The Genie Usage, Tips and Strategy ONLY Thread

[Tom_E_D]

Question: does genie+ work the exact same way in Disneyland as WDW?

No. For one thing, you need to enter the park at Disneyland before you can book your first Genie+ reservation. There may be other differences.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Question: does genie+ work the exact same way in Disneyland as WDW?

No.

There is a Disneyland forum on DISboards with a lot of helpful people and information about how G+ works there. I’d suggest reading there.

We visited DL for the first time last August and I learned a lot on that forum and from people there.

 

[disneylover102]

Question: does genie+ work the exact same way in Disneyland as WDW?

Mostly. The main difference is that at WDW all guests can buy genie+ at midnight and start reserving rides at 7 and resort guests can start buying individual lightning lanes at 7 while everyone else can buy at park opening. At Disneyland you can’t buy genie+ or individual lightning lanes until you’ve entered the park (unless you bought the add-on at time of ticket purchase). Other than that it’s the same

 

[katied]

someone please help
ok, I feel like a real dummy but I just can't get my head around Genie + we are officially a week from our vacation and I'm trying my best to understand

ok we are onsite guests planning to rope drop MK on our first day... for early entry MK opens at 830 on 1/17 so if I've purchased G+ and log on at 7am and snag us a LL for Splash Mountain (very high priority for us) and the time given to me is say 4:15pm.... does that mean I can't book anything else til we've used that? or does it mean I can't book my next one til 1030am... two hours after the park is open... or is it 11 which is two hours after the park opens for everyone?? I'm so confused I really feel like an idiot.

And, if you rope drop MK, you can pick SDMT or Space Mtn for rope drop, then head to adventure land and ride Splash at park opening without a LL (We did this Jan 2nd).

 

[DisneyMama811]

And, if you rope drop MK, you can pick SDMT or Space Mtn for rope drop, then head to adventure land and ride Splash at park opening without a LL (We did this Jan 2nd).

when you rope dropped SDMT did you still have to wait a bit or did you walk on? is there a mad rush for everyone to get to SDMT? I do not relish the thought of being trampled

 

[scrappinginontario]

when you rope dropped SDMT did you still have to wait a bit or did you walk on? is there a mad rush for everyone to get to SDMT? I do not relish the thought of being trampled

The vast majority of people will be heading for SDMT. The first few will be a walk-on but then the line will build. It all depends on what time you arrive at the park and how fast you walk.

To be towards the front of the crowd it’s recommended you arrive at your resort transportation 90 mins before ETPE begins.

 

[DisneyMama811]

To be towards the front of the crowd it’s recommended you arrive at your resort transportation 90 mins before ETPE begins.

we are staying at AoA so for MK bus is our only option, if we were to take an Uber/Lyft what time would you recommend calling it for? still 90 min?

 

[scrappinginontario]

Post 1 of the‘Everything Early Theme park Entry’ thread for further details but, you can take an Uber from AoA to MK but it will take much longer than the bus as they must drop off at the TTC and you would need to take a monorail or ferry to MK.

 

[DisneyMama811]

Post 1 of the‘Everything Early Theme park Entry’ thread for further details but, you can take an Uber from AoA to MK but it will take much longer than the bus as they must drop off at the TTC and you would need to take a monorail or ferry to MK.

the exception would be if we splurge for a Minnie Van right? I believe they drop you at the same place as the bus? if that's the case what time would you recommend arriving?

 

[4My3KGirls]

Modifying does NOT restart the 2 hour window. That’s part of what’s so great about it. You can reserve whatever time is available and then keep modifying it throughout the day and it won’t hurt you. For stacking for MK you’ll want to prioritize stacking Jungle Cruise, Peter Pan, and the mountains (in that order). Pay attention to what seems to be running out fastest on that day

Thank you! We are definitely going to prioritize Jungle Cruise. Oddly we don't have any big Peter Pan fans in the group, and Thunder will still be down until the weekend, so JC, Splash, Space, HM, and Pirates are the priorities for us to stack.

 

[ThereYouSeeHer]

when you rope dropped SDMT did you still have to wait a bit or did you walk on? is there a mad rush for everyone to get to SDMT? I do not relish the thought of being trampled

We took a bus from All Star Sports and rope dropped SDMT. This was our timeline.

7am: Arrived MK bus stop (for 8:30am early entry, 9am park opening)
7:30am: Bus arrived
7:55am: Got through turnstiles and went down Main Street and to the right; second checkpoint, crowds started
8:25am: Released from Cheshire Cafe, everyone was going to Mine Train (our spot in line was down towards Dumbo)
9:00am: Got to the loading platform and went on ride

So, the entire 30 minutes of early entry was spent waiting in line, but it moved along, and didn't seem too long.

