The Genie Usage, Tips and Strategy ONLY Thread

[twirly123]

We learned the hard way, that the G+ for shows doesn't save you a spot. Once the show is full they will not let you enter even if you have a reservation. It makes the G+ pretty pointless, imo. Plus, I couldn't book another G+ until the 2 hour time was up because I couldn't scan in and "use" the show one.

I went to CS and definitely expressed my unhappiness with the system that day.

That is a bit rubbish! I would have been really frustrated at that too!

 

[CarolynFH]

We learned the hard way, that the G+ for shows doesn't save you a spot. Once the show is full they will not let you enter even if you have a reservation. It makes the G+ pretty pointless, imo. Plus, I couldn't book another G+ until the 2 hour time was up because I couldn't scan in and "use" the show one.

I went to CS and definitely expressed my unhappiness with the system that day.

Oh my! That's not good. How far in advance of show time did you arrive and were turned away?

 

[Westerner]

We learned the hard way, that the G+ for shows doesn't save you a spot. Once the show is full they will not let you enter even if you have a reservation. It makes the G+ pretty pointless, imo. Plus, I couldn't book another G+ until the 2 hour time was up because I couldn't scan in and "use" the show one.

I went to CS and definitely expressed my unhappiness with the system that day.

I think if you follow the G+ return window given you for a show you'll have no problem getting priority access. That was our experience at DHS for Indiana and Beauty & Beast.

A workaround to any "I can't tap in so can't book my next G+" situation is simply to cancel the blocking G+ booking.

 

[Rivergirl2005]

Does anyone know if there are “drop times” for flight of passage in case I miss the time at 7?

 

[Westerner]

.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

We are a group of 7 going: My parents, my daughter and I are already in my MDE account. My sister, BIL, and Nephew are also coming. Should they create their own MDE or join mine?

I was thinking it might be easier finding LLs for groups of 4 and 3 vs 7. We would plan on doing everything together and just try to get matching LLs.

Any thoughts or experiences with groups under the same MDE account?

 

[MainMom]

We are a group of 7 going: My parents, my daughter and I are already in my MDE account. My sister, BIL, and Nephew are also coming. Should they create their own MDE or join mine?

I was thinking it might be easier finding LLs for groups of 4 and 3 vs 7. We would plan on doing everything together and just try to get matching LLs.

Any thoughts or experiences with groups under the same MDE account?

I think it will be very hard to match LL. I am traveling with a group of 7 in June. I will book everyone together. I would recommend at least one of the adults in the other family has an MDE and then manages the other 2. The become friends and family so you can book LL together for everyone. Or you can split up if you want too.

 

[Disturbia]

We had Oga’s Cantina booked at 10:25 am. I forgot to book my MMRR 2 hours after park opening. I did have the timer set but we got called to our table and I forgot (Oga’s sat our infant at the bar (they initially refused high chair saying they only had tall ones; finally they said they could MAYBE arrange the counter height chair) and 5 of us stood sideways crammed in a space meant for 3 normal people sitting on bar stools-making room for Starcruiser guests: sat comfortably). Also supply issues meant they charged us for the Blue Bantha but there were no cookies, only blue milk. Don’t drink too many drinks when you’re trying to book Genie+. I was able to get it (MMRR) again with many refreshes for 4:30-5:30 (would only give 8 pm+ Mostly). Went to GET and they were able to change it (after a big ‘As a one time favor I will make this change’) as it conflicted with Dining (thankfully in this case). Got TSMM for 4-5 pm. Booked but didn’t want to go to GET (wanted to leave before 3). Left the park. Could have booked RnRc saw availability after multiple refreshes). Enjoyed the pool after dinner (45 min wait to be seated at Story book dining because we were 1 min late).

Thought of going back with the teen to ride TOT, enjoyed pool time and enchanto (Art of Animation) instead.

