Disney Genie and genie+

So have you all seen this replacement for Fastpass? I am NOT happy at all that they are replacing something that was free - ie 3 fastpasses a day to something you pay for - $15 a day per person!! and for only 2.
Of course I can always pay even more for Lightening Lane!! I don't think so.
DH and I really wanted to come back to celebrate a successful lung transplant ( fingers crossed it happens ) and bring his brother for his first trip, but now, not so sure.
Going to impatiently wait to see how it works when its implimented in the autumn.

I’ve been increasingly disappointed in their continual greed and sharply declining lack of value.


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From what I'm reading if you pay the $15 a day it's unlimited and you get to choose from available times to come back to an attraction. The other option is you pay extra to actually schedule your ride times (YOU dictate what time you want to come back, not pick from available times) Ian be wrong but that's what it sounds like to me. I'm not sure if we'd spend the extra money but I can say that for a family of 4 for 7 day tickets this is WAY less than we would have paid I'd we had bought Express Passes for 2 days at Universal.

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Hmmmmmm, I read it as pay $15 and get 2 at times they choose and if available. Hope you're right and I'm wrong as sounds better but still paying for something that was free before and that *****

They’ve been charging for MaxPass at Disneyland for a while now. Got to believe that they’ve been looking for, and drooling over, an opportunity to implement something similar at WDW. The “happy faces” in the announcement ( https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/bl...6&bid=97549221 ) claim that MaxPass has been wildly popular in Disneyland. Excuse me for being cynical about that claim. Seems like merely a Disney ploy to add cost while reducing value…


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Originally Posted by Cass&KenziesMom

From what I'm reading if you pay the $15 a day it's unlimited and you get to choose from available times to come back to an attraction. The other option is you pay extra to actually schedule your ride times (YOU dictate what time you want to come back, not pick from available times) Ian be wrong but that's what it sounds like to me. I'm not sure if we'd spend the extra money but I can say that for a family of 4 for 7 day tickets this is WAY less than we would have paid I'd we had bought Express Passes for 2 days at Universal.

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The $15 a day per person does not include the most popular rides. They have not released the charge for those for obvious reasons.
I have zero interest of ever returning to this place.
:(

I really like the Maxpass system at Disneyland, but I only think it is a value monetary wise when you get your photopass with it. I was sad to see that it isn't included.

I'm of mixed opinions on this. We all knew it was coming. We only have to look down the road to see the crazy prices that Universal charges for their express pass to know that Disney wasn't going to leave this being free forever (yes, I know they are different offerings).

But, I feel like they have made this extra confusing. Pay $15 for FP, and then pay again for some of the most popular rides? I hate the feeling of paying for every little thing, it just gets frustrating. The first thing I'm going to think about when I get off a paid ride is "what is worth the $?".

Let's be honest though, I'm going to pay it. I want the best Disney vacation I can have, and Disney is counting on there being a lot more people like me.

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Originally Posted by ibelieveindisneymagic

The first thing I'm going to think about when I get off a paid ride is "what is worth the $?".

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Right? That's why I would be okay with it if Photopass was included like it is at Disneyland. The "free" extra effects in the photos at Disney World just aren't worth it to me.
But you are right, we all knew it was coming when they said they were doing it at other Disney parks.

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Originally Posted by Altair

The $15 a day per person does not include the most popular rides. They have not released the charge for those for obvious reasons.
I have zero interest of ever returning to this place.
:(

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Wonder if it will be at the same scale as Disneyland Paris - $8 - $17 per attraction/ride?
If it is going to be that high, I guess I'll never ride Rise of the Resistance, or Ratatoullie, Guardians of the Galaxy, etc.... $15 per day for ALL rides is reasonable (not really with the regular entrance ticket cost, but by comparison) but $15 (average) per ride is definitely NOT reasonable.

It is getting to the point where I am actually starting the 'internal debate' on whether or not to actually go in January.

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Originally Posted by PopPhan

Wonder if it will be at the same scale as Disneyland Paris - $8 - $17 per attraction/ride?
If it is going to be that high, I guess I'll never ride Rise of the Resistance, or Ratatoullie, Guardians of the Galaxy, etc.... $15 per day for ALL rides is reasonable (not really with the regular entrance ticket cost, but by comparison) but $15 (average) per ride is definitely NOT reasonable.

It is getting to the point where I am actually starting the 'internal debate' on whether or not to actually go in January.

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From what I'm reading if the rides use a virtual que or boarding groups like Rise of the Resistance those will be available and if there are spots you can get you can get them at no charge.

