Whats changed in last 2 years?

[coaches24]

We are going next weekend (labor day weekend so I expect it to be busy).

We last went when Avengers campus first opened so masks were required and we had to use the VQ for ROTR and the new at the time Spider man ride.
I am hearing the VQ is no longer is that correct? It will be (DD, DW, and myself).

We are only going Sat and Sun with one park a day tickets. Sat will be DCA and Sun DL. (Yes we have our tickets and park reservations)

DW is against spending the money on genie so what do I need to know about navigating the parks without that?

We were experts at utilizing single rider and fast pass before covid but it sounds like things have changed now? Fast pass wasnt being used 2 years ago.

I am a big time rides person . DW likes shows more. DD is like me with rides but sill stop for shows more than I like to.

So any advice/ tips for what to expect this time is welcomed.

Thank you in advance

 

[pennym]

There's no virtual queue except for World of Color (midday reservations drop I believe). Utilise single rider wherever possible, without LL you will be waiting in long queues.

 

[crystal1313]

While I completely understand why your wife doesn’t want to buy genie, I am the same way, it will make tour time at the parks more enjoyable. Too many times we have waited in stand by lines that say 30-45 min and they end up being 2 hours and everyone is frustrated. I think if you utilize genie and single rider, you will get a lot done. Oh, and space mtn has single rider now. have a fun trip!!

 

[thanxfornoticin]

While I completely understand why your wife doesn’t want to buy genie, I am the same way, it will make tour time at the parks more enjoyable. Too many times we have waited in stand by lines that say 30-45 min and they end up being 2 hours and everyone is frustrated. I think if you utilize genie and single rider, you will get a lot done. Oh, and space mtn has single rider now. have a fun trip!!

Agreed. I understand the principle of not wanting to pay for G+, but with so little time, the reality is that it will make your park days more flexible and perhaps more enjoyable.

 

[Aspencreek]

If you are going on a busy weekend and are a rides person then you will for sure want Genie+. At least for yourself and DD if not all of you (if DW is skipping rides may not need it.) We went late October last year during the crazy busy Halloween season and by 11am or so the parks got PACKED. Only thing that made it still bearable was Genie+. Even with that the rides could be a decent wait still, but without it would have been nearly impossible to get one more than a handful per day.

 

[Kit Jackson]

It's a shame DW is against Genie+ (I do understand budgets and what you can spend where, so it makes sense). Genie+ also includes PhotoPass, which to me makes it worth it.

 

[chezcurrie]

Agreed. I understand the principle of not wanting to pay for G+, but with so little time, the reality is that it will make your park days more flexible and perhaps more enjoyable.

This. Especially over a holiday weekend. You can maybe get away without it on your DCA day if you arrive early, but this next weekend I expect it to be a zoo. Think of it as your 3-ride guarantee (or similar to the WDW Fast Passes of yore) - use it for your top three rides and the rest is gravy.

As you have done ROTR before my suggestion if you are not paying for the $LL is honestly to skip it. It goes down so often, and if you are in the standby line you have to wait until it is either back up, or wait until an hour has elapsed to get a pass to come back. Not worth it for such a short visit, unless it is a priority.

Navigating without G+, on a holiday weekend will mean lots of lines and less down. Period. You will need a solid plan of your top priorities (perhaps 1 per person) and knock those out of the way first. Try not to do the “we can just do this first and then…” because with so little time that could mean missing out on a favorite. I sometimes have tiers for our family, so our top 3, then next 3, etc. Even with G+ it is possible to miss out on some rides due to downtime (I am looking at you Indiana and Thunder!!!)

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned but that likely is new to you is mobile ordering.

EDITED: added details

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

If your budget can stretch, then I will add my voice to those recommending Genie+. If riding a lot in a short period of time is important to you, then that's the way to go. You will be there on a holiday weekend that also happens to be the first weekend of the Halloween season. It will be very busy, especially for Haunted Mansion, Guardians of the Galaxy, and fireworks.

While Webslingers is no longer available via virtual queue, they also already dropped the individual lightning lane that followed, so Webslingers is now on Genie+. Webslingers also offers single rider. Racers which you used to be able to get fastpass for is not on Genie+. Your choices are standby or individual lightning lane purchase. My recommendation if everyone in your party is age 7 or older and you are all comfortable not riding together as a group is to use the single rider line for Racers. There is a new World of Color show. The only other DCA change of note that I can think of since you were last there is the San Fransokyo re-skin of the Pacific Wharf area. There will be new menu items, some aesthetic changes, and a Baymax meet and greet if they get that open by the previously stated August 31 finish date.

Rise of the Resistance in Disneyland, you have the choice of standby or paying for individual lightning lane. Everyone has their personal threshold of how long to wait for that ride. We have been fortunate enough to have decently reliable wait experiences on all but one occasion when choosing standby when the wait time is 60 minutes or less. If you are a fan of recent Star Wars, you may be happy to encounter characters from the more recent shows. Mando and Grogu wander through Batuu. I have read that Ahsoka is also appearing now, but I haven't seen any pictures or been there myself yet. Indiana Jones has been refurbished since your last visit so you might notice a few changes there. It still breaks down often so that part of the experience remains the same. Indiana Jones still doesn't offer single rider, but Space Mountain does once again. Mickey's and Minnie's Runaway Railway has opened up in Toontown, standby or individual lightning lane only, no virtual queue, no Genie+. The waits are often quite reasonable for that ride though. Toontown has been remodeled.

