dirtnap101
Member
Correct, they are balancing additional revenue against unbearable standby. Maximize revenue while trying to avoid unbearable standby.
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Disney Genie and Genie+ at Walt Disney World
- Thread starter wdwmagic
- Start date
dirtnap101
Member
Epcot is my favorite park, so I watch a lot of streams from Epcot. I sometime think, during evening streams, even in low crowd times, "gosh, World Showcase is crowded", and then I remind myself that the majority of guests don't have hoppers, have been in Epcot all day, and by the evening everyone has done TT, Soarin', TWTL, Seas, Mission: Space and SE. So the majority of people in the park are circling World Showcase, checking out the pavilions and waiting for the nighttime show.
A perfect example of why G+ is not worth it for Epcot...WallCot is for real, and unless it's a heavy attendance day it's hard to see how Epcot needs G+.
A perfect example of why G+ is not worth it for Epcot...WallCot is for real, and unless it's a heavy attendance day it's hard to see how Epcot needs G+.
Casper Gutman
Well-Known Member
They do not care about unbearable standby. Unbearable standby will push more people to purchase G+.
Chi84
Premium Member
They absolutely care about unbearable standby. Any business cares about the product it’s selling and their customers’ experience.
Casper Gutman
Well-Known Member
They aren’t running parking lot trams, which is so cartoonishly evil they are being mocked on nationally broadcast late night shows and excoriated by NPR. They cancelled every parade. Their guest service line usually has a 90 minute or more wait. They are charging full price for EPCOT, a massive mess of a construction zone. They are exploiting the pandemic for advantage wherever they can. They raised ticket prices 40% in four years. And this thread is about how, on top of that, they’re charging for a line-management service that used to be free that was put into place to avoid having to build rides.
Some executives and a lot of CMs care about the product offered guests. WDW as a whole cares about what they can get away with.
Chi84
Premium Member
Good lord stay away from that evil place!
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
Then why has capacity not been expanded? Why does the world’s busiest theme park have less dining capacity today than 30 years ago?
Casper Gutman
Well-Known Member
As you know, I mostly do. But there’s enough good left over and the place means enough to me emotionally and intellectually I’m not giving up on it. Thanks for your feigned concern, though.
matt9112
Well-Known Member
Oh yeah, we never even looked at that.
But that's free, so no problem, just don't use it.
That justifys its crappyness eh? Strange times.
Chi84
Premium Member
It was a general comment for people to stay away from such an uncaring place. Not you personally. I know you continue to go even though there’s nothing you currently like about the place.
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Casper Gutman
Well-Known Member
And from previous discussions you know that’s not true, either - being critical (or, from my perspective, honest) about the current direction of the parks and the changes taking place there doesn’t mean there’s nothing I like about the place.
But getting back to Disney’s regard for guests-which elements that I listed reflects their preoccupation with the guest experience? As Lazy points out, If they care about standby lines and crowding, why have they done so little to address capacity in the last couple decades?
Pre pandemic me and the missus visited Orlando 3 times a year, we love it.
We are visiting in Novemver for 2 weeks but must say this Genie+ thing has really spoilt the whole experience for us. Disney is expensive as it is and being faced with another $100 dollars a day expense, just to get what we had for nothing before, is a bitter pill to swallow.
Our biggest problem is that being from the UK, every time we make a purchase in dollars the bank will charge $6 foreign transaction fee....so when we buy Genie+ we will both incur $6 fee. We book 2 Lightning Lane plus? Another $6 for each one, oer person....I can't see any other way round than paying by our bank cards and getting hit constantly with bank charges.
We have both decided that this November trip will now be our last..and instead we will be touring Europe and the rest of the worlds theme parks instead.
We will have a blast for 2 weeks...it will cost us an arm and a leg, but that will be it for Orlando - Disney Parks were always a big part of our trips but I couldn't stomach the way Disney are heading, charging MORE for a much lesser service.
Such a shame, but it is what it is.
We are visiting in Novemver for 2 weeks but must say this Genie+ thing has really spoilt the whole experience for us. Disney is expensive as it is and being faced with another $100 dollars a day expense, just to get what we had for nothing before, is a bitter pill to swallow.
Our biggest problem is that being from the UK, every time we make a purchase in dollars the bank will charge $6 foreign transaction fee....so when we buy Genie+ we will both incur $6 fee. We book 2 Lightning Lane plus? Another $6 for each one, oer person....I can't see any other way round than paying by our bank cards and getting hit constantly with bank charges.
We have both decided that this November trip will now be our last..and instead we will be touring Europe and the rest of the worlds theme parks instead.
