Recently, Disney news has felt pretty overwhelming. It can be confusing to keep up with and on the surface, it can seem like Disney is after one thing- to charge you more money. From canceling Magical Express, cutting Extra Magic Hours, and charging for MagicBands, it feels like Disney is getting more expensive (and it is). That’s why when Disney dropped the news about Genie+, their new pay-to-skip-the-line service, it was hard for many people to see past the price tag. The first thing many Disney travelers found themselves asking was “is Genie+ worth it?” No fear, we are here to break down all the Genie+ information and help you decide if this additional service is worth it. Spoiler Alert: We think it is!
WHAT ARE GENIE AND GENIE+?
Disney announced that the Fastpass+ service will not be returning to Walt Disney World and will be replaced with the Disney Genie Service. The basic Disney Genie is a free planning app that will help you plan an itinerary for your visit. Once you input which attractions you are interested in the Genie will calculate the best approach for you and your party to minimize your wait time and will direct you which rides to do and what order to do them in. Once you arrive at the ride you will wait in the standby line to experience the attraction.
Genie+ is the paid version of this service. It functions the same as the Genie, but with Genie+ when you arrive at the attraction you will enter through the “Lightning Lane” (previously known as Fastpass+ Lane) and experience a shorter wait than in the standby line. You will only have one Genie+ Lightning Lane reservation at a time, but most attractions will be eligible for Genie+.
WHAT ABOUT INDIVIDUAL ATTRACTION SELECTION?
First off, we really hope Disney will come up with a better name for these attractions. But some of the most popular attractions will not be available on Genie+ and will only be available for either standby (virtual queue for Rise of the Resistance and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure) or for individual purchase. Disney has not released prices or a list of attractions that this category will include. Price is speculated to be anywhere from $5 to $25 per person per ride depending on the time of day and the time of year. There is also speculation that when launched this system will only apply to 2 rides per park. The rumored attractions include Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Space Mountain in Magic Kingdom, Rise of the Resistance and Slinky Dog Dash in Hollywood Studios, Remy Ratatoullie’s Adventure, and either Soarin or Test Track in Epcot, and Avatar Flight of Passage and Expedition Everest in Animal Kingdom.
IS IT WORTH IT?
In Walt Disney World adding on Genie+ will cost you $15 per ticket per day. For a family of 4 to visit all 4 parks with Genie+, it will cost an additional $240. While that is not a sum of money you can overlook, it is significantly lower than Disney’s competitors. The equivalent service at Six flags will cost you $60 and at Universal Studios will cost you $70.
If you can afford to add on this feature we think it is going to be worth it! Genie+ is going to be like having a Fastpass+ for every ride when previously you could only have 3. This perk is going to let you go on more rides when you’re in the park and open up time for you to enjoy other entertainment like cavalcades and fireworks.
If you are going on a longer trip or with a bigger group and the additional cost isn’t feasible for the length of your visit, Genie+ is flexible. You can add Genie+ to only select days if you don’t want to add it for the duration of your trip. You may choose to only add it to Magic Kingdom since it is the park with the most rides or to just add it on for a busy Saturday at Epcot. You can also use it in combination with Genie and the individual attraction selection to customize your add ons to your trip.
The even better news about Genie+ is that even if you don’t buy it you are still going to benefit from it. Overall, this technology is going to aid Disney in crowd management. It was well known that with the old Fastpass+ system, the use of Fastpasses increased the wait for people using the standby line. Now with Genie/Genie+ Disney will be able to better control who is going to each ride and when and overall reduce everyone’s time spent waiting in line.
What do you think about Genie and Genie+? Let us know in the comments below!
