Disney Genie and Genie+ at Walt Disney World

[matt9112]

I can’t help but just continue to feel cost and implantation aside….this much planning shouldn’t be remotely necessary to enjoy a trip.

It really hammers home the lack of capacity compared to attendance the parks face.

Edit- I think my point is validated by disney itself guardians and rat both don’t have nearly the same problems as other new rides have at other parks…. Epcot isn’t straining under capacity problems (on paper I mean) the other three parks with MGM being the worst are likely considerably under capacity related to attendance.

I don’t mean to beat a dead horse but I feel like people smarter than me could graph attendance with capacity and find some kind of sweet spot for guest experiences. Including shows each park probably has a solid number you could come to for how many guests can do anything at any given time. A ridership for the entire park if you will. Honestly although harder to calculate restaurants and stores also likely contribute as those technically are capacity just not attraction capacity. If I’m eating in a restaurant I am not in line anywhere. The restaurant is still overall park capacity.

Stores are likely more convoluted however in a similar vein they MUST play a factor. Epcot is proof. That park does not have attraction capacity that is unusually high or different from the other parks yet it doesn’t seem to bend to the same issues as the other three parks. (In this vein frozen is likely an outlier as the only “kiddie” ride in showcase for how many years?)

This tells me that Epcots massive abundance of stores and restaurants absolutely plays into a parks capacity.
Furthermore I would argue this solidifys the need for functional fleshed out lands or expansions and not the (,capacity wise) abomination that is galaxy’s edge. Galaxy’s edge has to be one of the most wasteful land utilization ratios resort wide.

As an example of the type of changes that would actually help a park-
magic kingdom probably in our “fantasy land” needs a massively wider Main Street filled with stores twice as large and deep as well as more dining. As much as I critique tron it is a net gain however it will likely result in more attendance gain than it actually adds in capacity and thus makes our ratio worse.

The problems the parks are facing cannot be fixed easily or without massive cap x and tearing down and redoing integrally important pieces of the parks. Things like closing entire lands arguably needs to occur. To allow entire redesigns.

Or we can just raise prices at a steeper gradient than ever before and hope we lower attendance to whatever that sweet spot i aforementioned is.

 

[Purduevian]

whats so funny? i like to stir the pot to get conversation going but im not an idiot.......

What's so funny to me is you refuse to accept that someone might have been able to use the system better than you.

Literally last night I showed the following screen shots:
At 6:08 a SDD for 8:25
At 7:16 a 730 mmrr and 7:35 rnrc
At 7:18 a 740 mfsr

Imagine a full 12 hour day of doing that. It's not hard to get a LL for everything in Epcot,DHS, or AK. Magic has so many attractions I would be impressed but I do think it's possible.

 

[TQQQ]

What's so funny to me is you refuse to accept that someone might have been able to use the system better than you.

Literally last night I showed the following screen shots:
At 6:08 a SDD for 8:25
At 7:16 a 730 mmrr and 7:35 rnrc
At 7:18 a 740 mfsr

Imagine a full 12 hour day of doing that. It's not hard to get a LL for everything in Epcot,DHS, or AK. Magic has so many attractions I would be impressed but I do think it's possible.

It's not that they are using it better than me, I can use the system the same way as anyone else and I know how it works

It's that it requires you to be in the park all day, it requires a lot of money, it requires waking up early, it requires a non crowded park, it requires getting lucky with early return times, it requires constant refreshing, etc., etc., etc.

Please tell me you understand the difference?

My point is the system is so inefficient for the vast majority of guests unless you want to jump through hoops

I dont get up at 6:45 on vacation.....i dont go to the parks until the afternoon.......i dont like spending 10% more on the same vacation i had 2 years ago.............i dont like being on my phone all day............i like to choose return times.................i like not having overlapping rides with dining ressies.................i like taking my kids back to the pool mid day.............AND SO DO MOST OTHER PEOPLE


you can't do any of that and use Genie+ efficiently

 

[Ripken10]

It's not that they are using it better than me, I can use the system the same way as anyone else and I know how it works

It's that it requires you to be in the park all day, it requires a lot of money, it requires waking up early, it requires a non crowded park, it requires getting lucky with early return times, it requires constant refreshing, etc., etc., etc.

