Post your experiences without Genie+ at WDW

[Walt Disney1955]

Those that don’t want to bend over for Bob anymore. Especially for something that used to be free.

That's exactly why. Not to mention $15 x 5 is $75. For me at least. That's not worth it. I've never had much of a problem navigating through a park, busy or not, all of my life. I tend to stick to the mantra of keeping your feet moving. If something is 5 minutes of a wait, and even though you are not planning to go on it right now, if you are standing next to it and the surrounding stuff is 25+ minutes, then do the 5 minute line and then worry about the rest when you exit the ride. Just make a quick decision and stick with it.

But yes, the fastpass in the old days was free. As it should be now. I get it, Disney has to make up their money lost on the shutdowns, and the pent up demand gives them all the excuses to do this. But there was a quote Walt had about how Disneyland may have a carnival-like feel to it at times but that it would never be a place that goads people into getting their money (like carnival games). In 2022 that's what is happening.

I am thinking MK is a hot spot for the Genie +. Epcot does not sound like a place that people talk about using it, am I right? I would think because Epcot is a place that is much more spread out than MK. I would think MK, AK and DHS are the three parks where the Genie + is popular, and I am sure many think necessary.

 

[Marianm]

I would also like experiences of those who did not use.
Going end of this month and didn’t even consider getting it. But others experiences would be helpful- did early hours or rope drop help? I always found going to parks at the end of the days had less wait times.

 

[Walt Disney1955]

I would also like experiences of those who did not use.
Going end of this month and didn’t even consider getting it. But others experiences would be helpful- did early hours or rope drop help? I always found going to parks at the end of the days had less wait times.

I plan on hitting Universal and while it may be a little different there, I am going to try the old 1990s trick that never failed. Show up early right at/around rope drop. Start walking to the back of the park and then do those rides. In 2018 we got on King Kong in 5 minutes. Walked right on Jurassic River Ride. Had a 5 minute wait for Spiderman and the same for Harry Potter. Boom. One hour in and we already had done those rides. Then it was just smooth from then on. Managed to go on Kong, Spiderman and Jurassic one more time with normal lines. Magic Kingdom would be the park this might be the hardest to do it in, but we'll see. The less you have to give for what used to be a free feature (faspass) the better.

 

[Swissmiss]

It all comes down to attitude and expectations - I experienced both HS and MK with and without Genie+ this week. I ended up getting it a couple of times because it was absolutely impossible to get my teen out of the room before midday, but if you are able to get your party going early (and also if staying on property take advantage of the early morning entry) it is not indispensable as some would make you believe.

I park-hopped to MK one day (arriving around 5:30) and was able to do several rides (HM, JC, Pirates, Under the Sea, Dumbo and Barnstormer) all by 9 pm. One thing I noticed over my week here is that many wait times were off and usually lower than posted (waited 60 mins for JC - my longest wait - but it had been posted at 85 mins when I entered). If you know ride queues you may be able to better evaluate a “real” wait from a posted wait as well which can help manage expectations.

What did strike me is that you see a difference in experience levels among CMs at the moment which means some are able to more efficiently load and start a ride and some are still trying to find their groove and it takes them a bit longer. I also noticed that the LL lines seem less used than when these were FP lines so most lines I was in had a constant movement because there weren’t that many people to be inserted from the LL side.

Enjoy your trip

 

[Walt Disney1955]

It all comes down to attitude and expectations - I experienced both HS and MK with and without Genie+ this week. I ended up getting it a couple of times because it was absolutely impossible to get my teen out of the room before midday, but if you are able to get your party going early (and also if staying on property take advantage of the early morning entry) it is not indispensable as some would make you believe.

I park-hopped to MK one day (arriving around 5:30) and was able to do several rides (HM, JC, Pirates, Under the Sea, Dumbo and Barnstormer) all by 9 pm. One thing I noticed over my week here is that many wait times were off and usually lower than posted (waited 60 mins for JC - my longest wait - but it had been posted at 85 mins when I entered). If you know ride queues you may be able to better evaluate a “real” wait from a posted wait as well which can help manage expectations.

What did strike me is that you see a difference in experience levels among CMs at the moment which means some are able to more efficiently load and start a ride and some are still trying to find their groove and it takes them a bit longer. I also noticed that the LL lines seem less used than when these were FP lines so most lines I was in had a constant movement because there weren’t that many people to be inserted from the LL side.

Enjoy your trip

In 2018 we went with a relative who had never been to WDW. He alerted me of lines on his phone and such, but I just stuck to my method where I knew the park's layout so well and knew how and when to navigate. He was impressed with how much we got done just based on instinct. If everyone else is doing what their phone tells them and I am doing the opposite with my quick instincts and acting on them, then I feel that helps. For example, we cleaned up quite a bit during the day parade. I like the day parade, but we also had a lot to do, and that was the time we went on Jungle Cruise when it was not a long line. Stuff like that. I don't know, I'm going to try it. I hate giving Bob more money for otherwise free stuff.

 

[crazy4disney]

Listen everyone keeps saying it was “free” just like ME was but do we really believe it wasnt baked into the resort or price tickets already just hidden? This is nothing more than another price hike imo which has been happening all the time anyway

 

[Swissmiss]

In 2018 we went with a relative who had never been to WDW. He alerted me of lines on his phone and such, but I just stuck to my method where I knew the park's layout so well and knew how and when to navigate. He was impressed with how much we got done just based on instinct. If everyone else is doing what their phone tells them and I am doing the opposite with my quick instincts and acting on them, then I feel that helps. For example, we cleaned up quite a bit during the day parade. I like the day parade, but we also had a lot to do, and that was the time we went on Jungle Cruise when it was not a long line. Stuff like that. I don't know, I'm going to try it. I hate giving Bob more money for otherwise free stuff.

Sounds like you will do just fine without Genie+.

 

[Walt Disney1955]

Sounds like you will do just fine without Genie+.

We'll see. I don't want to buy it by any means. I'll certainly post a report on it. Expect it to be one of two headlines:

"There is a sucker born every minute"

or

"Alright Disney/WDWmagic members, you win, I lose"

 

[Thepuma]

Of course you can do the parks without G+....but you'll have a much more productive day with G+.

For us it enables us to have a break in the middle of the day. We rope drop from a Disney Resort and can pretty much get all the big rides in the first park by 2pm...we then go back to the resort, have food, rest, then back to a different park till close.

Without G+ (and ILL) we could not do that...it would take all day waiting in Stand By lines to do the same as what we can do by 1pm with G+

 

[Marianm]

We just finished a trip without genie +.
Our last day I DID buy LL for a family member who was visiting with us for the day so he could ride with my kids… but had he not been there I would not have bought it.