Disney Genie and Genie+ at Walt Disney World

[GoofGoof]

No. The end of the booking window could just be extended by one day to {current date + 3 + length of ticket} each day at 7 am (with a max date of 14 days from the ticket start). So each day you'd be able to book one more day past the initial length of ticket days. This is similar to how FP+ worked for off-site guests - each day, the end of your booking window was extended by one day - the only difference is that under LL-MP the initial booking window would be # of ticket days instead of one day. There's plenty of evidence that G+ just modified the existing FP+ code, so it's not a stretch to think that LL-MP off-site booking could work similarly to FP+.


Again, you're making assumptions.

Off-property is length of ticket, but on-property is length of stay. So on-property guests can book non-consecutive days as long as they have a hotel booked for more nights than they have tickets. The scenario of the off-site guests who use their tickets non-consecutively is what developers would call an edge case (possibly even a corner case) and as such would be deemed not worth the effort and expense to accommodate.

The system has to set an end for the booking window. For on-property guests it's simple - check out date; but for off-property guests, the only real options would be a sliding window like FP+ based on the length of their ticket or a fixed 14 days from their ticket start date. They're not going to limit on-property guests to the length of their stay, but then give all off-site guests a wide-open 14 day window regardless of the length of their ticket.

I guarantee you that "length of ticket" was in the design requirements for off-site guest bookings, so if it were to be implemented the way you're speculating, someone would have had to ignore that design requirement to explicitly implement a fixed 14-day window for off site guests. However, testing would show that the end of the booking window and the max available date are always the same date in every scenario for off-site guests regardless of the length of the ticket and it would get flagged as an issue pretty quickly. If it actually gets implemented the way you think it will, several people messed up.

This is coming from nearly 30 years of development experience.

I’m not an expert, I honestly have no idea how this will work and I hope there isn’t an obvious loophole to exploit. I was just thinking the easiest way to apply this for date based tickets would be to open the window 3 days before your ticket date and leave it open for the length of the ticket use window (which would be 14 days for a 10 day ticket). So if I buy a 10 day ticket with a date of August 4th then my booking window would open August 1st and be open for any of the 14 days from August 4th to August 18th (which are the days my park ticket is valid to use) but I would be limited to making reservations on 10 of those days. I don’t think it would be a fixed 14 day window for any length ticket, that was just my example based on a 10 day ticket. If the ticket is valid for less days the window would be less.

It also works to just open a 10 day window with a 10 day ticket and then each day extend it another day until you reach 14 days. That’s just slightly more of a hassle, not that they are likely to care much about that.

 

[JAB]

The new system (and pre-booking) starts on July 24th for everyone.

It's going to be a mad dash for LL on the 24th.

At least for the people aware of the switch. There's probably going to be even more people who are just confused as to why they can't buy Genie+.

 

[RealBlast3]

Nobody screwed in this case.

I think you are screwed in the sense if you are already there in Disney World on vacation and you have however many days left on your trip, let's say 7, for example, your Vacation is now interrupted at 6:00 a.m. And you not only have to make reservations for one day for your family like you did with genie plus, But you have to interrupt your vacation to make reservations for like 7 days or whatever And that's super time consuming and time that is taken away from your vacation. Talk about ruining your morning. And yes everyone will be in the same boat but that doesn't make it any better, everyone who has a vacation in that unfortunate time frame that encompasses genie plus and the new system is going to have one hell of a morning having to make many many reservations all at once. They won't get the advantage of being able to make reservations from the comfort of their own home

 

[RealBlast3]

Or even worse. Imagine the window opens on 7/24 during people's travel time for the start of their vacations. Many people get morning flights around 9:00 a.m. or so and probably have to arrive at the airport around 6:00 or 7:00 a.m.. That's not the time when you want to have to make reservations for a family of four for 7 or 10-day stay. And you probably won't even have good Wi-Fi potentially if you're up in the air in a plane, So many vacationers will get screwed if the window opens up at that time and they're traveling.

 

[bwr827]

I think you are screwed in the sense if you are already there in Disney World on vacation and you have however many days left on your trip, let's say 7, for example, your Vacation is now interrupted at 6:00 a.m. And you not only have to make reservations for one day for your family like you did with genie plus, But you have to interrupt your vacation to make reservations for like 7 days or whatever And that's super time consuming and time that is taken away from your vacation. Talk about ruining your morning. And yes everyone will be in the same boat but that doesn't make it any better, everyone who has a vacation in that unfortunate time frame that encompasses genie plus and the new system is going to have one hell of a morning having to make many many reservations all at once. They won't get the advantage of being able to make reservations from the comfort of their own home

Guest Services is going to have fun listening to you…

If you’re using Genie+ on your vacation, you’re already awake and on your phone before 7am.

You know about the system change now. Adjust your mindset and expectations for the morning of July 24, and you can still enjoy yourself.

Or you can go in with a negative mindset and ruin your own first few days of an expensive holiday.

 

[Ayla]

I think you are screwed in the sense if you are already there in Disney World on vacation and you have however many days left on your trip, let's say 7, for example, your Vacation is now interrupted at 6:00 a.m. And you not only have to make reservations for one day for your family like you did with genie plus, But you have to interrupt your vacation to make reservations for like 7 days or whatever And that's super time consuming and time that is taken away from your vacation. Talk about ruining your morning. And yes everyone will be in the same boat but that doesn't make it any better, everyone who has a vacation in that unfortunate time frame that encompasses genie plus and the new system is going to have one hell of a morning having to make many many reservations all at once. They won't get the advantage of being able to make reservations from the comfort of their own home

No one is required to purchase/use Genie+.

 

[GhostHost1000]

The current system ends on the 23rd.
Those who are already part way through their vacation then will have to try the new system on the morning of 24th.