Please tell me you understand the difference?

My point is the system is so inefficient for the vast majority of guests unless you want to jump through hoops

I dont get up at 6:45 on vacation.....i dont go to the parks until the afternoon.......i dont like spending 10% more on the same vacation i had 2 years ago.............i dont like being on my phone all day............i like to choose return times.................i like not having overlapping rides with dining ressies.................i like taking my kids back to the pool mid day.............AND SO DO MOST OTHER PEOPLE


you can't do any of that and use Genie+ efficiently

Jeff4272?

 

[Purduevian]

It's not that they are using it better than me, I can use the system the same way as anyone else and I know how it works

It's that it requires you to be in the park all day, it requires a lot of money, it requires waking up early, it requires a non crowded park, it requires getting lucky with early return times, it requires constant refreshing, etc., etc., etc.

Please tell me you understand the difference?

My point is the system is so inefficient for the vast majority of guests unless you want to jump through hoops

I dont get up at 6:45 on vacation.....i dont go to the parks until the afternoon.......i dont like spending 10% more on the same vacation i had 2 years ago.............i dont like being on my phone all day............i like to choose return times.................i like not having overlapping rides with dining ressies.................i like taking my kids back to the pool mid day.............AND SO DO MOST OTHER PEOPLE


you can't do any of that and use Genie+ efficiently

It’s just not possible but good for you!

we werent talking about you

we all know you sensationalize everything

Ok.....in all honesty...........I can see how you COULD potentially get a Genie+ selection for every ride on a moderate to slow day (say 7/10 or less) but that would require you being in the park from open to close and also require you to refresh A LOT during the day, never mind the cost of having to purchase Genie+ and ILL...............I just dont think thats realistic for most people, especially those with young kids

Not once did I argue you can sleep in. come into the park in the afternoon, and ride anything. You can't do that I agree.
My issue is that you claim I "sensentualize everything" and call G00fydad's day impossible.

I fully admit to have a day like mine you need to get up early, spend all day in the parks, and know the system inside and out. However, with those things in place it's really not hard to hit like 5-10 (good to great) LLs in a day. The first day where I hit 3 parks and 9 LLs I was up from 6:55am until about 11:30pm. I was in the parks from 8am till 10:30ish and walked 34,829 steps (15.02 miles). This was also on a day DHS and MK were sold out, so not exactly light crowds.

The second day that I slept in until 8:30 I had so much success with my 7LL from 10:30 until 530 because it was a party night so MK was pretty light. I still walked 15,720 steps that day. Pretty constantly walking from one attraction to another to make it work.

 

[Disstevefan1]

It's not that they are using it better than me, I can use the system the same way as anyone else and I know how it works

It's that it requires you to be in the park all day, it requires a lot of money, it requires waking up early, it requires an non crodwed park, it requires getting lucky with early return times, it requires constant refreshing, etc., etc., etc.


Please tell me you understand the difference?

My point is the system is so inefficient for the vast majority of guests unless you want to jump through hoops

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

It's not that they are using it better than me, I can use the system the same way as anyone else and I know how it works

It's that it requires you to be in the park all day, it requires a lot of money, it requires waking up early, it requires a non crowded park, it requires getting lucky with early return times, it requires constant refreshing, etc., etc., etc.

Please tell me you understand the difference?

My point is the system is so inefficient for the vast majority of guests unless you want to jump through hoops

I dont get up at 6:45 on vacation.....i dont go to the parks until the afternoon.......i dont like spending 10% more on the same vacation i had 2 years ago.............i dont like being on my phone all day............i like to choose return times.................i like not having overlapping rides with dining ressies.................i like taking my kids back to the pool mid day.............AND SO DO MOST OTHER PEOPLE


you can't do any of that and use Genie+ efficiently

While opinions can differ, and of course individual uses can vary, most of what you posted here are either wrong, of simply personal choices that have nothing to do with how good a system Genie+ is.

