Poll: Genie Plus / ILL / Maxpass Options Preference at WDW

[amjt660]

I have not been back to a Disney park since 2019 ( and that trip was to Anaheim)

I liked the original FP system - sure you had to move around the park more - but it was a "day of" thing - not a 2 months before I need to decide what parks I am doing and exactly how I am touring them. Or was it a "i must get up at 7am to try to secure my rides" system.

Now I understand that the machines dispensing paper passes is a problem ( maintenance to repair, CM present to support, paper waste , etc)

So for me the Max Pass at DLR was the next best thing. Pick my FP as I go on the day of and not have to traverse the park to go to the actual ride.

I do not know if this system would cost Disney more or less than the original machines ( IT cost of the MaxPass vs the cost I listed above)

And I would suggest that all people staying on Disney property should get Max Pass included and all others would pay a small amount per day. (it was $15)

This would bring back the incentive to stay onsite (which brings Disney more $$ which would more that offset the cost of the IT to run the Max Pass system)

Just my 2 cents


Max

 

[amjt660]

And about the Poll...

Why are single rider lanes the stone age?

When did loading to full ride capacity and being efficient become archaic?

It is frustrating to see a ride release a vehicle/coaster train with empty seats.


Max

 

[FettFan]

You're never going to get a system that makes everyone happy. The Genie+ and ILL combo is a more level playing field than FP+

I disagree.

FP+ would have been great if they just removed the 60 day reservation ability.

G+ and LL are so disorganized that the only thing they do consistently is take your money.

 

[Chi84]

And about the Poll...

Why are single rider lanes the stone age?

When did loading to full ride capacity and being efficient become archaic?

It is frustrating to see a ride release a vehicle/coaster train with empty seats.


Max

I could be wrong, but I interpreted it as meaning one line for all riders, a/k/a standby, because that’s the only thing that seems to make sense. Then again it would have been easier to just say go back to all standby lines.

 

[jasminethecat]

I love how obviously biased the poll is /s

OP really cant think of any reason one would prefer FP+, other than micromanaging? God forbid I simply do not want to wake up at 7am every day in my vacation to snag a faster line pass, or god forbid I'd like to go back to when I could pick the time myself. Or that I don't want to give wdw more money for a worse experience. Or even that I don't want to give them money and find out I might not even get what I wanted to pay far (aka paying for Genie+ only to find out the attraction you want isn't available anymore)

And about the Poll...

Why are single rider lanes the stone age?

When did loading to full ride capacity and being efficient become archaic?

It is frustrating to see a ride release a vehicle/coaster train with empty seats.


Max

I just re-read my poll AND the top post where I explained everything. The top line of the poll says "Pick your poison! (Descriptions are below in the top comment!)". Top comment, meaning the first actual comment on the thread itself. I did everything I can to point people to my top post where I clearly explained myself and my intentions. Those one-liners in the poll itself were tongue-in-cheek summaries of what the post #1 was actually saying, but putting that many words in a poll doesn't work well.

In case you still don't see it, this was what I said about fastpass+:

You can pick only one, you can change your votes later and it won't display your individual selection. The choices include:

1. Go back to FastPass+ and Disney will undoubtedly raise ticket prices.
   Pros: free for everyone, book rides 60 days in advance.
   Cons: very few options on the day-of, it still had long lines in both the FP and standby queues due to overselling
   ...

 

[Kingoglow]

I watch a lot of vloggers and most of them hate it. And they're people who go multiple times throughout the year. So they usually skip many of the top rides during visits.

They hate Genie+ because they go so often that they don't want to pay for it over and over. Once in a lifetime guests, or once a year guests but don't feel the pain that much.

But I guess they make money off of your viewership, so maybe they don't feel the financial pain as much...

 

[ladybat2]

So the best and memorable WDW vacation for me was 1993. Granted there was no Animal Kingdom then so one did not need as many days to experience all the "magic" as you do now but OMG it was so much simpler then!

