Disney Genie/Genie+ On Their Way to Anaheim

[mickEblu]

I see Star Tours is on the list. Too bad! It's one of my favorites. These days it's often only a 15 minute wait, even on crowded days. I would bet it will get worse with Genie.

It’s too bad. It’s been a favorite of my son and I our last few trips. He always asks “what level are we going on today” as if it’s a video game. Lines always short and it’s conveniently located near the Plaza Inn and the childcare center. We hit Star Tours while mom is with the baby.

 

[waltography]

To me, Genie+ appears to be a net-positive for WDW folks (compared to their old program, this MaxPass-lite seems like so much better, they just don't know it yet given their history with MyMagic+) and a net-negative for DL folks (worse system than MaxPass with all of the trappings and more).

I see Star Tours is on the list. Too bad! It's one of my favorites. These days it's often only a 15 minute wait, even on crowded days. I would bet it will get worse with Genie.

When I went to the parks yesterday I was shocked that Star Tours was consistently 15 minutes even as Astro Blasters was posting higher wait times across the walkway. It eats people up better than I thought it did. Still rideable even after all this time.

So how much worse are standby lines about to get? I guess it all depends on how many locals are about to use genie + and if Disney manipulates the system artificially to make the standby line for any E ticket unbearable. I would imagine at least as many that used MaxPass.

I think it'll get especially unbearable if they add a Genie+ pass add-on like they did with MaxPass and price it around the same as they've done with other add-ons (~$100).

 

[mickEblu]

I think it'll get especially unbearable if they add a Genie+ pass add-on like they did with MaxPass and price it around the same as they've done with other add-ons (~$100).

For sure. What I’m wondering though is how many local keyholders will pay for genie + and how often. I don’t think the majority will use it regularly but it just depends how bad standby lines get. Then i could see people justifying genie + by saying “well I already spent x amount on my passes, I might as well spend a little more so I can actually enjoy myself.”

 

[Stevek]

For sure. What I’m wondering though is how many local keyholders will pay for genie + and how often. I don’t think the majority will use it regularly but it just depends how bad standby lines get. Then i could see people justifying genie + by saying “well I already spent x amount on my passes, I might as well spend a little more so I can actually enjoy myself.”

I won't ever do it (famous last words) at Disneyland but we are considering it for our WDW trip. I'll be closely watching how things play out in Orlando before we head out first week in December.

 

[jrayfarm]

I actually think Genie+ won’t be the disaster everyone thinks it’ll be. Without Fastpass, park lines have been perfectly reasonable. Genie+ kicks in will lengthen those lines, but the paid aspect means it won’t be as utilized as free fastpass was. Therefore, standby lines won’t inflate to what they were pre COVID. Wait times should stay fairly reasonable as a result.

 

[Stevek]

I actually think Genie+ won’t be the disaster everyone thinks it’ll be. Without Fastpass, park lines have been perfectly reasonable. Genie+ kicks in will lengthen those lines, but the paid aspect means it won’t be as utilized as free fastpass was. Therefore, standby lines won’t inflate to what they were pre COVID. Wait times should stay fairly reasonable as a result.

Yep, hoping it's just fastpass lite which will keep standby reasonable.

 

[DrAlice]

As @waltography said, I think this is a positive for WDW. I have not even considered a trip at all because of the "plan your rides 6 months in advance" business. Moving this more toward a traditional fastpass system makes a WDW trip "sometime in the future" a possibility now. My family at least wants to wait until EPCOT construction is finished, though.

I'm cautiously optimistic for the results at DL. If Disney doesn't manipulate things artificially, then I think at worst you will have the same thing we had with Fastpass. I'm not sure how many people will pay for the a la carte rides. My guess is probably not very many, so those lines should be ok. I guess we just have to wait and see.

