Genie Plus, a must for busy days.

[wisblue]

We've travelled during peak holiday times in the past, including 2015 & 2016. We were still able to reserve 3 guaranteed fast passes for each day for each of those trips. We are going again this Christmas, spending roughly double what we paid in 2016, not including fast passes, and now we're not sure we can get more than 1-2 attractions while paying an extra $15/day?

I understand holidays are busier, we've visited during the holidays our last 5 trips. Yes, expectations and approaches need to be adjusted during those times, but this borders on insanity. I'm actually dreading all of the planning I need to do on this trip.

Another reality is that FP+ (which many posters on this board thought would be so unpopular that it would bring down the Disney company, but which I liked) is gone, just like the old paper FP system and the A-E ticket books.

I think once people make the transition the planning is different, but not any greater, than the two FP systems.

 

[Gentry2004]

We've travelled during peak holiday times in the past, including 2015 & 2016. We were still able to reserve 3 guaranteed fast passes for each day for each of those trips. We are going again this Christmas, spending roughly double what we paid in 2016, not including fast passes, and now we're not sure we can get more than 1-2 attractions while paying an extra $15/day?

I understand holidays are busier, we've visited during the holidays our last 5 trips. Yes, expectations and approaches need to be adjusted during those times, but this borders on insanity. I'm actually dreading all of the planning I need to do on this trip.

Completely agree. We traveled during Christmas 2017 and had a wonderful trip. We were still able to pull 4th, 5th, etc. FP's especially at Magic Kingdom. We were planning to next December (hoping for Tron and GoG to be open) and I am just not so sure. I feel I could stomach paying money for the same benefit, but it really hurts to pay money for a worse benefit.

 

[Jennasis]

I dont understand why they didn't just keep the FP+ system as it was and just charge for it? Other than they had to try and put lipstick on the pig to try and convince people that they were paying for some new improved better system.

 

[Jrb1979]

I dont understand why they didn't just keep the FP+ system as it was and just charge for it? Other than they had to try and put lipstick on the pig to try and convince people that they were paying for some new improved better system.

Cause more people would be up in arms due them charging for something that was once free.

To make this Genie+ improved they need to charge more and limit the amount of people that buy it.

 

[kevind2112]

Cause more people would be up in arms due them charging for something that was once free.

To make this Genie+ improved they need to charge more and limit the amount of people that buy it.

Everyone keeps saying this, but the roll out of Genie+ has met with such a huge amount of negative publicity, I cannot imagine anyone would have been "more" up in arms than what we have now. Honestly, I would have grumbled, but I would have been happy to pay $10-$15 for the 3 guaranteed rides, with the option to possibly get more, compared to what we have now.

I'm tired of hearing that excuse. Instead of charging more for the SAME, they are charging us more for LESS.

 

[Jennasis]

Cause more people would be up in arms due them charging for something that was once free.

To make this Genie+ improved they need to charge more and limit the amount of people that buy it.

Or add capacity with more attractions.

I'm not sure why there was always FP+ availability even well into the evening but now that it's a paid system suddenly there is squat.

 

[Jrb1979]

Or add capacity with more attractions.

I'm not sure why there was always FP+ availability even well into the evening but now that it's a paid system suddenly there is squat.

We all would like more attractions but we know that's not happening soon.

IMO the reason for less availability is that I they aren't giving out as many LL as they did FP. Some rides you would still have a 20-30 minute wait with FP. Now the average seems to be 5-10 minutes with LL. Maybe they need to up the ratio of LL to Standby.

 

[Jennasis]

We all would like more attractions but we know that's not happening soon.

IMO the reason for less availability is that I they aren't giving out as many LL as they did FP. Some rides you would still have a 20-30 minute wait with FP. Now the average seems to be 5-10 minutes with LL. Maybe they need to up the ratio of LL to Standby.

Could be. I will report back with my finding next week.

 

[Figment1990]

Or add capacity with more attractions.

I'm not sure why there was always FP+ availability even well into the evening but now that it's a paid system suddenly there is squat.

Obviously we don’t know for sure. But one thought might be that when it was free, if you didn’t book all 3, you didn’t feel like you weren’t getting your moneys worth. Now, if you don’t book as many as possible you might feel you are giving up value. Like a buffet. And also right now there’s kind of a panic going on too, perhaps. Especially following on the heels of pandemic shortages.

 

[DavidNYC]

We all would like more attractions but we know that's not happening soon.

IMO the reason for less availability is that I they aren't giving out as many LL as they did FP. Some rides you would still have a 20-30 minute wait with FP. Now the average seems to be 5-10 minutes with LL. Maybe they need to up the ratio of LL to Standby.

Problem is if that were the case we'd see a lot more posts about how standby lines were moving well. And that is the exact opposite of what we're hearing. Genie+ has really taken away all ability to plan your day possibly resulting in more people realizing they need to be in the park all day to do what they want rather than having people coming late or leaving early or taking breaks. I would also not be surprised to find that resources have been cut to such an expense to save money that hourly ride capacity has gone down on may rides that aren't operating at full efficiency. But whatever it is - Disney found a way to screw this up so that both standby and LL have managed to get worse - that was actually a tough thing to pull off . . .

