quick Cliff's notes on the parks

[CheekyRose]

Hello, it's been years since I've been to the DISboards because it's been 12 years since we've been to WDW. My 19yo daughter and her boyfriend have planned a last-minute trip about a week from now, so I'm naturally freaking out for them because I know things have changed and I've vaguely heard about park reservations and I don't know how fast pass works now or anything and I want to arm them with some knowledge before they go so they can have the best time possible.

I know I can spend hours reading through the boards, but also hoping maybe there's some summaries somewhere that I can point them to. They're staying off site, only 5 days, and want to go to Universal, too, so they will likely only go to MK and possibly one other park. Do they need to make reservations to enter the parks? Reservations for fast-passes?

Thank you for pointing me towards any info that will help them out

 

[kek1287]

Yes they need reservations for each park so need to purchase tickets and book reservations asap!

No more fast passes, it's been replaced with Genie+. They have to purchase each day starting after midnight (but should be able to purchase early in the morning) via the MDE app if they want to use lightening lanes.

She should watch some Ear Scouts and Mammoth Club videos on YouTube that go over Genie+ so she'll understand how to use it. There's a bunch of rules.

Each park has a "fancy" ride that they can purchase an Individual Lightening Lane for (ILL). MK is Seven Drawfs Mine Train. Epcot is Guardians of the Galaxy. Hollywood Studios is Star Wars Rise of The Resistance. Animal Kingdom is Avatar Flight of Passage. These cost extra and are not included in the regular Genie+.

If wanting to go to Magic Kingdom she might want to check which nights have the Christmas Party because on those nights it closes early at 6 pm for regular guests.

 

[hes122]

Park reservations - yes

Fast passes don't exist anymore. The program has been replaced with Genie+, which must be purchased each individual day that a person has a ticket and wants to utilize the program. Each park currently also has 1 attraction that you can purchase an Individual Lightning Lane pass for. The 2 programs are not tied to one another, meaning you don't need to purchase 1 on order to purchase the other.

 

[hes122]

She should watch some Ear Scouts and Mammoth Club videos on YouTube that go over Genie+ so she'll understand how to use it. There's a bunch of rules.

I'll echo checking out the Mammoth Club video series. It's very informational.

 

[sipnride]

A few tips:

1. Don't worry about Genie+. It's low season. Not worth the hassle right now.

2. Do worry about individual lightning lanes. Even though it's low season people are still going to flock to these, plus they tend to reduce capacity for them. If they're only spending one day in a couple parks don't waste 90+ minutes for one ride (and that could jean just skipping it too).

3. With no kids in tow they should avoid magic Kingdom. EPCOT is a fabulous place to be right now. If either is into Star Wars at all then Hollywood-studios is a requirement. If that ends up being their plan and they haven't picked a hotel yet they should get one on the skyliner. Art of Animation and Caribbean Beach are both modestly priced skyliner options.

4. Avoid the crowds and frankly underwhelming food at the sitdowns in Hollywood Studios. The day they go theyll be better off eating at a resort (Sebastians at Caribbean Beach is one of the best values on property, but they should reserve asap).

5. Another perk of being on the Skyliner is access to the Boardwalk. For that age range it's an ideal spot for a little Disney nightlife. If they're dancers Atlantic is fun but the real gem is the dueling pianos at Jellyrolls. Fun for teens and adults alike.

6. Don't bother renting a car even if staying off property. When factoring in parking Lyft will be cheaper and more efficient.

7. Again if they haven't booked anything but can't afford to stay on property consider the B Resort. It's walking distance from Disney Springs where you can catch a bus anywhere, very affordable (I stayed there recently for $89 on priceline), and imo very nice hotel for the price.

8. Advise they use the app to help plan but to be prepared to ignore it in favor of doing something fun and spontaneous.

 

[Landry]

A few tips:

1. Don't worry about Genie+. It's low season. Not worth the hassle right now.

2. Do worry about individual lightning lanes. Even though it's low season people are still going to flock to these, plus they tend to reduce capacity for them. If they're only spending one day in a couple parks don't waste 90+ minutes for one ride (and that could jean just skipping it too).

3. With no kids in tow they should avoid magic Kingdom. EPCOT is a fabulous place to be right now. If either is into Star Wars at all then Hollywood-studios is a requirement. If that ends up being their plan and they haven't picked a hotel yet they should get one on the skyliner. Art of Animation and Caribbean Beach are both modestly priced skyliner options.

4. Avoid the crowds and frankly underwhelming food at the sitdowns in Hollywood Studios. The day they go theyll be better off eating at a resort (Sebastians at Caribbean Beach is one of the best values on property, but they should reserve asap).

