We’re having a TIME learning about the upcoming Disney Genie service.
©Disney
The new service is coming this fall to the Disneyland App and My Disney Experience and will be a whole new tool for Disney guests to use when planning their vacations. We’ve looked into the FastPass replacement, Genie+, the personalized itinerary, and more, but here are the FIVE most MIND-BLOWING features.
1. Real-time, Personalized Itinerary Suggestions
First up, we’re looking at one specific aspect of the personalized itinerary. The personalized itinerary will take into consideration your priorities (whether they be specific like a must-do ride or broad like your love of princesses) to build your family the perfect itinerary.
©Disney
That’s pretty cool, but the really MIND-BLOWING part is that this personalized itinerary will update throughout the day! It will change depending on what happens in the day (it can even change depending on the weather!). When you think about the number of people who will be getting personalized updates constantly, it seems pretty wild!
Want to learn more about the personalized itinerary? Click here
2. Forecasted Future Wait Times
Another thing that the personalized itinerary takes into account are forecasted future wait times, and you can check these outside of your itinerary as well. Let that sink in: You can see what the wait times might be LATER in the day.
©Disney
This is a feature that we have not seen before! We’ve been able to see the wait times in real-time in the Disney Parks apps, but that’s not always helpful in planning what you’ll be doing in the afternoon. Now, you can see whether or not it would be a good idea to head to Space Mountain after lunch.
Click here to learn more about the paid aspects of Genie+
3. Disney PhotoPass AR Lenses
If you pay for the Genie+ upgrade for that Lightning Lane access, you’ll also get PhotoPass downloads if you’re in Disneyland and new Disney PhotoPass Augmented Reality lenses if you’re in Disney World.
©Disney
Wow! AR lenses? This tech will act a little bit like Magic Shots straight from your phone. So, you might see magical effects or a Disney character added to your pictures with these lenses!
4. Audio Experiences
Genie+ will also offer you new Audio Experiences. For those buying the Genie+ level, you’ll get access to Audio Experiences that are themed to different areas of the park.
©Disney
Expect to hear thoughts from Imagineers and special guests about behind-the-scenes aspects of Disney World and Disneyland attractions and lands. This sounds a bit like a guided tour, so it will be interesting to see it in action!
5. Lightning Lane for Virtual Queue Attractions
And finally, we are MIND-BLOWN that you’ll be able to purchase Lightning Lane (basically the new FastPass line) for attractions that have been Virtual Queue only up to this point. Rise of the Resistance and WEB-SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure will continue to use the Virtual Queue and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure in EPCOT will use one when it opens too.
©Disney
But with Disney Genie, you can pay an unannounced fee (based on date, ride, and park) to get Lightning Lane access to these high-demand attractions and others. A small fee to skip the hassle of a Virtual Queue? That could be worth it for some guests!
Click here to learn more about Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure!
Wow! Those are some pretty mind-blowing details. Disney Genie is…a lot. So, if you’re confused, stick around with us at DFB as we comb through all the details.
Want to learn more about Disney Genie? Click here!
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I knew this was inevitable…but I don’t like it. Your already paying a pretty penny to get in and this won’t spread people out throughout the parks like fastpass did. ☹️
Ok now let’s talk about all the negatives to this extremely expensive new “addition “
I’m sure a lot of people are going to scream and yell about the change. I can understand that having to pay for something that was free in the past is a drag.
But it’s $15 a day. If you’re honest about it will you need it at EPCOT? Probably not. AK? Maybe? Depending on how many rides you’re going to hit.
MK? Sure. DHS? Yeah, probably. So if you do all four parks on a vacation it’s $30 pp to jump the line on a lot of rides? For me it’s a yes, but everyone has their own budget. $15 is a souvenir, think of it that way.
Oh man the photo part is cool!
On the bright side, we’ll stop hearing from people how much better things were before FastPass. I wouldn’t describe three hours for Peter Pan as ‘better’, but evidently some people liked it.
Terrible, it is a Disney orchestrated means of raising the ticket price… I would surmise that the goal is to get to an average of $200 per guest per day for each park ticket in the next 5 years. That is where the CEO is focused and of course to cut costs by moving perks to the guest pays side of the equation. These two items will power the company thru the next 5 years, enough time for the present CEO to get a contract extension. Just my opinion…
So here’s what I’m seeing. Yes, the $15/day Genie+ gives you Lightning Lane (LL) access to rides, but not ALL previously FP rides. The highest demand rides you have to PAY EXTRA for LL access on an individual basis. And that cost will vary each day based on demand. Another site said they’re hearing word of the range going from $4 to $24 per ride. So if you wanted to ride Seven Dwarfs Mine Train for example, your choice could be to stand in line for 2 hours or pay $24 each to use the LL for that one ride. And on top of that, there’s the timing. Let’s say you’re staying at a Disney Resort and going to EPCOT. At 7 am that day, the virtual queue for the Ratatouille ride opens. AND the individual LL tickets for rides like Ratatouille and Test Track also become available. AND you can make your first LL reservation if you bought Genie+. Which do you do first? If you miss out on the free Ratatouille virtual queue, at least there’s one other (potentially expensive) way to ride – by buying an individual LL ticket for it. So you get that ride squared away and then you gotta hope your first Genie+ choice is still available at a not-too-late time, since you can only get 1 LL at a time and $15 is a lot to just be able to use the service once.
