Disney Genie and Genie+ at Walt Disney World

[JMcMahonEsq]

Best time at the parks is at night.......Blows my mind that people go to bed at 9pm when that's just when the real best part of WDW is starting.........

I get 3-4 more hours at night

Now does that make sense to you?

Not really. First I don't know many nights when the parks are open 3-4 hours AFTER 9pm, unless your talking about special ticketed events. Second, we close down the parks (I agree I don't see why people would leave the park 3-4 hours earlier than close. The same wasted money for sleeping in applies equally to leaving early) so we are getting both the the benefits of the rope drop, AND the benefits of the later hours of the park. Even if the park's best time is at night, you are still "throwing away" the time for rope drop if you are sleeping in. Your still using potential time at the parks which you paid dear for....to sleep in and do nothing.

Third, even assuming for the sake of argument that the parks were all open until 12-1AM, being that WDW's prime demographic involves families with young kids, most of them are not keeping their kids out that late. Doesn't mean their aren't some that do, or some adult only groups visiting WDW, but they don't matter in the broad scheme of things, as you don't design park features for the minority of your guests.

 

[awoogala]

Most guests will be lucky to get 4-5 rides on Genie +. And when busy less. And when slow, not needed. Universal has WAY more rides. AK and Epcot have nowhere near close to UOA combined.

The Uni pass needs no scheduling, which everyone always forgets. Uni pass I can just stroll from one to the next, and enter when I want. It is immensely more relaxing than trying to book things, then book more things.
Also, it's included for "free" with a deluxe hotel, which is cheaper than a Disney deluxe hotel.
Also, they have an unlimited and a limited pass.The regular, "limited pass" starts at $79 per day. The unlimited starts at $109 per day (depending on what day you purchase).

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

Simple example... when we used to be in the parks till 1am or later... I would have no interest in trying to hit an 8am opening. Also in summer months when it's so hot in the day, we preferred to stay out late and enjoy the evenings more than we did the daytime. If we only have 14hrs or so of energy per day in us... that meant we would start our days later, rather than earlier.

Simply put... I was trading evening hours for day hours and I didn't want to punish/push myself to force an early start still. Of course our schedule would be based on what our intended activities are.. but I'm not going to workcamp anyone in my family on the mindset of "we spent a lot of money, we gotta get the most out of it!" -- It's a vacation. If I'm not able to relax and need to squeeze every ounce out of it to feel I got my money's worth... It's not relaxing and it's not going to be a refreshing vacation. And I'll rethink my investment next time.

This is a great example of why we loved the cruises so much more than our WDW stays in the last decade... on the ships you're encouraged to relax and let them do the work for you... not trying to squeeze every minute out of my day to justify the cost instead of just being on vacation.

The second point/paragraph is difference in mindset on what a trip to WDW is. I purposely use trip rather than vacation as I am looking to squeeze out every single hour of the day we can to enjoy what WDW has to offer. The same way as when we go to Europe, we are going to push 14-16 hour days to get to every museum/castle/historical site we can. If I want to relax and not do anything, then I agree I would (and do) go the cruise route, thought I will admit we have always gone the Royal Caribbean or Princess route as I found the Disney Cruises to be too much of a premium for the experience (that and no Casino kills it for me.)

But as to the time point, I mentioned this in an earlier post, how many normal nights now are the parks open until 1am or later other than special ticket events? Last time we were at a park that late was for Boo Bash in August, and we still rope dropped MK that day (thought to be fair we did go back to the hotel for a couple hours between 2-5. You aren't doing that ever at AK which has a 6PM close.

 

[UNCgolf]

The Uni pass needs no scheduling, which everyone always forgets. Uni pass I can just stroll from one to the next, and enter when I want. It is immensely more relaxing than trying to book things, then book more things.
Also, it's included for "free" with a deluxe hotel, which is cheaper than a Disney deluxe hotel.
Also, they have an unlimited and a limited pass.The regular, "limited pass" starts at $79 per day. The unlimited starts at $109 per day (depending on what day you purchase).

The unlimited one is amazing (and that's the one that comes with the hotel rooms). You can get off a ride and immediately get back on if you want.

 

[DCLcruiser]

Realistically it isn't a 7am wake up, for a lot of people it is going to need to be before then to get the phone off the charger, get the app in place, talk to the family about what they want to do - so it will be more like a 6:45am.

Disney strategy requires the appointment of a Generalissimo. One person picks with the knowledge of what the group wants. There's no time to squabble or second guess at 7 AM.

 

[DCLcruiser]

The second point/paragraph is difference in mindset on what a trip to WDW is. I purposely use trip rather than vacation as I am looking to squeeze out every single hour of the day we can to enjoy what WDW has to offer. The same way as when we go to Europe, we are going to push 14-16 hour days to get to every museum/castle/historical site we can. If I want to relax and not do anything, then I agree I would (and do) go the cruise route, thought I will admit we have always gone the Royal Caribbean or Princess route as I found the Disney Cruises to be too much of a premium for the experience (that and no Casino kills it for me.)

