# Genie+ turned out to be not so bad...at least during Easter Week



## ljmiii (Apr 20, 2022)

I thought I would hate the new system of Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lanes and it turned out to be better than the Fastpass+ system most days. Though keep in mind that we are out of state Annual Passholders restricted by the school calendar so the $30 or so per person per day was negligible compared to the cost of APs, airfare, car, DVC, dining, etc.

The biggest advantage of the new system is that it allows for 'last minute' changes in planning. The night before the next day's visit I discussed with my family if they wanted to go on the Individual LL ride and what was their top priority Genie+ ride. I then booked them at 7:00AM and later through the day I booked more LLs as our Genie+ booking times arrived. The second advantage compared to FastPass+ is that we could get at least two and usually three of the best rides instead of just one in EPCOT, HS, and AK. Later this year this is expected to increase by one as two rides per park become Individual LLs. Also as I understand it, you can use Individual LLs and Genie+ across parks...but we never park hopped so I have no personal experience.

It's a little annoying that those of us who like to hit the parks in time for lunch don't get to pick another Genie+ LL until 2 hours after official park open instead of after tapping in...but it never really affected our visits. We still rode lots of rides, most of them through LLs.

As a side note, I also found that there were lots of people who cancel or modify Advance Dining Reservations the night before (and we were among them). So that feeling of ride serendipity carried over to dining as well.


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## Lisa P (Apr 20, 2022)

Agree that it's nice to have the option for people like yourself who are limited to traveling during crowded school breaks and who can allot for the expense within their travel budget. For others, just ~$30pp/day doesn't sound too bad, but it actually adds up pretty fast and it (~$120/day, ~$600/5-day trip for a family of 4) can really cut into a travel budget, reducing other opportunities while on vacation, IMO. Depends on your situation. We wouldn't find it useful at Epcot or AK. Did you?



ljmiii said:


> It's a little annoying that those of us who like to hit the parks in time for lunch don't get to pick another Genie+ LL until 2 hours after official park open instead of after tapping in...but it never really affected our visits. We still rode lots of rides, most of them through LLs.
> 
> As a side note, I also found that there were lots of people who cancel or modify Advance Dining Reservations the night before (and we were among them). So that feeling of ride serendipity carried over to dining as well.


Right, there's more value for people who tend to be in the parks during the busiest time of day, late morning through late afternoon... and people whose visit is very focused on headliner rides, like those without small kids. On our WDW visits with younger grandkids, they're up early anyway. So, we've found Rope Drop strategies, followed by attending the first shows of the day in later morning to be effective. By the time the parks are crazy busy, we're leaving for an early afternoon break. Evening hours are beautiful in the parks, especially with rested kids (and grandparents) having fun together. Sometimes, the parents just enjoy a date night in the parks while we (grandparents) enjoy the resort with our grandkids. For this situation, Genie+ has very little value. It helps that we've been to the parks so many times, so we don't feel disappointed if we don't ride every favorite attraction. When the kiddles get older and want to do more of the most popular attractions, we'll re-evaluate.

We definitely like the regular (free) Genie services on the app. It's great to see the real-time Tip Board wait times, available dining options, mobile order menus, and attraction height requirements, from anywhere in the parks. It's handy to order coffee, lunch, or dole whips while waiting 20 minutes in a queue for an attraction, then afterward pick it up with a minimal wait, bypassing the long lines for food. I can see how Genie info could help with park-hopping decisions as well.


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## Ty1on (Apr 20, 2022)

We dodnt use it on our Easter week stay, and we were able to do everything we wanted without long hours in the parks.


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## heathpack (Apr 20, 2022)

We are Disneyland people, so our experience with Genie+ is compared to MaxPass.

When the Genie+ concept was first announced, I thought Genie+ would be no big deal but I actually find it to be awful.

First, your options are purchasing Genie+ or waiting in lines that are 2-4x what they were pre-Genie+

Then, you need to run around all day with your nose in your phone trying to get that next Genie+ that doesn’t conflict with your other plans ie dining reservations.  You might want to ride X after lunch, but you need to check 20 times to see what the LL return times are.  So annoying.  I’d rather just enjoy my day.