And less running from one end of the parks to the next. There was no fast pass of any kind. Rope drop was it. And that is what we did every day. We saw one half of MK one day and the other half the next. Saw and experienced it all. Epcot was way better in those days too! Spent two comfortable days in it and saw all it had to offer. Went to discovery island now expanded to be AK, went to pleasure island (now Disney Springs) back then they had The Adventurers Club which was sooooo much fun. Went to what was then MGM studios saw every thing comfortably there in one day.

My kids and husband remember that vacation with fondness better than any we have taken since. We arrived at the parks each morning for rope drop and saw it all in comfort and not unbearable long waits like there are now. Ahhhh the good ol days. I'm old enough to remember going to Disney Land when I was 5 years old and seeing Walt in person riding in the back of a bright red convertible in the day time parade waving and smiling and me being right in the front row by the curb and him looking dead at me and winking and I looked up at my mom's face and she saw the wonder on mine and I'll probably remember that when I'm on my death bed leaving this earth!

Maybe its nostalgia or maybe the older one gets the less one is impressed by things, I don't know but for me in my 65 years in this world and having gone to both DL and WDW at different time frames through out my life..... I've seen the magic fade my dears. Oh how I wish every one could have seen Walt look right into your eyes and wink. I swear you could see the pixie dust all around him in that moment.

If you had that experience yourself..... you would be very sad right now..... because you would know with out doubt just how much the corporation symbol it has become has taken from you knowing you will still give them your money any way because.....

You are addicted to the Pixie dust.

Even when its become nothing but a pale shadow of its former self.

 

[ladybat2]

I disagree.

FP+ would have been great if they just removed the 60 day reservation ability.

G+ and LL are so disorganized that the only thing they do consistently is take your money.

That was a huge incentive for me to choose on property lodgings. While I was not a huge fan of FP+ I really liked that about it. Now staying on property does not make me feel as special as it used to. No Magic express which is a must for those of us who have to fly in. Now we have to find our own way. If we get a rental car we have to pay to park it at the resort we are paying to stay in! This, by far, is the nit picking thing that really gets me angry! CHARGING US TO PARK OUR CARS AT HOTELS WE HAVE ALREADY PAID TO STAY AT!

And now I have to be up in time to try and get a place in a line for an attraction I have already paid for park passes for any way but now have to pay even more if I actually want to ride a certain ride! Not to mention how confusing it is!

And if we don't pay the price for this stupid genie thing we chance the lines which are now a longer wait time, not only because of the crowds, but because the tech savvy folks and people who have money to burn have mastered the genie money taker and they go in a line that gets pushed along in front of the regular line making the regular line stand still most of the time!

All thats left now for staying on property is the slow bus rides to the parks. They'll charge us extra for that too, mark my words, because they know we will pay it. We always pay it. Not enough people in the world will stop paying it.

I guess we all knew that things would never be the same any where after the Covid monster but I did not expect Disney to take this much away from us. I swear I almost feel like I'm being punished for something.

If we go back to what is being referred to here as the old "stone age" way of dealing with the lines at least that was was fair to all and if they went back to it then that would eliminate the "genie" lines which are one of the biggest reasons the regular lines are now being forced to stand still while the "gennie" lines go ahead of them in huge groups.

And most of all for all you young people out there.... there was once upon a time when we all talked to each other with out typing it on a phone and actually saw our faces so did not mis understand what we were trying to say. We also did not walk around with our heads down constantly glued to our phones trying our best to make sure we were at this place and that place by a certain time! We actually laughed and talked and waiting in fun lines that were not unbearable and were good for conversations and gearing us up for what we were about to experience! We met tons of other folks in line we had conversations with and shared tips with. Not now. Because we have to watch our phones if we want a chance to ride something.

So there is something to be said for "the stone age" way of doing things.

 

[FettFan]

CHARGING US TO PARK OUR CARS AT HOTELS WE HAVE ALREADY PAID TO STAY AT!

