Disney Genie and Genie+ at Walt Disney World

[Virtual Toad]

In a few short years, they’ve aggressively raised ticket and hotel prices, eliminated a ton of discounts, cut the level and quality of service, and created out of thin air three completely new revenue streams: resort parking fees, G+ and ILL.

And now that those streams are in place, they will relentlessly, systematically and continuously raise prices for those “services” again and again and again.

$15 per person for ROTR? That will be remembered as the “good old days” in the not-too-distant future.

Modern day Disney is in it to win it. Those in charge are laughing at those of us wringing our hands over all this. And they’re laughing at those who have decided to pay as well.

They’ve done the numbers — and they know exactly where they stand.

There will be no end to the price increases as long as there are enough people on the planet to take the place of those who decide not to return.

Think they’re ready to stop now? Look for their next step soon, based on guest feedback. Because this is what’s coming next:

Guests: “Why should I have to bother with a cell phone app scheduling return times all day with Genie+? Can’t you make it so I can just pay a la carte to get instant access to all the rides I want the minute I want them?”

Disney: “Based on guest feedback, we are happy to announce that we are expanding our wildly popular ILL program to offer even more magically-priced selections for dozens of additional rides, attractions and guest experiences throughout the Walt Disney World Resort. These changes will allow even more guests to experience our parks and experiences at the pace and price point of their choosing. Standby lines may still be available for those who decide not to participate in the ILL program, subject to timing and availability.”

There’s no way Disney’s going to be able to restrain themselves on this. It’ll be far too tempting to add ride after ride to ILL, and far too easy for them to get away with it because far too many people are ready and willing to go along with it.

 

[hopemax]

Normally, I post a check-in at 4PM, but it's only 1:30 and Smuggler's Run is already sometimes showing "Not Currently Offered" and RnRC, ToT and TSMM are showing 5:00 ish return times. The other parks are pretty similar to the previous days, with MK showing a few more extended times for Splash, HM to 4:00.

I wonder if Disney has considered the option of charging more for DHS Genie+, especially on weekends and holidays. Since they are already happen with charging different based on rides and day, why not park?

 

[Jrb1979]

Normally, I post a check-in at 4PM, but it's only 1:30 and Smuggler's Run is already sometimes showing "Not Currently Offered" and RnRC, ToT and TSMM are showing 5:00 ish return times. The other parks are pretty similar to the previous days, with MK showing a few more extended times for Splash, HM to 4:00.

I wonder if Disney has considered the option of charging more for DHS Genie+, especially on weekends and holidays. Since they are already happen with charging different based on rides and day, why not park?

Not likely as they want people in parks from open to close.

 

[Howie4life]

So, we just did our fall trip. First day was no Genie and the other three had Genie. Just to see how it all worked we did it all, used all the features and full embraced it. It’s works well but it is costly (about $100 per day extra for our family of 3 and for something that was free). I’ll answer any questions and breakdown some below. We use the Armed Forces Salute tickets so I feel even worse for those paying full price.

So, we stayed at Shades of Green as we do every few years as I feel obligated to support it. This caused an issue as they did not have my wife or daughter on the reservation by name. So, once we checked-in they couldn’t change it and that meant they did not show a linked resort reservation. Here are the issues that caused….
-early entry wouldn’t scan band but the Cast Members allowed them to show their Shades room key.

-2hour extra hours wouldn’t scan band so same fix. No issues in this working out because it was a human making the call.

-the BIG issue was not being able to book INDIVIDUAL LIGHTNING LANE at 7am for anyone but me. No guest service person at the parks front or inside area could fix it and neither could Shades of Green. We were still able to get all 6 Individual lightning lane passes over 3 days but Rise of the Resistance was close to not happening as we had to wait until park openings to book those due to the resort reservation issue.

Everything else worked great, we Lightning Lane’d every attraction possible in each park, had food waiting on us and didn’t rush anywhere. Moved throughout the park with next to zero backtracking and it was nice.

One odd function is that when selecting a LL pass the time you select will change once the next screen opens so I selected 1pm once and once it opened it was 1:25pm. This also means that when an attraction you want to do next is showing 4pm but it’s 12pm that if you open it it could say 12:15pm if someone cancels. We figured this out and it helped a lot but WAY TOO MUCH TIME ON PHONE.

Also, canceling a LL isn’t super quick which causes issues trying to jump around but nothing crazy as that is rare.