5. Another perk of being on the Skyliner is access to the Boardwalk. For that age range it's an ideal spot for a little Disney nightlife. If they're dancers Atlantic is fun but the real gem is the dueling pianos at Jellyrolls. Fun for teens and adults alike.

6. Don't bother renting a car even if staying off property. When factoring in parking Lyft will be cheaper and more efficient.

7. Again if they haven't booked anything but can't afford to stay on property consider the B Resort. It's walking distance from Disney Springs where you can catch a bus anywhere, very affordable (I stayed there recently for $89 on priceline), and imo very nice hotel for the price.

8. Advise they use the app to help plan but to be prepared to ignore it in favor of doing something fun and spontaneous.

October/November isn't really a "low" season. Also, please don't tell them to skip the Magic Kingdom. It's a wonderful park to visit, even as an adult couple with no kids.

 

[Pyxie]

If the trip is next week and you are unsure of how park reservations work, this leads me to believe they may not have them reserved yet. This needs to be #1 priority before anything else and they need to do this now to make sure they can get into parks.

 

[sipnride]

October/November isn't really a "low" season. Also, please don't tell them to skip the Magic Kingdom. It's a wonderful park to visit, even as an adult couple with no kids.

Never implied its a bad park. I was there with my wife last month, we're in our early 40s, had a wonderful time. Still it was in 4th place, mostly because the other parks have upped their game so much. Also, MK is the hardest to book a reservation for and if there are going to be long lines that's the most likely place. They only have time for one or two Disney parks as OP said, and it takes zero planning to simply enjoy Batuu or World Showcase. Going in with no plan for MK is difficult. Just my experience though.

As for low season, 2nd week of November? Smack in between Halloween and Thanksgiving? Other than September, early December, and February, is there any other slower time of the year?

 

[liquid17]

I'm pretty sure that next week is Jersey week - Veteran's Day on 11/11 - so it may not be that empty at all!

 

[scrappinginontario]

I would recommend reading the, Planning Tips for Your Disney Trip where we have captured links to many informative threads.

 

[CheekyRose]

Thanks so much everyone. This is very helpful

 

[CheekyRose]

So, we still need slightly more basic info than we're finding on mammoth club. Genie Plus appears to be an app, is that right? and Lightning Lane is basically the non-standby shorter ride line that used to be called the fast pass line? and when they say "book" an attraction, is that basically "grabbing a fast pass", but you do it on your phone through the app? Once you book a time for a ride on Genie Plus, is there a window of time like fast pass used to have?

Thank you so much

 

[CheekyRose]

OK, here’s another question. We are not finding an app called genie+. Is it a different app, Then once you are in the app you by genie+ through it?

 

[sipnride]

So, we still need slightly more basic info than we're finding on mammoth club. Genie Plus appears to be an app, is that right? and Lightning Lane is basically the non-standby shorter ride line that used to be called the fast pass line? and when they say "book" an attraction, is that basically "grabbing a fast pass", but you do it on your phone through the app? Once you book a time for a ride on Genie Plus, is there a window of time like fast pass used to have?

Thank you so much

The Genie app helps you plan your day and it is free. Genie+ is an upgrade within the app that for an additional charge gives you unlimited fast passes in one day, but only for one ride at a time. So if you use it and it's a 2 hour wait you can't queue for another until you use the first one. You can use it on almost any ride, except for one featured ride per park:

MK: 7 Dwarfs
EP: Guardians of the Galaxy
HS: Rise of the Resistance
AK: Flight of Passage

For those 4, you need to purchase an Individual Lightning Lane to use their fastpass line. That let's you ride that one ride one time.

To answer your last question, my recollection was that you could not queue for your genie+ selection until a certain time, but once it's your time you can return at any time from that point on (an open ended window).

 

[sipnride]

OK, here’s another question. We are not finding an app called genie+. Is it a different app, Then once you are in the app you by genie+ through it?

Genie is in the Disney World app, and yes you buy genie+ in there.

 

[sipnride]

As you can see here, there's an option for Disney Genie Service (the free day planner) and Disney Genie+ Service (the upgraded fast pass system).

 

[CheekyRose]

As you can see here, there's an option for Disney Genie Service (the free day planner) and Disney Genie+ Service (the upgraded fast pass system).

View attachment 716434

Thanks so much! So it looks like it’s the app called My Disney Experience, right?

And you can’t actually buy Genie+ until the day of, right?

 

[sipnride]

Thanks so much! So it looks like it’s the app called My Disney Experience, right?

And you can’t actually buy Genie+ until the day of, right?

Yes both of those are correct