WDW updates Genie+ guidance, average of 2-3 rides per day

[theMoreDisneytheBetter]

here's what i dont get. Why would anyone pay for a system that is worse than the previous product that was offered as part of your admission.

I guess the problem is, too many people are willing to just give in and pay for things, and therefore, we all pay more. People just refuse to push back and say enough is enough.

It's our fault these trips are so much more expensive.

Over the past few years, just these items alone were once part of your hotel or park ticket, and now disney is charging us for them.
Hotel Parking
Magical Express
Magic Bands
Fast Passes
Magic Hours (many replaced with paid for after hours events or parties)

it blows my mind that we just accept it, and pay them more and more money.

Unfortunately the old way is no longer an option. People pay in order to get the best experience that they can (afford) for their families. Sure, if EVERY guest collectively said “I’m not paying for Genie+” that might send a message, but given how many people are buying it at MK (and arguably HS) families that don’t are at a significant disadvantage. So then more and more buy to not lose out, the value degrades further, and Disney views it as a win because they get more $.

The only way to actually send a message would be if park attendance were to drop significantly at the same time that places like Universal are gaining customers, but that doesn’t seem to be happening any time soon.

Maybe when the economy goes into recession?

 

[starlite_]

Unfortunately the old way is no longer an option. People pay in order to get the best experience that they can (afford) for their families. Sure, if EVERY guest collectively said “I’m not paying for Genie+” that might send a message, but given how many people are buying it at MK (and arguably HS) families that don’t are at a significant disadvantage. So then more and more buy to not lose out, the value degrades further, and Disney views it as a win because they get more $.

The only way to actually send a message would be if park attendance were to drop significantly at the same time that places like Universal are gaining customers, but that doesn’t seem to be happening any time soon.

Maybe when the economy goes into recession?

Agree, but with 2 years of delayed and rescheduled vacations I doubt this will happen any time soon. We shall see if their model holds up in a few years.

 

[ChipnDale79]

Unfortunately the old way is no longer an option. People pay in order to get the best experience that they can (afford) for their families. Sure, if EVERY guest collectively said “I’m not paying for Genie+” that might send a message, but given how many people are buying it at MK (and arguably HS) families that don’t are at a significant disadvantage. So then more and more buy to not lose out, the value degrades further, and Disney views it as a win because they get more $.

The only way to actually send a message would be if park attendance were to drop significantly at the same time that places like Universal are gaining customers, but that doesn’t seem to be happening any time soon.

Maybe when the economy goes into recession?

that was my point. its our fault we allowed this to happen.

None of those things are coming back, unless disney gets dinged for it.

My $7500 that wont be spent at Disney this year because of all these add ons, will be absorbed by everyone else paying the add ones. i get it

 

[DSLRuser]

We traditionally were not "Rope Droppers". Genie + forces you to become a rope dropper.

It also forces you to become a boozer at EPCOT in the evening. Since you can't get access to any attractions if park hopping mid day, the only thing to do is booze it up.

 

[Wreckem]

We traditionally were not "Rope Droppers". Genie + forces you to become a rope dropper.

It also forces you to become a boozer at EPCOT in the evening. Since you can't get access to any attractions if park hopping mid day, the only thing to do is booze it up.

I actually found it to be the exact opposite. With Genie+ you don’t have to be rope droppers. At Christmas we redropped and used genie+ once at MK.

The other days we went to the parks at 12 or later. We were able to stack pass after pass and we’re able to successfully ride everything without waits.

 

[TLSnell1981]

Universal’s front of the line pass doesn’t work for all rides, and when a lot of people buy it or get it through their hotels it can be slow as well. It took us 45 min in the “fast line” one January to take the hogwarts express back, and we were basically the same speed as the regular one.

I have no love for genie+ but universal isn’t perfect either.

With respect to making it an on-site perk, my guess is that they knew they could fill up the ILLs without selling it to off-site people, whereas genie+ wouldn’t have had enough takers if it were restricted, which is why it is open for all.

I think that there should be an advantage to staying on property personally, but I can understand why Disney thought they could maximize profits this way.I liked ma pass much better. Not sure why they needed to "enhance" that version of a paid "FP".

 

[TLSnell1981]

that was my point. its our fault we allowed this to happen.

None of those things are coming back, unless disney gets dinged for it.

