I don't care what system they want to go with- I myself prefer FP+- but what I do wish is that they go back to giving resort guests an appropriate advantage.
Maybe that means free
Genie+ included with the reservation.
Maybe that means the ability to make advance LL (similar to the old FP+)
Maybe that means the ability to choose times versus the "next available" model.
I have a solution but....it's not going to be very popular (or realistic)
In my heart of hearts, I believe that the crowd issues stems from locals attending the parks in significantly higher volumes than ever before. Remember, the common wisdom has always been.....
Disneyland is for locals, Disney World is for tourists.
Disney doubled down on this philosophy with the expansion of DVC and the expansion of accommodations on property in general. They doubled down further with Magical Express.
But, along the way, day guest/local (non AP) attendance skyrocketed. And, rather than stem the tide, Disney decided to just let WDW be for locals AND for tourists. This is evident with nearly all resort perks being stripped away, and day guests being given equal footing with Genie+. And now we are seeing the crowds following suit.
Disneyland would never let this happen. They just wouldn't. They value their regulars (which in this case is the locals) too much. If out-of-staters started coming to Disneyland in droves...in massive volumes, I don't see Disneyland being like, "bring it on. We want EVERYONE to be able to come to the parks." They would come up with
something to regulate attendance.
My solution would be to significantly deplete the availability of day-of guest tickets. Either you are a resort guest. Or if you want to come as a local, invest in an AP. Or, you can purchase a multi-day ticket. I would say to get rid of Florida discounts for day-of tickets. If you purchase a single day ticket ahead of time, sure let them have a discount. I'm not saying get rid of day-of tickets completely. But, greatly reducing it I think would fix a lot of the crowd issues.
Which would in turn fix a lot of the Genie+ issues. It's all connected. If you fix the crowds, you fix Genie+. It's as simple as that.
I was there in September 2021. I thought standby lines were fine. Not walkon by any means. I think I waited 40 minutes for SDMT. I waited 8 minutes for Big Thunder.
The lines were fine. But the crowds were stifling. It felt so so SO crowded. Stressfully crowded. So, while I was perfectly fine with the standby lines for the most part, walking from land to land....trying to enjoy Main Street USA....it felt downright miserable.
This is exactly true. It's very difficult to compare when you are so used to using FP+ to its full potential. We were big FP+ fans. Then, we were there in Fall 2020, where it was all standby, but with it still being in the re-opening phases...many things were walkon, and standby waits were minimal. Then, by September 2021, standby lines had increased. As I said before, I waited 40 minutes for SDMT....which I am well aware that by any other measurement, 40 minutes is still pretty dang good for that ride.
But, it's all about perception. So, when you are used to FP-ing or walkon standby lines.....yes, 40 minutes seems like....a big number. It's very difficult to be objective. All you know is all you know.
It's not about "gaming" the system. It's about using whichever program is available at the time to its fullest potential. And the fact is that the ceiling for Genie+, the fullest potential for Genie+ is much, much lower than previous iterations. So, even if people are able to strategize Genie+, it's still ultimately going to be a lesser experience. They might be using Genie+ to its fullest potential, to make it worth the money...but the fullest potential of Genie+ is still a lesser product.
Also the previous versions of FP was about making the park experience easier for guests, for those hyperplanners that you reference. Yes, it was also about regulating wait times as well. But the product itself made it easier for families to plan a park day. And, if you used FP+ to its fullest potential (or gamed the system as you call it), everything else was just icing on top.
The Genie+ product is not about making park days easier for families. It's about directing them to lesser attended attractions. But, even if you maximized Genie+, it does not help the planning process, it does not make the park days easier for families. You cannot "plan" with Genie+. The best you can do is say, "We'll try to get this LL, and then we'll see what's available and when it's available." There's no planning to it. You are at Genie+'s mercy. So, if you are not wanting to criss-cross the park? Too bad. You can't hyper plan. The best you can do is plan to be hoofing it all day.
100% agreed that this is a major flaw in Genie+. Well, it's not a flaw. It's intentional, on Disney's part.
The thing about FP+ is you could say, "I have a FP for Haunted Mansion at x time, so we can probably do these other a,b, c attractions in the general vicinity before we move on to Tomorrowland, because we have a FP for Space Mountain at y time." You could make a general gameplan that makes things easier for you.
You could also stagger your FPs so that you could work a mid-day break into the equation. With Genie+, whether you want a mid-day break or you want to go straight through and leave the park early, the LL return times may not work out for you.
I think of this often. "Here you leave today..." Here you leave today.
There is no "leaving today" with this current setup. You have to be glued to your phone.
Or if you opt not to be glued to your phone and take your chances with the standby lines, then you are faced with the rudeness and stress that is so prevalent with today's society....people yelling and fighting.
