The Genie Usage, Tips and Strategy ONLY Thread

[TheSouthernBelle]

We were at the parks last week and felt like crowd wise, it was heavy but not anymore crowded than I was expecting. Surprisingly, our most crowded feels like day was MK (4/20) which I was not expecting. MK G+ is easy to navigate and you can get decent G+ into mid/late afternoon, unlike DHS, since there are so many more rides. We were not into doing PP or Jungle via G+ and knew we'd ride 7DMT/SM during EEH so we prioritized BTMRR and Splash.

We also arrived late to the park at around 11:30am- anyone planning to arrive early and get earlier G+ times could really knock it out of the park at MK and probably get 6/7 G+ fairly easily, especially if you don't mind back tracking some.

11:15a- BTMRR G+
11:45a- Splash Standby (wait was short since it was just coming back online)
1:30p-pirates G+
2:15p People mover
3:45p Barnstormer
4:40p Little mermaid G+
5p- tea cups standby
6:20p Haunted G+
7p- PP standby
7:30p IASW standby
8:30p Little mermaid...again
8:35p Buzz G+
9p Astro standy
9:30p SM standby
10p- 7DMT standby
10:30p SM....again
11p 7DMT....again

We were at DHS on Thursday, 4/21 and planned a half'ish day since we were up till 2a the night before at MK EEH.

I was able to secure an early eve iLL$ for SWROR and SDD, and did my best to build a midday touring plan around that pretty easily. I'm not an advanced MDE/Genie user at all and even with oddball glitches the morning of and felt decent about getting the 4 G+ we got. Everything else we really wanted to ride, we did standby and I'd say our longest wait was TOT at 55 min. We arrived around 2p and left around 9:30p. We are not into the shows and really the only ride we missed and would have liked to do was MMRR but we'll be back soon enough. MMRR had times in the late afternoon but I didn't book them since we were in the TOT line. All that standby time gave me lots of refresh time and there are some G+ that do come back throughout the day so do make sure to keep checking.

Here was our hobbled together day- I was able to get SDD at 7:03a and SWROR at 7:11a.

2p- Star tours standby
3p- Lightening McQueen standby
3:35p G+ Aerosmith
4pm-TOT standby
5:55p- SWROR iLL$
7p- Smugglers standby
7:15p- SDD G+
7:40p-TSM G+
9p-TOT standby

Epcot on 4/22, did not use G+ but did purchase Remy iLL$, totally spaced out and missed 7a booking time but was able to get 8:40a Remy at 7:30a.

 

[ckelly14]

We also did later days too but not because of elderly parents, it was teenage girls that sleep in and take forever to get ready LOL!

We had both!

For Space, it looks like the scanner didn't work very quickly and there was only one person checking in. Seemed a bit ridiculous.

 

[dnguyen8]

We have group of 10 with all kids under 5. Reading the thread is there a reason why most of the Genie+ return times are mid/later afternoon? We were gonna hit the parks early and wanted to use Genie+ to get times in the AM/early afternoon.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

We have group of 10 with all kids under 5. Reading the thread is there a reason why most of the Genie+ return times are mid/later afternoon? We were gonna hit the parks early and wanted to use Genie+ to get times in the AM/early afternoon.

G+ doesn't let you choose your time so you get what Disney gives you or if you pass on the times and refresh, you run the risk of the next available times being earlier/later, but more times than not later as the day goes on and more people book their G+. If you can, try to book your first G+ as early as possible if you plan to be in the parks early so you can then book your next G+ earlier than others. Our G+ times were mostly later in the day since we did not plan on being in the parks early on.

You can play the "refresh to death" gamble and sometimes you will randomly get an earlier time if the system adds more G+ or people cancel but it's not like iLL$ where you can select your time.

Also, a party of 10 has no bearing on G+ bookings, the system will provide the same results for small to larger groups.

 

[3gr8boys]

We have group of 10 with all kids under 5. Reading the thread is there a reason why most of the Genie+ return times are mid/later afternoon? We were gonna hit the parks early and wanted to use Genie+ to get times in the AM/early afternoon.

(ETA- this is applicable to MK most of all as it has the most rides. There are a decent variety of ride/attraction LLs to be had at AK and Epcot. HS is tough because so many of the rides are "headliners." )
There will be morning LLs available when you start booking Genie+ LLs. But that early availability will be short lived for some rides. You strategy may prioritize popular rides that push your LLs later in the day more quickly, or you may be able to keep your group happy with rides that have better LL availability early in the day.

 

[Disturbia]

Curious, are the times changing after you hit your final acceptance?

When I was there in Feb the times changed up until I hit my final confirmation page but then when I confirmed they were the same as the screen where I chose to accept.