This is exactly what we do. WDW is for cramming in as much as I can. International trips are pre-planned the same way.

DCL is for relaxing.

 

[JAB]

why? makes no sense

its one reservation

its one ride

why not let people do it the day before? whats the downside?

i havent read one good reason

It would be a logistical mess to offer LL reservations for the next day while a park is still open (and also, would you really want to have pick your first LL for the next day while still in a park rather than your hotel room?). So if they wait until a park closes to offer LL for the next day, then it would seem logical to wait until *all* parks are closed, since it would be confusing to have different parks have different LL availability start times. Currently the latest park closes at 10pm, so the earliest practical time that they could start the next day's reservations would be 10pm. If they wanted to be considerate of those leaving the last park at 10pm, they might need to bump it to 10:30 or 11 to give them time to get out of the mass of people before trying to reserve tomorrow's first LL.

Many early risers or those with young kids would likely already want to be in bed by then, so they would have to stay up later than they would like to in order to not miss out on their choice of LL selection. So really all moving it to the night before does is disrupt the sleep schedule of a different group of guests. Why is their preferred sleep schedule less important than yours?

Not to mention the added confusion that basing the next day's availability window on park close might cause during the times of the year when they extend the park hours even later. Unless you push the start time past midnight just to be safe, but then that just disrupts more people's sleep schedule.

ETA: This isn't even considering those taking advantage of EEH, who would have to be making their selections in the park even if it were offered at 10 or 11pm.

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

Disney strategy requires the appointment of a Generalissimo. One person picks with the knowledge of what the group wants. There's no time to squabble or second guess at 7 AM.

Agreed. The plan should be done long before the sign in time. I still remember fondly setting alarms for 1AM to all wake up and do FP selection. 3 families across 3 states all doing separate trip days on a group call......fun times.

 

[Jeff4272]

Not really. First I don't know many nights when the parks are open 3-4 hours AFTER 9pm, unless your talking about special ticketed events. Second, we close down the parks (I agree I don't see why people would leave the park 3-4 hours earlier than close. The same wasted money for sleeping in applies equally to leaving early) so we are getting both the the benefits of the rope drop, AND the benefits of the later hours of the park. Even if the park's best time is at night, you are still "throwing away" the time for rope drop if you are sleeping in. Your still using potential time at the parks which you paid dear for....to sleep in and do nothing.

Third, even assuming for the sake of argument that the parks were all open until 12-1AM, being that WDW's prime demographic involves families with young kids, most of them are not keeping their kids out that late. Doesn't mean their aren't some that do, or some adult only groups visiting WDW, but they don't matter in the broad scheme of things, as you don't design park features for the minority of your guests.

We park hop to the latest Park every night and thats at least 11pm in Epcot

 

[DisneyDodo]

Constantly add rides and more parks isn’t guaranteed to sort the issue. It will probably bring even more people in.

Also, is Disney really going to improve capacity at their cost if they don’t need to? Course they aren’t

Those statements contradict each other. If every new addition would result in a significant, sustained attendance boost, Disney would have every financial incentive to pack in as many attractions as they physically could.

Disney doesn’t do that, though, because they know there are decreasing returns as they add more and more.

 

[UNCgolf]

The second point/paragraph is difference in mindset on what a trip to WDW is. I purposely use trip rather than vacation as I am looking to squeeze out every single hour of the day we can to enjoy what WDW has to offer. The same way as when we go to Europe, we are going to push 14-16 hour days to get to every museum/castle/historical site we can. If I want to relax and not do anything, then I agree I would (and do) go the cruise route, thought I will admit we have always gone the Royal Caribbean or Princess route as I found the Disney Cruises to be too much of a premium for the experience (that and no Casino kills it for me.)

But as to the time point, I mentioned this in an earlier post, how many normal nights now are the parks open until 1am or later other than special ticket events? Last time we were at a park that late was for Boo Bash in August, and we still rope dropped MK that day (thought to be fair we did go back to the hotel for a couple hours between 2-5. You aren't doing that ever at AK which has a 6PM close.

This is how I feel about international trips as well (as well as some domestic trips) because I want to experience as much as possible, but that's not how I operate at WDW.

There are multiples rides/attractions in each park that I don't even want to ride/see, and others that I don't care if I ride/see. I like to spend most of the day in the parks but I like to just casually wander and relax; I'm not trying to rush from attraction to attraction to get everything since I'm not interested in them all.

I think some people don't realize that there are many Disney guests who aren't there solely to hit every single attraction.

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

We park hop to the latest Park every night and thats at least 11pm in Epcot

The latest Epcott has been open recently is 11PM. Even that is only 2 hours past your 9PM discussion point, not 3 or 4. Animal Kingdom has generally been closing at 6, sometimes 8, but never reaches even the 9PM mark you are talking about, so your not getting any additional 3-4 hours there. MK and HS are generally closing anywhere between 8-10. Again no where near the 1AM you would need to get to the additional 3-4 hours "night time" past 9PM.