 

[Dear Prudence]

Here is what was announced for attractions using Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane -

At launch, Disney Genie+ service will offer the Lightning Lane entrance at the following attractions* (Guests may make one selection at a time throughout the day):

Disneyland Park

• Autopia
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
• Haunted Mansion
• Indiana Jones Adventure
• “it's a small world”
• Matterhorn Bobsleds
• Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
• Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin
• Space Mountain
• Splash Mountain
• Star Tours – The Adventures Continue

Disney California Adventure Park

• Goofy's Sky School
• Grizzly River Run
• Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!
• Incredicoaster
• Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!
• Soarin' Around the World
• Toy Story Midway Mania

At launch, this “a la carte” option will be offered at the following attractions* (Guests may make selections for up to 2 different attractions each day):

Disneyland Park

• Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance

Disney California Adventure Park

• Radiator Springs Racers
• WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure

*Please note that attractions may vary by date, are subject to change, and may not be available at all on the date of visit or at the time of purchase. Availability can change throughout the day. To learn about any closures or long-term refurbishments, please view details about the attraction on our website or mobile app.

"Expect the West Coast version of the Genie service to roll out as part of the existing Disneyland app sometime between late October and late December."

Disneyland announces 22 rides where you can pay to skip the lines — here’s how

Disneyland announces the 19 Genie+ front-of-the-line rides and three pay-to-ride individual Lightning Lane attractions that will be available through the new Disney Genie when the mobile app launch…

www.ocregister.com

I cannot see ANYONE paying to ride Autopia faster, but okay, Disney lol

 

[mickEblu]

I cannot see ANYONE paying to ride Autopia faster, but okay, Disney lol

Hahah that’s just to add something for the kiddos and add to the perceived value of the package as a whole.

 

[drizgirl]

I cannot see ANYONE paying to ride Autopia faster, but okay, Disney lol

It's there because it previously had FP (at one point) and has the setup for a second return line.

 

[Dear Prudence]

It's there because it previously had FP (at one point) and has the setup for a second return line.

I mean, I think Autopia is neat (I can't drive a car and never will, so it's my only experience I will ever have), but I just can't see anybody paying for it. I forgot it had a FP. The lines move so quickly.

 

[BuzzedPotatoHead89]

I mean, I think Autopia is neat (I can't drive a car and never will, so it's my only experience I will ever have), but I just can't see anybody paying for it. I forgot it had a FP. The lines move so quickly.

I think the thought is since it’s part of the Lightning Lane ($20) bundle that comes with the Genie+ add on and not an individual add-on it’s not really like you’re paying for it specifically.

That said it is an individual option in Paris which I agree seems crazy.

 

[DrAlice]

Ok, I'm seeing some debate about this Genie+ thing and the ability to repeat a LL ride. Some are saying you can only skip a line for a ride ONCE per day, but I'm not seeing that anywhere credible. Even in MiceChat's article (where they got a preview of the service from Disney), it's worded as "You can make just one selection at a time throughout the day from a list of available attractions........ It’s the same idea as Disneyland’s previous MaxPass service." This is similar to the wording from Disney. I read this as it being just like FastPass. You make one reservation at a time. Period. There's nothing here that says you can't do the same ride again that day if you are able to schedule a LL pass for it. Did I miss something?


P.S. For clarity (because the names of these services are stupid): I'm referring to the 15 or so rides with the regular Genie+ LL service. I'm NOT referring to Rise or RSR with the added "a la carte" pricing.

 

[SoCalDisneyLover]

Ok, I'm seeing some debate about this Genie+ thing and the ability to repeat a LL ride. Some are saying you can only skip a line for a ride ONCE per day, but I'm not seeing that anywhere credible. Even in MiceChat's article (where they got a preview of the service from Disney), it's worded as "You can make just one selection at a time throughout the day from a list of available attractions........ It’s the same idea as Disneyland’s previous MaxPass service." This is similar to the wording from Disney. I read this as it being just like FastPass. You make one reservation at a time. Period. There's nothing here that says you can't do the same ride again that day if you are able to schedule a LL pass for it. Did I miss something?


P.S. For clarity (because the names of these services are stupid): I'm referring to the 15 or so rides with the regular Genie+ LL service. I'm NOT referring to Rise or RSR with the added "a la carte" pricing.

With FastPass & MaxPass, you could hold more than 1 "pass" at a time. You just had to wait a certain amount of time in between selecting a new ride. And of course, you couldn't hold 2 bookings for the same ride at any 1 time. But this new system seems to indicate, or at least I've heard speculation, that you can't have more than 1 at a time. You have to use the FP before selecting a new ride. Meaning the wait time in between selections would be no more. I guess if they did this, it would make people go on whichever ride they had a pass for sooner, since that's the only way they could book another ride.

