DAS Outrage vs Genie Plus Outrage?

[Geemo]

Setting a really high price to skip lines is exactly what 6-Flags/Cedarfair did - and it works WAY better.

Not familiar with these other parks...
What do they charge and how long is the wait in a "skip the line "?

 

[MonocularVision]

I will repeat this until I die:

Genie+ is not just paid FP. There are several differences that greatly affect the experiences between the two:

• The LL lines are, on average, shorter and go much faster. This is partly because you have to pay for it and partly because they changed the ratio.
• The limitation of one LL per ride per day combined with the paid nature means there is a lot more availability later into the day than before. On busy days in the past, FPs for many popular rides would be gone for the entire day after 2-3 hours. And this was when they were open until midnight!
• Even when comparing to MaxPass: there is no “unlimited addon” option for passholders which means far fewer people at Disneyland using it.

Overall: I feel as an out of town visitor I get way more value out of G+ than I got out of free FP and later MP. Which again goes to show that the entire system is meant to improve the experience of the occasional visitor at the expense of the Passholder. Simply rising the price of the ticket for everyone wouldn’t have worked to change that balance.

 

[NorCalFanatic]

I will repeat this until I die:

Genie+ is not just paid FP. There are several differences that greatly affect the experiences between the two:

• The LL lines are, on average, shorter and go much faster. This is partly because you have to pay for it and partly because they changed the ratio.
• The limitation of one LL per ride per day combined with the paid nature means there is a lot more availability later into the day than before. On busy days in the past, FPs for many popular rides would be gone for the entire day after 2-3 hours. And this was when they were open until midnight!

Overall: I feel as an out of town visitor I get way more value out of G+ than I got out of free FP and later MP. Which again goes to show that the entire system is meant to improve the experience of the occasional visitor at the expense of the Passholder. Simply rising the price of the ticket for everyone wouldn’t have worked to change that balance.

Totally agree, We didn't ride RSR for years after it first opened, as the FPs would be gone for the day within the first 1-2 hours of the park being open!

We are out of towners, we're also pass holders. We go enough to make the passes worthwhile, but we also purchase Genie + every visit, and love it more than FP. Would we buy it if we were local? Possibly, but probably not as often as we do now.

 

[whiteness]

I know most Disneyland guests are APs but on Undercovertourist you can purchase day tickets that include Genie+. I picked these tickets up for a trip next year (mostly because I know a price increase will occur sometime this year) but I wonder if someday Disneyland would remove the ability to add on Genie+ like WDW did.

Also I agree with people saying Genie+ will never go away. The amount of $$$ Disney makes on a skip the line service alone reinforces that they'll never return to making the system free.

Indeed. And why should anyone automatically assume that admission to the park includes an unlimited supply of Oxygen? I'm sure there are plenty of guests that would gladly pay extra for the opportunity to breath freely, rather than sucking air through a straw.

Sure, a guest may assume that, just because the air is all around the guest, the guest paid to be in the park where the air is located, and the guest can watch other guests enjoying full, unrestricted lungfuls, that the guest can simply throw the Disney provided "breathing-straw" away, and just...breath like everyone else. But that's entirely false. Let's not forget that those other guests PAID Disney for the privilege to enjoy 100 breaths of fresh air to every 1 of the non-paying guests.

Just the sight of those poor cheapskates gasping for air should be enough to convince any family to pay up or face the same fate. And pay, they do!

But just wait until you see what Disney has planned for next year: guests will be required to drag around a 100 pound ball and chain, unless they pay Disney an upcharge to unlock it from their ankles. The weight (and upcharge) will increase every year until Disney meets their Shareholders' revenue targets. I just can't wait!

 

[Smugpugmug]

Indeed. And why should anyone automatically assume that admission to the park includes an unlimited supply of Oxygen? I'm sure there are plenty of guests that would gladly pay extra for the opportunity to breath freely, rather than sucking air through a straw.

Sure, a guest may assume that, just because the air is all around the guest, the guest paid to be in the park where the air is located, and the guest can watch other guests enjoying full, unrestricted lungfuls, that the guest can simply throw the Disney provided "breathing-straw" away, and just...breath like everyone else. But that's entirely false. Let's not forget that those other guests PAID Disney for the privilege to enjoy 100 breaths of fresh air to every 1 of the non-paying guests.

Just the sight of those poor cheapskates gasping for air should be enough to convince any family to pay up or face the same fate. And pay, they do!

