Disney Genie announcement

[MMSM]

Even the paid lighting lane?

Meaning paid attractions- RoTR and MMRR?

 

[elgerber]

Meaning paid attractions- RoTR and MMRR?

Yes, only onsite can purchase ILL (which is the paid individual rides) at 7am. Offsite cannot purchase until park open.

 

[scrappinginontario]

This summary thread may be helpful:

Everything Genie, Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane - Please Read Posts 1-7

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

I think #2 would be the way to go to actually make it usable. Saddly making it cost more but guarantee available rides all day would make it worth it. 45$ a person per day multiple rides ok. And that might be even too little to get a balance.

$45 per person would not be enough. Universal is in the upper end of the $300's during busy times. Slow times it's still $70+ per person but during slow times you don't need the express pass. WDW would have to charge $400+ per person for unlimited passes otherwise everyone would purchase it, making the LL useless.

 

[SMF_mom23]

$45 per person would not be enough. Universal is in the upper end of the $300's during busy times. Slow times it's still $70+ per person but during slow times you don't need the express pass. WDW would have to charge $400+ per person for unlimited passes otherwise everyone would purchase it, making the LL useless.

I agree that $45 wouldn't be enough, but $400 feels like an overshoot.

If I understand it correctly, at Universal, you pay for the pass by the day and it is only good at the two main parks (not the water park). The express pass would be expensive, but not COMPLETELY out of reach for a family of 4 during a typically-priced time (wherever that falls). You'd have two, maybe three, park days and can reasonably expect to ride/see most everything. Does that sound right? (Haven't been there yet, so I can only go by what I've heard/read.) BUT, Universal offers their EP as a benefit of staying at higher-end hotels, thus giving families a choice of how to spend their dollars and what they think is "worth it" to pay.

WDW is another story. With 4 parks, two of which would be popular for this type of pass (MK & HS), and one of those still likely needing a second day to really experience/see everything (MK), the price starts to rise very quickly for that same family of 4. Factor in EPCOT, depending on what "Festival" your visit falls during, and you may find the pass a great help there, too. Here, there are no cost-saving benefits to staying at a Deluxe resort, unless you count EMH at MK/EPCOT one night/wk, which I do not.

Either way, it seems to me something has got to be changed with the system as it stands. Guess we'll see where it goes and how far TWDC wants to push the envelope.

 

[Figvention]

I agree that $45 wouldn't be enough, but $400 feels like an overshoot.

If I understand it correctly, at Universal, you pay for the pass by the day and it is only good at the two main parks (not the water park). The express pass would be expensive, but not COMPLETELY out of reach for a family of 4 during a typically-priced time (wherever that falls). You'd have two, maybe three, park days and can reasonably expect to ride/see most everything. Does that sound right?

Please forgive my hubris here but “The express pass would be expensive, but not COMPLETELY out of reach for a family of 4 during a typically-priced time”… what world do you live in where this is not absolutely our of reach for 90% of Americans? Median household income was $67,521 in 2020, a decrease of 2.9 percent from the 2019 median of $69,560. An average 4 night stay at Pop Century with 4 day tickets in April of this year is about 3,700, tac on 1,300 for food for 4 days and your at an even 5k (that’s playing it cheap at wdw), you do understand that’s 8% of their ENTIRE YEARLY INCOME income. I’m gonna let that sit for a moment. Slapping on 1,300 - 1,600 dollars for one day of unlimited fast passes is COMPLETELY out of reach for 90% of American families.

By the grace of providence, we are blessed enough to travel. Recently came back from the World over the holidays. Lots of things needed painting, over flowing garbage, stupid wait times for food, cast member service was lacking, and the overall Disney guest experience is gone. We don’t cry over this, will simply spend our dollars elsewhere. My frustration comes when I see post like yours that give Bob Paycheck a “thrill up his leg” when you say 8% of your income for 4 days "ain’t that bad, here’s another 1,600 so I can ride all the rides on my once in a lifetime experience.” You’re enabling the downfall by patting their untenable logic as “good”. If you think the Disney economy can be supported by monied silver haired people, your gonna be REALLY disappointed at the quality of experience in 5 years.

Please have a little cognitive understanding of the economy and what real people make for a living . It’s insulting on some level and enables the worst from the top. 11% of a YEAR’S worth of post tax income is NEVER really in reach for most families today. Finically healthy people sometimes don’t live in the real world economically, it’s insulting to people who can’t afford first class.

