The Genie Usage, Tips and Strategy ONLY Thread

[boxer]

In looking at Thrill Data charts--when you scroll over the booking times (take for example 7:05 AM for ROTR), are those 'Return Times' pretty accurate? It seems the trend that was mentioned on here earlier in this thread is correct--that there are some early morning Return Times back out around 7:15. It is pretty important for us to get an early Return Time (or at least before lunch), so is this something I should start checking (Tip Board) right before our trip in May?

 

[Duck143]

What I found is that a big downswipe always worked to refresh but a little downswipe sometimes didn’t. So perhaps try a big swipe.

Ok. I'll try a bigger swipe.

 

[Westerner]

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[DLRExpert]

So I have been helping quite a few families with LL and ILL$ bookings and it is almost best not to book anything for a few minutes past 7am. The App has always crashed for me at exactly 7am and the return times seem better by refreshing the screen.

 

[roctavia]

Can you change or modify ILL$? or would you have to cancel and rebook? Just thinking ahead, it sounds like there are more choice of times that don't hop around as much at the later ROTR drop, but I also don't want to miss out on the ride by not trying to book at 7am....

I get that the G+ rides you just get what you get, but it's really lame that they sell ILL$ as "you get to pick your time" when in reality, it's almost just as random at G+ from how it sounds.

 

[jbish]

Ok. I’m two weeks out and I’m ready to ask actual informed questions.

we have one day at HS. The goal to ride ROTR, MFSR, SDD, and MMRR. I know. I know. We have lunch at 1 at Hollywood and Vine and have to be back at the resort by 3.

Looming at it the am, it looks like random times for SDD do show up after 0710, but can you actually get those times?

Two adults online at 0700. I assume I’ll be in line already for HS because the Extra time starts at 0730. I am going to purchase ROTR ASAP for a morning time.

1) Should I try to wait until 0710 and get a G+ SDD that’s before noon. If we did, I’d rope drop MMRR and then go over to MFSR.

2) Or should I plan to rope drop SDD with a six year old with short little legs and just schedule MMRR as my first G+ ride? Can we make the rope drop if I’m in the line for early entry even if I’m not near the front? She’s tiny. She’s got gumption but she’s tiny for her age.

Any other suggestions.

We could also come back to the park in the evening, but I know her and she gets sleepy.

Because I think you could end up getting a late return time, I would RD SDD. If you will be there for the early hours and are ready to go at RD, I think you can do a "walk with a purpose" pace (even with a little one) to SDD and get on fairly quickly. I say hold on to her hands tightly as it is a mob, but you two should be okay. I would book MMRR or MFSR at 7 (and, possibly, wait until 7:10-7:17, when hopefully you're in the SDD line, to book as usually the return times can go back to late morning - I was watching on the app today very closely). If you end up back at the park in the evening, SDD wait times don't really get better but both MFSR and MMRR can get to pretty reasonable wait times as it gets closer to park closing.

 

[Westerner]

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[Westerner]

Can you change or modify ILL$? or would you have to cancel and rebook? Just thinking ahead, it sounds like there are more choice of times that don't hop around as much at the later ROTR drop, but I also don't want to miss out on the ride by not trying to book at 7am....

I get that the G+ rides you just get what you get, but it's really lame that they sell ILL$ as "you get to pick your time" when in reality, it's almost just as random at G+ from how it sounds.

You can't cancel or modify $ILL, unlike G+. So if you get a return time that doesn't work you're kind of stuck. Depending on how critical return time is to you it's better to go for the good bird in the bush than the bad one in the hand. FOMO notwithstanding.

 

[GBRforWDW]

Can you change or modify ILL$? or would you have to cancel and rebook? Just thinking ahead, it sounds like there are more choice of times that don't hop around as much at the later ROTR drop, but I also don't want to miss out on the ride by not trying to book at 7am....

I get that the G+ rides you just get what you get, but it's really lame that they sell ILL$ as "you get to pick your time" when in reality, it's almost just as random at G+ from how it sounds.

You can't cancel or modify $ILL, unlike G+. So if you get a return time that doesn't work you're kind of stuck. Depending on how critical return time is to you it's better to go for the good bird in the bush than the bad one in the hand. FOMO notwithstanding.

Can confirm what Westerner said... On my Animal Kingdom day, was just happy that FoP passes refreshed and I grabbed one for as early as possible not thinking about my 2+ hours later Navi LL. There's no options to cancel or rearrange that time once you hit check out.

