Goodbye, Maxpass. Hello, Disney Genie.

[AndrewC]

Also interesting about the "two per day" lightning lanes. I wonder if that's two at a time, or only two per day. Why would Disney try to drive additional revenue from this system and then limit themselves? I could understand the two at a time, but this could cap it at a total of like $30/person if both rides were $15. That's nice to know I won't be spending an extra $100 that day... but odd that the option to keep buying lightning lane access isn't there...

 

[JWelch62]

Nope. That’s how the parks blog write up sounds, but if you watch the (15 min!!!) video, he says that the lightning lane ala carte attractions will not be part of Genie+. It’s either pay per ride, or standby.

boo Disney.

Yeah, seeing reports now backing you up. This really is not good.

 

[PirateBrigade]

Oh and I just caught this part in the G+/LL page on Disneyland regarding LL:

"Pricing for this option will vary by date, attraction and park and will be announced closer to launch. "

I think they're gonna roll with congestion pricing so that RSR will be dynamically priced based on how crowded the park is. Basically RSR is the next 91 express lanes, lol.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

I wouldn't be surprised if Disney plays around with those numbers to "trick" guests into thinking the wait wasn't nearly as bad as it seemed, or to maybe skip that ride right now because the wait estimate is really high, when honestly it isn't that high, but the queue is starting to spill into walkways and it would really benefit the park to gently nudge customers away from joining it at that moment...

We need some college students to do some research studies on this. See what the estimated wait time in the app shows, what the physical line shows, what the displayed wait time AT the line shows, and how long it actually takes to get on the ride. I bet they don't all add up but instead are adjusted to manipulate customers to what manages that demands of the park the most.

Your whole response is interesting, but I wanted to mention that when I saw how the overall free "Disney Genie" is going to function, that is EXACTLY what I thought. They just got a really powerful tool in influencing guest behavior. It's going to be fascinating to watch.

I'm going to be tuning in here intently to see what the real world behavior is for these products!

Me toooooo!

 

[colormegreen]

So this is a game changer for me in regards to getting magic keys. I liked max pass and would have paid $20 for it, but I’m not into pay for ride as I know it won’t be cheap. And genie + doesn’t seem like it’s going to have the rides max pass had.

 

[GatorChris]

Honestly, this may spell the end of our family going to Disneyland. We usually would go for 3-5 days at a time. I was even thinking about getting APs on our October trip coming up. But now that I know it will cost my family a five ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS MORE PER DAY just to get the Genie+ and keep up with all the other folks, I suddenly feel like I getting bent over and swatted with the old principal's paddle. That's an extra $500 for our week in October.

Before, I had the choice to MaxPass or Legacy FP by walking around the park and getting tickets. It was slower and not as good, but I still felt pretty equal with the MaxPass folks. Now if I don't get Genie+, thousands will have access to LighteningLaMe, and we'll be in long lines all day. What a complete joke.

Disney is pushing this family to other vacation destinations. And that's sad.

 

[PirateBrigade]

Also interesting about the "two per day" lightning lanes. I wonder if that's two at a time, or only two per day. Why would Disney try to drive additional revenue from this system and then limit themselves? I could understand the two at a time, but this could cap it at a total of like $30/person if both rides were $15. That's nice to know I won't be spending an extra $100 that day... but odd that the option to keep buying lightning lane access isn't there...

I think we'll get there, but this is the launch product. I think to how flex pass introduced the idea of reservations on select days, and then they went all in on all passes with it. Yes, COVID had something to do with it, but I really think they were going to get there all along.

I see them adding the ability to buy more LL passes, and maybe even add LL to G+ rides so you've potentially got 3 options on a ride: standby, G+, or LL.

We'll get there! Disney wants your money.

 

[AndrewC]

Your whole response is interesting, but I wanted to mention that when I saw how the overall free "Disney Genie" is going to function, that is EXACTLY what I thought. They just got a really powerful tool in influencing guest behavior. It's going to be fascinating to watch.


