This week Disney released its new Genie service for Walt Disney World, and even this law school graduate is having difficulty figuring out this new system! First, if you are confused or thinking “why can’t I understand this new service?” – you are not alone! It has taken even some of the most seasoned Disney experts weeks to understand Genie, even after all the Disney announcements and trainings! The goal of this post is to provide you with a general outline of each of the new offerings so you can understand them and decide which is best for you!
Let’s get to it! Below are some definitions to help you understand all the new terms that come with the Genie rollout.
Genie – This is a free service, found in the My Disney Experience App that will assist guests with planning their magical vacations.
Genie+ – This is a paid service, located within Genie, that allows Guests to use the Lightning Lane entrance (as opposed to the Standby entrance) for over 40 rides and attractions throughout Walt Disney World.
Individual Attraction Selection– This is a paid service, that allows guests to use the Lightning Lane entrance (as opposed to the Standby entrance) for a premium list of rides (2 per park).
Lightning Lane Entrance– This is the physical entrance at each ride or attraction that in theory lets guests skip the Standby entrance. Think of it as the old Fast Pass entrance at your favorite attraction.
My Disney Experience App – This application provides a host of services, including access to Genie that is useful in managing your Walt Disney World Vacation.
Standby Entrance – This is the regular entrance used by most Guests to access a ride or attraction.
Now let’s understand how each of these services work, the costs, and what you need to know about them to plan for your next vacation!
Genie Service
Genie is a new tool to help Guests plan their vacation. The application is free and is accessed through the My Disney Experience App.
Guests will input preferences on all aspects of their day – from rides and attractions to dining and magical extras. Genie will then come up with a recommended itinerary for your day. Genie will forecast wait times and provide dynamic changes to your itinerary based on how the day is going.
This service is marketed for anyone visiting Walt Disney World, although it is really geared towards the newcomer. Since this is a free service, I recommend downloading and trying it out for yourself.
Although this is a nice service, Genie+ and Individual Attraction Selection are really the replacement for FastPass that everyone has been waiting for and here are the basics on each.
Genie+
Genie+ allows Guests to use the Lightning Lane entrance for over 40 rides and attractions, they are listed below:
Magic Kingdom
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
- Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
- Dumbo the Flying Elephant
- Haunted Mansion
- “it’s a small world”
- Jungle Cruise
- Mad Tea Party
- Magic Carpets of Aladdin
- Mickey’s PhilharMagic
- Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor
- Peter Pan’s Flight
- Pirates of the Caribbean
- Splash Mountain
- Goofy’s Barnstormer
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
- Tomorrowland Speedway
- Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid
Epcot
- Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival
- Journey into Imagination with Figment
- Mission Space
- Soarin’ Around the World
- Spaceship Earth
- Test Track
- The Seas with Nemo & Friends
- Turtle Talk with Crush
Hollywood Studios
- Alien Swirling Saucers
- Beauty and the Beast: Live on Stage
- Disney Jr. Play & Dance
- Frozen Sing-Along Celebration
- Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
- Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
- MuppetVision 3D
- Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
- Slinky Dog Dash
- Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
- The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
- Toy Story Mania
Animal Kingdom
- A Celebration of Festival of the Lion King
- Dinosaur
- It’s Tough to Be a Bug
- Kali River Rapids
- Kilimanjaro Safaris
- Na’vi River Journey
- The Animation Experience at Conservation Station
- Feathered Friends in Flight
The cost of Genie+ is $15.98 (including tax) per person per day. For a family of 4 going to Magic Kingdom the cost would be $63.92 to access Genie+ services for one day. Guests must have a valid ticket and park reservation for the day they wish to use Genie+.
Genie+ can be purchased through your travel agent, prior to your trip. If booking Genie+ before your stay you must book for the entire stay. Individual days are not an option. Guests may book Genie+ for individual days of their trip but must purchase Genie+ the day of their visit starting at 12 midnight.
For example, a Guest with a 4-day park ticket who wishes to purchase Genie+ before their stay would need to purchase Genie+ for all 4 days of their ticket. So, the cost would be $63.92 for the 4 days and can be purchased up until midnight the first day of their ticket.
A Guest with a 4-day ticket who only wishes to use Genie+ for one day will need to purchase Genie+ after 12 midnight the day they wish to use Genie+ directly on the My Disney Experience app. The cost would be $15.98 for that day.
Disney has stated that Genie+ will not sell out, however there is no guarantee that all rides will be available.
Once you purchase Genie+ , Guests will be able to reserve their first Lightning Lane attraction starting at 7am. Guests are only able to select one attraction at a time. Once they complete that ride, Guests may select another ride or attraction. Guests will be allowed to book Lightning Lane access at a second attraction if the wait time for their initial attraction exceeds 120 minutes.
Two huge changes from the old FastPass system worth noting. First, you can only select access to one Lightning Lane at a time. The old FastPass system allowed for 3 reservations at the start. Second, you can only select a Lightning Lane for each ride or attraction once per day. For example, if you select Peter Pans Flight as your first attraction you cannot use Genie+ again to access the Lightning Lane – you must use the Standby entrance. In the old FastPass world you could select the same ride multiple times subject to availability.
In addition to accessing the Lightning Lane, Genie+ allows Guests to PhotoPass Lenses and new Audio Tales about the parks.
Guests will be able to use these PhotoPass Lenses to augment reality and capture some unique memories. These special lenses will be available after you enter the parks and for some will require Guests to be at a certain location to access them. Note that PhotoPass lenses do not include Memory Maker which is still an additional purchase.
New Audio Tales, accessible with Genie+, will provide Guests with the ability to hear about the history and learn some fun facts about Walt Disney World at select locations throughout the parks.
If you are looking to skip the Standby entrance, then Genie+ may be right for you. (Note: we are still waiting to see the impact of the rollout and if this really does skip the wait so more to come)
Individual Attraction Selection
The Individual Attraction Selection is an additional and independent from Genie+ that allows Guests to access Lightning Lane for 2 premium rides or attractions per park per day at an individual attraction price point, that changes daily. (That was a mouthful!). The current list of attractions are:
Magic Kingdom
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
- Space Mountain
Epcot
- Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
- Frozen Ever After
Hollywood Studios
- Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
Animal Kingdom
- Avatar Flight of Passage
- Expedition Everest
Disney has stated that the prices and attractions will vary by day but to give you a sense of pricing here is what it looked like on launch date:
Individual Attraction Selection must be purchased the day of your visit. Walt Disney World Resort Guests will be allowed to purchase their Individual Attraction Selection starting at 7am the day of their visit. Everyone else will be able to purchase at the time the park opens, although they do not need to be at the park to do so. Guests must have park ticket and valid park reservation to purchase.
Individual Attraction Selections are limited to 2 per day and like Genie+ a Guest cannot select the same ride twice in one day.
If you do not want to wait in the Standby entrance for these attractions, then Individual Attraction Selection is for you. As things rollout this week we will have more tips on when the best time is to purchase this option and the parks where you get the most nag for your buck.
I’ve refrained from my opinion in this post so that you can take an objective look at the new offerings, understand them, and determine if they are a good fit for you. For more about my thoughts on these new offerings looking for my Genie Service – A Mom’s Point of View – coming soon.
Will you be purchasing Genie+ or Individual Attraction Selection on your next visit to Walt Disney World? Please comment below and let us know!