I can at least understand the rationale behind this change, especially at the Seven Seas Lagoon resorts and the Epcot resorts; too many unscrupulous folks were taking advantage of the parking situation to keep from paying at the lots.

I’m also certain that this is why the Disney Springs garages are still free; there’s no easy way to get to the parks from DS.
However, if they should ever open a new branch of the Skyliner to DS, you can expect that to change.

 

[Chi84]

Would be nice, but Universal only have 3 resorts that get it with
-Royal Pacific has 1,000 rooms
-Hard Rock has 650 rooms
-Portofino Bay has 750 rooms
Total of 2,400 rooms for 2 parks (1,200 rooms per park)

Disney hotels:
Bay Lake Tower -295
Boulder Ridge Villas-136
Cabins at Fort Wilderness- 409
Cooper Creek Villas-220
Animal Kingdom Lodge- 972
Jambo House Villas-214
Kidani Village Villas-458
Beach Club-583
Beach Club Villas-282
Board Walk-378
Board Walk Villas- 532
Contemporary-655
Grad Floridian-867
Old Key West-761
Polynesian Village-479
Polynesian Villas and Bungalows-380
Rivera-300
Wilderness lodge-430
Yacht Club-635
Villas at Grand Floridian-147

9,133 deluxe rooms for 4 theme parks (2,283 rooms per park)

Saratoga Springs?

 

[lukacseven]

During a recent trip, I found Genie+ and ILL to be a little confusing and the app definitely had some glitches, like not remembering the park you were at or had reservations for that day. But overall, I found it to be significantly better than FP+ was on my last visit (2018). I found it much more stressful and were shut out of a lot of attractions trying to book FP+ 60 days in advance. The argument against "morning people" who get up at 7:00 AM the day of their visit to make Genie+ selection is no different than what people do currently for dining or that they did for FP+. One additional factor that could come into play is that the post-COVID park reservation policy limits the attendance to few people than before, so LL selections don't fill up as quickly for some attractions. The only issue I found annoying was that Genie+ only allowed you to select the next available timeslots. So, when we wanted to make a LL reservation for Space Mt. on the evening we had to wait and keep checking, because the return times were still 2:00 PM and we already had two LL selected during that time.

 

[ladybat2]

I can at least understand the rationale behind this change, especially at the Seven Seas Lagoon resorts and the Epcot resorts; too many unscrupulous folks were taking advantage of the parking situation to keep from paying at the lots.I

I’m also certain that this is why the Disney Springs garages are still free; there’s no easy way to get to the parks from DS.
However, if they should ever open a new branch of the Skyliner to DS, you can expect that to change.

I never even thought about that! I guess I can see how that would be a problem then. People parking in the resorts then using the buses to take them to the parks. But we should just get little tags we can hang from the rear view mirrors from the resorts that say we are staying there so we can park our cars. And have us tap our MBs when we get on the buses to show we are resort guests. But I also read that other hotels off property are charging "resort fees" besides the cost of lodgings. Disney is not yet doing that so maybe the parking fee is in line with that too. Still, I wonder how Disney charges those who still try to park in the parking lots of Disney hotels when they are not staying in those hotels? How do they know who is who? When I stay on property my credit card just gets charged the parking fee along with all my other charges while staying there.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

I can at least understand the rationale behind this change, especially at the Seven Seas Lagoon resorts and the Epcot resorts; too many unscrupulous folks were taking advantage of the parking situation to keep from paying at the lots.

I’m also certain that this is why the Disney Springs garages are still free; there’s no easy way to get to the parks from DS.
However, if they should ever open a new branch of the Skyliner to DS, you can expect that to change.

Except WDW did have a way to account for this.

You could not enter without getting past the security gate. At times, if you weren't staying at the hotel, they wouldn't let you enter.

If you were staying on property, you got a parking pass. It was supposed to allow property-wide parking, but not always at the deluxe hotels.

The other option they had was to allow 3 hours of parking. If people overstayed, they were sometimes towed. Though, to the best of my knowledge, WDW didn't always tow if it wasn't a busy time.