 

[tjmw2727]

Obviously we don’t know for sure. But one thought might be that when it was free, if you didn’t book all 3, you didn’t feel like you weren’t getting your moneys worth. Now, if you don’t book as many as possible you might feel you are giving up value. Like a buffet. And also right now there’s kind of a panic going on too, perhaps. Especially following on the heels of pandemic shortages.

Agree with this - I used G+ in MK twice and HS once during thanksgiving week. My issue is paying the $15 per person without knowing if you are getting 1, 2 or 3 or more selections and for me it was a gamble I didn't enjoy.

Just one example - on one of our MK days, we ended up with 3 total selections but we also had to pass on a "favorite" attraction and choose a less favorite as the time offered for the "favorite" was during our dinner ADR. If I had known in the morning what I was paying for I may have made a different decision.

At least with the individual LL selections you know the cost and the time upfront and can make a more informed choice on how to spend your $.

 

[nikmasteed]

Bless/thank all of you who have shared their experiences so far for people like me-- I'm an infrequent visitor (10+ days every 4-5 years) but one of those always "planning" the next trip, watching Dis weekly etc. So I haven't used G+ yet but am going Thanksgiving 2022, so have been soaking in as much info/reporting as possible especially about the holiday week.

With that frequency of visit, my mindset is always to accept that which I cannot change, and learn (game, if you want to call it that) the system for my use on that specific. Clearly, this system is fraught with mostly-poor experience to date and lacking loopholes/hacks. It is what it is-- I was drawn to this particular thread originally by the discussion over how effective or not G+ is during the peak crowd days.

After reading this and several other accounts/threads, numerous influencer videos since G+ implementation tested at different times, my main takeaways/questions/stream-of-consciousness are:
-Onsite resort guests (like me) really need to use early entry to rope drop and knock at least 1-2 things off the list without paid G+
-MK: paying for G+ can possibly be OK during peak crowds (?) due to higher # of attractions, but with certain expectations. I personally would be satisfied enough getting 1 headliner and cycling thru a bunch of low-level LL attractions after the 2hr window (is that realistic for Thanksgiving?)
-HS: paying for G+ seems to make sense on low crowd days, but very little sense during peak crowding. Maybe will be slightly better once Indy reopens and eats more crowds??
-AK: paying seems to rarely be worth it
-EP: similar to AK
-ILL$: really an individual choice-- I'd probably go into a trip identifying those I'm willing to pay for/try for at 7am and stick with that decision regardless of what happens throughout the day

A year from now, I highly doubt things will be exactly as they are now, so I'm interested to see how Christmas reports go and how Disney adjusts things. Also realistically hoping for:
-More returning shows/character meets to help with capacity/demand
-Cooldown of post-lockdown travel frenzy
-Better overall knowledge of the system leads to clearer understanding of what situations make sense to buy G+ and ILL

Sorry if the post is too random, again this is an outside observer having gone thru a wide range of opinions in this thread! Thanks for everyone's knowledge

 

[Magnoliafan]

Correct. At Animal Kingdom during Thanksgiving week on at least one day every single ride and show was fully booked at 2:00 pm, but they were still selling people Genie+. This was confirmed by several people who were on the ground at the time. They were knowingly selling a completely useless product. It was roadside carnival level scamming by a company that used to do better.

To be fair, you don’t buy “Genie+ for Animal Kingdom”. You just buy Genie+. As long as there is availability in any of the four parks, then Disney isn’t technically selling a useless product. If their tech was better, then it could recognize that a potential purchaser didn’t have an AP or park hopper and block the sale if there was no more availability in their chosen park. But their tech does suck and allows the sale. We don’t know if it would block new sales if ALL parks were at LL capacity. LL availability is also prominently displayed on the app, so anyone buying in the middle of the day should know what they’re actually getting.

For myself, I’m ambivalent about Genie+. I liked FP+ and absolutely loved Max Pass at Disneyland. I’m also a mostly solo traveler, so the extra cost per day isn’t too much. I’m currently into the second week of a two week trip. Last week. I monitored the crowds on the app and mostly spent time resort hopping and taking in park atmosphere without doing many attractions (I have an AP that’s already more than paid for itself this year, so it doesn’t matter if I spend 8 minutes or 8 hours in a park). On Thanksgiving, I bought Genie+ around 10am. I managed to save a few hours of time in line by booking HM, POTC, Buzz and then Soarin (which I had to refresh a few times to get). I also booked SE, but it didn‘t end up necessary given the 10 minute wait time. I could have booked more at MK if I didn’t have to leave at 5 for my dinner at Trail’s End. I felt satisfied with my purchase and had a great day. Then on Sunday, I got up at 7 and booked ROTR (1-2 window) for $15 and Remy (7-8) for $11. Both ended up with super quick waits and I again saved hours in line. But then today, I got in line for MMRR at 7:45 with a posted 45 minute wait. Actual wait was 20-25. I could have paid for access (there was availability late in the afternoon), but ultimately didn’t need to.

