The Genie Usage, Tips and Strategy ONLY Thread

[DLRExpert]

Personally for LL I would just grab one for all members of your party then just cancel the 1 so that it doesn't mess up return times etc. if not used.

It's a little trickier for ILL$ as you won't want to pay for one you won't use so I think you'd need to take the time to remove that person.

But you usually don't have enough time to remove the person when buying an ILL?
Anyone been successful with getting a refund?

 

[Boardwalk III]

Technically, "regular" LL is also paid (Genie+), but at least those are not an extra charge for ILL$ over coming months. Hopefully, they figure out that adding these rides to G+ helps balance availability and, even if it means a slight reduction in revenue, they keep them in G+ permanently.

I wonder how this might complicate people's strategy who were willing to pay the ILL$, which would have meant they had that ride reserved and could use their G+ slot for a different one. But now, they will have to use one of their G+ opportunities for the ride that they would have already reserved by paying for the ILL$. So, even though it will cost less, could this result in some people getting fewer of their choices?

Completely agree with this. We just canceled our trip for early April as we were so displeased with Genie+ back in November. I had already decided we were only going to do ILL’s this time instead, using early entryand/or late night hours to supplement (instead of G+ regular LL’s). That way we could select times of our choice for ILL’s (to schedule around ADRs etc) and not deal with the stress of being up at 6:45 am daily. Not to mention having to look at my phone all day, often only getting 3-4 attractions. We fly down from the Northeast and don’t mind paying the extra $$ but I just feel G+ is a really inferior system and very unpleasant to manage. I truly hope this change does help more people get on more attractions, but I’m not convinced it’s going to have an overall positive impact.

 

[Disneyhanna]

I’m confused here. If you grabbed aliens at 10:08 and then MMRR at 12:08 wouldn’t your next time to get another LL be after tapping for MMRR? But I see you got smugglers after tapping into aliens. I thought you couldn’t get more until tapping into your most recently obtained LL.

Honestly I probably have some times a bit mixed up since it was a long day but I should have the times I rode and the actual rides I rode right!

 

[TinkBink]

Is anyone noticing a weird glitch with your "top picks"? This morning I pinned SDD to the top. I refreshed continually at 7 am and nothing ever showed for a full minute (even though all "other experiences" were showing). When a time finally did come up it bumped my top picks down the list to the other experiences? Is it better not to select top picks now?

 

[Avery&Todd]

Ugh - Im having a brain blip - so now that Frozen is a Genie+ add on - if we're going to Epcot and lets pretend at 7am I get a Frozen Genie+ for 3:30pm can I go ahead and try right after that for TT, earlier like at 12noon?

Im trying to figure out the span of getting a later afternoon Genie+ and being able to book another Genie+ both at 7am or is that not allowed?

and have we had any AP holders report back if they were able to add Genie+ by using the MDW of an AP holder that does not have other folks with mixed tickets on their MDE account? I have everyone tickets on my MDE, but my DH only had mine and his - so Im wondering if I can buy us Genie+ under his MDE login...

thanks!

 

[Westerner]

Ugh - Im having a brain blip - so now that Frozen is a Genie+ add on - if we're going to Epcot and lets pretend at 7am I get a Frozen Genie+ for 3:30pm can I go ahead and try right after that for TT, earlier like at 12noon?

Im trying to figure out the span of getting a later afternoon Genie+ and being able to book another Genie+ both at 7am or is that not allowed?

Now that Frozen is G+ I assume regular G+ booking rules apply. You can make your 1st G+ booking at 7AM and the 2nd G+ two hours after park open - which now that Epcot is opening at 8:30 would be 10:30AM rather than 12 noon.

Edit: assuming your 1st LL return time is late in the day as in this case..

 

[Avery&Todd]

Now that Frozen is G+ I assume regular G+ booking rules apply. You can make your 1st G+ booking at 7AM and the 2nd G+ two hours after park open - which now that Epcot is opening at 8:30 would be 10:30AM rather than 12 noon.

I thought that there was some exception to that rule if your first G+ booking was really late in the day?

or perhaps Im making that up??

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

I thought that there was some exception to that rule if your first G+ booking was really late in the day?

or perhaps Im making that up??

First is at 7am, second is either a) after you've tapped into the first one or b) 2 hours after park opening, whichever comes first. There is no exception as far as I know.

 

[Westerner]

ENJ is correct. Late return time doesn't give you any special exception in booking your next G+ LL.

 

[Avery&Todd]

First is at 7am, second is either a) after you've tapped into the first one or b) 2 hours after park opening, whichever comes first. There is no exception as far as I know.

I knew my brain was playing tricks on me!

 

[AquaGlitter]

Was playing around the app this morning (practicing for our April trip) and trying to load the HWS Tip board I got an error message. I did this at exactly 7:00AM and by the time I stopped getting an error message at 7:02 there was no more ROTR LL+ left.

Anyone know what this might be? Was it just an app glitch or specific to me? I recently added genie+ to my trip so wondering if that has anything to do with it. I will keep checking and practicing of course but now I’m stressed about this happening on our trip (we have two Hollywood studios days but still).The amount of time I’ve put into strategizing genie + is embarrassing lol.

 

[lovethattink]

Friendly reminder from:


"We (The DIS) do not enable, condone or promote discussion of ways to circumvent established Disney company policies."


Because our mission is to be a helpful trip planning resource, we want to help travelers understand Disney's policies and rules and how to apply those to their planning. Discussions of what the rules ARE ("here's the policy") are great. Discussions and descriptions of how to cheat or get around those policies are no longer welcome here.

