Of all of the new things to come to Walt Disney World over the past year, the rollout of the Disney Genie program has probably brought about the most questions. Previously I have shared what Disney Genie is and how the *paid* aspects – (Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lanes (ILL) – work, as well as how the *free* part of Disney Genie (yes, there is a free part!) works. If you aren’t familiar with any of this or haven’t read those posts, head there first, and then come back here for today’s follow up:
Our experience using Disney Genie – and my top tips for using it to make the most of your time and budget.
First though, a disclaimer: When my family visited in December, we were a family of 4 adults who have visited Walt Disney World more times than we can count. Why does this matter? Because as with most things on a Disney vacation, every family is different and what was right for us may or may not be right for you. So, while the following tips will, I believe, be helpful for everyone, you may do things differently than us – and if it works for you, that’s all that matters!
Having said that, these are the top things we learned on our time with Disney Genie.
You Don’t Need Genie+ Every Day (and possibly not any days) – This may be the biggest takeaway, and will apply to everyone, because one of the biggest concerns of many after years of free FastPasses, is now having to pay for “the same thing”. However, on our 5 park days, we actually only purchased Genie+ for one day (at Magic Kingdom) and were more than fine the rest of the days utilizing other options to minimize wait times. In fact, I would say that for anyone visiting Magic Kingdom on more than one day, it might be totally possible to not pay for Genie+ at all for this park. As for the other 3 parks – for what our priorities were, we didn’t feel that the additional $15/person was worth it for what mattered to us. For a family on their first visit, or one with children, that might not be the case. But the point remains the same: you totally do not “need” to buy Genie+ every day. Might you want to? Sure. But you absolutely do not have to.
Individual Lightning Lane (ILL) Purchases May be a Better Value (maybe) – For my family’s priorities, purchasing ILLs was a much better investment for us, because in most cases, the rides we were most interested in were those “big ticket” attractions (or as I have heard them referred to, “fancy rides”). So, spending a bit to avoid super long lines was more important to us – and we felt ended up being a good value when we combined this with other strategies. Now we did not purchase all available ILLs for each park, but did purchase one each at EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. For the other “fancy rides” that we wanted – but didn’t want to pay for we made the most of…
Early (or Late) Extra Park Hours Matter (a HUGE benefit for Disney Resort Guests) – We tend to be relatively early risers at Disney, so made it a point to get to the parks each morning to take advantage of those Early Extra Park Hours – and it was a huge benefit. In each case, we used that time to knock off some of those longer line attractions, without having to pay for Genie+ or ILLs. Now I know full well that many folks don’t especially enjoy the early hours and for those folks, I’d recommend considering the Late Extra Hours. The caveat with those is that they are only available to Deluxe or Deluxe Villa Guests and not every park has them every night. But if you are eligible and are a night owl, you’ll get a lot accomplished during that time! For everyone else, seriously consider getting there for Early Hours if you can, it’s a great use of your time. And besides, you may be up early anyway because…
Booking Lightning Lanes at 7 a.m. Also Really Matters (another HUGE benefit for Disney Resort Guests) – There are several things that can happen beginning at 7 a.m. each day. The first is being able to purchase Individual Lightning Lane (ILL) attraction times beginning at 7 a.m. – but ONLY if you are a Disney Resort guest. If you are staying off property, these do not open up until that park opens – and to be very honest here, by that time in some cases there may be little to no times available for some attractions like Rise of the Resistance. So, this is a huge benefit for resort guests!
(Currently, Guardians of the Galaxy is available as a purchased ILL, OR by requesting a virtual queue – which also opens at 7 a.m. If you want to ride this without paying for an ILL, wanting to ride earlier in the day means that you have to be ready for this immediately at 7 a.m., which is the same time as purchasing an ILL. So keep this important timing in mind!)
In addition, while you can purchase Genie+ each day beginning at midnight that day – all guests (regardless of where you are staying) can’t actually schedule any attractions until 7 a.m. each day. And depending on how you want to spend your park time, this can matter because for Genie+, you don’t pick the times, you are assigned the next available time – and that time may not be one that works well with your park plans. However……
Don’t see a Time That Works? Keep Refreshing (because things are constantly updated) – This admittedly took some time to get really good at it, but our daughter quickly became a pro at refreshing regularly until a time that worked for us came up. Genie+ availability is constantly changing as people change their plans throughout the day, so what you find in available times for any given attraction may or may not be what you find later. Keep looking! (Important note here: unlike Genie+ attractions, you can NOT change ILLs. Once you purchase it, it’s purchased. The best way to think about ILLs is like a movie ticket – you bought a ticket for a certain time, and that is your time. No changes.)
Be Familiar with the App BEFORE You Arrive (this is not the time to “learn as you go”) – There’s no question that there are many layers to this new system and yes, it is complicated. So, while we always preach that planning is super important for any Disney vacation, it is vital for making the best use of Disney Genie – because it is not free, so you really do want to get your money’s worth! This is not the time to start trying to figure it all out at 7 a.m. on your first day! Take some time then well before you leave, to look at the Genie section on the My Disney Experience app and play around with it so you get familiar with it. And be sure to ask your travel agent if you have any questions, so you can be ready to use it fully like a pro when you arrive!
BONUS Tip: Ignore the Free Genie (he may be cute, but he isn’t very smart about touring the parks) – While I wrote about the “free Genie” a couple of months ago, we did have the chance to check this part out too and honestly – meh. The recommendations we were given had us running back and forth across the parks, and prioritizing attractions that frankly were not things that would have had lines anyway. It can be interesting to see what is recommended if you want to check it out, but for now at least, I think common sense and advice from your travel agent will be more beneficial than doing what the Genie tells you to do.
Bottom line here is that I do really think that Disney Genie can be a great help in making the most of your time at the parks in many (and for some, in most) cases. But planning is important so that you get the most value for what you are spending!
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