If you are a Disney World fan, you must have been surrounded by Disney Genie plus review since the last few days, have you not?
We are sure that your interest level in Disney Genie Plus must have taken at its peak. But what is it exactly? This blog describes everything you must know about the Disney World Genie Plus review. Keep reading to know ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GENIE!
All the Disney World fans out there are aware of the fact that FastPass+ and that is has been replaced. But, here is the trick, it has gotten replaced by a new and fresh paid service, which is the Disney Genie plus (Genie+).
Well, Disney World has always landed up in numerous controversies. All thanks to them, Disney World has always been in the headlines.
Almost every Disney World news becomes a controversy that divides the Disney World fans into two halves.
From if the Star Wars Starcruiser being good, to is the food served at the Hollywood Studios really worth it, everything is a point of debate.
Not just this, even the news of upgrading and innovating the older rides and attractions tears the fans into two groups.
While one of the groups appreciates the innovation looking forward to the new upgrades, the other group suffers in nostalgia. Similarly, the Disney Genie plus review has also torn the fans into two halves and grabbed the headlines.
While one group feels strongly that this new paid service will make their living in the park easier, the other group detests it and wants their old FastPass+ to come back.
We are sure that by reading all the Disney Genie Plus reviews, you might have an opinion, right? Or, you might be waiting for a clearer picture of the real deal with Disney Genie plus. Hence, in this article, we have discussed the same in detail.
Table of Contents
What are the problem areas of Disney Genie Plus?
Well, reading all of the Disney genie plus reviews, we are sure of one fact: a group of people strongly detest the latest version of the previously known FastPass+. But the real question is, why would they do so, right?
Hence, we have jotted down some of the problem areas that Genie+ carries. Let us have a look at some of them.
Genie Plus is extremely confusing
The first and foremost drawback as a Disney Genie plus review is that this thing holds the capacity to confuse the best of people.
We have three strong points to prove that. (Well, there are many others, but these three hold the utmost importance).
Firstly, Genie+ is completely on a digital platform. Hence, if you are not tech-savvy, you will surely wrack your brains around it.
The complete system is extremely smartphone-dependent. Even if you are not a complete fan of the new structure, you would have to get accustomed to it to avail the perks it tends to offer. Hence, this could be a problem area for people who avoid carrying their phones when on vacation.
Secondly, the structure of Genie+ is extremely complicated. Before you begin, you would be made to go through a 120-minute rule, which is rather difficult to remember.
The maximum confusion arises when you want to follow both Pay-per-Ride and Disney Genie+. This is because of the difference in the time of their selections.
The selection for Genie Plus starts at 7 AM. But, when it comes to Pay-per-Ride, things can get a little tricky.
If you are staying at a Disney World hotel, you can start making your selections at 7 AM. However, if you are not staying at Disney World hotels, you cannot make Pay-per-Ride selections until you come to the park. That is a little confusing, right?
Thirdly, the rides and attractions are divided amongst Genie + and Pay-per-Ride. Some rides would be available on Pay-per-Ride and the others on Genie+.
However, here is the trick, the list of rides available on Genie+ and Pay-per-Ride keeps interchanging amongst themselves. Hence, the ride you might see is, 0 suppose, available on Pay-per-Ride today can be available only on Genie+ tomorrow.
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You would have to rely on your smartphones
People who do not like to be on their phones a lot when on vacation would surely not be a fan of Disney Genie+. That is because you would always have to be hooked on to your cellphones to make the Genie plus selections.
However, to think in a certain way is not very different from what we had to do back then with FastPass+.
Even with FastPass+, you could only make three selections together. Post that, a person could make one selection at a time. Hence, only a little might have changed in this area.
You would have to wake up early
If you sleep in till late hours in the morning, there are huge chances of getting extremely annoyed with Disney Genie+ and Pay-per-Ride. This is because of their selection times.
When it comes to Pay-per-Ride, you can wake up late if you are not staying at a Disney World Hotel. However, your selection time would be at 7 am if you are.