Has that changed recently?

I was watching a video by allears. Molly clicked on 9:30 am for SDMT (LLIA$) and after she hit payment the time she received was 7:25 pm (7:28 mins into the video). It was displayed as 9:30 am on the payment screen

 

[scrappinginontario]

I was watching a video by allears. Molly clicked on 9:30 am for SDMT (LLIA$) and after she hit payment the time she received was 7:25 pm (7:28 mins into the video). It was displayed as 9:30 am on the payment screen

I believe it happened but am wondering how much of that had to do with her being a non-resort guest and unable to purchase until 9AM which meant most were gone so very few were available. Still not good at all though, especially when paying for it!

 

[Princess_K]

I’ve been in Disney the last few days and tomorrow is the first Individual Lightning Lane we plan to buy (Remy’s). Is the later drop (ie 7:17-7:23) still happening? Haven’t been able to stalk the recent days’ drops like I had been doing before we left.

 

[ci1025]

I’ve been in Disney the last few days and tomorrow is the first Individual Lightning Lane we plan to buy (Remy’s). Is the later drop (ie 7:17-7:23) still happening? Haven’t been able to stalk the recent days’ drops like I had been doing before we left.

I checked this morning and the drop was at approximately 7:11. I would start refreshing a bit earlier

 

[dnguyen8]

(ETA- this is applicable to MK most of all as it has the most rides. There are a decent variety of ride/attraction LLs to be had at AK and Epcot. HS is tough because so many of the rides are "headliners." )
There will be morning LLs available when you start booking Genie+ LLs. But that early availability will be short lived for some rides. You strategy may prioritize popular rides that push your LLs later in the day more quickly, or you may be able to keep your group happy with rides that have better LL availability early in the day.

Interesting so to clarify if we book a less in demand ride we could potentially get say 9-10am return time. Ride it then go back to G+ and find another one. Not have to wait for the opening+ 120 min rule ie 11am to book the next ride?

 

[3gr8boys]

Interesting so to clarify if we book a less in demand ride we could potentially get say 9-10am return time. Ride it then go back to G+ and find another one. Not have to wait for the opening+ 120 min rule ie 11am to book the next ride?

Yes, this is possible (especially in MK). For our MK mornings we booked SM LLs both times with morning (9:30ish I think...booked closer to 7:10 than 7:00). SM is one of the rides that can push later early, but there are plenty that don't. If you can tap into your first LL before 120 minutes after park open hits, you will have bigger selection and earlier times to choose from because you are ahead of the people that have to wait for that 120 minute mark because their first LL window opens later.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

I’ve been in Disney the last few days and tomorrow is the first Individual Lightning Lane we plan to buy (Remy’s). Is the later drop (ie 7:17-7:23) still happening? Haven’t been able to stalk the recent days’ drops like I had been doing before we left.

Definitely keep checking but yes the later drop is still occurring. Was at Epcot last friday and bought Remy at 7:21am, got 8:40a iLL$ return time.

 

[Disturbia]

We will probably see a premier pass coming soon (90 Euros in Paris)

https://wdwnt.com/2022/04/confirmed...ultimate-to-skip-the-lines-at-12-attractions/

For 5 of us it would be $3,150 for a week. I suppose it would force people to shorten trips and Disney would make more money by reduced ticket discounts (day 5+ tickets are cheaper) for longer trips.

 

[FunnyLady1966]

We were at the parks last week and felt like crowd wise, it was heavy but not anymore crowded than I was expecting. Surprisingly, our most crowded feels like day was MK (4/20) which I was not expecting. MK G+ is easy to navigate and you can get decent G+ into mid/late afternoon, unlike DHS, since there are so many more rides. We were not into doing PP or Jungle via G+ and knew we'd ride 7DMT/SM during EEH so we prioritized BTMRR and Splash.

We also arrived late to the park at around 11:30am- anyone planning to arrive early and get earlier G+ times could really knock it out of the park at MK and probably get 6/7 G+ fairly easily, especially if you don't mind back tracking some.

11:15a- BTMRR G+
11:45a- Splash Standby (wait was short since it was just coming back online)
1:30p-pirates G+
2:15p People mover
3:45p Barnstormer
4:40p Little mermaid G+
5p- tea cups standby
6:20p Haunted G+
7p- PP standby
7:30p IASW standby
8:30p Little mermaid...again
8:35p Buzz G+
9p Astro standy
9:30p SM standby
10p- 7DMT standby
10:30p SM....again
11p 7DMT....again

We were at DHS on Thursday, 4/21 and planned a half'ish day since we were up till 2a the night before at MK EEH.

