The Genie Usage, Tips and Strategy ONLY Thread

[wisblue]

Not coming until later this month but constantly on the app trying to make sure I understand everything! Just saw this and couldn’t believe it… 75 minute wait for Slinky Dog but could get a 7:05 LL at 7:04, almost seemed too good to be true!

Those times can pop up from time to time, probably because of somebody cancelling a LL reservation they had made earlier.

If you were in the park and clicked on that to try to book the reservation you might find that it is gone before you can claim it. There are people who constantly refresh their screens trying to claim these pop up slots so there will likely be competition for them.

 

[Bon1423]

I’ve been reading through the thread and still am not quite understanding everything about stacking. We are not early morning people and especially want to stack later LL for MK. So if this is the situation:

Before 9 get splash mountain 11:30 return time
At 11 get Space return time of 3pm
Ride splash at 12:20, then I can pull another even with Space outstanding, right? So say I pull like Buzz at 2:45.

So we’d ride Buzz, pull another return time (for idk Pirates) then ride space. After riding space, can I still pull another time or do I have to ride Pirates first?

Seems like double dipping if you can do this all day, have basically two cycles running, but want to make sure I understand.

 

[boop0524]

After testing G+ twice and trying both strategies (stacking for evening vs. booking as early as possible), I prefer the evening stack for a couple of reasons.

Love this strategy! So interesting...may have to try this for our upcoming trip. I admit, though, I'm a bit traumatized by our last use of Genie+ in early Nov. when everything ran out at HS by mid-day. Our first LL was at 6ish that day, too. So is that not as much of a problem anymore? Also, do you still try to get the rides that book fastest first, just don't stress so much about the time? Sorry, I have not been following this thread that closely lately and am just hopping back in

 

[scrappinginontario]

I’ve been reading through the thread and still am not quite understanding everything about stacking. We are not early morning people and especially want to stack later LL for MK. So if this is the situation:

Before 9 get splash mountain 11:30 return time
At 11 get Space return time of 3pm
Ride splash at 12:20, then I can pull another even with Space outstanding, right? So say I pull like Buzz at 2:45.

So we’d ride Buzz, pull another return time (for idk Pirates) then ride space. After riding space, can I still pull another time or do I have to ride Pirates first?

Seems like double dipping if you can do this all day, have basically two cycles running, but want to make sure I understand.

The thing to keep in mind is that with Genie+ you may only select the next available time so may not be easy/possible to do what you have described. We all wish it were but reality is the most popular G+ reservations fill up early and quickly.

 

[cjlong88]

Love this strategy! So interesting...may have to try this for our upcoming trip. I admit, though, I'm a bit traumatized by our last use of Genie+ in early Nov. when everything ran out at HS by mid-day. Our first LL was at 6ish that day, too. So is that not as much of a problem anymore? Also, do you still try to get the rides that book fastest first, just don't stress so much about the time? Sorry, I have not been following this thread that closely lately and am just hopping back in

Yes, I book the rides in order of popularity, so for HS it would be SDD, then MFSR, then ToT / RnRC (whichever is showing later return times), etc. I have rough time frames for each attraction I would prefer so I don't zig-zag across the park, but if there were slim pickings I would just grab what I could. The last time we did this we had SDD, MSFR, ToT, RnRC and TSM all lined up by the time we walked into HS around 5pm. And we purchased RotR and MMRR so we had 7 LL's ready to go. It was awesome going from ride to ride. Granted, this I think is more the exception rather than the norm, but I've been able to do it once in November and once in December. We will see if I can replicate it January!

Okay, so another crazy thing we did is start our day at AK (typically it opens the earliest), book the earliest LL I could find (say 8am for Dinosaur). Immediately tap in at 8am, consequently making myself eligible book MFSR (and there was already later availability). Now my 2-hour window begins at 8am instead of 9am (HS open time) and I can now start stacking at 10am, 12pm, 2pm, and 4pm. With this strategy I was forced to forego SDD as our first pick at 7am, BUT I would remedy this by just getting in line for it at park close.