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The video on the Disney Parks YouTube channel hosted by Gary Daniels explaining Genie and Genie + is currently at 87% negative reaction. Customer Service must be getting blasted.

Do a search for the Dinosaurs TV show episode "Variations on a Theme Park" from 1994. "Wesaysoland, where everyone has fun, because we say so"

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Originally Posted by Altair

The video on the Disney Parks YouTube channel hosted by Gary Daniels explaining Genie and Genie + is currently at 87% negative reaction. Customer Service must be getting blasted.

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But Disney told us this is what we wanted, what we asked for, what we NEEDED.

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Originally Posted by RunDMV

But Disney told us this is what we wanted, what we asked for, what we NEEDED.

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But if you think about it....it is what people wanted. Not the "pay to play" aspect but the option to NOT have to plan out your rides and essentially your day 60 days in advance. I DO think theyaybe should have thrown in the 2 top tier rides for resort guests. I have 238 days to think about whether we'll be doing the Genie+ thing. As of now I'm really on the fence. Thankfully I have a great Travel Agent that will give me her honest opinion on how it works when she tries it.

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Originally Posted by Cass&KenziesMom

But if you think about it....it is what people wanted. Not the "pay to play" aspect but the option to NOT have to plan out your rides and essentially your day 60 days in advance. I DO think theyaybe should have thrown in the 2 top tier rides for resort guests. I have 238 days to think about whether we'll be doing the Genie+ thing. As of now I'm really on the fence. Thankfully I have a great Travel Agent that will give me her honest opinion on how it works when she tries it.

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Not what DH and I wanted, but perhaps we're in the minority. We liked having our 3 must-do attractions locked in at 60 days, therefore giving the day some structure and eliminating some uncertainty, which with special needs is a good thing.

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Originally Posted by RunDMV

But Disney told us this is what we wanted, what we asked for, what we NEEDED.

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i've just e-mailed Guest relations to explain not what i need. Don't expect it to do a blind bit of difference, but made me feel better

The Gary Daniels video is now at 90% negative. :eek:

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Originally Posted by Cass&KenziesMom

From what I'm reading if the rides use a virtual que or boarding groups like Rise of the Resistance those will be available and if there are spots you can get you can get them at no charge.

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These will still use boarding groups, but also will be available as a paid lightning lane pass...

Maybe I am in the minority around here but this change makes me happy. I hated and I can't emphasize hated enough to describe how much I disliked FP+. Having to sit at the computer or on your app 60 days in advance waiting for the moment your window to schedule FP+ because the popular rides would be gone in a few minutes was beyond irritating. Especially when you own businesses, are super busy and you deal with scheduling and logistics all day long every day. A vacation at WDW became basically a job.

I said from day 1 of FP+ that I would gladly pay for a system where we picked some sort of fastpasses on the day of our visit to a park. This is one of those things where they can now control how many people are utilizing the system by adjusting the price. Most other theme parks have been using this sort of pay to play system for a while and it works well. FP+ was about as aggravating and dysfunctional as it could possibly have been. The only people it worked well for was those that would show up and do their FP attractions and maybe one or two others and then leave to go do other things. Those of us who want to do most all of the attractions and enjoy the entire park were left to deal with the long lines on the attractions we didn't have fastpasses.

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Originally Posted by 1DisneyNut

Maybe I am in the minority around here but this change makes me happy. I hated and I can't emphasize hated enough to describe how much I disliked FP+. Having to sit at the computer or on your app 60 days in advance waiting for the moment your window to schedule FP+ because the popular rides would be gone in a few minutes was beyond irritating. Especially when you own businesses, are super busy and you deal with scheduling and logistics all day long every day. A vacation at WDW became basically a job.

I said from day 1 of FP+ that I would gladly pay for a system where we picked some sort of fastpasses on the day of our visit to a park. This is one of those things where they can now control how many people are utilizing the system by adjusting the price. Most other theme parks have been using this sort of pay to play system for a while and it works well. FP+ was about as aggravating and dysfunctional as it could possibly have been. The only people it worked well for was those that would show up and do their FP attractions and maybe one or two others and then leave to go do other things. Those of us who want to do most all of the attractions and enjoy the entire park were left to deal with the long lines on the attractions we didn't have fastpasses.

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I felt the same way. Still haven't decided if we're going to do Genie+ but like I said earlier it's WAY cheaper than Universal so I'm more inclined to do this than Express Passes at Universal.

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Originally Posted by Cass&KenziesMom

I felt the same way. Still haven't decided if we're going to do Genie+ but like I said earlier it's WAY cheaper than Universal so I'm more inclined to do this than Express Passes at Universal.