And finally, the extra fees for the Individual Lightning Lanes- such a money grab, it’s just one step too far for my tastes.  It wouldn’t be so galling if all the wait times weren’t pushed out by the existence of Genie+.

It’s just so obvious that Disney isn’t giving you truly viable choices.  I’m not going to wait 60-90-120 minutes for anything.  So Genie+ is the only option, but then Genie+ pushes you into your phone all day.  To the point where I’m not really feeling the love about going.

We have our last reservation of a three day SoCal resident pass on May 6.  I’m meh on even going.  Hugely surprised to find myself feeling that way.  It’s just expensive and a hassle.


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## ljmiii (Apr 21, 2022)

Lisa P said:


> We wouldn't find it useful at Epcot or AK. Did you?


We were at WDW for eight days, 2 per park (though there were some 1/2 days). At AK we had one full day where we used Genie+ a lot and then one day when just went back to see Pandora in the evening - we showed up at 6:30, walked on to Navi and Flight of Passage thanks to LLs while we enjoyed the changes in Pandora as darkness fell, then headed home at the 8:30 park close. No way we could have done that without LLs. Or Fastpass+ since we wouldn't have known 60+ days in advance that we would have been too exhausted to stay until park close on our first AK day and that we would have wanted a pool day for the afternoon of our second AK park day. Flight of Passage was the only Individual LL we did twice.

In EPCOT we did Remy once, did Frozen and Soarin' one day and Test Track the other. But Genie+ actually turned out to be more useful for the lesser rides - Spaceship Earth, Living with the Land, Nemo, and Imagination were running 25-45 minutes standby and by checking the app every so often we were able to just walk on. But that is likely just a President's Week/Easter/Christmas phenomenon.


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## rickandcindy23 (Apr 21, 2022)

heathpack said:


> We are Disneyland people, so our experience with Genie+ is compared to MaxPass.
> 
> When the Genie+ concept was first announced, I thought Genie+ would be no big deal but I actually find it to be awful.
> 
> ...


Exactly how I feel about Genie + for DL and DW.


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## ljmiii (Apr 21, 2022)

heathpack said:


> Then, you need to run around all day with your nose in your phone trying to get that next Genie+ that doesn’t conflict with your other plans ie dining reservations.  You might want to ride X after lunch, but you need to check 20 times to see what the LL return times are.  So annoying.  I’d rather just enjoy my day.


While I certainly understand that people don't like Genie+, this is one area where Genie+ is *way* better than Fastpass+.

With Fastpass+, after you used your three Fastpasses, your choices were to walk around like a zombie pounding the app in hopes of getting a useful additional Fastpass or putting away your phone. Over time we learned to just ignore the possibility of additional Fastpasses and enjoy ourselves. And to avoid being annoyed at those who proudly boasted of getting a dozen or more Fastpass rides a day making the rest of us wait in long standby lines. With Genie+ additional LLs were entirely predictable. I set an alarm to go off 2 hrs after official park opening and then at 2 hour intervals until all the 'good' rides were gone. Then until park close when I looked at the tip board to see standby times for the lesser rides, I could often just snag a LL to avoid a 20-45 minute wait.

Obviously, this doesn't apply to MaxPass which I found infinitely preferable to FastPass+. For years I wished they would import MaxPass to WDW...for better or worse (well...for worse or worse) we got Genie instead.


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## noreenkate (Apr 21, 2022)

ljmiii said:


> While I certainly understand that people don't like Genie+, this is one area where Genie+ is *way* better than Fastpass+.
> 
> With Fastpass+, after you used your three Fastpasses, your choices were to walk around like a zombie pounding the app in hopes of getting a useful additional Fastpass or putting away your phone. Over time we learned to just ignore the possibility of additional Fastpasses and enjoy ourselves. And to avoid being annoyed at those who proudly boasted of getting a dozen or more Fastpass rides a day making the rest of us wait in long standby lines. With Genie+ additional LLs were entirely predictable. I set an alarm to go off 2 hrs after official park opening and then at 2 hour intervals until all the 'good' rides were gone. Then until park close when I looked at the tip board to see standby times for the lesser rides, I could often just snag a LL to avoid a 20-45 minute wait.
> 
> Obviously, this doesn't apply to MaxPass which I found infinitely preferable to FastPass+. For years I wished they would import MaxPass to WDW...for better or worse (well...for worse or worse) we got Genie instead.