But just wait until you see what Disney has planned for next year: guests will be required to drag around a 100 pound ball and chain, unless they pay Disney an upcharge to unlock it from their ankles. The weight (and upcharge) will increase every year until Disney meets their Shareholders' revenue targets. I just can't wait!

Sir, this is a Wendy's.

 

[nalababybear]

I understand the point you're making but I have to laugh at this pic...I assume the people inside the ballpark paid for tickets and the fence is to keep those who did not buy tickets from watching the game. Those over-the-fence watchers are cheating much like DAS scammers.

You can't sit inside the fence -- you'll be on the field of play.

Who's saying there's no fence behind the spectators?

 

[joseph821]

I do not think Disney will get rid of Genie + .

I think Disney should come up with some limitations/restrictions.

Like if you are booking a vacation with hotel and tickets through the Walt Disney Travel Company, you can buy tickets with Genie + or if you are staying at one of the Resort Hotels - you can buy tickets with Genie + upon check-in.

And for those not staying off-site, you can add Genie + to your ticket when you are physically inside one of the parks and Genie + is only on sale for 2 hours after that day's opening time or before the upgrades sell out.

And the amount of Genie + upgrades should be based on the predicted attendance for that particular day.

And I also would make Genie + at a minimum $60 for Monday through Thursday and a minimum of $75 for Friday through Sunday. Or make the price for Genie correlate to the Tier Ticket for each day. Tier 1 ticket days, for example $40, Tier 6 maybe at $75.

 

[NorCalFanatic]

And for those not staying off-site, you can add Genie + to your ticket when you are physically inside one of the parks and Genie + is only on sale for 2 hours after that day's opening time or before the upgrades sell out.

It's already like this. We've got Magic Keys, we can't buy Genie+ until we're in the park, even when staying at VDH. Often when we know we'll be at the park later in the day, we'll "clock in" at the Monorail station so we can buy Genie + and start booking some rides for later in the day.

 

[joseph821]

It's already like this. We've got Magic Keys, we can't buy Genie+ until we're in the park, even when staying at VDH. Often when we know we'll be at the park later in the day, we'll "clock in" at the Monorail station so we can buy Genie + and start booking some rides for later in the day.

Ok for Magic Keys. But you can purchase tickets with Genie + directly on the disneyland website and do not have to be in the parks - that needs to stop.

 

[NorCalFanatic]

Ok for Magic Keys. But you can purchase tickets with Genie + directly on the disneyland website and do not have to be in the parks - that needs to stop.

Yes, this what we did prior to being magic key holders. We purchased it online with our tickets. However you still can’t start reserving a LL until you enter the park.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Not familiar with these other parks...
What do they charge and how long is the wait in a "skip the line "?

It starts at $70 - they give you a return ticket with the time you would have waited. Their version of DAS works the same way. It goes up to $170 if you want to just skip the line - any line, all day.

It works because almost no one uses it. Sure, people are skipping lines, but it doesn't really kill your wait in line - like G+ does. Those who do use it pay a big premium, but they don't wait in line at all.

https://www.sixflags.com/magicmountain/store/one-day-add-ons

 

[tenneycjt]

Does anyone have any in person experiances for das since the changes were announced last week. Are they operating as was till June 18th or is it new now. There has to be some news by now, on how it working today, Would luv to hear.

 

[Wesley815]

Does anyone have any in person experiances for das since the changes were announced last week. Are they operating as was till June 18th or is it new now. There has to be some news by now, on how it working today, Would luv to hear.

No changes until June 18th for Disneyland.

https://disneyland.disney.go.com/guest-services/disability-access-service/

 

[Wesley815]

• The LL lines are, on average, shorter and go much faster. This is partly because you have to pay for it and partly because they changed the ratio.

Sadly this point is getting worse and worse each day, the return lines for LL can be very long.

 

[MICKIMINI]

I indeed do not understand. I believe that it would be good if Disney made the waiting experience better for everyone. Would this also be something you think is good or is there some reason you don't want other people to have a better experience in the parks?

In terms of wording and terminology, I hope you will at least agree that people using DAS are able to do things that people not using DAS cannot do. Some people will see this as a reasonable accomodation while others will see it as an unfair advantage.

We are going around in circles with this conversation. I will say that it takes me many times as long as an able bodied person to do most anything. So if I save 45 minutes of time with DAS waiting for a ride I am able to sit in the shade and rest for 45 minutes in order to do the ride. How is that bothering anyone?

