Disney Genie announcement

[ChipNdale8887]

Granted storms and the eve of the 50th is attributing some (in addition to the kids returning to school), the recent severe drop off in crowds would motivate me to go. Boarding Groups avail. later in the day on a Fri. I go at this time every year because many people don't want to melt in the sun/drown in the rain.

We were there in July right during Elsa and I'll tell you. Crowds were there despite the storms.

 

[MikeandReneePlus5]

WDW has continued to add capacity, but most of the lands you've named replaced lands or attractions that were there before, so not a pure net add in capacity.

But more broadly: Disney has invested in capacity, which generates more demand, which generates longer lines...

Again - this just isn't true. Everything in 3 of those lands was a complete plus did not replace anything. And the 4th - new Fantasyland - was almost all plus except for Barnstromer and Dumbo (which doubled as you know).

I am not a Disney apologist - I just don't understand the comments - what am I missing?

 

[Nick6300]

The more I reflect on the pricing structure, the more I realize how much better this would have been received IF the Genie+ was complimentary for resort guests. I believe I have read somewhere that only 20% or so of visitors each day are staying on property - and I suspect that number has possibly dropped and certainly will when Disney's Magical Express ends.....there would be plenty of off property guests willing to pay because the cost of their vacation was so much lower because they were staying off site, and they might encourage MORE people to stay on site with this benefit. Some of the most recent decisions just have me scratching my head.

I'd be surprised that Disney would make it publicly known a specific on site figure, especially if it were that low. I listen to just about every earnings call, and I'm just picturing the response to a question like that. Without knowing, 20% seems too low, sounds more like DL w/ all of their local visitors.

But yes, I think we all would welcome free G+ with onsite, or any added meaningful benefit for staying onsite. Even if the cost is hidden in raised rack prices, you wouldn't feel as nickle & dimed, and have it prepaid / budgeted better. But as others have stated, maybe included G+ is coming for Deluxe.

 

[soniam]

The 7 am thing is irking me because I will be on my flight on the way to WDW and our first park (Epcot) and thus missing the virtual queue line for Remy and early genie+ selections.

Have you looked to see if you could change your park reservations. I haven't looked lately, but I have heard that they are much more open than before. You could look at the availability calendar before changing it.

 

[Nick6300]

I have a trip coming up in mid Oct. I really wish they would announce the start date for this so I know what to expect. I would think they want it in place before 10/1 for the 50th, and with some additional time to work the bugs out beforehand. I also really would like to know the price range of IAT.

We used Maxpass at DL a few years ago and really enjoyed it so I'm hopeful this will work similarly and be a fun way to tour. I obviously don't like that now I will be paying more for something we got for free before, but I guess I'm kind if accepting it. What bothers me the most though is not having all rides included and not knowing what the price of those rides will be.

I, too would hope that they would test this out prior to Oct. 1. I mean, look at Rat. on the 1st day breaking down, after how many times they must have tested it prior. Look at RotR opening. There's going to be more people on their phones at 7am, and Disney being a communications/tech company can't even get their wifi to work well consistently.

 

[bookgirl]

Wow. I guess I always thought the day would come when Disney charged for FP...but now that it is here I am feeling surprised.

The biggest question to me is what will this do to stand by queues? Because I believe FP+ significantly increased SB waits from the old paper FP days. And it seems that when there was no FP system at all for the past year SB waits were pretty reasonable across the board. Maybe I am wrong about that I wasn't following too closely.

I think the SB times for the past year were impacted more by low maximum capacity then no FP.

 

[Cabius]

Again - this just isn't true. Everything in 3 of those lands was a complete plus did not replace anything. And the 4th - new Fantasyland - was almost all plus except for Barnstromer and Dumbo (which doubled as you know).

I am not a Disney apologist - I just don't understand the comments - what am I missing?

Toy Story Land and Galaxy's Edge replaced the Backlot Tour / most of Streets of America. It's still a big net increase in ride capacity.

Pandora replaced Camp Minnie/Mickey but everything meaningful in Camp Minnie/Mickey was moved elsewhere in the land, so that's pretty close to a 100% net add in capacity.

I agree that WDW is adding capacity in these places. My point was that it wasn't a 100% net increase, but it's still a big investment. It's not like in MMRR or Epcot where they are only replacing existing rides.