As another poster mentioned, mobile order is much more prevalent throughout the parks. Because registers are staffed to a much lesser degree than they used to be, mobile order can be quite the timesaver.

And, finally, EVERYTHING costs more than it used to, but since you are a human living in the world, you probably noticed that already.

 

[Bruno33]

Get Genie+ (at least for Disneyland). I am anti-Genie+ in principle but it’s literally basically required to have a nice day if you’re trying to do a lot of rides on a busy day.

In terms of shows, there aren’t a ton right now. Fantasmic is down and there won’t be anything in the Hyperion at DCA while you’re there.

Definitely grab a VQ for World of Color on your DCA day, and there’s a nice Lion King show in the theater back by Small World.

 

[coaches24]

I’ll have to work on DW this week over the genie+.

We have used mobile order. That was being used 2 years ago so we did that often. So I am least familiar with it.

DD is 14 about to be 15 so she is fine with SR and we use that often when we can.

 

[twodogs]

Agree with everyone that you should try to find a way to budget for G+ if you possibly can. I personally would cut out other expenses to afford G+ SINCE you say you are focused on rides. On a holiday weekend at the start of Halloween season, the lines are going to be miserable without G+. If you and your DD get it both days, that is around $100. $150 if your DW also gets it.

One of the things that I notice with G+ is that the LL moves much faster than the FP lane did in the past (maybe I have just blocked it out!). That is, I think now that everyone in the LL has paid to be there (as opposed to FP, where there was still the free option and the paid FP+), they want the LL to move. What this does is make standby even longer.

If you decide against G+, you should definitely plan to get there very early so you are at the front of RD (and use resort guest EE if you are staying onsite). Plan to stay late until close, though the lines don't always get that much shorter late at night on a holiday weekend. And maybe plan shows, Animation Academy or a hotel pool break during the mid day (lunch time to evening), as the lines for most rides will probably be 60+ or longer during that time. I personally don't want to stand in that length of line anymore. Single rider can be helpful during this time, but they can also get long midday (especially RSR). MFSR, Incredicoaster, and Matterhorn also have single rider (not sure that was mentioned above)

I don't think any of us wants to spend on G+, but the alternative is that the money you've already spent on your park tickets is not as valuable since you are not riding many rides for a good portion of the day due to long wait times without G+. Either way, have fun!!

 

[coaches24]

I may get genie pass just for our DL day on Sunday. How do I go about adding it to our already bought tickets? DW really likes ROTR and has only been on it once so when she found out that Genie can help us get on that (as well as Indy) she was ok with the DL day haha.

 

[pennym]

No Genie can't help you with ROTR, it's a separate LL payment just for that ride! You can purchase G+ on the day, but it can sell out, so I'd add it if you can figure out how.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

You are going to want Genie+. I also hate it on principle, but with Halloweentime starting on 9/1 and Labor Day weekend, it’s quite honestly going to be brutal without Genie+.

 

[chezcurrie]

I may get genie pass just for our DL day on Sunday. How do I go about adding it to our already bought tickets? DW really likes ROTR and has only been on it once so when she found out that Genie can help us get on that (as well as Indy) she was ok with the DL day haha.

G+ will help with Indiana, but ROTR is a separate purchase. On a busy holiday weekend ROTR will likely be close to $25pp. I recently went with friends who didn’t realize Mickey Minnie’s Railway wasn’t on G+ (also an additional $LL cost) so I simply purchased the $LL on my app and they were none the wiser. They didn’t ask, I didn’t volunteer. Stealth pixie dust I like to call it.

For G+ you can add it through the app as soon as you scan through the turnstiles. My suggestion would be to book Indiana right then as on a busy day the return times will get pushed out fast. The modify feature makes it easy to move it out later in the day if that is your preference. There are many threads about using G+ so I suggest you read up on some of them.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

I may get genie pass just for our DL day on Sunday. How do I go about adding it to our already bought tickets? DW really likes ROTR and has only been on it once so when she found out that Genie can help us get on that (as well as Indy) she was ok with the DL day haha.

Genie+ when not purchased at time of ticket purchase can only be added day-by-day once you have entered the park. You purchase it within the Disneyland app.

Genie+ does not include ROTR. ROTR has it's own individual lightning lane which costs as much as $25 per person per ride and can be purchased once daily per ticket. Mickey's Runaway Railway and Radiator Springs Racers also offer only standby or individual lightning lanes. You are limited to purchasing one lightning lane per ride per day and two total lightning lanes per person per day, so even if you wanted to spend all that money you could still only use two of the lightning lanes per day.

 

[deedubb]

We always do 5 park days when we go to DLR and we get G+ every day. It is well worth the money there (as compared to WDW). I would strongly reconsider.

 

[coaches24]

Is there a trick to getting my tickets on the DL app? I see them when i log into the website but on the app it wont let me link them.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

Is there a trick to getting my tickets on the DL app? I see them when i log into the website but on the app it wont let me link them.

Did you make sure you are logged into your account on the app? I have occasionally had the app spontaneously log me out.

 

[coaches24]

Did you make sure you are logged into your account on the app? I have occasionally had the app spontaneously log me out.

Yes I am logged in and with the same account I used on the DL website. I have the physical ticket printed out so we will just figure out the app when we enter the park. We are doing DCA today. A full day at DCA is new for us. We usually park hop so I’m not worried about time today. I know we will get everything we want done.