Disney Genie and Genie+ at Walt Disney World

[Ripken10]

HS today is rated a 5, but the actual almost always ends up being lower. The last few days have turned out to be 2, 3, 3.

I think it's possible we are seeing not so much a higher crowd effect but a snowball effect as more people realize G+ exists, and as more people buy it, and as more people start reading and seeing which rides go quickest. "Hey, you have to get SDD at 7am!" I think maybe at the moment it's kinda the same crowd levels, but more people are hip to the G+/ILL scene in general.

I had a friend (regular visitor) just in WDW. She said end of October was slower, but then the last two days of her trip it got considerably more crowded. Her last two days she said it was as crowded as she can remember it being for this time of year.

 

[Disstevefan1]

HS today is rated a 5, but the actual almost always ends up being lower. The last few days have turned out to be 2, 3, 3.

I think it's possible we are seeing not so much a higher crowd effect but a snowball effect as more people realize G+ exists, and as more people buy it, and as more people start reading and seeing which rides go quickest. "Hey, you have to get SDD at 7am!" I think maybe at the moment it's kinda the same crowd levels, but more people are hip to the G+/ILL scene in general.

Agreed. Right now (beginning of Nov.) is historically a lower attendance time, yes there may some revenge vacations in there, but all other things being equal its historically a low attendance time.

The real test will be when two things are true; peak attendance and when everyone knows how to use the system.

 

[dirtnap101]

Agreed. Right now (beginning of Nov.) is historically a lower attendance time, yes there may some revenge vacations in there, but all other things being equal its historically a low attendance time.

The real test will be when to things are true; peak attendance and when everyone knows how to use the system.

Yes, those are the two things that can increase usage of G+/ILL - awareness of it/how best to use it, and crowd level. Both will have an effect on availability in the respective line skip systems.

 

[Nottamus]

Genie +

today is day 5 here and have yet to buy any ILL or genie +

We have seen low wait times for the rides we want to ride- Soarin 10 minutes, safari 10, dinosaur 5 Everest was 10-15 a lot. And we did a virtual queue for Ratatouille.

last night in AK, we lined up for 55 minute
Wait for FOP and got to the ride seat in 35

Navi river posted 35 and we Made it to the boat in 15

You mileage may vary, as we are not ride warriors- we pretty much keep a relaxed schedule on property.

I really can’t see me paying for genie + anytime soon.

 

[Chi84]

Genie +

today is day 5 here and have yet to buy any ILL or genie +

We have seen low wait times for the rides we want to ride- Soarin 10 minutes, safari 10, dinosaur 5 Everest was 10-15 a lot. And we did a virtual queue for Ratatouille.

last night in AK, we lined up for 55 minute
Wait for FOP and got to the ride seat in 35

Navi river posted 35 and we Made it to the boat in 15

You mileage may vary, as we are not ride warriors- we pretty much keep a relaxed schedule on property.

I really can’t see me paying for genie + anytime soon.

We bought it when we were there and all the Lightning Lanes were walk-ons; no waits at all. It was worth it for us, but I can see others being perfectly fine waiting in lines that don't get too long. It all depends on personal preference. It would be nice if it worked for both the people who find value in not waiting and the others who experience shorter standby lines because of the people using the LLs.

 

[Lirael]

SDD LL out at 7:10. After a few refreshes displayed a time after 6pm. Refresh again back to no availability. 8:12am no availability and 10 refreshes didn't help. 8:42am no availability refresh twice get 6:55pm, 3rd refresh gone. Will it make it to park opening?

This is what I don't get about the "oh but it's so much nicer to not have to plan beforehand" crowd: you still do need to plan before even getting to the park. I can't imagine having to plan to wake up 7am in my vacation to spend time refreshing again and again to try and grab what I've already paid for.

At least before I could wake up at 7am on a work day, which i'd have to wake up ealy for anyway.

 

[Chi84]

This is what I don't get about the "oh but it's so much nicer to not have to plan beforehand" crowd: you still do need to plan before even getting to the park. I can't imagine having to plan to wake up 7am in my vacation to spend time refreshing again and again to try and grab what I've already paid for.

