Tips for Parks without Genie

[Platinumbaby]

Soooo … Canadians going to Disney for over close to thirty years now ( my husband even longer ) he was actually born the day DisneyWorld had it’s official opening . DVC Members since ‘97 . Anyways we have lived through the good ol’ days of low seasons and the original fast pass machines and basically just an easier time of getting to a lot of attractions . Has anyone ventured to do the parks WITHOUT purchasing Genie Plus or Lightning Lanes ? Instead just doing it by the early morning entrance and the extra magic hours given to resort guests . For example I’m thinking at AK if you there for your early morning you could go straight to Pandora and then after head over to Everest single rider line ( if it is open ) and that would be the two big rides done without purchasing anything extra ? Any thoughts ?

 

[gottalovepluto]

Soooo … Canadians going to Disney for over close to thirty years now ( my husband even longer ) he was actually born the day DisneyWorld had it’s official opening . DVC Members since ‘97 . Anyways we have lived through the good ol’ days of low seasons and the original fast pass machines and basically just an easier time of getting to a lot of attractions . Has anyone ventured to do the parks WITHOUT purchasing Genie Plus or Lightning Lanes ? Instead just doing it by the early morning entrance and the extra magic hours given to resort guests . For example I’m thinking at AK if you there for your early morning you could go straight to Pandora and then after eight over to Everest single rider line ( if it is open ) and that would be the two big rods done without purchasing anything extra ? Any thoughts ?

Disney says only 50% of guests pay up for Genie services so lots of people don’t use them. Maybe if you re-phrase your title? “Tips for parks without Genie+” or something like that it will help? (I totally thought this was like another rant thread on Genie+ and a call to ditch it from the title )

 

[Platinumbaby]

Disney says only 50% of guests pay up for Genie services so lots of people don’t use them. Maybe if you re-phrase your title? “Tips for parks without Genie+” or something like that it will help? (I totally thought this was like another rant thread on Genie+ and a call to ditch it from the title )

Good tip - new to this

 

[Anna131517]

If you’re not super picky about what rides you want to go on you should be fine. Just use the free Genie to find rides with shorter times, use early entry and extended evening, and enjoy some non-ride attractions. You can also still pay for an individual lightning lane for the most popular ride at each park.

 

[reddog21]

How long of a line do you want to wait in?

When we were there a few days for early entry, flight of Passage was already at 40 minute wait at around 7:40. All the other rides were easy to get on with no real wait time. We did DInosaur(multiple times), Everest(multiple times), navi river journey, Kilimanjaro safari all before 10. The only ride we didn't get on was flight of passage, no ride is worth a long wait time(30 min+) nor am I running to a ride at rope drop.

 

[loves to dive]

I went in April without it, 5 1/2 day trip (Sun - Sat, arrival day Sun. so 1/2 day leaving on Sat. so no park) I caught a cold on Wens. so Thurs and Fri were basically spent in the room with occasional quick (double masked) trips to the parks. In that time, I rode everything I wanted to ride, sort of did early entry (never actually made it until after ee started) and never did the late extra hours. I am an AP holder and this was my 4th trip since the parks re-opened so frequent visitor. I always went back to my room mid-afternoon to either rest or go to the pool. I spent part of every day at Epcot because I love me some F&G booths and most days did 3 parks because of that.

Arrival day I got there around 2:30 and my room at ASMov. was ready so dropped my stuff off and headed to Epcot for some food at LaCava. I got in line for Frozen, 60 min wait and it went down while I was on it and we had to be evacuated, 2 hours total time. I rode the ride in Mexico. I rode Soarin, LWTL and SSE then headed to MK. This was Easter Sunday. I rode Pirates, HM and BTMRR then a storm hit and I left.

Monday was MK day, which I had been at the night before. I got there sort at EE and got in line for SDMT, 50 min wait, got some breakfast then I went to JC and it was about a 45 min. wait, Splash was down so I headed to FL and rode Pooh, rode the PM and CoP. Got in line for Peter Pan, 60 min. wait. After that I pretty much had ridden everything I wanted to. Shopped my way out of the park and went back to the resort. That night was when I went to AK. Somewhere in there I went to Epcot. At AK I went to Nomad Lounge and ate then got in line for Navi. 50 min. into the line it went down.
I rode Dinosaur and watched the Tree Awakening and did some shopping.