And I sure hope Disney’s new Genie app somehow keeps track of these 3 different things for you. Can you imagine having a Ratatouille boarding party, a Test Track Individual ($$$) LL and a Genie+ Frozen LL all come up AT THE SAME TIME? There are 3 different ride systems going on there. Sure hope they’re all talking to each other!!!
Ken you nailed it on the head! For me as an annual Passholder, yeah I’m going to try it. My passes are already paid for the year so I drive for an hour to WDW and pay the up charge it’s a cheap way to get in front of the actual visiting tourists. Make them wait longer. To a family of 4 or 5 that’s a pretty big hit. Disney is expensive even for Value Resorts. (Value, now there’s a word that carries no meaning in WDW, I laugh every time I say Value Resort). It’s a business, it needs to take our money. Face it, WDW is not Walt’s WDW. That Disney World died a long time ago. Just make the choice, pay and ride or pay and wait. It’s the same thing.
Anyone think Bob Chapek will eventually bring back the old pay for every ride tickets? I still have some as souvenirs, wonder if they’ll honor them when they do.
It would seem that a person would try for the virtual queue first and if not successful, then they would consider purchasing their way into the line. Why would I pay to get in line before even trying for the virtual queue first? So, No, I won’t pay a “small fee” to
skip the hassle of a virtual queue.
So are they going to put in phone recharger stations in all the parks, because using this app for everything from checking your itinerary, to ordering your food, to picking your fast lane passes to playing the audio experiences not to mention when you take pictures with it will drain your battery within the first few hours of being in the park.
Well, according to some, it’s about time. I guess they have been waiting to get rid of Magical Express and pay for a ride from the airport. And those free Magic Bands, better to pay $20 + for those too. Free FastPass, who needs that, happier to pay an extra $15 per ticket, per day and even extra for the high demand rides! Sure, that all makes sense, I imagine the same people are looking forward to higher taxes and $6 a gallon gas…Oh Boy!
Pro tip – it is NEVER a good idea to go on Space Mountain after lunch.
I do not have a smart phone but use an iPad. Will I be able to get Genie with my Disney experience?
I only have an iPad. Can I use genie on it?
It seems unclear what that $15 upcharge will get you…do you still need to pay extra on top of that for ROTR and the Remy ride (I assume the answer is yes). I don’t really mind paying a little extra to skip some lines, but I don’t want to pay a-la-cart for every ride I want to skip the line. Maybe some of these details are not out yet.. I also know that most of us are resistant to change. I’d like to say that I will wait to pass judgment until I see how this works, but inside I feel like this is a giant cf in the making.
Every time I turn around it’s more money. The tickets are a lot to begin…and how and additional 15-20.00 per ticket per day??? And if you want to not stand in line then an additional 20.00 per person per ride??? There are 7 of us….just the 15.00 per ticket per day for 7 days is an additional 735.00! And to ride one lightening ride for all of us would be 140.00!!! I guess if it’s just one or two people it would be easier. That’s on top of the After Hours Boo Bash tickets and expensive food prices. They are pricing some families out of it. I know you can opt to not get anything but the standard ticket but explain to little kids why everyone else is jumping in front of them. Greed……Just my opinion.
The moves Mr. Chapek is making are much like a company that is pumping the bottom line and increasing the stock value. In time, Chapek leaves with a bonus and pension totaling more money that we can imagine and the company get sold. Maybe to Comcast Universal. Seen it before, Disney is not immune.
I just don’t think they realize how many of their customers are planners. I would rather choose all of my rides foods etc I’m advance. I already used touring plans for predicting wait times and crowd leveled because all of that was already available there. I don’t like that I no longer will be able to plan what time I will get a lightning pass until the day of. Just sounds stressful. The day of I could find out that if I want to ride 7 dwarves that I have to do t the he full line and I would potentially have to change other plans to allow for that. I plan so I can get all of my just dos. Spontaneity and flexibility are find when I am paying $20 a day but for the price I want to KNOW I am going to get a lightening pass for my park day and when so I can plan.
I’m going to Disney to pull away from normal life. Now they are going to tie me to my phone again? As soon as my new phone comes in I’m done with smart phones. Genie is the wrong direction. I never imagined Disney would jump on board the smart phone addiction wagon.