I think the sweet spot is going to be moderately busy days, but MK is always going to be the best bet because it has the most rides. Even on a crazy busy holiday, I was about to use Genie+ to save valuable time. But I agree that people who purchase it with the thought that they’re going to easily get whatever they want are going to be very disappointed.

 

[maryj11]

Wow, look at the Standby Line wait times right now, at the start of this busy Thanksgiving week.

I realize the Wait Times are inflated, but if I were at WDW right now, I would probably feel pressured into lightening my wallet in order to access Lightening Lanes.

We have been here since Saturday. Everyday standby lines have been long! We have done genie plus every day and paid for the rides that they charged for. We did not do every ride, but did every one that we wanted with no problem. Most LL’s were walk on. We felt sorry for people waiting in the long standby lines. If we didn’t have genie plus I think we would of just went back to the room.
Oh I forgot to add that we did not get there before opening. Usually a half hour later.

 

[5DisneyNuts]

While true, what also gets lost in discussion is that you don't have to buy it. Like I've said a few times just cause Disney once made it originally so that everyone had FP doesn't mean it needs to stay that way.

This past week shows what happens when too many buy Genie+. It limits people to 1-2 rides a day.

No you don't have to buy it, but for my family to have a chance at the same experience we had in March of 2020 traveling during a busy time, we kinda did and it cost $100-$150 per day over ticket price. The 7am daily stress is really hard.

I don't have the answers on how Disney can solve their crowd problem. They can't increase capacity in a short period clearly but that has been discussed for years so not a new problem.

We can't go back but you know, I'm the guest and it's not my job to solve their problem. I'm getting less for way more $. Dining alone can break the bank. It's my choice to not give them my business and as much as it breaks my heart, I'm close to being there.

The other problem I'm having is hearing the CM stories and how they were treated. I'm talking about long term employees that totally got the shaft. It's sad.

My family had a great time being together and so a successful trip, but not sure we'll be back soon.

 

[ashmac8]

Just back. Part of a group of 15. My immediate family (3) bought it for the entire trip and had mixed results. Keep in mind this was Thanksgiving week, it was packed.
Tuesday AK only able to secure one pass (safari) before we had to leave to rest before xmas party.
Wednesday split day between HS and Epcot (Slinky, Soarin, Test Track)
Thanksgiving Day (3 passes secured)
Friday HS (4-- even got smugglers late in the day by refreshing)
Saturday (4, challenge here was more our big group)
Sunday AK didnt use because the rest of my party did not

Also purchased some Lightning lanes (Rise, Rat, Everest 2x, Space 2x, 7DMT)

I was most disappointed by rides down at rope drop. Perhaps a coincidence but it seemed odd that LL rides were consistently down at rope drop. Our party was already bleeding money and this felt like a money grab.
AT ROPE DROP DURING OUR TRIP
One day at HS Mickeys Railway down
One day at MK Space Down
One day at EPCOT Frozen Down
One day at AK Everest down

4 days, all LL rides????

We begrudgingly paid simply because it was a long planned trip with 6 kids but we hated being on our phones and the stress of trying to secure something for the kids to avoid 60-90 minute waits.

We love Disney and will be back but this genie+ was a lot of work and not for those who aren't tech savvy. It added a cost and time burden to the trip for sure.

 

[popy]

One thing geni is helping , but for a price, but those who like it and willing to pay, now , wait until Disney ups the price. Now 15 plus 10 per ride.
they will soon hike price, then no telling too what, but it is certain they will.
If you keep liking, and you keep paying,
they always have and they always will, and always keeps costing more, until you can do more. Got to love it, because I am not going to do it. I have quite going,
realy happy they done it because, i am whole lot richer with $ 8,000
more this year than the years before. Think I will buy a Harley, no waiting in line and 2$ hamburger and 2$ beer, and whole lot funner. Harley and I win. Disney looses. I got to love it.

 

[LarryBoy]

Could be possible that the capacity is lower also because of Covid protocols/precautions. They may still want/need fewer people in the line at one time.

 

[Ddean52]

We just got back from a trip to WDW (11/06 to 11/13). Genie Plus was convenient on quieter days, it was essential on busy days. Crowds grew was the long weekend (Veteran's Day was on Thursday) and wait times for decent attractions approached an hour by mid-day. Booking the first pass at 7:00 am and then getting new ones every few hours allowed us to, even on a packed Saturday at the Magic Kingdom, to move quickly through the cues, walking past long lines of standby folks.

Did you get a printout or something similar for each park day?
What kind of data did you have to submit in order to receive a schedule tailored to your desires?thanks. Dean

 

[qman6975]

Did you get a printout or something similar for each park day?
What kind of data did you have to submit in order to receive a schedule tailored to your desires?thanks. Dean

We are pretty experienced with the parks, we targeted the big rides and just built out from there.