Disney Genie and Genie+ at Walt Disney World

[Zeromancer]

When they announced lightning lane i did not mind it,. Now while waiting in frozen ever after for 3hours when the bloody wait was supposed to be 90 min is just ridiculous.
We are standing still for more then 15 min(timed it) and they were ONLY boarding lightning lane riders. is this disney !

 

[SourcererMark79]

Question for those of you who have previously traveled during super busy times such as Thanksgiving or Christmas- how successful we’re you at booking 3 FP+ for rides and times you wanted? We’ve only gone during moderate times so obviously never had an issue. Since Genie+ is a paid service, to me it seems logical to think you should be able to use it better than FP+. Meaning at least 3 rides you want and maybe a bonus 4th ride. It seems like the last few days, that’s not nearly the case. That would be the big issue for me. Not necessarily paying but paying and getting less than what was previously free.

As in booking FP+ 30 or 60 days out or day of? As a passho*e we would book a couple in the window before day of. Sometimes on the day of Thanksgiving while I was driving the two hours from home my wife would "pound the app". Often we would grab a BTMRR or Space Mtn, maybe HM or Buzz as well. If queuing for even 20 or 30 min one of us would get another decent FP+ within an hour.

 

[DisneyDreamer08]

As in booking FP+ 30 or 60 days out or day of? As a passho*e we would book a couple in the window before day of. Sometimes on the day of Thanksgiving while I was driving the two hours from home my wife would "pound the app". Often we would grab a BTMRR or Space Mtn, maybe HM or Buzz as well. If queuing for even 20 or 30 min one of us would get another decent FP+ within an hour.

Good point, I guess I was thinking 60 days out. I don’t remember a ride ever being completely unavailable 60 days out. Maybe 30 days but even then with some refreshing and fiddling, I feel like you could get something to pop up.

 

[Thepuma]

I think this is where you and I differ. While I know the parks well enough and generally can game plan around whatever Disney management throws at me, I have *always* accepted I am just a wallet to Disney.

They are a major billion dollar corporation, beholden to their shareholders. It may have been different once upon a time, but it’s simply not reality now. I recognize that. And while I still enjoy their product and haven’t reached that line where I don’t wish to pay anymore, it’d be naive to think Disney cares about me beyond what dollars I give to them.

And their brand power is still pretty impeccable, so while they may be losing some fans with these changes, I’m not convinced it will necessarily have substantial impact. I take care of many small patients and to say that Disney still gets ingrained from the beginning would be an understatement. There are always more people to step on the Disney Train.

(Please don’t take this as me saying I don’t want Disney to do better. I very much do. But I try to also be accepting of what their business model currently is and work within it to enjoy myself.)

To be fair...coming from a Brit who (pre pandemic) travelled halfway across the globe 3 times a year to do holidays strictly theme parks and split Disney/Universal 70/30 for our stays....we are horrified at this Genie LL Plus.. Extra...bonus...Lanes...yadda yadda rubbish...we are halfway across the Atlantic on a 777 and are actually dreading our Disney Days on the upcoming 2 weeks. It's going to cost a hell of lot more (not a huge problem) to get a Hell of a lot less (the big gripe) AND a heck of a lot more hassle (biggest gripe)

Infact...me and my wife have said enough is enough and after this holiday we will no longer be visiting Orlando...really said as its always been a place we've adored and looked forward too. But I'm afraid Disney has pretty much spoilt all that...and yes, we may be in the minority) but we are voting with our feet and bailing out.

We are landing in 30 minutes and hoping to get to Epcot....ive given up any though of getting on any rides..but will admire the fireworks I guess.

Disney has ruined it for us...and I'm sure many many others.

The only positive for us is that by Disney pushing us away, we can explore the rest of the world and spend our money elsewhere.

At least that's 2 more lighting lanes available for everyone else...lol

 

[Thepuma]

Good point, I guess I was thinking 60 days out. I don’t remember a ride ever being completely unavailable 60 days out. Maybe 30 days but even then with some refreshing and fiddling, I feel like you could get something to pop up.

I used to absolutely love setting a reminder and ( during work hours due to the time difference in uk) waiting for the clock to hit the our and frantically placing my 3 FP for the park in 30 days...it gave us a plan for the day. Now its just all over the place and a big disaster.

On topic....in the 30 day window we could never get FOP,SDD or SDMT

 

[arich35]

I wish there was an easy way to switch Genie+ selections. If I get on and I get SDD for 4 PM but 30 min later there is one for 12 PM, by the time I cancel the other one it will be gone.

 

[Thepuma]

I tried looking to see if this has been discussed recently, but was unable to find anything, so my apologies if it has been asked before....

Given the issues with G+ LL running out so early with crowds increasing as they have this week (and will likely continue to do throughout the holidays) does anyone else think TWDC will be raising the price of Genie+ soon?

Genie Plus no...but I bet LL+ will increase soon...expect $25 for ROTR, SDMT and FOP

 

[LovePop]

ROTR sold out in 30 seconds or less every day this week.............they could raise ILL for Rise to $100 pp and people would still pay it

I believe $100 is it. People are not going to pay more than $100. But really, whatever it takes! It's bidding. If somebody wants to pay, why not take their money? Disney can use the money to build more rides.

 

[LovePop]

Yes I agree. I think what’s going on is, when it’s busy, it’s not worth it and when it’s slow, you don’t need it.

let’s see how guest behavior is over the next 18 months.

my guess is this fails way sooner than FP+ did

I am totally going only during lowest crowds, then buy Genie+. That way, I'm guaranteed to go on a ton of rides in a day.

 

[Thepuma]

The only way I see any paid fast passes working is if they make it like Universal...so expensive that it's not an option for 99% of visitors...say $200 per day.

