Clarifying Genie+ vs ILL bookings

[smallbutmighty]

Hello again everyone As always, thank you all so much for all the valuable input and expert information you all give. You who are able to visit DL regularly are super helpful to those of us who can only visit once in a blue moon.

To rehash, I’ll be visiting DL & DCA with my husband & son (6 y/o) in May this year. We’re staying on property and hoping to rope drop. I’ll also be purchasing Genie+ and ILL$ for all available rides. While we go to WDW yearly, DL is a rarity so I’m trying to make the most of it.

That being said, we only have 1 day at each park (1 day DL & 1 day DCA) so I’m trying to “roughly” plan each day so I have an idea of what we’re doing and how to approach it. I am realistic as we have a young child who will, of course, grow weary so we don’t feel the need to do “everything” but rather have a healthy mix of things (some rides, a show or two, dining, etc). Of note, I already have my dining reservations so those are set in stone. I would like to see the fireworks/light shows at each respective park each night but we’ll see how that goes…

Anyway, I think I’ve almost finally figured out the Genie+/$ILL thing but I just wanted to clarify a few things:

- We enter the park at rope drop, we buy Genie+ per person, we then book 1 ride?
- Once scanned into that 1 ride, we book the next? So you just go one ride at a time? Like, cannot plan in advance or book rides in advance
- Does ILL work this way too? Or can I have a ILL booking **and** a Genie+ booking at the same time or no?
- I’m wondering because the offerings are all over the park so I’m trying to think how we should move from one area to the next… like start with this ride then go to this, then this, etc. No, I don’t wanna drag our son from one land to another, bouncing back and forth all over the park. I’d rather do one area/land at a time.

To be realistic, I’m trying to make sure we plan around our “must do’s” (dining, CA specific rides, and Cars- big time) while leaving wiggle room for good ole spontaneity Just wanna make sure I have the right understanding about these things vs arriving and being completely bamboozled

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

- We enter the park at rope drop, we buy Genie+ per person, we then book 1 ride?
There are a lot of different opinions about whether you should book a ride immediately, or take advantage of the already shorter lines in the morning, and wait until lines are growing longer as you get closer to 11/noon. You can book something immediately if you want to.

- Once scanned into that 1 ride, we book the next? So you just go one ride at a time? Like, cannot plan in advance or book rides in advance
Yes, you can do one at a time, unless the time for your ride is more than 2 later, in which case you can book another G+ ride after 2 hours, even if you haven't scanned into ride 1 yet.

- Does ILL work this way too? Or can I have a ILL booking **and** a Genie+ booking at the same time or no?
ILL and G+ are totally separate. You can have both at the same time.

- I’m wondering because the offerings are all over the park so I’m trying to think how we should move from one area to the next… like start with this ride then go to this, then this, etc. No, I don’t wanna drag our son from one land to another, bouncing back and forth all over the park. I’d rather do one area/land at a time.
I totally understand this! The good thing is, everything in DL and DCA is much closer together than in WDW, so if you do end up doing a little bit of back and forth, it is nothing like the walking you end up doing at WDW. Many people do the one land at a time approach though, it is just a matter of selecting which rides to try for G+ and which ones to do standby. Keep in mind standby is always an option if the available G+ times don't line up with your plans!

 

[poptart90]

You can only book two ILLs a day. For DL there's only one option, DCA has two. Yes, you can book them immediately after scanning in. And yes, you can book your first Genie+ at that time. You are correct, timing can be an issue. I'll give you my thoughts on maneuvering a rope drop.

For DCA, will your 6 year old want to ride Incredicoaster? Guardians? Neither? How about anyone in your party? Are one/both of these on the must do list? It can depend on where you start and what you choose to book.

If yes to both rides above, then I would rope drop near Ariel and head immediately for Pixar Pier and knock that whole area out while everyone else runs for WEB and Racers (just keep an eye on the ILLs and book these two roughly an hour a part in the late morning/early afternoon, if you can). The first Genie+ I would grab would be Midway Mania. After riding the coaster first, go ride Midway and book next Genie+ (see below). After that, proceed around the Pier. Ride the Pal-a-Round, Inside/Out, Silly Swings, Jumping Jellyfish, Goofy's, Zephyr, and Ariel. They should all have little to no wait.

