Disney Genie+ and ILL$ Details & FAQ - Launches 10/19 at WDW, Paid "FastPass" at WDW and Disneyland (date TBD)

[luv2cheer92]

I don't think he was saying that people thought FP was still free... I think he was saying that people weren't thinking it through... that now that there is no free FP, the SB lines would be quicker.

Which is why I asked him to clarify what he meant.

 

[randumb0]

It's not going to be good if you pay for a ride and one of your kids realizes they're too scared to ride

 

[DL1WDW2]

Like I said in an earlier post… this might be acceptable if they made me believe the extra cash would go towards “fixing” the attractions so they aren’t constantly breaking down. And maybe can operate them at actual true capacity . But I haven’t seen they are in the least bit aware there is a problem within their maintenance capacity. I guess this is why I am aggravated with paying more.

 

[New Mouse]

The saddest part of all this is that Disney now controls the ability to push people from srandby to paid fp.

Why is the wait for space mountain 2 hour on a random September weekday? Well its actually an incentive for them to now have less staff, do more "maintenance" and run less cycles as that noe incentivizes people to spend money.

Im out, getting rid of my AP and selling DVC.

 

[Liquidice]

I wonder if this initial news is purposefully the worst version of it, let everyone experience it for at least the next few months until 2022 where they believe they have a captive audience with the 50th Anniversary at WDW at least. Then they will say "due to guest feedback" they are IMPROVING the Genie+ service - either by giving on site guests something for free or giving other options like an annual pass option for the year. Or do a virtual standby queue for the Tier 1 rides where they cut off the standby queue and you never have more than a 30 minute wait in ride, and the rest of your wait is virtual.

Maybe that will quiet some of the people (like me) who are hating on it...

We'll see I guess, just curious if their strategy is to announce the worst part first and then soften the blow later so people will forget all about when it was free and instead be excited that it is now "better" than what they just announced.

 

[tigertides]

Carlye Wisel posted some details on Genie and Genie+ on her Instagram -

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

Interestingly she says no annual pass option will be given for Genie+ like MaxPass had (which was $100 per person per year for MaxPass). I would have been willing to buy Genie+ for the year at around $100 per person. Not sure if I'd buy it all the time at $60 (4x$15) for my family each day, that is an extra $420 for a 7 day trip which we usually do at least 2 of those per year - and then a few shorter trips here and there. More than worth it to spend $400 per year, but not sure about spending an extra $1000 per year on Genie+.

you spend 14d+ at WDW A YEAR?

 

[Viking7641]

I won’t be going anymore, I’m not their upper middle class market but I do hope the rides are seated according to class

 

[New Mouse]

Has anyone actually figured out how this new service is better than the other one? Serious question. Ive never met a company before where they sit in a room and try to create something that literally makes the experience worse like Disney seems to.

 

[Karin1984]

Has anyone actually figured out how this new service is better than the other one? Serious question. Ive never met a company before where they sit in a room and try to create something that literally makes the experience worse like Disney seems to.

It is similar to Maxpass Disneyland Anaheim had for a few years before the pandemic. I think you can find plenty of stories of people who preferred it over FP + and how it did work for them. On the DIS-sub board for DL you should be able to get what you are looking for. https://www.disboards.com/forums/disneyland-california.26/

Google also gave me this:
https://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201902/6586/https://ridemax.com/blog/10-reasons...s-is-superior-to-walt-disney-worlds-fastpass/

 

[larry47591]

It is similar to Maxpass Disneyland Anaheim had for a few years before the pandemic. I think you can find plenty of stories of people who preferred it over FP + and how it did work for them. On the DIS-sub board for DL you should be able to get what you are looking for. https://www.disboards.com/forums/disneyland-california.26/

Google also gave me this:
https://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201902/6586/https://ridemax.com/blog/10-reasons...s-is-superior-to-walt-disney-worlds-fastpass/

Hard to compare when maxpass includes all the rides.