 

[boop0524]

Yes, I book the rides in order of popularity, so for HS it would be SDD, then MFSR, then ToT / RnRC (whichever is showing later return times), etc. I have rough time frames for each attraction I would prefer so I don't zig-zag across the park, but if there were slim pickings I would just grab what I could. The last time we did this we had SDD, MSFR, ToT, RnRC and TSM all lined up by the time we walked into HS around 5pm. And we purchased RotR and MMRR so we had 7 LL's ready to go. It was awesome going from ride to ride. Granted, this I think is more the exception rather than the norm, but I've been able to do it once in November and once in December. We will see if I can replicate it January!

Okay, so another crazy thing we did is start our day at AK (typically it opens the earliest), book the earliest LL I could find (say 8am for Dinosaur). Immediately tap in at 8am, consequently making myself eligible book MFSR (and there was already later availability). Now my 2-hour window begins at 8am instead of 9am (HS open time) and I can now start stacking at 10am, 12pm, 2pm, and 4pm. With this strategy I was forced to forego SDD as our first pick at 7am, BUT I would remedy this by just getting in line for it at park close.

Ah that is brilliant! Thank you so much, going to play around with some planning ideas

 

[g-dad66]

I’ve been reading through the thread and still am not quite understanding everything about stacking. We are not early morning people and especially want to stack later LL for MK. So if this is the situation:

Before 9 get splash mountain 11:30 return time
At 11 get Space return time of 3pm
Ride splash at 12:20, then I can pull another even with Space outstanding, right? So say I pull like Buzz at 2:45.

So we’d ride Buzz, pull another return time (for idk Pirates) then ride space. After riding space, can I still pull another time or do I have to ride Pirates first?

Seems like double dipping if you can do this all day, have basically two cycles running, but want to make sure I understand.

No, you become eligible for next LL (1) after 2 hours OR (2) after double-tapping into your MOST RECENTLY BOOKED LL (whichever comes first).

So at 11:00 when you booked the Space LL, you are next eligible at either (1) 1:00 , or (2) when you double-tap into Space.
Double-tapping into Splash at 12:20 doesn't re-set your eligibility.

Ditto regarding your Buzz and Pirate example. When you ride Space, it doesn't make you eligible again because Buzz was your most recently booked LL.

 

[ilgirl51]

We were just there before Christmas. We weren't planning to use Genie+, but I'd read about it just in case. Because of the crowds, we did end up purchasing it for our Magic Kingdom day. Space Mountain was put into the Genie+ group for the two weeks of Christmas, so we decided it was worth it after rope drop didn't work. I was able to get more rides than I'd expected to, and I didn't feel like I was on my phone all day. We didn't need Genie+ at the other parks, but we did buy an ILL for Remy since all of the boarding times were gone by 7:01 the day of Epcot.

 

[Disturbia]

Another thing I am amazed by with reading through this thread is how many people spend such little time in the parks. I get that many are there for a week. Maybe it's just me but when I go to parks for vacation I am in the parks for as long as I can.

We used to spend 10+ hours in parks when we had one kid. When fastbpass+ was in testing we rode 15 rides using printed passes in combo with FP+. We have been many times and now have 3 kids so we don’t feel the need to ride everything and spend lot of time enjoying dining, parades, fireworks and resort offerings.

 

[Juventus]

Can anyone confirm that MFSR is usually still available 2 hours after park open (say if I go for SDD at 7:00)? I'm looking stack and hop to DHS 2nd week of March.
My priority is MFSR however between 7:00 and park open I am not sure if a late enough time (after 5:00ish) will be offered for MFSR.
I'm starting to pay attention to thrill data but am not sure how to find historical data.

 

[g-dad66]

Can anyone confirm that MFSR is usually still available 2 hours after park open (say if I go for SDD at 7:00)? I'm looking stack and hop to DHS 2nd week of March.
My priority is MFSR however between 7:00 and park open I am not sure if a late enough time (after 5:00ish) will be offered for MFSR.
I'm starting to pay attention to thrill data but am not sure how to find historical data.

Just change the date at the top of the page to see data for any previous date.

