The Genie Usage, Tips and Strategy ONLY Thread

[Disturbia]

Trying to come up with a plan with coordinating ADR, LL and LL$ and have a question around LL$ and LL.

What happens if say at 7am, you book a LL$.
Then when it comes to booking your next LL (at say the second eligible time), it conflicts with the LL$...but you want to grab it as it may be gone for the next time you are eligible to book.

I am thinking of trying for Rise of the Resistance for around 3pm.
But if we try for Millennium Falcon for our second LL, it may fall around the same window.
(We have ADR for late morning which is why I am thinking later in the day for Rise, and MF first time doesn't seem likely)

Can we book it and then just show the second one that we had a conflict and they will let us in? Or we can't book it at all as we will lose it if we can't make one on time?

If you have a dining conflict, GET can help fix it; for us they changed the conflicting LL to an anytime use, so we could use it right away.

At HS the lines at GET can be 15-20 mins long during peak hours.

 

[shaqfor3]

I watched an Ear Scouts YouTube video about Genie+ strategy at HS. At first, his return times were all later but he was able to keep refreshing and was able to get early times. I have been "practicing" (my trip is in September) and I have not had any earlier times appear at all. I have been trying throughout the day, everyday. I would hate to miss out on a return time, even if it's later, because I have been holding out for an earlier times. Is there something I am missing? How was he able to do this? Could it be that he had 1 in his party, versus 5 or any big party?

From what I had read party size doesn't matter when you are picking LL (As long as you are under the maximum 10 or 12 people not sure which it is).

Also for refreshing the app, it will be easier at the parks when you can filter the attractions so only the ones you are looking show up. I do practices as well but I need to scroll down to check them. So when you are at the park you should be able to refresh faster.

He sometimes takes 10 minutes to find what he want that's a lot of refreshing.

It requires a lot of patience and faith. Also people are getting better at it so there is more competition now for those LLs than when he did the video.

 

[Disturbia]

I’m thinking this is the first step to implementing a park reservation system for park hopping. Once that is implemented, you will essentially have a park pass reservation to two parks and be able to book passes for post 2 pm. This seems more logical and will restore the benefits of a hopper, while keeping a cap on attendance.

Even now you can book 2 LLI$ with park hoppers (1 in each park) vs a day pass holder who can only book 1.

 

[Frozen2014]

You have an hour for your return windows. You should be able to use overlapping LL/ILL without an issue in the same park. We've done it many many times.

Thanks...Wasn't sure how long Rise of the Resistance and Millennium Falcon rides take (including lining up for the LL to time get on the ride) so if both booked at say, 3pm, it still seems tight.

If you have a dining conflict, GET can help fix it; for us they changed the conflicting LL to an anytime use, so we could use it right away.

At HS the lines at GET can be 15-20 mins long during peak hours.

Thanks. I'm thinking more a conflict of the LL and $LL since we will try and not book either around our ADR time.

 

[Disturbia]

Thanks...Wasn't sure how long Rise of the Resistance and Millennium Falcon rides take (including lining up for the LL to time get on the ride) so if both booked at say, 3pm, it still seems tight.


Thanks. I'm thinking more a conflict of the LL and $LL since we will try and not book either around our ADR time.

Try is the key word here. I clicked 9:30 am for SDMT and it jumped to 6 pm (payment screen said 9:30 am while it was going through). We had an ADR at Steakhouse71 at around 5 (ADRs are now taking 2 hours and service is exceptionally slow vs last year). If that happens, you immediately go to the front desk (perk of staying on site) and they can change it to a suitable time (provided you get there fast before the passes are gone once LLIA are offered to offsite guests). The line at the front desk was slow moving at AOA and it took 30 mins. There was plenty of availability after the second drop at 7:17 (It was nerve wrecking as the earlier times slowly started disappearing).

 

[Jrb1979]

As many issues as Genie+ has two of the bigger issues is too many guests using it and guests trying to use it like FP+. Genie+ was meant to be a go with the flow system. It's no wonder people say they are on the phones a lot now, they spend all their time looking for the optimal times.

