The big G+ rides at HS gone by 1:07!

[Westerner]

So you don't have to enter the park to make selections after making one at 7?

No, you can make G+ selections from anywhere, for example, while traveling inbound to Orlando on the day you arrive.

 

[Jennasis]

Just chiming in that i DI get to use Genie+ FOR FREE and I still hated it with the white hot intensity of 10,000 suns. I was given it as a guest recovery measure from guest services when I mentioned how disappointing (infuriating) it was on our first day while they were helping me with an unrelated issue.

I think I hate it MORE when it was free if that's even possible.

 

[pixiedust2u]

Fair. There was a double edged sword to being able to secure 3 ahead of time. It was great to secure your schedule just the way you want it, with your favorite attractions already booked, but it did make it painful to decide to change parks while on your vacation. If you did this, you needed to discard those hard to get FP's and start over for that new park day. I agree with that. When you did this, you were now left with the leftovers. Day of FP never really was an issue for us. Changing parks may have been at the expense of super headliner like SDD, FOP, etc., if you dropped that park in favor of another.

This brings up the current reservation system though, which is a separate issue to G+. Disney is talking out of both sides of their mouths. The reservation system is the OPPOSITE of flexibility. Now, unlike ever before, you have a chance of being completely locked out of changing parks during your stay.

Dan

But isn’t it the same thing really? If you didn’t know about FP+ 60+ days out previously your were out of luck for headliners. If you don’t know the specifics about genie+ or don’t want to get up at 7am, or if you just aren’t quick enough at 7am you are equally out of luck. Then there are the guests who can’t afford the extra fee… the second class citizens of Disney who are stuck with peasants stand by only option. Very inclusive!

 

[DduzDis]

If you had read this thread for more than 10 seconds, you would not need me to supply you with any benefits for G+. Here's the big one:

TOP TIER ATTRACTIONS FOR A DAY DID NOT SELL OUT 65 DAYS IN THE PAST. YOU DO NOT NEED A TIME MACHINE TO BE ON THE SAME PLAYING FIELD AS EVERYONE ELSE.

Well that playing field sucks. Lol. Now top tier attractions become unavailable seconds after opening with no time to develop a backup plan. It’s your opinion G+ is superior, but we will have to agree to disagree. G+ is a disaster in my own opinion.

 

[Westerner]

There is no proof that G+ is worth the money, works well, or works as advertised. At this point, the only people arguing it does are people that:

• Never bothered to take advantage of what FP+ offered..... or
• Work for Disney in some capacity

G+ (and ILL$) was worth the money for our family on our most recent trip. We got to ride everything we wanted (except RotR) while keeping waits to <30 mins, which was our goal.

Your second bullet point is kinda way out there. Your first point is arguably true in my case, I never got to leverage FP+ fully. But how is that relevant now? The choice before me was not G+ or FP+, it was G+ or nothing.

 

[amylevan]

I’ll just point out that the February Disney Facebook group is stuff full of first timers ripping G+. Some who demanded their money back for lack of options in HS (why do they let you purchase it if stuff is gone?) and furious about the no refunds policy.

It is not a good look for Disney right now. And these first timers aren’t Disney apologists and won’t be going back.

At least when FP+ ran out, you weren’t out any money.

 

[DisneyFive]

But isn’t it the same thing really? If you didn’t know about FP+ 60+ days out previously your were out of luck for headliners. If you don’t know the specifics about genie+ or don’t want to get up at 7am, or if you just aren’t quick enough at 7am you are equally out of luck. Then there are the guests who can’t afford the extra fee… the second class citizens of Disney who are stuck with peasants stand by only option. Very inclusive!