Me toooooo!

Exactly. I look at this as all smoke and mirrors on telling guests where to go to smooth out demand (and thus hopefully increase guest experiences) throughout the park. It'll be interesting if this actually improves times rather than just makes people FEEL like times have improved because they're getting the "best option" at that moment in the day. In addition, you have to break the guest desire for specific rides. If people really want to ride RSR and don't want to pay, standby lines can only get so long before actually causing Disney problems by NOT having guests passively wait via a Fastpast type system. What if you have 800 people in line and the line is going all the way down to Flo's? That would be a negative to Disney because it's causing issues in walkways and possibly hazards. Get some psychology students into the park right away! This will be interesting.

 

[AndrewC]

Also also, could this finally be the introduction to perks for hotel guests? If i'm spending $3,000 for staying at the Disneyland Hotel for a week, will I get to pick one lightning lane each day during the checking process with the hotel? (Which is a few days before the actual stay) Will I get to pre-purchase my lightning lanes to get prime time spots because I just had my direct deposit from work changed right to the Disneyland Resort accounts?

I doubt they need to try to sell more rooms... but man oh man it would be so very nice for them to toss a few perks towards us paying $500 to $750 a night at the DLH or GC!

 

[DLRExpert]

My thoughts...
- No more Free Fastpass, we knew that was coming.
- Genie Service... I have HUGE doubts that Disney would plan the best day for anyone without thinking about Disney first. For example, would they really push you to go to Radiator Springs Racers at opening when they can potentially sell you a Lightning Lane Entrance later on when the line gets longer?
- Initially this sounds like MaxPass, but with the some slight changes with the main one being an additional fee for the Top Attractions.

More thoughts to come as information comes out.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

I am sick over this entire announcement/concept. There goes any chance at my littles being able to ride RSR again and any number of other rides that will be pay-per-ride (since there is no way I’m shelling out additional money for rides and they just don’t have the bandwidth to wait in 60+ minute rides). Talk about taking you right out of the magic.

With this announcement, I am very seriously considering not getting Magic Key passes. Which is shocking (to myself!).

I am so incredibly disappointed in the direction Disney is going. I can’t even fully express it.

 

[lcp9]

I am sick over this entire announcement/concept. There goes any chance at my littles being able to ride RSR again and any number of other rides that will be pay-per-ride (since there is no way I’m shelling out additional money for rides and they just don’t have the bandwidth to wait in 60+ minute rides). Talk about taking you right out of the magic.

With this announcement, I am very seriously considering not getting Magic Key passes. Which is shocking (to myself!).

I am so incredibly disappointed in the direction Disney is going. I can’t even fully express it.

Agreed, My little boys cannot wait in 70 minute lines, unless I give them my phone, which Genie will probably have drained the battery on. The pay per ride legit feels gross. Trashy, like the Idaho State fair. (I live in Boise, so I can say that

 

[PirateBrigade]

Also also, could this finally be the introduction to perks for hotel guests? If i'm spending $3,000 for staying at the Disneyland Hotel for a week, will I get to pick one lightning lane each day during the checking process with the hotel? (Which is a few days before the actual stay) Will I get to pre-purchase my lightning lanes to get prime time spots because I just had my direct deposit from work changed right to the Disneyland Resort accounts?

I doubt they need to try to sell more rooms... but man oh man it would be so very nice for them to toss a few perks towards us paying $500 to $750 a night at the DLH or GC!

One can hope! I still remember getting paper FPs (and then getting digital multiple experience passes) while staying on-site a few years back. I still remember the package: 25% off rate, $20 Disney dining voucher, and 1 multiple experience pass per guest.

 

[dieumeye]

So, is the expectation that the new G+/LL queues will have fewer guests now since it’s an exclusively pay thing?

Does this mean the end of potential 15+ minute waits in the FastPass lane? Does this mean return times will be sooner - or at least less likely to be hours away?

If so, G+ at $20 seems fine.

