Naive to think I can not use Genie+ & LL?

[blam84]

I am taking my three daughters (15, 11, 9) to WDW at the end of August. The trip is already a bank breaker for us, so the idea of paying more for Genie+ and LL is something I just can't bring myself to do. Partly because of the cost, partly on principle, and partly because I don't want to spend the trip on my cell phone. This will be my daughters' first (and potentially only) trip to WDW.

Am I naive to think I can use old rope dropping strategies (TGM anyone?) and still get to ride the big attractions, albeit with longer but doable wait times?

(We are not roller coaster people, we are staying at Beach Club, we have the DDP and Park hopper, and am currently planning to rope drop every park, go back for a midday break, and go back in the evening)

 

[Bound4DisneyWorld]

No, not naive. But I would plan on being flexible with what you get to see and do. Reading about the instanteously-hours long waits for things like Slinky Dog Dash and Rise of the Resistance at Hollywood Studios leads me to believe that you’ll have to be okay with missing out on some experiences. Which is really more than okay. There’s so much to see and do - you could spend 2 weeks and still not have had the opportunity to see and do everything. Manage your expectations and you’ll be just fine.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

At the end of August, it's possible crowds will be slightly lower, and not have G+/LL/ILL might work fine. Perhaps you go into the trip with your RD/break/Evening hours approach and see how the lines go. If you're waiting too long for some of your favorites, you can always do G+/LL just a couple of the days to help out. I will tell you, we've found using G+/LL to stack attractions for an evening park can work really well some trips. So I'd recommend starting without it, see how it goes, but being open-minded enough to using it if it makes to make a day a bit better for you and your daughters, I wouldn't hesitate to spend the extra for that day. This sounds like a very special trip.

 

[Mle8308]

It's not necessary as long as you are okay with waiting in lines. Rope dropping and evening extra magic hours will help, too. Right now Tron and Guardians are VQ or pay to ride, so if you want to experience those, read up on how to get a boarding group. Figure on 45 - 60 minutes for standby for Pirates, Mansion, Test Track, Smugglers Run, Toy Story Mania, Buzz, Thunder, etc. There will be some lower waits, Hall of Presidents, People Mover, Carousel of Progress, Star Tours, and most shows. If you are okay with this, you will be fine!

 

[DisneyZB]

A trip without G+/LL is very doable. We just did one in late January because I didn’t want to be tied to my phone the whole trip. It was honestly the most stress free Disney trip we’ve had in a while. We sorted out our must do’s and took advantage of early entry/rope drop to hit them first. After that we had fun hitting the classics and took advantage of second rides on our favorites during the parade. (This was at MK). Wait times also ebb during lunch, not so much at dinner. One thing we did notice was how overstated the wait times were, especially in the morning. On average, the wait times were 10 to 20 minutes shorter then listed. The only time a wait time was accurate was on Lightyear Spin of all things. Like you said, there is so much to see and do and with flexibility you’ll have a great time. The street shows are always a treat and who doesn’t like doing a little shopping now and then as well. Great things to do between rides. Have fun!

 

[Miffy]

Do your research and you should be fine--as long as you don't mind waiting in some lines.

For example, headliners like FoP and RotR have much shorter standby wait times close to park closing. That is almost always the best time to do standby for these don't-miss attractions. Don't be fooled by the posted wait times--they're always inflated close to park closing. And as long as you're in line before the official closing time, you're good.

If you're not already aware, note that because you're staying on-site, you get Early Theme Park Entry (ETPE). This is discussed in detail on a devoted thread here, so read up. ETPE will be your friend, especially for long-standby-line rides like PPF at MK and FEA at DHS--two rides it's likely you and your daughters will want to do and that have very long standby lines. FEA is the worst of the two, since there's utterly nothing to do or see or even hear in the standby line until you're practically on the ride itself. The standby line for PPF is actually quite lovely.

Plan, plan, plan. That's my advice to you. It's totally possible to do zillions of things at WDW without ILLs or G+. And, btw, since you're going in August, make sure you have hot-weather supplies with you. I was there last July and the thing that helped me the most was the UV umbrella. A lot of people like the cooling towels, but I found them of minimal use. And, of course, stay hydrated and take a LOT of breaks.

And enjoy your trip!

 

[Tasscrapper]

I have no idea about Genie+ and LL but I sure hope it's possible. I've only been to Disney World once and it was in late August. I would suggest looking into getting some kind of rechargeable hand held fans to help with the heat.

 

[scrappinginontario]

We went late Aug last year and will be there same time this year. We did half our trip without G+ and half with. The part with G+ was a much more relaxed, enjoyable part of our trip. For us I choose to stay value and allow for extras such as G+.