So the new system starts on the 24th but no one can prebook for the 24th? It’s all done that day and for any days following?

 

[bwr827]

Or even worse. Imagine the window opens on 7/24 during people's travel time for the start of their vacations. Many people get morning flights around 9:00 a.m. or so and probably have to arrive at the airport around 6:00 or 7:00 a.m.. That's not the time when you want to have to make reservations for a family of four for 7 or 10-day stay. And you probably won't even have good Wi-Fi potentially if you're up in the air in a plane, So many vacationers will get screwed if the window opens up at that time and they're traveling.

I’m assuming you might be too busy complaining to the gate attendants about various issues with your flight and will miss the 7:00am LL reservation window.

 

[nickys]

So the new system starts on the 24th but no one can prebook for the 24th? It’s all done that day and for any days following?

Yes.

 

[Ayla]

Or even worse. Imagine the window opens on 7/24 during people's travel time for the start of their vacations. Many people get morning flights around 9:00 a.m. or so and probably have to arrive at the airport around 6:00 or 7:00 a.m.. That's not the time when you want to have to make reservations for a family of four for 7 or 10-day stay. And you probably won't even have good Wi-Fi potentially if you're up in the air in a plane, So many vacationers will get screwed if the window opens up at that time and they're traveling.

LOL You always have the option of vacationing somewhere else. No matter the date it starts, it will impact some people.

 

[RealBlast3]

Guest Services is going to have fun listening to you…

If you’re using Genie+ on your vacation, you’re already awake and on your phone before 7am.

You know about the system change now. Adjust your mindset and expectations for the morning of July 24, and you can still enjoy yourself.

Or you can go in with a negative mindset and ruin your own first few days of an expensive holiday.

I won't be calling guest services. Lol. I'm using this message board to vent and that'll be the end of it lol. I think it's an absolutely fair gripe to complain about people whose vacations are going to have a major inconvenience that interrupts their stay? Or as I said in my last post, some people will not have access to the window due to traveling. Merely pointing out an observation. It doesn't mean it's going to ruin anyone's vacations, but it's definitely not something that people signed up for.

 

[ConfettiCupcake]

Historically with Disney, the people visiting right at the beginning of a system changeover like this have gotten the short end of the stick. They have never done anything about it or even framed the changeovers as anything but positive for the guests immediately there, FP+ had a whole advertising campaign with be our guest during the ‘test phase’.

It just is what it is, but that really stinks for those who unknowingly found themselves vacationing in that first week or so, being too close to change it for many.

 

[Ayla]

So the new system starts on the 24th but no one can prebook for the 24th? It’s all done that day and for any days following?

Correct.

 

[GhostHost1000]

Yes.

Wow ok. That seems odd because anyone on their vacation during that time now has a worse situation to plan for. Not just a 7am day of 1 booking, but a 7am day of purchase of all remaining days along with multiple days of multiple bookings.

 

[RealBlast3]

I’m assuming you might be too busy complaining to the gate attendants about various issues with your flight and will miss the 7:00am LL reservation window.

Lol I'm not that kind of person. As I said, I'm merely using this message board to vent, isn't that the point of a message board? Of course in real life I will roll with the punches and make the best of it, nothing wrong with pointing out unfair observations though.

 

[bwr827]

Lol I'm not that kind of person. As I said, I'm merely using this message board to vent, isn't that the point of a message board? Of course in real life I will roll with the punches and make the best of it, nothing wrong with pointing out unfair observations though.

Fair enough! It was sounding a little overdramatic so I thought I’d poke a bit of fun.

It’s not an ideal situation, but it is what it is. If my vacation included July 24, I’d go “challenge accepted” and have a solid game plan while also reminding myself not to sweat things too much.

 

[nickys]

Fair enough! It was sounding a little overdramatic so I thought I’d poke a bit of fun.

It’s not an ideal situation, but it is what it is. If my vacation included July 24, I’d go “challenge accepted” and have a solid game plan while also reminding myself not to sweat things too much.

My game plan would probably be:
- rope drop a park
- thus avoiding the inevitable glitches in the app at 7am
- at some point sit down in an air conditioned location for an hour with a beverage to hand and book for the following days

 

[bwr827]

My game plan would probably be:
- rope drop a park
- thus avoiding the inevitable glitches in the app at 7am
- at some point sit down in an air conditioned location for an hour with a beverage to hand and book for the following days

I can see myself on the app while standing at the gate, waiting for early entry. Lots of time then.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

Lol I'm not that kind of person. As I said, I'm merely using this message board to vent, isn't that the point of a message board? Of course in real life I will roll with the punches and make the best of it, nothing wrong with pointing out unfair observations though.

We are talking about WDW IT though. at exactly 7am on the 24th, you'll have everyone booking for that day, plus everyone who eligible for advance bookings.

I have little faith the system will be able to handle that level of volume without any problems

I share your concerns. It may end up that people do have to talk to GS that day to successfully get passes booked. I don't think it is at all overblown or unrealistic to consider that possibility.

 

[bwr827]

We are talking about WDW IT though. at exactly 7am on the 24th, you'll have everyone booking for that day, plus everyone who eligible for advance bookings.

I have little faith the system will be able to handle that level of volume without any problems

I share your concerns. It may end up that people do have to talk to GS that day to successfully get passes booked. I don't think it is at all overblown or unrealistic to consider that possibility.

My very first park day last year, and first time with Genie+, the system went down at 7:02am right after I snagged a Tron virtual queue.

At the bus stop, many people were refreshing their phones.

On the bus, everyone was refreshing their phones.

45 minutes later, in the gate line, everyone got in and picked a Lightning Lane.

As long as everyone is in the same boat, nobody is really missing out. But it could get a bit stressful.