As one of those that was doing well with FP+ my biggest problem so far with Genie+ has been park hopping...we left DHS and headed over to MK- scanned in and it would only show us DHS available lightning lane. 

@ljmiii did you park hop at all?

if so were you able to book enroute to another park - for example walking over to Epcot from DHS or only after swiping in?


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## ljmiii (Apr 21, 2022)

noreenkate said:


> As one of those that was doing well with FP+ my biggest problem so far with Genie+ has been park hopping...we left DHS and headed over to MK- scanned in and it would only show us DHS available lightning lane...


We didn't park hop, but I found out how to do so when I was learning about how to use Genie+ and Individual LLs.

If you buy an Individual LL in a park different than the one for which you have a reservation, Genie will only show you times you can park hop into and then when you choose one it will automagically know on your Tip Board and My Day pages that you are park hopping.

If you don't buy an Individual LL, scroll down your My Day page and just under the purple Genie+ banner will be a blue "Plan for your next park" banner. Theoretically, the app will then allow you to choose Genie+ LLs for your next park.

No personal experience with either though...so I don't know what the screens afterward look like.


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## nomoretslt (Apr 21, 2022)

We survived our early December trip without purchasing Genie or LL.  We did a split stay of BLT for a couple  nights then Riviera.  Between early morning hours and being able to walk to MK and skyliner to Epcot and Hollywood we rode what we wanted.  Did Remy a couple times I think with virtual queue.  AK is our least favorite park and we usually will get up early and drive for early opening and it’s a short wait for Pandora.  I refuse to pay for Genie+ or LL, the exception will probably be Tron.  Was able to snag Guardians via AP and DVC.  
Not happy with Disney right now, so we are spending as little as possible.  Instead of spending money on stuff that has nothing to do with entertaining families, they could put that towards  keeping admission prices realistic.  It’s tough enough for some families to save up for a stay at a moderate resort...now they no longer have magical express, so rent a car and pay $20/night to park it.  Does not impact me at all, but we were once one of those families.  
I only use Genie to check wait times, which in my experience the times are usually inflated.  I’m sure my daughter and her boyfriend will do LL for their trip this summer, but it’s just the two of them.  And they probably won’t go next year.  We go four times a year at least, so I never feel like I’m missing something.
@ljmiii where did you dine?  Narcooses was still great when we went, and Trattoria al Forno at Boardwalk just got rave reviews from my favorite blogger.  It was really good last time we went pre-closure.
Will see how not using Genie+ works out in a few weeks for our May trip.
Thanks for the info, very detailed and helpful.


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## ljmiii (Apr 22, 2022)

nomoretslt said:


> Not happy with Disney right now...


Well that's a much longer conversation. I have no idea what Disney's board was thinking when they promoted Chapek. He's the guy you hire when you see your business tanking in the medium term and want to milk every last penny of profit before it goes down the tubes. Eisner and Iger had their issues but there is no denying that they both were visionaries who pushed Disney into new businesses and previously unimaginable levels of success. Chapek's vision appears to be squeezing an extra few dollars out of every piece of the Disney experience until there are no customers left.


nomoretslt said:


> It’s tough enough for some families to save up for a stay at a moderate resort...now they no longer have magical express, so rent a car and pay $20/night to park it.


A fine example of Chapek's pennywise, poundfoolish ways. The Magical Express was...well...magical. You dropped your bags off at your airport and they magically appeared in your hotel room after you returned from your day at the park. Meanwhile, you were entertained by a mix of Disney cartoons and advertisements...and most importantly of all (for Disney)...kept in the Disney bubble since a car was unnecessary. Just stupid.


nomoretslt said:


> @ljmiii where did you dine?


