Disney Genie+ and ILL$ Details & FAQ - Launches 10/19 at WDW, Paid "FastPass" at WDW and Disneyland (date TBD)

[Brocktoon]

I just don't see it working like this.

The only other option would be allowing guests to hold more than 1 LL return at a time, which so far Disney hasn't mentioned. I just can't see them monetizing a system that could have you holding a LL return for several hours later and locking you out of any additional access for the rest of the day. The old FP paper system allowed you to pull another FP after 2 hours and hold multiple passes. But again so far Disney is just saying 1 LL access at a time

Releasing LL access in timed blocks would be a way to solve this ... unless they eventually allow you to hold multiple G+ lane passes if your return time on 1 is much later

 

[cheryl.UK]

One of my friends had a child with autism. They go every year but can only do the parks for 2 hours in the morning and may not be able to go back later, it depends on how he is. $60 is a lot for maybe just 2 rides.

 

[Liquidice]

One of my friends had a child with autism. They go every year but can only do the parks for 2 hours in the morning and may not be able to go back later, it depends on how he is. $60 is a lot for maybe just 2 rides.

Look at the new DAS system, if he qualifies for DAS (Disability Access System) and you pre-register over video chat, you get 2 DAS Passes per day (for FREE) and you can additionally get return times for more rides by waiting outside of the line the same amount of time as the standby line (doing anything else you want) until your time is called and then you get to go through the Lightning Lane (former Fastpass lane).

More info in my other thread here: https://www.disboards.com/threads/c...ook-2-rides-book-return-times-in-mde.3849392/

 

[Liquidice]

Been trying to gather my thoughts and posted this on DVC Fan on Facebook - but thought I'd share it here too...

Saw lots of posts in support of Genie+ and Lightning Lane - I've taken some time to think about it since the announcement, I couldn't quite put my finger on why I hated the announcement so much - but I think I've started to put together why...

1. Recently we haven't had much good news out of Disney, in fact in terms of perks we've mostly lost perks:
a. Magicbands not included with on-site stay
b. Airport shuttle (Magical Express) not included with on-site stay
c. Extra Magic Hours no longer an on-site benefit (30 min mornings for all guests and Evenings for Deluxe only)
d. Fastpass no longer included with entry ticket
e. Restricted Park Hopping (2pm begins park hopping) - with no discount to the park hopping option
f. Restricted Park Passes for AP holders not staying on site (only 3 at a time, versus show up whenever you want).

2. A lot of the announcements have come down to controlling park overcrowding. But there is actually a few solutions to this problem that don't involve charging more or taking away perks
a. Build a 5th gate - when park overcrowding is an issue - you can invest some of those profits you've been making to construct something new that will help relieve park overcrowding. Maybe Galaxy's Edge should have been its own park? A 5th gate would help spread out crowds. Yes it costs Disney money, I think most of us would gladly pay more money, stay longer or make more trips to visit a 5th gate. At least we would see the money we pay to Disney at work to add some more value.
b. Reduce park crowds using Park Pass, you've already proven you can do this.

Ultimately what it comes down to for me is value - it isn't about the money, but Disney is in my opinion giving us less value and charging us more money - and it puts a sour taste in my mouth. While previously I feel like Disney would invest money into new an exciting things to earn more of our money - now it feels like Disney is taking away perks or charging for the right to use them and calling that guest satisfaction and value.

You cannot continually offer less and charge more and expect to continue to increase profits. Yes, Disney is a business and yes Disney needs to make money - I'm not saying they should be losing money. But what they should be doing is making us as customers feel like they're getting more value when they charge us more money instead of the current situation where I feel like they're taking away things and charging us more - and that is what gives me pause with this most recent announcement for Genie+. Yeah $15 per person per day doesn't sound that expensive, but if you visit Disney for 2 weeks a year, and have a family of four, does spending an extra $840 per year sound like a lot more? It isn't that I can't afford it - it is just that I don't think I'm getting the same value I got from Disney as before.

I know some people will say - just don't pay for Genie+ - you have that option. But this was an included perk we used to have and was taken away. Don't act like this is something new that we've never had before. I work for a company that is extremely customer focused as well - and one thing we try not to ever do is offer something for free and then take it away or try to charge customers for something that was previously free - because we've found you lose a lot of customers that way.

Ultimately Disney is making us pay for their problems with overcrowding, rides breaking down and not being reliable or being able to handle enough riders per day (looking at you RoTR). It is an experiment to see just how much we're willing to continue to pay for things - and if it works, expect more up charges in the future.

What is the next upcharge that we'll see? Free parking at the parks for On-site guests? Being charged to ride the transportation? Being charged just to ride the rides at the parks? Expect the microtransactions to continue if this is successful.