I was able to secure an early eve iLL$ for SWROR and SDD, and did my best to build a midday touring plan around that pretty easily. I'm not an advanced MDE/Genie user at all and even with oddball glitches the morning of and felt decent about getting the 4 G+ we got. Everything else we really wanted to ride, we did standby and I'd say our longest wait was TOT at 55 min. We arrived around 2p and left around 9:30p. We are not into the shows and really the only ride we missed and would have liked to do was MMRR but we'll be back soon enough. MMRR had times in the late afternoon but I didn't book them since we were in the TOT line. All that standby time gave me lots of refresh time and there are some G+ that do come back throughout the day so do make sure to keep checking.

Here was our hobbled together day- I was able to get SDD at 7:03a and SWROR at 7:11a.

2p- Star tours standby
3p- Lightening McQueen standby
3:35p G+ Aerosmith
4pm-TOT standby
5:55p- SWROR iLL$
7p- Smugglers standby
7:15p- SDD G+
7:40p-TSM G+
9p-TOT standby

Epcot on 4/22, did not use G+ but did purchase Remy iLL$, totally spaced out and missed 7a booking time but was able to get 8:40a Remy at 7:30a.

So what is the total you're spending on G+ and iLL$ per person? I still can't wrap my head around paying extra to ride a ride I've already bought a ticket for. This is frustrating to me.

 

[Disturbia]

So what is the total you're spending on G+ and iLL$ per person? I still can't wrap my head around paying extra to ride a ride I've already bought a ticket for. This is frustrating to me.

Currently per person it’s $15 for Genie+ and one LLIA (approx $12) per park (until August 7). Tax extra.

For 4 people for 7 days it’s about $756

That’s about to triple (to $2520 if they make it $90 for 12 rides like Paris) when they make it a package (maybe after August 7).

I can see this change being applicable to Disneyland but at WDW, Epcot and AK don’t have that many rides; HS they might justify it with shows

https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2022...d-for-a-limited-number-of-disney-world-rides/

 

[FunnyLady1966]

Currently per person it’s $15 for Genie+ and one LLIA (approx $12) per park (until August 7). Tax extra.

For 4 people for 7 days it’s about $756

That’s about to triple (to $2520 if they make it $90 for 12 rides like Paris) when they make it a package (maybe after August 7)

https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2022...d-for-a-limited-number-of-disney-world-rides/

So you spent almot $800 extra after your tickets? I. Can't. Even.

 

[Disturbia]

So you spent almot $800 extra after your tickets? I. Can't. Even.

Yes. Instead of waiting 2-3 hours for one ride like we did back in June 2021

Btw this is a usage only thread so our posts will be deleted

 

[FunnyLady1966]

Yes. Instead of waiting 2-3 hours for one ride like we did back in June 2021

Btw this is a usage only thread so our posts will be deleted

I appreciate your honesty. I guess in the long run it will come down to why go if we can't ride the rides... so yes, the extra money guarantees that. Thanks

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

So what is the total you're spending on G+ and iLL$ per person? I still can't wrap my head around paying extra to ride a ride I've already bought a ticket for. This is frustrating to me.

I am with you and it's not fun to pay for what was once free.

I equate it to the fact that even when it was included, riding certain rides like SWROR, was never guaranteed. It was virtual queue only and sometimes we'd never even get it and we had no standby. So at least now, barring breakdown, we know we'll ride it.

For everything else that's less in demand, I chalk it up to all the recent inflationary rising costs and WDW being a business and monetizing something that they know people will pay for. We're 4 so SWROR was $63 with tax @ $15pp, Remy was the cheaper iLL$ $43 w tax @ $11 pp but I've also seen it around $9pp, have not seen SWROR for less than $15. G+ for the day is always $15pp plus tax per day. We only did two G+ days. Total G+ expenses were less than $240 for 2 park days. I would not use it for Epcot and AK so even if we spent a full week at WDW, I would only purchase it for my DHS and MK days right now and if I devoted more than 1 day to either of those parks, I would not purchase G+ both days but I might do an iLL$.

I also saw where DL Paris is rolling out a premium skipping the line service that would be into the hundreds for a few days PP so it's possible that's also coming down the line.

Overall, I don't hate G+, do I love it, not really but for me, I feel like I didn't spend a ton of time on my phone being the family planner for my group and definitely not anymore when we had FP+. My biggest complaints are the glitchy factor and having to wake at 7am to plan my day on my vacay.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

So you spent almot $800 extra after your tickets? I. Can't. Even.

I would not pre-purchase it for an entire trip so unless someone is doing a YOLO once and lifetime, done never going again trip, I would strongly suggest most guests not buy G+ for the entirety of their trip for all days tix. Few extenuating circumstances but it's not really beneficial in the parks with fewer rides right now.