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"Its WAY cheaper than Universal....". It is today.

Out of curiosity, I did a quick search to see how much an express pass at Universal is. It said $30-$40 per day depending on when you go.

So $20 for genie + and then $17 a piece times 2 rides for lightning lane = $54 per day. I can't see how everyone says that is cheaper than Universal's express pass. Doesn't Universal's pass cover ALL the rides?

And isn't it included if you stay at a Universal deluxe resort?

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Originally Posted by Cinderelley

Out of curiosity, I did a quick search to see how much an express pass at Universal is. It said $30-$40 per day depending on when you go.

So $20 for genie + and then $17 a piece times 2 rides for lightning lane = $54 per day. I can't see how everyone says that is cheaper than Universal's express pass. Doesn't Universal's pass cover ALL the rides?

And isn't it included if you stay at a Universal deluxe resort?

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For the times we go it would be WAY cheaper than Express Pass. 2 days of Express Passes this last time we went to Universal would have cost fully of 4 over $800 and no not all rides are included in Express Pass. It's "included" in the Deluxe resort stay but trust me you're paying for them. 7 days of Disney Genie without paying for the "non included" rides would only cost us a little over $400....so half the cost.

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Originally Posted by Cass&KenziesMom

For the times we go it would be WAY cheaper than Express Pass. 2 days of Express Passes this last time we went to Universal would have cost fully of 4 over $800 and no not all rides are included in Express Pass. It's "included" in the Deluxe resort stay but trust me you're paying for them. 7 days of Disney Genie without paying for the "non included" rides would only cost us a little over $400....so half the cost.

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But $400 dollars more than it did cost previously.

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Originally Posted by goofyskier

But $400 dollars more than it did cost previously.

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[emoji2368] and we have the choice to pay it or not. Everyone hated FastPass+ when it came out. Most everyone will hate this but you bet your butt they'll still pay for it because people want instant gratification and the thought of waiting their turn in line is unheard of. Truth be told this is why we space out our trips so that we can spend at least 7 days in the parks. We're good with waiting.

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Originally Posted by Cass&KenziesMom

[emoji2368] and we have the choice to pay it or not. Everyone hated FastPass+ when it came out. Most everyone will hate this but you bet your butt they'll still pay for it because people want instant gratification and the thought of waiting their turn in line is unheard of. Truth be told this is why we space out our trips so that we can spend at least 7 days in the parks. We're good with waiting.

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Don't get me wrong...I am in the group that hated fastpass +. I did like the old system. I do not like that they are now charging for something that was once included in the price of admission and that they are charging resort guests for it to boot. Sure we can choose to pay it....but it was included in the price of admission and now it is not. It is not a deal when compared to anything because it was free and now it is not. And....to add to the money grab they want to charge again to skip the line and ride the more popular attractions. So you have the opportunity to chose to pay three times for something that was at one time included in the price of admission. The whole thing stinks.

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Originally Posted by Cass&KenziesMom

For the times we go it would be WAY cheaper than Express Pass. 2 days of Express Passes this last time we went to Universal would have cost fully of 4 over $800 and no not all rides are included in Express Pass. It's "included" in the Deluxe resort stay but trust me you're paying for them. 7 days of Disney Genie without paying for the "non included" rides would only cost us a little over $400....so half the cost.

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But how much did you pay to enter the park?

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Originally Posted by RunDMV

But how much did you pay to enter the park?

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At Universal? 4 day 2 park, park-to-park tickets $1400. We didn't buy Express passes and rode EVERYTHING in 2 days. That was Mardi Gras week.

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From what I understand Genie+ is a lot like Maxpass at Disneyland (which it is also replacing)

Maxpass was new when I visited DL in 2017, but let me break it down how it worked.

It worked the same way (and alongside) the “old” paper fast pass system (remember FP+ never made it to DL)

You could use the old Fastpass system for free or you could pay $15/day to use the app to book your fastpasses—the exact same fastpasses that you could have gotten by walking to the attraction. Tickets were always being distributed for the “next available” time at each attraction. Regardless of whether you went and got a paper ticket or booked on the app your return time would be for the same time, and when that reservation came around or 2 hours passed (whichever came first) you could book another one. Maxpass did not allow you to get a digital Fastpass and paper Fastpass at the same time… trust me I tried.

I think Genie+/lightning lane is basically the old fastpass system on your phone (that you had to pay for) I say this because I want to point out that it seemed like EVERYONE (including myself) was purchasing Maxpass despite the free option being available. It was so great being able to be in line for Splash Mountain and being able to get a fastpass for Space Mountain without walking clear across the park.