Tues morning I did make EE, I did Navi right when I got there, walk on. Safari didn't open until the park opened at 8:30 so I got me a biscuit in Africa and and just sat and ate and enjoyed people watching until about 8:15 then got in line for Safari for when it opened. That was the only wait for the ride, it was a walk on as soon as they opened it. I didn't want to ride EE but could have easily hit that either before Safari or after. I rode the train and petted some animals, walked through both the trails in Africa and Asia. I walked the trail around the Tree of Life. I watched the bird show, watched the bird show at the start of the park as well, watched FoTLK, rode Tough to be a Bug, did some more shopping and left. I don't ride FoP or EE because they make me sick. So I rode everything at AK I wanted to, saw all the shows, did all the trails and watched the animals not on the trails, rode the train and ate. Left and went to move my car since I was doing a split stay with Dolphin. Checked in at Dolphin and my room was ready so I dropped my bags off and went to the pool. I went to Epcot for some food then went to HS. I rode MMRR, Toy Story and SDD that evening so those were done.

Wens was HS day, I didn't want to ride MF or Star Tours. I got there about at EE and got in line for RoTR, about 60 min. into that line it went down (this was a pattern the entire trip) so I left there and rode ToT which was the only ride left I wanted to ride. I watched the Frozen show and Indy, ate at HBD lounge, shopped and was pretty much done with what I wanted to do around 1. Went back to the resort for some pool time. That night I went to Epcot and hopped in line for Remy (which went down 50 min into the line) ate at some booths, shopped and staked out a spot and listened to the band playing and then watched the night time show.

Thurs. was my Epcot day but I woke up not feeling great, just a stuffy nose and stuffy head, no fever, no cough, just that. I double masked and I sort of did EE and rode Remy, walked around and rode LWTD (third time that trip) and walked through the Seas and I was done. I went back to HS that night to try to get a whookie cookie but I was 5 min. too late so I hopped in line for RoTR with a 45 min. wait. That was all I did that day.

Fri. still not feeling great so went to MK close to parade time and found a spot in FL where no one would be on one side of me so I turned my head that way and watched the parade. I was double masked even outside. I did a little shopping and left. I pretty much stayed in my room the rest of the day, getting to go food from the Fountain and just laying around. I went to Epcot and did some shopping that evening and that was it.

So two days of not much park time and rode everything I wanted to ride and could have ridden a lot more had I not felt bad Thurs and Fri.

 

[Jennasis]

Early Entry helps. In May we did no Genie and rode just about everything in DHS with a less than 20 minute wait by 12:30pm.

 

[Platinumbaby]

How long of a line do you want to wait in?

When we were there a few days for early entry, flight of Passage was already at 40 minute wait at around 7:40. All the other rides were easy to get on with no real wait time. We did DInosaur(multiple times), Everest(multiple times), navi river journey, Kilimanjaro safari all before 10. The only ride we didn't get on was flight of passage, no ride is worth a long wait time(30 min+) nor am I running to a ride at rope drop.

Yes - so Kilimanjaro for me is a must ! And Everest of course !! I have always found that towards the end of the evening Everest was never that busy . But I am pretty crazy about Flight of Passage so I do kind of think we will head straight there - or maybe just be sure we are in line before park closing ? I love that part of the park at nighttime

 

[Platinumbaby]

Early Entry helps. In May we did no Genie and rode just about everything in DHS with a less than 20 minute wait by 12:30pm.

Oh wow ! That is so encouraging to hear . We have a party of 12 - so the idea of adding to our ticket prices is just a lot to handle . I realize we can pick and choose days or even rides with the lightning lanes but if we could avoid the extra cost I would really feel like we accomplished something ya know ?

If you’re not super picky about what rides you want to go on you should be fine. Just use the free Genie to find rides with shorter times, use early entry and extended evening, and enjoy some non-ride attractions. You can also still pay for an individual lightning lane for the most popular ride at each park.