That way the normal lines will go quicker and Disney will still make more money and it p@sses less people off...win win for almost everyone.

 

[LovePop]

The focus on Disney+ is logical to some extent. Streaming is the future. But it also feels a lot like Wall Streets myopic obsession with China, driven as much by collective belief as by sober evaluation.

And Disney+‘s main selling point, it’s advantage over Peacock or Apple or what have you, is that Disney name. And that Disney name means primarily two things - animation and theme parks. Ultimately, that’s the brand. And that’s what Wall Street doesn’t get - they think it can be Star Wars and Marvel, or that it’s just a name like Paramount or Universal.

On another note, I love Marvel and Star Wars, but that can’t be the extent of their content if they want to be Netflix. They’re going to have move way out of their comfort zone, expand beyond family only content. And they’re going to need to fix the Marvel stuff - I’ve enjoyed Loki, WV, and Hawkeye, but other then possibly the first six episodes of Wanda, they haven’t cracked the streaming model the way they’ve cracked film. They don’t feel as tight or polished.
They also feel cheaper, despite big stars and promises of spending equivalent to the films.

I don't understand Disney+. I don't believe it will ever turn a profit. Right now it's helping Disney stock go up, but eventually it will have to cough up some healthy numbers. It can't just be promising forever.

 

[SourcererMark79]

Good point, I guess I was thinking 60 days out. I don’t remember a ride ever being completely unavailable 60 days out. Maybe 30 days but even then with some refreshing and fiddling, I feel like you could get something to pop up.

At 60+ SDD, FOP, 7DMT and even FEA occasionally would be N/A. At 30 days we had some success, but each day closer to day 0 would allow for changes,l and cancellations that would pay dividends to those who wouldn't mind taking 5 min on a lunch break to pound the app just to see what comes up.

LL crams everyone into now now now so whatever openings are displayed it's like black Friday used to be at the mall.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

At 60+ SDD, FOP, 7DMT and even FEA occasionally would be N/A. At 30 days we had some success, but each day closer to day 0 would allow for changes,l and cancellations that would pay dividends to those who wouldn't mind taking 5 min on a lunch break to pound the app just to see what comes up.

LL crams everyone into now now now so whatever openings are displayed it's like black Friday used to be at the mall.

Persistance used to pay off, now it’s all about being first.

90% of the time I could get the FPs or ADRs we wanted if I just kept checking every day.

 

[FeelsSoGoodToBeBad]

Genie Plus no...but I bet LL+ will increase soon...expect $25 for ROTR, SDMT and FOP

I believe $100 is it. People are not going to pay more than $100. But really, whatever it takes! It's bidding. If somebody wants to pay, why not take their money? Disney can use the money to build more rides.

I can see $25/pp for an ILL or $100/pp for Genie+ at some point, but I don't see them successfully charging $100/pp for a ride that lasts a matter of minutes. They already have the VIP tours, which essentially do the same thing. Having an entire separate system that charges that much for a single ride feels redundant. But who can say anymore?

 

[Thepuma]

What I don't really understand is why they got rid of FP+

It was fair...everyone got 3 initially then 1 at a time after that. It didn't benefit those with more money and it just appeared more 'Disney' ie FAIR.

All this Genie + and LL+ does is immediately increase profits while weakening the brand.

Yes...in the short term (12 to 18 months) Disney will still see record numbers..thats because we lost the ability during the lockdowns and people from Europe are just starting to be allowed back.

I say give it 18 months and Disney will see numbers drop.

 

[lazyboy97o]

What I don't really understand is why they got rid of FP+

It didn’t work, just like Ops said it wouldn’t.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

What I don't really understand is why they got rid of FP+

It was fair...everyone got 3 initially then 1 at a time after that. It didn't benefit those with more money and it just appeared more 'Disney' ie FAIR.

All this Genie + and LL+ does is immediately increase profits while weakening the brand.

Yes...in the short term (12 to 18 months) Disney will still see record numbers..thats because we lost the ability during the lockdowns and people from Europe are just starting to be allowed back.

I say give it 18 months and Disney will see numbers drop.

It’s a way to drastically raise prices without drastically raising prices.

Personally I’d rather they jack up the prices and keep a higher quality product rather than offering less at the same price but I’m not at my breaking point yet, once they reach my price threshold I’ll probably agree it’s better to have a premium experience (you pay extra for) and a lessor experience (ticket only) rather than no experience at all because I’m priced out.

 

[Patcheslee]

The only way I see any paid fast passes working is if they make it like Universal...so expensive that it's not an option for 99% of visitors...say $200 per day.

That way the normal lines will go quicker and Disney will still make more money and it p@sses less people off...win win for almost everyone.

Think it would be a flop even that way. You figure with Uni there's 2 parks that with the ExpressPass, people are able to ride everything in a day due to proximity and offerings. It's nothing to hop between the two even multiple times.
Take that to Disney, relying on Disney transportation, hopping is still a time suck. People would be looking at value by individual park or maybe 2 in a day and some parks don't have a $200 value.

 

[Jeff4272]

I am totally going only during lowest crowds, then buy Genie+. That way, I'm guaranteed to go on a ton of rides in a day.

You won’t need genie during the slow times

 

[TimeTrip]

What I don't really understand is why they got rid of FP+

It was fair...everyone got 3 initially then 1 at a time after that. It didn't benefit those with more money and it just appeared more 'Disney' ie FAIR.

But it did benefit those with more money. If you were staying at a Disney resort (which are significantly more expensive than non Disney), you had an advantage and benefit to get high demand FP+ such as SDD and FoP. IMO part of disneys play was to level the playing field for those not paying a large upcharge for staying at a Disney resort.

ETA:. Meant to say SDMT instead of SDD. I'm not sure how often FP+ for SDD was gone by 30 days out.