 

[MousetersInc]

We're visiting for the second time ever and first time since Genie+/ILLs, so I wanted to run my strategy by folks and see if it makes sense. Besides just strategy, I want to make sure I have a handle on which tasks we should do in which order, while still groggy at 7am.

We're visiting for two park-hopping days, Jan 17-18. Our last visit was before Galaxy's Edge, so we're prioritizing it and Cosmic Rewind by making the first day EPCOT to HS (if a ride goes down, we can try to squeeze it into the second day). Second day is AK to MK. We're staying offsite, so entering parks at public opening.

I'm anticipating buying ILL to make sure that we do our must-dos, especially for Guardians and Rise. We have a fairly low threshold of time that we're willing to stand in line even for the most fabulous rides, since we don't visit often.

So for day 1, EPCOT -> HS, I think strategy is:

• 6:45 or earlier, buy Genie+. Select the party. Name Guardians as my top pick, "pinning" it on the tip board. My wife does the same. If I can rouse my 13-yr-old, maybe I even get her involved, but I'll continue assuming just two operators. Get a laptop open to time.gov.
• At 6:59:59, refresh the Genie+ page. One of use concentrate on snagging a good time for the ILL for Cosmic Rewind, ideally near park opening of 9am. The other person tries for a virtual queue boarding pass; if they get a time before 2pm, we'll have a second chance to ride it.
• Whoever's done first, book an afternoon ILL for Rise of Resistance. (Unlike Genie+, you can choose from multiple free times, right? E.g., we can book 2pm even if earlier times are also available?)
• Set an alarm for 10:30 (that's HS public opening of 8:30, plus 2 hrs) for the next reservation. Remaining priorities will be:
• Tower of Terror (I know SDD goes fast, but we're not prioritizing it, and ToT is going back on half-capacity!)
• SDD, perhaps at night
• Runaway Railway
• Smuggler's Run
• RnRC
• (I came up with this list based on the rate that these purportedly book up, not their importance to us. Order of importance would be SR, RnRC, ToT, MMRR.)

Day 2, AK -> MK: We loved FoP as our favorite ride from 2019, and we're fresh off of Avatar 2, so we'll probably buy ILL to guarantee FoP. Meanwhile, at MK, I know Peter Pan is popular, but not a high priority for us. We'll probably be curious to see the updates to Jungle Cruise, but otherwise will prioritize the "three mountains." Space is our favorite, we're kind of ho-hum about Splash. We missed Haunted Mansion last time. We have a lot of nostalgia for 7DMT, but honestly it might be the place we draw the line about buying ILL.

• 6:59:59: Grab the best available time for Jungle Cruise.
• 11:00, 2 hrs after park open, get the best time for Space Mtn. After that, priorities are:
• BTMRR
• HM
• I guess Splash?
• Pirates

 

[wilkydelts]

We're visiting for the second time ever and first time since Genie+/ILLs, so I wanted to run my strategy by folks and see if it makes sense. Besides just strategy, I want to make sure I have a handle on which tasks we should do in which order, while still groggy at 7am.

We're visiting for two park-hopping days, Jan 17-18. Our last visit was before Galaxy's Edge, so we're prioritizing it and Cosmic Rewind by making the first day EPCOT to HS (if a ride goes down, we can try to squeeze it into the second day). Second day is AK to MK. We're staying offsite, so entering parks at public opening.

I'm anticipating buying ILL to make sure that we do our must-dos, especially for Guardians and Rise. We have a fairly low threshold of time that we're willing to stand in line even for the most fabulous rides, since we don't visit often.

So for day 1, EPCOT -> HS, I think strategy is:

• 6:45 or earlier, buy Genie+. Select the party. Name Guardians as my top pick, "pinning" it on the tip board. My wife does the same. If I can rouse my 13-yr-old, maybe I even get her involved, but I'll continue assuming just two operators. Get a laptop open to time.gov.
• At 6:59:59, refresh the Genie+ page. One of use concentrate on snagging a good time for the ILL for Cosmic Rewind, ideally near park opening of 9am. The other person tries for a virtual queue boarding pass; if they get a time before 2pm, we'll have a second chance to ride it.
• Whoever's done first, book an afternoon ILL for Rise of Resistance. (Unlike Genie+, you can choose from multiple free times, right? E.g., we can book 2pm even if earlier times are also available?)
• Set an alarm for 10:30 (that's HS public opening of 8:30, plus 2 hrs) for the next reservation. Remaining priorities will be:
• Tower of Terror (I know SDD goes fast, but we're not prioritizing it, and ToT is going back on half-capacity!)
• SDD, perhaps at night
• Runaway Railway
• Smuggler's Run
• RnRC
• (I came up with this list based on the rate that these purportedly book up, not their importance to us. Order of importance would be SR, RnRC, ToT, MMRR.)