BUT…

Some attractions, like RSR, being excluded and requiring an additional charge:

And no way to “subscribe” to G+ with an AP:

Curious what rides fall into which category. Curious how F! And WoC FastPasses will be handled when (if?) they come back.

And very curious about this “one at a time” thing. If it’s noon and I grab a 7:15pm G+ time for Matterhorn, are they really saying I can’t use G+ for the entire afternoon? That seems not well thought out.

What’s included in G+? What’s an extra charge? Very curious.

 

[gpjacobs]

One can hope! I still remember getting paper FPs (and then getting digital multiple experience passes) while staying on-site a few years back. I still remember the package: 25% off rate, $20 Disney dining voucher, and 1 multiple experience pass per guest.

The LONG video mentions that there will be some perks for hotel guests ... more along the lines of being able to make Lightning Pass reservations early. That's a start. But, as a focus group of one, I'd like at least one free Lightening Pass per day I stay at the resort (plus Magic Morning hours).

 

[StormyCA]

Danger Danger Will Robinson!!!! Information overload!!!

OK, see if I got this......

Disneyland:

1- 'Old' FP is gone

2- Boarding Group procedures remain the same, but attractions may change and is free

3- Maxpass is now Genie +, but strictly one at a time, period. No more 90 minutes then you can get another one. It's a $20/day add on

4- Lightning Lane is pay per ride 'immediate' access, but you are limited to TWO per day. Prices TBA

Disney World:

1- FP+ is gone

2- Three advanced FP+ reservations are gone

They will now have options 3 and 4, same as Disneyland.

 

[ktlm]

The way I read it is that rides are not excluded, per se. But that if you want to ride certain rides "right now" you have to pay extra. Otherwise you can get a pass like before. In the case of RSR they will fill up quickly. That's how I interpret "limited availability".

I wish you were right- but sadly I'm pretty sure based on the parks video and posting that they are excluding certain rides and charging a separate additional price for them. Also it states that price will vary by date attraction and park!!!!!!! Plus you can only have 2 all day- so that means no amount of planning will get you out of the standby line or frantically trying to get a boarding group for whatever is on that list in addition to 2. Plus- the boarding groups will be more limited because they have to make room for the pay per ride people. We are not at all pleased about this pay per ride aspect for some of the rides.

NEVERMIND, I took a screenshot from the video. It does seem like G+ will require you to complete the experience before booking another G+ reservation:

I suspect that either you are right about it working like maxpass with another one being allowed after 60 or 90 minutes-- OR there will be a ton of complaints and it will be changed to that later. Can you imagine a family of 5 spending $100 and then when they get there at opening and get in the park, the first available time for their top absolutely must do ride is not until 7:00 p.m.? The value plummets and there would be some heavy complaining going on.

 

[DisneyDanna23]

If I have 5 day tickets for my 5, and those tickets have MaxPass on them, do you think I could just automatically switch to Genie? That would be nice instead of having to go to a window at the gate, get my money back, then spend that money on Genie+.

I'm on the phone now with Disneyland. They're not able to swap Maxpass to Genie+. I'm getting a digital gift card refund for MaxPass that I will apply to Genie+ when it comes out.

 

[mel2014]

I'm okay with the Genie+ concept, though I'll miss stacking MPs, but the "Lightning Lane" concept is pure money grubbing. I know they're selling the concept that not having broad "virtual queue" options for those rides will make the standby queues shorter, but we haven't seen that effect this summer even with the reduced pandemic crowds.

I'd really like to know what the "Lightning Lanes" will be for each park, other than RSR. Since my kids are old enough for the single rider lines, if the Lightning Lanes are limited to rides that also have single-rider access, it's not a huge deal to me, we'll just use Single Rider for those, but if, for instance, GotG is on that list, I'll be disappointed.

 

[Priory]

I thought I was so smart, today I learned I was playing checkers with max pass while you were playing chess.

LOL. I used to grab Big Thunder passes all day cause the ride broke down so often it usually turned into a multi-experience pass.