You Need to CHANGE How You Use Genie+ on the Busiest Days in Disney World

Genie+ has been available as one of the newest ways to skip the line at select Disney World attractions for almost two months now.

Since Disney Genie launched in the My Disney Experience app on October 19th, we’ve been bringing you all of our tips and tricks to maximizing your day in the parks. But, as holiday crowds are beginning to arrive for the first time since its original launch, we’re starting to see how guests need to use Genie+ differently during the busy season. So, how should your strategy change if you’re visiting the parks during the busiest times of the year?

As a quick reminder, Disney Genie+ and Individual Attraction Selections are the two services that replaced FastPass+ in Disney World this year. And, while Individual Attraction Selections include only the most popular rides in the parks (aka the “Fancy Rides”) at a separate cost for each, Genie+ is a service that costs $15 per person per day and provides guests with access to new Lightning Lanes at over 40 attractions.

Lightning Lanes are the new FastPass+ lanes!

Unlike the former FastPass+ service, guests cannot begin making their Genie+ reservations until 7AM on the day of their visit. And, they can only make one at a time (unless the return window is more than 2 hours away from when you book the reservation). So, think of it more as the paper FastPass program where you could only hold a return window for one ride at a time and could only get a FastPass for another attraction after you’ve used the one you had.

We’ve been testing Genie+ in all four parks since its initial launch and have had success in being able to ride all of the included attractions in one day. But, as the crowds rolled in for Thanksgiving week this year, we found that it may not be as simple to use Genie+ when park capacity is at its max.

We pulled up the My Disney Experience app in the afternoon on the day before Thanksgiving to find that Lightning Lane reservations windows were mostly booked or unavailable for many of the Genie+ attractions in the parks.

For example, at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Lightning Lane reservations were unavailable for most of the attractions including Slinky Dog Dash, Tower of Terror, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage, and Toy Story Mania when we checked at 4PM (and the park was set to be open until 9PM). And, similarly popular rides were marked as “Not Currently Offered” at other parks.

So, what does this mean for you if you’ve opted to purchase Genie+ and you’re visiting when crowds are at their peak in Disney World? Well, you’ll need to prioritize which rides you’re choosing to reserve a Lightning Lane return window.

Goodbye FastPass lane, hello Lightning Lane!

Lightning Lane reservations go quicker during these busy times, so purchasing Genie+ doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll get to ride everything. Instead, you’ll need to decide which attractions are most important to you and focus on getting Lightning Lane reservations for those first.

And, it’s not just the rides that you think will book up quickly like Slinky Dog Dash, Jungle Cruise, or Peter Pan’s Flight. Because inventory is low, we noticed that Lightning Lane windows book up for even the less popular rides earlier in the day.

Now, this problem isn’t entirely new for Genie+ — we also experienced it with the former FastPass+ service in Disney World. It wasn’t uncommon for Magic Kingdom to only have FastPasses available for Dumbo the Flying Elephant or Mad Tea Party when you visited during peak times.

Each ride is designed to handle a certain number of people throughout the day and with more people in the parks trying to “skip the line,” there are just fewer return windows to go around.

Lightning Lanes at Disney Pixar Short Film Festival

So, if you’re opting to purchase Genie+ during these busy times, you’ll want to plan ahead and know which attractions you want to ride most throughout your day. Once you have that list, you’ll want to be sure to book your first Lightning Lane when reservations open at 7AM and try to tackle those priority rides with Genie+ as early in the day as possible.

We’re hopeful that Disney is monitoring the number of Lightning Lane reservations available later in the day when crowds are high and will adjust the system to accommodate. But, for now, you’ll want to be prepared when you’re heading into the parks with Genie+ in hand.