Happy to discuss any of these further...but the quick blurbs follow.
Tony's (which we had given up on after two horrible horrible experiences) turned out to be really quite good.
Yak & Yeti (one of my son's favorites). They've steadily gone downhill, but it is cool, dark, and relaxing in the middle of an AK day.
Rose & Crown - The food is reasonable, we like the beer/cider, but most of all love the atmosphere of dining outside overlooking the lagoon.
Jungle Nav - Our favorite MK restaurant (which admittedly isn't saying much). At least there is some spice to be found.
Brown Derby - LOVE the Cobb Salad...and the seafood and drinks are quite good (no room for grapefruit cake this visit).
Boma - It's a buffet, everyone finds something they like. And again, there is some spice to be found.
Sci-Fi Dine-in - We love the entertainment and the burgers, onion rings, and wedge salad are acceptable. Don't venture out from those dishes.
Edison - Had never been, great drinks and good food. Service and atmosphere (we were stuck upstairs) were a little wonky.
Space 220 lounge - Really, really fun and reasonable food. Recommend the lounge over the restaurant because wider, cheaper food selection.
San Angel - The atmosphere is amazing, the drinks are good, and we've learned to graze on guacamole, salsa, and small plates.

We loved Narcoossee back when it was a fish house that served ale by the yard and half yard. We tried it twice after its transformation into 'fine dining' and found the service and seafood quality lower and the prices higher. We haven't been back in a decade or so...but we could try it next time.

We ate at Trattoria al Forno twice in the past few years and it was good. Next trip when we're staying at Boardwalk we'll undoubtedly visit again.


nomoretslt said:


> Thanks for the info, very detailed and helpful.


You are most welcome.


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## heathpack (Apr 23, 2022)

nomoretslt said:


> Not happy with Disney right now, so we are spending as little as possible.



I feel like I just reached a breaking point with Disney.  It’s not entirely Genie+, it’s also the complexity of planning (often a day trip for us!), the hassles with getting things booked, the up charges that feel necessary just to survive the day, the “love it or leave it” dismissive attitude towards the overall customer experience.

We’re not ready to sell our DVC.  We own at VGC and it rents really well.  However, we’re fine with taking a break from Disney for awhile.  Aka the ultimate in “spending as little as possible”.


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## mdurette (Apr 23, 2022)

I had a WDW trip in February and DL trip in March.   We purchased Genie + for both.    

I had mastered FP.   I'm not quite there with Genie+ yet.     We did purchase some LL attractions in DL, only because we knew we wouldn't go back there anytime soon.
I like WDW system a bit more, since you could add desired attractions.   I would just list the one I was trying to get kept refreshing until it was there.
What I didn't like was the 7AM timing.   I'm an early riser, but I still didn't like being up and functional by 7AM after late evenings in the parks.


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## ljmiii (Apr 23, 2022)

mdurette said:


> I like WDW system a bit more, since you could add desired attractions. I would just list the one I was trying to get kept refreshing until it was there.


That's what I did (though I also added the 'other' peak attraction just to see another datapoint). After a minute or two after 7AM I had our 11:00AM-ish Genie+ LLs, the day I was shooting for a 7:00PM LL I had to keep checking back every five or so minutes until around 8AM.


mdurette said:


> What I didn't like was the 7AM timing.  I'm an early riser, but I still didn't like being up and functional by 7AM after late evenings in the parks.


Genie+ does suck for night owls. For better or worse I suffer from burgeoning 'old guy' syndrome - no matter what am up by 6:30AM. Every day I'd make coffee, get our LL reservations, wait until around 9AM to wake folk up, make breakfast, and we would head out to the parks around 10AM. Depending on the day's park official opening time I'd make our 2nd Genie+ LL reservation either just before leaving the villa or just after arriving at the park.


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## CPNY (Apr 23, 2022)

Genie+ works if you know how to work it. There is a strategy to it and it must be planned correctly or you’ll be disappointed.


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## noreenkate (Apr 23, 2022)

CPNY said:


> Genie+ works if you know how to work it. There is a strategy to it and it must be planned correctly or you’ll be disappointed.



um could you point me in the right direction-
i have an upcoming 10 trip that will be mostly solo ( kids will be dropping in for previews and moonlight magic ) figure this is the time to get a handle on it.


