Everything Genie, Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane - Please Read Posts 1-7

[Landry]

MousetersInc - Every member of the party that has a LL selection at 10:03 is locked into the 2 hour or first tap. If you select one just for yourself, then your wife could make one for herself during those 2 hours, but not if you make it for both of you.

AnotherWorld - Your DH can use your band to ride something twice. The day Genie+ started I was able to secure TT for myself and RNRC for my wife and I rode both of them with our two bands. No one batted an eye.

 

[AnotherWorld]

AnotherWorld - Your DH can use your band to ride something twice. The day Genie+ started I was able to secure TT for myself and RNRC for my wife and I rode both of them with our two bands. No one batted an eye.

Thank you!! I thought he could but didn't want DH to have trouble since I won't be there. I'm the planner

 

[leeniewdw]

We're just back yesterday after 3 park days on 1/7,8, 9. DHS was much more challenging than our prior 2 trips with G+. ToT is very hard with only 1 shaft operational and I tried one day for over an hour refreshing (around mid-day) nearly constantly and never could get a LL time to appear. We ended up getting in line at 8:56pm in order to ride. Standby times were always listed as over an hour (both MDE and TPLines) and sometimes 2 hours. When we got in line it said 90 minutes on the standby line sign at 8:56pm, but the CMs said it was the shortest line of the day and we were done with the entire ride in like 53 minutes.

As "luck" would have it, we were taxiing to take off on Saturday, 1/7 at 7am so my DH and I were scrambling to grab Rise, FoP, and our first LL. I was successful in grabbing SDD but the return time was too early, like 9:35am, lol. We weren't going to be in the park until around 11am, so couldn't keep that. And of course, modify offered me 7pm (also not working with our plans), so we modified to MFSR. That was the only day that grabbing a SDD LL would work (we needed our 7am slot the next day for Remy), so we never got SDD, which was fine.

We also had issues on our final morning trying to buy ILL$ for Guardians and FOP -- it kept saying there was a problem with the payment method (there was not). We had 2 phones going and trying and trying and it took about 5 minutes of trying and after 2 minutes, 1 phone got FOP and another 3 minutes and the other got GoG. We had tried the stored paymethod, apple pay, adding a new card, etc. I took a screen shot of the error and was prepared to get help from the front desk. Eventually we had 1 person trying to purchase and the other chatting via the app. The chat help said to log out and log back in, and maybe re-install MDE. Fortunately, after about 20 tries it also went thru before we had to try that.

I also had a problem pinning rides after our first day. I'm not sure what that's about, but it was annoying.

Personally, unless you are there for a week, I can't imagine NOT getting G+ and buying ILLs. I know it's a lot of money, but if you are on a strict budget, I would actually tally up the costs of adding it to some of your days and then in the lead up to your trip, figure out how to pare that amount from your regular budget: skip Starbucks for X number of days, get take out instead of sitting down at a restaurant where you have to order beverages and tip, whatever. To us for a 3 day trip it was invaluable!

And if you opt not to get G+ please still buy ILL for GoG -- it is truly an amazing experience! We were going to try to get a VQ and ILL but MDE choked for me "applying pixie dust" and the VQ was gone. So we just got an ILL, but literally midway thru the ride I knew we'd add EP to our plans the following day to get another ride in (which we did).

 

[jvalic33]

Just back and here if you have any questions.

I consider myself a Genie Plus expert, but it was rough. We were there 1/1 through 1/8 and things didn't get manageable until 1/8. The marathon created such traffic that MK was empty in the morning. If not for that, I wouldn't have gotten on more than 2 or 3 rides with Genie Plus.

Don't get me wrong, I could have done more if willing to make everyone in my party run back and forth from one side of the parks to the other, but I opted to just skip things instead.

Let's just say that it was a good thing I did Epcot on 3 days because that was the only way I was able to get on Remy, Frozen and Test Track. Had I rope dropped Remy on one of those days I could have gotten a headliner with my first 7am selection, but since I had done Remy the first day I just opted to not kill ourselves and do other things instead.

Guardians VQ was gone in 3 seconds one morning and 7 seconds on another morning. In prior years when they had the ROTR VQ I had no problem getting a number whenever I tried, but this is crazy. We rode GOTG 3 times only because I purchased LLs and I started getting smart and booking them early so I was able to return whenever I wanted. They were definitely not accommodating you if you got there early, but there was one instance when I had trouble that morning with my payment method glitching and when I went to a GET member they fixed it with no problem.

GET lines were significantly shortly than last year which was nice and I tried not to bother them unless I was miserable and nothing was working.