 

[JakeAZ]

Here's my take on Genie+

It's awful

1. It allowed them to raise ticket prices by $15 each day. No discount for multiple days of purchase either. A straight $15 per day, per person increase. It's 100% profit
2. It requires you to wake up early each morning of your "vacation"
3. Disney tech is terrible, so when we were there, it was never a smooth experience
4. No "modify" feature. Having to cancel and keep your fingers crossed the other time you want is still there is a terrible experience.
5. Having to check your phone throughout the day to stay on top of things
6. You end up criss-crossing the parks more often than not
7. Giving on-site and off-site an even playing field
8. Only having the option of grabbing the next available time
9. One hour time windows are annoying
10. Once you use Universal EP, you truly realize what a joke G+ is

Edited to add:
11. IA$, while not part of G+ is also awful. It's confusing to have two dumb systems for the average park guests and basically penalizes us for the lack of quality rides at each park.

All of that being said, if you are there on moderate+ to heavy crowd days, you are at a severe disadvantage if you don't purchase it. Especially at HS and MK. I studied the ins and outs of it before we went and we were able to have a lot of success using it. However, as you can see from the above, just because it "worked" for us, doesn't mean I want to do it again. I don't like feeling like I have to purchase the latest nickel and dime up-charge so that I can try to ensure the other $1000s I've already spent wasn't wasted.

 

[itf]

While I dislike it too #1 isn't correct or at least in the UK it isn't - was coming in at around $10 a day (inc tax) to add it to a 14 day ticket as opposed to the $15+tax for individual days.

 

[butterscotchcollins]

I studied the ins and outs of it before we went and we were able to have a lot of success using it. However, as you can see from the above, just because it "worked" for us, doesn't mean I want to do it again.

This is the biggest reason why I won’t do it - I don’t want to have to STUDY like I’m on an academic curriculum in order to be able to use the feature. It is NOT intuitive, it requires a ton of reading these boards to understand optimization, which is ridiculous. I’m a smart person, I could figure it out, but why should I have to? Do better, Disney. I’ll give you the $ when you don’t make me work so hard for it.

 

[JakeAZ]

While I dislike it too #1 isn't correct or at least in the UK it isn't - was coming in at around $10 a day (inc tax) to add it to a 14 day ticket as opposed to the $15+tax for individual days.

In the US, it's $15 pp, per day.

This is the biggest reason why I won’t do it - I don’t want to have to STUDY like I’m on an academic curriculum in order to be able to use the feature. It is NOT intuitive, it requires a ton of reading these boards to understand optimization, which is ridiculous. I’m a smart person, I could figure it out, but why should I have to? Do better, Disney. I’ll give you the $ when you don’t make me work so hard for it.

100%. When we went, some of the original loopholes were still active, but then on day 3 of our trip, they were closed, without notice. I didn't find out what happened until I read these boards later that night.

But yes, if your express system requires studying, you've done it wrong.

I promise you, I didn't study at all for my Universal days with the EP.

 

[scrappinginontario]

While I dislike it too #1 isn't correct or at least in the UK it isn't - was coming in at around $10 a day (inc tax) to add it to a 14 day ticket as opposed to the $15+tax for individual days.

This must have been a special promotion offered to UK guests. It’s $15/day for US (and Canadian) guests whether we purchase in advance for all days or, daily as wanted.

 

[TravelandLeisure]

While I dislike it too #1 isn't correct or at least in the UK it isn't - was coming in at around $10 a day (inc tax) to add it to a 14 day ticket as opposed to the $15+tax for individual days.

That isn’t the case when adding it in the states. I didn’t notice any discount when added to a length of stay ticket from Disney.

 

[Miffy]

This is the biggest reason why I won’t do it - I don’t want to have to STUDY like I’m on an academic curriculum in order to be able to use the feature. It is NOT intuitive, it requires a ton of reading these boards to understand optimization, which is ridiculous. I’m a smart person, I could figure it out, but why should I have to? Do better, Disney. I’ll give you the $ when you don’t make me work so hard for it.

Yes, all that, except that I did use it on the last trip, although on some days G+ was good (for me) for only 1 attraction. It has to do with the way I tour the parks.

However, with all the "level the playing field" explanations by WDW, G and G+ and ILL$ are not intuitive or easy to use, nor do they always work the way they should. I had conversations with several other parkgoers who were clueless, just as they were with FP+. WDW started G+ and ILL$ to make money, not to level any playing field or make anything more fair. How can something that adds on an additional cost to an already expensive trip be considered fair? Some of us are on limited budgets.

ETA: It's actually $15.98/day here in the U.S. That's the price including tax. Why they couldn't've included tax in the $15 is beyond me. Oh . . . wait . . . pure profit.

 

[SMF_mom23]

Please forgive my hubris here but “The express pass would be expensive, but not COMPLETELY out of reach for a family of 4 during a typically-priced time”… what world do you live in where this is not absolutely our of reach for 90% of Americans? Median household income was $67,521 in 2020, a decrease of 2.9 percent from the 2019 median of $69,560. An average 4 night stay at Pop Century with 4 day tickets in April of this year is about 3,700, tac on 1,300 for food for 4 days and your at an even 5k (that’s playing it cheap at wdw), you do understand that’s 8% of their ENTIRE YEARLY INCOME income. I’m gonna let that sit for a moment. Slapping on 1,300 - 1,600 dollars for one day of unlimited fast passes is COMPLETELY out of reach for 90% of American families.