Sometimes the hotels also allow non-guests to park near the hotel, but only in a secondary overflow lot that is further from the hotel. GF, BWK, and CR all come to mind. Hotel guests sometime get stuck parking there if the hotel has a big event at the hotel. Or at least they used to do that.

Folks did have the option of paying for valet parking, but that cost more than the main theme park parking lots.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

I never even thought about that! I guess I can see how that would be a problem then. People parking in the resorts then using the buses to take them to the parks. But we should just get little tags we can hang from the rear view mirrors from the resorts that say we are staying there so we can park our cars. And have us tap our MBs when we get on the buses to show we are resort guests. But I also read that other hotels off property are charging "resort fees" besides the cost of lodgings. Disney is not yet doing that so maybe the parking fee is in line with that too. Still, I wonder how Disney charges those who still try to park in the parking lots of Disney hotels when they are not staying in those hotels? How do they know who is who? When I stay on property my credit card just gets charged the parking fee along with all my other charges while staying there.

WDW used to provide paper signs. Now I think they just gather electronic data at the parking lot entrance.

Electronic plate readers and traffic cameras are kinda everywhere nowadays, at least in more urban areas.

 

[ladybat2]

WDW used to provide paper signs. Now I think they just gather electronic data at the parking lot entrance.

Electronic plate readers and traffic cameras are kinda everywhere nowadays, at least in more urban areas.

For our 2019 trip I hit the cast members on the phone up for a freebie. I think they had just started the charging for parking for resort guests and I was livid after I had found out shortly before the trip. And it was even cheaper then too. I made a cry baby voice and said "come on cast member Amy. Cut me a deal here. I didn't budget for this parking fee Mr Mouse just decided to throw out there! Can't we negotiate this?" And she said " let me see what I can do" and put me on hold. Came back and said. "well I don't have a way to wave the parking fee but how about a free memory maker on us for your trip?" I replied. DEAL! I'm going to try it again for my Oct 22 trip. Probably won't have the same luck this time being its post Pandemic and Disney felt its first hole in its pocket in all its life. But a girl's gotta try. This time I'm gonna use the ol "you guys took magic express away from us! Rental cars are outrageous now so my daughter who lives 2 hours from Orlando has to drive her clunker to meet me and pick me up from the airport because there is no more magical express! We don't even plan on using her car while there. We gotta take the slow buses! Come on now..... what ya got for me? Can't we negotiate this? Ask Mr Mouse for me... tell him.... I aint feeling the magic. I need to feel that magic. He wants me to feel the magic right? 19 bucks a day parking fee aint magic man! Its extortion!"

 

[jasminethecat]

For our 2019 trip I hit the cast members on the phone up for a freebie. I think they had just started the charging for parking for resort guests and I was livid after I had found out shortly before the trip. And it was even cheaper then too. I made a cry baby voice and said "come on cast member Amy. Cut me a deal here. I didn't budget for this parking fee Mr Mouse just decided to throw out there! Can't we negotiate this?" And she said " let me see what I can do" and put me on hold. Came back and said. "well I don't have a way to wave the parking fee but how about a free memory maker on us for your trip?" I replied. DEAL! I'm going to try it again for my Oct 22 trip. Probably won't have the same luck this time being its post Pandemic and Disney felt its first hole in its pocket in all its life. But a girl's gotta try. This time I'm gonna use the ol "you guys took magic express away from us! Rental cars are outrageous now so my daughter who lives 2 hours from Orlando has to drive her clunker to meet me and pick me up from the airport because there is no more magical express! We don't even plan on using her car while there. We gotta take the slow buses! Come on now..... what ya got for me? Can't we negotiate this? Ask Mr Mouse for me... tell him.... I aint feeling the magic. I need to feel that magic. He wants me to feel the magic right? 19 bucks a day parking fee aint magic man! Its extortion!"