I feel like I do not know what this free Genie is ? I need to learn about this

 

[Platinumbaby]

I went in April without it, 5 1/2 day trip (Sun - Sat, arrival day Sun. so 1/2 day leaving on Sat. so no park) I caught a cold on Wens. so Thurs and Fri were basically spent in the room with occasional quick (double masked) trips to the parks. In that time, I rode everything I wanted to ride, sort of did early entry (never actually made it until after ee started) and never did the late extra hours. I am an AP holder and this was my 4th trip since the parks re-opened so frequent visitor. I always went back to my room mid-afternoon to either rest or go to the pool. I spent part of every day at Epcot because I love me some F&G booths and most days did 3 parks because of that.

Arrival day I got there around 2:30 and my room at ASMov. was ready so dropped my stuff off and headed to Epcot for some food at LaCava. I got in line for Frozen, 60 min wait and it went down while I was on it and we had to be evacuated, 2 hours total time. I rode the ride in Mexico. I rode Soarin, LWTL and SSE then headed to MK. This was Easter Sunday. I rode Pirates, HM and BTMRR then a storm hit and I left.

Monday was MK day, which I had been at the night before. I got there sort at EE and got in line for SDMT, 50 min wait, got some breakfast then I went to JC and it was about a 45 min. wait, Splash was down so I headed to FL and rode Pooh, rode the PM and CoP. Got in line for Peter Pan, 60 min. wait. After that I pretty much had ridden everything I wanted to. Shopped my way out of the park and went back to the resort. That night was when I went to AK. Somewhere in there I went to Epcot. At AK I went to Nomad Lounge and ate then got in line for Navi. 50 min. into the line it went down.
I rode Dinosaur and watched the Tree Awakening and did some shopping.

Tues morning I did make EE, I did Navi right when I got there, walk on. Safari didn't open until the park opened at 8:30 so I got me a biscuit in Africa and and just sat and ate and enjoyed people watching until about 8:15 then got in line for Safari for when it opened. That was the only wait for the ride, it was a walk on as soon as they opened it. I didn't want to ride EE but could have easily hit that either before Safari or after. I rode the train and petted some animals, walked through both the trails in Africa and Asia. I walked the trail around the Tree of Life. I watched the bird show, watched the bird show at the start of the park as well, watched FoTLK, rode Tough to be a Bug, did some more shopping and left. I don't ride FoP or EE because they make me sick. So I rode everything at AK I wanted to, saw all the shows, did all the trails and watched the animals not on the trails, rode the train and ate. Left and went to move my car since I was doing a split stay with Dolphin. Checked in at Dolphin and my room was ready so I dropped my bags off and went to the pool. I went to Epcot for some food then went to HS. I rode MMRR, Toy Story and SDD that evening so those were done.

Wens was HS day, I didn't want to ride MF or Star Tours. I got there about at EE and got in line for RoTR, about 60 min. into that line it went down (this was a pattern the entire trip) so I left there and rode ToT which was the only ride left I wanted to ride. I watched the Frozen show and Indy, ate at HBD lounge, shopped and was pretty much done with what I wanted to do around 1. Went back to the resort for some pool time. That night I went to Epcot and hopped in line for Remy (which went down 50 min into the line) ate at some booths, shopped and staked out a spot and listened to the band playing and then watched the night time show.

Thurs. was my Epcot day but I woke up not feeling great, just a stuffy nose and stuffy head, no fever, no cough, just that. I double masked and I sort of did EE and rode Remy, walked around and rode LWTD (third time that trip) and walked through the Seas and I was done. I went back to HS that night to try to get a whookie cookie but I was 5 min. too late so I hopped in line for RoTR with a 45 min. wait. That was all I did that day.

Fri. still not feeling great so went to MK close to parade time and found a spot in FL where no one would be on one side of me so I turned my head that way and watched the parade. I was double masked even outside. I did a little shopping and left. I pretty much stayed in my room the rest of the day, getting to go food from the Fountain and just laying around. I went to Epcot and did some shopping that evening and that was it.

So two days of not much park time and rode everything I wanted to ride and could have ridden a lot more had I not felt bad Thurs and Fri.

I feel like I could holiday with you ! We so often head back to the resort for afternoon pool time - love to people watch - eat of course , and shop our way out of the park . Long story short -we just enjoy being there , no real set agenda , we take things as they go and find delight in the expected and unexpected . But I will say you area trooper for the amount of rides that went down after you had waited so long ! I’m sorry !