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## ljmiii (Apr 24, 2022)

noreenkate said:


> um could you point me in the right direction...


There are youtube videos you can watch, but here is the gist...
First make sure you can make WDW plans for everyone you will want to visit with.
Then between 12:01AM and 6:45-ish buy Genie+ for the day. If you are on a length of stay pass instead of an AP you can buy it beforehand, but that takes away one of the primary benefits of Genie+ vs Fastpass+, serendipity. No need to prebuy until you know you want it for the day.
Then go into Genie's My Day tab and choose the ride you want for your 7:00AM Genie+ LL and if you are staying on property and want to buy an Individual LL that ride as well. It/They will then appear in your Tip Board tab.
At 7:00:00AM sharp the fun begins. If you want the earliest possible time for your Genie+ LL do that first. Otherwise, buy the Individual LL first (you'll be able to pick whatever time of day you want...but they go fast). Then choose the other LL.
Go back into Genie's My Day and choose the other rides you want to get Genie+ LLs for later in the day. There is a max limit which I only hit at MK.
Go back into Genie's Tip Board and try to book a ride you haven't LL'd yet. It will then tell you when you can book another LL.
Set an alarm on your phone for a few minutes before that time.
If you tap into your 1st Genie+ LL before the alarm goes off, try to book another LL. If it won't let you, it will tell you what time you can.
When the alarm goes off take a look at the Tip Board, see what rides are still left at what times, and decide which ride you want.
When the time of your next LL arrives start trying to book it. You may fail at first because Genie+ cares about how many seconds since you booked...even though it doesn't show that information. Soon enough you'll be able to book your next Genie+ LL.

We were able to get 2-3 of the 'good' rides for each park using this method...and the parks were at capacity. Once all the good rides are booked, you are kind of on 'standby' mode. We were able to LL into *many* lesser rides in MK and EPCOT...but in HS and AK there just wasn't much that we wanted to ride...we probably LL'd one additional LL per park.

We had a blast...and as I said upstream often changed the next day's plans (including ADRs) the night before. Also, we didn't park hop but I described upstream how to do that with Individual LLs and/or Genie+.


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## noreenkate (Apr 24, 2022)

ljmiii said:


> There are youtube videos you can watch, but here is the gist...
> First make sure you can make WDW plans for everyone you will want to visit with.
> Then between 12:01AM and 6:45-ish buy Genie+ for the day. If you are on a length of stay pass instead of an AP you can buy it beforehand, but that takes away one of the primary benefits of Genie+ vs Fastpass+, serendipity. No need to prebuy until you know you want it for the day.
> Then go into Genie's My Day tab and choose the ride you want for your 7:00AM Genie+ LL and if you are staying on property and want to buy an Individual LL that ride as well. It/They will then appear in your Tip Board tab.
> ...



thanks


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## aamarquez8 (Apr 24, 2022)

We were there during last wk of March [dh & I) and was nervous about using G+ and we dont do rope drops.  it actually was great for us.  We averaged 3- 4 rides and could've had more if we didn't have dining res.  Also, i was focus on just the 120min rule & forgot that we can actually book another LL ride after ckg into one. 

We will be back in the fall with 7, 5 are 1st timers and I hope to snag more with dinner resv out of the way.


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## nomoretslt (Apr 26, 2022)

@ljmiii thanks for your detailed dining experience.  I want to try Space 2020.  We also did the Edison...it was strange.  Food was okay.  We love Narcooses when we we get the  Deluxe Dining Plan (we get a studio for two nights then switch to a one bedroom).  Shrimp and grits for app., twin lobster tails for entree, cheese platter for dessert and my favorite cocktail Narcoosees side car.  Steakhouse 71 is also on my list.  Still no return date of the dining plan.


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## mdurette (Apr 29, 2022)

noreenkate said:


> um could you point me in the right direction-
> i have an upcoming 10 trip that will be mostly solo ( kids will be dropping in for previews and moonlight magic ) figure this is the time to get a handle on it.




Honestly, it is hard to explain.  I watched the videos, but it wasn't until I actually was in real time and could play with it did I get it.   
If you are familiar with how FP+ worked, then you will pick up on this fairly quick.


