The Genie Usage, Tips and Strategy ONLY Thread

[g-dad66]

Interesting! We check in the day after Memorial Day. Wondering how crowds will be that week and how it might affect things. Just trying to set my expectations accordingly!

I recommend keeping your eye on data at thrill-data.com in the days leading up to your trip.

 

[sagosto]

Does Genie+ conflict with Multiple Experience passes? For example, if you have pre-assigned ME passes and want to use Genie+, can you book the SAME attraction in the same day?

 

[laska]

15 years since my last trip. Great info here but I am still struggling to figure out our plan since most of the discussions involve lots of LL and definitely using G+ every day.
When I last went FP was more about saving time to do other activities make second runs?

So if we are not staying at a Disney resort (thus late start even with G+ or LL?) and my budget doesn't include more than maybe one LL, should I just figure we will miss the most popular rides? Or is it still possible say, if we have two days at MK (also going to AK two days and 1 day HS.) to manage to get most rides in? I budgeted 2 days of G+ .
Trip is early June.

From the looks of things I expect most of the parks will be full by then.

Thanks....

 

[danceintherain]

15 years since my last trip. Great info here but I am still struggling to figure out our plan since most of the discussions involve lots of LL and definitely using G+ every day.
When I last went FP was more about saving time to do other activities make second runs?

So if we are not staying at a Disney resort (thus late start even with G+ or LL?) and my budget doesn't include more than maybe one LL, should I just figure we will miss the most popular rides? Or is it still possible say, if we have two days at MK (also going to AK two days and 1 day HS.) to manage to get most rides in? I budgeted 2 days of G+ .
Trip is early June.

From the looks of things I expect most of the parks will be full by then.

Thanks....

I've never been able to get everything done at Disney. My last few trips, I've skipped many of the headliners, because I was traveling with small children who either weren't tall enough or interested.

So, it has always been a matter of prioritizing.

With two days at AK, I expect you'll be able to get in everything you want to do there easily. FoP supposedly has shorter lines at the end of the day.

Magic Kingdom just has a lot of attractions, so with 2 days you would have needed to select carefully even with classic fast pass.

Hollywood Studios was tough, even before Star Wars opened. Showtimes are limited, so getting everything to mesh nicely has always been hard. Slinky apparently runs out quickly after 7am, so it's a matter of the importance of the other rides to your itinerary.
Rise will be the tough one.

Will you have park hoppers?

 

[robinb]

I wanted to share my experience with G+ yesterday. I couldn't buy G+ because the app wouldn’t respond at 6:55 when I tried to purchase it. The “Continue” button wouldn’t respond on the guest selection page. I didn’t try to purchase until late (6:55) because I had planned to pick up a LL at the 7:11 drop instead of right at 7:00. I struggled for 15 minutes to buy G+ in advance because I knew that my return time would get messed up if I had to buy it on the fly. So, I didn’t buy it.

We ended up doing standby and managed to do ok. I would have preferred have a LL because I did see many rides booking out fairly close to the current time.

Next time I try tomorrow I will be up earlier to purchase G+ before the system gets slammed.

 

[laska]

We decided against Park hopping. We did get the more option so we have some other options to destress .
I am reading more and I think the key for us will be to set expectations and take it as it comes.
I think my biggest task now is to figure out which of the longer queue rides we really want to do and which we can let go. Then if we get lucky and can still get it in it will be a plus.
Probably the biggest adjustment for me is that even older rides that I would have thought would have shorter waits are getting long very long queues.

This all changes the dynamic for me. If I had known the challenges and changes of the real value of the experience earlier I would certainly have just gone a few days with WDW and picked up some Universal Tickets.

We might have gotten lucky on our timing in the past. For instance one evening we rode Splash Mountain 3 times in a row with almost no queue (during fireworks). From what I see now that kind of thing just doesn't happen anymore.

 

[Miffy]

We decided against Park hopping. We did get the more option so we have some other options to destress .
I am reading more and I think the key for us will be to set expectations and take it as it comes.
I think my biggest task now is to figure out which of the longer queue rides we really want to do and which we can let go. Then if we get lucky and can still get it in it will be a plus.
Probably the biggest adjustment for me is that even older rides that I would have thought would have shorter waits are getting long very long queues.

This all changes the dynamic for me. If I had known the challenges and changes of the real value of the experience earlier I would certainly have just gone a few days with WDW and picked up some Universal Tickets.