 

[Westerner]

Was playing around the app this morning (practicing for our April trip) and trying to load the HWS Tip board I got an error message. I did this at exactly 7:00AM and by the time I stopped getting an error message at 7:02 there was no more ROTR LL+ left.

Anyone know what this might be? Was it just an app glitch or specific to me? I recently added genie+ to my trip so wondering if that has anything to do with it. I will keep checking and practicing of course but now I’m stressed about this happening on our trip (we have two Hollywood studios days but still).The amount of time I’ve put into strategizing genie + is embarrassing lol.

A few tips:

• Load up the tip board prior to 7AM and refresh a few times to check everything's ok
• Pin your top choices (or even your single top choice) beforehand so they appear at top of the Tip Board. I've heard you can only do this a few days in advance. I did mine the night before
• at 7:00:00 swipe down with a single big swipe. I found short swipe wasn't enough to trigger a refresh sometimes
  • I've heard there are other ways of refreshing but this seems the most reliable
• Use the fastest and most reliable internet connection available
  • Onsite Disney Wifi may have a lot of sudden activity at 7AM from other guests so using your cell service might be better if it's fast and reliable connection.

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

Was playing around the app this morning (practicing for our April trip) and trying to load the HWS Tip board I got an error message. I did this at exactly 7:00AM and by the time I stopped getting an error message at 7:02 there was no more ROTR LL+ left.

Anyone know what this might be? Was it just an app glitch or specific to me? I recently added genie+ to my trip so wondering if that has anything to do with it. I will keep checking and practicing of course but now I’m stressed about this happening on our trip (we have two Hollywood studios days but still).The amount of time I’ve put into strategizing genie + is embarrassing lol.

Unfortunately the app is very glitchy. If you continue to get an error message you could try deleting the app and re-adding.

 

[itf]

Was playing around the app this morning (practicing for our April trip) and trying to load the HWS Tip board I got an error message. I did this at exactly 7:00AM and by the time I stopped getting an error message at 7:02 there was no more ROTR LL+ left.

Anyone know what this might be? Was it just an app glitch or specific to me? I recently added genie+ to my trip so wondering if that has anything to do with it. I will keep checking and practicing of course but now I’m stressed about this happening on our trip (we have two Hollywood studios days but still).The amount of time I’ve put into strategizing genie + is embarrassing lol.

I saw this too and so did someone else on the here and now thread, so wasn't just you.

 

[Disney102015]

This morning I made a BTMM Genie reservation for DS and DH for later in the afternoon. (I made a different reservation for myself and DS.) I then made a different Genie reservation for all 4 of us at 12:54. DS is napping late so I tried to modify BTMM to a later time - obviously can’t modify so tried to cancel it and pick up a new time but it says none of us can make a new reservation til 2:54. Is this correct - if you cancel and try to rebook you basically lose the earlier Genie slot? I thought the 2 of them would be able to rebook right away after I canceled but I guess not..

 

[MsVanderquack]

Re: error messages early morning, then sold out Rise, etc.

More mornings than not I encountered glitches and sold out rides. I rebooted my app, waited and refreshed, etc.. In all cases, it eventually came back up and I was able to get what I was after. Here are a couple of examples from this past week:

Couldn't get a LL to load successfully until getting Splash at 7:11AM. Wasn't able to get 7DMT when I clicked at 7AM and then it was unavailable. Kept refreshing and looking (taking a break to get Splash, then getting right back at it), and booked a 7DMT at 7:21AM for 10AM that day.

On another morning, I spent from 7:01-7:19AM trying to get TT, clicking on an available time and then being told it wasn't available, or clicking on a morning time and getting 8pm on the next screen. I did end up with a 9:45AM TT, but at the cost of getting up at 6:58am and kind of freaking out for about 20 minutes.

My biggest tip is to decide what level of risk you're willing to take, as in decide ahead of time what times are acceptable and what aren't, if you are willing to risk not riding a ride due to a wait that's too long (taking family members into account) vs. having to go at an inconvenient time when you might have been able to "pull" another better time later at the risk of not getting a LL at all.

 

[AquaGlitter]

Friendly reminder from:


"We (The DIS) do not enable, condone or promote discussion of ways to circumvent established Disney company policies."


Because our mission is to be a helpful trip planning resource, we want to help travelers understand Disney's policies and rules and how to apply those to their planning. Discussions of what the rules ARE ("here's the policy") are great. Discussions and descriptions of how to cheat or get around those policies are no longer welcome here.

Hi there,
should I delete my post? I certainly don’t want to break any rules. Just trying to figure out how common it is for glitches to happen on the app thank you!

 

[AquaGlitter]

A few tips:

• Load up the tip board prior to 7AM and refresh a few times to check everything's ok
• Pin your top choices (or even your single top choice) beforehand so they appear at top of the Tip Board. I've heard you can only do this a few days in advance. I did mine the night before
• at 7:00:00 swipe down with a single big swipe. I found short swipe wasn't enough to trigger a refresh sometimes
  • I've heard there are other ways of refreshing but this seems the most reliable
• Use the fastest and most reliable internet connection available
  • Onsite Disney Wifi may have a lot of sudden activity at 7AM from other guests so using your cell service might be better if it's fast and reliable connection.

The big swipe tip is great! Thanks!

 

[AquaGlitter]

I saw this too and so did someone else on the here and now thread, so wasn't just you.

Thanks that's good to know. Reassuring that it's not just me, less reassuring that this was an issue for many guests.