MAJOR changes to Genie+!

[reddog21]

I would love to know how it's oversold?? Fastpass+ was free for everyone and it was easier to get on most rides than Genie+

 

[glocon]

I agree with Marionnette, I think Disney is slowing leading up to a price increase for Genie+. The low barrier for entry ($15) and Genie+ not being capped lead to the service being ineffective compared to other theme parks' skip the line service. I used both Genie+ and Express at Universal last week and Express is 100% the better service.

What I am not so happy about is the added stress of having to compete with the masses to buy Genie+ at midnight and THEN get up at 6:50 to get ready to book your first LL and buy an additional ILL. Personally I would rather just take a more expensive Express or DLP's Premier Pass just to bypass the stress and frustration.

Agree with all of the above…

Also about the bolded- I wonder if the plan down the line is to have both the limited G+ as well as the DLP premier pass option. And the limited G+ is priming people to want the more expensive premier pass (or whatever iteration of it that may come to WDW) to forgo the headache of G+.

Just a thought…

 

[Ta.Ham1989]

IDK. Universal does dynamic pricing for EP, caps it, and allows advance purchase for it.

I was just going to say that I don't know why Disney doesnt follow after Universal and just do an express line, sell in advance and cap it! LOL

 

[Dracoa Dragoon]

Wait...can I still pre-purchase it before June 8th?

 

[Grasshopper2016]

What I am not so happy about is the added stress of having to compete with the masses to buy Genie+ at midnight and THEN get up at 6:50 to get ready to book your first LL and buy an additional ILL.

Disney limiting the # of people who can purchase Genie+ in any given day is a good thing (if they actually do that) for those who are using it. But it will also be frustrating for someone who had planned to use it on a day that it "sells out" prior to them purchasing it. Does this mean there will now be a rush at 12am to buy Genie+ (and then again at 7am to book our first ride?) So now we are all limited to about six hours of sleep on vacation? I hope they fix the timing of all of this.

Exactly! I think a cap on the number sold is necessary and has been a long time coming. Of course, the cap will be accompanied by a price increase. But I'm okay with that, since, if the cap is meaningful, the product will be worth much more.

But I can't stand the stress and misery of having to stay up until midnight every single night of my vacation, and then having to get up at 6:45 the next morning, every single day. Each time accompanied by an adrenaline rush that makes it impossible to get to sleep (or back to sleep). With the pressure of trying to get lucky to win the Genie+ (and/or ILL$, and/or virtual queue) lottery in order to make the most of your vacation, into which you have already sunk thousands of dollars without a guarantee of success.

They HAVE to fix that.

 

[Marionnette]

Also about the bolded- I wonder if the plan down the line is to have both the limited G+ as well as the DLP premier pass option. And the limited G+ is priming people to want the more expensive premier pass (or whatever iteration of it that may come to WDW) to forgo the headache of G+.

IOW, a boiling the frog theory. "Let's create a system that is so broken and so bad that guests will be clamoring for an easy (but expensive) alternative."

 

[Jrb1979]

I would love to know how how it's oversold?? Fastpass+ was free for everyone and it was easier to get on most rides than Genie+

From my understanding there is less LL then FP+ had. When you have a LL usually your wait is minimal compared to the wait with FP+.

 

[meremac]

Wait...can I still pre-purchase it before June 8th?

Yes

 

[Smugpugmug]

Agree with all of the above…

Also about the bolded- I wonder if the plan down the line is to have both the limited G+ as well as the DLP premier pass option. And the limited G+ is priming people to want the more expensive premier pass (or whatever iteration of it that may come to WDW) to forgo the headache of G+.

Just a thought…

I think it's a real possibility that it might happen in the future. IMO WDW has the worst skip the line service I have ever used in a theme park and personally I would just cave and get the Premier Pass that Paris has just to avoid the headache. I think it says a lot that even my local Six Flags has a better skip the line service than the current industry leader does. Having to wake up at 6:50 every day just to ensure you can book 1 good ride isn't fun and I just really hate that when I go to Disney I feel like I'm competing with everyone else just for basic things such as not having to wait 70+ minutes for a coaster.

 

[Chuck96]

Capping is good, variable price is probably smart, and execution matters. We are headed there in 7 months, but haven't bought tickets yet.