My $7500 that wont be spent at Disney this year because of all these add ons, will be absorbed by everyone else paying the add ones. i get it

I'd add about 30% to that number due to the recent price increases.

 

[JoyfulHeart]

I find it interesting that the $15 cost of Genie+ has people upset so much more than the huge price increases. We went in '17 and then again in '21. We stayed in the same hotel, same park days... But in '17 we had a quick service meal plan in '21 we did not. Both times were during peak season. We paid over 50% more 4 years later. WITH NO FOOD! That is CRAZY. and in any other venue would not be tolerated. We are going again this year and agin the prices are higher, but our hotel and days stayed are different so its not quite apples to apples. Although, as others have stated, we are still going, are we not? This will be our last trip for quite some time.

I notice quite a few people saying they should have just upped the price and kept FF/Genie free. Well, they upped the price AND made you pay for the line cuts. For them it is a WIN WIN. If they suddenly upped their price $30-$40 a ticket people would have been livid. This aloud them to get the higher ticket price, reduce how many people are LL ( because let be honest not EVERYONE is getting the Genie), and get extra money from those who pay for Genie.

As for the line cuts (whether FF or Genie), they are nice. Even only getting a few. When we went in '21 I think it was at 35% capacity and we could ride the little mermaid and haunted mansion all we wanted, but splash Mountain stayed at 2-3 hours as did 7DMT. My kids had no desire to wait for any of those. 2-3 hours for one or ride haunted mansion 10 times?!?!? LOL- yes we rode it that many times. I couldn't imagine what it would have been at capacity or the larger crowds we are seeing now. Having no lines under an hour would be a hard trip. yes, first thing in the morning and late at night are always the best times, but with children that is not really ideal. Having 2-3 big rides help brake up the longer lines. If you get more, even better.

AS for deluxe getting more LL than any other hotel. You think there are complaints now? It would be horrible then. I don't think you can compare a $400-600 a night hotel to $100-$200 a night hotel. a 6 night stay goes from $3600 vs $1200 that is a big difference. Don't get me wrong, I understand those that pay more will get more. That is life. But if you make it too much more you will have people very upset. Give Deluxes free parking or other smaller perks and you have people adding up the differences in what they will pay with added fees vs paying for the nicer hotel. People justify the perk with a nicer hotel- you get more. But more ride time? goodness.....People are already upset with the extra two hours they are getting ( really not many people with kids can do this, unless they are older), I couldn't imagine what it would be with extra LL Staying out to 1am ( with the time change it feels like 2am) and then getting up the next morning to book your LL at 7am....UGH! Not quite as amazing as it sounds at first. And that is just people staying onsite. They would be missing so much money on those that stay off-site. Although dinner has a lot of hotels, still the bulk stay off site or live close by.

Just my thoughts.

Since I haven't used the Genie, I am just hoping it will give us SOME relief from the long lines. It has been quite busy for the slow season and we are going in summer. We will see how it goes.

 

[JoyfulHeart]

Goodness, that got long winded!! SORRY!

 

[ChipnDale79]

I'd add about 30% to that number due to the recent price increases.

i normally add 10% when i do that, but i agree, i'm not sure thats enough this time.

 

[Liquidice]

I find it interesting that the $15 cost of Genie+ has people upset so much more than the huge price increases. We went in '17 and then again in '21. We stayed in the same hotel, same park days... But in '17 we had a quick service meal plan in '21 we did not. Both times were during peak season. We paid over 50% more 4 years later. WITH NO FOOD! That is CRAZY. and in any other venue would not be tolerated. We are going again this year and agin the prices are higher, but our hotel and days stayed are different so its not quite apples to apples. Although, as others have stated, we are still going, are we not? This will be our last trip for quite some time.

I notice quite a few people saying they should have just upped the price and kept FF/Genie free. Well, they upped the price AND made you pay for the line cuts. For them it is a WIN WIN. If they suddenly upped their price $30-$40 a ticket people would have been livid. This aloud them to get the higher ticket price, reduce how many people are LL ( because let be honest not EVERYONE is getting the Genie), and get extra money from those who pay for Genie.