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## Inhislove (May 1, 2022)

One quirk I just noticed on a video- when you make sure your first selection at 7am, do you really have to wait until you use it or 2 hours past park opening?
I had been assuming you could book for later in the day at 7am, then another LL at 9am.


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## bnoble (May 1, 2022)

Inhislove said:


> do you really have to wait until you use it or 2 hours past park opening?


Yes. The "120 minute rule" clock does not start until the park in which you've made the selection opens.


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## ljmiii (May 1, 2022)

Inhislove said:


> Do you really have to wait until you use it or 2 hours past park opening?


Yes (as @bnoble said). Note that this is the official park open time, not when resort guests can enter. So when we were there, if we were morning people, we could have rope dropped AK at 7AM, booked Navi River as our first LL as we headed to Flight of Passage, rode FoP, tapped into Navi, and picked our second Genie+ LL at 7:30. Not our world, however.



Inhislove said:


> I had been assuming you could book for later in the day at 7am, then another LL at 9am.


Sadly, no. But we found that stacking our 'popular ride' LLs later in the day worked reasonably well. And at least at MK and EPCOT, even after the popular rides were gone we could use Genie+ to walk onto the lesser LL rides.


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## RX8 (May 31, 2022)

heathpack said:


> We are Disneyland people, so our experience with Genie+ is compared to MaxPass.
> 
> When the Genie+ concept was first announced, I thought Genie+ would be no big deal but I actually find it to be awful.
> 
> ...



We are going to Disneyland in a few days and have Genie+ (first experience with Genie+). I see in this thread, and elsewhere, that Genie+ opens at 7:00 am. I chatted with Disney, primarily because the Disneyland app doesn’t reflect that I have Genie+ even though my tickets are linked, and I was told Genie+ doesn’t become active until you are in the park. I questioned the 7:00 am open time for Genie+ and was told that was incorrect. I asked her to verify and she came back to confirm what she told me. She did add that sometimes it may open at 7:30 am for certain rides but that isn’t a guarantee. 

I realize that WDW and Disneyland may not be aligned so I wanted to ask what your experience was at Disneyland. Was the Disney rep correct or did I get someone who didn’t know what they were taking about?


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## bizaro86 (May 31, 2022)

RX8 said:


> We are going to Disneyland in a few days and have Genie+ (first experience with Genie+). I see in this thread, and elsewhere, that Genie+ opens at 7:00 am. I chatted with Disney, primarily because the Disneyland app doesn’t reflect that I have Genie+ even though my tickets are linked, and I was told Genie+ doesn’t become active until you are in the park. I questioned the 7:00 am open time for Genie+ and was told that was incorrect. I asked her to verify and she came back to confirm what she told me. She did add that sometimes it may open at 7:30 am for certain rides but that isn’t a guarantee.
> 
> I realize that WDW and Disneyland may not be aligned so I wanted to ask what your experience was at Disneyland. Was the Disney rep correct or did I get someone who didn’t know what they were taking about?



We've done both since Genie+, just back from DL. 

The rep is correct. In California you can't make your first selection until you scan into the park. This can be before official park opening time - ie we scanned it at 7:35 for 8AM opening and could make a reservation right away.

I found the system much better in CA (maybe just due to more ride capacity per person?) We rode every genie plus ride in both parks in a single day other than incredicoaster/soarin (which my kids don't like) and Indiana Jones (which we rope dropped the next day). We could have easily done those ones standby between if we had wanted to, but chose to take it slower and watch Avengers shows, cavalcade, ride the railroad, back to TS for mid day break, etc.


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## RX8 (May 31, 2022)

bizaro86 said:


> We've done both since Genie+, just back from DL.
> 
> The rep is correct. In California you can't make your first selection until you scan into the park. This can be before official park opening time - ie we scanned it at 7:35 for 8AM opening and could make a reservation right away.
> 
> I found the system much better in CA (maybe just due to more ride capacity per person?) We rode every genie plus ride in both parks in a single day other than incredicoaster/soarin (which my kids don't like) and Indiana Jones (which we rope dropped the next day). We could have easily done those ones standby between if we had wanted to, but chose to take it slower and watch Avengers shows, cavalcade, ride the railroad, back to TS for mid day break, etc.