No issues were had checking into a LL as the 5min and 15min early/late grace exists but others had issues and the usual folks that stop at entrances/exits and tops/bottoms of escalators still exist.

Too much to go over it all but that is our experience. We had a great trip with it but ultimately the ORIGINAL Fastpass system was the best and most fair to guests. They now have a way to raise the prices on rooms, tickets, food, merch, transportation, fast passes and experiences. It’s gross but it is what it is. Definitely makes the park easy like the OG gas pass but the $$$ and the phone time aren’t fun. I’ll go less with this system.

We are going on my Father in Law's salute ticket. I am worried that I won't be able to make Individual Lightning Lane reservations for the first day for rise at 7am. I know I'll be able to start the check-in process for the hotel, but the military tickets won't be validated until that evening when my father in law get's to the park after us. I was hoping i would be able to book rise for the first night and some late night lightning lanes for slinky dog. Then validating tickets that evening and go in the park at maybe 6pm. Not sure this will be possible with the military tickets.

 

[Ldno]

We are going on my Father in Law's salute ticket. I am worried that I won't be able to make Individual Lightning Lane reservations for the first day for rise at 7am. I know I'll be able to start the check-in process for the hotel, but the military tickets won't be validated until that evening when my father in law get's to the park after us. I was hoping i would be able to book rise for the first night and some late night lightning lanes for slinky dog. Then validating tickets that evening and go in the park at maybe 6pm. Not sure this will be possible with the military tickets.

I know they mail out the tickets well in advance before your trip, you can still add them to the app that way, all they need is a valid ticket For you to start making reservations.

 

[JAB]

So far, I'm not a fan of the UI layout/design of the Tip Board.

• Genie decides in what order the list displays attractions with no user option to sort by name or LL return time.
• You have to go back to the top of the list in order to pull down to refresh, so you have to scroll back to the top, refresh, and then scroll back down to find whatever attraction your were looking at. It would have been much more convenient for the user to replace the current "Top ^" button with a "Refresh" button that refreshed times without losing your place in the list.
• As far as I can tell, the Tip Board is the only place to check/select LL reservations.

Obviously this works fine for guests who are doing what Disney wants and going where Genie tells them, but it's really frustrating if you're trying to make your own choices. It would be nice to have a separate, more streamlined LL screen that lets you sort by name or time, but at the very least they should make the Tip Board user-sortable.

 

[wutisgood]

Irrelevant. This is a page right out of the dynamic pricing scheme the airlines use. Pretty soon when they discover people suckers will pay for it, they will max it out for all time periods.

Real dynamic pricing would mean that Disney offers actual deals part of the year. These days they operate like a cartel on their pricing.

 

[DCLcruiser]

So far, I'm not a fan of the UI layout/design of the Tip Board.

• Genie decides in what order the list displays attractions with no user option to sort by name or LL return time.
• You have to go back to the top of the list in order to pull down to refresh, so you have to scroll back to the top, refresh, and then scroll back down to find whatever attraction your were looking at. It would have been much more convenient for the user to replace the current "Top ^" button with a "Refresh" button that refreshed times without losing your place in the list.
• As far as I can tell, the Tip Board is the only place to check/select LL reservations.

Obviously this works fine for guests who are doing what Disney wants and going where Genie tells them, but it's really frustrating if you're trying to make your own choices. It would be nice to have a separate, more streamlined LL screen that lets you sort by name or time, but at the very least they should make the Tip Board user-sortable.

The order is alphabetical. I agree, sort would be nice, especially By time available.

Press the words "Tip Board" and it refreshes.

 

[wutisgood]

I don't see that happening at all. They lose money that way.

They need to stack the lightning lanes to a certain point so that the standby lines stay slow enough to get more people especially non resort guests to use it. They don't want any slower times of the year where standby lines move too fast and most people don't buy it.

 

[dreday3]

Magic Kingdom was HOT today! And crowded. I'll tell you, Genie + was a nice thing to have today, paid for itself!

We like the castle more in person!

 

[JAB]

The order is alphabetical. I agree, sort would be nice, especially By time available.

Only within each section; the list as a whole isn't necessarily alphabetical. Genie puts its "recommended" experiences at the top and then lists the rest in a different section titled "Other Experiences to Consider", so the attractions get broken up into multiple lists.

