Your next Disney World vacation might very well be more expensive than the last one you took. With lots of price increases on menu items, park tickets, and more, it can be tough to keep to a budget in the parks.
Over the past few months, we’ve also seen Genie+ hit some record-high prices. Genie+ is the paid replacement for FastPass+ and allows visitors to make Lightning Lane reservations to skip the standby lines at many Disney World rides. But now, Genie+ has gotten even MORE expensive!
Genie+ used to cost a standard $15 per person, per day, no matter when you bought it. But Disney announced in October 2022 that Genie+ would be subject to surge pricing, meaning that the price would change depending on the time of year and demand. During busier times (like weekends and holidays), Genie+ can cost more.
So far, we’ve seen Genie+ cost up to $29 per person, per day. But on April 4th, that price went up significantly.
For the first time EVER at Disney World, the Genie+ cost surpassed $30. On April 4th, Genie+ hit a $35 cost per person. A huge thanks to Hemphilly Ever After (@hemphillyEA on Twitter) for alerting us to this news.
This is the highest price Genie+ has EVER hit at Disney World. And perhaps its timing is not surprising. April 4th marked the important official opening date for TRON Lightcycle / Run. Though that ride is not available through the standard Genie+ service, and instead is only available via Individual Lightning Lane, Disney might have increased the price of Genie+ anticipating that more crowds would be in the park in general and seeking to skip other lines.
Plus, we are just a few days away from the Easter holiday, so spring breakers may be hitting the parks in full force (we did see some pretty big crowds recently).
In terms of the Individual Lightning Lane pricing, things were high on April 4th but prices didn’t significantly increase over what we’ve seen recently. Here is the pricing:
- TRON Lightcycle / Run — $20
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train — $12
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind — $17
- Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance — $25
- Avatar Flight of Passage — $16
So if you’re visiting Disney World soon, you may need to add a bit to your budget if you want to purchase Genie+. Remember that you don’t have to buy Genie+ in the parks! You can choose to use the standby lines instead.
Some ride lines can get longer later in the afternoon, so you may want to focus on getting to some of your must-do rides first thing in the day. If you’re staying at a Disney World hotel, you can take advantage of Early Theme Park Entry and potentially get on even more rides before the rest of the guests can enter. Anyone staying at a Deluxe Resort, Deluxe Villa, or select other resort hotels can also take advantage of Extended Evening Hours, which allows guests to stay after closing time. Extended Evening Hours are a great time to get on rides with little to no wait.
We’ll keep watching for more updates on Genie+ from Disney World, so stay tuned to AllEars for the latest news.
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I’m pretty well done with Disney at this point. It’s not really about the cost for me, it’s the fact that Disney feels it can charge whatever they want and people will be willing to pay it. Gone are the days when most parents could take their kids to Disney World without taking out a second mortgage. There are a lot of children that won’t ever get to experience the magic because their parents just flat-out can’t afford it. It’s a shame, because WDW used to be such a big deal for my family when our kids were little.