First, spending 10% more on the same vacation you had 2 years ago? Genie+ is roughly $20 per person. If your average Disney vacation, including tickets, lodging, food, merchandise, ect. was $200 per person per day, more power to you, but I don't see it. Complaints about general price increases have nothing to do with Genie+, so i am not going into that. Of course the $20 per person per day can skew % of daily spending if you are packing 6-7 people into a single hotel room, and if you are, God bless, but i would say your expense is an outlier as to average attendee demographics.

Second, if you don't get up at 6:45 on vacation and don't go to the parks until noon, and then taking your kids back to the pool mid day (so you're not getting to the park until after noon, but then going back to the pool mid day...when are you riding rides?) that's a personal choice. I don't get why anyone would want to spend the money to go on a Disney Vacation and not spend time at the parks, but that's not my problem...nor is it the problem of Genie+. You're intentionally electing to vacation at one of the most popular tourist destinations in the US if not the world, and then artificially limiting your time there.

Genie+ is a fair system, built to give everyone (save for early LL purchase for resort guests) the same access. It seems insane to complain about efficiency of a system, when by your own choice you are not using the system for what looks like more than half of the day. You don't get to complain about a system built around the park being open for 14 hours (Today MK 9am to 11PM) but you are choosing to only be at the park for what...get there at noon, leave to go back to pool mid day, and then come back, so lets say 6 hours of the day? The "problem" to the extent there is one, is not with the system, its with your personal choices and the amount of time you are giving yourself to use the system.

The system is set up to get as much or as little out of it AS YOU WANT. You can't complain that the tickets are all sold out for a concert and were bought by the people who got in line when the ticket office opened at 8am, when you stroll in to buy tickets at noon. FP days Genie+ days, or the covid time when neither were present, we were rope dropping and getting as much time in the park as possible. I want to be able to starting using Genie+ from the beginning of the day until we are walking back to the Contemporary with the park shut down. That might not be your type of vacation, which is fine. But I am going to be using Genie+ the entire time, taking selections as they become available. You can to if you want, but you are choosing not to. Just like I don't get to tell you when to wake up, you don't get to tell me when I can start making ride selections. The system is built to give everyone equal opportunity to use it. How efficiently you do so is up to you.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

She was outwardly combative basically accusing me of lying about what I read. I have NEVER reported a bad cast interaction until that instance. It was awful. I’m sure it didn’t help there was a line of people asking for the same thing but it was an awful interaction.

I had that happen a few years back when trying to redeem dining credits. It was awful. My magic band wouldn't scan. I quickly opened my MDE account and was able to show proof of the dining credits, plus the confirmation email, plus my ID, but that didn't matter. She still insisted I was trying to steal food.

I politely asked to see a manager, but she refused. She just insisted I had to pay with a credit card, before our entrees had arrived. It was an odd meal.

 

[TQQQ]

No I just don't have an agenda. Nor do i like to wine and complain about the how choices I make when vacationing turn out. WDW is just like a concert, or any other service. There is a limited capacity and a potentially unlimited customer base/attendee base. You can't complain when you come late in the day if the tickets are all gone. Sure if there are some left, great. But if they sold out, you should have gotten their earlier. Nor can you complain when you decide to show up at a concert late and you missed half the set. You can be lazy all you want, but don't expect to get the same results, or same efficiency when you are choosing to not fully use the system.

As to your next point, I am not missing the point. You just don't seem to understand that WDW and the Genie+ system doesn't revolve around you. There were many people who complained about the inflexibility of FP+ and that they didn't want to pick ride time 60 days out from their trip. Full disclosure I was not one of them. I like planning out my trip. But for many, the flexibility of Genie+ is a better experience. For people who weren't staying on property, and didn't get the 60 day window to book FP, Genie+ is better than the left over scraps that were left after resort guests booked early. Again that didn't apply to me as we always stay on property, but that doesn't mean i can't and don't acknowledge Genie+ is actually fairer to everyone. You are also free to take as many breaks as you want, just as you could when you had FP. But I am also free to not take breaks and book as many Genie+ rides as I can fit in. The system is built to support BOTH, But you get what you put in. If i use the system for 12 hours and you use it for 6, of course its going to work better for me. But that's doesn't have to do with Genie+ being better or worse. Same for sleeping in. The system doesn't care if you want to sleep in or not. Not does Disney care if you want to sleep in. They system is set up for all guests.

