the MANY problems with Genie+ and paid FastPass (or whatever they are calling it)

[UNCgolf]

My experience of waiting in long lines to get early morning bus/boat/monorail from any WDW resort I've stayed at doesn't correlate with "most resort guests sleep in."

I don't think most sleep in so as to only show up at or after noon, but I think it's pretty clear that most don't rope drop.

It only takes a few hundred guests to cause long lines for transportation.

 

[arich35]

I think opposite.......I think alot of the rope droppers were locals/AP holders and they are now shut out of that and most resort people sleep in/go later

You have to get up pretty early to rope drop if you are staying at resort that only has bus transportation. We are staying at Saratoga and I can't imagine how early we would have to try and catch a bus to rope drop for a 8 or 9 AM opening

 

[dreday3]

You have to get up pretty early to rope drop if you are staying at resort that only has bus transportation. We are staying at Saratoga and I can't imagine how early we would have to try and catch a bus to rope drop for a 8 or 9 AM opening

Most resorts have at least one park you need to bus to - we are at bus stop about 45 minutes before park opening/early entry. So for an 8 am open with 30 minute early entry - we would be at bus stop about 6:45.

Now we will only do this once per park for the trip and we will be there 9 days, so only 4 early mornings. It's soooooo worth it for us. We get so much done in the first couple hours.

 

[NickMaio]

correct.......then you are behind on your day as some availability will be taken up

Let me explain it this way.........If i could book first ride at 8pm the night before and I got Space Mountain return time noon, then your second ride could be booked at park opening and i got Thunder for return time at 1pm, then id have 2 of the rides i wanted booked for as soon as i arrive without waking up at 7am and without getting there for park opening


I cannot do that as Genie+ is currently constituted because
1) i have to wake up at 7am
2) I have to take next available
3) id have to wait 120 mins or until i ride to book second ride

One thing you are forgetting or not acknowledging. Dis has not stated how Genie plus will actually work in regards to keeping slots open during various times of the day.
You keep comparing the old ticket based fast passes, that would run out early for new rides.
However, every guest could get these for free.
Not every guest will get genie plus. This in theory should open up a lot more options.

It sucks to pay, but it actually might open more options and less waiting throughout the day.

Very little info is out on the inner workings of this system.
Comparing it to previous line jumping systems is moot because all others were free.
20,000 guests = 60,000 fast passes.
Genie should be a lot less

 

[Model3 McQueen]

Trying to wrap my head around some of the posts here - for those of you who are siding with the genie+ thing.. are you genuinely okay with the microtransaction, make-EA-games-proud kind of pricing.. or are you simply responding to attack the OP Jeff? I mean with all due respect I'm not trying to pick on you, I'd just like to know the argument behind price increases being good.

 

[SteveAZee]

I don't know what this has to do with Genie+, or why people are even arguing about it, but simple math is enough to tell you that most people aren't at rope drop on any given day. If they were, rides (especially the major ones) would have their highest standby wait times (likely 2+ hours for all headliners) within the first 20-30 minutes of opening as tens of thousands of guests all rushed them at once.

Also, actually getting into the park would be a nightmarish hellscape with that number of guests all trying to get in at the same time.

100% of me did rope drop 30% of the time.

Seriously, I wonder if Genie+ will affect how many people will feel the need to do rope drop, regardless of how it works (or doesn't). For me, I rarely did rope drop but I had FP+ as a safety net to get me into the attractions I cared about.

 

[NickMaio]

One thing you are forgetting or not acknowledging. Dis has not stated how Genie plus will actually work in regards to keeping slots open during various times of the day.
You keep comparing the old ticket based fast passes, that would run out early for new rides.
However, every guest could get these for free.
Not every guest will get genie plus. This in theory should open up a lot more options.

It sucks to pay, but it actually might open more options and less waiting throughout the day.

Very little info is out on the inner workings of this system.
Comparing it to previous line jumping systems is moot because all others were free.
20,000 guests = 60,000 fast passes.
Genie should be a lot less

I'm not for Genie plus at all I think it's aweful.....however comparing it to other free systems makes zero sense at all.
No one can predict what this will do to the parks or our experiences.

This is another ty greedy money grab from the Dis company.

 

[JustAFan]

I hate to burst your pixie dust bubble, but...

Disney.
Is.
A.
Business.

 

[Patcheslee]

just a quick question. #3 if you are a afternoon/evening park goer with the free fast pass, that was the same complaint that all the options were gone. so basically Disney has always been rough for those who like to sleep in.

lol I remember people here telling me "you don't go to disney to sleep in".

Sorry that one is not the fault of genie+

I think I've lost sight of the point of these threads....

We never planned RD and had 3 FP scheduled for at the earliest 11am. Still got a few after that each day. It's the biggest irk personally because I don't want to feel like I'm going to work.
I haven't personally experienced Maxpass, and only the complaints about rides selling out quickly. It's what made DL, and the additional $1200 flight costs less attractive for the way we like to explore parks.