Prior to Thanksgiving, MFSr was still available at 11:00, but in the month since then, I have observed that it is often gone by 11:00. I recommend checking the situation again when it gets closer to your dates.

President's Week in February may be a good index for what it will be like during Spring Break weeks in March and April.

 

[sdk1231]

Reporting back with my second try at using Genie+. This was done over the busy NYE weekend. I'd been "iffy" about trying Genie+ again, but decided to give it a shot. It was a success for my family this time. Here's how it went:

12/29 Travel Day / DHS evening / Extended Eve Hours at MK - Chicago to Orlando. Family of 4. Oldest daughter works at Star Wars Galaxy's Edge. Husband goes to Disney once a year and has never visited SWGE. This was the 4th trip for my daughters and I this year. Planned arrival at DHS at about 5pm w/dinner at Docking Bay 7 (quick serve) at whatever time worked out. Purchased G+ for all 4, but I and CM daughter don't care all that much about riding rides. We enjoy entertainment, walking around the park, shopping, and just hanging out. We often give our LL rides to husband and younger daughter. Hence the "split bookings" you see below. Here's how G+ worked out that day. Husband and younger daughter rode rides essentially all night long non-stop:

At 7 AM, while at home.
Booked ILL for Rise for 3 people at 8pm
Booked ToT at 5pm - 1 person
Booked Smuggler's Run at 5:55pm - 2 people

While at Ohare airport, I did the 10:30AM "drop"
Booked MMRR at 6:40pm - 3 people
Booked Star Tours at 6:40pm - 2 people

While DH and daughters were riding MMRR, I picked up an Alien Swirling Saucers at 7pm.

While they were all riding Rise, I picked up a Toy Story Mania at 8:30pm.

Reservations for Drinks at Oga's at 9:30. Rode the bus back to the Magic Kingdom for Extended Evening Hours from 11-1AM where daughters rode several rides including Space, Splash, etc. Walked back to the Grand Floridian.

12/30 MK with late arrival.
At 7AM while sitting on my balcony drinking coffee:
Booked ILL for 7DMT for daughters at 7pm
Booked Peter Pan for myself and older daughter at 1:30pm
Booked Space Mtn for husband and younger daughter at 2pm

At the 11am "drop" I booked us all on Splash Mtn at 3pm

Entered MK at around 11:30am, watched Cavalcade and Dapper Dans
Lunch at CRT at 12:20
DH and younger daughter went to Philharmagic while older daughter and I rode Peter Pan. We finished before they did, and while waiting for them, I checked Genie and saw we were all eligible for another LL. I was suprised... and I will say that that's one thing I like about Genie... I didn't have to figure out who was eligible when. It's very clear who is eligible for another LL.

Booked LL for Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, walked over and watched it. It was a fun holiday version.

DH and younger daughter rode Space

We walked over and rode Splash together.

I checked Genie and we were eligible for another LL. Booked it for Pirates, walked over and rode that.

Kids did Pirate Adventure or whatever it's called (the treasure hunt map game)

Walked to Tomorrowland Terrace for Dessert Party at 5pm. We were 15 min early but they let us in. Watched Enchantment from the dessert party Plaza viewing area at 6:30. Not crowded, excellent view. After Enchantment, the park got LOUD with the New Year's Eve Eve party vibe, which I love. Hubby does not love that, and left to go back to the hotel, leaving the girls and I to party with plans to join him later for the midnight fireworks from the resort.

Kids rode 7DMT. While they were doing that, I checked Genie Tip Board and booked us a LL for Pooh. They got off 7DMT, we went on Pooh. Checked G+ and booked kids a LL for Dumbo. They rode that. Checked G+ and booked Small World. Rode that. Haunted Mansion was 20 min standby time - rode that standby. Hung around in Liberty Square and on Main Street until about 10:30 when we headed back to the Grand to watch the 11:50 fireworks from the resort.

I felt that it was a successful 2 days of G+ use, especially for late park arrival days on a busy NYE weekend. We rode everything we'd wanted to ride, and only rode standby 1 time. Did not purchase G+ for our other 2 days - NYE and New Year's Day - as we'd ridden everything we wanted to ride and had those days set aside as resort, pool, entertainment days.