We had the best trip ever though and maybe it was because I didn't let Genie Plus get me down and I didn't make it a priority to do everything. Who knows.

Genie plus is not a happy thing for first timers who want to get on everything. I feel really bad for those people because I don't see them returning anytime soon.


MK was really the only day that Genie+ really worked out and that was because we walked on some headliners and i was able to book some really good rides early and keep booking again and again. In parks where the headliners go fast and give you late return times, but the time 11 or 12 rolls around and you can book your next ride, there is almost nothing left in Epcot or AK.

 

[Goofy4]

Just back and here if you have any questions.

I consider myself a Genie Plus expert, but it was rough. We were there 1/1 through 1/8 and things didn't get manageable until 1/8. The marathon created such traffic that MK was empty in the morning. If not for that, I wouldn't have gotten on more than 2 or 3 rides with Genie Plus.

Don't get me wrong, I could have done more if willing to make everyone in my party run back and forth from one side of the parks to the other, but I opted to just skip things instead.

Let's just say that it was a good thing I did Epcot on 3 days because that was the only way I was able to get on Remy, Frozen and Test Track. Had I rope dropped Remy on one of those days I could have gotten a headliner with my first 7am selection, but since I had done Remy the first day I just opted to not kill ourselves and do other things instead.

Guardians VQ was gone in 3 seconds one morning and 7 seconds on another morning. In prior years when they had the ROTR VQ I had no problem getting a number whenever I tried, but this is crazy. We rode GOTG 3 times only because I purchased LLs and I started getting smart and booking them early so I was able to return whenever I wanted. They were definitely not accommodating you if you got there early, but there was one instance when I had trouble that morning with my payment method glitching and when I went to a GET member they fixed it with no problem.

GET lines were significantly shortly than last year which was nice and I tried not to bother them unless I was miserable and nothing was working.

We had the best trip ever though and maybe it was because I didn't let Genie Plus get me down and I didn't make it a priority to do everything. Who knows.

Genie plus is not a happy thing for first timers who want to get on everything. I feel really bad for those people because I don't see them returning anytime soon.


MK was really the only day that Genie+ really worked out and that was because we walked on some headliners and i was able to book some really good rides early and keep booking again and again. In parks where the headliners go fast and give you late return times, but the time 11 or 12 rolls around and you can book your next ride, there is almost nothing left in Epcot or AK.

Yes, the marathon certainly could have been managed better by Disney. I don't understand blocking people from crossing sides at Epcot for 10 minutes while the runners make their way through. We were running late for an ADR and it was getting a little intense. For the drive in, Waze knew that Disney was blocking routes and routed us around them. Many people were stuck in a traffic jam for who knows how long.

And YES, payment glitching was a thing with me as well. Seconds are ticking away while Disney is rejecting your payment. Only happened one day.

Remy was down Sunday and today for while. I had accidently made a LL reservation for only myself (which is easier to do than it should be). Side note: You need to verify who you have selected on every ressie. Not sure if it was me, my Android app or Disney, but it seems to sometimes not select your entire group. AND... This will create chaos with future reservation windows. See guest services (blue tent people) to undo the mess.

Haunted Mansion was mostly out of action Monday, and this also creates LL chaos. They offer something called an Alternate Experience in this situation, but you have to read the fine print. What happens here is that you will become eligible for alternate attractions from a fixed list that is not as desirable for adults. I would have assumed that if you are holding a "Mansion" e-ticket LL you might be eligible for other e-ticket LLs. Apparently not... they want to route you to attractions with less demand (I believe), which will likely not hold an equal interest to your group. And... the idea is that you just go there. You do not need to make a selection on your app as the system as already granted you 6 or so options.

Glad you enjoyed your trip. I would like to think that I learned (the hard way) most of what there is to know about Genie+, but I don't think I'll be back for a while and much will likely have changed by then.

 

[jvalic33]

Yes, the marathon certainly could have been managed better by Disney. I don't understand blocking people from crossing sides at Epcot for 10 minutes while the runners make their way through. We were running late for an ADR and it was getting a little intense. For the drive in, Waze knew that Disney was blocking routes and routed us around them. Many people were stuck in a traffic jam for who knows how long.

And YES, payment glitching was a thing with me as well. Seconds are ticking away while Disney is rejecting your payment. Only happened one day.

Remy was down Sunday and today for while. I had accidently made a LL reservation for only myself (which is easier to do than it should be). Side note: You need to verify who you have selected on every ressie. Not sure if it was me, my Android app or Disney, but it seems to sometimes not select your entire group. AND... This will create chaos with future reservation windows. See guest services (blue tent people) to undo the mess.