 

[Minnie1222]

In terms of wording and terminology, I hope you will at least agree that people using DAS are able to do things that people not using DAS cannot do. Some people will see this as a reasonable accomodation while  others will see it as an unfair advantage.

There're people who think it's unfair for disabled folks to use the express lane?

Yes, I agree DAS users are able to do things that non-DAS users can't. That's the main purpose of the system. Please don't tell me some people are actually jealous of this!

 

[MICKIMINI]

I believe it is good to help everyone have a better overall experience. This makes free Fastpass is better than Genie+ because more people would be able to skip lines without paying. So I would not agree if someone said that the current system with Genie+ and DAS is better on accounts of it being potentially more equitable.

I also understand that people with disabilities face many challenges and I agree there should be accomodations where it makes sense. But I do not think that these accomodations must requrie people without disabilities to have a lesser experience for the sake of perceived equity. It seems like you may potentially disagree with me on this. If so, we may have different ideas of what is desirable.

As someone who appreciates when my friends help me have a better experience in the parks and likes to return the favor, I don't think I would want to spend a day with your group. You wrote in an earlier post that you do not wish for people to feel sorry for you but later expressed that you felt sorry for me. This makes me feel like you would not treat me the way you wish to be treated.

I appologize if things I wrote come off as unempathetic or sadden you. While I probably don't agree with you on this issue, I can respect that you are advocating for what you think is right.

I think you have confused who you are responding to but no matter.

Spending a day with "my group" would be a slow slog through a park, maybe only 3-4 hours and no rides. Boring, right? I will gladly hold your backpack and wait patiently in a shady spot while you go on a ride.

People that travel with us get treated to DVC villas and we pick up the tab for lovely meals when appropriate. DH and I try to arrive a day early to stock our villa with cases of water, whatever the guests prefer for drinks like beer, wine (though we don't drink) and snacks. They are invited to our villa to pick up their goodies when they arrive. We always have at least a 1 BR with a kitchen and dining room so we can prepare a nice breakfast for our guests if they will join us. My DH and I are excellent hosts at home or at WDW. Guests tell us we are better than any B & B they have ever been too!

Why wouldn't I treat you nicely? I guess I am mature enough to know I will not always agree with others, and I am not afraid to articulate my feelings, politely. There are many things we likely don't agree on, however respect and kindness are definitely something that is important to me.

Cheaters deserve to get banned for life. DAS folks deserve to experience life. There is a huge difference between the two.

 

[MICKIMINI]

There're people who think it's unfair for disabled folks to use the express lane?

Yes, I agree DAS users are able to do things that non-DAS users can't. That's the main purpose of the system. Please don't tell me some people are actually jealous of this!

Yes, unbelievable as it is! Read back a few pages. It gets a bit ugly.

 

[Brian Noble]

Setting a really high price to skip lines is exactly what 6-Flags/Cedarfair did - and it works WAY better.

I am a Cedar Point passholder, and have been for decades. Their current iteration of paid-skip is expensive, but it does not work "way better". The standby lines for Maverick and Steel Vengeance move glacially slowly, and on a busier day so does Millennium Force. Valravn and Raptor have good chunks of the day that are rough as well.

On the other hand, even without paid-skip, the line for Steel Vengeance has always been painful more or less from opening day. There is no magic bullet for "insanely popular ride". One can only hope Son-Of-Dragster will draw well enough to spread people around a bit more.

 

[nalababybear]

I am a Cedar Point passholder, and have been for decades. Their current iteration of paid-skip is expensive, but it does not work "way better". The standby lines for Maverick and Steel Vengeance move glacially slowly, and on a busier day so does Millennium Force. Valravn and Raptor have good chunks of the day that are rough as well.

On the other hand, even without paid-skip, the line for Steel Vengeance has always been painful more or less from opening day. There is no magic bullet for "insanely popular ride". One can only hope Son-Of-Dragster will draw well enough to spread people around a bit more.

Grew up CP and sadly on west coast now far away -- worse, none of those names mentioned ring a bell.

Twin Racer, Gemini, Blue Streak, corkscrew growing up and at the end, Magnum and Millennium were our staples.

Yes, FOTL will do this. Disney moved away from MP and toward timed entries. I think they may evolve G+ toward rest of industry and sunset timed entries then phase in buy-ups to entry LL like Legoland does and scale demand pricing with those tiers.