Press the words "Tip Board" and it refreshes.

Maybe on iPhone it does. Unfortunately, the Android version does not appear to refresh when I click "Tip Board."
The fact that at least one version has a way to refresh without losing your place gives me some small sliver of hope that all versions will eventually have that ability, though.

 

[PSM]

I see in videos that you can select Attraction Interests, Dining Interests, and Disney Favorites (or something along those lines) in Genie. Is this something that only becomes available for you to browse and choose once you purchase Genie+?

 

[Walt d]

For previous discussion about Disney Genie, see the original thread - Disney Genie digital assistant app coming to Walt Disney World and FastPass+ Most Certainly Not Coming Back As It Was

This is the new thread as of August 18 with confirmed details.

Disney Genie launch announcement

Disney Genie revealed - Walt Disney World's next generation of FastPass with pay-per-ride options

Find out more about the new Disney Genie app coming to Walt Disney World later this year.

www.wdwmagic.com

Disney Genie, Genie+ Frequently Asked Questions FAQ

Disney Genie, Genie+, and Lightning Lane FAQ for Walt Disney World

Your most frequently asked questions about the new Disney Genie service coming to Walt Disney World.

www.wdwmagic.com

There it is!

 

[mightynine]

I see in videos that you can select Attraction Interests, Dining Interests, and Disney Favorites (or something along those lines) in Genie. Is this something that only becomes available for you to browse and choose once you purchase Genie+?

No, Genie allegedly uses those selections to help plan your day.

Best to think of Genie+ as just the paid access to the former Fastpass line to most, but not all, of the attractions that previously offered it. The planning part is complimentary.

 

[PSM]

No, Genie allegedly uses those selections to help plan your day.

Best to think of Genie+ as just the paid access to the former Fastpass line to most, but not all, of the attractions that previously offered it. The planning part is complimentary.

Ok, in that case, where do I find those options to select? Or can you only select them closer to your trip or reserved park days?

 

[PSM]

Magic Kingdom was HOT today! And crowded. I'll tell you, Genie + was a nice thing to have today, paid for itself!

We like the castle more in person!
View attachment 595143

Can't wait to see it myself in person! I've always thought it looked great in the photos and videos since the revamp.

Also, speaking for myself, I'm having a hard time seeing how paying for Genie+ won't be worth it for people/families who only get to visit the parks every so often (I can see it being different for those who are annual passholders, live in the area, or visit multiple times per year). But for me, I only get to go typically once per year or less, and my time there is very limited and very valuable, so $15 per day per person to likely save hours - or many hours - of time waiting in lines is well worth it on a trip that would typically cost many thousands of dollars already. Not that anyone wants to spend the extra money, but it is what it is, and I'll spend the cash to save the time. And I felt the same way about it being totally worth it when I used MaxPass multiple trips at Disneyland and California Adventure. I, of course, didn't want to spend the extra money, but it definitely allowed me to experience a lot more in my limited times in the parks, and I'd continue doing so.

 

[mightynine]

Ok, in that case, where do I find those options to select? Or can you only select them closer to your trip or reserved park days?

Open the app, on the home page there should be something that says "My Future Plans" and a blurb to Get Started. From there you pick a day, the park, who's in the party - and then you'll be on a screen that says My Top Picks. Select what you want, though I believe there is a limit to how many of each you can select.

Then there will be a screen that says My Interests and that's the screen you're talking about.

 

[G00fyDad]

I sense the winds are turning with people liking this versus hating it .....

 

[dirtnap101]

Only within each section; the list as a whole isn't necessarily alphabetical. Genie puts its "recommended" experiences at the top and then lists the rest in a different section titled "Other Experiences to Consider", so the attractions get broken up into multiple lists.


Maybe on iPhone it does. Unfortunately, the Android version does not appear to refresh when I click "Tip Board."
The fact that at least one version has a way to refresh without losing your place gives me some small sliver of hope that all versions will eventually have that ability, though.

On Android, a pull down when at the top of the Tip Board refreshes the page for me (but I'd prefer to tap Tip Board, too)

 

[JAB]

On Android, a pull down when at the top of the Tip Board refreshes the page for me (but I'd prefer to tap Tip Board, too)

I know how to refresh; my issue was that you lose your place because you have to scroll all the way to the top to refresh, and then scroll back down to find the attraction you were looking at, rather than being able to refresh the list in place.