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

This is how I feel about international trips as well (as well as some domestic trips) because I want to experience as much as possible, but that's not how I operate at WDW.

There are multiples rides/attractions in each park that I don't even want to ride/see, and others that I don't care if I ride/see. I like to spend most of the day in the parks but I like to just casually wander and relax; I'm not trying to rush from attraction to attraction to get everything since I'm not interested in them all.

I think some people don't realize that there are many Disney guests who aren't there solely to hit every single attraction.

Oh I don't deny there are some guests that feel that way. However, I don't think it is the Majority of the guests, and all I am saying is that you base your marketing and park structures based on the majority of your guests, not the minority.

I also as a general rule think you shouldn't complain about how a system is set up, if it benefits people who use it a certain way (like waking up at 7) if you have the opportunity to use it in the same manner, but chose not to hence not getting the benefit.

 

[UNCgolf]

My guess is that this is part of a push by Disney to get everyone to go to the parks early. 7 AM for this (and boarding groups) as well as the 30 minutes early at every park.

I much preferred when the parks were open until 11-12 at night (and not via an extra ticketed event). But I think Disney is trying to get guests to show up right at park opening and then be happy to leave at 8 or 9 to make operations easier for them, as well as reserving all the later hours for the deluxe resort perks and extra revenue events.

 

[Jrb1979]

My guess is that this is part of a push by Disney to get everyone to go to the parks early. 7 AM for this (and boarding groups) as well as the 30 minutes early at every park.

I much preferred when the parks were open until 11-12 at night (and not via an extra ticketed event). But I think Disney is trying to get guests to show up right at park opening and then be happy to leave at 8 or 9 to make operations easier for them, as well as reserving all the later hours for the deluxe resort perks and extra revenue events.

Not just that. It's also to keep people in the parks from open to close. Spending more money in the parks

 

[flynnibus]

The second point/paragraph is difference in mindset on what a trip to WDW is. I purposely use trip rather than vacation as I am looking to squeeze out every single hour of the day we can to enjoy what WDW has to offer.

Just a head up.. There's no trophy at the end for doing it all

The whole point is to enjoy yourself. What that entails is different for different people. If you enjoy the commando style, that's fine for you, but don't be perplexed others don't get the same enjoyment from the same thing.

We certainly push when there is a lot we want to do - but I make sure it's because it's a lot WE WANT to do. If the motivation is to do it 'so this is worth it...' then I'm seriously going to second guess my choice later/next time. I'm paying to be entertained - I'm not paying so I can justify someone else's price model.

But as to the time point, I mentioned this in an earlier post, how many normal nights now are the parks open until 1am or later other than special ticket events?

Well if you listen to the employees here... park hours haven't been reduced at all

 

[UNCgolf]

Oh I don't deny there are some guests that feel that way. However, I don't think it is the Majority of the guests, and all I am saying is that you base your marketing and park structures based on the majority of your guests, not the minority.

I also as a general rule think you shouldn't complain about how a system is set up, if it benefits people who use it a certain way (like waking up at 7) if you have the opportunity to use it in the same manner, but chose not to hence not getting the benefit.

I agree that the majority of guests probably don't that feel that way, but I think it is pretty clear that the majority of guests also aren't normally up at 7 AM. That's why rope drop was a benefit -- most guests didn't arrive until later.

As I said above, though, I'm not complaining about the 7 AM time because I don't really care.

 

[UNCgolf]

Not just that. It's also to keep people in the parks from open to close. Spending more money in the parks

Yep, that's part of it too. No leaving the park at mid-day and coming back for evening hours.

 

[JMcMahonEsq]

My guess is that this is part of a push by Disney to get everyone to go to the parks early. 7 AM for this (and boarding groups) as well as the 30 minutes early at every park.

I much preferred when the parks were open until 11-12 at night (and not via an extra ticketed event). But I think Disney is trying to get guests to show up right at park opening and then be happy to leave at 8 or 9 to make operations easier for them, as well as reserving all the later hours for the deluxe resort perks and extra revenue events.

It does make for one hell of an on site perk. Don't want to bake under the sun while waiting in line? Have access to extended hours at the park, with limited attendance to enjoy your favorite rides while beating the summer heat.

 

[G00fyDad]

As mentioned above, Disney resort guests that can purchase the Individual Lightning Lanes at 7am are from these resorts -

"Available to Disney Resort hotel Guests and Guests of Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotels and Shades of Green".

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/en_CA/genie/lightning-lane/#drawer-card-drawerRecommenderPlus

"Available to Disney Resort hotel Guests and Guests of Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotels and Shades of Green." is the part that gets me. I take it that the GN hotels are not part of that?