Overall I’m happy about this. I never went to WDW in the Fastpass+ days, but it was kind of a deterrent. Yes I know FP+ had its fans but i didn’t like the planning aspect. I don’t even like making commitments for the weekend, why would I want to make them for a vacation (which is supposed to be a vacation) 60 days in advance. Then of course the reservations for the good rides all disappear within a few minutes, so they put Fastpass+ on rides where it wasn’t needed so they could make sure there were enough to go around.

I will say I do NOT like the individual attraction aspect of this. Maxpass didn’t exclude anything, it sounds like it’s going to exclude the most popular rides at each park. But that just means those attractions will be your rope drops and 11th hours.

I have to say it, but I'm with you in this one. We'll be going there soon so we'll see how it works, but on previous trips you're right, it was basically a job getting everything we needed using FP+ and issues with the way they were allocated made it difficult to actually use it to get on the rides we wanted.

As I said we're visiting again soon and it's still pretty much a job getting reservations at 60 days (the Disney site stinks for doing this smoothly), plus there's STILL no guarantee on Rise of the Resistance once we have our scheduled day in DHS. DW and I were up at the exact start of our window and still didn't get a few ressies at reasonable times, but at least we got 'em. It'll just be a little iffy on a couple of things when we get there because of the park-hopper restrictions.

Hopefully things will be smoother in the standbys with FP+ gone, and also hopefully the Genie app will help maneuver through the parks more smoothly (still on the fence for Genie+) but I'm still somewhat skeptical. I guess we'll find out.

With all of the other things that really reduce the fun-quotient of going, it's getting harder and harder to justify the time and expense of a formerly-magic Disney vacation, which makes this former CM quite sad.

So if you want to purchase Genie + ahead of your vacation, you have to buy it for every day of your ticket. If you want to just do some days, you have to wait for that day to arrive and the you can purchase it at 7 am. Am I correct in thinking that?

I think I’m in the minority, regarding FastPass+. In the beginning, I didn’t like picking my rides 60 days out (and there’s always the threat of bad weather that ruins a “locked-in” day and you can’t know that 60 days out,) but I became comfortable with it. It became a challenge — a Rubik’s cube that needed solved.

[THINKING PROCESS]
— 9-Day Trip
— This/these ride(s) won’t be available on first four days.
— First attempted FastPass: “Flight of Avatar” on Day Five of trip. Then Soarin’ Day Six. Then Splash Mountain Day One. And so on. Needed a strategy BEFORE the window opened!!

But I became proficient and figured how to schedule my ADRs 180 days out and line them up with impending FPs at the 60-Day Mark. Whew!!

I would map out the trips in advance in my head, being as precise as I could. After a bit, it became quite fun. I enjoyed it!

Now, I’ll need to learn a new system. Learn the pitfalls while on the next vacation. Probably ruin one vacation as I learn the new intricacies. Knowing me, I’ll reluctantly pay for the convenience, but then expect more on delivery. We will have to see if the trip is more enjoyable. Or less.

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Originally Posted by MrPeetrie

I think I’m in the minority, regarding FastPass+. In the beginning, I didn’t like picking my rides 60 days out (and there’s always the threat of bad weather that ruins a “locked-in” day and you can’t know that 60 days out,) but I became comfortable with it. It became a challenge — a Rubik’s cube that needed solved.

[THINKING PROCESS]
— 9-Day Trip
— This/these ride(s) won’t be available on first four days.
— First attempted FastPass: “Flight of Avatar” on Day Five of trip. Then Soarin’ Day Six. Then Splash Mountain Day One. And so on. Needed a strategy BEFORE the window opened!!

But I became proficient and figured how to schedule my ADRs 180 days out and line them up with impending FPs at the 60-Day Mark. Whew!!

I would map out the trips in advance in my head, being as precise as I could. After a bit, it became quite fun. I enjoyed it!

Now, I’ll need to learn a new system. Learn the pitfalls while on the next vacation. Probably ruin one vacation as I learn the new intricacies. Knowing me, I’ll reluctantly pay for the convenience, but then expect more on delivery. We will have to see if the trip is more enjoyable. Or less.

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Sounds almost exactly how I planned for FP+. I always started with my last full day on property/in parks and worked backward from there. Never missed a ride/attraction I wanted.

I kinda have an aversion towards giving Disney any MORE money to be honest with you. I can see using it if you knew you wouldn't be going back to a Disney Park in the near future though.