Am I correct that its a lot of staring at the phone? :(

[smallbutmighty]

Good morning,

We are visiting for a quick 4 day trip in May and haven’t been back to Disneyland in years so super stoked. Although we go to Disney World at least twice a year, only been to DL once.

I’m trying so hard to understand this Genie+ vs LL concept and it is so frustrating. I feel like it is beyond confusing and I fear I am going to waste so much precious time staring at my phone frantically trying to figure it all out on the few days we’re there. For reference, we’re only at Disneyland one day and CA Adventure one day. Time is precious and I’m heartbroken to think I’ll spend half a day furiously tapping at my phone trying to figure this out.

Could anyone please help me understand this or offer any kind words of reassurance? Is it not as horrific as I’m expecting or … is it? I got so used to Disney World’s easy magic bands + fast pass so this is so sad to encounter as we’re going there to celebrate our 10 year anniversary and bringing our 6 year old son. I just wanted a little Disney magic :’(

Am I correct that every single day, you have to log into the app, purchase Genie+ for all your party members, AND purchase LL for certain rides? So you essentially need to know exactly what rides you want to ride and exactly when??? And you can only book one at a time? So be there at the crack of dawn to load the app, buy all this extra, and fight off the other hoards of people trying to book the exact same rides?

 

[BrianL]

Hi, and to the DIS.

Don't worry too much about using Genie+ at Disneyland. Yes, you will have to set some thigns up on your phone, but don't let that hamper your enjoyment. If you did not pre-purcahse G+ with your tickets, then you do have to add it daily. This should be a quick and easy transaction in the morning as long as you have your CC information stored. Anyway, once that is done, you can start booking LL return times. These work like the "old" Fastpass system, where the times offered are the next available and are progressive throughout the day. You are not picking specific times for every ride - you just book your first one, then you can book another once that is used or after a certain amount of time has passed (to cover if you booked one for a very late time as some popular rides can have). I am not sure about the specifics. For the Paid LL rides, there are only a few of those, and I think you have more choice of time with them.

Keep in mind that at DLR not every ride has Lightning Lane at all, unlike in WDW where almost everything does. A lot of rides are standby only (like many of the Fantasyland dark rides), so you're not even managing every posssible attraction. You may need to get the hang of it, but you'll catch on quick. I don't think you'll find yourself staring at your phone all the time, and you'll have some waits in line which is a good time to be checking on your next ride. Enjoy Disneyland!

 

[xipotec]

Yea, I think you will be looking at your phone alot..I am bringing a spare battery.

LL One at a time (can get the second after in line on the first, OR 2 hours later.
$LL is two per day max....and will often sell out a few minutes after park opening.
Must purchase G+ each day for use, you can buy in advance.
5

 

[duckboyone]

Even the last time we went in 2016, I was referring to my phone quite a bit, checking on wait times and Fast Pass returns, however accurate they actually were. I don't see Genie+ demanding much more phone time than that.

 

[DLgal]

What else are you gonna do while waiting in lines all day? You are gonna wait in lines all day, even with Genie+.

I think people overstate the impact of being on your phone. It takes like a minute to select a Genie+ reservation and confirm it (if it's anything like selecting a DAS return time, which it seems to mirror). Place your mobile orders either at the beginning of the day while you are waiting in your first line, or whenever you find yourself with down time. You can schedule those out WAY ahead of time and modify the pick up times as necessary, or cancel orders if you change your mind.

Set your phone up to allow notifications from the Disneyland app and it will ding whenever something is coming up (ride return time, mobile order ready, etc). If you have a smart watch, set it up to show those notifications on your watch so you don't always have to open up your phone. That's what I do.

One thing I would recommend against is using the free Genie planning thing. Just dismiss that pop up whenever it comes up. It's annoying.

Learn how to quickly navigate to the page where you can select your next Genie+ attraction so you don't waste time clicking through too many pages. (Just click on "Tip Board", scroll down, and book the experience you want).

And definitely bring some external chargers. You will need them. We all carry own own Anker charger with us in our park bag. Turn your wifi off on your phone or it will run down your battery constantly connecting and disconnecting to the various wifi hubs around the parks, which are super spotty anyway.

Your last paragraph is hyperbole. People at DL don't act crazy and there is no "mad rush" to book things at the crack of dawn like at WDW. You can't purchase Genie until you enter the park, which makes it actually EASIER than WDW because people trickle in, not everyone buys it, so return times in the mornings are usually almost right away. Buying it, again, takes probably a minute. Scan in, step aside and click Tip Board, find the first ride you want to book and click through where it will prompt you to purchase it. Since you will already have your credit card saved in the payment section of your profile (do that now, from home), it's just a matter of selecting the tickets you want to add G+ to. It's literally like 3 clicks and you're done. Don't overthink it. As long as you have all your tickets loaded into the app and have saved a credit card as a primary payment method, the app experience is pretty smooth at this point. Make sure you have the latest version of the app installed. It was updated recently and now works much faster and isn't glitchy anymore.

Also, you don't pick the ride times. It's not like FP+. You are shown the next available return window and you can choose to book it or not. If the time doesn't work for you, just wait and try again later for a later window.

