Disney Genie announcement

[Jonfw2]

The process to get here has been slow at times and very quick at other times- such as now-, but Disney truly is just for the elite at this point.

I mean, it is what it is- things in life cost money, I have no beef with that. But the company can't pretend that Walt's vision still exists. Disney Parks are happy/magical places for the upper middle class and above.

 

[Raya]

Does anyone know if the Genie+ service will be in place for hard ticket events such as After hours events, MNSSHP, or MVMCP? I'm wondering if a trip of only hard ticket events might be a better touring planning over a trip with regular tickets & Genie+.

 

[RoseGold]

The process to get here has been slow at times and very quick at other times- such as now-, but Disney truly is just for the elite at this point.

I mean, it is what it is- things in life cost money, I have no beef with that. But the company can't pretend that Walt's vision still exists. Disney Parks are happy/magical places for the upper middle class and above.

I think I'm even OK with that if it's transparent and planned out. Everyone knows what the Universal pass costs and what Be Our Guest costs, and you can choose it or not. Maybe I would pay $20 for Slinky Dog and match it up to my dining. But this idea of paying on the fly for everything with Uber surge pricing or $15 to get out of this line now is a real turn off. It's a lot to figure out at 7AM on your vacation. And Disney IT, well, that has never inspired much confidence.

Maybe there are times you'd be willing to pay to get out of the line. I guess we will see how many times that works. $5 to get on Hall of Presidents in the rain!

 

[mouserrificmom]

To me this all seems so sad…we are empty nesters and DVC members..DH usually jokingly says he would like to sell now it feels like he is not joking…thank goodness our DD is grown …it just seems so sad is all they do is take away..I just remember making so many trips during the Year of a million dreams which went on for quite a bit longer…that was awesome..they were just wanting to spread the Magic and so much more..now if you want to ride certain rides you need to cough up cash( interesting how they haven’t given us numbers on that) and what kind of surge pricing will there be..is it by day, by hour I feel like I am trying to book an Uber during the rain in NYC.

and I know Disney is a publicly traded company that is beholden to their share holders which I am one…

but it is just sad ..we Will probably not sell both our DVC contracts maybe one…we will probably just take one trip a year and not buy AP’s…
but that seems what customers they are trying to attract.

Year of a Million Dreams was my very FAVORITE! I remember holding my breath as I saw the tell tell uniform (Khaki pants, sky blue shirt) of cast members counting people walking through turnstiles and just KNOWING there was a magic number they were working towards to gift someone an overnight stay in the castle and so wanting it to be me! My heart skipped a beat when after seeing them standing at the top of the Star Tours queue they boarded the ship we had just boarded and the excitement was palpable! I thought for SURE someone on that ship was going to get a stay but instead they gave each of us a magical fast pass lanyard that had a breakoff for all of the "top tier" rides in DHS at that time....we received so many magical surprises on the trips we took during that promotion that just enhanced how fabulous all of those vacations were back then. I sure do miss those days......we felt valued as guests, not prodded as willing customers.

 

[Violetspider]

Disney Parks are happy/magical places for the upper middle class and above.

Or for the folks that are willing to live in the upper lower class the other 350+ days a year they are not at Disney...

 

[BrandonH]

The first part of the announcement excited me. It sounded like a very flexible Touring Plans sort of experience, and Disney would be able to access more data simultaneously and historically to help them.

The part about no more free FastPass rides, though, has me very concerned. I want to be able to ride/experience most of the big attractions without paying extra or waiting in a bunch of long lines. I'm willing to wait and see how people's experiences go once the LL system starts, but I am not very optimistic right now.

 

[MMSM]

To me this all seems so sad…we are empty nesters and DVC members..DH usually jokingly says he would like to sell now it feels like he is not joking…thank goodness our DD is grown …it just seems so sad is all they do is take away..I just remember making so many trips during the Year of a million dreams which went on for quite a bit longer…that was awesome..they were just wanting to spread the Magic and so much more..now if you want to ride certain rides you need to cough up cash( interesting how they haven’t given us numbers on that) and what kind of surge pricing will there be..is it by day, by hour I feel like I am trying to book an Uber during the rain in NYC.

and I know Disney is a publicly traded company that is beholden to their share holders which I am one…

but it is just sad ..we Will probably not sell both our DVC contracts maybe one…we will probably just take one trip a year and not buy AP’s…
but that seems what customers they are trying to attract.