So the main point is that the system works fine. The fact that it wasn't designed for you and you think the old way was better is irrelevant. No one but you cares about you. The system is designed to work for everyone.

Not true....Genie+ guest satisfaction numbers are in the 20% range........People dont like it.........There are plenty of other viable options that would work better where WDW could make their $ still, Genie+ isn't one of them

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

What's so funny to me is you refuse to accept that someone might have been able to use the system better than you.

Literally last night I showed the following screen shots:
At 6:08 a SDD for 8:25
At 7:16 a 730 mmrr and 7:35 rnrc
At 7:18 a 740 mfsr

Imagine a full 12 hour day of doing that. It's not hard to get a LL for everything in Epcot,DHS, or AK. Magic has so many attractions I would be impressed but I do think it's possible.

Touring plans notes there has been a big shift in availability. I'm wondering if the price increase has fewer people buying it.

Undercover Tourist lists this week as about a 5.5. A 5 day ticket starting on the 28th is $525, and that's over the weekend/Halloween. Thanksgiving week the price jumps to $564, Xmas is $570, while mid-Jan is only $8 less than this week. Actually, crowd calendar for JANUARY is mostly comparable to this week.

G+ and ILL passes are also much easier to obtain when the parks are less crowded. That was true of FP- and FP+ as well. With G+, I suspect there is an even bigger dropoff than there was under FP+ because FP+ was free.

Today Jungle Cruise is still available at 1pm, but that was not the case last spring. Last Spring Jungle Cruise was sold out for the day in less than an hour after the park opened. Severn Dwarfs is also still available. Wow! Space Mtn is currently available for a 1:10pm return time! SLINKY is available witha 2pm return time. That is crazy different from what we experienced. Last spring Slinky was gone for the entire day in less than 10 seconds.

I'm inclined to say skill has nothing to do with current ability to get return times.

But don't let me interrupt the AMoGing.

 

[TQQQ]

Touring plans notes there has been a big shift in availability. I'm wondering if the price increase has fewer people buying it.

Undercover Tourist lists this week as about a 5.5. A 5 day ticket starting on the 28th is $525, and that's over the weekend/Halloween. Thanksgiving week the price jumps to $564, Xmas is $570, while mid-Jan is only $8 less than this week. Actually, crowd calendar for JANUARY is mostly comparable to this week.

G+ and ILL passes are also much easier to obtain when the parks are less crowded. That was true of FP- and FP+ as well. With G+, I suspect there is an even bigger dropoff than there was under FP+ because FP+ was free.

Today Jungle Cruise is still available at 1pm, but that was not the case last spring. Last Spring Jungle Cruise was sold out for the day in less than an hour after the park opened. Severn Dwarfs is also still available. Wow! Space Mtn is currently available for a 1:10pm return time! SLINKY is available witha 2pm return time. That is crazy different from what we experienced. Last spring Slinky was gone for the entire day in less than 10 seconds.

I'm inclined to say skill has nothing to do with current ability to get return times.

But don't let me interrupt the AMoGing.

could they have reached saturation point with pricing where people are buying less because its too expensive?

I see in DL that ROTR ILL's dont even sell out at all........They were $30 pp the day i looked so for a family of 5, you pay $150 for 1 ride on top of the $750 it cost you to get in or you wait 45 mins........

DL waits arent nearly as bad as WDW

 

[Patcheslee]

Touring plans notes there has been a big shift in availability. I'm wondering if the price increase has fewer people buying it.

Undercover Tourist lists this week as about a 5.5. A 5 day ticket starting on the 28th is $525, and that's over the weekend/Halloween. Thanksgiving week the price jumps to $564, Xmas is $570, while mid-Jan is only $8 less than this week. Actually, crowd calendar for JANUARY is mostly comparable to this week.

G+ and ILL passes are also much easier to obtain when the parks are less crowded. That was true of FP- and FP+ as well. With G+, I suspect there is an even bigger dropoff than there was under FP+ because FP+ was free.