So if Disney throws in $50 or $100 the magic suddenly comes back for you? I thought you were complaining about corporations being greedy and losing touch, but it works both ways. The entire paragraph above is actually shameful, you admit that you are planning on hassling disney employees and deliberately manipulating and/or lying to try and get free stuff. Please imagine if every person acted like you do, causing a scene with cast members to try and renegotiate fees which are published and have been known for YEARS. I would imagine you also cry about how entitled young people are these days. Ironic. But a girl's gotta try I suppose, even if she's 65 and should really know better.

 

[ladybat2]

Wow. Some Mouse fans have no sense of humor. One of the things that amazes me about online Disney discussion boards is how there are so many people who participate in them that actually think they own the parks themselves and have been appointed the official spokes person for them. Actually scolding any one who dares to question or criticize any thing the mouse does... Almost as if the mouse were....

God Himself.

 

[jasminethecat]

Wow. Some Mouse fans have no sense of humor. One of the things that amazes me about online Disney discussion boards is how there are so many people who participate in them that actually think they own the parks themselves and have been appointed the official spokes person for them. Actually scolding any one who dares to question or criticize any thing the mouse does... Almost as if the mouse were....

God Himself.

You're not a hero in this situation, you're not "daring to question or criticize any thing the mouse does". You're advocating to hassle disney employees on the phone who have no ability to create or change disney policies and you're just looking for freebies. Calling you out on crappy behavior is not being a spokesperson or acting like I own the parks. If you acted like this at the register at McDonalds I would say the same thing, no Godly Mouse necessary.

It is one thing to come here and complain about disney being greedy, I get that. I actually do that myself. You could also call or write to make formal complaints to disney following the proper channels if you really care about parking fees or anything else. But you're just a greedy person using a greedy company as your own justification. Not cool.

 

[ladybat2]

You're not a hero in this situation, you're not "daring to question or criticize any thing the mouse does". You're advocating to hassle disney employees on the phone who have no ability to create or change disney policies and you're just looking for freebies. Calling you out on crappy behavior is not being a spokesperson or acting like I own the parks. If you acted like this at the register at McDonalds I would say the same thing, no Godly Mouse necessary.

It is one thing to come here and complain about disney being greedy, I get that. I actually do that myself. You could also call or write to make formal complaints to disney following the proper channels if you really care about parking fees or anything else. But you're just a greedy person using a greedy company as your own justification. Not cool.

Take it easy! I was just trying out a little humor. Sorry if you got offended. When I did that last time on the phone with the cast members they laughed and thought it was funny. I made sure they knew it was all in fun. They were only to happy to try and get me some little extras because you see..... those cast members on the phone that I was talking to..... unlike you..... they understand what "the happiest place on earth" is really all about.

Jasmine.... your post to me was unwarrented and down right rude. I said nothing hateful or mean to you and though you seem to have so much of a high opinion of your own thoughts and ideas that you believe Disney is paying attention to your thread topics in here that you start personally I hate to break it to you but they are not.

I like to hang out in message board forums that talk about a verity of issues. The political ones contain a logically large amount of angry people who have no control over their emotions and manners. Thats to be expected in political or even religious topic message boards but I am amazed at how many horribly rude narcissistic, people hang out on Disney discussion boards. The one kind of boards that I would never have thought to find so many of that sort of folk hanging out in.

Jasmine you said to me that I'm 65 years old and should know better....

I don't know how old you are.... but apparently you are either so old that you forgot manners your mother should have taught you or you never were taught any in the first place.

If you feel to shy or unworthy enough to negotiate with the mouse and ask him to throw you a few crumbs if its not to much trouble for him to do so being as he is the richest mouse on earth then that is your problem not mine.

But as for me..... I've never been afraid to barter and bargain.

How do you think I'm at a place in my life where I can afford to take an expensive vacation like WDW in the first place?

Its never been a sin to bargain if one can. All that can happen is they will say no.

Heck, we're not afraid or ashamed to ask God for stuff....

Why not the mouse?