Disney Genie announcement

[GBRforWDW]

Cross posting from the strategy page:

Big change for Christmas holiday! Only 1 ILL$ per park, the other 1 dropping to Genie+

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/genie/lightning-lane/?s=09

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Wow, that's a really interesting announcement. On the one hand, it seems like Space Mountain and EE haven't been all that popular for ILL anyway, but to move them back to the "Genie+" selections is interesting. I expect there will be some tweaking of this over the upcoming year, especially with Guardians opening in 2022, and Tron opening (hopefully) not too long after that. It seems that adding these attractions back into the Genie+ queue should help spread out some of the G+/LL availability at each park - maybe a few more things available later in the day during an incredibly busy time.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Genie + has shattered the standby lines, quite sad to see after everything was smooth without fast pass for a year. So if you want to actual ride rides without crazy wait times it’s a must now

 

[GBRforWDW]

Wow, that's a really interesting announcement. On the one hand, it seems like Space Mountain and EE haven't been all that popular for ILL anyway, but to move them back to the "Genie+" selections is interesting. I expect there will be some tweaking of this over the upcoming year, especially with Guardians opening in 2022, and Tron opening (hopefully) not too long after that. It seems that adding these attractions back into the Genie+ queue should help spread out some of the G+/LL availability at each park - maybe a few more things available later in the day during an incredibly busy time.

Yeah, definitely the main reason. I wonder if after this period they experiment with slinky dog/test track or others as ILL$

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Genie + has shattered the standby lines, quite sad to see after everything was smooth without fast pass for a year. So if you want to actual ride rides without crazy wait times it’s a must now

That break between FP+ queues and now LL queues really did show the impact on the standby line wait times, didn't it? But I doubt you'll ever see standby-only lines again.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Yeah, definitely the main reason. I wonder if after this period they experiment with slinky dog/test track or others as ILL$

I could definitely see that happening, especially since SDD has LL passes gone so quickly each morning.

 

[disneyseniors]

I would hope Disney has been noticing the negative reviews of Genie and LL. Don't know how they could miss them, LOL.
I hope they continue to tweak this sad excuse for IT and make it better for guests. I think they are seeing cancellations over Christmas and beyond and THAT hurts their pocket book.

 

[tofubeast]

Major announcement regarding Genie+ and iLL$ during the next couple of weeks. Check out this news article.

• More Disney Genie+ Attractions: From December 19, 2021 – January 3, 2022, the following attractions will be included in Disney Genie+ service* and will not be included as an individual Lightning Laneentrance purchase option:
  • Magic Kingdom Park: Space Mountain
  • EPCOT: Frozen Ever After
  • Disney’s Hollywood Studios: Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
  • Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park: Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain

*Attractions with Lightning Lane entrances that are Disney Genie+ and individual purchases are limited in availability, subject to change or closure, may vary by date, are not guaranteed and may not be available at all on the date of visit or at the time you make a selection.

 

[gharter]

Will be interesting to see if they extend this or if this is their chance to change what attractions are ILL$.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Will be interesting to see if they extend this or if this is their chance to change what attractions are ILL$.

It really will be interesting. It seems like something that will be adjusted now and then. Right now, SDD is so popular, they might be thinking about adding that to ILL. Then Guardians is coming next year. Tron eventually. On the other hand, the ILL has definitely had a negative impact on the G+ reservations, so they'd best not get too deep into ILL. By removing the top 2 attractions from each park from G+ access, it's making it less valuable and tougher to use sometimes. In our opinion, that's the biggest negative moving from FP+/MaxPass to G+ (of course, paying for it is a big negative too!) - removing the top tier attractions from G+/LL access.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Cross posting from the strategy page:

Big change for Christmas holiday! Only 1 ILL$ per park, the other 1 dropping to Genie+

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/genie/lightning-lane/?s=09
View attachment 631377

Genie + has shattered the standby lines, quite sad to see after everything was smooth without fast pass for a year. So if you want to actual ride rides without crazy wait times it’s a must now

Just trying to play this scenario out in my head.

Am I correct in thinking that the only way for this change to improve the standby situation is for Disney to take only a portion of the ILL$ reservations and add them to the Genie + LL bank and leave the others out? If not, wouldn't the same thing happen as in the past with basically non-moving standby lines and the only thing accomplished is less $ in Disney's pocket?

Or, are they hoping this will encourage more to purchase Genie +?

Or, will it mean there are more LL places to spread guests out?

Well, nothing but more questions for me!

 

[GBRforWDW]

Just trying to play this scenario out in my head.

Am I correct in thinking that the only way for this change to improve the standby situation is for Disney to take only a portion of the ILL$ reservations and add them to the Genie + LL bank and leave the others out? If not, wouldn't the same thing happen as in the past with basically non-moving standby lines and the only thing accomplished is less $ in Disney's pocket?

Or, are they hoping this will encourage more to purchase Genie +?

Or, will it mean there are more LL places to spread guests out?

Well, nothing but more questions for me!

I think it's mainly to have more LL's available through Genie+ in the hopes they won't use up G+ by early afternoon.

