Trip without Genie+ ?

[AustinTink]

Just to gauge your expectations, G+ in our experience was far better at DL than it is at WDW. DL tends to be many local guests who choose not to purchase it but WDW is more of a destination vacation so it is purchased by more guests who budget it as part of their vacation funds. Return times at WDW are often further out than they are at DL.

You can set some expectations by looking at LL return times on MDE. I will say I just looked now and return times for LL are very favourable today. It really will depend on how busy the parks are the days you go.

That’s good to know. We are visiting WDW during off season or at least the closet it comes to off season these days, We visit DLR in the summer. Hoping our Genie + experience will be similar.

 

[kylenne]

Also tbh unless you are going right this moment, I would be careful about taking reports on wait times and crowd levels in the last month to mean anything for trips that aren't happening right this second. Post-Spring Break/Easter this year has been dead even by May standards in the parks. Even the Memorial Day weekend is looking to be lower than average judging by how wide open park passes and ADRs are. (I hope it's 2021 levels of quiet since that's when our trip begins.)

 

[2Lunds]

Cr

Also tbh unless you are going right this moment, I would be careful about taking reports on wait times and crowd levels in the last month to mean anything for trips that aren't happening right this second. Post-Spring Break/Easter this year has been dead even by May standards in the parks. Even the Memorial Day weekend is looking to be lower than average judging by how wide open park passes and ADRs are. (I hope it's 2021 levels of quiet since that's when our trip begins.)

and crowd calendars are WAAAY off at this point with how up and down everything has been since the pandemic. It's going to take years IMO for attendance to settle back to a "normal, predictable" level, and that's presuming there isn't a major recession/financial crisis Anyway - what were we talking about? Oh yeah -

Take your chances on skipping G+ for now, and know that you can buy day-of if you feel like you need it when you're there.

 

[kylenne]

Cr


and crowd calendars are WAAAY off at this point with how up and down everything has been since the pandemic. It's going to take years IMO for attendance to settle back to a "normal, predictable" level, and that's presuming there isn't a major recession/financial crisis Anyway - what were we talking about? Oh yeah -

Take your chances on skipping G+ for now, and know that you can buy day-of if you feel like you need it when you're there.

Crowd calendars were useless even before covid due to the way Disney was using data to staff down during “slow” times. There’s a reason EasyWDW (RIP) stopped putting them out. It’s just that covid made them even more useless.

 

[2Lunds]

Crowd calendars were useless even before covid due to the way Disney was using data to staff down during “slow” times. There’s a reason EasyWDW (RIP) stopped putting them out. It’s just that covid made them even more useless.

*nods* true. I only ever used them to help pick a time frame, in order to avoid things like marathons, cheer competitions, school holidays etc...

 

[Mermaidtails1323]

Also tbh unless you are going right this moment, I would be careful about taking reports on wait times and crowd levels in the last month to mean anything for trips that aren't happening right this second. Post-Spring Break/Easter this year has been dead even by May standards in the parks. Even the Memorial Day weekend is looking to be lower than average judging by how wide open park passes and ADRs are. (I hope it's 2021 levels of quiet since that's when our trip begins.)

I’m also hoping the significant number of discounted hotel rooms and ADRs available for Memorial Day week are a sign of slow times…selfishly so I’m not waiting as long!

 

[loislane]

We were just there last week and did not purchase Genie+. We did purchase ILLs for two rides - Rise and FoP. (Rise ended up being a waste of money because it went down right as we were to board the "vehicle", we got escorted off, and everyone got an ILL to use - but we didn't get a refund for the one we paid for.)
Anyway, we found we were able to do most things we wanted, just by watching wait times and using some options like early entry OR being in the park at close and getting in a ride queue then.
To ride Slinky, we hopped over to HS to watch Fantasmic and then beat feet to Slinky when that ended. In line probably 20 minutes to ride, plus it was dark and cool!
For AK, we utilized early entry to ride the safari first thing - walked right on - and got to see a lot of animals eating. We rode it again later that day with maybe a 10 minute wait. Rode Everest as single riders. Rode another day later in the afternoon and there was no wait - so we waited the few extra minutes to ride in front.
I would say MK and HS are the hardest parks to navigate, but we still managed to do most things we wanted in MK. We rode Big Thunder when it reopened after being closed for lightning strikes. It wasn't showing as open in the app, but we were nearby and could see cars with people in them so we hustled over and walked right on.
So sometimes, it was using the app, sometimes it was just being aware of what was going on and how things work at Disney.
In general - it was a different kind of park day. Each day was riding a few things and then wandering and taking in the scenery. It wasn't like trips past for us where each day was jammed full of riding everything.