As for the line cuts (whether FF or Genie), they are nice. Even only getting a few. When we went in '21 I think it was at 35% capacity and we could ride the little mermaid and haunted mansion all we wanted, but splash Mountain stayed at 2-3 hours as did 7DMT. My kids had no desire to wait for any of those. 2-3 hours for one or ride haunted mansion 10 times?!?!? LOL- yes we rode it that many times. I couldn't imagine what it would have been at capacity or the larger crowds we are seeing now. Having no lines under an hour would be a hard trip. yes, first thing in the morning and late at night are always the best times, but with children that is not really ideal. Having 2-3 big rides help brake up the longer lines. If you get more, even better.

AS for deluxe getting more LL than any other hotel. You think there are complaints now? It would be horrible then. I don't think you can compare a $400-600 a night hotel to $100-$200 a night hotel. a 6 night stay goes from $3600 vs $1200 that is a big difference. Don't get me wrong, I understand those that pay more will get more. That is life. But if you make it too much more you will have people very upset. Give Deluxes free parking or other smaller perks and you have people adding up the differences in what they will pay with added fees vs paying for the nicer hotel. People justify the perk with a nicer hotel- you get more. But more ride time? goodness.....People are already upset with the extra two hours they are getting ( really not many people with kids can do this, unless they are older), I couldn't imagine what it would be with extra LL Staying out to 1am ( with the time change it feels like 2am) and then getting up the next morning to book your LL at 7am....UGH! Not quite as amazing as it sounds at first. And that is just people staying onsite. They would be missing so much money on those that stay off-site. Although dinner has a lot of hotels, still the bulk stay off site or live close by.

Just my thoughts.

Since I haven't used the Genie, I am just hoping it will give us SOME relief from the long lines. It has been quite busy for the slow season and we are going in summer. We will see how it goes.

For me it all comes down to value for what you're paying. I could justify paying more, especially $15/more per ticket and staying on-site if it still included a lot of the perks. I don't think that if instead of launching G+ ticket prices went up by an additional $15-20 per ticket across the board that people would be as upset though. It is normal for Disney to raise prices. Nobody is happy about it, but it is inevitable.

I agree with you, over 50% more is astonishing - now factor in that you're paying 50% more but you don't have Disney's Magical Express, FastPass+ included with your ticket purchase, parking is no longer free (it was in 2017), Extra Magic Hours, Magic bands included with your hotel stay - I'm probably missing a few perks that they cut too. It'd be a tough pill to swallow at 50% more - but you're also getting less value for that increase price too. Its like buying a TV in 2021 and it costs significantly more than it did in 2017 but they also took away the remote and Smart TV functions and you have to pay extra for those.

The problem I think Disney thought they were trying to solve with Genie+ was that everyone got FastPass+ and so the Fastpass lines were getting out of control. So the thought was by monetizing them, not everyone would buy G+ and it would result in shorter waits for everybody. In practice though, I'm not sure if they achieved what they wanted - so now you have the people who aren't happy that Disney is charging for access to the Lightning Lanes, you have people who aren't happy that Lightning Lane is working no better and in some cases worse than FastPass+ and standby times do not seem any shorter than they were pre-pandemic.

From a revenue standpoint, Disney would have been better off raising ticket prices by the cost of Genie+ and every single person would have paid for Genie+ instead of the 2/3 of people they have paying for it now.

 

[bakerworld]

My only thought on Genie+ is to truly make it 'cost worthy' the operator needs to be tech savvy - which I am not. LOL

 

[JoyfulHeart]

For me it all comes down to value for what you're paying. I could justify paying more, especially $15/more per ticket and staying on-site if it still included a lot of the perks. I don't think that if instead of launching G+ ticket prices went up by an additional $15-20 per ticket across the board that people would be as upset though. It is normal for Disney to raise prices. Nobody is happy about it, but it is inevitable.

I agree with you, over 50% more is astonishing - now factor in that you're paying 50% more but you don't have Disney's Magical Express, FastPass+ included with your ticket purchase, parking is no longer free (it was in 2017), Extra Magic Hours, Magic bands included with your hotel stay - I'm probably missing a few perks that they cut too. It'd be a tough pill to swallow at 50% more - but you're also getting less value for that increase price too. Its like buying a TV in 2021 and it costs significantly more than it did in 2017 but they also took away the remote and Smart TV functions and you have to pay extra for those.

