Are you buying Genie+

[Ayla]

I wonder.. what is everyone's breaking point before purchasing genie +. If I notice most things over 45 min I'm buying it if it gets us on in a timely manner aka once in LL I'm on within 10 min.

The rub is if you purchase it at midnight the night before (as they're so generously willing to let you do) you have no idea what the lines will look like at time of usage.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I wonder.. what is everyone's breaking point before purchasing genie +. If I notice most things over 45 min I'm buying it if it gets us on in a timely manner aka once in LL I'm on within 10 min.

I'm absolutely going to use it for every Magic Kingdom day. I'll wait and see how it plays out in the other parks.

 

[Dayma]

We plan on using the system extensively. I personally like some of the flexibility it will offer us personally.
I understand that it's not financially feasible or liked by others though.

 

[UNCgolf]

No one is cancelling their Disney trip over a $15 charge. I won't believe it unless you post proof.

The problem is that it's not really a $15 charge. Even if you're solo, it would be $75 for 5 days. That's not the real issue, though -- the real issue is for families. A couple with four kids is looking at an additional $90 a day or $450 over 5 days. That's real money. Of course you don't have to buy it every day, but you'd probably want to if you're there at the busier times.

I still don't think many people are going to cancel their trips, but framing it as just an additional $15 is misleading.

 

[Smooth]

 

[eliza61nyc]

Question, not sure if I'm understanding this correctly. Can you purchase the fp for upper tiered rides independent of the Genie +option?

So instead of the 15 bucks per person could you just pay for the fp say to Tron or is it in conjunction with Genie +?

 

[Muffinpants]

Question, not sure if I'm understanding this correctly. Can you purchase the fp for upper tiered rides independent of the Genie +option?

So instead of the 15 bucks per person could you just pay for the fp say to Tron or is it in conjunction with Genie +?

the IA pass is sperate from the genie+ system, so you can buy RotR without getting Genie+

 

[SteveAZee]

Question, not sure if I'm understanding this correctly. Can you purchase the fp for upper tiered rides independent of the Genie +option?

So instead of the 15 bucks per person could you just pay for the fp say to Tron or is it in conjunction with Genie +?

What I've heard a few times here is that Genie is free, but needed to get the IAS. Genie+ is $15/day.

 

[MikeyK72]

I wonder what happens when you buy it and there are no openings...

Probably the same thing that happens when you buy a $120 day admission to learn that you get tossed at 7pm because of a Halloween or Xmas party...you get screwed.

 

[Malfie Cent]

I am not opposed to paying for front of the line access in general, I've done it at other theme parks.
I would rather it be a set dollar amount for all rides and the ability to use it throughout the day as many times as you want. Even better would be to include it with a resort stay to woo me back to onsite.
As Genie + stands now it isn't something I'd be willing to pay extra for, especially in certain parks. I'm not going to pay extra to have the privilege of being assigned a single ride time for some tier 2 rides. What was once free is now being charged for, and I'm sure Disney is going to continue to increase ticket prices.
I don't like when a company takes something away and then brings it back at a cost and then tries to make it out to be some great benefit to the customer now. And yes I know Disney doesn't owe anyone anything, but giving a free service to guests for decades and then taking it away and then charging for the same thing is just crappy. Then trying to wrap it up as a gift to people is just down right ty.


If you want me to be excited about a paid for benefit then keep fast passes the way they were and offer an unlimited front of the line pass for all rides at a price, even a premium one.

 

[SteveAZee]

If you want me to be excited about a paid for benefit then keep fast passes the way they were and offer an unlimited front of the line pass for all rides at a price, even a premium one.

Isn't the second part the VIP tours? I've never done one, so I don't know.

 

[Malfie Cent]

Isn't the second part the VIP tours? I've never done one, so I don't know.

No a VIP tour is a guided tour with a minimum amount of hours (7) you have to book. According to what I can find it's by the hour and prices can range from about $500 to $850 an hour.
That isn't really what I was talking about.

 

[SteveAZee]

No a VIP tour is a guided tour with a minimum amount of hours (7) you have to book. According to what I can find it's by the hour and prices can range from about $500 to $850 an hour.
That isn't really what I was talking about.

OK... It seemed like you thought having unlimited 'front of the line' access for a premium price would be good to have, but it seemed like the VIP thing was a solution that already exists for that.

 

[Gartdog]

I am a long-time devotee of Disney Parks (just came back from WDW a few weeks ago). I love the parks not just as a vacation destination, but view them as living, always changing and evolving works of art. I am the kind of person who dreams of retiring near WDW and spending days just enjoying being there. But this is the first time in my life that I have felt this sort of anger and disappointment in Disney.

