Lion King show at AK and Frozen sing-along at HS

[SLThomas318]

We are going to be in AK on Thanksgiving Day and would like to catch the Lion King show. We'll be in HS the day after Thanksgiving and would like to catch the Frozen sing-along. We never used fastpass+ for shows and never had any trouble getting in to see one via stand-by. Is this still the case with genie+? Are the majority of people still getting into the show via stand-by? Does using genie+ give you a better seat? Thanks!

 

[holden]

Personally, I would not use Genie+ for a show. The seating at LK is plentiful and all seats have good views. The show and seating are in a circle. Seats are bleachers. Cast members will direct you where to sit. I'd recommend getting in line at least 20 minutes before the show. The line can get long. We haven't done the Frozen sing along, so I can't help with that.

 

[flowergleam1211]

We are going to be in AK on Thanksgiving Day and would like to catch the Lion King show. We'll be in HS the day after Thanksgiving and would like to catch the Frozen sing-along. We never used fastpass+ for shows and never had any trouble getting in to see one via stand-by. Is this still the case with genie+? Are the majority of people still getting into the show via stand-by? Does using genie+ give you a better seat? Thanks!

Earlier last month, I used Genie+ for Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage, as we had completed all the rides we wanted to do at that point. We were admitted into the theater at an earlier time and had access to a seated section very close to the stage. The majority of the audience did get into the show via stand-by.

I really appreciated having Genie+ for the show because (1) the very young and elderly people in our group enjoyed being able to sit down and rest at an earlier time, (2) all of us enjoyed getting out of the sun and under the shade and the fans at an earlier time, and (3) we got a great view of the show.

 

[HopperFan]

We are going to be in AK on Thanksgiving Day and would like to catch the Lion King show. We'll be in HS the day after Thanksgiving and would like to catch the Frozen sing-along. We never used fastpass+ for shows and never had any trouble getting in to see one via stand-by. Is this still the case with genie+? Are the majority of people still getting into the show via stand-by? Does using genie+ give you a better seat? Thanks!

I would have told you Genie+ isn't needed .....................

Today I was at AK and several times we walked over to Lion King Show and the Standby line was queued in the normal queue then exited and went all the way UNDER THE TUNNEL GOING UP TO PANDORA.

One time a person was asking the CM at the end if they would get in to the show and the CM replied with what time the next show was. Needless to say we didn't see it.

 

[SLThomas318]

I would have told you Genie+ isn't needed .....................

Today I was at AK and several times we walked over to Lion King Show and the Standby line was queued in the normal queue then exited and went all the way UNDER THE TUNNEL GOING UP TO PANDORA.
One time a person was asking the CM at the end if they would get in to the show and the CM replied with what time the next show was. Needless to say we didn't see it.

Uggg! This was my fear… especially since we’ll be there Thanksgiving week. Pre-genie+ it was never a problem… I would have never dreamed of using a fastpass for a show, but now I’m not so sure. Thanks for the info!

 

[HopperFan]

Uggg! This was my fear… especially since we’ll be there Thanksgiving week. Pre-genie+ it was never a problem… I would have never dreamed of using a fastpass for a show, but now I’m not so sure. Thanks for the info!

I agree. We were used to arriving right before loading and being just inside the queue line. Folks continued to fill theater after us but there was not this massive line 20 minutes before show time.

Honestly I've been saying Genie+ wasn't worth it at AK unless you were hopping. I take that back too. If you used Standby today, in a not especially crowded park, you would spend EVERY MINUTE in a line with little time to eat, shop or go to the bathroom. Standby times totaled almost 10 hours without Lion King or Nemo or Bird Show. That does not include ride or show time.

I don't know how it just keeps getting worse. I kept texting my kid saying it's broken here and I'm not sure if it's Genie+, the low staffing, the lack of care, less ride capacity ... but we supposedly have less guests in the parks than 2019 and it is so much worse.

 

[elaine amj]

I agree. We were used to arriving right before loading and being just inside the queue line. Folks continued to fill theater after us but there was not this massive line 20 minutes before show time.

Honestly I've been saying Genie+ wasn't worth it at AK unless you were hopping. I take that back too. If you used Standby today, in a not especially crowded park, you would spend EVERY MINUTE in a line with little time to eat, shop or go to the bathroom. Standby times totaled almost 10 hours without Lion King or Nemo or Bird Show. That does not include ride or show time.

I don't know how it just keeps getting worse. I kept texting my kid saying it's broken here and I'm not sure if it's Genie+, the low staffing, the lack of care, less ride capacity ... but we supposedly have less guests in the parks than 2019 and it is so much worse.

It has certainly changed. I personally think Disney is using their big data to change crowd patterns.

I was there last week and couldn’t believe it when I got into a 35 min Kali line at 7pm - that actually took 40 mins! It’s Kali! At night! I’m still trying to relearn the new Disney and crowd patterns as they have changed a bit.

And when I went to the Lion King show at 4:45pm for the last 5pm show, ppl were lined up towards the restrooms and possibly close the the bridge too. I *think* everyone got in - but not sure. They weren’t discouraging ppl from getting into line so I imagine they got them all in.

I didn’t use Genie+ for any of the shows (incl Lion King, Nemo and Frozen) even over Columbus Day weekend and had no issues. To be extra safe (and get decent seats) show up 15-30 mins early. I like 30 mins for best seats but 15 mins was just fine.

 

[lovethattink]

We saw the Frozen sing-along last week and the theatre wasn’t even half full. The Holiday version is coming soon and I would expect a lot more people wanting to see that one!

 

[elgerber]

I would have told you Genie+ isn't needed .....................

Today I was at AK and several times we walked over to Lion King Show and the Standby line was queued in the normal queue then exited and went all the way UNDER THE TUNNEL GOING UP TO PANDORA.

One time a person was asking the CM at the end if they would get in to the show and the CM replied with what time the next show was. Needless to say we didn't see it.

We did this line in July. The cm was telling us, and those in front of us and all those behind us "your admission to this showtime is iffy" We all laughed at her choice of words. That line was long and hot (it was July) but we did get in. And there were still a few rows of seats behind us so, a lot of the people behind us got in also. But I wouldn't gamble on getting in with the line that long again.

 

[nolatravelgirl]

We just got back from a week during Columbus Day and were able to do both of those via standby as we were constantly invoking the 120 minute rule so needed to fill some of our day with shows. In HS we saw Indiana, Frozen and Beauty and the Beast all via standby. In AK we saw Lion King and Tough to be a Bug via standby.

 

[Debbie Jean]

I love both shows and have found standby to be adequate. However, if the parks are crowded, both will have full shows so you need to plan to be there early. I would think the Thanksgiving crowds will make this especially important. And yes, I’ve been turned away at both because they were already full.

 

[HeiHei2018]

We saw Frozen twice in late August standby. The theatre holds 1000, and there was a cast radio call that there were 546 seats left about 10 minutes before the 11 am show. The second time we went was 3:00, and the theater was almost full when the show started. We walked right into the air conditioning both times and had good seats. However, that was a super slow week, so I would expect that the theater will fill pretty quickly at Thanksgiving.