Haunted Mansion was mostly out of action Monday, and this also creates LL chaos. They offer something called an Alternate Experience in this situation, but you have to read the fine print. What happens here is that you will become eligible for alternate attractions from a fixed list that is not as desirable for adults. I would have assumed that if you are holding a "Mansion" e-ticket LL you might be eligible for other e-ticket LLs. Apparently not... they want to route you to attractions with less demand (I believe), which will likely not hold an equal interest to your group. And... the idea is that you just go there. You do not need to make a selection on your app as the system as already granted you 6 or so options.

Glad you enjoyed your trip. I would like to think that I learned (the hard way) most of what there is to know about Genie+, but I don't think I'll be back for a while and much will likely have changed by then.

That's funny you mentioned the individual thing.

So I had 3 phones going. One more "current" than the others and every once in a while I would find just myself and no one else in my party...even when trying to Purchase Genie+. They also told me my older phone was to blame but there were multiple times when only the older phone worked and the new one was totally unresponsive and vice versa.

Also, whether I was on wifi or not, there was definitely a slowdown.

When my little guy was watching a movie on Disney+ (on any of the 3 phones) at a dinner table within Disney property, it would be throttled and he learned to press and press and press again until sometimes it came back.

I never have slowdowns on my phone anywhere else. It was very odd.

I politely vented to a GET person and she actually gave me a pass for a ride which was super nice, I wasn't even asking for it, but things were just slow and terribly glitchy and I think it had to do with the amount of people accessing the service but she couldn't admit that.

I'm sorry it was such a downer for you. Like I said, if we hadn't already been so many times it would have been sad, but we also had a little one and we made him the priority because this was the first trip he could really enjoy things so if we didn't make it on Space Mountain we didn't really stress it, as long as he was smiling and the Tiki Room and Country Bears did it for him...no LLs needed.

 

[Silvermist999]

We just returned from our trip as well, and I have to say the most annoying part about booking the LLs was being forced to WAKE UP at 6:50am every morning to get ready to book our first LL and buy the ILL. This was especially painful when we closed both parks down the night before during the extended evening hours at Epcot and MK. Why not move it to 8am instead. Not everyone goes to bed that early and wakes up at 7am on vacation.

With that being said, we had no issues getting to ride everything we wanted at least once.

We rode Guardians three times, over 2 days, paid for it twice and booked VQ @1pm for the rest. We didn‘t bother with riding our fourth time since we found a great spot to view Harmonious and decided to just stay put.

 

[Ejw5]

Sorry if this has been asked, I looked at the info but couldn’t find an answer…Does everyone in my group have to purchase genie plus? Or can only a few of us that want to use it get it?

 

[Goofy4]

I wanted to post this the day it happened, but I was still a little bothered. I'll post now in case it helps someone in the future.

We had bad luck with rides being down/up/down. We had a 7:30 return time for Remy and planned our day around it. When we arrived it was down and we were told we could come back by 9:30 and our LL would be honored. Does anyone see the problem yet? the park shuts down for the night at 9:00!

We took an alternate Harmonious spot to be close to Remy. Remy appeared to be up, and when we arrived at 9:25 we were told that they stayed open all the way to 9:10 to accommodate guests and that we must have misunderstood the 9:30 part. They also noted that the attraction appeared to not be down because... The park had closed.

Other people started arriving having been told the same. We informed some people on their way there that they were closed and one gentleman said he was going to have a little conversation with them. Then we see security headed the same direction. People were not happy. Days get planned around these times and achy bodies don't make for happy people. Parents were also dealing with inconsolable children. Unfortunately, these things happen, even at Disney.

 

[Goofy4]

Sorry if this has been asked, I looked at the info but couldn’t find an answer…Does everyone in my group have to purchase genie plus? Or can only a few of us that want to use it get it?

If you don't get an answer, I can check on that tomorrow.

 

[MousetersInc]

Sorry if this has been asked, I looked at the info but couldn’t find an answer…Does everyone in my group have to purchase genie plus? Or can only a few of us that want to use it get it?

If you're asking about buying it day-of: When you go to buy it, you select the people that you're buying it "for." That doesn't have to be everyone. But of course only the people who "have" it can use it that day. You could even switch it up from one day to the next—one day it's Person A and C and the next it's Person B and D.

 

[scrappinginontario]

If you're asking about buying it day-of: When you go to buy it, you select the people that you're buying it "for." That doesn't have to be everyone. But of course only the people who "have" it can use it that day. You could even switch it up from one day to the next—one day it's Person A and C and the next it's Person B and D.

I’m so sorry this happened to you and others. So disappointing!!