We might have gotten lucky on our timing in the past. For instance one evening we rode Splash Mountain 3 times in a row with almost no queue (during fireworks). From what I see now that kind of thing just doesn't happen anymore.

The closer it gets to the time the park closes--and this means all the parks--the shorter the lines at even the major attractions. I just came back a few days ago and this was still true. And if you go during Early Theme Park Entry (assuming you're staying onsite), then you can probably do at least one headliner before the crowds appear.

 

[HeiHei2018]

We are planning for August, and I am hoping the recent low crowds will be similar to when we are there. However, Frozen return times are putting a wrench in my plans. I was thinking of getting Hoppers and doing MK, then Epcot on our arrival day (Halloween party at MK means it would close early). I would need a late (~6) Frozen time to avoid going from monorail straight to frozen and then backtracking all through Future World. As of now (9:38 on a Saturday), the return time just hit 5:55. And waiting until now to book Frozen would mean delaying and possibly missing PP at 11 am. I saw one poster who was able to refresh for Frozen in the second pull at 11 am. Has anyone else had success with that? I can’t decide if Hoppers will make life easier or more stressful.

 

[Smrtalec33]

We might have gotten lucky on our timing in the past. For instance one evening we rode Splash Mountain 3 times in a row with almost no queue (during fireworks). From what I see now that kind of thing just doesn't happen anymore.

We were just there during a very busy spring break time around Easter, and I had a similar experience, so it can still happen. We did Thunder at 9 right as the fireworks started (we had an LL but wouldn’t have needed it). Once we got off, we immediately walked through again a second time with no wait. We didn’t try for a third time because the fireworks were over and the big selling point for us was being able to see the fireworks from the ride, but I suspect we could’ve gone a third time with a little or no wait.

 

[tofubeast]

My feet are somewhere still at MK while the rest of me is in our hotel room. Daughter and I did a genie challenge today and scored all genie rides (minus iLL as we didn’t want to pay) and Meet Mickey. 17 lightning lanes! Crowds were definitely lighter (vs March), so that helped. Here’s all we did including non LL.

Big Thunder LL (9:00!)
Splash (walk on)
HM LL (9:45)
Pirates LL (10:20)
Mickey LL (10:20)
Splash LL (11:00)
Tomorrowland speedway LL (1:20)
Barnstormer x2
Pooh LL (2:05)
Buzz LL (2:35)
Jungle LL (2:25…got at 11:05)
Aladdin
Peter Pan LL (4:25 got at 2:26)
Small World LL (5:00)
Mad Tea Party LL (5:10)
Space LL (7:20 got at 5:30)
Ariel LL (7:30)
Dumbo LL (7:50)
Barnstormer LL (7:55)
Astro Orbiter (walk on)
Alladin LL (8:40)
Thunder (walk on during fireworks)
Splash (walk on)
Carousel

…Left my feet near a bench by Main St.


Did I mention we woke up today at 4:30am and drove up from Broward?!

Trick is def getting something at 9:00 to be ahead of the curb. We didn’t really care if we got Jungle so that was a nice surprise. It all just came together.

Night night.

 

[motofox4]

Here now, staying at Coronado Springs. and trying to buy G+ but when I push the button to try to buy, it’s not doing anything. I deleted the app and reinstalled and restarted phones and it just won’t let us push that to buy. Does anyone have any suggestions of what to do? Here is a ss of the screen where it won’t let us push to buy or go any further. SO frustrating.

 

[glocon]

Here now, staying at Coronado Springs. and trying to buy G+ but when I push the button to try to buy, it’s not doing anything. I deleted the app and reinstalled and restarted phones and it just won’t let us push that to buy. Does anyone have any suggestions of what to do? Here is a ss of the screen where it won’t let us push to buy or go any further. SO frustrating. View attachment 669276

I have read here on the Dis that you can just choose a LL and if you don’t have G+ it will give you a prompt from that screen. Maybe try that?

 

[motofox4]

I have read here on the Dis that you can just choose a LL and if you don’t have G+ it will give you a prompt from that screen. Maybe try that?

We bought a ILL for Ratatouille and didn’t see the option to buy G+. Someone finally called back from IT and was able to purchase for us. However, I sure hope we don’t have this problem every day here. Ugh. I asked if we can just pay for it every day now to avoid this but she said we can only buy individual days.