Here's the rub with Genie+, the return times can take a bit to extend into the morning hours and as you correctly put it, you could find yourself running between lands trying to meet your ride times for the things you've booked. So after Midway you could choose to book Guardians (depending on return time) or Soarin' and save Guardians for later. For easy maneuvering, I'd choose to book Soarin' so you would head there after the Pier, stopping at Grizzly if you want. After riding Soarin', you could then book Monsters hopefully getting an immediate return time. Once you scan into Monsters, look at Guardians. Have the return times extended into the afternoon? Have you booked your ILLs? What are those times? Do you have enough cushion around the Guardians return window? Or should you wait a bit more?

So far, if you do the Pier loop above, you've been moving quite a bit. You may want to grab some lunch at Pym's and wait until your ILL's windows become active. I'd ride WEB first, then Racers, working in the other two Carsland attractions depending on the return window for Racers. Finally, finish with Guardians (if the timing all worked out) and head back for some rest and pool time! Now your evening can be dining, shopping, shows, etc.

 

[smallbutmighty]

You can only book two ILLs a day. For DL there's only one option, DCA has two. Yes, you can book them immediately after scanning in. And yes, you can book your first Genie+ at that time. You are correct, timing can be an issue. I'll give you my thoughts on maneuvering a rope drop.

For DCA, will your 6 year old want to ride Incredicoaster? Guardians? Neither? How about anyone in your party? Are one/both of these on the must do list? It can depend on where you start and what you choose to book.

If yes to both rides above, then I would rope drop near Ariel and head immediately for Pixar Pier and knock that whole area out while everyone else runs for WEB and Racers (just keep an eye on the ILLs and book these two roughly an hour a part in the late morning/early afternoon, if you can). The first Genie+ I would grab would be Midway Mania. After riding the coaster first, go ride Midway and book next Genie+ (see below). After that, proceed around the Pier. Ride the Pal-a-Round, Inside/Out, Silly Swings, Jumping Jellyfish, Goofy's, Zephyr, and Ariel. They should all have little to no wait.

Here's the rub with Genie+, the return times can take a bit to extend into the morning hours and as you correctly put it, you could find yourself running between lands trying to meet your ride times for the things you've booked. So after Midway you could choose to book Guardians (depending on return time) or Soarin' and save Guardians for later. For easy maneuvering, I'd choose to book Soarin' so you would head there after the Pier, stopping at Grizzly if you want. After riding Soarin', you could then book Monsters hopefully getting an immediate return time. Once you scan into Monsters, look at Guardians. Have the return times extended into the afternoon? Have you booked your ILLs? What are those times? Do you have enough cushion around the Guardians return window? Or should you wait a bit more?

So far, if you do the Pier loop above, you've been moving quite a bit. You may want to grab some lunch at Pym's and wait until your ILL's windows become active. I'd ride WEB first, then Racers, working in the other two Carsland attractions depending on the return window for Racers. Finally, finish with Guardians (if the timing all worked out) and head back for some rest and pool time! Now your evening can be dining, shopping, shows, etc.

Oh my goodness, this is an incredible recap Thank you and @fiestydisneymom so much!!!!

To answer the question: I don’t believe he’s gonna want to ride either Incredicoaster or Guardians…. I know I know, lol. But he’s a little guy and for one, I don’t know if he’s tall enough and for two, I’m trying to avoid things that are too intense as he does get overwhelmed easily (for example, we’re not doing Haunted Mansion either, too scary for him) I need to check out all these rides in more depth but that’s just my first impression

I know literally everything in Carsland he’ll want to do and anything that’s interactive (web slingers/toy story mania) he’ll love. And for sure taking time to rest, gift shop browse, watch a show, and eat yummy fun food I’m relieved we’re close to DLH because I know he’ll love that water area.

 

[poptart90]

Oh my goodness, this is an incredible recap Thank you and @fiestydisneymom so much!!!!

To answer the question: I don’t believe he’s gonna want to ride either Incredicoaster or Guardians…. I know I know, lol. But he’s a little guy and for one, I don’t know if he’s tall enough and for two, I’m trying to avoid things that are too intense as he does get overwhelmed easily (for example, we’re not doing Haunted Mansion either, too scary for him) I need to check out all these rides in more depth but that’s just my first impression

I know literally everything in Carsland he’ll want to do and anything that’s interactive (web slingers/toy story mania) he’ll love. And for sure taking time to rest, gift shop browse, watch a show, and eat yummy fun food I’m relieved we’re close to DLH because I know he’ll love that water area.

