, Disney had to create tiers in order to manage demand. In Hollywood Studios and EPCOT especially, guests would be able to book only one top-tier attraction. In that context, I personally think Genie+ allows guests a better chance at making more reservations.

 

[mom2rtk]

There's no doubt that this is true, but the same issue occurred with the old paper FastPass system, too. Even during the era of FastPass+, where guests were guaranteed three pre-scheduled FastPasses, Disney had to create tiers in order to manage demand. In Hollywood Studios and EPCOT especially, guests would be able to book only one top-tier attraction. In that context, I personally think Genie+ allows guests a better chance at making more reservations.

I think to do better with the Genie+/ILL system, you would have to be willing to buy the ILLs at every park. If that's what you're talking about, then I agree. By itself, I wouldn't.

 

[mouschievous]

DL person who went to WDW for the first time in January here. We loved MaxPass (RIP!) and felt G+ is similar, but not the same. Our biggest gripe is that you are limited to once per day per ride. I often used MP for the same ride multiple times in a day!

We also found that it had the most value on days we were park hopping, especially if we started at AK or Epcot because there just aren't that many attractions worth using it on there.

 

[MouseMapper]

I think to do better with the Genie+/ILL system, you would have to be willing to buy the ILLs at every park. If that's what you're talking about, then I agree. By itself, I wouldn't.

Well, yes, spending the extra money on the Individual Lightning Lanes will definitely yield the best results under the new system. But that's not exactly what I meant.

If we are talking about the quality of the experiences (i.e. not the quantity of ride reservations), then I would make the argument that you can do better with Disney Genie+ than with FastPass+. Although guests were guaranteed three different FastPasses under the old system, two of them were usually for fairly minor attractions at EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. Because there is no tiering currently with Genie+, even if you only get two Lightning Lane reservations in a day, they may be two "E-Ticket" attractions now.

 

[MouseMapper]

We also found that it had the most value on days we were park hopping, especially if we started at AK or Epcot because there just aren't that many attractions worth using it on there.

This is what I like to do, as well. I will visit one park for rope drop and use the standby lines before the crowds get too bad. I'll go back to my hotel rest in the middle of the day when it is hottest and when the crowds are worst. Then, I'll visit a different park at night, having books various ILL and LL reservations for that second park throughout the day.

 

[momto3boysillbe]

Thanks for this post. I've been trying to figure out the comparison between the MaxPass at DL and Genie+. We went to DL for the first time in 2019 and with a little research I was able to figure it out and felt like it was a good value. Not sure about Genie+ yet.

 

[mouschievous]

This is what I like to do, as well. I will visit one park for rope drop and use the standby lines before the crowds get too bad. I'll go back to my hotel rest in the middle of the day when it is hottest and when the crowds are worst. Then, I'll visit a different park at night, having books various ILL and LL reservations for that second park throughout the day.

One of my favorite days we started at AK. We bought G+ and used it for Safari, and bought ILL for FoP (best money spent all trip!). We did a few things there (Feathered Friends of Flight, Bugs Life) all while I started staffing LLs for MK that night.

That night we got to MK about 6:30 having mobile ordered dinner to pick up around 7:30. We went to Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, Carousel of Progress, BTMRR (LL), Jungle Cruise (LL), grabbed our food at 7:45 and went straight to main street to watch fireworks. We had another LL for later that night but canceled it and went to Beaches and Cream for ice cream instead.

 

[soniam]

I have used G+ at WDW and Maxpass at DLR. I liked Maxpass and felt we used it on a lot of rides. It seems to me that they are limiting available G+ at WDW. I figured it would be the same number of FP+, but it feels less and things I have read seem to indicate it’s fewer. If they are releasing less at DLR than they did FP/Maxpass, then that could be problematic. I plan to use it in June though at DLR.