We didn't stay on site (nor would we ever consider it for the outrageous price they want), and never once rope dropped. I found the late night the best time to get rides done. We did do Genie+ and it helped. After 10PM the ride line-ups for most things at DL were a lot better.
I remember people *****ing about what Fastpass did to standby lines.
That's because Rope Drop these days is BARELY after people staying on-site get into the parks.
I used G+ in October and November and did not encounter the issues others have. I also don't treat it as a "ride everything" fast pass, but use it for priority rides. My Sat Oct visit I used it for 9 rides (we took a long mid day break) and could have done more as we left after dinner and my Sat Nov visit with my younger son (DL only) used it for 7 rides and again could have done more but he was toast. That said, mid day it can be frustrating as the return times are far out. We always break mid day or pivot to non G+ things like Tiki room or the early parade so not an issue for us. I simply stack LL for the evening to have options.
@whoever was the park hoping pointless because you couldn't use Genie+ to get an ride reservations or because it took forever to hop because of lines? We are heading in December and I'm definitely a little "GAH!!!" at the minute and trying to plan as much as I can to make it a great first trip for our kiddos! Also, did you find if you didn't enter the parks first thing in the morning that you couldn't get Genie + reservations? Thanks so much and I'm so sorry it was not a good trip for you all!!!
Genie+ sucks, but NOT having Genie+ sucks more. You definitely want it if you’re trying to do rides.
but we were generally there around open. Used genie+ all but the last partial day and it worked great for us. I love to plan so I just kept an eye on wait times and reserved accordingly, especially stacking for the evening during our afternoon break. Also just kept a general eye on mobile order times and that worked great for us too. Had some really special magical moments sprinkled in too 
The people I know that still have a good time have been chased away from feeling comfortable posting here so I think it skews to the negative here more than what reality is. If you’d like to have a good time it’s certainly still attainable That said, I of course always fully support those that have concerns and express them to management and don’t go back until they’re addressed.Not sure how much of an expert they are if they are only pinpointing one experience on a "busy" weekend. I've used it 15+ times since its inception. I have had a few good days with it, but I've primarily had poor days with it. It seems the success is tied directly to how busy the park is. I've been in lightning lanes that stretched longer than comprehension and longer than the standby line. Take a look at smugglers run when Rise is down. I've seen that line stretch back to the end of galaxy's edge.
I think it all depends on Ride Breakdowns. That, coupled with park hopping restrictions and crowds can make or break a day with Genie+. My 22-yr old son and I went for three days in Sept (we live in OR) and Genie+ was a necessity in order to even have a shot at riding everything once. The 1PM park hopper restriction is absurd and hurts the overall intent. On our final night, I gave up and went back to the hotel, followed shortly by my son. Splash, Space Mtn, Indy, Small World and a couple of others were all down. Cast members remarked that was the worst they had ever seen crowds/lines and the Genie+ lines were going to be "at least 1-2 hours" once things were back online. It took over 20 minutes just to leave DCA and scan back into DL because the crowds were so bad. It didn't help that Oogie Boogie was going on (we booked our reservations long before OB was scheduled). Matterhorn was still being refurbished and ToonTown was still closed. That contributed to making thing insufferable.We went the 15th - the 19th and had a great time! We didn’t even rope drop every day because we have a teen now
. I did go to guest services who offered us fastpasses good until the next day, but only two of them. That was a better solution but should have been offered to begin with.