But, no matter where you stay, you would have to wake up at 7 am to book selections for Genie+. That is a hassle that many late risers have a huge problem with. But, in case you are an early riser, this might not be a problem for you.
It tends to increase the standby queue
Just like the previous point, you can say that this problem too existed from the times when FastPass+ was introduced. Two queues are made to form in front of all rides and attractions.
One is a regular queue for the guests who have not made their selections through Genie+, and the other is for those who have made their selections through Genie+.
Hence, the queue with the general guests naturally takes longer than they would have if there was no Genie + queue. As a result, the standby time at the queue increases rapidly.
It comes with a cost
Even though FastPass+ had some drawbacks, it used to come for free. The price of it was included with the price of the Park ticket. However, Disney Genie+ comes with a cost. The Disney Genie Plus price is $15 per day in Disney World and $20 per day in Disneyland.
Apart from that, there are various attractions whose selections vary in price. Well, you can say that the worse part is that there are times that these selection prices also increase. This depends on the demand for the particular rides or attractions.
Therefore, if you are here during the weekends or the holidays, be ready to pay more.
You can use it just once for one ride per day
Sadly, you can use the Genie+ only once every ride per day. Let us suppose that you want to visit the Haunted Mansion. For that, you use Genie+ and thus use the Lighting Lane. However, if you want to visit it again on the same day, you would have to stand in the queue of the regular lanes.
However, you can also use the Genie+ to skip standing on the regular queue on the next day.
A person can make one selection at one time only
The new Genie+ allows the guests to make selections for one ride or attraction at one time only. This is where people have started to compare it with the FastPass+.
This is because previously in FastPass+, guests could make selections for three rides and attractions together for the first time. From next time onwards, they could make only one at a time, just like Genie+.
Making one selection at one time has forced guests to be on their more than what they did in the case of FastPass+. This fact is certainly not going well with people who do not like to be on their phones while on vacation.
Selections can get filled quickly
The selections for Disney Genie+ open early morning. One of the many drawbacks here is that these selections can get filled within minutes. This is especially true when it comes to Individual Attraction Selections.
The time within the selections can fill up, varies from one ride and attraction to another. While some can fill up within minutes, others can take hours.
However, you can say that Genie+ stands at a far better place regarding Individual Attraction Selections. This is because, in FastPass +, guests were able to make their registrations even from one month before.
Is Disney Genie Plus worth it
As you keep reading the Disney Genie Plus review list, many people would suggest that it is not worth it.
According to them, there are certain parks with many rides, and thus Disney Genie plus might not be so worth it, such as the Magic Kingdom. Because FastPass+ was a free service, people did not give it a thought before.
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One needs to add Genie+ for the whole trip for advanced purchase
Here comes the last of this lot and probably one of the most troublesome drawbacks of Genie plus. Many guests wish to purchase Genie plus for their trip in advance.
However, the trouble is that they would have to purchase for all the days of their trip if they want to do it. They cannot book the Genie+ in advance for selected days only.
For purchasing Dieny Genie plus on selected days of the trip, the guess needs to make individual bookings on that particular morning only.
These were some of the drawbacks that the guests are worried about, as we can see in the Disney genie plus review. However, Disney Genie certainly has some good things to make a list of.
Let us have a look at what that is.
How to use Disney Genie Plus correctly?
It is quite natural for anyone not to like Disney Genie Plus. And, why would you like Genie plus since we have just jotted down a list of all the drawbacks it has. However, Disney Genie plus could be easier to use only by following certain tips and tricks.
Let us have a look at what they are.
Distribute the responsibility amongst everyone in the group
To begin with, there are surely many problems that are attached to Genie Plus. However, things can become way easier if the responsibility is distributed amongst each group member.
Suppose the responsibility of making the selections can be given to the early riser of the group if there is any. Since they have a habit of getting up early, making the selections would not be a problem.
But, there can also be situations where there are no early risers in the group. In those cases, each member of the group can take the responsibility of making the selections on different days. In that way, everyone would not have to get up early each day.