 

[smartlabelprint]

If you try to FISH (there’s a thread about that) for fastpasses (lightening lanes?) you could be on your phone a lot. I expect with just using one LL per ride you’ll be on it less than I was with maxpass in 2019.

 

[mouschievous]

If you ever used MaxPass at DL, the amount of phone time is the same. If you never used MaxPass and only used FastPass+ at WDW, then I can see where you'd be concerned but honestly, it's really easy and doesn't take that much time. I typically book our next LL while we're in line, or when we stop for a snack or lunch or something. A couple times at WDW I did it on the bus from one park to the other. It's not staring at your phone all day, that's for sure.

 

[lvdis]

Well to be fair, you don't HAVE to buy it. You can just wait in lines the old fashioned way. I know people will say with only two days you need it to maximize your time, but it's a choice.

 

[smallbutmighty]

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate it. These comments have been very informative and reassuring. This is just something really special to us and I don’t want to squander it.

Am I right that LL is different from LL+? So I could buy some LL+ at the start of day then book other LL one at a time, while in line?

I’m still trying to prioritize which rides we really want/don’t want so I can make that process smoother. Our 6 year old is a bit small so I don’t know he’d be tall enough for everything but its worth looking into. With only 1 day at each park, I have to pick and choose.

 

[prgal0715]

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate it. These comments have been very informative and reassuring. This is just something really special to us and I don’t want to squander it.

Am I right that LL is different from LL+? So I could buy some LL+ at the start of day then book other LL one at a time, while in line?

I’m still trying to prioritize which rides we really want/don’t want so I can make that process smoother. Our 6 year old is a bit small so I don’t know he’d be tall enough for everything but its worth looking into. With only 1 day at each park, I have to pick and choose.

There are only 3 attractions with LL+: Rise of the Resistance in DL, Web Slingers and Radiator Springs Racers in DCA.

I used Genie+ in December right after it launched and only purchased LL+ for RSR; I hit up Web Slingers right after park opening and only waited 35 minutes. For RotR, I checked the app here and there for low-ish wait times. Got to experience it twice with a 50 minute wait. All of that is to say, only you can decide if purchasing LL+ is worth it to you. To me, it was worth $7 to not have to wait more than an hour for RSR.

I didn't find I was on my phone any more than I used to be when FP was available. I'd book a LL attraction, scan in and while waiting in line, choose my next attraction. I think once you're there and using Genie+ in real time, it won't feel so bad. But bring a back up charger just in case!

Oh, and have SO MUCH FUN.

*ETA: yes, LL is different than LL+. When you purchase Genie+, all of the "regular" LL attractions are included with that purchase. LL+ attractions are additional and can be purchased with or without Genie+. I hope that helps!

 

[BrianL]

Thanks everyone. I really appreciate it. These comments have been very informative and reassuring. This is just something really special to us and I don’t want to squander it.

Am I right that LL is different from LL+? So I could buy some LL+ at the start of day then book other LL one at a time, while in line?

I’m still trying to prioritize which rides we really want/don’t want so I can make that process smoother. Our 6 year old is a bit small so I don’t know he’d be tall enough for everything but its worth looking into. With only 1 day at each park, I have to pick and choose.

The naming is confusing for sure. LL or "Lightning Lane" refers to the ride entrance (think FastPass entrance) that you report to. With Genie+ you can book LL for many attractions, except for the three named by the previous poster. For those, to book their LL, you have to pay the extra asssociated cost this is sometimes called LL+, LL$, ILLS (Individual Lightning Lane Selection). You can book these even if you did not buy Genie+ if you want. They really should have come up with a better way to distinguish everything.

 

[superdeluxe]

Good morning,

We are visiting for a quick 4 day trip in May and haven’t been back to Disneyland in years so super stoked. Although we go to Disney World at least twice a year, only been to DL once.

I’m trying so hard to understand this Genie+ vs LL concept and it is so frustrating. I feel like it is beyond confusing and I fear I am going to waste so much precious time staring at my phone frantically trying to figure it all out on the few days we’re there. For reference, we’re only at Disneyland one day and CA Adventure one day. Time is precious and I’m heartbroken to think I’ll spend half a day furiously tapping at my phone trying to figure this out.

Could anyone please help me understand this or offer any kind words of reassurance? Is it not as horrific as I’m expecting or … is it? I got so used to Disney World’s easy magic bands + fast pass so this is so sad to encounter as we’re going there to celebrate our 10 year anniversary and bringing our 6 year old son. I just wanted a little Disney magic :’(

Am I correct that every single day, you have to log into the app, purchase Genie+ for all your party members, AND purchase LL for certain rides? So you essentially need to know exactly what rides you want to ride and exactly when??? And you can only book one at a time? So be there at the crack of dawn to load the app, buy all this extra, and fight off the other hoards of people trying to book the exact same rides?

honestly your only on genie plus/your phone when you are checking standby times or adding LLs. (Or when you want to add photos etc). I was on my phone ALOT but that is because our daughter wanted to hammer the rides fast and furious.

good luck. One good idea is you zig, when others zag. Like at CA everyone heads to radiator springs, where I’d advise to head over to the Pixar pier area and ride those rides multiple times

also try to get LL’s with the earliest windows, as soon as you use a LL, you can add another. Feel free to cancel if a LL comes up with a better window. You can also stack the free LL with the paid ones, so that works nice as well.

