Disney Genie/Genie+ On Their Way to Anaheim

[Wendy Pleakley]

It's just so strange to me everyone's settled on the business model of frustrating then upselling their customers. Surely there are better ways to increase profit?

I wonder what the majority opinion actually is?

People with a complaint are often the most vocal, but not always the majority.

Maybe most guests love paying for Genie+ and think it's great that they have the option to reduce their time waiting in line.

 

[Purduevian]

I wonder what the majority opinion actually is?

People with a complaint are often the most vocal, but not always the majority.

Maybe most guests love paying for Genie+ and think it's great that they have the option to reduce their time waiting in line.

Count me in the group of people who would rather have a paid skip the line service than standby only. Obviously I would prefer a free skip the line service but for me it goes (with cost included in these rankings).

FP+/Maxpass>Genie plus>Express Pass>Tradition FP> Standby only.

 

[Consumer]

I wonder what the majority opinion actually is?

People with a complaint are often the most vocal, but not always the majority.

Maybe most guests love paying for Genie+ and think it's great that they have the option to reduce their time waiting in line.

I'm going to go out on a limb and assume most people would prefer free Fastpass to paying for Genie+. Just a hunch, though.

 

[CaptinEO]

Count me in the group of people who would rather have a paid skip the line service than standby only. Obviously I would prefer a free skip the line service but for me it goes (with cost included in these rankings).

FP+/Maxpass>Genie plus>Express Pass>Tradition FP> Standby only.

I'd like a paid skip the line service that didn't require making reservations every hour on a cell phone.

 

[Purduevian]

I'd like a paid skip the line service that didn't require making reservations every hour on a cell phone.

So the Express pass from Universal route? I've only used it twice, but it had its pros and cons

Pros:

• Spontaneous
• No Zig Zagging

Cons:

• Expensive, anywhere from ticket price to double the ticket price
• Lines are shorter than standby, but still waited up to half the posted standby time

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Lines are shorter than standby, but still waited up to half the posted standby time

This is my biggest complaint with Genie/ILL also, the few times we’ve used it the waits have still been fairly substantial, not as long as standby but if I’m paying extra money for a short line and then we end up in a 30 minute line anyway it just frustrates me.

The standby lines are longer than when we had FP and somehow the Genie lines are also longer than when we had FP, all while Disney says attendance is lower. Something doesn’t add up.

 

[Purduevian]

This is my biggest complaint with Genie/ILL also, the few times we’ve used it the waits have still been fairly substantial, not as long as standby but if I’m paying extra money for a short line and then we end up in a 30 minute line anyway it just frustrates me.

The standby lines are longer than when we had FP and somehow the Genie lines are also longer than when we had FP, all while Disney says attendance is lower. Something doesn’t add up.

Apart from Indy (which the physical line wasn't build for FP/LL) I don't think I've ever waited more than 10 minutes to the pre-show. What rides have you experienced this on?

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Apart from Indy (which the physical line wasn't build for FP/LL) I don't think I've ever waited more than 10 minutes to the pre-show. What rides have you experienced this on?

Space Mountain is the worst culprit, it seems to always have a huge Genie line.

 

[mickEblu]

This is my biggest complaint with Genie/ILL also, the few times we’ve used it the waits have still been fairly substantial, not as long as standby but if I’m paying extra money for a short line and then we end up in a 30 minute line anyway it just frustrates me.

The standby lines are longer than when we had FP and somehow the Genie lines are also longer than when we had FP, all while Disney says attendance is lower. Something doesn’t add up.

My take is that Genie + made the lightning lane ride waits longer than when they were FP but they also made the non FP/ Lightning Lanes shorter as people who bought Genie + are focused on getting their monies worth by getting on as many Genie + rides as possible. When Fast passes were free people didn’t have that pressure so crowds were better dispersed between all rides. For example Dumbo rarely has more than a 30 minute wait these days. In the FP days it could hit 60 on busier days easily. Peter Pan kind of hovers around 35 min now when before it was always 45-50. With that said, there could be other factors at play such as the capacity added with MMRR/ GE as well as the allure of Toontown 2.0