Secondly, the most tech-savvy person in the group can take the responsibility of handling the Genie plus. This digital app could get a little confusing, and if a person is not tech-savvy enough, they might not be able to make the selections properly.
Thirdly, as we have already learned, Genie plus requires the guests to be hooked on to their phones at all times of the day. This is primarily because on Disney Genie+, you can make one selection at one time only.
That can be a problem for anyone who does not like being on their phones. Therefore, the best to do is appoint one person to make the selections and keep to different people each day. That way, the whole trip would not go looking at the phones.
Set alarms and timers for everything
Genie+ is all about maintaining time. Hence, the best thing to do to make things easier is to set alarms and timers for literally everything. Make a note of when your next selection slot is and set a reminder for that.
Set the alarm or multiple alarms if need be to ensure you wake before 7 am to make the selections. In this way, you would not have to continuously keep checking your phone or have any chance to miss out on anything.
Keep screenshots
Various problems can arise after making the selections that can eventually cause you not properly to access your return time. For instance, there could be a connection problem or a glitch in the system. Hence, it is best to keep a screenshot as and when you make a selection, just in case.
Carry your charger
When it comes to Genie+, your cell phone is your best friend. No matter what, you cannot afford to let your phone die down.
Apart from just the fact that you would need to make your Genie+ selections, there are also a couple of other things you would need your phone for. Hence, make it a point to carry your data cable and charger whenever you step out to visit the park.
Be prepared
If you are not prepared from before, you might frequently find yourself landing in some of the other problems. Hence, there are certain points that you must keep in mind and be prepared for no matter what. Let us have a look at what they are:
- Ensure that the My Disney Experience app is downloaded
- Link all the hotel reservations
- Link all tickets
- Get familiar with the Genie plus tip board beforehand
- Read and understand the rules from beforehand
- Create profiles for every member of the group
- Link all the Park passes
Plan your day from before
We have read numerous Disney genie plus review types on this list. One of the things that we have understood is that if you do not plan your strategy, you will land in a lot of trouble.
This is because the maximum time of a day would go in planning what to do next, which is a waste of time. Hence, make it a must to sketch your day one night before. Some of the questions that can help you are:
- Which rides do you want to get on?
- Which of the ride selections fill up faster
- What are the top priority rides on your list?
First book Genie + ride, then go for pay-per-ride selection
Our suggestion for making selections is to book the Genie plus selections first. This is because, for every guest, the selection time of Genie plus opens at 7 am. hence, for the rides and attractions with high demands, it can fill up fast.
On the contrary, the selections for pay-per-ride open at 7 am only for the guests who are staying at a Disney World hotel. Hence, the chances of the booking getting filled up are lower than that of Genie +.
Know your priorities well
When it comes to Genie plus and Individual Attraction Selection, some certain rides and attractions fill up way faster when compared to the others. A few of them are Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Slinky Dog Dash, and Jungle Cruise. Hence, if you want to go for these experiences, do not delay them for a later time if you are getting a selection opportunity.
Go to the app for any help
People can get confused over the bookings on the Disney Genie plus. Everything can be confusing, from the 120-minute rule to the next selection time. Hence, here are some tips to make it easier. A guest can do their next Genie plus booking when
- He has used the already booked Genie plus selection
- The first return window has ended
- It has been 120 mins since the park has opened its gate
- It has been 120 mins since the guest’s last selection
Well, the app is always there to help the guests. It would also notify them of when to make the next selection.
So is Genie Plus worth it
We have now discussed the key points that you would come across regarding Disney genie plus review. Now the real question is, is Disney Genie plus bad or good?
As we have already come across, Disney Genie plus has tons of negative aspects attached to it. However, we have also seen that by just following a few steps, it can become easy to use and not remain so confusing.
When you compare it with the previous FastPass+ that it has replaced, you will notice that it is also better in many aspects. The only strong point is that Genie + comes with a cost and is not free, unlike FastPass +.
Therefore, it is safe to say that the answer to if Disney Genie plus is bad or good varies highly from one person to another. While one person might not even want to remember the name, another person might not find any fault with it.
