I haven't been to Disney in couple years and now everything has changed. Is genie + worth it to get the lightening lanes and not have to wait in line ?? Or is it still difficult to get the popular rides still even with paying for the genie +? So unsure of what to do. Hoping it changes by my vacation in august.
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Is genie + worth it
- Thread starter Cmccoombs1
- Start date
I was there last week. It is worth it. It is an added cost but IMO, it is pointless to stand in extended lines for each and every attraction when for a little more, you can skip it for a handful of rides. But FYI, the lightning lane and Genie+ are separate and distinct. You do not need to purchase Genie+ to be able to purchase lightning lanes.
Oh wow I thought you had to do both from what I've been hearing. Did you purchase both ?
I purchased Genie+ each day. I did Lightning Lane for 7DMT and for the new Guardian of the Galaxy.
TheGuyThatMakesSwords
Well-Known Member
No.
Thank you
Weather_Lady
Well-Known Member
When in August are you going? Traditionally it's a slower month with lower crowds, especially the second half.
FWIW, we're going 8/12-18 and I've been playing around with personalized touring plans for those dates on the touringplans.com site, with and without Genie+/ILL. I am finding that the projected time savings in line with Genie+ and/or ILL purchases isn't that impressive. I can do almost as well with a well-researched standby-only plan that stacks the biggest headliners during early entry/rope drop, and the end of the evening, without paying extra or spending all day on my phone. (If you aren't entitled to early entry or don't want to have to arrive early or stay late, the calculus might be very different for you, however.)
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SplashJacket
Well-Known Member
I wouldn't bite on any of the individual Lighting Lanes, especially not Guardians (unless you can't snag a virtual queue spot).
The time saved by buying a Guardians Lightning Lane is minimal compared to the price. That being said, if you ride Guardians through the virtual queue, absolutely love it, and want to ride it again, you can get a lightning lane to get another ride, but that's dependent on remaining lightning lane availability, and whether it's worth it to you.
nickys
Premium Member
If you’ve never ridden those rides and are not eligible for early entry, I would say buying an ILL at least guarantees you will be able to ride without a long wait.
Admittedly I was there over Christmas, but the lines for Rose were anything between 2-3 hours much of the time on the 2 days we were at DHS. FoP had a wait time of 90 minutes both days.
For Guardians there is the VQ, and I found it easy to get it at 7am. But the 1pm drop is relatively easy get most of the time, and in August it may well be still open after the 2pm park hopping time.
For those who say it is not worth it @marni1971 @TheGuyThatMakesSwords, can you explain why? I used it this first time a couple weeks ago and found it was very helpful, although admittedly I did no real research beforehand. Is it because of the cost or do you genuinely believe it provides little value?
Disstevefan1
Well-Known Member
In my opinion -
If you want to actually get on attractions, Genie + is worth it.
If you want to pay to get into the park, and walk around and visit gift shops, Genie + is not worth it.
The system today is designed to force you to purchase Genie +
If you want to actually get on attractions, Genie + is worth it.
If you want to pay to get into the park, and walk around and visit gift shops, Genie + is not worth it.
The system today is designed to force you to purchase Genie +
CaptainAmerica
Premium Member
I love it, honestly. On a week-long vacation I would recommend the following:
- MK with Genie+
- MK with Genie+
- Epcot with Genie+
- Epcot World Showcase and smaller attractions, no Genie+
- Hollywood Studios with Genie+
- Hollywood Studios shows and smaller attractions, no Genie+
- Animal Kingdom with Genie+
Genie+ turns a crowded day into a manageable day, and it turns a moderate day into a walk-on-everything day.
I wouldn't buy any ILLs.
- MK with Genie+
- MK with Genie+
- Epcot with Genie+
- Epcot World Showcase and smaller attractions, no Genie+
- Hollywood Studios with Genie+
- Hollywood Studios shows and smaller attractions, no Genie+
- Animal Kingdom with Genie+
Genie+ turns a crowded day into a manageable day, and it turns a moderate day into a walk-on-everything day.
I wouldn't buy any ILLs.
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SplashJacket
Well-Known Member
It’s from a “we’re being charged for something we shouldn’t be” mindset, but it fails to realize Genie does add value to your day at the park compared to not purchasing Genie, you just have to decide whether that extra value is worth your money.
