Disney Genie announcement

[Marionnette]

Something nobody seems to be talking about….but didn’t the Genie+ announcements/speculations initially allude to the possibility that, during busy parts of the day, the ability to get on a standby line could be limited????

No. That was DLP that had alluded to VQs once an attraction queue reached a certain wait time. It was speculated that the same would occur at WDW but it was never hinted at by Disney. Quite frankly, I believe that the whole reason that ROTR went to standby lines was because their system cannot handle guests using VQ at it and Remi. VQ at even more attractions will have to wait until their system is upgraded to handle the load.

 

[DisneyKidds]

I just came here to say this! I think what will happen is you will get a genie+ LL that is halfway across the park.... do you head that way or stay put and wait standby??? or will the system send you rides that are close to your location? can't imagine it would work that smoothly. I liked to plan my fast passes so that I could go land to land.

Keep in mind….it’s quite possible that Genie+ could be more useful to Disney for crowd control than it is to guests for actually enjoying their day. While the concept that Genie will evaluate your likes and location in the park and offer you LL access to things that are convenient and useful to you would be nice…..it’s just as likely that LL options offered could be rides that help Disney (try to) move crowds from one area of the park to a less crowded area of the park. If you can’t pick your ride and your time, and your only option is what they put in front of you….it could be a bust. Only time will tell I guess. I’ve lost any optimism I had that Disney is trying to enhance my experience….

 

[luv2cheer92]

Haha - if you enjoy sleeping in you are not getting up at 7am...but i get your point.

Unless 7am is sleeping in for you, it definitely is for me.

 

[AnnabelleTheTalkingTree]

Keep in mind….it’s quite possible that Genie+ could be more useful to Disney for crowd control than it is to guests for actually enjoying their day. While the concept that Genie will evaluate your likes and location in the park and offer you LL access to things that are convenient and useful to you would be nice…..it’s just as likely that LL options offered could be rides that help Disney (try to) move crowds from one area of the park to a less crowded area of the park. If you can’t pick your ride and your time, and your only option is what they put in front of you….it could be a bust. Only time will tell I guess. I’ve lost any optimism I had that Disney is trying to enhance my experience….

I am really hoping this is not the case, but it has occurred to me too that it could happen this way. I'll be watching the blogs closely as it all rolls out next week. Genie+ is only worth the money if you actually get to use it for desirable attractions. I'm not spending $60 a day for my family to be herded like sheep onto the Magic Carpets of Aladdin

 

[AZMermaid]

People keep saying “it’s confirmed” but the only confirmation is from a Q&A which is NOT confirmation, IMO. When it’s written down somewhere, THAT’S confirmation.

Also, if the passes are “next available”, then anyone getting up at 7am should be getting the passes that are available pretty much within an hour of opening, unless all the “super tourists” get up at 7am, thus pushing the times out, which would absolutely SUCK for ”normal” people who wait to get into the park to schedule their first ride. This is why we can’t have nice things - because some people are determined to skirt the rules in order to get more for themselves.

I REALLY hope that the rule of having to use your pass before getting another one sticks.

When Carsland first opened, the fastpasses for RSR ran out within the hour or so, and that was when you lined up for them. Rise books up instantly. 3 weeks ago my phone glitched and I hit the button at 7AM and 3 seconds and missed it (Again DL). I can absolutely see Slinky booking for 3-5 PM by 7:05AM, maybe sooner. Maybe booking for after dinner before 7:15AM. And maybe this will be their way of basically having a third premium attraction at DHS…. But I hope not. I hope That if I get Slinky for 5PM at 7:04, I’m able to book something else at 9:04.

 

[AnnabelleTheTalkingTree]

Unless 7am is sleeping in for you, it definitely is for me.

I have two little kids - right now if I sleep until 6 it feels like I slept in! That said, one of the things I love most about Disney is how it knocks my kids OUT It's a rare opportunity for my husband and I to sleep later than usual. Last time there were a couple of days where we all actually slept until 8, and it was glorious! So while it's likely we'll be up by 7 anyway, I hate feeling like I'm going to wind up setting an alarm for 7:00 just to pay to book Genie+ and LL when JUST MAYBE the stars could align and we could otherwise sleep in until 8!

 

[AnnaKristoff2013]

Here's a question... what if you want to ride rides in the afternoon. How do you play the LL and Genie+ game then? Like, if I wake up at 7am, will I be able to book a 3pm ROTR? (And then go back to sleep?)
But at the same time, is it worth it to pay for Genie+ that day, hoping I can ride ToT and RnRC in the afternoon as well. Again, knowing I do NOT want to go to the park in the morning.
Ugh. This is so frustrating!

The first third party website that writes a script that lets you put in your preferences and makes these selections for you at 7 am so you don't have to wake up every morning of your trip is going to make a lot of money.