 

[Disturbia]

We were just there last week and did not purchase Genie+. We did purchase ILLs for two rides - Rise and FoP. (Rise ended up being a waste of money because it went down right as we were to board the "vehicle", we got escorted off, and everyone got an ILL to use - but we didn't get a refund for the one we paid for.)
Anyway, we found we were able to do most things we wanted, just by watching wait times and using some options like early entry OR being in the park at close and getting in a ride queue then.
To ride Slinky, we hopped over to HS to watch Fantasmic and then beat feet to Slinky when that ended. In line probably 20 minutes to ride, plus it was dark and cool!
For AK, we utilized early entry to ride the safari first thing - walked right on - and got to see a lot of animals eating. We rode it again later that day with maybe a 10 minute wait. Rode Everest as single riders. Rode another day later in the afternoon and there was no wait - so we waited the few extra minutes to ride in front.
I would say MK and HS are the hardest parks to navigate, but we still managed to do most things we wanted in MK. We rode Big Thunder when it reopened after being closed for lightning strikes. It wasn't showing as open in the app, but we were nearby and could see cars with people in them so we hustled over and walked right on.
So sometimes, it was using the app, sometimes it was just being aware of what was going on and how things work at Disney.
In general - it was a different kind of park day. Each day was riding a few things and then wandering and taking in the scenery. It wasn't like trips past for us where each day was jammed full of riding everything.

You can chat or ask for a refund for a LLI$ with a legitimate reason (accidentally bought for a child too short to ride; no more time to use it as it was down all day and we left the park; we have dining or another park plans). It can also be changed to a multi pass for another ride in another park (with exceptions.). We’ve also gone to GET and changed a RS+ILL$ (ride broke down and we stood in the queue for over 2 hours!) to another ride at HS as we didn’t want to ride ROTR anymore (this was back when it was insanely popular.)

 

[loislane]

You can chat or ask for a refund for a LLI$ with a legitimate reason (accidentally bought for a child too short to ride; no more time to use it as it was down all day and we left the park; we have dining or another park plans). It can also be changed to a multi pass for another ride in another park (with exceptions.). We’ve also gone to GET and changed a RS+ILL$ (ride broke down and we stood in the queue for over 2 hours!) to another ride at HS as we didn’t want to ride ROTR anymore (this was back when it was insanely popular.)

We were given the multi-pass (RISE was down for most of the day, but we were eventually able to use the pass to ride it.) We did not get a refund on the ILL we paid for because they said we technically used it even though we didn't get to board the ride. Wasn't a huge deal. It's not something we will buy regularly - only did it so the 18yo (who hadn't been since 2015) could ride it this trip.

 

[sneedo24]

Family and I rope dropped our last trip and didnt use G+ at all. It made for early mornings but we'd stay until lunchtime, eat at the parks, go take a nap and then come back for the evening.

 

[pindecisive]

There's absolutely no need for Genie+ at Epcot. And unless you want to ride the Avatar ride, very little need at AK. We do one park a day, and never have Genie+ and I don't feel our experience lacks at all.

That being said, I would splurge for Genie+ for the day you're at MK.

 

[VAlegacy]

Also know that on top of the financial benefit of not using G+, you will save yourself several hours each day from being buried in your cell phone and stressing out as soon as you wake up.

 

[loislane]

There's absolutely no need for Genie+ at Epcot. And unless you want to ride the Avatar ride, very little need at AK. We do one park a day, and never have Genie+ and I don't feel our experience lacks at all.

That being said, I would splurge for Genie+ for the day you're at MK.

You can do ILL for Flight of Passage as well. That's what we ended up doing.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

And don’t leave when storms start. Grab a poncho and you’ll find the lowest waits (right now people with kids are probably taking a mid day break). Many rides are around 30 mins right now (BTM, POC).

BUT...also keep in mind that many rides stop operating during a storm.

Some G+'s will get converted to anytime passes, but that can also make booking more rides difficult. Last summer the storms lasted all evening. Since we had hopped to MK, we weer resh- all the dires were available to us as G+. People who had been in MK all day had very limited options, since G+ users can one get 1 G+ per attraction.