Not sure exactly how it's going to work, but I guess we'll learn soon when it starts at WDW.

 

[AJFireman]

With FastPass & MaxPass, you could hold more than 1 "pass" at a time. You just had to wait a certain amount of time in between selecting a new ride. And of course, you couldn't hold 2 bookings for the same ride at any 1 time. But this new system seems to indicate, or at least I've heard speculation, that you can't have more than 1 at a time. You have to use the FP before selecting a new ride. Meaning the wait time in between selections would be no more. I guess if they did this, it would make people go on whichever ride they had a pass for sooner, since that's the only way they could book another ride.

Not sure exactly how it's going to work, but I guess we'll learn soon when it starts at WDW.

The Genie+ information page on the website says

"Once you’ve redeemed your initial selection (or the arrival window has passed), you can make another selection using the app, up to park closing."

But many Disney New Sites/Blogs are claiming that Disney Confirmed that during the media/ tech preview they were told you can select a new Lightning Lane after 120 minutes. Yet that is not on the website. But like you say we will see on the 19th.

 

[Rob562]

Am I the only one who thinks it's odd that Disneyland still hasn't upgraded their ticket media infrastructure to RFID enabled readers? Both at the turnstiles and the attraction entrances?

The impending rollout of Genie+ would seem the perfect opportunity. RFID ticket media, MagicBands, the new option of using NFC on your phone like in WDW...

-Rob

 

[lazyboy97o]

Am I the only one who thinks it's odd that Disneyland still hasn't upgraded their ticket media infrastructure to RFID enabled readers? Both at the turnstiles and the attraction entrances?

The impending rollout of Genie+ would seem the perfect opportunity. RFID ticket media, MagicBands, the new option of using NFC on your phone like in WDW...

-Rob

I’ve thought it odd for years now. It should have happened when it occurred at Walt Disney World.

 

[el_super]

Am I the only one who thinks it's odd that Disneyland still hasn't upgraded their ticket media infrastructure to RFID enabled readers? Both at the turnstiles and the attraction entrances?

I thought the attraction turnstiles were updated to RFID/NFC? They're just not using it since the ticket media doesn't require it.

As far as the ticket media itself goes, I would chalk it up to the same thing all Main Entrance policies come down to: fraud prevention.

 

[aaronml]

As far as the ticket media itself goes, I would chalk it up to the same thing all Main Entrance policies come down to: fraud prevention.

RFID ticket media is more secure than barcode-based ticket media.

The more likely reason IMO is cost. DLR uses a different ticketing system than WDW, and so a lot of (expensive) custom integration work would need to be done to support MagicBands / RFID cards at DLR. RFID cards are also a lot more expensive per-unit than paper tickets.

Even SHDL (which opened after the launch of MM+ at WDW) uses barcode-based paper tickets instead of RFID cards.

I wouldn’t be surprised if MagicBands / RFID tickets eventually made their way to DLR, but I wouldn’t expect it to happen under Chapek.

 

[aaronml]

Not at all.

The fastpass stations and point of sale systems were all upgraded to support RFID a few years back.

I even used apple pay on the systems a few times when they first replaced them (then they shut off the wireless payment ability).

The RFID tech is there already. It's just a number that gets read in, same as a barcode. Maybe they have to decrypt it first, but that's minimal effort.

The FP Scanner stanchions are equipped with the latest generation “Touch Points” / readers from Disney that support RFID, BLE, and optionally a barcode reader.

All of those technologies are supported in a single device for future-proofing purposes. It means that if Disney wants to start supporting RFID or BLE, they don’t have to replace hardware to do so. It doesn’t mean that the software and infrastructure to support that functionality is in place / working.

If DLR were to switch to basic RFID tickets that literally just contained the same number as a ticket barcode, that would be fairly straightforward to accomplish.

That would be unlikely though, since that wouldn’t support MagicBands.

MagicBands (and existing Disney RFID-based ticket media) each have their own unique ID number. When you scan a MagicBand, the ticketing system has to look up the profile associated with that MagicBand, and then look up active tickets associated with that profile.

That is far more complex than the current system at DLR where you just scan a barcode with your ticket number on it.