Today Jungle Cruise is still available at 1pm, but that was not the case last spring. Last Spring Jungle Cruise was sold out for the day in less than an hour after the park opened. Severn Dwarfs is also still available. Wow! Space Mtn is currently available for a 1:10pm return time! SLINKY is available witha 2pm return time. That is crazy different from what we experienced. Last spring Slinky was gone for the entire day in less than 10 seconds.

I'm inclined to say skill has nothing to do with current ability to get return times.

But don't let me interrupt the AMoGing.

It will be interesting to see when 2023 rolls around what it's like. No one will have pre-purchased Genie+ so the "might as well use it since I bought it" guests will no longer influence availability.

 

[Ayla]

Touring plans notes there has been a big shift in availability. I'm wondering if the price increase has fewer people buying it.

Undercover Tourist lists this week as about a 5.5. A 5 day ticket starting on the 28th is $525, and that's over the weekend/Halloween. Thanksgiving week the price jumps to $564, Xmas is $570, while mid-Jan is only $8 less than this week. Actually, crowd calendar for JANUARY is mostly comparable to this week.

G+ and ILL passes are also much easier to obtain when the parks are less crowded. That was true of FP- and FP+ as well. With G+, I suspect there is an even bigger dropoff than there was under FP+ because FP+ was free.

Today Jungle Cruise is still available at 1pm, but that was not the case last spring. Last Spring Jungle Cruise was sold out for the day in less than an hour after the park opened. Severn Dwarfs is also still available. Wow! Space Mtn is currently available for a 1:10pm return time! SLINKY is available witha 2pm return time. That is crazy different from what we experienced. Last spring Slinky was gone for the entire day in less than 10 seconds.

I'm inclined to say skill has nothing to do with current ability to get return times.

But don't let me interrupt the AMoGing.

Orrrr, they are releasing more availability so the ratio of G+ to standby is even more off.

 

[DCBaker]

could they have reached saturation point with pricing where people are buying less because its too expensive?

I see in DL that ROTR ILL's dont even sell out at all........They were $30 pp the day i looked so for a family of 5, you pay $150 for 1 ride on top of the $750 it cost you to get in or you wait 45 mins........

DL waits arent nearly as bad as WDW

Rise of the Resistance hasn't gone above $25 in Disneyland since the price increase.

 

[arich35]

What's so funny to me is you refuse to accept that someone might have been able to use the system better than you.

Literally last night I showed the following screen shots:
At 6:08 a SDD for 8:25
At 7:16 a 730 mmrr and 7:35 rnrc
At 7:18 a 740 mfsr

Imagine a full 12 hour day of doing that. It's not hard to get a LL for everything in Epcot,DHS, or AK. Magic has so many attractions I would be impressed but I do think it's possible.

Would like to see if Epcot has the same success with refreshing for Frozen/Remy/Test Track

 

[TQQQ]

Rise of the Resistance hasn't gone above $25 in Disneyland since the price increase.

you are correct, i meant Genie+, not ROTR

 

[Purduevian]

Would like to see if Epcot has the same success with refreshing for Frozen/Remy/Test Track

Challenge accepted starting this at 3:26.

Update: got TT to pop up twice in the 10ish mins I looked. It's for later tonight but not bad for after 3:30.

 

[UNCgolf]

Challenge accepted starting this at 3:26.

Update: got TT to pop up twice in the 10ish mins I looked. It's for later tonight but not bad for after 3:30.

If you book the 8:10 Test Track that means you can't get another Genie+ essentially for the rest of the day, though, right?

Or are they currently still doing the 2 hour thing? I know there were rumblings that was going to eventually go away and eliminate the ability to stack but not sure if it has.

 

[DisneyDebRob]

Thank you for reminding me to watch that classic again. Haven’t watched it in about 2 years.. it’s time!

 

[Purduevian]

If you book the 8:10 Test Track that means you can't get another Genie+ essentially for the rest of the day, though, right?

Or are they currently still doing the 2 hour thing? I know there were rumblings that was going to eventually go away and eliminate the ability to stack but not sure if it has.

2 hour rule! Good to book another around 5:30pm. Depends where you are and what you are doing if this is acceptable. I hit the 2 hour rule once each day.