Disney Genie and Genie+ at Walt Disney World

[pdude81]

It's a slick way of giving you back less than you paid. It would be one thing if they offered to credit the card the fee was charged to OR a gift card, but limiting refunds to gift cards should be illegal, IMO.

I disagree because anything you could use the gift card on would have cost the same amount from your credit card in the first place. And if they truly allow gift cards to purchase LL whether for Genie or ILL, then that takes some sting out as you can use it for the exact same thing another day.

Also it can be used for paying off room charges, a meal, or really anything you would have spent that cash on. Now I'm certain if you spend a bunch of time fighting about it you'll get your credit card refund, at tremendous time cost. This to me ends up being exactly the same as tickets. You could have paid for tickets for use in May 2020 but that wasn't going to happen. They allowed for extension or exchange to something else at equivalent value. You could fight and scream and get your money back eventually, after at least threatening a charge back, but for what? They are working things out and doing their best to make it right without having to completely change how they do things.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Kind of like paying up front to get into a theme park just to participate in a cellphone lottery for the chance to score a Boarding Group.

Poor analogy.
You paid to get into a theme park and can do many, many things including a FREE chance to get in a boarding group.

With ILL you purchased in advance to ride a specific attraction, then never get to ride what you paid for.
It's like paying for a Mickey bar and not getting the Mickey bar.

 

[pdude81]

Disney is the one who is trying to monetize every minute of every day.

If you have to walk to guest relations and stand In line for a refund that is not acceptable.

Doing the math from my last trip it looks like each minute of park time cost me $1.58. That’s before genie.

So if I have to walk 12 minutes to guest services and wait in a 18 minute line to get my iLL refund, I would expect $48 in additional compensation for my time wasted.

How much do you get back if the stalls are all full in the bathroom and you have to walk elsewhere?

 

[Disstevefan1]

We've already established you can get a refund in the form of a gift card, so, it's not "that's that."

Thanks for clarifying. I did not see that post.
I am glad to hear this, it's only right.

 

[Disstevefan1]

How much do you get back if the stalls are all full in the bathroom and you have to walk elsewhere?

I understand the want to defend TWDC, but this is a poor analogy.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Disney Genie takeaways, first impressions, and early strategies from the first day of operation at Walt Disney World​

Disney Genie takeaways, first impressions, and early strategies from the first day of operation at Walt Disney World

Disney Genie has completed its first day at Walt Disney World and we have some early thoughts to share.

www.wdwmagic.com

Lightning Lane wait times are short. There are currently only a limited number of guests using Genie+ and Individual Attraction purchases, so the Lightning Lane moves you to the front of the line in a matter of minutes, significantly quicker than the old FastPass+ queues​

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@wdwmagic, I'm not sure if you're saying that LL queues will get longer when the parks are more crowded, and that doesn't seem like that will be the case. When the LL passes run out for a particular attraction, that means they've hit the max of LL passes. And LL waits are short even hitting that max capacity.

Do you expect they'll give out more LLs when the parks are more crowded?

 

[pdude81]

I understand the want to defend TWDC, but this is a poor analogy.

Really? He's asking for refunds for walking time when something he expected was out of service. And to be fair, I was poking fun at a poor analogy

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I understand the want to defend TWDC, but this is a poor analogy.

There's nothing to defend. If your ILL is not fulfilled, you get your money back.

The silly proposal is the person who suggested they're entitled to per-minute damages for time spent at Guest Relations.

 

[wdwmagic]

Lightning Lane wait times are short. There are currently only a limited number of guests using Genie+ and Individual Attraction purchases, so the Lightning Lane moves you to the front of the line in a matter of minutes, significantly quicker than the old FastPass+ queues​

​

@wdwmagic, I'm not sure if you're saying that LL queues will get longer when the parks are more crowded, and that doesn't seem like that will be the case. When the LL passes run out for a particular attraction, that means they've hit the max of LL passes. And LL waits are short even hitting that max capacity.

Do you expect they'll give out more LLs when the parks are more crowded?

Yes I'm expecting a ramp up of LL distribution.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Yes I'm expecting a ramp up of LL distribution.

On both G+ and ILL?

 

[ImperfectPixie]

I disagree because anything you could use the gift card on would have cost the same amount from your credit card in the first place. And if they truly allow gift cards to purchase LL whether for Genie or ILL, then that takes some sting out as you can use it for the exact same thing another day.

Also it can be used for paying off room charges, a meal, or really anything you would have spent that cash on. Now I'm certain if you spend a bunch of time fighting about it you'll get your credit card refund, at tremendous time cost. This to me ends up being exactly the same as tickets. You could have paid for tickets for use in May 2020 but that wasn't going to happen. They allowed for extension or exchange to something else at equivalent value. You could fight and scream and get your money back eventually, after at least threatening a charge back, but for what? They are working things out and doing their best to make it right without having to completely change how they do things.

Anything you purchase with the gift card costs them less than directly refunding the amount of the purchase. I don't care what I can spend a gift card on - a credit to the account the money was charged to should be an option.

 

[wdwmagic]

On both G+ and ILL?

Yes

 

[Disstevefan1]

Really? He's asking for refunds for walking time when something he expected was out of service. And to be fair, I was poking fun at a poor analogy

GOT IT. My mistake. Sorry, I should have read further back in the thread.

 

[jinx8402]

This isn't that much of a stretch. If I remember correctly if you were staying on club level, and you paid to get extra fast pass selections, if your ride went down, that fast pass was converted to a open fast pass, any ride any time, you didn't get a refund.

But they weren't assigning a price for that FP for a particular ride. So it is not the same at all.

 

[Jeff4272]

Yes

In your opinion, does the increase in Genie+ sales make it less valuable? Wont that reduce the options available and guests will have fewer opportunities to book the better rides?

I think IAS is very valuable, even more so when they sell more

 

[DisneyCane]

If I had purchased ILL and then was unable to use it somewhere near that time due to the ride being down and Disney wouldn't cancel it and give me a full refund to my credit card, I would dispute the charge with my credit card.

Even if the ride comes back up much later, what if I'm not in that park anymore? If I pay for a specific ride at a specific time for a specific amount of money that's what I should get or have the option for a refund.

If you purchased a single day to Epcot and there is a power outage at 11AM that lasts the whole day and they tell you that you can go to any other park but they won't give you a refund that would not be acceptable nor would a gift card only option be acceptable.

 

[LovePop]

Yes I'm expecting a ramp up of LL distribution.

It seems to me like LL amount should be dependent on ride capacity alone and not crowd level. Like right now, RotR's LL is all taken, and that's all the more LL they should ever issue. If it's possible to issue more, they should be doing so now instead of on days when it's more crowded.

 

[Disstevefan1]

Yes

MO MONEY, MO MONEY, MO MONEY!!!!!! Disney wins big time.

 

[DisneyCane]

In your opinion, does the increase in Genie+ sales make it less valuable? Wont that reduce the options available and guests will have fewer opportunities to book the better rides?

I think IAS is very valuable, even more so when they sell more

If they are selling more it will very likely be at a higher price because of demand. There is no universe where I consider $24 for one person to skip one line "valuable."

 

[wdwmagic]

It seems to me like LL amount should be dependent on ride capacity alone and not crowd level. Like right now, RotR's LL is all taken, and that's all the more LL they should ever issue. If it's possible to issue more, they should be doing so now instead of on days when it's more crowded.

I don't necessarily think a ramp up of LL access will be dependent on crowd levels, but I believe we are seeing a gentle roll out. I think we need to wait to see how it develops, but I think as of now Disney knows they can sell a lot more LL.