 

[daisylovesdisney]

Sometimes we go to three parks when hopping, easy to do DHS for the morning, Epcot for the later afternoon and MK for the evening. Or start with an early morning at Animal Kingdom, and hop to Epcot and end with a ride on SDD in DHS. Hope they don't restrict that with hopping reservations.

 

[Frozen2014]

Try is the key word here. I clicked 9:30 am for SDMT and it jumped to 6 pm (payment screen said 9:30 am while it was going through). We had an ADR at Steakhouse71 at around 5 (ADRs are now taking 2 hours and service is exceptionally slow vs last year). If that happens, you immediately go to the front desk (perk of staying on site) and they can change it to a suitable time (provided you get there fast before the passes are gone once LLIA are offered to offsite guests). The line at the front desk was slow moving at AOA and it took 30 mins. There was plenty of availability after the second drop at 7:17 (It was nerve wrecking as the earlier times slowly started disappearing).

This is what worries me...is trying to schedule things together and then by the time you have a good selection, it changes on you.
It's ironic too as LL and LL$ is supposed to limit your time waiting in line, but then if we have to stand in line to have them fixed, then it kind of defeats the purpose.

PS - When I mentioned second drop, I mean second time eligible to book the next LL (so either once you tap into your first LL or 2 hours after park opening). When I look at thrill data, if we try for Millennium Falcon at 7am, then we will get a time that conflicts with our lunch ADR. So am thinking of trying for MF as our second booking.

 

[holyrita]

Try is the key word here. I clicked 9:30 am for SDMT and it jumped to 6 pm (payment screen said 9:30 am while it was going through). We had an ADR at Steakhouse71 at around 5 (ADRs are now taking 2 hours and service is exceptionally slow vs last year). If that happens, you immediately go to the front desk (perk of staying on site) and they can change it to a suitable time (provided you get there fast before the passes are gone once LLIA are offered to offsite guests). The line at the front desk was slow moving at AOA and it took 30 mins. There was plenty of availability after the second drop at 7:17 (It was nerve wrecking as the earlier times slowly started disappearing).

Did this happen before or after they started hiding the times on the tip board between 7am-7:30am? If after it seems like hiding the times is.. not solving anything?

 

[leeniewdw]

As many issues as Genie+ has two of the bigger issues is too many guests using it and guests trying to use it like FP+. Genie+ was meant to be a go with the flow system. It's no wonder people say they are on the phones a lot now, they spend all their time looking for the optimal times.

I thought it was meant to earn more money on top of the ticket price! Why would people pay MORE money for a system that's "go with the flow"? I'm paying more money to maximize my time in the parks. We never go for a week at a time, we got for 2-3 days, so even saving a few hours a day is huge! If I was going with the flow, I'd not bother with G+ at all.

Sometimes we go to three parks when hopping, easy to do DHS for the morning, Epcot for the later afternoon and MK for the evening. Or start with an early morning at Animal Kingdom, and hop to Epcot and end with a ride on SDD in DHS. Hope they don't restrict that with hopping reservations.

I was thinking the same. We've done 3 parks in 1 day including a break! If they change this to 2 parks a day, they should change the name of the ticket.

 

[Jrb1979]

I thought it was meant to earn more money on top of the ticket price! Why would people pay MORE money for a system that's "go with the flow"? I'm paying more money to maximize my time in the parks. We never go for a week at a time, we got for 2-3 days, so even saving a few hours a day is huge! If I was going with the flow, I'd not bother with G+ at all.




I was thinking the same. We've done 3 parks in 1 day including a break! If they change this to 2 parks a day, they should change the name of the ticket.

What I meant was when using Genie+ the original plan for it was to open the app and take what was available. Not to try for optimal times and planning like FP+ was.

 

[leeniewdw]

What I meant was when using Genie+ the original plan for it was to open the app and take what was available. Not to try for optimal times and planning like FP+ was.

How do you know this was the plan? Why would guests change their approach just because FP+ went away?

 

[denisejk]

At the parks now… in DL with Park Hoppers with Genie+. Trying to book LL for Soarin’. Return time is still morning, but I thought I had read that I could book a LL for the opposite park and it would automatically give me a PM return time. But instead it’s saying I’m ineligible. What am I doing wrong?