As already stated, I expect to pay more when we go, but hopefully the service will be better and better managed. If I am required to stay up until midnight and then wake up at 6:50 AM, I will be exceedingly unhappy. I'd probably only do that for DHS and MK. I'll take my chances at the other two. By the time I go, smarter and more committed minds than mine will have figured it out.

EDIT: I read it as Disney would not accept pre-pays (starting now) for dates after the 8th. If my reading is wrong, would it make sense to get the tickets and pre-pay before the 8th of June.

 

[Neener16]

There’s nothing that says Disney is opening up purchase at midnight right? Maybe it will open at 7. Either way, I’m not enthused about this. I used Genie + in April and liked it. I would not be happy if I couldn’t get it for a trip. I just don’t know what they are thinking….

 

[marshallandcartersmo]

I have a 4 day park hopper ticket already purchased for my mid-August trip, park days scheduled. I do not already have Genie + but plan to get it. Can I go ahead and purchase now? Through the app (Change ticket?? option)??
thanks!

 

[elgerber]

The thought of Disney's system calculating how many have already pre-purchased for each day (for those that already did) and how many more they can sell for a specific day is also terrifying.

 

[meremac]

There’s nothing that says Disney is opening up purchase at midnight right? Maybe it will open at 7. Either way, I’m not enthused about this. I used Genie + in April and liked it. I would not be happy if I couldn’t get it for a trip. I just don’t know what they are thinking….

For guests who want to purchase Genie+ same day now, they can do that at midnight. It's possible that this will change though.

 

[Jennasis]

The thought of Disney's system calculating how many have already pre-purchased for each day (for those that already did) and how many more they can sell for a specific day is also terrifying.

You ever get the impression that anytime some genius Disney "suit" fires up another brilliant move like this, the IT department contemplates a career change?

 

[PaladinButters]

From my understanding there is less LL then FP+ had. When you have a LL usually your wait is minimal compared to the wait with FP+.

Lightning Lane is ...well.... lightning fast compared to FP lines.
I'm willing to pay more for that privilege but if I really don't like this not knowing if I'll be able to do so. We are not standby people.
If I wanted to gamble with my vacation, I'd go to Vegas.

 

[wiggy500]

When I decided to buy Genie plus morning of and then I experienced an IT glitch that caused me enormous stress on my first theme park day that was not fun at all. I was really looking forward to never buying it morning of again.

 

[Jrb1979]

Lightning Lane is ...well.... lightning fast compared to FP lines.
I'm willing to pay more for that privilege but if I really don't like this not knowing if I'll be able to do so. We are not standby people.
If I wanted to gamble with my vacation, I'd go to Vegas.

I get what you are saying but Genie+ wasn't working as is due to too many people having it. Skip the line systems work best when it's limited.

 

[pinkxray]

I really hope I don’t have to wake up at midnight to get Genie plus. I wake up early anyway, usually around 5:30. If I have to wake up at midnight to get Genie plus I will be miserable. I tend to get sick and my joints hurt when I try to go on low sleep at Disney. (Yeah, I’m getting old)

We are going in Nov. I had originally planned using our DVC points to stay at BLT but hop to Universal and Seaworld plus things like Give Kids the world and Gaylord Palms xmas stuff. DS almost has me convinced to add a day at MK and EPCOT but this makes me want to say forget it.

 

[Pascal3]

I just do not understand how Maxpass at Disneyland was the perfect system, and $15 a day, but Genie+ is literally atrocious. I literally went from Fastpass to Fastpass (sometimes multiple in an hour!) with Maxpass and felt like it was worth way more than the $15 paid. Oftentimes my family told me to stop reserving them because we were running all over and they were getting tired! I loved reserving Fastpasses in advance for WDW, but preferred the Maxpass system overall. Why couldn't Disney have just adopted the Disneyland model of free Fastpasses and paid Maxpass for all the parks- people paid for it at Disneyland! It also didn't require people to stare at their phones if they didn't want to, something I am dreading on this upcoming trip. Genie+ seems like a waste of money and a mess. We don't plan to purchase it, due to it being such a downgrade from Maxpass for the same price. We don't want to be angry and have resigned to early entry, a break in the day and extra magic hours. So disappointing Disney has overcomplicated and ruined a perfectly good product. It isn't even so much the cost, as we already pay deluxe hotel prices in our family, and have paid for Maxpass in the past, its the inferior product and blatant money grab that is having us say no.