 

[MablePines24]

Hi everyone! I’m visiting the first week of August and we’re a family of 4 staying off property. We’re not planning on park hopping and will be going to all 4 parks. To maximize our time , after watching a lot of videos lol, I want to use genie+ for sure at MK & HS. What are the best tips for using G+ when staying off property?

Thank you!

 

[Gentry2004]

My feet are somewhere still at MK while the rest of me is in our hotel room. Daughter and I did a genie challenge today and scored all genie rides (minus iLL as we didn’t want to pay) and Meet Mickey. 17 lightning lanes! Crowds were definitely lighter (vs March), so that helped. Here’s all we did including non LL.

Big Thunder LL (9:00!)
Splash (walk on)
HM LL (9:45)
Pirates LL (10:20)
Mickey LL (10:20)
Splash LL (11:00)
Tomorrowland speedway LL (1:20)
Barnstormer x2
Pooh LL (2:05)
Buzz LL (2:35)
Jungle LL (2:25…got at 11:05)
Aladdin
Peter Pan LL (4:25 got at 2:26)
Small World LL (5:00)
Mad Tea Party LL (5:10)
Space LL (7:20 got at 5:30)
Ariel LL (7:30)
Dumbo LL (7:50)
Barnstormer LL (7:55)
Astro Orbiter (walk on)
Alladin LL (8:40)
Thunder (walk on during fireworks)
Splash (walk on)
Carousel

…Left my feet near a bench by Main St.


Did I mention we woke up today at 4:30am and drove up from Broward?!

Trick is def getting something at 9:00 to be ahead of the curb. We didn’t really care if we got Jungle so that was a nice surprise. It all just came together.

Night night.

Wow! So for most of these you just booked, rode, booked another, rode, etc.?

Ie: you booked HM after you scanned into Thunder, booked pirates after scanned into HM, and so on?

 

[thanxfornoticin]

The strategy for G+ is no different staying off-site as it is staying on-site. You really have the same options as any on-site guest. The biggest difference comes into play if you decide to purchase any of the ILL attractions, which you can only do at park opening instead of 7AM. But that's separate from Genie+.

 

[pigletto]

My feet are somewhere still at MK while the rest of me is in our hotel room. Daughter and I did a genie challenge today and scored all genie rides (minus iLL as we didn’t want to pay) and Meet Mickey. 17 lightning lanes! Crowds were definitely lighter (vs March), so that helped. Here’s all we did including non LL.

Big Thunder LL (9:00!)
Splash (walk on)
HM LL (9:45)
Pirates LL (10:20)
Mickey LL (10:20)
Splash LL (11:00)
Tomorrowland speedway LL (1:20)
Barnstormer x2
Pooh LL (2:05)
Buzz LL (2:35)
Jungle LL (2:25…got at 11:05)
Aladdin
Peter Pan LL (4:25 got at 2:26)
Small World LL (5:00)
Mad Tea Party LL (5:10)
Space LL (7:20 got at 5:30)
Ariel LL (7:30)
Dumbo LL (7:50)
Barnstormer LL (7:55)
Astro Orbiter (walk on)
Alladin LL (8:40)
Thunder (walk on during fireworks)
Splash (walk on)
Carousel

…Left my feet near a bench by Main St.


Did I mention we woke up today at 4:30am and drove up from Broward?!

Trick is def getting something at 9:00 to be ahead of the curb. We didn’t really care if we got Jungle so that was a nice surprise. It all just came together.

Night night.

This is amazing! Could someone explain to me again what the advantage is of getting something at 9 is ? ( I know I’ve read about this but it’s confusing me at the moment).

 

[3gr8boys]

This is amazing! Could someone explain to me again what the advantage is of getting something at 9 is ? ( I know I’ve read about this but it’s confusing me at the moment).

An advantage to getting an early LL window is that you will be booking your next LL (and perhaps a third!) well before many people become eligible at 120 minutes after park open.

 

[2Lunds]

Question for you re: MDE/"My Day".

We have a trip coming up next week. We have 5 days of park reservations. Last week, I was able to program my Tip Board (save attractions I was interested in ahead of time) for EP, which is our FIRST park reso. I have not been able to access the subsequent 4 days. A CM on chat said that's normal, the other days will open up for programming day of - has this been your experience as well?

 

[pigletto]

An advantage to getting an early LL window is that you will be booking your next LL (and perhaps a third!) well before many people become eligible at 120 minutes after park open.

Perfect, thank you .