 

[piccolopat]

It is similar to Maxpass Disneyland Anaheim had for a few years before the pandemic. I think you can find plenty of stories of people who preferred it over FP + and how it did work for them. On the DIS-sub board for DL you should be able to get what you are looking for. https://www.disboards.com/forums/disneyland-california.26/

Google also gave me this:
https://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201902/6586/https://ridemax.com/blog/10-reasons...s-is-superior-to-walt-disney-worlds-fastpass/

I can't help but wonder if the allegiance to Maxpass at DLR is more because so many guests there are locals or people who go frequently. I liked FP+ because it allowed me to group rides geographically near the ADR I made so that I didn't spend half the day crisscrossing a park. With Genie+ I can only book one attraction at a time but will I be able to immediately book the next once I tap into the ride?

 

[Karin1984]

Hard to compare when maxpass includes all the rides.

I said similar, not identical.

 

[luv2cheer92]

The saddest part of all this is that Disney now controls the ability to push people from srandby to paid fp.

Why is the wait for space mountain 2 hour on a random September weekday? Well its actually an incentive for them to now have less staff, do more "maintenance" and run less cycles as that noe incentivizes people to spend money.

Im out, getting rid of my AP and selling DVC.

Where do you have DVC? I'll buy! Also finally repurchasing my AP since I now have two upcoming trips planned.

 

[albertro]

Disney has always been expensive, that is a reality that we cannot hide. So it should come as no surprise that they always want to extract money from our pockets. I think I am one of the few who likes this new system. One of the things I hated about FastPass+ was having to plan our rides 60 days in advance. We are one of those who like to improvise and depending on how we feel and how the day is going is what we do. We have visited Disney since 1981 and miss those days when neither FP nor ADR existed and you simply rode the rides that you could and enjoyed the day without complaining so much.

Also, as Pete Werner say, we'll see a lot of people complaining and whining and then they will end up saying to Disney: Here is my money.

 

[fla4fun]

you spend 14d+ at WDW A YEAR?

Many people spend more than two weeks a year at WDW. I used to get six weeks of vacation a year, and so I spent more than 40 nights on property in the average year. If it weren’t for Covid job loss, I still would be. I have a platinum AP, and don’t plan to pay more to ride. For one thing, I don’t think my phone will support Genie, as it’s too old to support the most recent MDE (planning to upgrade when a particular phone is released next year, but it may be Fall 2022). For another, I think far too many people will be using this and the reality will basically be pay to standby, not pay to bypass.

I never thought I would be seriously considering not renewing my AP. I have had an AP since the early 80’s. I just renewed in May, so I have time to see how it all shakes out, but as someone who does not like Universal, it’s hard to imagine no more theme parks in my future. It’s a sad day.

 

[MissSha]

Planning such an expensive vacation shouldn't be this hard! How did you get here, Disney? Buh-bye! Thank you so much for the years of memories

 

[luv2cheer92]

Planning such an expensive vacation shouldn't be this hard! How did you get here, Disney? Buh-bye! Thank you so much for the years of memories

If anything, this makes it easier for me. But I love every aspect of planning anyway. I find it thoroughly enjoyable.

 

[New Mouse]

People are saying oh $15 isnt too bad... but they are forgetting that $15 is to buy things that Disney literally had trouble giving away for free at times in the old system.

 

[dominiondad]

I have a trip planned for June 2022. Ultimately, I kinda don't care what Disney decides, just make a decision and commit so I can plan. If I book an offsite stay because it makes the most sense for how my family experiences WDW, I'll be upset if they later change the rules, ie. free passes for onsite guests, for the time we are there. I feel like once Disney sells me a ticket for a specific date, the rules at that time should stick. If Disney wants to roll out new procedures, they should be effective for the tickets sold after the current ticket window.

 

[Mineu]

No this is not true, Annual Passholders CAN in fact purchase Genie+ through the app each day. However, MaxPass used to have an Annual option for AP holders, you paid $100 for MaxPass for the entire year. This is not going to be an option for AP holders or MagicKey holders at least initially - sounds like they may add it on later.

Thanks for clarifying! Someone had a quote that said otherwise-much better news!

Free Fastpass is completely gone. There is no free paper option or free Fastpass option at WDW or DLR. There is an entire paragraph in the Disney Parks blog talking about how Fastpass is being retired...

You can check it out here: https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/2021/08/introducing-disney-genie/

But here is the quote:


Note that they say you can choose from all of our new options - the new options are ONLY paid options (Genie+ and Lightning Lane for Tier 1).