I have never paid for an ILL$ as I cannot justify the cost. I agree with the suggestion of riding headliner rides close to park close. Ignore the posted wait times the are normally (greatly) inflated.

You may wish to consider other ways to save $ if shorter lines are desirable. I will say waiting in the lines was not a problem. Waiting in lines in the stifling heat was our bigger challenge. Be sure to bring things to cool yourselves and stay hydrated as there are sometimes portions of lines where you’re in the direct sun. That by far was the biggest challenge with the lines in Aug.

 

[loves to dive]

Totally doable if you don't mind waiting in some lines. I've been many times since Genie+ was implemented and have never used it. I don't try to do every ride in every park so that helps. It also is going to help that you have hoppers.

What I do, and your mileage may differ. Say I get to my resort and have checked in by 2 or 3 in the afternoon. Doesn't matter if I have my room yet or not, I always go to the front desk just to let them know I'm on property. I tend to stay in the Epcot area resorts as well so I do my thing at the front desk, either go to my room if it's ready and drop off my bags and freshen up or just head off to Epcot. I eat at some booths (F&W is usually happening in August, who knows this year) but if not at some booths I just grab a quick something somewhere like Spice Rd. Tables. Then I make my way to the front of the park, riding a few rides that might have low waits. Then I head to whatever park I think I'm going to the next morning. I've always known what park that is since I haven't been since you didn't need park reservations and I'll still need them even now since I have an out of state AP. Anyway, I head to that park. It is now maybe 6 pm. The parks except AK stay open until 9 or 10 in the summer. I ride a few rides there, the wait time doesn't much matter since it's night and not so hot and even if I just get two rides in, I've got a leg up. The next morning, I may or may not do early entry and try to hit some of the big rides then. Again, I haven't been since all day hopping was back so in the past around 1 or so I head back to the resort for some lunch/pool/rest time. Around 3 to 5 or so, I head back out to a different park then the one I was in that morning. Again, it's the one I think I'm going to the next day. Rinse and repeat. I actually did this last Sept. right after Labor Day. I was there for 6 nights 5 1/2 days. I rode every single ride I wanted to ride and even some I'm not fond of just to see if I could. I didn't always rope drop and I think I may have stayed til park close maybe twice. I had a few TS meals, some breakfasts at the resort, some in the park and then I just sort snacked and munched the rest of the time. I always took a 2 to 3 hour break every day, always used Disney transportation. Of course, I walked to HS and Epcot. I went to all 4 parks at least 2 different days, some more than that, I was in Epcot every single day. I find it very relaxing to not have to worry about where I have to be when. I just go with the flow and spend some time actually enjoying the parks, especially AK, I love to wander around all the trails there.

 

[blam84]

We went late Aug last year and will be there same time this year. We did half our trip without G+ and half with. The part with G+ was a much more relaxed, enjoyable part of our trip. For us I choose to stay value and allow for extras such as G+.

I have never paid for an ILL$ as I cannot justify the cost. I agree with the suggestion of riding headliner rides close to park close. Ignore the posted wait times the are normally (greatly) inflated.

You may wish to consider other ways to save $ if shorter lines are desirable. I will say waiting in the lines was not a problem. Waiting in lines in the stifling heat was our bigger challenge. Be sure to bring things to cool yourselves and stay hydrated as there are sometimes portions of lines where you’re in the direct sun. That by far was the biggest challenge with the lines in Aug.

Did you rope drop the parks or go later? How did you structure your days that you had G+ and the days you didn't?

 

[scrappinginontario]

Did you rope drop the parks or go later? How did you structure your days that you had G+ and the days you didn't?

We tend to go long days as we make the most out of our time at Disney so I’m not sure my answer is helpful. We also visit for about 8-10 days.

We attempt to rope drop most days, especially early in our trip, which means arriving at our resort’s transportation 90 mins before ETPE begins. At the beginning of our trip (when often don’t have G+ as we are with friends who don’t have it) we tend to do just one park, often from park open to park close.

As the trip progresses we purchase G+ (for MK and DHS days but buy the hopper option) and start our days a little later and sometimes stack LL. We can do anywhere from 1-4 parks in a day.

I will say even when we purchase G+ I don’t feel that I spend much more time on my phone than I do without it. A phone is used with or without G+, looking for wait times, show times, etc. I tend to book a LL, set an alarm for slightly less than 2 hours and go about our day.

Please feel free to ask any additional questions you may have.

 

[MainMom]

Just got back from a trip. I did purchase G+ and ILL so I can't comment on a trip without it. I will say that if you decide to purchase it even a few times have your girls (and you) watch the video by EarScouts that is posted in the Genie+ post here. Then let them book the LL if they are good with tech! My DD was in charge of booking and modifying our LL's and she was great at it. To her it was a game with the short wait time as a reward. She really was not on her phone that much. She would book/modify while in a que or any other down time. Just wanted to give this suggestion for the being on your phone concern.