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

My take is that Genie + made the lightning lane ride waits longer than when they were FP but they also made the non FP/ Lightning Lanes shorter as people who bought Genie + are focused on getting their monies worth by getting on as many Genie + rides as possible. When Fast passes were free people didn’t have that pressure so crowds were better dispersed between all rides. For example Dumbo rarely has more than a 30 minute wait these days. In the FP days it could hit 60 on busier days easily. Peter Pan kind of hovers around 35 min now when before it was always 45-50. With that said, there could be other factors at play such as the capacity added with MMRR/ GE as well as the allure of Toontown 2.0

That would go along with my take that Genie has made both the standby and G lines longer, if people are now prioritizing the G+ rides because they’re paying extra for them that would reduce the non Genie rides.

Unfortunately Disney seems determined to add Genie to everything so that may be a short lived benefit.

 

[mickEblu]

That would go along with my take that Genie has made both the standby and G lines longer, if people are now prioritizing the G+ rides because they’re paying extra for them that would reduce the non Genie rides.

Unfortunately Disney seems determined to add Genie to everything so that may be a short lived benefit.

It seems that they only have short term memory. Probably thanks to the high turnover at TDA and “President Du Jour” every couple years. I suspect they’ll remove TLM from Genie + at some point. They’ll flirt with the idea of adding to POTC again just to come to the same conclusion… again.

 

[DCBaker]

The Disneyland Resort has quietly made some changes to Genie+ overnight.

Disney Genie+ service now starts at $30 (previously started at $25). Today, Genie+ is priced at $35 - this is the highest price so far.

Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway has now shifted from an Individual Lightning Lane to Genie+.

 

[Californian Elitist]

$30 and $35??? Eeeewwwwww.

 

[Consumer]

The Disneyland Resort has quietly made some changes to Genie+ overnight.

Disney Genie+ service now starts at $30 (previously started at $25). Today, Genie+ is priced at $35 - this is the highest price so far.

Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway has now shifted from an Individual Lightning Lane to Genie+.

View attachment 748267

In 1995, $31 got you admittance into Disneyland.

 

[DCBaker]

Pricing for Individual Lightning Lanes at the Disneyland Resort today have also gone above previous highs.

Rise of the Resistance is priced at $26 (previous high was $25).

Radiator Springs Racers is priced at $21 (previous high was $20).

 

[Consumer]

Pricing for Individual Lightning Lanes at the Disneyland Resort today have also gone above previous highs.

Rise of the Resistance is priced at $26 (previous high was $25).

Radiator Springs Racers is priced at $21 (previous high was $20).

 

[Disney Analyst]

$30 and $35??? Eeeewwwwww.

I still say raise it higher. Make it a real perk for those who can afford it, make your money from fewer, and hopefully lower standby lines in the process.

I actually think Paris’s model works well, felt similar to universal in a way.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

I still say raise it higher. Make it a real perk for those who can afford it, make your money from fewer, and hopefully lower standby lines in the process.

I actually think Paris’s model works well, felt similar to universal in a way.

Yep.

With this sort of "middle" ground Genie+ is somewhat mandatory, so it's more of a de facto ticket price increase than anything else.

 

[truecoat]

A 15-20 wait is fairly normal but we all know as soon as G+ is added it’s going to average 45.

All my AP friends wish they’d just drop G+ and ILL, bring back Maxpass, and raise ticket prices. The nickel and diming is really damaging the brand, it’s amazing with all their polling they are blind to this. We don't mind paying premium prices for a premium product but Disney is no longer a premium product.

I've never been in the extended queue in this ride until the first week of March this year and I went at Christmas one year.

 

[SSG]

On my recent trip we got Genie +. It mostly worked well for us, but I noticed how some rides don't accommodate it very well. On a DCA morning, we had LL for Soarin' and when we arrived the LL return line stretched well past Smokejumpers. A CM told us it'd be a 30-40 minute wait. In addition, the standby line had just a few dozen people but was posted at 50 minutes. And they'd do every minute of that 50 while the LLs cleared.

I saw the same thing with Monsters Inc and Smuggler's Run. So some rides now have a system where you pay a premium to get just a slightly shorter wait time. Seems pretty unsustainable at first glance, but it's trending toward you have to buy it in order to have a reasonable day in the parks.