This. I was just saying that I am so happy my kids are older. I feel bad for families with young ones that wanted to do Disney. We were going in April and my teenage daughter and husband were going to do HS for one day. We would rent and stay w DVC. Every time I priced out Universal they seemed so much more and there were so many extras. Now, I am rethinking about going there and knowing the said price of the trip. I do not like the uncertainty of how much rides will be for LL. I don’t want to buy tickets until I know for sure the prices.

 

[erionm]

Does anyone know if the Genie+ service will be in place for hard ticket events such as After hours events, MNSSHP, or MVMCP? I'm wondering if a trip of only hard ticket events might be a better touring planning over a trip with regular tickets & Genie+.

Unlikely. FP+ was never available during them.

 

[bcinohio]

I really hate to have to have my phone out all the time and like the magic bands. I have one from our trip last year and was planning on using it again this Dec for our trip. Did anyone hear if the Genie+ will work with the magic bands or just the phones?
Thanks.

 

[soniam]

I still have some E tickets left from 1972. I should be able to use them.

Have you tried selling them on Ebay as collectibles? It might pay for Genie+ or an individual attraction.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

You're going to need a phone to book your Genie+ selections, unless they decide to put kiosks or CMs with ipads in the park for guests to consult. Too early to tell if they will do that. However I'm guessing you will be able to scan in for your lightning lane using your MB (too early to tell about that either)

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Disney hasn't said, but traditionally FP wasn't available for use outside of official publicly posted park hours.

 

[Airb330]

Disney must know they’ve upset the planning population. I almost wonder if there will be a $25 option in the future to “New Genie+ magic! Wish for and schedule Two Tier 2 rides in advance, such as favorites like Haunted Mansion or Pirates of the Caribbean. Feel relaxed knowing two of your favorite attractions are scheduled without any early wake ups or uncertainty!”

I can see the email from Disney now touting it.

 

[bcinohio]

I was just wondering about scanning in for the ride. I figured to book I would need my phone. Hopefully will be able to use the bands. Thanks

 

[Grumpy by Birth]

Have you tried selling them on Ebay as collectibles? It might pay for Genie+ or an individual attraction.

That gives me an idea... they could set up a "pop-up" clinic outside the turnstiles for people to sell plasma, kidneys, etc. so they can afford to ride the rides!

 

[disneyseniors]

After reading alot of these threads, I think it boils down to this:
The guests now feel like they are not wanted or valued anymore. It is like we are sheep being herded in a more expensive direction to fit their purposes.
If WDW made the guest feel valued, then paying the higher prices might not be such a deterrent.
At Universal I feel like a valued guest; like they really want me there. Their AP's are great. You can ride what you want over and over if you want, and use them any way you want.
I don't know what the answer is for wDW right now, but they had better figure it out soon, because the brand name just keeps getting more mud slung on it with each new guest gouging experience. Once the brand name is ruined, it is difficult to get it back, even for WDW, IMO>

 

[bcinohio]

I don't remember reading if you would have the 1hr window with the Genie+ passes like you did with the FP's. Did anyone see if you did? I have been reading a lot the last few days and may have missed it.
Thanks

 

[Heather07438]

It looks like going forward WDW is being more careful about hard ticket attendance.

Would make sense overall as they bring this type of system in to play. They'll need to avoid people paying for g+ during the day and then attending a party at night only to find their g+ is no longer good and attraction lines are crazy after they just spent all that money. Parties started getting out of hand and I think WDW listened to the biggest complaint: too crowded.

 

[DaniMoon]

I'm trying to remain optimistic that the Disney savvy DISers will figure out how to use the system to their advantage. But it is disheartening. Our trips are usually 10-14 days, so I foresee they will be shorter in the future to stretch our dollars. I'm not sure I'm at the "take my money elsewhere" point, we've just become Disney diehards over the last 8 years, but who knows. Our next trip won't be at least til 10/22 (daughter's reschedule 2020 girl scout trip) and was thinking going as a family. Time will tell.

 

[twincruisers]

Disney must know they’ve upset the planning population. I almost wonder if there will be a $25 option in the future to “New Genie+ magic! Wish for and schedule Two Tier 2 rides in advance, such as favorites like Haunted Mansion or Pirates of the Caribbean. Feel relaxed knowing two of your favorite attractions are scheduled without any early wake ups or uncertainty!”

I can see the email from Disney now touting it.

Without a doubt the planners and high-usage AP holders are the ones they are taking away from and they are trying to help the first-timers and non-planners to do more while making more money. They don't want to raise admission prices as they don't want attendance to drop, so this is the only way to pack more people and extract more profit.