We will have a blast for 2 weeks...it will cost us an arm and a leg, but that will be it for Orlando - Disney Parks were always a big part of our trips but I couldn't stomach the way Disney are heading, charging MORE for a much lesser service.
Such a shame, but it is what it is.
GhostHost1000
Premium Member
So it’s best to try and get a LL as early as possible (before 11) so you could book another one correct?
Waters Back Side
Well-Known Member
Whether you pick your first LL at 7am or 8am or even 9am you still have to wait until 11 for your next one unless you redeem it before that time. If your first ride is at 9 when the park opens and you redeem it 9:05 then you can get a 2nd one sooner. Obviously the earlier you choose your first LL the better available time and the more chance of availability overall is the main reason.
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dirtnap101
Member
If you mean get a return time as early as possible so you can book another one, then yes, you are correct. If you're trying to use G+ on as many rides as possible (and you don't care so much about which rides, or the rides you prefer are not that popular on G+), the best strategy is to get a return time in the 9am hour for your first one, and then just keep booking ones that are available soonest until you can't anymore.
Lirael
Well-Known Member
Reading about the 7am thing here really bothers me. Supposedly I can't plan my fast lines days out to help the experience of those that don't like to plan every detail ahead, but just come in the park and see what's happening... but those people aren't going to know (or want) that they need to wake up on their relaxing vacation day at a ridiculously early time just to snag a LL, are they?
So the pre planners get shafted, the "arrive and see what's up" crowd also gets shafted.
So the pre planners get shafted, the "arrive and see what's up" crowd also gets shafted.
Chi84
Premium Member
We tried Genie+ for a week and - besides having to pay for it - it didn't work as well for us as the old FP+ system. There were a few glitches. I wanted to schedule the Safari ride in AK for a time that worked for us - 10:30 to 11:30. So I went through the process of booking it and got a confirmation for 9:10 to 10:10. I canceled it, waited a few minutes and finally got what we wanted. The same thing happened with another ride in another park.
Because of the way the system is set up now, we did standby for EE and MMRR. The wait for EE wasn't bad, but with the old system we wouldn't have had to wait (or pay) at all. MMRR was a disaster, with a 95 minute standby wait. At the time we entered the line, the wait posted by Touringplans was 35 minutes and Disney had the wait at 55 minutes. There were no announcements that anything was wrong with the ride, and the CM we asked while we were in line said she didn't ordinarily work that ride and had no idea what may have happened. Anyway, we got to try out the grace period on ToT, and they let us in almost 15 minutes past our window.
We're not concerned about getting on a lot of rides, so the new system will probably work better for those who want to ride as many as possible. There were two fairly recent improvements at WDW that did work well and saved us a good deal of time - mobile ordering and the Skyliner. The push toward mobile ordering made it much easier to find a table at counter service locations, and the Skyliner was quick and efficient.
Because of the way the system is set up now, we did standby for EE and MMRR. The wait for EE wasn't bad, but with the old system we wouldn't have had to wait (or pay) at all. MMRR was a disaster, with a 95 minute standby wait. At the time we entered the line, the wait posted by Touringplans was 35 minutes and Disney had the wait at 55 minutes. There were no announcements that anything was wrong with the ride, and the CM we asked while we were in line said she didn't ordinarily work that ride and had no idea what may have happened. Anyway, we got to try out the grace period on ToT, and they let us in almost 15 minutes past our window.
We're not concerned about getting on a lot of rides, so the new system will probably work better for those who want to ride as many as possible. There were two fairly recent improvements at WDW that did work well and saved us a good deal of time - mobile ordering and the Skyliner. The push toward mobile ordering made it much easier to find a table at counter service locations, and the Skyliner was quick and efficient.
po1998
Well-Known Member
Going to be in Orlando for two months this winter. Was planning on going to the parks 4 or 5 times during this period, but between the price increases and this Genie nonsense, I’m considering just skipping the parks. It shouldn’t be this difficult. I don’t want to be planning on my phone all day, and I also don’t want to stare at massive standby lines.
What a mess they have made…an expensive one at that.
What a mess they have made…an expensive one at that.
lazyboy97o
Well-Known Member
Of course adequate capacity would work well for everyone as there wouldn’t be so much volatility.
A lot of things you can do without the aggravation and for very minimal to no cost
Resort Hop and see all the decorations. Get an ADR at a resort. Go to Springs. Catch the water parade. View the fireworks from Poly or Dahlia. Breakfast or a cup of coffee and sit out at one of the public areas at AKL and overlook the savannah.