Day 2, AK -> MK: We loved FoP as our favorite ride from 2019, and we're fresh off of Avatar 2, so we'll probably buy ILL to guarantee FoP. Meanwhile, at MK, I know Peter Pan is popular, but not a high priority for us. We'll probably be curious to see the updates to Jungle Cruise, but otherwise will prioritize the "three mountains." Space is our favorite, we're kind of ho-hum about Splash. We missed Haunted Mansion last time. We have a lot of nostalgia for 7DMT, but honestly it might be the place we draw the line about buying ILL.

• 6:59:59: Grab the best available time for Jungle Cruise.
• 11:00, 2 hrs after park open, get the best time for Space Mtn. After that, priorities are:
• BTMRR
• HM
• I guess Splash?
• Pirates

Do not touch refresh until 7:00:00. I did it like you and like I did for Rise in the past of 6:59:58 and I did not get a VQ. Everytime I got a VQ I did it at 7:00:00 or 1:00:00 or 6:00:00

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

Question:

Can you keep checking for genie plus times on rides the same way you use to with fast pass?

Basically I use to keep staring at my phone refreshing till the time and ride I wanted came up

Can you do the same with genie?

 

[MousetersInc]

Question:

Can you keep checking for genie plus times on rides the same way you use to with fast pass?

Basically I use to keep staring at my phone refreshing till the time and ride I wanted came up

Can you do the same with genie?

You can certainly keep refreshing, but one big difference: For the most part, the times just keep marching forward through the day. For instance, you might see a return time of 1:00; refresh and you might see 1:15, then 1:30, etc. The only time you'd see an exception might be if someone canceled, pretty rare. Also, they only recently made reservations "editable." Before that, you had to cancel your hard-won reservation to make another, obviously risky, so people aren't much in the habit of trying for better times.

 

[woody5]

We're visiting for the second time ever and first time since Genie+/ILLs, so I wanted to run my strategy by folks and see if it makes sense. Besides just strategy, I want to make sure I have a handle on which tasks we should do in which order, while still groggy at 7am.

We're visiting for two park-hopping days, Jan 17-18. Our last visit was before Galaxy's Edge, so we're prioritizing it and Cosmic Rewind by making the first day EPCOT to HS (if a ride goes down, we can try to squeeze it into the second day). Second day is AK to MK. We're staying offsite, so entering parks at public opening.

I'm anticipating buying ILL to make sure that we do our must-dos, especially for Guardians and Rise. We have a fairly low threshold of time that we're willing to stand in line even for the most fabulous rides, since we don't visit often.

So for day 1, EPCOT -> HS, I think strategy is:

• 6:45 or earlier, buy Genie+. Select the party. Name Guardians as my top pick, "pinning" it on the tip board. My wife does the same. If I can rouse my 13-yr-old, maybe I even get her involved, but I'll continue assuming just two operators. Get a laptop open to time.gov.
• At 6:59:59, refresh the Genie+ page. One of use concentrate on snagging a good time for the ILL for Cosmic Rewind, ideally near park opening of 9am. The other person tries for a virtual queue boarding pass; if they get a time before 2pm, we'll have a second chance to ride it.
• Whoever's done first, book an afternoon ILL for Rise of Resistance. (Unlike Genie+, you can choose from multiple free times, right? E.g., we can book 2pm even if earlier times are also available?)
• Set an alarm for 10:30 (that's HS public opening of 8:30, plus 2 hrs) for the next reservation. Remaining priorities will be:
• Tower of Terror (I know SDD goes fast, but we're not prioritizing it, and ToT is going back on half-capacity!)
• SDD, perhaps at night
• Runaway Railway
• Smuggler's Run
• RnRC
• (I came up with this list based on the rate that these purportedly book up, not their importance to us. Order of importance would be SR, RnRC, ToT, MMRR.)