Oh, I agree 100%. I was just saying that it was painful to change park days while on your vacation with FP+ if you had some really good FP+'s that you had to give up by doing so. Definitely a real challenge with FP+

I 1000% agree that there will ALWAYS be those guests that refuse to plan or put effort into their Disney vacation. G+ doesn't solve that, so in that regard FP+ was far better because those that did plan and put effort in had a much better platform to make use of (FP+) Now we are ALL suffering the system, and it has been brought down to the lowest common denominator in order to try and make it more "fair". Problem is, there will always be those guests who just expect to show up and have pixie dust thrown at them without any effort. That's why I don't have much sympathy for that group. Who spends the kind of money required for a Disney vacation and doesn't look into what they are buying?

Dan

 

[Meglen]

I’ll just point out that the February Disney Facebook group is stuff full of first timers ripping G+. Some who demanded their money back for lack of options in HS (why do they let you purchase it if stuff is gone?) and furious about the no refunds policy.

It is not a good look for Disney right now. And these first timers aren’t Disney apologists and won’t be going back.

At least when FP+ ran out, you weren’t out any money.

Since fp+ was free Disney had a bigger pool to offer. The waits could be 30 min still but if it was less than stand by it was fine. With genie+ the pool is much shorter due to them wanting the LL lines to move super fast because it's a payed service. So Disney needs to make the pools bigger so they don't run out but than is booking early and spending money worth saving 30min in line on a few rides . Who knows

 

[lowlight]

I can’t speak other than anecdotally, but I had to head to guest relations 3x over Weenie+, and each time most of the issues being discussed were Weenie+. Waiting to get breakfast at Captain Cook’s one morning and a guy is yelling to someone he knows over his cellphone about issues booking a ride at 7 am, and when he got off I told him I had the same issue and an older gentleman sitting on the ledge joined in and said he did also.

It obviously works well for some people, and for some FP+ was better. In the end all that needs to be pointed out is that one was free and one is very expensive if you add in ILLs. They can’t be compared for that reason. The paid option should always always be better than what was free.

 

[pixiedust2u]

I can’t speak other than anecdotally, but I had to head to guest relations 3x over Weenie+, and each time most of the issues being discussed were Weenie+. Waiting to get breakfast at Captain Cook’s one morning and a guy is yelling to someone he knows over his cellphone about issues booking a ride at 7 am, and when he got off I told him I had the same issue and an older gentleman sitting on the ledge joined in and said he did also.

It obviously works well for some people, and for some FP+ was better. In the end all that needs to be pointed out is that one was free and one is very expensive if you add in ILLs. They can’t be compared for that reason. The paid option should always always be better than what was free.

Weenie+

 

[Figvention]

You have any evidence for that? There's not much point in discussing the faults in a system with you when you've already made up your mind and will use anecdotal evidence to support your views.

This is a platonic discussion in regards to perceived value, there are no peer reviewed Harvard studies on the matter. Do you ask Snow White for the “proof’ that the Dwarfs are happy with their 401k plan?

Again, one day of waking up early at 60 days out as opposed to pay-to-play gambling phone game with the inability to plan your day ahead of time (everyday), is naturally a degradation of value.

 

[Figvention]

The average guest is not booking SDD 60+7 days out and doesn't know they have to.

This is not true and an anecdotal evidence fallacy. They literally sent you mailings and then a reminder with your magic band when staying onsite. In addition, they sent you multiple emails telling you how to do use FP+.
If you chose not to read/review, that’s not Disney’s fault. Ignorance of the “law” is no excuse to blame the “law”.

 

[bsmcneil]

I wonder if the new system its best for familys who plan on going to the parks after 2pm. you can stack 3 rides at that point while having a nice pool day/disney springs. Than head to the parks late and hit the rides you already booked. now since you started at 7am you might need to refresh a few times to start getting things after 2pm but than you can book another at say 10am(8am open) and 12pm.

This is something I will be trying to do on our arrival day, gives me something to do while on the plane i guess, and since its only 2 of us if it fails and we are stuck with only 2 rides its only a 32$ loss.