 

[set88]

Oh wow ! That is so encouraging to hear . We have a party of 12 - so the idea of adding to our ticket prices is just a lot to handle . I realize we can pick and choose days or even rides with the lightning lanes but if we could avoid the extra cost I would really feel like we accomplished something ya know ?

I feel like I do not know what this free Genie is ? I need to learn about this

I assume they are referring to the tip board - which is just the list of all attractions and their wait times.

There is a free "service" in the app called Genie that "plans" your day, but you don't want to go anywhere near it. All it does is suggest unpopular attractions to you.

 

[undertheseas]

Thank you for posting this! I was starting to worry about our trip without Genie +. DH put his foot down, we're already spending more than we used to. I'm hoping EMH and late nights along with (hopefully) lower crowds next week will mean we can still ride everything we want at least once.

 

[_19disnA]

Haven't been to Disney lately, but have ZERO plans to pay extra for the popular rides when the park tickets already cost so much. There isn't any Disney ride that is worth an extra $15+ for a 3 minute experience. I have seen several threads talk about later in the day can be a time for shorter ride lines. Those who had to race to the parks when it first opened are probably worn out by then and already back at their hotel making the parks less crowded.

 

[Shellyred8]

We didn't purchase Genie +, but we did do a couple of ILL's. One for FOP and one for RotR. We did fine without Genie+, but we didn't NEED to go on all of the rides. We just went on what had a tolerable wait.

 

[holden]

Haven't been to Disney lately, but have ZERO plans to pay extra for the popular rides when the park tickets already cost so much. There isn't any Disney ride that is worth an extra $15+ for a 3 minute experience. I have seen several threads talk about later in the day can be a time for shorter ride lines. Those who had to race to the parks when it first opened are probably worn out by then and already back at their hotel making the parks less crowded.

Lines can be shorter later in the day, especially close to closing time.

I see ILL/Genie+ as not paying for the 3 minute experience but as paying for my time. I'd rather pay money not to wait in line for an hour or even 1/2hr. If I can pay to ride an attraction with a 5 minute wait (or a short wait), then I can do more attractions with the remainder of the time I'm not spending in line.

 

[loves to dive]

I feel like I could holiday with you ! We so often head back to the resort for afternoon pool time - love to people watch - eat of course , and shop our way out of the park . Long story short -we just enjoy being there , no real set agenda , we take things as they go and find delight in the expected and unexpected . But I will say you area trooper for the amount of rides that went down after you had waited so long ! I’m sorry !

LOL, you go often enough it's hard to avoid rides going down. That particular trip was just a fluke and I did get to ride them all eventually so no big deal. My son and I have never made plans, not even ADRs in advance and rarely used FP or FP# when it was available. We are the if we want to ride a ride we will stand in line or move on, no big deal type people. We have never rushed from one ride to another and it has never been about how many rides we can get done.

 

[farfaraway]

We went in May and didn't purchase anything. We used EE for AK, Epcot and HS. We did a lot by noon. We took a break in the afternoon and went back in the evening. At Epcot, we rode rides during their evening show and then we were able to take advantage of extra evening hours. MK lines get smaller around 9 and that was great. MK was the only park if I don't have extra evening hours that I'd purchase Genie Plus.

 

[BunsenH]

If you (or I) don't buy Genie+ and regret the decision by mid-morning, is there any sense buying it then for the rest of the day? Perhaps just learning from the mistake and getting it the next day is the best strategy.

 

[farfaraway]

If you (or I) don't buy Genie+ and regret the decision by mid-morning, is there any sense buying it then for the rest of the day? Perhaps just learning from the mistake and getting it the next day is the best strategy.

I guess it depends on when you go and how long the park you're attending is open. The concern is that by midday most return times will be late or non existent. I honestly would buy it in the morning.

 

[set88]

If you (or I) don't buy Genie+ and regret the decision by mid-morning, is there any sense buying it then for the rest of the day? Perhaps just learning from the mistake and getting it the next day is the best strategy.

This is really the only significant issue with Genie+ that I have. You basically have to decide if you're going to get it before the park opens to get the most out of it. Although I will say, at MK I think you'll still get good value out of it as long as you purchase before noon. With HS and EPCOT, definitely not as the most popular attractions are likely to be sold out by noon.