Rides like VotLM had long standby waits, but we were able to G+ it. Other people were not so lucky though, even though they had bought G+, they were stuck in standby queues.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

You can set some expectations by looking at LL return times on MDE. I will say I just looked now and return times for LL are very favourable today. It really will depend on how busy the parks are the days you go.

I'd say the last sentence a little differently. It isn't really how crowded the parks are (in itself), but how many G+ users are in the same park.

I've seen days where the parks were very crowded, but few park goers had G+, so I had my pick of G+ passes. Other days the parks was less crowded, but I did not have as easy a time booking G+ passes.

Crowds are a part of the equation, but it seems to me the % of park goers buying G+ is somewhat independent from crowd levels.

For that matter, we also saw quite a bit of variability when we hop (or look at what G+ are available in a different park). The number of G+ users doesn't appear to be uniform across all 4 parks on any given day.

I also still say instead of having all vacation days the same, people might want to consider alternating between marathon G+/hopping days, and non-park days. Or commando G+ days alternating with shorter/no G+ park days as a way to get the most benefit of G+ without the cost of paying for it every day.

 

[Disturbia]

BUT...also keep in mind that many rides stop operating during a storm.

Some G+'s will get converted to anytime passes, but that can also make booking more rides difficult. Last summer the storms lasted all evening. Since we had hopped to MK, we weer resh- all the dires were available to us as G+. People who had been in MK all day had very limited options, since G+ users can one get 1 G+ per attraction.

Rides like VotLM had long standby waits, but we were able to G+ it. Other people were not so lucky though, even though they had bought G+, they were stuck in standby queues.

There are always crazy days. Today for instance little mermaid, barnstormer and TOT are all 50 mins; ROTR is 65; Navi is 105 mins vs FOP 85.

There is little cover at AK and when it rained many (except experienced guests) started heading towards the exit; we rode Everest multiple times once the rain stopped (20-30 mins) and it stayed a walk on for quite a bit. We did wear ponchos on the ride when it started drizzling and the rain drops do hurt a bit (would not recommend doing that with small kids).

 

[bastraker]

We've been here since Friday and have had no rain at all!

Spent the late morning in MK and over at epcot now for guardians of the galaxy. Today is probably the hottest day since we came.

Also, Friday at epcot and HS was so empty compared to what we're use to. However today at MK this morning - felt the most crowded this trip. We got in line for Big Thunder and the wait said 30 minutes- it was 65! We hads to rush to our lunch reservation at steakhouse 71!

Got VQ for Tron 2 times and and I only rode it once. Very intense for me but my son loved it!!

 

[PalmettoPath]

We did this in March of this year as a test (a busy Spring Break time of year). We found it far more enjoyable not paying for G+. Instead of trying to build our day around what G+ had available (often at brutal times after your initial selection), we had much better days just rope dropping the parks (as you know, you can get three or four done within a few hours that way) and then rounding out the day with standbys that were short (30 mins or less). We averaged 7-8 rides and we left the parks by 1:00 or so. From this I fully believe that G+ is actually a liability during busy times.

Edited to add that we did do a couple of ILLs over the course of the week, as it worked with the system and did not interfere with our rope drop approach.

 

[AdamsMum]

Hello everyone! My wife and I are planning a trip to Disney in January of 2023. With the increase in Genie+ we've decided we will not be buying the service during our trip. I do have a question for everyone: Can anyone provide a realistic experience of what it will be like to tour each park, with the expectation of riding attractions, without having purchased Genie?

Thanks!

Hi,
I'm curious as to how your trip in January 2023 went. Did you use Genie+? If not how were the lines and what your days were like. I'm going January 13, 2024. That first Monday will be MLK Day, but I'm hoping the crowds will slow down after that weekend.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Also know that on top of the financial benefit of not using G+, you will save yourself several hours each day from being buried in your cell phone and stressing out as soon as you wake up.

All due respect, we feel just the opposite, most of the time. We never spent hours each day 'buried' in the phone - didn't happen. A few minutes here and there to modify or schedule a new LL worked great. No stressing over it either - we worked with what was available. And we feel we did actually save several hours each day - hours we didn't spend in line that we would have without the LL those days. So our experiences were not what you're trying to describe. Biggest issue, of course, is the extra cost - not nominal. That's why we use it some days and skip it others.