This describes how my family (3, me and a 5/9 year old) toured - but it still really stunk bc that meant getting up at 7 and paying attention every 2 hours after opening to line things up (if we were doing the pool, school work, resting, etc). And then, you don't know for sure what you'll get or if things will already be gone - so it made me anxious the whole time because it felt like all I could do was watch things go past (and yes I could've pressed my kids to get to the park faster, ignore the pool, etc but the trip was about enjoying ourselves and not just going to the parks - even though when we did go to the parks, almost every time I got them to do a ride, they'd say, "That was fun, can we do it again?" "Well, we can but this time we'll have to wait in the 45-60 minute line because [Genie+] only allows us to use it one ride per day." Especially for younger kids who had never been, they couldn't understand why, if you had something like G+, you couldn't choose to ride that again with it vs. going to another attraction they didn't necessarily want to do (Mad Tea Party, Buzz).

 

[bsmcneil]

I think a big problem is G+‘s popularity. Per TheStreet :

“A third to half of the park goers are opting to upgrade to Genie+, which Chapek says is “which is way above what we expected.”

(Other reports quoted Chapek as indicating the take rate in the quarter was 30%, increasing to 50% during the holiday season)

I’m sure they’re still working on load balancing, and how many slots to make available. My guess is the take rate is causing a lot of issues, so there will be changes.

Just like with anything (the Parks, cities in California, someone’s cheerleader daughter, etc) when things get too popular, a lot of problems tend to follow!

Popularity = / = desire to use/enjoyment. I purchased it as it quickly became apparent that my kids were going to struggle to do any line, no matter how much they enjoyed it (they fell in love with Space Mountain, which we ended up riding 6 times one day - but at the first sign of a 15 minute wait, when we came back later that week, they balked). So, yes, people are buying the program - but I don't think it translates into popularity for each person/party (recognizing some people do really enjoy/prefer it).

 

[cheryl.UK]

Totally agree with Disney Five. As a UK traveller and DVC member, we stay for an average of 3 weeks every year (give or take the odd year off). We used to book our FP+ for the first week at the 60 day mark to make sure we got in all the headliners. After that we booked largely on the day. Did we get the headliners after the first week? Absolutely we did. Were we going in September or January? Nope, because I'm a teacher.

Another poster said that guests didn't know about the 30 day/60 day window but they do know about G+. From what I've read on Tripadvisor, there's no difference. The day guests staying off site are still struggling to get those headliners. The reviews over there are brutal.

 

[cheryl.UK]

I hope you realize how poor of an example this is. They got those rides, from your own admission, via the refresh trick. Many users on this board did not know about or did not utilize that trick. Casual guests had no idea they could do that or that it could be successful.

The reason you got those FP+ that day is because the FP+ system was flawed. Period. That's it. The buy in rate for G+ is higher. People get it, they know about it. Casual visitors did not understand or properly utilize FP+. The people that did could take advantage of that.

You hit the nail on the head. 'Buy in'. What about satisfaction? If I 'buy in' for $15, I would not be happy to just get a few minor rides and long gaps coupled with longer stand by lines. Our moto used to be, if it's longer than 20 minutes, we're not riding. Looks like I'll be enjoying shows and parades this summer with the odd ride later in the day or in the late opening times for deluxe stay guests.

 

[Mrs~Incredible]

You hit the nail on the head. 'Buy in'. What about satisfaction? If I 'buy in' for $15, I would not be happy to just get a few minor rides and long gaps coupled with longer stand by lines. Our moto used to be, if it's longer than 20 minutes, we're not riding. Looks like I'll be enjoying shows and parades this summer with the odd ride later in the day or in the late opening times for deluxe stay guests.

OP here For your trip planning, you can definitely get 1-2 (and maybe more depending on the day) headliners at HS- and you’ll do better at MK. Just didn’t want you to walk away from this thread not knowing that.
I replied earlier to a pp that I am now thinking the perceived value of G is really your personal threshold. I expect SDD and MF to be gone by 1. Tot maybe too, but that’s a downer. Add in RnR and it feels like rubbish.
Not to mention, the flow of the vacation is totally different with g. It’s exhausting (at least to me it was), and we all know how exhausting a trip to wdw is! (But usually in a good way). We went for 2 weeks the last several trips and had a similar experience to you with FP, and we really loved that style of touring. Some structure, some spontaneity.
Last trip, it was our last day and I asked if DH and DD wanted to get G+ and they both said “oh god please no” I think that speaks volumes.

hope you have a great trip!