ILLs are mostly worthless, though. If you’re fine with waiting in a couple long lines, or spending the whole day at the parks, you can get on basically every ride no problem.
Rise at park close rarely has a long line, so hopping in a few minutes before the park closes is relatively painless. There’s always the risk Rise breaks down late in the day and doesn’t re-open, so if you have a must do attraction, do it early.
Same with Flight of Passage at Animal Kingdom.
Essentially, try to avoid buying ILLs as much as possible, but Genie is generally worth it.
The issue is, if you’re paying $100 a day in tickets, and you ride 6 attractions, you’re paying $17 a ride. If Genie gets you on an extra 4 attractions, even if it costs an extra $15, you’ll be paying $11.5 per ride on average, while getting an increasingly enjoyable experience.
Obviously, fun exists beyond attractions at theme parks, but regardless. If you don’t go often and want to maximize your time, it’s probably worth it.
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I did it because honestly, I wasn't going to moan about extra expenses that were still a fraction of what I was going to spend on the trip.
Disstevefan1
Well-Known Member
You’re right. The system today is designed to force you ( and your family members) to purchase Genie + , per person, per day.
Depending on your family size, it can get expensive
Coaster Lover
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
For those who have said that that it's worth it, I assume you believe it is worth it because you would get on (significantly?) more than you would have without it. But are you getting on more of what you would WANT to get on, or are you just getting on more? I mean, with FlashPass+, especially at the Magic Kingdom, I would schedule my big three rides in the morning, then in the evenings I would spam the system at the end of the day and just jump between a lot of rides (regardless of what the ride was) just because the FastPass return time was so short... but it was free and it really didn't matter (especially if I had used my three initial passes to get on what I REALLY wanted to get on). If I am going to pay for Genie+, how likely am I to get on those big three "must rides" plus allegedly a couple more? Or, am I more likely to still need to wait stand-by for most of the bigger rides I want (ignoring the attractions that are only on ILL) with Genie+ being mostly used for "filler' rides?
Our typical touring plan is arriving for early morning hours, stay through a little past lunch, return to the hotel for swimming, naps, and refreshments, then return to close out the park around 4/4:30...
Our typical touring plan is arriving for early morning hours, stay through a little past lunch, return to the hotel for swimming, naps, and refreshments, then return to close out the park around 4/4:30...
CaptainAmerica
Premium Member
If you're rope-dropping during Early Theme Park Entry in addition to Genie+, you should have absolutely no problem getting on everything. The only caveat is that you're going to want somebody to be awake during your midday breaks to continue stacking LLs for the evening. If everyone sleeps during naptime, you'll lose that opportunity.
Magic Kingdom: Book your first LL for Peter Pan or Jungle Cruise. Rope drop Mine Train, then head to Space Mountain to wait in the minimal standby line, assuming you get off of Mine Train before regular park open. Then go redeem your first LL and immediately book your second one. If you book a LL for a time slot when you plan to be taking a break, you can repeatedly modify the reservation to a time that works for you. You'll be able to book the next LL two hours after you originally booked the prior one, even if you've modified it several times since.
Epcot: Book your first LL for Rat. Rope drop Frozen. Head to Rat to redeem, then immediately book Test Track. Once you've ridden those, you'll be able to "spam the system" to ride all of the mid-tier rides as a walk-on.
Studios: First LL for Slinky, rope drop Rise. If you get through Rise quickly, get right on Falcon. If not, plan on coming back to Falcon with a LL later.
Animal Kingdom: First LL for Safari, rope drop Avatar.
I'd say Genie+ is absolutely "worth it" at Magic Kingdom. It's valuable but less worth it at Studios. I liked having it at Epcot and Animal Kingdom but I don't think it was necessary if it's not in the budget.
If you're park hopping, you can probably get the most value out of Genie+ by buying it for Epcot, Studios, and Animal Kingdom, then hopping to Magic Kingdom multiple times.
Riviera Rita
Well-Known Member
It depends, I found some parks it was more useful than others. MK and DHS were the best for getting your money's worth. However, no one seems to talk about the magical lenses and that is what makes it really worth it. I quickly realised some of them didn't need you looking at the camera, so I got some lovely shots using it. It was a good way to entertain yourself too when in line.