The sad truth is that all of us saying we won’t go back to Disney because of these new changes is exactly what Disney wants. They have watched for decades as attendance increased by huge amounts every year, and park expansion lagged behind it, to the point that the parks are overwhelmed with guests. They have done a marvelous job with making amazing new E-ticket rides (Rise of the Resistance and Flight of Passage are extraordinary), but they have not been built to handle the capacity they demand, and for every great E-ticket, we are placated with an unimaginative spinning carnival ride that is not indicative of what Disney is capable of (think Cars Land – Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree, and Toy Story Land – Alien Swirling Saucers). This is a cheap way to create a place to stick people, while offering very little in terms of guest experience.

They now have a few options to handle the increased attendance:

• Greatly limit the number of guests allowed each day (which decreases revenue if they keep costs the same)
• Aggressively expand the parks to accommodate more guests (not feasible due to cost and time – they should have been doing this all along and now that they are behind the curve, it will be nearly impossible to catch up)
• Increase costs to price out lower income guests (Disney makes the same amount with less guests, guests who can afford the increased costs have a better experience due to lower crowds, and Disney saves by not needing to pay as many Cast Members to staff the parks)

So us average guests are completely disrespected by Disney because they have spent decades mis-managing crowd control and now have almost no choice but to weed out less-profitable guests or take less money for themselves. And you Annual Passholders are getting it even worse. I really feel bad for APs – Disney clearly understands that APs take up space in the parks and don’t overspend on food and souvenirs, and Disney hates it.

The disrespect continues:

• Canceling Magic Express
• No more free Magic bands
• Evening Magic Hours for Deluxe Resort Guests only
• Decreased hours on a day when you continue to pay full price so Disney can charge more than a day’s admission to the guests for an after-hours party.
• Drastic cuts in live entertainment, including parades and night-time shows (remember the days when MK fireworks were twice a night with a light parade in-between? Hard to believe this was a thing)
• Pay-to-ride Fast Passes, paid access to a Fast Pass system that doesn’t include the rides you need Fast Passes for, and an algorithm to “minimize your time in line” which is really just a Disney tool for crowd control, all packaged as though this is all being done for the guest’s benefit.
• Building rides that have mid to low capacity but will demand big crowds, charging admission to see them, then just being ok with well below half the day’s guests not getting to experience them.
• Using COVID as an excuse to cut services, and especially as an excuse to cut Cast Member jobs.

I believe in Capitalism – if you have a product or idea that people will pay for then it is your absolute right to charge what you can get for it. And I wholly believe that Disney does not owe us a thing, no matter how loyal we have all been as customers over the years. In the end, though, the word I keep coming back to is disrespect. I’ve always understood and been totally settled with Disney being a company that could market their products like no other and really squeeze every cent out of a revenue source, but I feel like they always did so by being innovative, prioritizing the customer in ways that the competition did not, and constantly offering the highest quality product. They are still innovative when they need to be, but then they pad their numbers with less-than quality attractions (carnival-style rides and recycled rides like the Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind). But sadly now the customer service and product quality are just so far down the list of priorities that is has become insulting. We are asked to pay more for less hours, less entertainment, and then are hustled to pay additional fees on top of the admission price, all while Disney pitches it as a benefit which we have the “opportunity” to take advantage of.

It’s disrespectful. And for the first time in my life, I don’t know that I will be back. It makes me sad, but that’s just how Disney wants it.

 

[Malfie Cent]

OK... It seemed like you thought having unlimited 'front of the line' access for a premium price would be good to have, but it seemed like the VIP thing was a solution that already exists for that.

It is for those who want a guided tour of backstage stuff and a schedule to follow. I don't care about any of that. Also, the extra $3500 to $5,950 might be worth it for all that to some, it is definitely too much of a premium to pay if I am just doing it for front of the line access to rides. I'm willing to pay a premium, but it has to be a premium within reason. I mean I love Disney but no amount of rides is worth that much more on top of what I'm already paying.

 

[NickMaio]

I am a long-time devotee of Disney Parks (just came back from WDW a few weeks ago). I love the parks not just as a vacation destination, but view them as living, always changing and evolving works of art. I am the kind of person who dreams of retiring near WDW and spending days just enjoying being there. But this is the first time in my life that I have felt this sort of anger and disappointment in Disney.