 

[Faithful Raider]

Just trying to play this scenario out in my head.

Am I correct in thinking that the only way for this change to improve the standby situation is for Disney to take only a portion of the ILL$ reservations and add them to the Genie + LL bank and leave the others out? If not, wouldn't the same thing happen as in the past with basically non-moving standby lines and the only thing accomplished is less $ in Disney's pocket?

Or, are they hoping this will encourage more to purchase Genie +?

Or, will it mean there are more LL places to spread guests out?

Well, nothing but more questions for me!

First thing that came to mind for me was Disney trying to maximize G+ sales. The cynic in me thinks someone has a guest utilization percentage target they are trying to hit for an end of year bonus or something. But it could be as simple as they want to change up some of the ILL$ and this is Disney being nice by giving a little grace period as they announce the change in the new year. It is interesting that Frozen is on there, as initial G+ rumors originally had Frozen as the G+ and Test Track as the ILL$.

The other thing that catches my eye is the timing. Arguably the busiest 2 weeks of the year. If it isn't just for boosting G+ profits, it might be to "get the word out" and get it in the hands of lots of people, if Disney truly believes the Genie+ experience is a benefit to guests.

Personally I think it will end up being a disaster. Huge crowds will already put a strain on G+. Pushing even more guests to "act now" and get extra rides with G+ is going to put the system's flaws on full display for record crowds.

 

[mom2rtk]

First thing that came to mind for me was Disney trying to maximize G+ sales. The cynic in me thinks someone has a guest utilization percentage target they are trying to hit for an end of year bonus or something. But it could be as simple as they want to change up some of the ILL$ and this is Disney being nice by giving a little grace period as they announce the change in the new year. It is interesting that Frozen is on there, as initial G+ rumors originally had Frozen as the G+ and Test Track as the ILL$.

The other thing that catches my eye is the timing. Arguably the busiest 2 weeks of the year. If it isn't just for boosting G+ profits, it might be to "get the word out" and get it in the hands of lots of people, if Disney truly believes the Genie+ experience is a benefit to guests.

Personally I think it will end up being a disaster. Huge crowds will already put a strain on G+. Pushing even more guests to "act now" and get extra rides with G+ is going to put the system's flaws on full display for record crowds.

Don't overthink it. Based on Thanksgiving week performance that system was going to be a mess without extra inventory over Christmas.

 

[tiana1989]

Don't overthink it. Based on Thanksgiving week performance that system was going to be a mess without extra inventory over Christmas.

I agree. After Thanksgiving they had to do SOMETHING. Maybe this will work, maybe it won’t, but at least we’re finally seeing some acknowledgment from Disney that Thanksgiving was a disaster and they’re trying something different for Christmas crowds. I’ll be there between Christmas and New Year’s (yikes I know), so I’ll buy it the first few days to see if it works with these changes, and if not I’ll go standby the remainder of the trip. Luckily my DHS days area few days in, so I’ll have plenty of time to readthe horror stories ugh.

 

[jlundeen]

I just feel sorry for all those families who had to play "guinea pig" for this boondoggle. Now, something new and exciting will be trotted out just in time for the biggest crowds of the year.

I have to wonder in my heart of hearts if any of the people on the "Genie Team" that came up with this thing ever even visited the parks from the perspective of a family on vacation that value the Disney Experience. Makes me scratch my head.

 

[tiana1989]

Yeah, the rumors I’ve seen are that they pressured the team working on Genie to get this out before it was ready, so they were still internally debating features, working out bugs, etc. Based on all that’s happened, I don’t think that’s a stretch to believe at all. And if it’s true, it’s unfortunate because it seems the programmers maybe did have guest experience in mind, but the bigwigs who come to the parks for an hour during a big announcement and VIP to the front of the lines for the one ride they want to go on and have no clue what park guests go through forced them to just whip what they had together. I can’t imagine that would be rewarding for someone who put all this effort into a program and wanted to take the time to get it to work. And, of course, it especially sucks for the guests.

 

[princesswahooey]

Don't overthink it. Based on Thanksgiving week performance that system was going to be a mess without extra inventory over Christmas.

Yes, I think avoiding bad PR like what happened over Thanksgiving when everyone came home and told people G+ is worthless. I think they're trying to save face. It doesn't make financial sense otherwise.

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

Other than being too expensive and Disney taking advantage of their loyal customers, I think the things with Genie+ that need to change are:

1) eliminate having to get up pre 7am EVERY day
2) Stop having to have to be on your phone all day
3) Pick return times to avoid park hopping/dining overlaps
4) ability to pre book in some way/shape/form
5) change a Genie+ selection without having to cancel first
6) limit availability to avoid 30+ minute ILL lines
7) Add different "drops" throughout the day so there is inventory available in the afternoon

So, what I hear you saying is that they should make it work just like FP+.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

So, what I hear you saying is that they should make it work just like FP+.

There were similar complaints with similar lists of things that 'had to be changed' with FP+, too. There are things people hated about FP+, too. And things people hated about the original FP. It's all a matter of what works for people and what doesn't.