I get it! My 6 year old is a no to both those rides too.

In that case, I still would head directly for the Pier BUT don't book Midway Mania as a Genie+ attraction. You could probably walk on to Midway at least 2-3 times (if he likes that ride) and still have time to proceed around the rest of the Pier rides. And since Genie+ allows for each attraction only once a day, perhaps save booking Midway until the evening time after dinner?

After the Pier, instead of heading to Soarin' you could always go to Carsland if that's a big draw. Mater's tractors and Dancing Cars should still have reasonable wait times to do both of those a couple of times too.

If you subtract the thrill rides included with Genie+ for DCA, you're really looking at utilizing that service for about three rides: Midway Mania, Soarin', and Monsters, Inc. I'm not including Grizzly River Run only because my 6 year old doesn't like getting wet, but yours might!

So really @FiestyDisneyMom gives good advice. If you're not in the huge rat race for the most coveted thrill attractions first thing in the morning, you might find that saving your Genie+ selections to re-ride at night is the best way to go and simply wait the 20-30 minutes (if that) in the standby lines in the morning.

If you decide to do this, I'd look at choosing ILL times that are closer to noon-1pm to take advantage of the slower morning standby lines. And if it happens to start getting busy before your ILL window begins, take a lunch break. Aim to "finish" your morning with the ILLs when everything else is packed and just before the flood of the ParkHoppers - that's always worked for us.

 

[starlite_]

I get it! My 6 year old is a no to both those rides too.

I'm a lil bit older than 6 and those rides are a no for me too xD

 

[Ladyslug]

the offerings are all over the park so I’m trying to think how we should move from one area to the next… like start with this ride then go to this, then this, etc. No, I don’t wanna drag our son from one land to another, bouncing back and forth all over the park. I’d rather do one area/land at a time.

I agree that zigging when others zag in the early morning is the way to go. For Disneyland, we rope-dropped Peter Pan and then did the rest of the rides in Fantasyland. Most people were heading over to Rise of the Resistance, but if you're going to get an ILL for that, then you don't have to! We were able to get through a bunch of rides just in that little area before we decided to head out toward the Matterhorn and on to Tomorrowland. And if your 6-year-old likes Dumbo as much as mine does, it's good to hit that in the morning with a significantly shorter line.

We would also book an LL for say, Space Mountain and then fill in the time until the window opened (if necessary) by riding other rides in or near that land (Star Tours, Buzz Lightyear, Autopia) via standby, or by getting a snack in between (the garlic cheddar twist at Maurice's was practically on the way), or by keeping an eye out for photo ops (Photopass is included with Genie+ purchase). Once we scanned into Space, we'd book another LL while waiting in line.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

I love your plan! I think we will approach it the same way - it just makes more sense to do Fantasyland in the morning to me, and if a lot of people are heading to rotr sounds like it is even better choice!

 

[poptart90]

I agree! One day during our last trip in March, DH and I split up at rope drop. He took DD to Fantasyland and I took DS to some of the bigger thrill rides at DL. We met up for a late breakfast 2 hours later. They had done 11 rides (everything in FL with many re-rides) and we had done 4! Most of it was spent traversing the different lands and standing in the LL lines. Complete waste. From then on we did FL at rope drop while booking Genie+ for the bigger things later. And skip Peter Pan at rope drop, hit Alice instead. EVERYONE runs to Peter. You can get so much more done by skipping that and opting to have one parent wait in the standard 30-40 minute wait at some point in the day and join them in line when they get close to boarding. If you skip that ride at RD, you'll get so much more done!

 

[Steven G]

I end up skipping Peter Pan lately, it's just not worth the time lost, since we have been on it a few times. We didn't go on it last trip.

 

[Ladyslug]

And skip Peter Pan at rope drop, hit Alice instead. EVERYONE runs to Peter. You can get so much more done by skipping that and opting to have one parent wait in the standard 30-40 minute wait at some point in the day and join them in line when they get close to boarding. If you skip that ride at RD, you'll get so much more done!

We happened to be close enough to the rope to make it only a 15 minute wait for Peter Pan first thing, and we don't usually ride it at all so it was worth it this time. But it is true that that is the first thing everyone heading to Fantasyland goes to, so you can definitely get in more rides faster by skipping it. Watch out for some Fantasyland rides being down at opening time (often Casey Jr and Pinocchio) and swing back around to catch them later in the Fantasyland time.