Disney Genie coming to Walt Disney World planning

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How much are you willing to pay for it?

Can't say if I will pay for the Disney Genie or not. I would think at least at the beginning it would be free. Disney has to work out the bugs. Being of unknown value would make it hard to pay for it.

I may purchase more experiences and I'm hoping that will satisfy the Disney profiteers.
 
Can't say if I will pay for the Disney Genie or not. I would think at least at the beginning it would be free. Disney has to work out the bugs. Being of unknown value would make it hard to pay for it.

I may purchase more experiences and I'm hoping that will satisfy the Disney profiteers.

Maybe if Genie will grant some wishes....
 
In some talks of the change to FP+, I have seen the upcoming Disney Genie App mentioned. What do you know about this? Is this a response to the success of the Touring Plans (etc...) subscriptions? Will it replace MDE, or will it just be for touring plans? Will it be required, or just optional? I saw it mentioned that it's likely being released as a way of manipulating crowds, do you agree?
 
In some talks of the change to FP+, I have seen the upcoming Disney Genie App mentioned. What do you know about this? Is this a response to the success of the Touring Plans (etc...) subscriptions? Will it replace MDE, or will it just be for touring plans? Will it be required, or just optional? I saw it mentioned that it's likely being released as a way of manipulating crowds, do you agree?
It was announced at D23

https://www.disboards.com/threads/disney-genie-coming-to-walt-disney-world-planning.3766679/
 


Hmmm, I wonder if this will be something available for our May 2021 trip.
 


In some talks of the change to FP+, I have seen the upcoming Disney Genie App mentioned. What do you know about this? Is this a response to the success of the Touring Plans (etc...) subscriptions? Will it replace MDE, or will it just be for touring plans? Will it be required, or just optional? I saw it mentioned that it's likely being released as a way of manipulating crowds, do you agree?

There is the resurfacing of reports of Disney going to some sort of "Pay for FP" system - with reference to an older article from Martin and just some other rumors of this finally rolling out, for reals this time, we mean it, later this year - and then people combining that with the knowledge of Genie coming out later this year and thinking that would be a good time to introduce both things at once

And then makes people think maybe the Genie app is needed to accessing the paid FPs, etc. .... so all just speculation at this point
 
This seems very similar to what the folks over at Touring Plans have been doing for years. It will be interesting to see if Disney can do it better since they presumably have access to a LOT more data.

I've had Touring Plans and it works great. I don't see Disney even coming close to them. While Disney has the information, they have no idea what to do with it. I will never understand why, but Disney has the worst IT department ever. Their website has been horrid since the first day of existence. Their app is sketchy at best.

If they can't get it together to fix those things after all these years, I can't imagine something new will work any better.

As mentioned on another thread, it's the perfect way to set us up for paid FP.

That's absolutely what it is. Paid FP is already a thing at club level and this app will be making it a thing for everyone.
 
I do feel like it's time for them to mix things up a bit(or totally turn it on it's head). Now that they have a pretty good handle of the system that brought us magic bands and the like, they will need our next step or replacement for extra magic hours for resort guests.
I think they know that any way they slice it, keeping the park open extra hours exclusively for disney resort guests is a loss leader. Giving on-property guests an advantage through the fast pass system makes a lot of sense as ultimately it improves the experience of those guests, and lets them maximize a shrinking amount of time in the park.

So I think they'll "give" on property folks more fastpass opportunities either complimentary or with al-carte paid options. Perhaps use that to differentiate between resort levels. I think they can also use the number of days in advance to acquire the fastpass as a carrot.

They have the ability to control the quantity, mix of parks, and how many days out you can acquire the fast pass without it costing them a dime. They can add a lot of extra value to guest with no cost to them. I can't see them NOT doing something. You also have califonia's max pass system which also works. Now you have boarding groups which seem to work so far with RotR.

I don't know that they necessarily know what path they are going down, but I do think change is coming.
 
This is sorely needed. It’s become too difficult to plan a Disney vacation, and too scheduled when you are there.

Unfortunately here is how I think it will work:

Q: Hey Genie, what should I do today?
A: the shortest lines today are at Magic Kingdom. Most are under 2 hours standby. There are no Fastpasses or ADRs left.
I could grant you a wish....

Q: like what?
A: I could get you into the frontier land deluxe dessert package. It includes FP for Country Bears and Hall of Presidents, plus a churro and spot on the sidewalk to watch the parade while you eat it!

Q: how much?
A: if you have to ask, you can’t afford it!

