Non Genie+ Days

[LarryBoy]

For those that have been recently what are you doing on the days that you choose not to use Genie+? Do you listen to the Genie, check wait times through the MDE map, wing it, or something else?

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

When not using G+ I pay no attention to the Genie. I will check wait times on the MDE app

 

[Her Dotness]

We never bought G+ during our November trip.

Did what all the other "refusers" were doing--standby line.

Standby moved faster than posted every time.

 

[gatorlisa]

We picked where we wanted to start the day, then mostly just decide whether to ride something based on the posted wait time and the look of the queue as we walked past.

 

[starjazz]

We picked where we wanted to start the day, then mostly just decide whether to ride something based on the posted wait time and the look of the queue as we walked past.

We've not been since Feb 2020, and we're planning an early 2023 trip so I just hopped on to start the inital work of catching up with everything new. This sounds VERY different - I'm not used to doing an entire day with zero fast passes, and I'll be honest, it makes me pretty nervous.

 

[LarryBoy]

We never bought G+ during our November trip.

Did what all the other "refusers" were doing--standby line.

Standby moved faster than posted every time.

We picked where we wanted to start the day, then mostly just decide whether to ride something based on the posted wait time and the look of the queue as we walked past.

Did y'all use the MDE app to check wait times or something else?

 

[Her Dotness]

Did y'all use the MDE app to check wait times or something else?

Nope, like gatorlisa, checked the wait time board at the ride and scoped out the length of the standby queue and how many back and forths had been added since we last rode it.

 

[gatorlisa]

Did y'all use the MDE app to check wait times or something else?

We checked wait times in MDE a few times, particularly if we were interested in something that was across the park from where we currently were. But mostly we just checked the posted wait time at the ride as we walked by. And also eyeballed the line (length, how packed it looked, the speed at which it appeared to be moving).

 

[LarryBoy]

How accurate/inaccurate does everyone find the wait times on MDE?

 

[CindysMice]

How accurate/inaccurate does everyone find the wait times on MDE?

Usually overestimated by 10-20 min. Sometimes even more, especially for big rides at park close I find. Touring Plans Lines app has more realistic times and still shows you whats offcially posted.

 

[Carol_]

We went to our must-do ride, had lunch, maybe hit another ride if Touring plans predicted a short wait, then left. I though Genie+ would be more useful than it was. I wasted a lot of money on it.

 

[fairestoneofall]

I have found the touring plans app to be more reliable in estimating wait times. We use that.

 

[RoseGold]

Genie's planning made zero sense to me. It sure wanted me to build a droid! I also use Touring plans for wait times (and showtimes).

 

[LarryBoy]

I have found the touring plans app to be more reliable in estimating wait times. We use that.

Isn't Touring Plans a paid app/service? If so, how much?

 

[snikki]

We use the touring plans app for wait times too. The subscription was $17.99. Well worth it in my opinion. We use it every trip.

 

[loves to dive]

I was there the week of Dec. 17, solo, frequent visitor and didn't use Genie+. I did use it to check wait list times at restaurants to see what they had and to make ADRs (day of) some but that was it. I use MDE sometimes to check wait times but not very often and I don't think I did it all this recent trip. We are more go with the flow sort of people. I would look at the wait times posted at the ride, sort of look at the line and decide. I just remembered I did look at Genie + every once in a while to go to the predictive wait time page just to see what time of day it was predicting wait times on a specific ride might go down. I don't think I actually paid attention to it but did look a few times.

 

[fairestoneofall]

Isn't Touring Plans a paid app/service? If so, how much?

I've used it a long time. I think my renewals are usually $14-15. Their crowd calendar and website (for planning) are absolutely worth every penny. If you have the latest Unofficial Guide, you can usually get a discount.

 

[mouschievous]

We used MDE and the Touring Plans app, as well as looking at the lines. We found that many of the lines were overestimated by a lot, especially in the morning or late evening. 7 Dwarfs said 75 minutes at 8:30; we waited 40. We rope dropped Remy's; when we got off it said 95 minutes but I don't see how that's possible based on where the line was. About 30 minutes before closing, MMRR said 30 minutes, but we only waited about 5 for the preshow and another 5ish for the train.

 

[Pookie9922]

We used MDE and the Touring Plans app, as well as looking at the lines. We found that many of the lines were overestimated by a lot, especially in the morning or late evening. 7 Dwarfs said 75 minutes at 8:30; we waited 40. We rope dropped Remy's; when we got off it said 95 minutes but I don't see how that's possible based on where the line was. About 30 minutes before closing, MMRR said 30 minutes, but we only waited about 5 for the preshow and another 5ish for the train.

Were the Touring Plans estimates close or overestimated too? Did you do any preplanned itineraries? I'm curious how your actual waits compared to predictions. I used Touring plans for our 2018 trip and was pretty impressed that our actual waits were very close to the predictions but so much has changed, I'm nervous about how it will fare this trip.

 

[mouschievous]

Were the Touring Plans estimates close or overestimated too? Did you do any preplanned itineraries? I'm curious how your actual waits compared to predictions. I used Touring plans for our 2018 trip and was pretty impressed that our actual waits were very close to the predictions but so much has changed, I'm nervous about how it will fare this trip.

I think they were closer, but honestly we gave up on all of that after day 1 and just kind of winged it.