Fido Chuckwagon
Well-Known Member
Also time of day matters. You take a picture in between Peter Pan and the Rapunzel bathrooms at MK on a crowd level 1 day at noon and it’s going to look pretty crowded.
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Disney Genie and Genie+ at Walt Disney World
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
allgiggles
Well-Known Member
This is exactly how I look at it. Time is money. On our trip in June 2022 (our first with G+/ILL), the amount we spent on G+/ILL (for 4 adults) was a little less than 7% of the total cost of our trip (including travel and souvenirs) and we felt it was well worth the cost for us. Our previous trip was in 2018 and we had 3 trips cancelled due to Covid. We had a lot of new stuff to see on the 2022 trip. We knew that we would probably have to skip a few "classics" in order to have time to do all of the new stuff a well as our "must do" rides. We were there for 8 days and thanks to G+/ILL, we had more time to relax in our room or at the pool than we've ever had before. We were a party of 11 including a 5 month old baby on that trip -- we moved slowly.
And despite the parks being pretty crowded (compared to all of the other times we've been there the same week), we not only got to do all of the new things, but we hit all of our must do's *and* classics...many of them twice. I know a lot of people don't like the constant nickel & diming (I don't either), but I prefer to go to Disney less often and take advantage of G+/ILL to make our trips more efficient. I've had people tell me that (as an example) 7DMT isn't worth a $10 ILL (or whatever it happens to cost that day) -- you can ride it with a relatively short wait at rope drop. I agree. 7DMT isn't worth $10. However, buying an ILL for $10 so I can ride 3 other rides in that 30 minutes of EE time and then ride 7DMT later in the day with a 5 minute wait is totally worth $10 to me. I don't *want* G+ to cost $50, but if/when it hits that price point, I still would probably buy it at least one day at each park. We're heading back to Disney in a few months and I know G+ won't be $15/day (which we were able to purchase for the length of stay prior to arrival in 2018) like our last trip, but I will still buy it probably every day (I'm assuming it will be $30-35 or less per day while we're there).
surfsupdon
Well-Known Member
You are correct. Time IS money.
We paid extra to stay at Royal Pacific at Universal and walked onto every ride we wanted (except for one) any time and every time we wanted. Phones stayed in our bag for the most part. It was splendid and a welcome change. Keep doing your Disney Math for justification. They encourage that.
We paid extra to stay at Royal Pacific at Universal and walked onto every ride we wanted (except for one) any time and every time we wanted. Phones stayed in our bag for the most part. It was splendid and a welcome change. Keep doing your Disney Math for justification. They encourage that.
IMO, this is another reason why Express Pass at Universal is a better system since it doesn't require you to be on your phone.
The time and often headaches included with using G+ can be annoying.
Dranth
Well-Known Member
So, paying an extra $200 to $300 per night to stay at Royal Pacific vs. something like Cabana Bay is justified for the line skipping, but an extra $80-$120 a day for a family of four for G+ is not?You are correct. Time IS money.
We paid extra to stay at Royal Pacific at Universal and walked onto every ride we wanted (except for one) any time and every time we wanted. Phones stayed in our bag for the most part. It was splendid and a welcome change. Keep doing your Disney Math for justification. They encourage that.
I don't see much difference to be honest. One is a better system but you pay more, the other is cheaper and more accessible to more people but is restricted in usage.
I personally prefer the way express pass works but it is only a "good deal" if you were going to stay in a top-level hotel anyway. If you don't, you are paying more than $200-$300 per person during the busier times when you would actually need it and that is just the single ride version. The unlimited gets up to $350 per person.
Bottom line, at least for me, Express Pass is a great deal on busy days if you happen to get a reservation for one of the hotels that include it, but for most guests to skip the line on those days they'll pay between $800-$1200 for a family of four. With G+ on the same busy day, that family will pay $160. Also, for anyone who wants to brings up ILL, I prefer having the option to buy an ILL vs. the Uni method of having rides not included with Express Pass and having no option.
Disstevefan1
Well-Known Member
I can’t speak for the guests using it, but Disney has got to LOVE the MONEY coming in from Genie+ and ILL!
GhostHost1000
Premium Member
Which might be why they aren’t rushing to build more attractions. The more people think they need to use it they’ll pay for it and Disney laughs all the way to the bank
Disstevefan1
Well-Known Member
Both Genie and Express pass cost money. It "feels better" to get it "free" when staying at the deluxe resorts, knowing I am paying more for the room.
I love with Express pass, you just get in the express pass line as you wish; total freedom.
As we know with Genie+ this is just a form of the previously free Fastpass+ where you are a slave to the return time.
This is not to put down anyone purchasing Genie+ and ILL as we MUST purchase them. Disney gives us no choice if you want to get on more than two of three standby attractions in a day without it.
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Disstevefan1
Well-Known Member
100 percent correct. I think its more than folks "think" they need it. Its a fact they need it, its almost a requirement now.
Disney wins again.
GhostHost1000
Premium Member
surfsupdon
Well-Known Member
It is justified for you, correct. But it is not justified for us. I am glad we each have options, though.
UNCgolf
Well-Known Member
You are correct. Time IS money.
We paid extra to stay at Royal Pacific at Universal and walked onto every ride we wanted (except for one) any time and every time we wanted. Phones stayed in our bag for the most part. It was splendid and a welcome change. Keep doing your Disney Math for justification. They encourage that.
The Royal Pacific is a nice hotel (we enjoyed staying there) and the included Express Pass is phenomenal.
The problem is that Universal and WDW aren't interchangeable. They're completely different experiences; you could enjoy Disney but find almost nothing worth doing at Universal, and vice versa.
Weird. I could have sworn we did far more than two or three standby lines last month when we were there. Without Genie-.
Dranth
Well-Known Member
I agree Express Pass feels better and it would be great if Disney did something similar for it's Deluxe resorts but there are just too many rooms and let's be fair here, there would be a TON of people upset if Disney tried something like that so I doubt they ever go there.
As for G+, it is more annoying to use but is cheaper, that is the trade off. Yes, I know we got a version for free with FP+ but it was even more planning, more restrictive (tiers), had less flexibility and was entirely unsustainable.
The system could certainly use some more tweaks and fixes but, given what it costs and what it is, it isn't that bad.
Disstevefan1
Well-Known Member
It would be interesting to see "standby only" data throughout the year.
I am sure there are days folks can go on more of the no, or low demand attractions.
But what you say gives folks hope and that's good!
Dranth
Well-Known Member
Fair, and we all have our own personal limits. Uni including EP in some hotels also makes it hard to compare the two. If you are in one of those rooms, it is generally a great deal, if you are not, not so much.
For instance, I'll pay for G+ on a mid to high level day for attendance (in MK or DHS) but would never pay for Express Pass as an addon. If Uni is so busy I need it, I would rather just not go if I couldn't get a room that included it. To me, the hundreds of dollars per person to skip lines seems out there vs. tens of dollars for us (just two of us normally). Other people will assign a different value to their time and I have no problem with that.
Where I do question is when people get upset over G+ vs. Express Pass when G+ is objectively cheaper. I guess I just don't expect the same level of freedom and ease of use with a significantly cheaper service.
Disstevefan1
Well-Known Member
I too am glad we have options, like Universal Orlando.
People are now conditioned to think they need it.