I was never a huge fan of the Fastpass system, being "locked in" to being at certain places at certain times. I can't say I love the G+ system, either, but I didn't hate it. It worked well for us this time around and I wasn't looking at my phone all day, either, which I'd been worried about. I'm not a "phone" fan.

My husband, who knows very little about the machinations behind a successful Disney trip and joins us once annually (his limit), felt that it was a "great trip" and was happy that he got to ride eveyrthing he wanted to ride back-to-back with Lightning Lane. At one point he made a comment about this trip being "so easy!" (my CM daughter and I looked at each other and grinned). So that made it a great trip for me.

 

[Disturbia]

No, you become eligible for next LL (1) after 2 hours OR (2) after double-tapping into your MOST RECENTLY BOOKED LL (whichever comes first).

So at 11:00 when you booked the Space LL, you are next eligible at either (1) 1:00 , or (2) when you double-tap into Space.
Double-tapping into Splash at 12:20 doesn't re-set your eligibility.

Ditto regarding your Buzz and Pirate example. When you ride Space, it doesn't make you eligible again because Buzz was your most recently booked LL.

I believe you are able to book another pass after tapping into Splash (earliest booked Genie+ ride) like a rolling fast pass+. You don’t have to wait to scan into a late (Space) pass? What if the Space pass was at 5 pm? or was this the change that was made recently (allears.net mentioned some stacking rule changes Nov 24 article?). I read that to mean that you couldn’t roll multiple stacked passes (we never did).

https://allears.net/2021/11/24/theres-been-an-update-on-the-disney-genie-loophole/
I see Space as an independent pass until the Genie+ rolling pass overlaps this one (5 mins before 3 pm). So you can continue booking and riding Genie+ rides 11 am (2 hrs after park opening) to 2:55 pm.

 

[g-dad66]

I believe you are able to book another pass after tapping into Splash (earliest booked Genie+ ride) like a rolling fast pass+. You don’t have to wait to scan into a late (Space) pass? What if the Space pass was at 5 pm? or was this the change that was made recently (allears.net mentioned some stacking rule changes Nov 24 article?). I read that to mean that you couldn’t roll multiple stacked passes (we never did).

https://allears.net/2021/11/24/theres-been-an-update-on-the-disney-genie-loophole/

It's definitely confusing, isn't it? Yes, the November 24 change meant that you could no longer roll multiple stacked passes each time you tapped into a LL.

This is why tapping into the EARLIEST BOOKED LL (11:30 in the example) won't make you eligible if you already had taken advantage of the 2-hour eligibility rule (eligible at 11:00 in the example). It's only tapping into the MOST RECENTLY BOOKED LL that makes you eligible to book again.

 

[Disturbia]

In this case he’s rolling only 1 Genie+ pass 11 am-2:55 pm

UNLESS he uses this pass to stack a pass after 3 pm

in his example buzz is before 2:55 which he should be able to book, but I would ride rides continuously until 2:45 and then use my Genie+ pass to stack another After 3 pm.

 

[g-dad66]

In this case he’s rolling only 1 Genie+ pass 11 am-2:55 pm

UNLESS he uses this pass to stack a pass after 3 pm

If you book an LL at 11:00, you are eligible to book again either (1) at 1:00, or (2) when you double-tap into the attraction that you just booked.

You don't become eligible at 11:30 by double-tapping into the LL that you had booked at 7:00 am.

 

[Disturbia]

I give up. I need to take more choline from all the brain degeneration Genie+ is causing me.

 

[g-dad66]

I give up. I need to take more choline from all the brain degeneration Genie+ is causing me.

Same here.

 

[Disturbia]

Same here.

So is he eligible to book a pass at 1 pm and continue to roll it until 2:55 (or stack)?

 

[Disturbia]

IMHO. unless park hopping, you’re giving up riding as you go during peak afternoon hours and wasting 2 hrs each time. I would just ride rides 9-12 pm and then stack for 3pm+ (Break for lunch).