Disney recently introduced a new system to replace the FastPass+ program in Disney World — Genie+. This will be the new way to essentially skip the standby lines on rides around the parks.
Genie+ ©Disney
However, now, you can only have a reservation for one ride at a time (compared to the previous 3), and you have to pay to use this feature (which used to be free). Genie+ will be $15 per person, per day and you will now use the Lightning Lane to enter rides instead of the FastPass+ lane. Select high demand rides will not be a part of Genie+, but you will be able to buy access to their Lightning Lanes individually. We’ve seen several Lightning Lane signs go up around the parks over the past week, and we just spotted another new one in Hollywood Studios!
The Lightning Lane sign is up at Rise of the Resistance!
Rise of the Resistance
The Lightning Lane signs have been taking over where the old FastPass+ signs were, but since Rise of the Resistance didn’t have FastPass+, this is a whole new lane.
Lightning Lane
It is separate from the normal queue, which is marked as “virtual.” This is the line you enter into when your boarding pass time is called.
Virtual queue
If you’re confused about how this will work, don’t worry — we got you! The Lightning Lane at Rise of the Resistance will only be available through individual attraction selection, meaning you will have to pay individually to use this lane. Rise will NOT be a part of the rides included with Genie+.
Lightning Lane at Rise of the Resistance
We don’t know how much it will cost yet, but guests can choose up to 2 rides per day to pay individually for to use the Lightning Lane. This can be separate from or in addition to using Genie+.
Tower of Terror Lightning Lane
Starting at 7AM for Disney hotel guests and when the park opens for other guests, you can pick which rides you want to pay individually for to use the Lightning Lanes. 7AM is also the time that regular Rise of the Resistance boarding groups become available (which are still free).
©Disney
So, for Disney hotel guests, you will have to decide at 7AM if you want to try and get a free boarding pass or just pay to use the Lightning Lane to get on Rise. Other guests can still try to get a boarding pass for free at 7AM, but they will have to wait until the park opens to try and get Rise as one of their individual attraction selections.
New Sign at Soarin’
This could potentially work out to where if you don’t get a free boarding pass at 7AM, you could just pay to go on the attraction later, but we don’t know what availability will look like for the free and paid boarding passes now.
Rise of the Resistance
We’ll keep you updated on how this all works out once the system launches, so stay tuned to DFB for more!
Click here to learn more about individual attraction selection
All About Disney Genie, Genie+, and Individual Attraction Selection
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Learn What Rides Are Included With Genie+ in Disneyland (Plus the Ones You’ll Pay EXTRA to Ride)
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Will you be using individual attraction selection when it becomes available? Tell us why or why not in the comments!
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I am struggling with understanding how this system will work when you travel with friends who are not a part of your primary “travel group” in the My Disney Experience app. Errk? Is it even possible to link ride times or am I dreaming?
Tia, you’d need to add everyone in one party in the app, I think, if you all wanted to be guaranteed to be together.
When is this all going to start? I hope it is after I leave on Oct 1st.
Walt has to be rolling in his grave. Stupidest idea ever. Everything now is about how they can milk every last cent from us.
Sherry, no specific date from Disney yet.
I will not be paying even more money to get on any individual ride! Who wants to have to get up at 7am when you are staying onsite to get what is essentially a fast pass. If I paying for onsite and I’m on vacation why would I want to have to get up at that hour? I have paid more than enough over the years for my tickets and staying on site. Now as a DVC member I am disgusted with the new Genie + and Lightning pass system. For the first time ever I am going to HHN this year instead of WDW.
Do you need Genie + to purchase a Lightning Lane? If I’m reading this correctly it sounds like you pay at least $15 for the right to purchase a Lightning Lane at an unannounced price.
Ughh! Disneyworld used to be fun, but all this planning, and greediness from Chapek with paying a separate fee to ride something, is disgusting and, frakly, heart-breaking. It’s turning the place into somewhere only the rich can afford. Not what Walt wanted when he envisioned a place where adults can bring they’re children and have a good time together. Glad Universal Studios is still so much more affordable!
This is absolutely nuts how this is all (NOT) going to work. So $15/person/day just for the privilege of the possibility of getting a virtual spot in a queue for ONE ride. On top of this, the rides you probably actually are interested in are NOT going to be in this and you WILL pay extra.
Let’s recap! If you are a family of 4, you are paying $600 just to get in the park and then another $60 for the possibility of getting on a semi-interesting attraction a couple hours from now. And then if you want to actually get on an “E ticket”, you are going to pay even more? Makes it even harder to figure this out while you are standing there drinking a $16 Disney beer, lol.
Other than the two demographics of financially illiterate and/or income excessive; it is pretty obvious that Disney is barely interested in you being on their property any further.
I really don’t want to wake up every morning at 7am on vacation to plan my day. Old system so much easier just another money grab for Disney. What is the benefit anymore on staying on property??none..Unfortunately I think Disney is starting to be like any other amusement park and that’s one thing that always separated it from the others.
Sooo how’s that going to affect disability access? If we have das, would we be able to get on rise of the resistance now since it’s a paid attraction?