 

[Steven G]

There is the following:

Genie: This is the free part of the system. For anyone that has been in any Disney park, it's probably useless. It just gives recommendations based off what you input as things you want to do. The recommendations often make no sense (making you walk across the park, etc.)

Genie+: This is most equivalent to MaxPass in Disneyland, and is similar to FP+ in Disneyworld. The major difference is that you can only book an attraction once a day (i.e. you can only use Genie+ once to ride Space Mountain). There are other small differences to Maxpass . You pay one flat fee per person, to ride any/all of the Genie+ rides. If you park hop, you will be able to ride in both parks, so park hoppers get an advantage there.

ILL (individual lightning lane): This is completely separate from Genie+. There are 3 rides total (listed above by other poster). You book these similar to Genie+, but have to pay individually for them. You can only do 2 of these per day (and they have to be different attractions). The price is typically $7 to $20 per person per attraction.


Genie+ also includes Photopass which can be a nice perk.

With Maxpass, I was on my phone during the day, but I would say it was only for 30 seconds to a minute between attractions in most cases booking rides (assuming timing was right for me to choose the next maxpass). Otherwise I was on the phone checking waiting times, and mobile ordering food. From what I've seen, Genie+ should be similar, and it shouldn't take long to get used to it.

 

[DisneyAndreaM]

Yea, I think you will be looking at your phone alot..I am bringing a spare battery.

LL One at a time (can get the second after in line on the first, OR 2 hours later.
$LL is two per day max....and will often sell out a few minutes after park opening.
Must purchase G+ each day for use, you can buy in advance.
5

Somehow it never occurred to me that the $LL will sell out! I better go read-through that thread. I loved MaxPass, so hoping I will like this too.

 

[DLgal]

Somehow it never occurred to me that the $LL will sell out! I better go read-through that thread. I loved MaxPass, so hoping I will like this too.

Not sure how true this is, but I have heard from a couple sources that they periodically drop more ILL slots into the app. I think it happens around noon-1pm and then again around 4-5pm. The advice is keep checking, even after it appears the ILL is sold out.

 

[JohnR5101]

A couple comments to add:
I find it most helpful to play around with the app at home many times. You can watch how the standby times vary and how the return times for LL varies (sometimes it is almost immediate but it could be an hour or more later).

The other thing you can do is watch how the $LL get booked up. Yes, $LL's do sell out, but not in the first few minutes. For example, in watching for several weeks it seems like Rise $LL will be gone by late morning (no more offered for the rest of the day). You can watch the patterns for how they seem to sell and then you will know that if you want to purchase a $LL you will need to do it by XX time.

And of course you can see how the returns times advance through the day for those $LL rides. If you want to ride Radiator Springs in the evening for example, you would need to see how the times are going through the day. Then when it gets to the time period that you want to ride, get the $LL.

Of course, standby is always an option for all rides. If you watch the app before your trip you will see how the wait times rise and fall through the day. Then you can see things like which ones build up long lines at the start but then get shorter later. Or if you get in lines late in the day some of them are much shorter.

 

[LizzyS]

I'm also a person that doesn't want to be on my phone all day and I really didn't feel like I was when using Genie+ and ILLs on our trip just 2 weeks ago. I say keep an open mind and don't worry about it so much because if you have a decent phone, you'll be fine.

 

[LizzyS]

If you ever used MaxPass at DL, the amount of phone time is the same. If you never used MaxPass and only used FastPass+ at WDW, then I can see where you'd be concerned but honestly, it's really easy and doesn't take that much time. I typically book our next LL while we're in line, or when we stop for a snack or lunch or something. A couple times at WDW I did it on the bus from one park to the other. It's not staring at your phone all day, that's for sure.

I agree with this.

 

[starlite_]

As someone who keeps lots of entertainment options on my phone like music, books, movies, games, social media, etc. I'll never understand why so many folks hate using theirs while waiting in a line. What else do you guys do? Genuinely wondering tbh. My party and I share funny videos, memes and such while in line.

 

[taaren]

As someone who keeps lots of entertainment options on my phone like music, books, movies, games, social media, etc. I'll never understand why so many folks hate using theirs while waiting in a line. What else do you guys do? Genuinely wondering tbh. My party and I share funny videos, memes and such while in line.

My usual party is two moms and three teens. I love that we have conversations in line, often about what we want to eat next/where we want to go/how we want to pose for the ride photo, but its even better when the conversations are about life, the universe, and everything. The teens probably talk to us more in line/in the parks than they do in the room or sitting at meals (they do share memes at meals frequently), so I really treasure that time (although perhaps that's because we refuse to stand in line more than 30 minutes). Sometimes we'll play Heads Up on the phone if the conversation is lagging, or the teens will play hand-slapping games that we played when we were kids. For having 4 phones in our party of five, using Genie+, ordering much of our food on the app, we spend surprisingly little time on our phones in the park and get a lot of face time with the kids.