 

[DisneyKidds]

I am really hoping this is not the case…..

Yeah, me too! Unfortunately, Disney has given me more reason to be pessimistic than optimistic for a while now. Of course, if I expect the worst than I can possibly be pleasantly surprised, right? That’s the best advice I’d given anyone, set your expectations low!

 

[buffy71]

Unless 7am is sleeping in for you, it definitely is for me.

My teenager would have a good laugh anyone thinks 7am is sleeping in... that being said, Disney time is different. I can relax for free at home - I am on a mission when I land in Disney.

 

[HopperFan]

Keep in mind….it’s quite possible that Genie+ could be more useful to Disney for crowd control than it is to guests for actually enjoying their day. While the concept that Genie will evaluate your likes and location in the park and offer you LL access to things that are convenient and useful to you would be nice…..it’s just as likely that LL options offered could be rides that help Disney (try to) move crowds from one area of the park to a less crowded area of the park. If you can’t pick your ride and your time, and your only option is what they put in front of you….it could be a bust. Only time will tell I guess. I’ve lost any optimism I had that Disney is trying to enhance my experience….

One of the biggest pluses of the MagicBand when it came out was to do exactly this, using push notifications. Its ability to track MB could give them tons of usable data.

BUT technology was changing quickly for cell phones and Disney backed off on the implementation of anything more than the basics. For years I questioned why they weren't using the MB to their full ability ... guess they were just working on a much bigger system that one could use in an interactive way on an app. Using MDE on phone is as good as using RFID chip in MB.

I do believe a large portion of the app will be to help them move guests around the park to equalize lines, restaurants, etc AND help generate more spending. It will be up to the guests to engage and interact with the app, and that is what will determine the success of the plan or not. Going to be interesting for sure.

 

[diskids2]

My teenager would have a good laugh anyone thinks 7am is sleeping in... that being said, Disney time is different. I can relax for free at home - I am on a mission when I land in Disney.

Oh I agree 100%....Call me Bond...James Bond

 

[AnnabelleTheTalkingTree]

it's been confirmed by disney that you don't have to. It's use the pass you have or wait two hours- which ever comes first.

If this is accurate this makes Genie+ way more worth the money than I was thinking. I've been trying to plan our our spring trip and have been under the assumption that Genie+ reservations must always be 2 hours apart.

 

[buffy71]

I can go along with Genie plus. I tried MaxPass once in DL and really liked it. Granted it was $10 pp. $15 is pushing it and then the idea of paying extra on top of that for specific rides is just over the top. That I probably won't do, or it will be a one and done deal for a new ride. What makes the issue bigger is at the same time Magical Express is going away which is adding on a big chunk of change, it is no longer cost effective for me to get APs, so not going to save money there and paying a high price for daily tickets, which don't even allow real park hopping and at this point, still limited park hours and loss of magic hours. So it is a bunch of stuff rolled together that just is turning me off. It not one thing, it is many that really change my vacation. I have taken my kids many many many times... next trip is for my daughter's 21st bday in June. That will be it for a while and I will definitely be using my DVC differently and won't be doing 8 night trips anymore or couple trips a year.

 

[AnnabelleTheTalkingTree]

My teenager would have a good laugh anyone thinks 7am is sleeping in... that being said, Disney time is different. I can relax for free at home - I am on a mission when I land in Disney.

Time is $$$! Lol.

 

[gharter]

Keep in mind….it’s quite possible that Genie+ could be more useful to Disney for crowd control than it is to guests for actually enjoying their day.

this is one of many things that concerns me about this.
If 1000 people all have ride "x" as one they want to do and Genie identifies that it has a short wait, how will it decide who gets notified to go to that attraction now? I've watched several vlogs that have stated that they have been told that Genie will not send everyone to an attraction with a short wait.

 

[buffy71]

If this is accurate this makes Genie+ way more worth the money than I was thinking. I've been trying to plan our our spring trip and have been under the assumption that Genie+ reservations must always be 2 hours apart.

If it works the way MaxPass did, once you check in for a ride, you can make another reservation.

 

[AnnabelleTheTalkingTree]

If it works the way MaxPass did, once you check in for a ride, you can make another reservation.

Would that next reservation need to be 2 hours out though? I have never been to DL before so I have no idea how maxpass worked.

 

[luv2cheer92]

Would that next reservation need to be 2 hours out though? I have never been to DL before so I have no idea how maxpass worked.

No it could be 5 minutes out if one is available.

 

[JakeAZ]

Disney is no longer interested in the repeat visitor so it doesn’t matter if they alienate once in a lifetime guests.

Agree
But are they interested in the answers to “hey you just went to Disney World, right? How was it?”

 

[JakeAZ]

With Everest being in refurb in January

I wonder if they will move another ride over into the IA$ spot during EE downtime. Would really make G+ a total waste at AK (which, IMO, it already is).