Goodness gracious, that would not even begin to feel like enough compensation for what you went through. It’s really unacceptable for you to be trapped in the dark, cold, rain for an hour with almost no communication or help. Why could they have not unloaded the passengers right away?Incredicoaster went down with us on it ....it started pouring raining and they couldn't figure out how to get us out of our car. Our coaster car was stuck about 50 feet from the loading dock and we waited for over 55 minutes, locked in over the shoulders, in the rain at night when it was about 68 degrees. You'll figure out just how claustrophobic you are in that situation. CM's didn't say anything about the status of the ride, what they were doing to fix it, nothing. They passes out umbrellas after 20 minutes in the rain only to collect them again a few minutes later because they thought we were gonna be up and moving but it was a false alarm and we waited in the rain for another 20 minutes sans umbrella again. We were soaked to the bone and freezing--not a dry spot to be found. CM consolation prize after freeing us was to give us 3 fastpasses per person...good until the park closed 1 hour from then
I was there the same week as you. I had a decent time, but I'm not going to pretend it was anywhere near as good as things used to be. And for the price guaging they are doing - things should be much better.We went the 15th - the 19th and had a great time! We didn’t even rope drop every day because we have a teen now
Holy cow! I'm with @SOCALMouseMommy - those fastpasses would not have been enough for me, being trapped like that for almost an hour in the rain. I would have needed some gift cards to go get new jackets/sweatshirts, etc. I get that locals can just go home and use their dryers and have plenty of alternative clothing/shoes, but if you are an overnight guest - that is awful. Especially if you're coming back the next morning and don't want to waste the rest of your night in the laundry facilities.We were there last in September and I agree! The biggest highlights of the trip were getting to relax and escape the crowds at Carthay Cirle Lounge. I thought it was crazy how many rides were down throughout the day. And rope dropping is silly in DCA because a huge portion of the rides open when they dang well please, so it sorta defeats the whole purpose when everybody is getting on the same small handful of rides that do happen to be running. Two trips in a row we have not done Cars because it's either a crazy long line or it's down.
Incredicoaster went down with us on it ....it started pouring raining and they couldn't figure out how to get us out of our car. Our coaster car was stuck about 50 feet from the loading dock and we waited for over 55 minutes, locked in over the shoulders, in the rain at night when it was about 68 degrees. You'll figure out just how claustrophobic you are in that situation. CM's didn't say anything about the status of the ride, what they were doing to fix it, nothing. They passes out umbrellas after 20 minutes in the rain only to collect them again a few minutes later because they thought we were gonna be up and moving but it was a false alarm and we waited in the rain for another 20 minutes sans umbrella again. We were soaked to the bone and freezing--not a dry spot to be found. CM consolation prize after freeing us was to give us 3 fastpasses per person...good until the park closed 1 hour from then
All I could think was that I feel like it would have been handled better in WDW? Or DL of 5-10 years ago? I don't know it was such a poor experience in no way rectified by the good customer service of the old days.
My wife went twice over the summer with GS troops and loved it. It was a disaster for us on DD weekend though. I think it's a MUST and you'll end up paying extra on top to experience the hottest E-tickets though likely based on my experience.
The Park Hopping issue I have is with 1PM. We will TYPICALLY retreat to the hotel when it gets crazy and rest for a bit, maybe pool. This time with everything being 101 continuously, you just had to stay and make the best of whatever was actually operational. Queues for standby were off the charts busy..(heck, Jungle Cruise was a 90 minute wait at one point). When queue times and LL return times jump off the chart, it's time to hop.@whoever was the park hoping pointless because you couldn't use Genie+ to get an ride reservations or because it took forever to hop because of lines? We are heading in December and I'm definitely a little "GAH!!!" at the minute and trying to plan as much as I can to make it a great first trip for our kiddos! Also, did you find if you didn't enter the parks first thing in the morning that you couldn't get Genie + reservations? Thanks so much and I'm so sorry it was not a good trip for you all!!!
I've only expressed grievances twice, and Disney has contacted me about them. They called me earlier today about my most recent experience. Last time I had to complain was 2014/15 and they made things right which resulted in a 9 night / 10 day stay at the resort which was an AMAZING TRIP. I let the person who contacted me this time know about the good, the bad, and the ugly. I highlighted it all. Praised where where praise was due. Criticized where criticism was due, and just laid it out. I don't think that spending $1400/day for 3 people gave me the experience of days gone bye.We went the 15th - the 19th and had a great time! We didn’t even rope drop every day because we have a teen now
I came from Australia and did rope drop each day for 5 days and stayed until after 10:30pm each night.