 

[Delirium]

With FP+, on my most recent trip, we were able to do everything we wanted (family of 4) during Thanksgiving week in 2018 (one of the busiest weeks of the year), and it was FREE! And, one a side note, we did not have to get up at 7 o'clock every morning.

How were we able to do that. We planned well. Very, very well. We roped dropped strategically, but not every morning. We took advantage when the parks were open later. We planned our 3 FPs each day to coincide with where we wanted to be in each park on each day.

Many people thought you needed to get early FPs to get full benefit., so you could get more. That was incorrect. Full benefit was getting the FP for a time that best fit your schedule. For example, we wanted to experience Jungle Cruise and Mine Train at night, when the attraction is enhanced by the darkness. So, when planning our FPs, we recognized we were already committed to being in MK on Thanksgiving night for a Liberty Tree Tavern ADR. We were able to schedule our FPs (at the times of our choosing) for that night.

To get through the heavy crowds on Thanksgiving Day we rope dropped Hollywood Studios (granted it was prior to Galaxy's edge), rope dropped a couple of attractions in Toy Story Land and then spent the rest of the day there doing anytime transactions (shows, streetmosphere, etc,). That's a concept a lot of people never understood. You use the busy parts of the day to your advantage by hitting the anytime transactions. Major attractions were done at rope drop, the end of the night, and with FP+.

Genie+ offers none of that flexibility because you don't get to pick your time.

 

[Meglen]

This describes how my family (3, me and a 5/9 year old) toured - but it still really stunk bc that meant getting up at 7 and paying attention every 2 hours after opening to line things up (if we were doing the pool, school work, resting, etc). And then, you don't know for sure what you'll get or if things will already be gone - so it made me anxious the whole time because it felt like all I could do was watch things go past (and yes I could've pressed my kids to get to the park faster, ignore the pool, etc but the trip was about enjoying ourselves and not just going to the parks - even though when we did go to the parks, almost every time I got them to do a ride, they'd say, "That was fun, can we do it again?" "Well, we can but this time we'll have to wait in the 45-60 minute line because [Genie+] only allows us to use it one ride per day." Especially for younger kids who had never been, they couldn't understand why, if you had something like G+, you couldn't choose to ride that again with it vs. going to another attraction they didn't necessarily want to do (Mad Tea Party, Buzz).

This also begs the question. Does Disney still want the family to go to Disney. ? You are 100% correct that this new system is pretty bad with children. They don't like lines, they want to re ride things, and they sure as heck don't want to be woken up early (if they need the sleep). This will just start the day off is a horrible way with cranky kids.

My son who was 12 this last trip(oct 2021 before g+) didn't want to wait for a thing. So we did low wait rides, more pool days and shopping. It was a very weird trip to me but we adjusted to make sure he had a good time.

Now when me and my husband go alone when it was fp+ we would book at 60 make them all early in the day than book more and more and more and it was a fun game to us.

Genie plus needs to add the refresh system for me to really enjoy it. But with just the 2 of us going back I can make it work because we are adults and if we need to wait 80 min for the ride we couldn't grab on g+ it's no big deal.

I feel Disney wants customers who don't have children and have massive pockets to spend on there own enjoyment. When the 15$+tax adds up with 3+ people it's a horrible deal imo. But with just the 2 of us if I only get 2 rides and we sb the rest of the day it's value holds for me.

I really really miss fp+, and I hope they change something and make the app better and refresh modify without cancelling Becomes possible.

 

[itf]

It feels like G+ is almost best suited to spending mornings at the pool, stacking what you can and then spending as little time in the park as you can knocking out those reservations from mid-afternoon?