Disney Genie announcement

[MainMom]

Here's another possible spin on that strategy that doesn't make you awit to scan in (but requires strategically waiting until the available time is slightly more than 120 minutes away):

At 7 am, you book LL for 9:05 am.
At 9:05 am, you use that LL and book another for 11:06 am (which is more than 120 minutes in the future, but barely).
At 11:05 am, you book another LL (you can book another before scanning in because of the 120 minute rule).
Scan in for your 11:06 am LL and then book another (I haven't verified this, but I understood from an earlier post, that this "loophole" existed where you could book another LL after 120 minutes and then another after scanning in).

I'm interested to see if people's experience indicates that it's better to schedule next LL 2 hours out in the morning and ride SB (short waits early in the day?) or if people prefer to schedule a lot of them in quick succession if the next available is always only a few minutes in the future.

I think it’s going to depend on what the worth is of that booked genie+ for each party. For me booking one & using it at 9:05 when I can probably ride that ride with a relatively short wait has little value to me. Others may see it differently and feel like they are getting a lot when they can just stack whatever rides and don’t mind taking next available.

 

[AZMermaid]

Has anyone run into a scenario when the G+ time given is at your ADR? Specifically Slinky, since the others you have more control over the time you are booking.

 

[trompettecon]

This must be in here somewhere but I can not find the answer. Can anyone confirm that if you stay at the Marriott hotels associated with Disney (the Swan and the Dolphin) you can have the same ILL$ benefits as the Disney Resorts, meaning I can book them at 7h00? I'm seeing conflicting info.

 

[dmunsil]

This must be in here somewhere but I can not find the answer. Can anyone confirm that if you stay at the Marriott hotels associated with Disney (the Swan and the Dolphin) you can have the same ILL$ benefits as the Disney Resorts, meaning I can book them at 7h00? I'm seeing conflicting info.

Yes, the Swan and Dolphin get that benefit. https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/genie/lightning-lane-reservations/

 

[Missmaureen78]

Maybe It’s planned in a way that it has down times to move the standby lines along?

I have had this thought as well. It seems to me that both the free Genie tool and the dynamic nature of G+ reservations both give Disney - or its algorithm/AI - the ability to direct crowds in real time. Go here, do this, come back here at this time - once we've had a chance to move some of these SB folks along. Whether it will actually work is another question. The Genie planner at least seems like a bust for now -- it sent Touring Plans' tester to Tom Sawyer Island for like a half hour today Presumably it would learn over time but that seems pretty sophisticated for Disney IT.

 

[cfw213]

Tapping in means:
1. When you tap into a ride that you have a LL booked for. When you tap into a ride - you can make your next reservation.
2. When you tap into a park. You have to tap into your reservation park in order to be permitted to hop to another park. So correct - your family cannot just meet you at Epcot at 2pm without either going to MK first or changing their reservation.

As for your first statement - the 120 minutes does not start to run until a park opens even if you make a reservation at 7am. If you make a 7am reservation with an 11:30 return time, you can make your second reservation at 11am. You can still make your second reservation if you have not tapped into the park. If you enter the park and tap into your 11:30 reservation, you can then make another reservation after you have tapped even though you also have the reservation you made at 11.

Is this confirmed? That seems like a huge loophole. Wouldn’t you be able to have 2 g+ all day, leapfrogging each other in this situation?

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

My wife and I used Genie+ today at Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. I would have gotten as much use for my money if I had simply lighted 30 dollars bills in the hotel parking lot and watched them burn. I grabbed a Slinky LL for 12:40 and a Toy Story for 2:30, but I could have simply stood in line instead of killing time waiting for my windows to open. Meanwhile my LL power was tied up so I couldn’t use it on lesser attractions.

Over at AK (got there about 3:30) crowds were insignificant. I used but did not need LL for KS and Dinosaur. Also used it for Navi River Journey. That ride had an hour standby. I don’t much care for the ride so wouldn’t have minded skipping it. Then hopped on standby line for FOP (posted an hour but was actually 30 minutes). Everest was down so didn’t get to do that.

All in all, Genie+ was a bust for us today. I’d consider using it again at MK but not at the other three parks. Disney needs more inventory; they’re way short on shows and attractions at the three lesser parks

 

[js]

My wife and I used Genie+ today at Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. I would have gotten as much use for my money if I had simply lighted 30 dollars bills in the hotel parking lot and watched them burn. I grabbed a Slinky LL for 12:40 and a Toy Story for 2:30, but I could have simply stood in line instead of killing time waiting for my windows to open. Meanwhile my LL power was tied up so I couldn’t use it on lesser attractions.

Over at AK (got there about 3:30) crowds were insignificant. I used but did not need LL for KS and Dinosaur. Also used it for Navi River Journey. That ride had an hour standby. I don’t much care for the ride so wouldn’t have minded skipping it. Then hopped on standby line for FOP (posted an hour but was actually 30 minutes). Everest was down so didn’t get to do that.

All in all, Genie+ was a bust for us today. I’d consider using it again at MK but not at the other three parks. Disney needs more inventory; they’re way short on shows and attractions at the three lesser parks

Thank you for this post. When you went on at 7 am, was 12:40 the first time you could get or did you chose that time? That is t so great. Thanks.

 

[elgerber]

Thank you for this post. When you went on at 7 am, was 12:40 the first time you could get or did you chose that time? That is t so great. Thanks.

We also used it today at HS. We got Slinky for 10:10. Paid for the other two at 10:05 and 11:05. Did early entry with ToT and RnR, went straight to MFSR after those. With 10 minute wait. So we had all of those and Star Tours LL done before noon. Did TSM with a LL after lunch. Booked Test Track for 7:15 after we left HS and then booked Soarin for 6:30 once we were in Epcot, it has been more than two hours since we booked TT

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

Thank you for this post. When you went on at 7 am, was 12:40 the first time you could get or did you chose that time? That is t so great. Thanks.