Anyway that is my very long diatribe - thanks for reading if you made it this far

 

[ChipnDale79]

Aww man, that's disappointing. Pop is my favorite!!

Honestly we love it too, our kids chose it over CBR this time. It just wasn’t up to par this time.

 

[Sherry Berry]

I think Disney would rather have fewer guests spending the big bucks versus huge crowds on smaller budgets.

 

[Brocktoon]

2. A lot of the announcements have come down to controlling park overcrowding. But there is actually a few solutions to this problem that don't involve charging more or taking away perks

I'm probably sounding like a broken record, but from a business perspective the best solution to control overcrowding IS to charge more and take away perks. If you lower the crowds you can reduce (or level) your operating budget ... charge more and reduce perks and you also increase profits ... it's a win/win for Disney. A lot of folks need to come to terms that for short term corporate targets, guest satisfaction isn't very important unless it results in an insane mass exodus. And I don't see that happening ... just a shift in demographic to higher yield / higher paying guests who perceive a better experience due to lower crowds (think of the recent Halloween and upcoming X-mas Bash).

I'm not trying to break people's hearts ... and I'm still planning a WDW trip for next year ... but Chapek will do what he has to to keep the stock up and I don't think that will let guest satisfaction get in the way of maximizing guest yield ... otherwise small things like DME would still be around. People just really need realize this will probably be current Disney reality at least for the foreseeable future

 

[Liquidice]

I think Disney would rather have fewer guests spending the big bucks versus huge crowds on smaller budgets.

If you just want smaller crowds, use Park Pass to limit the number of guests and increase the prices enough to make it profitable then - easy solution. You could run the park at 50% capacity and charge more. I think I'd be happier with that solution.

This Genie+ solution doesn't decrease the number of guests in the park, it just makes it so crowded that people will want to pay for Genie+ etc.

 

[Liquidice]

I'm probably sounding like a broken record, but from a business perspective the best solution to control overcrowding IS to charge more and take away perks. If you lower the crowds you can reduce (or level) your operating budget ... charge more and reduce perks and you also increase profits ... it's a win/win for Disney. A lot of folks need to come to terms that for short term corporate targets, guest satisfaction isn't very important unless it results in an insane mass exodus. And I don't see that happening ... just a shift in demographic to higher yield / higher paying guests who perceive a better experience due to lower crowds (think of the recent Halloween and upcoming X-mas Bash).

I'm not trying to break people's hearts ... and I'm still planning a WDW trip for next year ... but Chapek will do what he has to to keep the stock up and I don't think that will let guest satisfaction get in the way of maximizing guest yield ... otherwise small things like DME would still be around. People just really need realize this will probably be current Disney reality at least for the foreseeable future

What they've done is exactly the opposite though, they aren't reducing crowds - just creating a tiered system. You can still pay the same you were paying before and just be a "low class" park goer and stand in the standby lines all day. If they wanted to lower crowds, they could have increased the ticket prices significantly and used Park Pass to restrict capacity to 50%.

I would think if they wanted to only cater to the rich, they would INCREASE included perks and charge you more to get in. People who could afford it would see the value in all of the perks for the extra money. People who couldn't afford it would go somewhere else.

Honestly, I think I'd be happier if they doubled the price of tickets and APs, restricted park capacity to 50%, left Fastpass alone and gave us some extra perks to justify the increased price - at least I would feel like I'm getting more value for my money. Instead I'm paying the same I was and getting less than before - and crowds will still be the same as before.

 

[cheryl.UK]

Look at the new DAS system, if he qualifies for DAS (Disability Access System) and you pre-register over video chat, you get 2 DAS Passes per day (for FREE) and you can additionally get return times for more rides by waiting outside of the line the same amount of time as the standby line (doing anything else you want) until your time is called and then you get to go through the Lightning Lane (former Fastpass lane).

More info in my other thread here: https://www.disboards.com/threads/c...ook-2-rides-book-return-times-in-mde.3849392/

Thanks for this advice, I’ll pass it on

 

[acarsme123]

Ultimately what it comes down to for me is value - it isn't about the money, but Disney is in my opinion giving us less value and charging us more money - and it puts a sour taste in my mouth.

This right here exactly! I love taking my family to Disney. Yes, it was expensive, but I always felt I was getting a lot for the money. As much as my family is itching to go back, I told my wife I'm not so sure I'm down with it anymore. It's the principal of it all.

 

[Brocktoon]

What they've done is exactly the opposite though, they aren't reducing crowds - just creating a tiered system. You can still pay the same you were paying before and just be a "low class" park goer and stand in the standby lines all day. If they wanted to lower crowds, they could have increased the ticket prices significantly and used Park Pass to restrict capacity to 50%.