Does anyone know if Disney gift cards can be used to buy Gene + ?
Talk about making things overly complicated: Disney has outdone themselves! They took a system that was free and worked beautifully and totally messed it up to the point where groups are now completely confused and frustrated. We will not be going to Disney this year. We are booking a 10 day vacation at Universal. At least there the system they have in place has been proven to be reliable and consistent. I realize that we will be paying for things, but the things we will be paying for werE NOT free on our last trip like at Disney. Paying EXTRA for certain rides is outrageous, and allowing the price to fluctuate is just downright criminal. Shame on you Disney. You just lost a family of die hard Disney fans!
Well, it’s the beginning of a new era. Pay for admission, Pay for Genie and Pay again to ride. I don’t think you can pay enough to make Disney “Magical” again. Farewell Walt and your original concept.
I am still waiting for my morning boarding group. It is another 130 minutes. If I get a morning group the latest it has been is 1:30pm. This change is making it extra hours.It is after two now and I will not wait like this again. The time is not changing.
Lightning Lane, virtual, stand by, genie +, regular Genie, Genie with special lightning attractions, HELP… I’VE FALLEN DOWN AND CAN’T GET UP
Using Genie + , will you be able to select your Lightning Lane arrival times for the attractions you wish to experience?
If I can’t get into the free queue I would pay for Rise Of The Resistance and Ratatouille but that’s all. The rest will be whatever is on Genie+ and standing in line. Coming from Colorado I don’t get to Disney very often so I have to save as many minutes as possible. If I lived by Disney and had a season pass I wouldn’t pay and I would just try the free queue because I would eventually get to ride them. Hopefully I can get on the free queue for at least one of them but if not I will pay.
Why am I bothering posting?
Not once have I ever gotten notification that any of my postings were published.
I love AJ, but this is ridiculous. It’s a total waste of time interacting with this website’s social media functions.
Mario, you do not need Genie+ to purchase the Individual Attraction Selections for Lightning Lane. You can purchase one or the other, both, or neither.
Cheryl, I don’t think we know this yet. We’ll update with all of that when it launches.
John, I believe you will. Since you can only select one Lightning Lane attraction at a time with Genie+, most guests would probably opt for the closest time so they can then select another LL. But if you’re planning around a mealtime, it might make sense to choose a time that works with that, for example.
David, DAS is not set to change, according to what Disney has said. They’re adding some features to the app for DAS, but they’re keeping the current system as well. So even with the use of Lightning Lanes, if a person using DAS doesn’t wish to pay for Genie+ or Individual Attraction Selections, they’ll still receive a return time that’s roughly equivalent to the Standby time, and they’ll still be able to use the Lightning Lane when that return time rolls around. If someone using DAS purchases a Lightning Lane time for an attraction (Rise of the Resistance, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train), they’ll use the Lightning Lane when their scheduled time comes, just like anyone else who purchased a Lightning Lane pass. Does that help?
Hi, Ira. I don’t know that the comment system notifies when posts are approved. I’m showing seven approved posts for you, but I’ll see if there were some I missed.
Disney is going to lose alot of passholders. There’s no benefit of being a passholder except for black out dates. But looking at cost. At 1200, would it just be cheaper for me to be a regular guest with a regular park ticket since as a passholder I have to pay for everything seperate like a regular guest. Passholder is suppose to make u feel significant special but it doesn’t seem this way. I still gotta pay for photos, fast pass, etc. disney u up the price already u could’ve slapped in 2 to 3 free fast passes and photo to make us feel special. I thought universal was penny pinching. Now Disney is getting the same way. Not feeling the magic anymore I hope they hear all these complaints.
Going to WDW is getting to be like doing your taxes, you can’t really do it on your own any more. Sarah, you are doing a great job trying to answer questions, but I have to admit that going to WDW or Disneyland almost needs a college class to understand what the options are and how to use them. I’ve got to admit I’m pretty confused by all this. I was always a fan of Disneyland’s Maxpass system, but it was super easy to use and I didn’t have to pay for that and then pay again for individual attractions. I don’t know where all this is going, but I will agree with most people that the magic isn’t really there anymore.
I will not pay for a ride if at all possible!! Maybe only once and that would be something I have never ridden before, but I doubt that as well too. This is just another way to gouge the loyal fans of Disney. They are trying to make up for the money they lost the months they were closed and then having limited crowds when they reopened. I think raising the price of annual passes was crazy high and now they want us to pay for the privilege of going on rides. Whose dumb idea was this?? Some board members and the CEO who already makes plenty of money but now wants more??? Don’t think so!!
Randi, as far as how confusing it is, I tend to agree. I feel terrible for those planning a first trip or those planning after a long hiatus from Disney World. There are just so many details to manage, so much new to learn about, it could feel so overwhelming. I’ll keep doing my best to help whenever I can. Thanks for reaching out.
So… all things considered, I wonder what the great minds of Disney are thinking?
Do they even care about the negativity of many, if not most, of their (once upon a time) loyal customers ?
To be determined …. but doubt it