There was a drop of ROTR at around 2 pm

 

[Westerner]

We had Oga’s Cantina booked at 10:25 am. I forgot to book my MMRR 2 hours after park opening. I did have the timer set but we got called to our table and I forgot. Don’t drink too many drinks when you’re trying to book Genie+. I was able to get it again with many refreshes for 4:30-5:30 (would only give 8 pm+ Mostly). Went to GET and they were able to change it (after a big ‘As a one time favor I will make this change’) as it conflicted with Dining (thankfully in this case). Got TSMM for 4-5 pm. Booked but didn’t want to go to GET (wanted to leave before 3). Left the park. Could have booked RnRc saw availability after multiple refreshes). Enjoyed the pool after dinner (45 min wait to be seated at Story book dining because we were 1 min late).

Thought of going back with the teen to ride TOT, enjoyed pool time and enchanto (Art of Animation) instead.

There was a drop of ROTR at around 2 pm

Thanks for the info and glad things worked out with GET for your ADR. The one observation I have is if you find yourself unable to make use of a LL you booked (eg TSM in your case) it's in your interest to cancel it which allows you to book it again later should the opportunity arise. If you let it expire unused it counts as your 1 permitted LL for that ride.

Did you actually book RotR at 2pm?

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

I think it will be very hard to match LL. I am traveling with a group of 7 in June. I will book everyone together. I would recommend at least one of the adults in the other family has an MDE and then manages the other 2. The become friends and family so you can book LL together for everyone. Or you can split up if you want too.

Does my sister need her own MDE or can I just add them to mine and control the LLs myself?

 

[lynzi2004]

Does anyone know if there are “drop times” for flight of passage in case I miss the time at 7?

They dropped again for us today at 7:17, with a full range of options. I saw it again several times throughout the day sporadically as well. I had already booked it on the second drop, so I’m not sure if you would have got any on the random ones throughout the day, but definitely at 7:17 you should be able to!

 

[CarolynFH]

Does my sister need her own MDE or can I just add them to mine and control the LLs myself?

Your sister can make her own MDE and manage her family. Then you can link all three of them as F&F in your MDE, which will allow you to book LLs, ILL$, ADRs, etc. for all of you as one party.

 

[Disturbia]

Thanks for the info and glad things worked out with GET for your ADR. The one observation I have is if you find yourself unable to make use of a LL you booked (eg TSM in your case) it's in your interest to cancel it which allows you to book it again later should the opportunity arise. If you let it expire unused it counts as your 1 permitted LL for that ride.

Did you actually book RotR at 2pm?

No, I posted a few posts back that I had ROTR (7:17 am drop had even 8:30 am open, but we chose 11:35 am as everyone was still in bed) booked earlier in the day. Oga’s was in between those. Note: Skyliner had no wait at 9:15 am.

So after that I got MMRR (booked around noon for 4:30-5:30 by constantly refreshing; saw MFSR pop up for 1:30 pm btw; GET helped change it to an anytime pass-dinner ADR at 5:40 pm) and TSMM (booked at 2 pm for 4-5 pm) but chose not to ride TSMM and leave instead.

 

[Disturbia]

Does my sister need her own MDE or can I just add them to mine and control the LLs myself?

Seeing how hard it is to already manage a family of 4 riders (plus one infant), I would seriously delegate and let other people take on some of the work. Plus the more people you have in your party, the less options Genie+ gives (LL for party of 1 has more availability vs 4).

 

[Disturbia]

Please note: those of us going during crowded holidays/summer: Do lower your already lowered expectations as you buy Genie+ and anything else at WDW right now; as you can see from the change in language on the website, Disney couldn’t care less about your experience or that of your kids. Corporate Greed is prevalent everywhere, most notably at HS.

It was so dangerous for us to be eating over our kids (severe allergies) at an area meant for 3 people. Everything was within reach of our younger kids even glass. A person in her 20s looked shocked and took a picture of us (yes it was that bad) and the 2 people who were squeezed in tried to accommodate by standing sideways ( like us) as well. Fortunately the 2 year old was distracted by the phone. The chef saw how dangerous our seating arrangement was and brought us allergy safe baatu bits (no humus) despite us requesting a regular one. You can read TripAdvisor reviews so we are not alone in this dismal experience. It doesn’t phase us anymore as we’ve now come to expect something like this each trip (this is our 4th post pandemic). We still CHOSE to not get upset and have a good time despite the circumstances. It was still disappointing and our next day we plan to just stack in the evening and forget about going in the morning. To make that happen we will cancel Topolinos and Oga’s for our next HS day (if we could change it to another park we would, but we’re stuck with what we have right now). Maybe having park hoppers is a good idea during high crowds.