The sad truth is that all of us saying we won’t go back to Disney because of these new changes is exactly what Disney wants. They have watched for decades as attendance increased by huge amounts every year, and park expansion lagged behind it, to the point that the parks are overwhelmed with guests. They have done a marvelous job with making amazing new E-ticket rides (Rise of the Resistance and Flight of Passage are extraordinary), but they have not been built to handle the capacity they demand, and for every great E-ticket, we are placated with an unimaginative spinning carnival ride that is not indicative of what Disney is capable of (think Cars Land – Mater’s Junkyard Jamboree, and Toy Story Land – Alien Swirling Saucers). This is a cheap way to create a place to stick people, while offering very little in terms of guest experience.

They now have a few options to handle the increased attendance:

• Greatly limit the number of guests allowed each day (which decreases revenue if they keep costs the same)
• Aggressively expand the parks to accommodate more guests (not feasible due to cost and time – they should have been doing this all along and now that they are behind the curve, it will be nearly impossible to catch up)
• Increase costs to price out lower income guests (Disney makes the same amount with less guests, guests who can afford the increased costs have a better experience due to lower crowds, and Disney saves by not needing to pay as many Cast Members to staff the parks)

So us average guests are completely disrespected by Disney because they have spent decades mis-managing crowd control and now have almost no choice but to weed out less-profitable guests or take less money for themselves. And you Annual Passholders are getting it even worse. I really feel bad for APs – Disney clearly understands that APs take up space in the parks and don’t overspend on food and souvenirs, and Disney hates it.

The disrespect continues:

• Canceling Magic Express
• No more free Magic bands
• Evening Magic Hours for Deluxe Resort Guests only
• Decreased hours on a day when you continue to pay full price so Disney can charge more than a day’s admission to the guests for an after-hours party.
• Drastic cuts in live entertainment, including parades and night-time shows (remember the days when MK fireworks were twice a night with a light parade in-between? Hard to believe this was a thing)
• Pay-to-ride Fast Passes, paid access to a Fast Pass system that doesn’t include the rides you need Fast Passes for, and an algorithm to “minimize your time in line” which is really just a Disney tool for crowd control, all packaged as though this is all being done for the guest’s benefit.
• Building rides that have mid to low capacity but will demand big crowds, charging admission to see them, then just being ok with well below half the day’s guests not getting to experience them.
• Using COVID as an excuse to cut services, and especially as an excuse to cut Cast Member jobs.

I believe in Capitalism – if you have a product or idea that people will pay for then it is your absolute right to charge what you can get for it. And I wholly believe that Disney does not owe us a thing, no matter how loyal we have all been as customers over the years. In the end, though, the word I keep coming back to is disrespect. I’ve always understood and been totally settled with Disney being a company that could market their products like no other and really squeeze every cent out of a revenue source, but I feel like they always did so by being innovative, prioritizing the customer in ways that the competition did not, and constantly offering the highest quality product. They are still innovative when they need to be, but then they pad their numbers with less-than quality attractions (carnival-style rides and recycled rides like the Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind). But sadly now the customer service and product quality are just so far down the list of priorities that is has become insulting. We are asked to pay more for less hours, less entertainment, and then are hustled to pay additional fees on top of the admission price, all while Disney pitches it as a benefit which we have the “opportunity” to take advantage of.

It’s disrespectful. And for the first time in my life, I don’t know that I will be back. It makes me sad, but that’s just how Disney wants it.

I agree...its the so called benefit that really burns us s a WDW fans.
Look at this great new feature we have for you........
It's just too much too fast.

 

[twilight mitsuk]

 

[Mark Dunne]

Doubtfull, they paid a lot if money for this addition and software, they WILL use it and see what happens.

Then its power to the people, if we stick together, and use the stand by queues only, painful yes but it would make a stand, then they make think twice,

 

[John park hopper]

Never happen in this me first culture

 

[Mark Dunne]

You bring up another aspect of it that I can identify with. I am blessed enough to be able to afford it, but it is not worth the hassle to me. I remember the pre smart phone integration days where I used to leave my cell phone in my car before a day at the parks. Those were some of the most care free days in my life. I was in the Disney bubble and no person from the outside world was going to bother me while I was there.

I just don't think being tied to the Genie/schedule and my phone is any fun while on vacation. I am not sure that others who can afford it will enjoy this level of planning either. It simply is not fun.

My wife and i were sitting in our garden last night, and she turned round to me and said '' wouldn't it be nice to go to WDW and NOT keep looking at your phones for 10-12hrs a day'' , the kids are going to love this, parents not so much i think , we are lucky we visit from the uk, and try to go for 7 night stays, so we may be lucky enough to afford it for a shorter time, but i still don't want to pay for entrance, pay for genie plus, then pay for ROTR, or REME'S ride at Epcot, that's a 3 tier pay system, that is bonkers !!!, i cant say we wont go again, we love it over there, but its gonna hit family's big time. it a real shame this announcement .