Can you hear this photo? Technology hasn’t quite caught up to letting us transfer SMELLS through the screen, but if you go to Disney World enough, your imagination can probably fill in the gaps. There’s something pretty darn satisfying about tapping a phone, MagicBand, smartwatch, or card against that glowing Mickey head. It feels even better when it gets you FAST access to the front of the line, too!
Scanning into a Lightning Lane (Disney World)
But, we must admit, there’s one part of this that doesn’t feel quite so good, and that’s the part where we have to PAY to skip all those lines. Yep, using the Lightning Lanes with Genie+ is NOT free, and those prices can add up quickly if you have a large group. And now that we’re in the middle of spring break, it seems like Disney is making the most of that “surge pricing” system.
Yes, we typically warn people that spring break is a BUSY time of year in Disney World, but over the past few weeks, we’ve been rather surprised by the (relatively) short wait times and low crowds.
Tower of Terror
Despite the lack of crowds, Disney is still charging a LOT for Genie+ right now. The price hovered around $35 for the “Multiple Parks” option for a few days, but on March 23rd, Genie+ reached a record-high price for 2024. To use Genie+ at Magic Kingdom or Multiple Parks, it’s going to cost you $39 per person. OUCH.
©Disney
Genie+ is $32 in EPCOT, $35 in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and $29 in Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Before you fork over $39 per person, you may want to look at the wait time trends over the past few days. You may be surprised to see some LOW wait times.
Magic Kingdom is so pretty in the spring!
Don’t believe us? Take a look at this. As you may know, The Emporium is one of the busiest stores on Main Street, U.S.A. in Magic Kingdom. But even in the middle of spring break, the store was EMPTY during our visit. This wasn’t super early in the morning or late at night, either. Look at all that breathing room.
Where IS everyone?!
Even other parts of the store were totally empty. You don’t see this very often!
This place is NOT crowded!
Note that these photos were taken the same day that Genie+ was $39 in Magic Kingdom. That just goes to show that sometimes, Genie+ prices may NOT be the best indicator of park crowds.
We were SHOCKED!
We’ll be sure to keep our eyes out for more Genie+ changes and spring break trends. In the meantime, we’re always on the lookout for the latest Disney news, so stay tuned for more.
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If people would stop buying it, maybe Disney would get rid of it. It’s such a money grab and it really gets we angry.
One can only hope that Disney will connect the dots between price gouging and reduced attendance.
Disney was an amazing all-in experience (the Disney bubble!) and it is being reduced to just another amusement park which has a bunch of rides – one price rise at a time (death by a thousand petty increases)
Walt is rolling in his grave.
Hope Iger is enjoying his $35 million in 2023 comp.
Over time if Disney continues to charge these exorbitant prices, there will be even smaller crowds at Disney parks.
They are just waiting until they can slowly creep up the price of genie to above 50$, at that point they will announce their new version is for sale. I’m sure it will be 50-100 per person/day. Such a scam they have become
I love Disney, but they are pricing themselves out of business.
FastPass+ was free, and booked 90 days out for on-site guests, This is why we stoped our annual trip to Disney.
As long as people keep paying it, they’ll keep raising it. The only thing that’s likely to check the price at all is if people stop using it, and I doubt that will happen.
Take an Uber over to universal. It’s a better deal
In 2019 my family and I were in Disney World for the 28th time since 1984. Magical Express, Free Fast Pass with 3 rides scheduled months in advance. Yesterday a person in Disney World had the responsibility of determining the cost for the Genie Plus, $39 in Magic Kingdom. 2019 was normal convenient and affordable in Disney World. Long Time Guests know that. Can anyone explain to me the reason for the changes in Disney World which makes our vacation inconvenient and unaffordable. WOW, $39 for Genie Plus. GREED GREED GREED
My family use to vacation at Disney World annually, sometimes twice a year, until all the changes. Now we have no plans to return to Disney and have enjoyed stays at Universal Resorts. We are very excited about the new park from Epic Universe.