What You FORGET About Using Genie+ at Disney World

You’ll often hear folks stress just how busy Disney World can be over holiday weekends — including us.

Genie+

So, it’s no wonder that you’d probably expect to need to use Genie+ when you’re in the parks if you want the best chance of getting on your favorite rides. Or at least, that used to be the case anyway — here’s what you FORGET about using Genie+ in Disney World.

Okay, are you ready? We’re gonna let you in on a little secret when it comes to what you might forget about needing Genie+ during holiday weekends in Disney World — you don’t. Well, you probably didn’t need it over this past Memorial Day Weekend, anyway. Despite prices being pretty high for the standard service (not the highest we’ve seen though!), we didn’t see the typical crowds and high wait times we’re used to.

Lightning Lane

On Sunday, May 28th, all four Disney World parks had availability and the standard Genie+ service was $25 per person, per day. This was the highest price we had seen in over a month and the pricing for each Individual Lightning Lane increased as well, so we were expecting to see high wait times — but they never really came!

Tower of Terror Lightning Lane sign

But surely, by Monday, May 29th — Memorial Day proper — the crowds would be out in full force and wait times would skyrocket, right? WRONG. We headed into the parks expecting to be met with a wall of people doing the same, but that wasn’t the case.

Genie+ was $25 yet again this day, and there was wide open availability. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train cost $12 per ride, Cosmic Rewind was $17, Rise of the Resistance was $22, Flight of Passage was $16, and TRON was $20. None of the Individual Lightning Lane rides sold out either!

Kali River Rapids LIghtning Lane

Then, something strange happened on Tuesday, May 30th — the parks were BUSY. In fact, they were busier than we had seen in a while! Could it be that folks skipped Memorial Day to head to the parks the next day instead? Who knows! Not only that, but Magic Kingdom was actually sold out with no more park availability (though more passes were released later that day).

Lightning Lane sign at Beauty and the Beast show

By Wednesday, things had seemingly leveled out, and we saw park pass availability open wide up again. Plus, wait times weren’t quite as high as we saw on Tuesday.

So, what’s the lesson here? Well, when it comes down to it, what you really need to know about using Genie+ at Disney World is that sometimes, you just don’t need it at all. Despite our best predictions, no two days in the parks are alike and crowds and wait times can creep up on you without you noticing.

When it comes to deciding if you need it, make sure you consider the needs of your travel group and the time of year you’re visiting Disney World!

Lightning Lane at Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

We know that planning a Disney World trip is A LOT. And this Genie+ thing can be so confusing – which is why we bring you posts like this so often But we’ve also put together a complete guide in ebook format that gives you all of the info you need, all in one place! Use code WDW2023 for 25% off our DFB Guide to Dining at Walt Disney World.

Be sure to stay tuned to DFB for more Disney World planning tips and tricks!