Since its launch last year, Disney Genie+ (Disney World’s new skip the line offering) has seen a wide variety of reactions.
Some folks like the new service and others hate it. There are some pros to Genie+ and there are more controversial opinions, so we’re talking about what’s actually WRONG with Genie+.
Here are six things most people would consider wrong with Genie+!
1. It costs money.
We’re starting with the obvious one. This might not be the wrong choice for Disney, but for those of us used to the free Fastpass+ perk, this can certainly seem like the wrong decision.
$15 per person per day adds up fast for families so Genie+ might not even be an option for some Disney World guests. Fastpass+ on the other hand was equally available to all.
This might be the most controversial aspect of Genie+ overall with some liking the more exclusive nature and others resenting it. For some, adding a cost to the skip-the-line offering in Disney World was the wrong decision. \
2. It’s WAY too confusing.
This is perhaps the biggest thing wrong with Genie+ — it’s massively confusing! For something meant to make your trip easier, understanding the system is way, way too difficult.
When Genie+ launched, it took our team of Disney experts hours to wrap our heads around all the different rules and options, and we had hands-on experience at the time. For those who aren’t familiar with Disney World, it could be nightmarishly confounding.
The biggest points of confusion have to be the dreaded 120-minute rule, the 7AM booking for some things and park open for others, and the names and terminology. Why couldn’t they name Individual Attraction Selections? Why? The good news is, if you’re confused, we’ve got a complete guide to the service!
3. You can only use it on a ride once per day.
This is another more controversial one. The rule of only using Genie+ once on each ride each day helps to make sure that none of the popular rides get overly booked and everyone gets a chance to ride them.
On the other hand, it does mean that despite paying for the service, you’re not getting the chance to ride rides how you want to and that can feel unfair when you’ve shelled out the cash.
4. You have to get up at 7AM.
Many aspects of Genie+ open for booking at 7AM including your first Lightning Lane selection and, for resort guests, Individual Attraction Selection bookings. That’s certainly a problem for some guests.
Disney World is vacation and getting up at 7AM is not ideal for those who were looking to relax. Sure, those that go-go-go in Disney World might not mind, but sleep can be very important before a full Disney parks day!
5. You’re paying and you still might not get the rides you want.
Disney World is huge and has a lot of visitors at any given times. For more popular rides, that can mean there’s a lot more demand than supply. You’re paying and you’re still not guaranteed you’ll get to skip the lines you want.
For instance, if you don’t book Slinky Dog Dash in the first moments you’re able, you might not get to ride it with the skip-the-line offering that day — despited paying $15 per person for the chance.
6. There’s no “modify” button.
We’ve gone over the fact that the service is confusing, but even when you understand it, it isn’t the easiest to use. If you have a Lightning Lane booked, there’s no “modify” button.
So, if you see a better time or an attraction you’d rather book, you have to fully cancel the old Lightning Lane. Those moments could mean that you miss the chance at snagging the new better time or ride.
Overall, there are things right and wrong with Genie+ and it’s going to work better for some groups than others.
To learn more about if Genie+ is right for your party, click here!
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What do you think is wrong with Genie+? Tell us in the comments!
Eventually they will turn Disney into a park for just the wealthy! And I don’t know if they will be as loyal as us long time visitors. 😔
We love to go to Disney but things are not changing for the better.
Just got back, used it on 2/19 (Presidents’ Day weekend). It is bad. I park hopped and only used two selections. I could only get one thing I wanted. You can NOT modify a selection without canceling your current selection. If you cancel, you will be left with nothing because when something shows up it will be gone in seconds. Then there are the pay lanes, like Remys, Rise of the Resistance, Runaway railway…..My wife and I were on the app at 7am. I picked remys at 10 am and she picked rise of the resistance at 3 pm. After it charged us, we had them BOTH at 6pm. You can not change those in the app. I called the number twice, both times after waiting, telling them my name, etc, when I selected “fast pass” the call ended with a “Technical difficulty”. The third time I called I was on hold over an hour. When we got on the skyline, the call dropped. 4th time I called the hold time was listed as 167 minutes. Finally found someone helpful in the park to cancel the remys. Although I did have to sign a refund receipt. Unfortunately, I couldn’t book runaway, because you can only purchase two of those kinds of rides. Runaway was unavailable by the time I got remys removed. If you keep the app open and constantly refresh things will appear. But who wants to walk around looking at the app the whole time? Did I mention the pay lane reservation also coincided with our brown derby reservation? We were 30 minutes late to our rise of the resistance reservation, but they still let us on the ride. VERY hard to plan. I have been many times, back when it was paper fast pass, and I know a lot of tips. This app is horrible in comparison to the fast pass+.
After visiting WDW for the last 40 years and owning a DVC for 23 years it’s the first time I have really been frustrated with Disney. Genie+ is not an improvement. At age 72 I don’t want to spend my day on my phone. One day the system was down so I spent even more time trying to secure my first ride. I come to WDW to have fun and this was just plain irritating most of the time. We are selling our DVC and will vacation elsewhere.
I 100% agree that the 120 rule should go! That was the main issue that I found really bothered me and threw a wrench in our plans for the day.
Being able to modify a selection came in a close second. It would be more helpful just to see the next available times for the same ride, rather than cancelling just to rebook.