Day 2, AK -> MK: We loved FoP as our favorite ride from 2019, and we're fresh off of Avatar 2, so we'll probably buy ILL to guarantee FoP. Meanwhile, at MK, I know Peter Pan is popular, but not a high priority for us. We'll probably be curious to see the updates to Jungle Cruise, but otherwise will prioritize the "three mountains." Space is our favorite, we're kind of ho-hum about Splash. We missed Haunted Mansion last time. We have a lot of nostalgia for 7DMT, but honestly it might be the place we draw the line about buying ILL.

• 6:59:59: Grab the best available time for Jungle Cruise.
• 11:00, 2 hrs after park open, get the best time for Space Mtn. After that, priorities are:
• BTMRR
• HM
• I guess Splash?
• Pirates

If you are staying offsite, you cannot purchase an ILL until park opening. During busy times it is likely the ILL will be sold out before park opening.

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

For our upcoming visit, we're planning two days at EPCOT for Festival of the Arts and two days at Universal Studios.

We used G+ during previous visits and it worked well for us, but I'm thinking we will pass on it for this trip. It's just my wife and me, no kids or grandkids.

We're primarily there for the festival and plan to spend our time doing mostly non-ride activities, entertainment, etc.
I'm pretty confident about getting a BG for the GotG VQ and if not, it's ILL$, so G+ isn't a factor for that ride anyway.

We've ridden Ratatouille before and would maybe ride it again if the wait is under 45 minutes, but would be willing to skip it if the line stays over an hour all day.

Similarly, we like Frozen and Test Track, but don't need to ride them every visit and are willing to skip them (also might do TT as a single rider).

We'll probably ride Soarin' once during the two days we're there. The line for that is generally reasonable at various times these days... last visit we had a LL and waited the same as SB because the line only backed up to the merge point.

Since the main three rides that G+ would be most useful for aren't a priority, I don't see any value in purchasing it this time around.

 

[lovethattink]

For our upcoming visit, we're planning two days at EPCOT for Festival of the Arts and two days at Universal Studios.

We used G+ during previous visits and it worked well for us, but I'm thinking we will pass on it for this trip. It's just my wife and me, no kids or grandkids.

We're primarily there for the festival and plan to spend our time doing mostly non-ride activities, entertainment, etc.
I'm pretty confident about getting a BG for the GotG VQ and if not, it's ILL$, so G+ isn't a factor for that ride anyway.

We've ridden Ratatouille before and would maybe ride it again if the wait is under 45 minutes, but would be willing to skip it if the line stays over an hour all day.

Similarly, we like Frozen and Test Track, but don't need to ride them every visit and are willing to skip them (also might do TT as a single rider).

We'll probably ride Soarin' once during the two days we're there. The line for that is generally reasonable at various times these days... last visit we had a LL and waited the same as SB because the line only backed up to the merge point.

Since the main three rides that G+ would be most useful for aren't a priority, I don't see any value in purchasing it this time around.

We popped into Epcot today for a few hours. We didn’t ride any attractions. We spent at least 30 minutes at the Odyssey Building checking out the food and merchandise. Got a Figment popcorn bucket. Ordered it just before 8am, for pick up at 11:50. Got there and once my screen turned blue, it only took a couple minutes to get the bucket! We painted the mural, each guest allowed to paint 3 squares. Checked out the chalk art. Very cool 3D rendering of Reya. We only got as far as Canada in the 3 hours we were there.

 

[Stefien Quix]

Just wanted to confirm that my plan for leveraging Genie+ our upcoming trip makes sense. My current plan when we are going to MK is to get a G+ hold for Jungle Cruise first thing. I expect it will allow me to make a hold on the ride in the morning. I don't actually WANT to do Jungle Cruise first thing though, so I'm thinking after I make the hold, I'll just keep refreshing until I get the time I want (mid-afternoon) and leave it there.

After the G+ hold is released (around 11 AM), I'll try to make a second G+ hold for Space Mountain. Hoping for a late afternoon spot there, but I'm fine if it ends up being a later spot.

I've never used Genie+ before so I just want to make sure this is a workable plan.

 

[NSL]

I have been to DW many times, but this is my first time since G+. We are visiting Epcot one day only (Sunday, Feb. 5). I want to be sure to ride Remy and GotG. I also love Soarin and Frozen but the two new rides are my must. We are staying on site and will drive to the park. I have made my reservations for the park. I have a few questions. I know I need to purchase G+ first thing in the morning (how early can I purchase?). If my husband has the app downloaded on his phone, it sounds like we can both work on doing this at the same time. Can I be logged in to his app and mine? I start with booking Remy for a G+ and do I have my husband working on a VQ for GotG right at 7? Or do I just plan to purchase the ILL for GotG? Thanks!