 

[arich35]

Most resorts have at least one park you need to bus to - we are at bus stop about 45 minutes before park opening/early entry. So for an 8 am open with 30 minute early entry - we would be at bus stop about 6:45.

Now we will only do this once per park for the trip and we will be there 9 days, so only 4 early mornings. It's soooooo worth it for us. We get so much done in the first couple hours.

We are only there for 5 and it is a getaway for us from kids so we miss sleep lol. If it is really busy maybe we will try it one morning.

 

[Tony the Tigger]

They can take your money, not mine

See, the line is shorter already!

 

[nickys]

One thing you are forgetting or not acknowledging. Dis has not stated how Genie plus will actually work in regards to keeping slots open during various times of the day.
You keep comparing the old ticket based fast passes, that would run out early for new rides.
However, every guest could get these for free.
Not every guest will get genie plus. This in theory should open up a lot more options.

It sucks to pay, but it actually might open more options and less waiting throughout the day.

Very little info is out on the inner workings of this system.
Comparing it to previous line jumping systems is moot because all others were free.
20,000 guests = 60,000 fast passes.
Genie should be a lot less

Indeed. If you follow the Disneyland Paris app it has “drops” of passes at regular intervals through the day. So after x number of passes issued it says “ more passes will be available at 11am”. No reason Genie+ and the premium rides couldn’t be like that.

 

[GoneViral]

And I slept in until noon.

If you're going to sleep until noon, go to a beach or on a cruise. Problem solved.

 

[Genie_naughty_whispers]

Due to contract obligations with the late Robin Williams, Disney has had to rename Genie+

 

[erasure fan1]

If you're going to sleep until noon, go to a beach or on a cruise. Problem solved.

OR... If Disney had done it's job, and kept up with capacity with all the record profits they made from the constant price increases. Maybe everyone could do the parks how they like because they wouldn't have to worry that if they went to the parks a bit later, they wouldn't have a miserable experience.

 

[eliza61nyc]

OR... If Disney had done it's job, and kept up with capacity with all the record profits they made from the constant price increases. Maybe everyone could do the parks how they like because they wouldn't have to worry that if they went to the parks a bit later, they wouldn't have a miserable experience.

true but how do you plan a trip on "if, woulda shoulda". I totally agree with you IF Disney had done that it would have help but they didn't so now what? I totally agree with you and genie is not going to solve the underlying problem.

but the reality is, this is all the company is doing so people are either going to deal with the genie+ system or they aren't

Now my next trip is in a few days so it's not an immediate concern. I have no intentions on purchasing it ever so I'm taking a more wait and see approach. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out

 

[erasure fan1]

true but how do you plan a trip on "if, woulda shoulda". I totally agree with you IF Disney had done that it would have help but they didn't so now what? I totally agree with you and genie is not going to solve the underlying problem.

but the reality is, this is all the company is doing so people are either going to deal with the genie+ system or they aren't

Now my next trip is in a few days so it's not an immediate concern. I have no intentions on purchasing it ever so I'm taking a more wait and see approach. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out

My point was more of a rebuttal against the person assuming someone else's way of enjoying the parks was wrong. If you were able to enjoy the parks a certain way, and now you can't. That is a valid reason to be upset. Especially since Disney could have prevented it for the most part. But Yes, when push comes to shove, the options are go, and deal with it. Or find a new destination. But no ones opinion is less valid.

 

[J_Carioca]

I haven't read the whole thread but I agree with a lot of points made by the OP. And that is why I wont buy Genie plus. And I would suggest that everyone else who agrees should do the same. Don't buy it! Just because they make it doesn't mean we have to buy it. I hope it will still be possible to have a good WDW vacation without buying into this crazy add-on add-on add-on mindset.

 

[SirWillow]

I haven't read the whole thread but I agree with a lot of points made by the OP. And that is why I wont buy Genie plus. And I would suggest that everyone else who agrees should do the same. Don't buy it! Just because they make it doesn't mean we have to buy it. I hope it will still be possible to have a good WDW vacation without buying into this crazy add-on add-on add-on mindset.

And the wonderful thing is there are going to be a lot of people who don't buy it. Not everyone will. Which means that those who do will have more options and shorter waits. and that those that don't will also have their wait times not be impacted by the ones that do buy it.

As long as Disney doesn't screw it up by offering 90% of attraction capacity to Genie+ like they did with fastpass+ this could actually turn out to be a win-win. But then that may be hoping for to much.

 

[Ayla]

And the wonderful thing is there are going to be a lot of people who don't buy it. Not everyone will. Which means that those who do will have more options and shorter waits. and that those that don't will also have their wait times not be impacted by the ones that do buy it.

As long as Disney doesn't screw it up by offering 90% of attraction capacity to Genie+ like they did with fastpass+ this could actually turn out to be a win-win. But then that may be hoping for to much.

Umm, you know this isn't true, right?