 

[cjlong88]

At the parks now… in DL with Park Hoppers with Genie+. Trying to book LL for Soarin’. Return time is still morning, but I thought I had read that I could book a LL for the opposite park and it would automatically give me a PM return time. But instead it’s saying I’m ineligible. What am I doing wrong?

They are no longer bumping times to 2pm to accommodate park hopping. You will need to wait for Soarin' to post a 2pm return time before you book it. Or select something else that is already showing a 2pm or later return time. This just started a day or so ago.

 

[set88]

How do you know this was the plan? Why would guests change their approach just because FP+ went away?

I think the better way of phrasing this might be "The idea was for guests to be able to open the app and take whatever was available and have that work, without requiring a bunch of refreshing."

I'm not sure to what extent they have accomplished that, but I do genuinely believe Disney's goal (beyond making more money which is a given) was to make a system that is more fair to first timers that haven't done a lot of research and planning than the old system was.

 

[denisejk]

They are no longer bumping times to 2pm to accommodate park hopping. You will need to wait for Soarin' to post a 2pm return time before you book it. Or select something else that is already showing a 2pm or later return time. This just started a day or so ago.

Ugh! Just my luck.
Thank you for the quick reply! At least I won’t waste time keep trying to book it.

 

[leeniewdw]

I think the better way of phrasing this might be "The idea was for guests to be able to open the app and take whatever was available and have that work, without requiring a bunch of refreshing."

I'm not sure to what extent they have accomplished that, but I do genuinely believe Disney's goal (beyond making more money which is a given) was to make a system that is more fair to first timers that haven't done a lot of research and planning than the old system was.

Are you talking about the recent change being "more fair to first timers" or just the whole G+ system? The entire G+/ILL is beyond more complicated compared to the old FP+ system. We've used it twice and my husband still doesn't get the when/how. There's no reason for the 2 of us to be subjected to reading blogs, forums, youtube videos, so I'm the one that does the booking.

We're going with our adult kids and either we're going to have to have a zoom call with them so I can try to explain it or they are going to have to let me handle it. I cannot even imagine going with multiple couples without having experienced it for myself first.

And the 7am start for all this is not what most would call "easier" (coupled with park reservations, etc) either.

 

[abbyandangel]

My trip is in 3 weeks. I have already spent too much or I would cancel the trip. I paid ahead for Genie and park hopper. They appear to be getting less worth the investment with every change Disney makes. I am afraid to think about what else will change before the trip. I counted on stacking and hopping to the MK so I made MK reservations for only 2 days of a 10 day trip. Now I wonder if I should try to add an MK day. I love AK in the AM so wanted to start there most days. My DD is not as much of an AK fan. She will not be happy if we are unable to get good selections at MK.

 

[snikki]

I think the better way of phrasing this might be "The idea was for guests to be able to open the app and take whatever was available and have that work, without requiring a bunch of refreshing."

I'm not sure to what extent they have accomplished that, but I do genuinely believe Disney's goal (beyond making more money which is a given) was to make a system that is more fair to first timers that haven't done a lot of research and planning than the old system was.

I agree. Disney “nerds” are the ones who make it more difficult by trying to optimize it and “get our money’s worth” (me included). When you just look at G+ From Disney’s stand point it is not a confusing product at all.

 

[leeniewdw]

My trip is in 3 weeks. I have already spent too much or I would cancel the trip. I paid ahead for Genie and park hopper. They appear to be getting less worth the investment with every change Disney makes. I am afraid to think about what else will change before the trip. I counted on stacking and hopping to the MK so I made MK reservations for only 2 days of a 10 day trip. Now I wonder if I should try to add an MK day. I love AK in the AM so wanted to start there most days. My DD is not as much of an AK fan. She will not be happy if we are unable to get good selections at MK.

I agree with everything you wrote about how these continued changes are super frustrating. If I were you, I'd just keep checking the app in the morning to see what is available with MK for post 2pm. I feel like MK and HS won't be too hard to find post-2pm rides pretty early in the morning. I'll be doing that myself for our Nov trip, but figured I should wait until it's closer (and allow for even MORE changes by then!)