These are easy things that Disney can adjust with the click of a Mouse. 😉
I enjoy reading the stories and comments on this site . I do . I have to make one comment though . There is quite a lot of negative thoughts and stories on the site . Most likely due to the times we are in . It is sad . I’m an old timer ??? What do I know . DW was my happy place . I really loved being there . Disney’s biggest problem is they do not have enough rides in their parks ( especially for the cost). When you pay roughly 200 per person ( ticket , food , etc ) . A family of 4 at 800.00 per day is pretty steep when you only get to enjoy 4 – 5 rides . Anyone would agree with that . They need to treat it as what it is supposed to be. A FUN PLACE for families.The unfortunate thing is they will never get back to that ” most magical place ” due to greed , changes in societal behavior , too much expansion . Things like that . The newest generation will adapt to the new way to do Disney . Us old heads knew a better time ….As for the APP world we are now in . IT people are a new form of teacher . What I have experienced is , they are not good at it .I have only met 1 or 2 IT people who really took the time to show you how to use something. It’s as if a novice is looked down on as being I’ll say ” slow “.In their eyes Genie is simple . Well , obviously it’s not . Disney will survive and make big profits , but not from a lot of us who put them where they are . Again , I really loved DW . Time to move on !!!!
As someone who hasn’t been to Disney in 20 years but frequently goes to cedar point who’s fast pass band is $80+ a person during the week and you still have to wait in half hour plus lines. I loved genie +. Yes you have to do research but I did that for the whole vacation for Disney anyway for the reservations hotel what to bring, to me that’s just something you always have to plan for with planing a vacation. After my first morning of waking up at 7am to book our number one rides we really wanted to ride at Hollywood studios as our first day, I got it down pat. We rope dropped as we stayed on property and took full advantage of getting rides in that time before our first lightning lane. once you book a ride if you forget when you can do your 120 minute rule booking for you next ride just try to book a new ride and it will tell you when you are able to select a new ride. Yes it’s some time and some fiddle faddling as Molly says. But once you get it down it was such a relaxing day because I set my timer for when I could book our next ride for our group and go. Some rides were out far and we paid the extra for the fancy rides. And stacked which helped out too. But there are always filler rides that we found or just grabbed some good snacks and a drink to relax between times (some tachos with extra cheese, yum). Just do what you can and enjoy every second of the Disney magic 🪄
My only complaint after using it during my recent trip is the modify button! They have to fix that, it’s was soooo annoying and anxiety inducing! Other than that it was a breeze.
For a place that’s supposed to hire a bunch of really smart people, this confusing mess is the best they could come up with? I say go back to either paper fast pass or nothing at all.
As a seasoned WDW guest, I HATE this new system. If your internet is spotty at the parks, your app won’t work. If you open the app to LOOK at what is available, and decide to purchase a particular ride via Genie + ON THAT PAGE, you do NOT get the ride/time… you are redirected to pay and NOTHING tells you that you have to go BACK to select what you want. A WONDERFUL cast member fixed everything for us, and she said that this is the number one negative feedback that THEY give to the powers that be. It totally bites that you can only book one ride at a time. For us older folks, we can’t (*prefer not to*) hang at the parks ALL day. We like to do fun stuff during the a.m. and then head back to our resort. With Gene+, after we rode our Lightening Lane selection, we went back on the site and found most rides weren’t available until late in the afternoon. I won’t use this again unless they up it to 3 ride choices as they did for FP+
FP+ was equally available to all only in theory, not reality. It benefitted AP holders and frequent resort guests in the know. FP+ also did a poor job of guaranteeing your ability to skip the lines at your favorite ride. As opposed to getting up 7 am on your park day, you had to do 6 am 60 days out under FP+. There are valid criticisms to G+, but let’s stop the myth building of FP+ which was much more divisive than people now portray.
You shouldn’t be able to skip the lines for the same ride more than once, especially under a system where some never get to at all. This was one of the other problems with FP+.
With a little time watching YouTube anyone could figure out the tricks to FP+. It wasn’t that hard. You literally had 60 days to find the ride and time you wanted. Some were a little harder to get, but 99.9% of the time it would work out. Without FP I feel like most days are a waste now. Instead of riding everything we like, some a few times, we are lucky to ride them once in the week we are there.
With FP+ I had to get up once 60 days out at 6AM instead of 7AM every day that I am on vacation.
Personally, I prefered the days before FP and there was just one line. The allocation of Lightening/FP riders to standby creates the longer lines
Just one of many post-Covid changes that have made a vacation to WDW less appealing to me. However, the $$$ and the crowds still speak louder than my little voice, and as long as WDW rakes in the money and the parks are still crowded, a Disney vacation will probably never be in my plans again. So glad I was able to experience the Year of a Million Dreams and then another four times after that, but it just isn’t the same any longer.
Deb, the old timers used to say “You must dance with the one who brung you”. Unfortunately, Disney has turned their back on those of us who have “brung” them so much success, made dozens of vacations to the parks and done our part to make the parks the success they are. I typically don’t wish failure on anyone, but I will have to chuckle when the current moneyed crowd of today grows tired of the parks and Disney is forced to look to the original loyal customers to once again fill their parks. It really discourages me that my children cannot give their children the enjoyment I was able to give them when they were young. It’s not just the money issue either. No amount of money can buy the fun we used to have in the parks when you could get excited over simply snagging a paper fastpass with a short return time, or walk up to a restaurant with the possibility of getting seated without a prior ressie. We paid big bucks for that enjoyment back then and Disney failed to reinvest properly so that they could continue that same level of service to the growing crowds. Heck, today you’ll do good to get an agent on the phone just to modify a ressie.