 

[roctavia]

Can confirm what Westerner said... On my Animal Kingdom day, was just happy that FoP passes refreshed and I grabbed one for as early as possible not thinking about my 2+ hours later Navi LL. There's no options to cancel or rearrange that time once you hit check out.

That's right, I forgot about the no option to cancel, since they don't want people buying it and then canceling if the line is short (which I can understand to a degree)... but frustrating there is no way to modify if the time doesn't stay the one you picked... that's a big problem!

 

[acarsme123]

We will have a short day at AK, arriving 9:00 and departing 5:00. We will get Genie + so we can get our first LL at 7:00 am. Any thoughts on whether our first LL should be Na'vi River Journey or Killimanjaro Safaris?

The animals are most active in the morning. I would pay for FOP, and probably make Safari your first LL....we stood standby for Safari and that line moved brutally slow. The only good thing about the standby line is most of it is in the shade as it is surrounded by tall bamboo and trees. But it's not a fast moving standby line.

 

[KDee]

Ok. I’m two weeks out and I’m ready to ask actual informed questions.

we have one day at HS. The goal to ride ROTR, MFSR, SDD, and MMRR. I know. I know. We have lunch at 1 at Hollywood and Vine and have to be back at the resort by 3.

Looming at it the am, it looks like random times for SDD do show up after 0710, but can you actually get those times?

Two adults online at 0700. I assume I’ll be in line already for HS because the Extra time starts at 0730. I am going to purchase ROTR ASAP for a morning time.

1) Should I try to wait until 0710 and get a G+ SDD that’s before noon. If we did, I’d rope drop MMRR and then go over to MFSR.

2) Or should I plan to rope drop SDD with a six year old with short little legs and just schedule MMRR as my first G+ ride? Can we make the rope drop if I’m in the line for early entry even if I’m not near the front? She’s tiny. She’s got gumption but she’s tiny for her age.

Any other suggestions.

We could also come back to the park in the evening, but I know her and she gets sleepy.

When we were at HS this week we were able to grab a LL for SDD at 9:05am. We also got an ILL for ROTR. We rope dropped MSFR which was basically walk on at park open as everyone as going to ROTR. SDD was down at park open (as was ROTR and Saucers) so it converted to an anytime pass but I was still able to book a LL for MMRR at 2:30 when the SDD LL window opened. After riding MSFR twice, my husband went to RNR and then I took the kids to TSM which was about a 20 minute wait. We then went to the Indiana Jones Stunt show, lunch at Sci Fi and then picked up a LL for Star Tours for 12:30pm. SDD came back up at 2:00pm so we rode that and then went to MMRR. When we booked ROTR I initially wanted to book it for 1:00 pm but when I confirmed and paid for it the time moved three hours to 4pm. Lesson learned to confirm the time but everything moves so quickly. Good luck!

 

[wisblue]

Agree. I am increasingly concluding that booking at 7:00:00AM is a bit of a crapshoot on return times. I think we're all conditioned as planners to try to be 1st in line b/c earlier is better. I don't think that is the case here.

Also the original FP physical machines (which G+/$ILL resembles) had a linear and predictable return time progression and as far as I know were not restocked. In contrast, the G+ virtual FP machine is restocked. A lot of folks see rides sold out at 7:02 and conclude they're gone for the day. That is too pessimistic.

My experience this week confirms that waiting can make it more likely that you can get something closer to the time you want.

Tuesday at 7:17 I was able to get a LL for Remy for 6-7 PM, which was exactly what I was looking for.

Wednesday I was hoping for a LL for ROTR with the earliest time possible, and at 7:17 I was able to get one for 9:35-10:35 AM.

Thursday I wanted one for FOP for around 9-10 AM and got exactly that at 7:17. Inside the park I heard someone telling her party that a LL for FOP with a return of 5:30 PM was the best she could do because “they were gone that fast”.

 

[g-dad66]

My experience this week confirms that waiting can make it more likely that you can get something closer to the time you want.

Tuesday at 7:17 I was able to get a LL for Remy for 6-7 PM, which was exactly what I was looking for.

Wednesday I was hoping for a LL for ROTR with the earliest time possible, and at 7:17 I was able to get one for 9:35-10:35 AM.