I went on at 7am, maybe a minute or two after. I originally got a 4:45 LL for Slinky but spent about 15 minutes gambling by unassigning it and hoping for earlier time slot. Eventually got it down to 12:40

 

[Disturbia]

No, my logic isn't flawed. If you are in a stand by line for 30 minutes and NO ONE comes through the lightning lane during that 30 minute time but Genie+ says there are no availability to skip the line, something is wrong. I have no problem paying for a product if you get your money from the product. When one person buys the genie+ and can't ride as many rides in 3 hours as someone who uses the standby lines and rides more rides then why should I purchase Genie+. It serves no purpose. There are multiple videos now on youtube expressing this exact issue. What I am saying is Disney needs to increase the number of Genie+ lightning lane passes per hour. They have no problem giving out as many individual paid passes for rides such at Mickey and Minnies Runaway Railroad and such because those lines are packed.

They are trying to balance standby vs LL and disperse crowds

 

[Disturbia]

Here's another possible spin on that strategy that doesn't make you awit to scan in (but requires strategically waiting until the available time is slightly more than 120 minutes away):

At 7 am, you book LL for 9:05 am.
At 9:05 am, you use that LL and book another for 11:06 am (which is more than 120 minutes in the future, but barely).
At 11:05 am, you book another LL (you can book another before scanning in because of the 120 minute rule).
Scan in for your 11:06 am LL and then book another (I haven't verified this, but I understood from an earlier post, that this "loophole" existed where you could book another LL after 120 minutes and then another after scanning in).

I'm interested to see if people's experience indicates that it's better to schedule next LL 2 hours out in the morning and ride SB (short waits early in the day?) or if people prefer to schedule a lot of them in quick succession if the next available is always only a few minutes in the future.

Why are you spacing them 2 hours apart? That 2 hour rule is only if you booked a late pass (say 2 pm; you have to wait until 10 am to book your rolling genie+ If park opened at 8 am), so you can make another genie+ 2 hours from park opening.

9 am book a pass and ride by 9:15 am
9:10 am book after second magic band scan (turnstile) in ride, book another 9:15-10:15
At 9:20 book 10:20-11:20

 

[Disturbia]

Also, I see diminished returns for double stacking (evening Genie+ booked early am) as you then have 2 cool off periods of 2 hours (4 hrs wasted)

 

[Jrb1979]

Why are you spacing them 2 hours apart? That 2 hour rule is only if you booked a late pass, so you can make another genie+ 2 hours from park opening.

9 am book a pass and ride by 9:15 am
9:10 am book after second magic band scan (turnstile) in ride, book another 9:15-10:15
At 9:20 book 10:20-11:20

That strategy sounds like the best use of G+. Booking one for late afternoon first thing in the morning, you end getting 2 or 3 at most from the way things have been going.

Like I said before, IMO many are still trying to use G+ like they did FP+ and book the must do's first. I'm thinking the best plan is to rope drop those and buy the the headliners.

 

[Disturbia]

Here is the article on stacking and it’s not the best use of Genie+

https://allears.net/2021/10/21/how-can-you-stack-multiple-disney-genie-reservations/

 

[ChanaC]

I grabbed a Slinky LL for 12:40 and a Toy Story for 2:30, but I could have simply stood in line instead of killing time waiting for my windows to open. Meanwhile my LL power was tied up so I couldn’t use it on lesser attractions.

I have been following around on the app and noticed this a lot. Maybe it's just because it's not a super busy time of year, but there appeared to be a lot of times where a line was 30 minutes long or you could get a LL time for an half hour from then. So you could get the LL and chill out somewhere for a bit (or maybe go on a ride with a short wait time or grab a snack) or just wait on the line. There are pros and cons to each, but in the end, on a week like this, it doesn't seem especially necessary, but maybe helpful.

 

[Missmaureen78]

They are trying to balance standby vs LL and disperse crowds

This. If they wanted to design a system where people could simply pay to skip lines, they could have. They would have had to charge a lot more than $15, but they could have. That is not this system. No re-rides, early entry at every park every day, no pre-booking return times...this is designed to help them manage crowd levels and overall wait times for the system as a whole, not to reduce wait times (or, more accurately, time spent in a line) for individual guests. That's neither good nor bad - assuming it functions as intended -- but that's what it is.

We looked into planning a WDW trip in 2018-19, but ultimately there was zero chance we were going to plan out our entire vacation 6 months in advance, franticly try to book fast passes at the crack of dawn on some random day, need to stick to a rigid schedule or risk being shut out of everything and refresh refresh refresh to try to beat 2 hour waits. It's too early to say whether this system will be better overall for more people than the old one, but we're giving it a shot...whereas we absolutely would not have under the old system.

And we spend a lot of money -- A LOT -- on our vacations.

 

[Sjm9911]

Get the pass, do the standby, and then use the pass

 

[DavidNYC]

Is this confirmed? That seems like a huge loophole. Wouldn’t you be able to have 2 g+ all day, leapfrogging each other in this situation?

Not a loophole. System isn’t meant to limit how many you can hold - that all depends on return times. Just meant so that it’s a maximum of 120 minutes before you can make the next one. Otherwise - tap in to one and get to make another is the general rule.

 

[larsonb74]

Needing help, not sure if I did or am doing something wrong or if I have a glitch going on. Opened my trip day for today MK day on MDE app. Get into the Genie+ to purchase and only have a purple bar. Doesn't say anything about purchasing it. Change days to 1-2 out and it shows the purchase text in the purple bar. What am I missing? I thought AP holders had to purchase day of park visit and this could happen any time after 12am? Kind words and directions appreciated.