 

[Nick6300]

I was involved in the discussions about "rumored" paid FPs long before the G+ announcement, so it wasn't really a surprise at all to me for the most part. But, as I kind of alluded to in my previous post, the gut punch for me was the fact that the "best" rides are ala carte additional charges and not included in G+.

I would have predicted a higher price tag for G+ but with the expectation that it would be all-inclusive. In fact, a lot of the discussion about price and whether or not it provides value, depends on how many people are using it. Everyone wants it to be priced high enough that the "masses" won't spend the extra for it, but low enough that you are willing to (thus maximizing the value to those who do purchase it). It will be interesting to see if the $15 pp per day price point is high enough to deter the "masses." Based on many posts here and around other social media sites, the outrage would indicate that it will. But how many of those outraged folks will begrudgingly fork over the $15 to avoid what they predict will be even longer SB lines because others have paid to skip them?

This is where the IAS model for those high demand rides may, in fact, balance supply/demand. The rumored prices are making me think long and hard about whether I'm willing to pay that much for one ride (strongly leaning towards NOT). How many people will fork over another $50 or $100 or more for their family to skip the line for ONE RIDE???? I want that number to be low, but in order to keep it low enough the price has to be high enough, meaning I may be included in the population of those not willing to pay it.

In terms of the comment above about not knowing what the price will be... we may never know that until "in the moment" because of the rumored "surge pricing" model. If they implement that, we might eventually know at least a range of possible prices, but there wouldn't be a set price since it would fluctuate based on the SB wait/desperation level of the guests.

How would you feel if you spend $25 pp to skip the line for FOP and then later in the day, the price drops to $10 pp because SB is now shorter????

The gambling analogy is an apt one... do I spend that much to skip the line now? Wait until later to see if the price drops or if the SB wait time gets low enough that I don't mind waiting? What if I spend this much and then the line is short later? UGH!

Being such a frugal person, I'm sort of glad that there's a 2/day paid LL limit. Keeps it more simple for me on the decision. And I don't know that I'd utilize this much, so I prefer the LLs to be less congested for regular G+.

 

[TangledHairDon'tCare]

Do we know for sure that each park will have 2 paid LL attractions, or are we assuming that because you may purchase 2 each day?

 

[Nick6300]

We were there in July right during Elsa and I'll tell you. Crowds were there despite the storms.

I've been keeping a daily on wait times, and sympathize. We go other times of the year too, although it's been a while for a July trip... but like to wait until the kids are recently back to school with less likelihood of being pulled out for vacation. And it's cheaper in early Fall vs. summer.

 

[TangledHairDon'tCare]

Being such a frugal person, I'm sort of glad that there's a 2/day paid LL limit. Keeps it more simple for me on the decision. And I don't know that I'd utilize this much, so I prefer the LLs to be less congested for regular G+.

But there isn’t any crossover between the paid LLs and genie+ right? So, one wouldn’t effect the other.

 

[elgerber]

Do we know for sure that each park will have 2 paid LL attractions, or are we assuming that because you may purchase 2 each day?

hmmm, that's a good question. I hope there are only 2.

 

[meremac]

But there isn’t any crossover between the paid LLs and genie+ right? So, one wouldn’t effect the other.

Correct. They are separate and won't impact one another. I actually just finished a Genie training session. Genie+ is $15/person per day and includes unlimited Lightning Lane reservations for select attractions, but these reservations can only be made one at at time (onsite Resort Guests can make their first Genie+ reservation starting at 7am). A few super headliner attractions at each park will not be included in Genie+. Guests can access those by 1) Getting in the standby line (or joining a Virtual Queue for the few attractions that won't have standby, like RoTR and Rat); OR 2) Purchasing separate Lightning Lane access. For these super headliner attractions, there will be a limit of 2 Lightning Lane purchases per guest per day. Again, onsite Resort Guest can make their first purchase at 7am.

 

[squirk]

I go at this time every year because many people don't want to melt in the sun/drown in the rain.

People are weird that way.

 

[dominiondad]

Correct. They are separate and won't impact one another. I actually just finished a Genie training session. Genie+ is $15/person per day and includes unlimited Lightning Lane reservations for select attractions, but these reservations can only be made one at at time (onsite Resort Guests can make their first Genie+ reservation starting at 7am). A few super headliner attractions at each park will not be included in Genie+. Guests can access those by 1) Getting in the standby line (or joining a Virtual Queue for the few attractions that won't have standby, like RoTR and Rat); OR 2) Purchasing separate Lightning Lane access. For these super headliner attractions, there will be a limit of 2 Lightning Lane purchases per guest per day. Again, onsite Resort Guest can make their first purchase at 7am.