Thanks for that info!  All I could see was that 7:00 am open time for Genie+. Couldn’t find anything that said that pertained to WDW only. 

Any important tips or things you learned that you could share with first time Genie+ Users at Disneyland?  Last time at DL they still had fast passes. Thanks!!!


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## bnoble (May 31, 2022)

Disneyland is definitely different.









						Guide to Genie+ & Lightning Lanes at Disneyland & California Adventure
					

Our guide to the Genie+ at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure answers frequently asked questions about the paid FastPass & MaxPass replacement, info & tips about the line-skipping Lightning Lanes, new ride reservation, and itinerary




					www.disneytouristblog.com


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## bizaro86 (May 31, 2022)

RX8 said:


> Thanks for that info!  All I could see was that 7:00 am open time for Genie+. Couldn’t find anything that said that pertained to WDW only.
> 
> Any important tips or things you learned that you could share with first time Genie+ Users at Disneyland?  Last time at DL they still had fast passes. Thanks!!!



If you're familiar with the fast pass system this is basically the same. You can get one when you enter the park, and then every time you either scan in to the last one you got OR 2 hours after you got it you can get another one. Only 1 per ride.

I think it makes sense to do Genie+ in approximately the order of how popular the rides are (ie guardians/toy story first at DCA, space/indy first at DL). 

If you book the super popular rides later in the day you have to wait a full 2 hours before you can get another one, while something like buzz, star tours, or small world will often have return times that are soon relatively late in the day.

The big exception on our trip was incredicoaster - it seemed return times were close in during the day, and then ballooned out when evening hit.

We rope dropped our very top choices in each park when we arrived, and booked genie+ for the big rides right away. We kept riding standby on short morning lines until our first genie plus was about to expire, then kept immediately booking new genie plus the rest of the day. We took an afternoon break and booked the big rides at the other park for after it, so when we came back from our break we had 2-3 stacked lightning lanes for the evening. Eg, when we badged in to our last DCA ride around 12:30 we booked space, but it wasn't until like 4:30. Then at 2:30 we booked big thunder mountain for 5PM, then at 4:30 we booked millennium falcon.


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## heathpack (May 31, 2022)

RX8 said:


> We are going to Disneyland in a few days and have Genie+ (first experience with Genie+). I see in this thread, and elsewhere, that Genie+ opens at 7:00 am. I chatted with Disney, primarily because the Disneyland app doesn’t reflect that I have Genie+ even though my tickets are linked, and I was told Genie+ doesn’t become active until you are in the park. I questioned the 7:00 am open time for Genie+ and was told that was incorrect. I asked her to verify and she came back to confirm what she told me. She did add that sometimes it may open at 7:30 am for certain rides but that isn’t a guarantee.
> 
> I realize that WDW and Disneyland may not be aligned so I wanted to ask what your experience was at Disneyland. Was the Disney rep correct or did I get someone who didn’t know what they were taking about?



Genie+ at Disneyland in not available to you until you enter the park.  At Disneyworld it is available at 7am.

This is standard policy and has been all along.  I guess if you were able to scan into the park at 7:30 am- like the park opens at 8am and you’re staying on site with early entry (which I hear is going to be 30 min before park opening), then maybe you’d be able to book LL with Genie+ at 7:30am.  But the key concept is that Genie+ is activated at park entry at DL.


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## bizaro86 (May 31, 2022)

heathpack said:


> Genie+ at Disneyland in not available to you until you enter the park.  At Disneyworld it is available at 7am.
> 
> This is standard policy and has been all along.  I guess if you were able to scan into the park at 7:30 am- like the park opens at 8am and you’re staying on site with early entry (which I hear is going to be 30 min before park opening), then maybe you’d be able to book LL with Genie+ at 7:30am.  But the key concept is that Genie+ is activated at park entry at DL.



You can book it between scanning into the park and rope drop. IE we scanned it at 7:30 and went and waited by the rope for an 8 opening, and could make genie plus reservations well before 8.


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## mdurette (Nov 25, 2022)

deleted and posted info in another thread.


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