Solo Day Trip - is Genie+ Worth it?

[CoachBeard]

Seeing as I haven’t been to the parks since 2019 and most of my recent planning and research has been for a week long trip to WDW, I haven’t done much research for my day trip to DL in two weeks. I purchased a magic key not that it’s relevant to this post…

So, I’m going solo starting in Disneyland in two weeks. Is single rider still a thing? Would I be able to utilize single rider for the newer/more popular rides or would it be worth it to buy genie+? Also can I buy the individual lightning lanes without genie+? I’ve never been to the Star Wars area so that’s a priority to experience and I’ve got to ride radiator springs racers a couple of times at least. That was always decent with single rider but wasn’t sure if it was offered still.

Thanks!

 

[danceintherain]

Yes, Single Rider Lines are still there.
Radiator Springs still has it.
As usual YMMV. Some times it was really awesome with short waits. We rode RSR 3 times in a row in less than about 45 minutes on Tuesday morning. Other times it was still a long wait. The standby line was posted at about 80 minutes that evening, and the single rider line was probably at least half that.

Yes, you can buy ILL without first purchasing Genie+. RSR, and Webslingers both have single rider lines, so ROTR would be the priority there.

How many days are you going?
We did one day with Genie+ and used it in both parks, then two days without it, and just bought ILL our last night to bypass that insane line at RSR. Had I been alone, I probably would have skipped it.

 

[Kerr84]

Single rider according to website:
https://disneyland.disney.go.com/en-ca/attractions/#/single-rider-line/sort=alpha/

 

[DharmaLou]

I get G+ for Disneyland on my solo trips. I don't need it for DCA because the only rides it would really help with are Guardians & Soarin'

 

[gelatoni fan]

You can buy individual lightning lanes without Genie+. Rise of the Resistance would be the only one you'd potentially get because the other two have single rider.
There's single rider for Matterhorn, Splash Mountain, Grizzly River Run, Incredicoaster and Goofy's Sky School. I do not advise using Single Rider for Smugglers Run because that almost guarantees you'll be in the least favorable position for that ride (trying to avoid spoilers).

I don't really advise getting Genie+ unless you want photopass or are worried about waits on things like Indiana Jones, Guardians and Space Mountain. Soarin' and Midway Mania are similar enough to the versions at WDW that you probably wouldn't need to do it now.

It's also super relevant that you have a Magic Key since that implies you're likely planning to go for at least 6 days in the upcoming year so you don't need to squeeze in everything in one day (unless you're planning to buy THAT much merchandise to justify the cost of the Magic Key). That makes me recommend "no" to Genie+.

 

[CoachBeard]

You can buy individual lightning lanes without Genie+. Rise of the Resistance would be the only one you'd potentially get because the other two have single rider.
There's single rider for Matterhorn, Splash Mountain, Grizzly River Run, Incredicoaster and Goofy's Sky School. I do not advise using Single Rider for Smugglers Run because that almost guarantees you'll be in the least favorable position for that ride (trying to avoid spoilers).

I don't really advise getting Genie+ unless you want photopass or are worried about waits on things like Indiana Jones, Guardians and Space Mountain. Soarin' and Midway Mania are similar enough to the versions at WDW that you probably wouldn't need to do it now.

It's also super relevant that you have a Magic Key since that implies you're likely planning to go for at least 6 days in the upcoming year so you don't need to squeeze in everything in one day (unless you're planning to buy THAT much merchandise to justify the cost of the Magic Key). That makes me recommend "no" to Genie+.

I'm local so doing "everything" in one day isn't on the agenda but there is a lot of new stuff since my last visit. Realistically if I go 2-3 times it'll pay for itself (So Cal resident magic key is only $399). I've also had AP's many years in the past and it is so much easier than buying single day tickets or the 3 days within a 14 day period ticket. I do miss the ability to pop in on a random Friday after work, but that's ok. I'll likely go 4-6 times before my WDW trip in November. My focus this first trip is to hit some of the starwars stuff since it is new and maybe a few single rider lanes for the classics. A lot of people watching and food eating!

Thanks for the tips evryone, this helps a lot! It certainly is a lot different than it used to be!

 

[Gisele]

Indy isn't on the SRL on the Disney Website. But I'm pretty sure it's still available typically isn't it? Thank you

 

[Ladyslug]

Indy isn't on the SRL on the Disney Website. But I'm pretty sure it's still available typically isn't it? Thank you

Don't count on any single rider lines that aren't listed on the website. They haven't had ones for Indy or Space Mountain for some time now, but there are still several single rider lines available in each park that can typically save quite a bit of wait time.