At GET I saw an European lady almost in tears trying to describe what she was feeling. She started off by saying I don’t know what I’m feeling. I think I feel sad, I want to cry, I click and the times keep changing and I have a dining… It was so sad to see someone else feel like this. I think she was feeling a sense of shock, disbelief, heartbreak, loss and sadness at what this experience has become (we already went through that phase of shock and disbelief on our post pandemic pre Genie+ trips - that’s actually pretty sad that it’s come to that; the pandemic is not an excuse any longer).

To get 2 Genie+ passes before 4 pm, I had to refresh constantly for hours. Pack a lot of Advil.

 

[Luisfba]

A question about ILL. I’m aware the time you get may not be the initial time on the first screen, but does ILL lock down a time and tell you what that is before you actually purchase (perhaps a couple of screens into the purchase flow)? Or is there a risk you end up purchasing a time that isn’t what you need/want?

 

[Disturbia]

I just booked JC (screen froze at 7 am), but still got 9:25 am. SDMT was pushed into the evening quickly 8 pm+ as I went back to confirm what time I had dinner booked. Waited and kept refreshing and there were 4 and 6 pm available at 7:08 am. Im sure at 7:17 am there will be another drop. JC is already pushing into late afternoon

 

[Disturbia]

Yes another drop, but I wanted evening


I booked 7-8, I just checked my time and it changed to 10:30-11 on my day!!!!! Wow I don’t know how I can cancel and rebook

This is my *** moment. I am going to have to go to the front desk at our resort to change this, still showing availability starting at 11:10 am.

Edit:

Later in the day (entered park at 10 am):

1. Rode JC Genie+ booked Splash 11:35
2. Pirates standby (posted 45, actual 20).
3. Rode Splash, booked Big Thunder 1:50 (refresh crazy). Ride got stuck several times, teenagers took off shirt so got to ride twice (thanks to gift shop employee)
Ate Lunch at Pecos Bill (allergy orders took really long to get, so we weren’t done until 1:45 pm
4. Rode Big Thunder, break at resort (exit around 3 pm), bus didn’t arrive for 20-30 mins, so got to resort at 3:40 pm. refresh crazy booked PP at 6:30-7:30
Dinner at Steakhouse71 at 5 pm (meat quality down, excessive salt (3 times normal) service slow took almost 2 hours (quickly ate and packed desserts). Refresh crazy couldn’t get early times for HM. Exit at 6:45 and sprinted to SDMT reaching by 7:10 (had booked 6-7 pm).
5. Rode SDMT (fixed by front desk but took an hour) and got HM 7-8 pm.
6. Rode Peter Pan was able to book IASW
7. Rode IASW booked Buzz for 9-10 pm
Dessert after party check in and fireworks from plaza garden
8. After fireworks rode people mover standby headed to Buzz it went down and I had 10 mins left in my window but didn’t get a recovery pass!. Went to the dessert party at 9:45. Ate a few sweets had 2 drinks. Yes crepes are here to stay and they are topped with candied walnuts.
9. Rode buzz standby (walk on)
10. Rode little mermaid standby (walk on)
We could have ridden 1-2 more rides like Winnie the Pooh, tea cups, speedway which were all walk ons but chose not to.
11. Rode Space standby (posted 35, actual 10).

Took photos on Main Street, exited park at 11:30 pm.

 

[leiaorgana]

Is there any threads like this just for offsite people’s experiences using G+ for LL on arrival at the parks and rope dropping following the resort crowds or can I make one that won’t get merged with the others? I’m just looking for a space where offsite people can share their experiences without having to dig through hundreds of pages to find what they’re looking for.

 

[Disturbia]

Update: Front desk was able to change SDMT from 10:25 to 6-7 pm Phew. There was still availability starting at 11 am around 7:45 am.

Although I was next in line, I had to wait 30 mins at the front desk btw. So be prepared for that.