 

[sponica]

My sister went in July without Genie+. The only ILL she bought was for ROTR, the ride is just too unreliable to risk waiting standby (in my opinion). They would rope drop early entry and usually tap out around midday, head back to Ft Wilderness and then go back after 5.

 

[kylenne]

For example, headliners like FoP and RotR have much shorter standby wait times close to park closing. That is almost always the best time to do standby for these don't-miss attractions. Don't be fooled by the posted wait times--they're always inflated close to park closing. And as long as you're in line before the official closing time, you're good.

For FoP I agree, but this strategy is a *huge* gamble with Rise and a non-starter imo with as unreliable as that ride is. Rise is much better left to rope dropping, and jump in line at the end of the night for Slinky instead. Slinky's better at night anyway.

 

[sponica]

For FoP I agree, but this strategy is a *huge* gamble with Rise and a non-starter imo with as unreliable as that ride is. Rise is much better left to rope dropping, and jump in line at the end of the night for Slinky instead. Slinky's better at night anyway.

I don't even have enough faith in Rise to rope drop it. Because if it doesn't open with the park, you've wasted valuable time. It's the one ride where buying the ILL is non negotiable for me. At least if it goes down during my return time, it's converted to an anytime.

 

[kylenne]

I don't even have enough faith in Rise to rope drop it. Because if it doesn't open with the park, you've wasted valuable time. It's the one ride where buying the ILL is non negotiable for me. At least if it goes down during my return time, it's converted to an anytime.

Yeah but we are specifically talking to a person who does not want to pay lol. I don’t ever rope drop the rides everyone else does, anywhere—my standard move at HS is starting down Sunset and getting Rise and Slinky thru LLs. But for someone averse to paying rope dropping Rise isn’t a terrible move because similar to Pandora drop procedures at HS generally have people being let into Rise earlier than EE, and if it isn’t up you can pivot very easily to Slinky since TSL is right next door. You’ll probably be behind the people who beelined for Slinky but you’ll still make out ahead on the wait time vs people coming in later esp if you were at or near the front of the Rise pack. Regardless Rise is much more likely to be up and running for EE vs later in the night, and if it’s not you still have the option to ride it later. You can’t if you leave it for last thing. Which was my point.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Did you rope drop the parks or go later? How did you structure your days that you had G+ and the days you didn't?

We have tended to buy G+ when the parks are busy, and skip it when they are not busy.
The best use of G+ is HS paired with hopping to MK for late night hours.
In August, if you go to MK for regular park hours on day that MK closes early you do not at all need G+.
The one park that is somewhat miserable without G+ is HS, but then we almost always hop out of HS by mid-afternoon.

August also has afternoon storms, so during the storms much of AK stops running. The value of G+ decreases in all the parks during a storm, but it is particularly useless in AK.
Of all the parks, we usually do NOT buy G+ for AK. FoP is the ONLY ILL that I would buy.

OP, much depends how much you can make use of early and late park hours, or if you only plan to use the middle park hours of the day. If your family only wants to tour 10am-7pm, then G+ will help. Otherwise you can do without it.

If you choose to buy it at all though, buy it for HS. Second choice is MK.

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

You don't. I have had less stressful vacations without using it then with it. Never even rope dropped. I accept my fate without using it. I just deal with the line at that point.

I attempt to get everything I want and stare at my phone all day trying to see what times opened up, modifying etc, when using it.

Different experience

 

[blam84]

We have tended to buy G+ when the parks are busy, and skip it when they are not busy.
The best use of G+ is HS paired with hopping to MK for late night hours.
In August, if you go to MK for regular park hours on day that MK closes early you do not at all need G+.
The one park that is somewhat miserable without G+ is HS, but then we almost always hop out of HS by mid-afternoon.

August also has afternoon storms, so during the storms much of AK stops running. The value of G+ decreases in all the parks during a storm, but it is particularly useless in AK.
Of all the parks, we usually do NOT buy G+ for AK. FoP is the ONLY ILL that I would buy.

OP, much depends how much you can make use of early and late park hours, or if you only plan to use the middle park hours of the day. If your family only wants to tour 10am-7pm, then G+ will help. Otherwise you can do without it.

If you choose to buy it at all though, buy it for HS. Second choice is MK.

Our hope is to get to each Park everyday by rope drop, go until 1pm or so, head back to the resort to relax/swim, go to an early dinner, and head back into the parks for the evening and potentially late hours, since we are staying in a deluxe. So hopefully our tactic will work well, based on what you said. Thanks for the advice!