At least before I could wake up at 7am on a work day, which i'd have to wake up ealy for anyway.

I agree. And you need to keep on planning all day, changing to meet whatever times pop up for the rides you want. I didn't care for it as much as FP+. We're going in April with 6 adults and 3 kids under 3 years old; scheduling is necessary for a group of this nature; you don't do much on the fly with that composition. FP+ would have been much better - and free - but we'll manage to have a good time regardless. It will just cost us more.

 

[UNCgolf]

At this point it is only a matter of time they make it an Individual Attraction Purchase. And move MMRR to Genie +.

I think if they did that, you'd just see MMRR running out very quickly the same way SDD is now. A big part of the problem is that DHS just doesn't have enough attractions that everyone can ride -- also that Tower of Terror is closed (at least I assume it's still closed).

Small kids can't ride Rock N Roller Coaster, and while most people that can ride SDD can physically ride Tower of Terror, a lot of people aren't going to take smaller kids on that either. With Rise and MMRR not on Genie+, that leaves very little for people with young children to book.

 

[Patcheslee]

This is what I don't get about the "oh but it's so much nicer to not have to plan beforehand" crowd: you still do need to plan before even getting to the park. I can't imagine having to plan to wake up 7am in my vacation to spend time refreshing again and again to try and grab what I've already paid for.

At least before I could wake up at 7am on a work day, which i'd have to wake up ealy for anyway.

I wonder how much it will influence off site guests to not purchase same day. If you wake up and head to the park for regular opening and see SDD already out, would you bother to buy if that was your top priority?

 

[Patcheslee]

I agree. And you need to keep on planning all day, changing to meet whatever times pop up for the rides you want. I didn't care for it as much as FP+. We're going in April with 6 adults and 3 kids under 3 years old; scheduling is necessary for a group of this nature; you don't do much on the fly with that composition. FP+ would have been much better - and free - but we'll manage to have a good time regardless. It will just cost us more.

I've got an ADD/ADHD 13yo. Most things are okay as long as we stick with a plan ahead of time. Last minute changes aren't that great. We have to keep to a schedule and times to help her control her focus.

 

[nickys]

Offsite Genie+, ILL and Early Entry questions for our upcoming trip 11/25-12/2: Thanks in advance for any help/advice!

1: Our party will be staying at Wyndham Bonnet Creek so we will not be able to do the Early Entry, although I've read the parks will still let offiste guests scan their tickets and move into the parks before 9AM (or park opening time) and get coffees, shop, etc but will restrict any riding or passing through Early Entry checkpoints...has anyone tested or heard if you can start making your Genie+ or ILL selections if your ticket has been scanned early? Say at 8:45 - 8:50 AM or will the system strictly not let you make any selections until 9AM officially?

2: We won't be starting most mornings at HS but plan to hop there in the evenings...I'm looking at making RotR ILL selections for our party at 9AM sharp (or a couple minutes earlier if it let's me) for the evenings (the first available times at 9AM look to be around 7:15 - 7:30 PM)....am I able to make these as soon as HS opens or as soon as our initial park opens? If we start mornings at AK and the park opens at 8AM can we start then (same goes for Epcot...do we have to wait until 11AM)?

3: Attraction selection times - are ILL the only rides we can select a specific time? I assume the regular Genie+ selections book you for the time available shown on the app.

1. I think it is actual park opening.
2. If booking a RotR ILL you can do so when DHS opens. So booking will start at the opening time of the park you are booking for.
3. For Genie+ rides, it will give you the first available time. If you are booking for a different park to the one you have a reservation for, it automatically gives you a return time after 2pm.

 

[nickys]

Wonder if hopping to HS would work well. If someone chooses SDD on an EP day earliest will automatically be 2pm. Not sure if come EP opening if you'd then be able to start picking EP attractions though.
Also noticed ToT is offering return times and listed as "temporarily closed" we know it's down for extensive work, but others may not know that. Or they are taking advantage of the closure knowing it will convert to an any attraction pass, and use on SDD.