When would offsite guests be able to start making reservations? Somebody mentioned they would have to enter the park first, but that doesn't make much sense to me. Disney already knows you are going to be in the park via the park reservation system. Why would they care if at 9:01 am I make G+ reservations for a 11:00 ride, then show up at the park at 10:00?

 

[meremac]

When would offsite guests be able to start making reservations? Somebody mentioned they would have to enter the park first, but that doesn't make much sense to me. Disney already knows you are going to be in the park via the park reservation system. Why would they care if at 9:01 am I make G+ reservations for a 11:00 ride, then show up at the park at 10:00?

According to the training session, offsite guests will not be able to make Genie+ or separate Lightning Lane reservations until they physically enter the park. Hypothetically then, an on-site guest could make their first MK Genie+ reservation at 7am, take advantage of early entry and get either SM or 7DMT then, get in line for the other, be ready to scan into their first Genie+ reservation (and make another) in the first hour of park opening...all before an offsite guest even scans into their first Genie+ reservation. That would be a HUGE advantage for on-site guests.

 

[tinkerhon]

Correct. They are separate and won't impact one another. I actually just finished a Genie training session. Genie+ is $15/person per day and includes unlimited Lightning Lane reservations for select attractions, but these reservations can only be made one at at time (onsite Resort Guests can make their first Genie+ reservation starting at 7am). A few super headliner attractions at each park will not be included in Genie+. Guests can access those by 1) Getting in the standby line (or joining a Virtual Queue for the few attractions that won't have standby, like RoTR and Rat); OR 2) Purchasing separate Lightning Lane access. For these super headliner attractions, there will be a limit of 2 Lightning Lane purchases per guest per day. Again, onsite Resort Guest can make their first purchase at 7am.

I can see--- our next trip (in Dec) , we are going to be spending a lot of time outside of the parks--- (or waiting on standby)
We went in July and the best part of our trip was our time outside of the parks---
I dont know, waking up at 7AM on vacation AND starting off the day by spending money BEFORE even getting to the parks... I dont know.... just doesn't sound that great. And as much as there are rides that we absolutely love, we have been on 99.9 % of them a ton of times ( not including Remy, obviously... and have gone on RoTR twice) -- dont feel the need to pay to ride them again. YMMV

 

[menotyou21]

Toy Story Land and Galaxy's Edge replaced the Backlot Tour / most of Streets of America. It's still a big net increase in ride capacity.

Pandora replaced Camp Minnie/Mickey but everything meaningful in Camp Minnie/Mickey was moved elsewhere in the land, so that's pretty close to a 100% net add in capacity.

I agree that WDW is adding capacity in these places. My point was that it wasn't a 100% net increase, but it's still a big investment. It's not like in MMRR or Epcot where they are only replacing existing rides.

both points are valid.....but how can we forget Lights, Motors, Action! ......I mean come on....who can forget when they introduced Lightning McQueen!

 

[Marionnette]

When would offsite guests be able to start making reservations? Somebody mentioned they would have to enter the park first, but that doesn't make much sense to me. Disney already knows you are going to be in the park via the park reservation system. Why would they care if at 9:01 am I make G+ reservations for a 11:00 ride, then show up at the park at 10:00?

Because they have to throw some kind of bone to onsite guests so that they feel that the inflated resort costs have value. Can you imagine the advertising?

"Plus as a guest of a Walt Disney World Resort*, you have the ability to purchase AND book your Genie+ ride reservation BEFORE entering the park!"

Doesn't that sound like something that will make people forget about the loss of DME and EMH?

 

[deltadisney]

According to the training session, offsite guests will not be able to make Genie+ or separate Lightning Lane reservations until they physically enter the park. Hypothetically then, an on-site guest could make their first MK Genie+ reservation at 7am, take advantage of early entry and get either SM or 7DMT then, get in line for the other, be ready to scan into their first Genie+ reservation (and make another) in the first hour of park opening...all before an offsite guest even scans into their first Genie+ reservation. That would be a HUGE advantage for on-site guests.

Was there a recent change on the offsite guests not being able to book Genie+ until park entry? I may have confused myself trying to keep up, but I originally thought it was being reported that all guests (resort and non-resort) could book their first Genie+ at 7:00am, and that the resort guests only had the advantage of booking the LL$ at 7:00 and non resort guests had to wait until park entry?