 

[Gisele]

Don't count on any single rider lines that aren't listed on the website. They haven't had ones for Indy or Space Mountain for some time now, but there are still several single rider lines available in each park that can typically save quite a bit of wait time.

Thank you.
I'm disappointed that Indy is not currently available as SRL.

 

[twodogs]

The other thing about Single Rider, which you probably know, is that they can and will shut it down if the ride has significant down time. With people having to purchase G+ now, it is a high priority for them to keep the ILL$ and LLs moving. So if the ride breaks down for a long time and the ILL$/LL is very backed up (we had RSR ILL$ line all the way to Mater’s one afternoon after an extended breakdown over Easter weekend last month), they may close the SR line to make the ILL/LL line clear faster.

That said, we used the SR line for RSR, Web, Space (when it was opened in the fall; it was not open for our Easter trip), Matterhorn and MF:SR. The OP is correct that SR on MF:SR does usually get you in a less than desirable “position” in the ride. But not always! The line is usually so short, you can run around and try it again if you don’t get a good assignment.

SR for Web was very, very short in the later evening, even when standby was still 40+ minutes (we waited 0 minutes in SR line). However, during the peak of the day, when the standby was 100+, we waited 20 in SR.

Have a magical visit!

 

[Becca1007]

The other thing about Single Rider, which you probably know, is that they can and will shut it down if the ride has significant down time. With people having to purchase G+ now, it is a high priority for them to keep the ILL$ and LLs moving. So if the ride breaks down for a long time and the ILL$/LL is very backed up (we had RSR ILL$ line all the way to Mater’s one afternoon after an extended breakdown over Easter weekend last month), they may close the SR line to make the ILL/LL line clear faster.

That said, we used the SR line for RSR, Web, Space (when it was opened in the fall; it was not open for our Easter trip), Matterhorn and MF:SR. The OP is correct that SR on MF:SR does usually get you in a less than desirable “position” in the ride. But not always! The line is usually so short, you can run around and try it again if you don’t get a good assignment.

SR for Web was very, very short in the later evening, even when standby was still 40+ minutes (we waited 0 minutes in SR line). However, during the peak of the day, when the standby was 100+, we waited 20 in SR.

Have a magical visit!

Magically ... the other half got the premium seat on MF:SR Saturday as a single rider. I was surprised!

 

[Lisa24jks]

Magically ... the other half got the premium seat on MF:SR Saturday as a single rider. I was surprised!

This happened to me back in December. I went single rider and for some reason the people they put me with had no interest, so I was like, OKAY THANKS! But, yes, usually you get stuck with... that other spot. (Now, conversely, the last time I rode it a few weeks ago, I went through LL instead of SR, because I had a MEP I wasn't using anywhere else, and they put me at the most favorable seat but the rest of my group had never been on it before and I sacrificed my spot so they could have it. I mean, I've been on it enough, that it seemed only fair to let some newbies get the best possible experience.)

 

[CoachBeard]

I need to brush up on all the new acronyms lol

 

[varyth]

Magically ... the other half got the premium seat on MF:SR Saturday as a single rider. I was surprised!

My husband once got the... mid option as a single rider. Not sure how that happened.
He still prefers I wait standby with him because we've somehow always gotten the preferred row when I'm there.

 

[Kerr84]

My husband once got the... mid option as a single rider. Not sure how that happened.
He still prefers I wait standby with him because we've somehow always gotten the preferred row when I'm there.

Y'all are cracking me up not saying the job assignments. I have never seen these kept secret before. I hate being the spot that most people want, but I don't really like the ride from any position and I'm a huge Star Wars fan.

 

[Piglet99645]

I'm here now. The loss of single rider lines for Space Mountain, Indy, and Soarin' were very disappointing. I may not do Soarin this trip at all..... Definitely hit the other two first thing if they are important.

We haven't had genie + as a family. My daughter had it with friends for one day and thought it was a waste. LL appears to just be a set time to get in a designated, shorter line. But it's not as quick as FP used to be, and I've seen CM's be very strict on the return times.

 

[franandaj]

Magically ... the other half got the premium seat on MF:SR Saturday as a single rider. I was surprised!

So they got engineer? That's MY premium seat. YMMV.

 

[gelatoni fan]

So they got engineer? That's MY premium seat. YMMV.

I actually like that position a lot more after going on the ride enough times. It's the most interactive of the positions. But I still don't do Single Rider because I end up with many fewer chances to get the other positions.

 

[CoachBeard]

I got right engineer both times I rode yesterday and today. It’s fine because I didn't have to wait.