Hopping to DHS can work quite well if you want to line up G+ rides (plus also maybe ILLs) at DHS.
If you book SDD when you have Epcot booked, the return time will automatically be the first available time after 2pm. Be aware how fast they are booking though.

But if you then want to book G+ passes at Epcot, you’ll need to wait until 1pm (assuming park opens at 11am). So it might be better to see what you can get at DHS for around 2pm.
Then as soon as you tap in for that ride, book another one. Etc.

 

[Clamman73]

Wonder if hopping to HS would work well. If someone chooses SDD on an EP day earliest will automatically be 2pm. Not sure if come EP opening if you'd then be able to start picking EP attractions though.
Also noticed ToT is offering return times and listed as "temporarily closed" we know it's down for extensive work, but others may not know that. Or they are taking advantage of the closure knowing it will convert to an any attraction pass, and use on SDD.

I decided to change my strategy for when I’m there next week…I changed my Wednesday HS rope drop to do Epcot, but set everything up at 7am for Studios in the afternoon and buy the Rise pass…maybe also try standby at close.

 

[jpinkc]

I just dont understand how at 7AM they cant show you times before noon. It seems almost everyone is saying its showing mid to late afternoon return times for Genie+, I just dont get that. Even alot of people saying that about the ILL's and thats a big issue at least to me, that we arent seeing REASONABLE return times and the parks are SLOW right now!

 

[dirtnap101]

Interesting idea I saw today that I'd love to see someone (Touring Plans or whoever) test:

• Book your 1st G+ (ideally for a time in the first hour of park opening)
• Let the 1 hour return window of 1st G+ expire
• Immediately book your 2nd G+
• Immediately use the 15 min grace period to tap into your 1st G+
• Immediately book your 3rd G+
• tap into 2nd G+, book 4th G+, and so on

 

[jpinkc]

Interesting idea I saw today that I'd love to see someone (Touring Plans or whoever) test:

• Book your 1st G+ (ideally for a time in the first hour of park opening)
• Let the 1 hour return window of 1st G+ expire
• Immediately book your 2nd G+
• Immediately use the 15 min grace period to tap into your 1st G+
• Immediately book your 3rd G+
• tap into 2nd G+, book 4th G+, and so on

The only problem I see with that is most reports I have seen are saying they are getting close to noon G+ or later return times at 7AM!!

 

[WEDYENSID]

I just dont understand how at 7AM they cant show you times before noon. It seems almost everyone is saying its showing mid to late afternoon return times for Genie+, I just dont get that. Even alot of people saying that about the ILL's and thats a big issue at least to me, that we arent seeing REASONABLE return times and the parks are SLOW right now!

Probably a way to keep paying customers from getting too many on any given day?

The later Di$ney allows your 1st one, the fewer you will be able to get for the day.

 

[nickys]

Interesting idea I saw today that I'd love to see someone (Touring Plans or whoever) test:

• Book your 1st G+ (ideally for a time in the first hour of park opening)
• Let the 1 hour return window of 1st G+ expire
• Immediately book your 2nd G+
• Immediately use the 15 min grace period to tap into your 1st G+
• Immediately book your 3rd G+
• tap into 2nd G+, book 4th G+, and so on

It has been tested. And it works as long as you don’t mind what rides you actually book.

Once you have 2 G+ you can always have 2 - but of course there will come a point when you can’t get them for the rides you want to do.

 

[Jrb1979]

Probably a way to keep paying customers from getting too many on any given day?

The later Di$ney allows your 1st one, the fewer you will be able to get for the day.

Partially. Also people keep trying to use Genie+ like FP+ in by using it for the top rides. IMO the best bet is to book the top ride in the park you are going to. After that take the earliest time available.

 

[Purduevian]

1:20ish on a Thursday:
Sold out for the day: 7D, MFSR, SDD, RotR, ToT

TT is also at 9:25pm so should sell out any time now.