Q: OK! Do It!
A: Sorry, that wish is no longer available. Have a MAGICAL day!
 
I've had Touring Plans and it works great. I don't see Disney even coming close to them. While Disney has the information, they have no idea what to do with it.
Yep. I trust TP more than I trust Disney on creating touring plans. TP wants you to buy their subscription which means you have to like what they provide and they have a vested interest in giving you a lot of good info. Disney has a vested interest in getting you to buy upcharges. Pete said it on one of the Dis Unplugged eps - the Genie is not going to be about what's good for you, it's going to be about what's good for Disney. Also, I'm not sure how this works on a large scale. TP and the advice here on the Dis work because a relatively small subset of people know about it. If BTMR has a short wait and the Genie sends everyone in the park there it becomes an RD scenario. Whoever was closest gets the short wait.

I might like the Genie better though if it activates the speakers on your phone and takes back the advise it just gave you with, "Pull up! It's a trap!"
 
Yep. I trust TP more than I trust Disney on creating touring plans. TP wants you to buy their subscription which means you have to like what they provide and they have a vested interest in giving you a lot of good info. Disney has a vested interest in getting you to buy upcharges. Pete said it on one of the Dis Unplugged eps - the Genie is not going to be about what's good for you, it's going to be about what's good for Disney. Also, I'm not sure how this works on a large scale. TP and the advice here on the Dis work because a relatively small subset of people know about it. If BTMR has a short wait and the Genie sends everyone in the park there it becomes an RD scenario. Whoever was closest gets the short wait.

I think this is the key, and why I'm not convinced on this. The Genie is totally going to be about Disney manipulating us.
 
Maybe this is a gateway to something more (paid FPs and such) but this really just seems like a simple planner.

Select the stuff you want to do, the genie will put it in a logical order based on location and wait time. And it’ll make some basic recommendations based on what you’ve selected: “if you like Dumbo, you might also like flying carpets” or maybe “the wait for dumbo is very long, would you like to try flying carpets instead?” Probably similar function with restaurants/food.

Doesn’t really seem like a game changer for people in the know, but something to simplify planning for the casual visitor.
 
I think this is the key, and why I'm not convinced on this. The Genie is totally going to be about Disney manipulating us.


Right. There's no way Disney spends a ton of $$$ developing a new app just to be a free planning tool. They have to monetize it in some way or ensure it benefits them in some way.
 
I think this is the key, and why I'm not convinced on this. The Genie is totally going to be about Disney manipulating us.

The new visitors who are overwhelmed by the planning, who don’t have time to spend hours researching, who find the technology too confusing. For a lot of the things people ask for help with here on the board there are often suggestions that are no additional cost and suggestions that do cost money. Want a good spot for the fireworks? Many people will suggest dessert parties. Other people will offer up the alternatives like the area in front of Casey’s (when it was available) or let the person know when they need to arrive. I suspect that if people ask genie the answer is going to be to let them know there is space available at that night’s dessert party and offer to book it. It’s like reading only the reviews on a company’s own website - it’s usually better to get a third party perspective as well.

But if people accept that and have the money, that’s their choice and hopefully it’s helpful to them.
 
I was JUST thinking of Genie yesterday and up pops this thread! I hope they announce features/costs far before roll-out. We go December 2020 and while to some planners that is far out, to me I'm just worried about throwing a new app in that could mess up our plans.
 
Right. There's no way Disney spends a ton of $$$ developing a new app just to be a free planning tool. They have to monetize it in some way or ensure it benefits them in some way.
I have took shots at Disney many times, but I won’t on Genie until they actually role it out and provide a reason to. Plenty of reasons exist for Disney to pour resources into Genie besides just monetization. Disney already charges sky high prices compared to competitors and they have every incentive in the world to add a tool that increases customer satisfaction to justify those prices.

I think we on this board view Genie as something Disney is developing for customers like us. I think it is being developed for the guest that don’t know how much or don’t want to take part in the planning we do for a trip. If Disney can develop a tool for them to have an enjoyable trip and eliminate the bad word of mouth their trips generate, that is worth a ton of money to Disney.
 
If I could query Genie to find a time to go, that would have value to me. Putting in criteria like dinner at Ohana around 6, Expedition Everest and Pirates fast passes, and not a skyliner resort and have it spit out dates and prices for on site rooms and dates would be the idea. Oh, and add a Slinky Dog FP too. That would be cool.

But we could end up in a Upgrade Magic Band situation, where your options all exist until you try to check out!
 
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