By the grace of providence, we are blessed enough to travel. Recently came back from the World over the holidays. Lots of things needed painting, over flowing garbage, stupid wait times for food, cast member service was lacking, and the overall Disney guest experience is gone. We don’t cry over this, will simply spend our dollars elsewhere. My frustration comes when I see post like yours that give Bob Paycheck a “thrill up his leg” when you say 8% of your income for 4 days "ain’t that bad, here’s another 1,600 so I can ride all the rides on my once in a lifetime experience.” You’re enabling the downfall by patting their untenable logic as “good”. If you think the Disney economy can be supported by monied silver haired people, your gonna be REALLY disappointed at the quality of experience in 5 years.

Please have a little cognitive understanding of the economy and what real people make for a living . It’s insulting on some level and enables the worst from the top. 11% of a YEAR’S worth of post tax income is NEVER really in reach for most families today. Finically healthy people sometimes don’t live in the real world economically, it’s insulting to people who can’t afford first class.

Let me start out by saying I agree with you 100% that "11% of a YEAR’S worth of post tax income is NEVER really in reach for most families." Additionally, I find the disparity between the income at the very top of TWDC (or a number of other companies) and the people at the bottom very disheartening. My ideas on how to fix it are likely not going to be popular to many. I am by no means a person who can afford live "fist class" and try to save money wherever possible. This, along with budgeting allows us to take our family on vacations, mostly where we stay with family, so no living large there.

I'm sorry that I wasn't clear in my post that I was not referring to a family that goes annually. Mine doesn't and when writing my post I was operating from my own frame of reference which dictates annual trips are far out of the question. (I am constantly amazed by the people who are able to pull off annual, or even bi-annual vacations to WDW, much less the people that go multiple times per year.) If a family was going to go each year, or even every few years, then it would absolutely be out of their reach. My post was intended to be a family that is going once every 3, 5, or 10 years as my example.

When I mentioned "typically-priced" I was referring to days at Universal when the EP was closer to the bottom/middle end of the range. Based on the prior post's information, the range for a family of 4 would $280 (expensive) - 1600/day (I cannot fathom paying this). I also mentioned that these passes are included in some hotel stays, which would then result in less cost out of pocket for the family vs staying at another hotel and buying the passes individually for each day they visit, should they feel it was worth the expense to them. With it being Universal, the parks can be done in 1 day each, as I understand it, and you can purchase express passes for as many/few days as you choose. Again, I've never been there, so I ask for confirmation that what I'm understanding is correct.

I stated that "WDW is another story" and that the price would rapidly increase for that same family of four because there are more parks to cover, some of which people find require two days to fully experience. Thus, I was trying to say it would be cost-prohibitive for them were the price set too high.

Again, my apologies. I hope this clarified what I was trying to say. Honestly, I'm struggling with COVID brain-fog and not always communicating clearly to those near me either. So probably I shouldn't be posting on the boards rn at all, but that ship has sailed at this point.

 

[seanholmes2]

Overflowing trash cans would really disappoint me! I hope this is getting better!

I wondering if parks will get more modern with "robo-mobile waste baskets" in my life-time?

 

[ccbloom]

Not sure how this will pan out for us. We are on day 6 of our trip and I’m beyond frustrated with G+. We’ve paid for it 2 or 3 days and have ridden far fewer rides in our time here than on any of our past 15 trips.

This morning we got up at 6:55am (me and 15 year old daughter) to try and get a SDD time. I saw a 10:15am pass. Selected and paid for G+ and got an error message. My charge went through, but the pass res did not. Nothing else available. Kept checking and saw a few later in the day that would not work for us and I was not booking them because to cancel and rebook would be nearly impossible. Saw another 10:15 after an immediate refresh. Grabbed it quickly - “Please return 2:40-3:40 for your experience”. What??!!!! We have a dining reservation at MK at 2:40! Which we can’t cancel without being charged $30.

Oh and apparently my daughter and I both bought G+ for the 3 of us today because I have two receipts and different transactions. Wonder if the $45 will be refunded from one of them!?

I can’t understand how they can expect you to make ADRs, which you need this week in January!!, something I can’t believe, and then just assign any time of day for the rides?

They have basically forced us to be major planners, but none of that matters now. I’m NOT a planner by nature, and our first big family trip back in 2009, we didn’t book anything except our hotel and a dinner show. We were able to walk up to most restaurants and get a time. Now, we can’t even get into a restaurant without making it so far in advance and then be at the mercy of some IT nightmare to even try and get on rides.