The problem I think Disney thought they were trying to solve with Genie+ was that everyone got FastPass+ and so the Fastpass lines were getting out of control. So the thought was by monetizing them, not everyone would buy G+ and it would result in shorter waits for everybody. In practice though, I'm not sure if they achieved what they wanted - so now you have the people who aren't happy that Disney is charging for access to the Lightning Lanes, you have people who aren't happy that Lightning Lane is working no better and in some cases worse than FastPass+ and standby times do not seem any shorter than they were pre-pandemic.

From a revenue standpoint, Disney would have been better off raising ticket prices by the cost of Genie+ and every single person would have paid for Genie+ instead of the 2/3 of people they have paying for it now.

Oh, I agree. Disney is reducing your value while upping your cost hands down. One of the reasons my DH loved WDW the first time was everything was paid for before we went (outside of tips). No thought to anything, it was great. But as they keep adding things (Parking, G+, etc...) so, you have to keep adding and adding.

As for upping the prices. According to one of the Disney sites they went up in 2022:
"Depending on how many days your Multi-Day ticket is and when you are visiting, prices have increased for the base tickets from about $13-$49 per guest."
From what I can gather it starts at the 4 day pass. Could you image adding $60-$600 per person more? That would be $75-$649 more for tickets in one year. YIKES! That is huge in one year! That is not counting hotel hikes, and loosing perks as you mentioned above.

 

[Jrb1979]

The problem I think Disney thought they were trying to solve with Genie+ was that everyone got FastPass+ and so the Fastpass lines were getting out of control. So the thought was by monetizing them, not everyone would buy G+ and it would result in shorter waits for everybody. In practice though, I'm not sure if they achieved what they wanted - so now you have the people who aren't happy that Disney is charging for access to the Lightning Lanes, you have people who aren't happy that Lightning Lane is working no better and in some cases worse than FastPass+ and standby times do not seem any shorter than they were pre-pandemic.

It's why I keep saying they should have went the Universal route but don't offer it for free to on site guests. Yes there would have been some complaints from those who can't justify the cost but IMO it would be a lot less then there is now. You would lose the complaints from those who paid for it as most would feel they got their money's worth as the most likely would get on a lot of rides with it. Also with less people buying it the Standby queues would move quicker.

 

[Liquidice]

Yesterday Disneyland (not sure if WDW is doing the same) is discouraging people from buying Genie+ ... Wow.

Like Scott Gustin said, Genie+ must be causing significant amounts of negative feedback for Disneyland to put that in the app.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1515511825768538114

 

[mom2rtk]

Yesterday Disneyland (not sure if WDW is doing the same) is discouraging people from buying Genie+ ... Wow.

Like Scott Gustin said, Genie+ must be causing significant amounts of negative feedback for Disneyland to put that in the app.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1515511825768538114

But we’ll still take your money!

 

[New Mouse]

But we’ll still take your money!

Truth, rather than making the smart care about your guest decision and shutting it down.

 

[MouseEarsMom33]

We bought Genie+ in early April during a quick trip. It wasn't that bad. We got to skip the line at multiple attractions per day. My complaints are:

- it would be nice to schedule a ride anytime during the day and not only one option. If I have a dining reservation or they are calling for bad weather during a time, it's a pain to have to keep checking for a later time

- You can't modify a ride reservation without cancelling your scheduled time. This is no good as you can't guarantee the new time you want will be available when you cancel

-Fastpass allowed us to schedule our day better since we knew when and where multiple Fast passes would be located

 

[mom2rtk]

We bought Genie+ in early April during a quick trip. It wasn't that bad. We got to skip the line at multiple attractions per day. My complaints are:

- it would be nice to schedule a ride anytime during the day and not only one option. If I have a dining reservation or they are calling for bad weather during a time, it's a pain to have to keep checking for a later time

- You can't modify a ride reservation without cancelling your scheduled time. This is no good as you can't guarantee the new time you want will be available when you cancel

-Fastpass allowed us to schedule our day better since we knew when and where multiple Fast passes would be located

How else are they going to sell those slots during expected bad weather!

 

[MouseEarsMom33]

Additionally, I think Disney is running Genie+ like a one day theme park. Disney is not that (particularly WDW). Disney is a vacation destination. Rest and relaxation is crucial during vacation. Genie+ makes you feel on the go all day long.