It’s almost easier to understand an attraction being down than a person telling numerous people incorrect information and them not being able to honour it. I’m sure it wasn’t on purpose but still extremely disappointing!!

 

[Goofy4]

I’m so sorry this happened to you and others. So disappointing!!

It’s almost easier to understand an attraction being down than a person telling numerous people incorrect information and them not being able to honour it. I’m sure it wasn’t on purpose but still extremely disappointing!!

What may have happened is that normally it may take a while for the queue to empty at 9, but because it had been down not many people where there. Overly optimistic wishful thinking by the (new?) cm.

 

[scrappinginontario]

What may have happened is that normally it may take a while for the queue to empty at 9, but because it had been down not many people where there. Overly optimistic wishful thinking by the (new?) cm.

That’s a thought but how Disney rides work is a guest is allowed to enter the queue up until 1 minute before theme park close. If the park closed at 9:00, all guests may enter until 8:59. If they were specifically told they could enter until 9:30 then this was an error on the CMs part. The length of time to clear the queue does not matter at Disney (I’ve been in one that took over 75 mins) it’s the entrance to the queue time that matters.

Only posting this to avoid confusion to other guests as Disney’s policy re: entering until 1 min before park close is consistent across all parks snd well known.

 

[AustinTink]

We just returned from our trip as well, and I have to say the most annoying part about booking the LLs was being forced to WAKE UP at 6:50am every morning to get ready to book our first LL and buy the ILL. This was especially painful when we closed both parks down the night before during the extended evening hours at Epcot and MK. Why not move it to 8am instead. Not everyone goes to bed that early and wakes up at 7am on vacation.

With that being said, we had no issues getting to ride everything we wanted at least once.

We rode Guardians three times, over 2 days, paid for it twice and booked VQ @1pm for the rest. We didn‘t bother with riding our fourth time since we found a great spot to view Harmonious and decided to just stay put.

Sorry if this is a dumb question but we have not been to WDW in over 10 years. The question: do you not have to be in the park to book your first LL for the day? We went to DLR this summer and you had to be in the park to book your first LL.

 

[Silvermist999]

Sorry if this is a dumb question but we have not been to WDW in over 10 years. The question: do you not have to be in the park to book your first LL for the day? We went to DLR this summer and you had to be in the park to book your first LL.

No, you don’t need to be in any of the parks for the first LL!
But for the Guardians VQ booking @1pm, you need to be inside Epcot.

 

[AustinTink]

No, you don’t need to be in any of the parks for the first LL!

Well that’s a game changer for us! Cool. Thanks.

 

[monica9]

Do I have to cook individual lightening lane first thing or I won’t get it? I’m staying at Wyndham lake buena vista which has some perks with Disney but wondering if I can book individual rides at 7am like the other resorts? If not, when can I?
If I can, would you suggest booking that or our genie+ ride first? I know both are time dependent but not sure which one will be more important.
Our individual ride will only be the guardians ride.
Is ratatouille now part of the regular genie +?
Also, if I have a child who won’t go in any of the genie + rides, can I just book it for the day for 3 out of 4 of us?
I’m already getting angry about needing to be on my phone my whole vacation so I need to gather all the info I need so I can look up and enjoy my vacation away from my phone.
Thanks!

 

[Tom_E_D]

Do I have to cook individual lightening lane first thing or I won’t get it? I’m staying at Wyndham lake buena vista which has some perks with Disney but wondering if I can book individual rides at 7am like the other resorts? If not, when can I?
If I can, would you suggest booking that or our genie+ ride first? I know both are time dependent but not sure which one will be more important.
Our individual ride will only be the guardians ride.
Is ratatouille now part of the regular genie +?
Also, if I have a child who won’t go in any of the genie + rides, can I just book it for the day for 3 out of 4 of us?
I’m already getting angry about needing to be on my phone my whole vacation so I need to gather all the info I need so I can look up and enjoy my vacation away from my phone.
Thanks!

If staying at Wyndham, you cannot buy an ILL until official park opening time (not early entry). Since you can book Genie+ as early as 7:00, you should book Genie+ first. Ratatouille is now a Genie+ ride. You do not need to buy Genie+ for everyone in your party. All of the ILLs have been sold out before park open on occasion, but usually not for Guardians and SDMT. Avatar and Rise sell out more often before park open, but not always. It depends on whether you are going at a busy time or not.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Sorry if this is a dumb question but we have not been to WDW in over 10 years. The question: do you not have to be in the park to book your first LL for the day? We went to DLR this summer and you had to be in the park to book your first LL.

The posts on page 1 explain how G+ works at WDW. It may be a helpful read.