I would think if they wanted to only cater to the rich, they would INCREASE included perks and charge you more to get in. People who could afford it would see the value in all of the perks for the extra money. People who couldn't afford it would go somewhere else.

Disney is essentially doing the bolded via the extras hours for deluxe and after hours events. For now I think (just my opinion) Disney is fine with having the lower spenders throw them the basic park ticket fees and let them stand in line all day. Just don't expect Disney to add any new free perks for them or go out of their way for guest experience. If the low spender want to give Disney free money they'll gladly take it. As long as Disney can keep the low yielders separated from the higher yield guests, the system will probably be sustained for a while. Higher yield will get their own lines so they won't have their park experience dragged down. If you want a nice experience to rave about, Disney will gladly offer LL$, after hours, Galactic Cruiser etc ..

I get the sinking feeling a lot of this is testing the water for what may come

EDIT: Also wanted to add that this can all end up like a pendulum in the long run. After 9/11 when the tourism industry tanked, Disney was falling all over themselves with discounts and offers trying to get people back into the parks for years. As I mention 'short term' and foreseeable future ... this can also come back to bite them like the Pop Century Legendary Years

 

[soniam]

If everyone who is angry about this actually doesn't come again, then Disney has gotten what they want, fewer crowds. I actually think it was a lot better than I predicted. However, I am a cynical optimist, expect the worst but hope for the best. This wasn't remotely the worst nor the best. Meh is OK.

 

[Sandisw]

True, but how about this scenario--- and it has to be pretty common--- 5-6 day trip, with 5 park days, that you already have reserved... your adrs as well--- You might not be able to go to that particular park another day, and its its one of the more difficult ADRS that you have booked, you probably wont be able to change the ADR either--- So, then the options are narrowed down to RP and around closing?

But wasn't that the same with FP+? We had several times where the ADR and what was available for FP in advance didn't work. So, we had to skip. I get this is different but I think some people faced those choices with FP+ as well.

 

[disneydreamer781]

I have a 10 day DW park ticket, can I purchase the $15 Genie+ for just a few of my park ticket days, or do I have to purchase it for all 10 days?

Disney Genie FAQs:

19. Do I have to purchase Genie+ for the entire length of my trip?
If purchased as part of a vacation package ahead of your visit, Genie+ is purchased for the entire length of the stay at $15 per ticket per day.
If not purchased ahead of time, Genie+ can be added on a day-by-day basis.

 

[Sandisw]

The only other option would be allowing guests to hold more than 1 LL return at a time, which so far Disney hasn't mentioned. I just can't see them monetizing a system that could have you holding a LL return for several hours later and locking you out of any additional access for the rest of the day. The old FP paper system allowed you to pull another FP after 2 hours and hold multiple passes. But again so far Disney is just saying 1 LL access at a time

Releasing LL access in timed blocks would be a way to solve this ... unless they eventually allow you to hold multiple G+ lane passes if your return time on 1 is much later

I think you are right. The fact that everyone can do only one at a time may make it much easier to get FP's throughout the morning and afternoon than when people could do 3 ahead of time. Once people choose the first one, they may decide to try a standby que before heading there...and not everyone will choose their first ride to be the same. If we didn't have that many issues for most rides when people were pulling 3, I just don't see it being a huge issue for the GP+ rides with one at a time.

 

[Sandisw]

Disney Genie FAQs:

19. Do I have to purchase Genie+ for the entire length of my trip?
If purchased as part of a vacation package ahead of your visit, Genie+ is purchased for the entire length of the stay at $15 per ticket per day.
If not purchased ahead of time, Genie+ can be added on a day-by-day basis.

That is interesting. Its good to know that we can purchase day by day if we want to wait. I wonder if they will find a way to include DVC in some level of purchase ahead of time since we don't book packages?

 

[CampbellzSoup]

I'm feeling "meh" about this. On one hand, I wanted fast passes to come back. On the other hand, $15 per person per day isn't horrible for 2 adults (will be awful for families though).

hence Disney will win with this mindset (not that there is anything wrong with it)

 

[disneydreamer781]

That is interesting. Its good to know that we can purchase day by day if we want to wait. I wonder if they will find a way to include DVC in some level of purchase ahead of time since we don't book packages?

I'm also DVC and I was wondering that myself.

 

[Pens Fan]

That is interesting. Its good to know that we can purchase day by day if we want to wait. I wonder if they will find a way to include DVC in some level of purchase ahead of time since we don't book packages?

I'm wondering if when they start selling AP's again if there will be some option to add on Genie + to the DVC Gold AP. That would be interesting.