 

[mom2rtk]

Not sure how this will pan out for us. We are on day 6 of our trip and I’m beyond frustrated with G+. We’ve paid for it 2 or 3 days and have ridden far fewer rides in our time here than on any of our past 15 trips.

This morning we got up at 6:55am (me and 15 year old daughter) to try and get a SDD time. I saw a 10:15am pass. Selected and paid for G+ and got an error message. My charge went through, but the pass res did not. Nothing else available. Kept checking and saw a few later in the day that would not work for us and I was not booking them because to cancel and rebook would be nearly impossible. Saw another 10:15 after an immediate refresh. Grabbed it quickly - “Please return 2:40-3:40 for your experience”. What??!!!! We have a dining reservation at MK at 2:40! Which we can’t cancel without being charged $30.

Oh and apparently my daughter and I both bought G+ for the 3 of us today because I have two receipts and different transactions. Wonder if the $45 will be refunded from one of them!?

I can’t understand how they can expect you to make ADRs, which you need this week in January!!, something I can’t believe, and then just assign any time of day for the rides?

They have basically forced us to be major planners, but none of that matters now. I’m NOT a planner by nature, and our first big family trip back in 2009, we didn’t book anything except our hotel and a dinner show. We were able to walk up to most restaurants and get a time. Now, we can’t even get into a restaurant without making it so far in advance and then be at the mercy of some IT nightmare to even try and get on rides.

WTH? What a mess. Those charge errors should not be going on. That's the bare minimum of service expectations.

I would stop by guest relations at the park when you have time (or look for one of the blue umbrellas in the park) and let them know how that all went down.

 

[Aluminum Falcon]

They have basically forced us to be major planners, but none of that matters now. I’m NOT a planner by nature, and our first big family trip back in 2009, we didn’t book anything except our hotel and a dinner show. We were able to walk up to most restaurants and get a time. Now, we can’t even get into a restaurant without making it so far in advance and then be at the mercy of some IT nightmare to even try and get on rides.

I remember those days when i was a kid, but welcome to the digital age, for better or worse, there is no turning back now.

 

[ccbloom]

I remember those days when i was a kid, but welcome to the digital age, for better or worse, there is no turning back now.

And that’s fine! We acclimated to planning ahead and making all reservations in advance, which is what they wanted us to do. But now, it’s make this res in advance, but wait until day-of to see *if* you get on rides without a wait that you’re paying extra to do so…as long as they don’t interfere with the other plans you’ve made.

The issue is that WDW is expensive (and even more so now). But we’ve always paid for it and even bought DVC. So with the cost, the planning made sense to get the most out of your days here. This week it seems like we’ve wasted so much time, and it’s not relaxing time. I’m not a gambler by nature, and it seems like that’s what we are doing with G+

 

[DisneyFive]

When I first saw the G+ announcement I thought they were catering to the "lowest common denominator" guest. Those that refused to plan their vacation, at all. Basically those that would show up at a park and then be frustrated that the lines were so long. "Fastpass what? You must have to pay for that." "Why is everyone skipping ahead of us in that other line?" "Must be nice to afford to skip the lines!"

I thought Disney was creating a system that put everyone back on a level playing field, but they managed to screw that up too. G+ is basically the old paper FP system, but with ILL's thrown in to screw that up too. Also, because G+ is available to everyone on their devices prior to even getting to a park, rides "sell out" much faster than before, causing the need to be up so dang early every day to get your precious rides.

With paper FP's, it was first come first serve. You couldn't get FP's until you were physically in the park. There was no getting up at 7am each day. You just needed to be at the park at the true rope drop. FP's wouldn't run out so fast like SDD does now (because it wasn't digital). You had to physically be in line at the machine to get the FP, and yes, you got the next available time just like G+. The only negative for offsite guests was if their park had EMH that day, the main headliner FP might be pushed out pretty late by the time you arrived due to resort guests having first access to the FP machines.

Now, offsite guests might be locked out of ILL altogether once park hours open up due to resort guests scooping up so much at 7am. Sure Disney releases more around park open, but there's no guarantee that you will get that precious ROTR, etc...

By the time FP+ was "perfected" in 2019, it was an incredible system. It just didn't do well for those who refused to plan. For those of us that put just one ounce into our planning, it was awesome. Free. No need to get up early, at all. You already had your three rides booked in each park before you arrived for your vacation. (and if you didn't, you could still do all the headliners day of, except maybe FOP or SDD)

Sigh, hopefully this negativity is coming through loud and clear to Disney. Blow up G+. Give us back the FP+ framework. Charge the same as G+. Heck even keep the two ILL at each park, but give us back our sleep and ability to prebook 3!

Dan