The brilliance of the MagicBand is that it requires little effort on your part to take advantage of it. With Genie I’m going to have one more FOMO opportunity. I don’t need that.
I’ve always thought of me and my family as a Disney family. I’m not so sure anymore.
Paying more for rooms, paying for resort parking, paying more for tickets and annual passes, paying for fast passes? My family has been going to Disney World since 1990. Family vacations have always been special, but this is nonsense which limits families on a budget to truly enjoy Disney. For fast passes, why not put kiosks just inside the park entrance and allow people to select their ride then instead of 60 days in advance? A park reservation in advance should be enough for management to determine crowd levels. Things are becoming less magical.
Troy if my memory serves me correctly the fee for Lightning Lane is probably going to be $10 to $18 per ride, per person.
DFB if what I recall is true, I wouldn’t call that a “small fee”.
The bottom line is. I hope I’m wrong!
This article was like putting lipstick on a pig.
Disney is destroying the magic. Luggage from air to room was magic. Bye bye magical express & free magic bands. Now fast pass gone. We’ve also lost a lot to COVID rules but prices keep rising. Holiday events changed to give less but charge more. Corporate managers looking to be multi-billionaires? Shame for making the magic die.
UK family always stayed at Disney resorts over the last 8 years now this clap trap news is the FINAL STRAW with all the other cuts We are now booking at Universal hotel with free fast passes will only pop over ton Disney for the odd day. All so called magic has slipped away. We dont want to spend all our time on a mobile phone.
Genie+ is $15 at day for just two rides, so chose wisely. And we aware that Disney is always about the bottom line…$$$. I love WDW and Disneyland anyway. 😉
Margi, the $15/day Disney Genie+ allows users to select the Lightning Lane for rides/attractions throughout the day — one at a time for as many as are available to them in that day.
Bob, the $15/day/ticket will get a user Lightning Lane passes for one ride at a time all day long. So it’s hard to predict how many rides/attractions you could potentially ride per day with Genie+, but it could be similar to how folks used to get FastPasses on-the-fly after they used their first, prescheduled three. Once you ride with Lightning Lane on one ride, you can book another one, and so on. The Individual Attraction Selections are what you’re calling a la carte, but those will be available for only a small handful of rides that are extremely popular. For example, Rise of the Resistance on both coasts will be available for this service, which you can pay for even if you’re not interested in the Genie+ option (and vice versa). It’s important to note that rides available for Individual Attraction Selections will not be available in Disney Genie+, so folks will have to pay extra to skip those IAS lines (or try to get a Virtual Queue/Boarding Pass where those are being used).
Joanne, if you’re able to get My Disney Experience on your iPad, you should be able to use Disney Genie as well; Genie will be part of My Disney Experience.
How much did Disney pay you to write this DFB? I’ve followed you for a while but have lost all respect for you. 70%+ disapproval rating on the Official Disney Genie vids. Represent your viewers, you disappoint me!
I cancelled my trip to Disney scheduled for next year. I will no longer visit annually with my family. With all the charges and cuts in perks offered by Disney, it is no longer the best way to spend our hard earned money. There are so many other vacation experiences, parks and destinations to explore. Thanks Disney! I wouldn’t have made this decision without you.
It might seem like a nominal fee but if you are there 8 days in park With 7 people and the better ( demand) rides are more it could run another bunch of cash…
Genie+ itself is a good app for information and help. But all the up-charges for rides is what makes it so negative.
I can see why Disney is changing it up, and it’s pretty brilliant. There are many people who do not plan months in advance and those people will have a chance to getting into a shorter line for a small cost. Those who plan in advance, will either have to save up more money or make plans for standing in line longer. And Covid is stretching those lines out because of distancing. Is it a money grab? Sure, but it’s also a corporation that is looking to make its shareholders happy, which really is their priority. Guests will still visit, not as often, but there will always be someone else willing to fill your spot. Disney vacation is one of the best vacations you can get, but it comes at a cost. It would be ridiculous to think Disney shouldn’t increase prices while working on new experiences when their profits plummeted during Covid.
I feel the same as so many commenting. I DONT want to be tied to Constantly looking for the next ride for the 8 of us, every day, it sucks the fun out of what is suppose to be a magical vacation. I like to plan ahead when we do which rides that don’t clash with scheduled dining. We stay in WDW resorts to get the perks of extra days to book rides and dining. Now all that vanishes. Paying extra to skip lines is very expensive for our family and doubt it’ll be easy to get rides together for 8 now! We’re serious Disney fans but probably will cut way back on times we go (usually 3-4 times a year for 1-3wks at a time. We are annual passholders and even that May not make it worthwhile anymore. Haven’t been to universal in years, probably have to start going there with all this WDW mess. So sad.