If you haven’t heard about Disney Genie yet, or have but are trying to sort out what it will – and won’t – do, that’s exactly what we are going to discuss today. I do have one caveat before we begin however, and that is we are still in the process of learning about this system. So keep in mind that it’s new, and until it officially rolls out – and is used by actual Guests – there’s a good bit that we won’t know for a while.
This is what we do know so far for Walt Disney World.
The new Disney Genie service, announced by Disney last week, is coming to Walt Disney World and Disneyland this fall. As we expected, the Walt Disney World FastPass and Disneyland MaxPass services are being retired and will be replaced by this new system. To summarize, there are several components to how the new system will work:
- Disney Genie will be a free service available on the My Disney Experience app that will provide multiple options to help Guests make the most of their time in the parks, including park tips, suggested itineraries, best wait times and more.
- Disney Genie+ will be a paid service that will allow Guests to schedule the “next available time” for *many/most* attractions, using the new “Lightning Lane”. Cost will be $15/ticket/day at WDW and $20/ticket/day at DL.
- “Individual Attraction Selections” will also be a paid service that will allow Guests to schedule a time to arrive at up to two *highly demanded attractions* each day, again utilizing the “Lightning Lane” on their arrival. The attractions available for this option will not be available on the Genie+ option. The selections must be two different attractions. Cost is unknown at this time but “will vary by date, attraction and park”.
- There is a good bit of flexibility in deciding what, if any, paid options a Guest does. You can decide to add Disney Genie+ to your vacation package in advance, for the number of ticket days you have. Or you can opt to purchase Genie+ for just certain days, and do that each day in the My Disney Experience app. The same goes for the Individual Attraction Selections; they can be purchased for as many – or as few – days as you like. You do NOT have to purchase Genie+ in order to purchase the Individual Selections, and can actually “mix and match” if you wish, opting to have some days with no purchases, others with Genie+, and perhaps just one day with Individual Selections.
- Guests will be able to schedule their first Genie+ selection, or make their Individual Selections beginning 7 a.m. each day. Disney Resort Guests will be able to schedule their Individual Attraction Selections beginning 7 a.m. each day. Non-Disney Resort Guests will be able to do so once the park opens.
- Guests will still be able to utilize the stand-by lines, and virtual queues will still continue to be available for select attractions.
- There will be some changes to the Disability Access Service (DAS) program that will allow eligible Guests to enroll in the program pre-arrival and select attractions directly in the app.
Obviously there are still a number of questions we do NOT yet have answers to, including
- When does it begin?
- When can existing reservations be modified to include it?
- What will the cost be for Individual Selections?
- What attractions will be included in the Genie+ and which ones will be Individual Selections?
As I learn more, I will be sharing it with you. In the meantime, for more information, you can check this out: https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2021/08/introducing-disney-genie/
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