Thursday I wanted one for FOP for around 9-10 AM and got exactly that at 7:17. Inside the park I heard someone telling her party that a LL for FOP with a return of 5:30 PM was the best she could do because “they were gone that fast”.

I think 7:17 will have to win the best Disboard tip of the year award. Most park visitors will have no clue about it.

Thanks for the great feedback!

 

[beesly]

Seriously, bless you all for the 7:17 tip. I just picked up RotR and FoP for the exact times I wanted for today (9:15 and 2:15, respectively).

 

[Mome Rath]

Does the 7:17 work for G+ selections or just ILL$?

 

[McCrae]

We will have a short day at AK, arriving 9:00 and departing 5:00. We will get Genie + so we can get our first LL at 7:00 am. Any thoughts on whether our first LL should be Na'vi River Journey or Killimanjaro Safaris?

I would go for Kilimanjaro safaris. If you get their for rope drop you can do Avatar and Na’vi River without having to wait in long lines… do Avator first..expect up to 20 mins wait. Na‘vi river should still have a minimum wait… after that I would go straight to Dinosaur…again expect minimum wait times. Then I would go to the Safari.

 

[otterpop]

I would appreciate any help, suggestions/tips for the below scenario.

We have a trip planned for this coming Summer. We will be staying at BCV, checking-in on an early Wed afternoon and have AP's that need to be activated. Our plan is to utilize the MK extended hours that night.

This will be our first time using G+. Can I purchase G+ and book my first LL at 7:00 am on that wed., even though we have yet to check-in to BCV?

My plan is the following (assuming I can start using G+ at 7am):
1. As we are making our way to Orlando, book 1 or 2 afternoon LL's (Frozen and TT?) for Epcot and then book the rest for MK evening.
2. Once we get checked-in at BCV (probably around 2:30ish), head over to the International Gateway Epcot entrance and activate our AP's.
3. Utilize our Epcot LL's as we make our way to the front of the Park and then take the monorail to MK.
4. Utilize our MK LL's and then take advantage of the MK extended hours.

Also, in order to be able to do the above, I will need Park reservations for Epcot and then from there, we can just hop over to MK whenever (being that it will be after 2:00)?

Will the above plan work? Am I missing something? Thanks for any help or suggestions!

 

[GBRforWDW]

I would appreciate any help, suggestions/tips for the below scenario.

We have a trip planned for this coming Summer. We will be staying at BCV, checking-in on an early Wed afternoon and have AP's that need to be activated. Our plan is to utilize the MK extended hours that night.

This will be our first time using G+. Can I purchase G+ and book my first LL at 7:00 am on that wed., even though we have yet to check-in to BCV?

My plan is the following (assuming I can start using G+ at 7am):
1. As we are making our way to Orlando, book 1 or 2 afternoon LL's (Frozen and TT?) for Epcot and then book the rest for MK evening.
2. Once we get checked-in at BCV (probably around 2:30ish), head over to the International Gateway Epcot entrance and activate our AP's.
3. Utilize our Epcot LL's as we make our way to the front of the Park and then take the monorail to MK.
4. Utilize our MK LL's and then take advantage of the MK extended hours.

Also, in order to be able to do the above, I will need Park reservations for Epcot and then from there, we can just hop over to MK whenever (being that it will be after 2:00)?

Will the above plan work? Am I missing something? Thanks for any help or suggestions!

For LLs at Epcot, Test Track and Frozen will both be gone by 2 hours after park opening, so you'll have to select which you want more. I'd grab a Remy ILL$ for the time you plan to be there though so you can walk in and go straight to the ride. Maybe go for 245-3pm for that and shoot for 3-330 for the Frozen or TT pass, then head to the monorail for the TTC then on to MK.

Correct on Epcot park reservations then heading to MK.

Have a great trip!

 

[g-dad66]

For LLs at Epcot, Test Track and Frozen will both be gone by 2 hours after park opening, so you'll have to select which you want more. I'd grab a Remy ILL$ for the time you plan to be there though so you can walk in and go straight to the ride. Maybe go for 245-3pm for that and shoot for 3-330 for the Frozen or TT pass, then head to the monorail for the TTC then on to MK.

Correct on Epcot park reservations then heading to MK.

Have a great trip!

This is excellent advice for now. Things could be different by summer, especially if Guardians of the Galaxy is open. So best advice is to keep monitoring the Boards here for changes.