Any updates on Genie+ release date

[DisneyGaga]

This is probably in another thread somewhere, but was just wondering if anyone has an idea of when it might go live?

Does anyone else think it’s strange that Disneyland is losing a lot of revenue every day because they shut down MaxPass before Genie+ was ready?

 

[NVDis]

Also wondering. Along with a million others- I'm sure, lol
We are there Nov 11-15 and i thought for sure Genie would be up and running, but who knows?

 

[Wesley815]

My only guess is they're letting it run for a few weeks at Walt Disney World to see how things go, and then will turn on here. Probably still bringing back / hiring new CM's as well, as WDW was reopened much earlier than DL. All Disney said was "fall", so that's between now and 12/20.

Will be interesting to see once system is running, especially since it's a lot more local guests in CA vs tourists in FL (look at all the Magic Key reservation issues.)

 

[Steven G]

Maxpass was shut down when Disneyland was shut down for a year, and Maxpass never came back when it reopened, and that was before even Genie+ was announced. I assume they didn't have Maxpass because of the strict reopening guidelines for covid.

 

[By-Tor and Snow Pup]

I think Genie+ is a toucher subject at Disneyland. At Disneyland the locals/AP (and there are lots of them) are upset about Genie+ because they aren't going to spend $20 more every time they go to Disneyland. The tourists definitely want it because Disneyland is -packed- right now and they don't want to be facing hour long waits for every ride. Personally, I am a hybrid; I live in San Diego so I have the Dream Key, so I go like once a month. I want Genie+ because the last time I went (mid-October) the park was packed.
I think maybe Disneyland is taking longer to roll out Genie+ because they have to appease both groups of people.

 

[DisneyKidds]

I did see several Lightning Lane signs at rides yesterday, so they are definitely preparing.

I would have tried it out if they had it. However, when one normally goes to WDW where posted 2+ hour waits for some rides aren’t uncommon, the lines the last two days (also when we visited this past summer) weren’t too bad.

 

[starlite_]

I think Genie+ is a toucher subject at Disneyland. At Disneyland the locals/AP (and there are lots of them) are upset about Genie+ because they aren't going to spend $20 more every time they go to Disneyland. The tourists definitely want it because Disneyland is -packed- right now and they don't want to be facing hour long waits for every ride. Personally, I am a hybrid; I live in San Diego so I have the Dream Key, so I go like once a month. I want Genie+ because the last time I went (mid-October) the park was packed.
I think maybe Disneyland is taking longer to roll out Genie+ because they have to appease both groups of people.

But Maxpass was the same as Genie+, did locals dislike it as well?

 

[poptart90]

But Maxpass was the same as Genie+, did locals dislike it as well?

When MP rolled out there was still the free FP option. Once Genie+ launches, everyone will have to pay to use. That's part of the reason for the dislike, I'm sure.

 

[starlite_]

When MP rolled out there was still the free FP option. Once Genie+ launches, everyone will have to pay to use. That's part of the reason for the dislike, I'm sure.

Ah, yeah that makes sense.

 

[pharmama]

But Maxpass was the same as Genie+, did locals dislike it as well?

There was also an option to add MP to your AP for a fairly reasonable price… IIRC it was around 5x the daily price to add it to your AP for the whole year. Thus far they have said that won’t be an option for Genie+ And MK holders will pay per visit like everyone else.

I also think only being able to go on a ride once per day via G+ is a very significant difference from MP and am hoping they rethink that or do it differently at DLR.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

I also think only being able to go on a ride once per day via G+ is a very significant difference from MP and am hoping they rethink that or do it differently at DLR.

This in my eyes is what most diminishes its value to me personally. These days I do not ride Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Guardians of the Galaxy, Incredicoaster, or Goofy's Sky School. I only rarely ride Grizzly. I do ride Racers but that will now be a separate additional fee. I used to feel I could get satisfactory value out of Maxpass though because I could often ride a couple of my favorite rides more than once a day using it, and I could very often ride Buzz a bunch of times with little wait.

 

[starlite_]

I wasn't aware that you could only use the Genie+ once per ride and that was it. Yeah that's not very well thought out.

 

[COASTIEandMATE]

I wasn't aware that you could only use the Genie+ once per ride and that was it. Yeah that's not very well thought out.

Yup that was our favorite thing to do!!

 

[COASTIEandMATE]

Buzz Lightyear many times!!

 

[gelatoni fan]

But Maxpass was the same as Genie+, did locals dislike it as well?

Apart from the lack of an annual option which is a major issue, there's also major changes to the rules and how return times work. A savvy Maxpass user would be able to stack Fastpasses throughout the day, optimize for Multiple Experience passes and other things being equal, get significantly more Maxpasses per day (it was possible to get over 30 Maxpasses in a day). The changes make all of these significantly harder.

As an example, in the past, I liked to grab a Space Mountain Maxpass at rope drop and then 30 minutes after park open, grab a Star Tours Maxpass. Then, I could use both of them around an hour after park open. This is no longer possible because instead of allowing you to get your next Lightning Lane after the start of your return time, you have to use your previous Lightning Lane assuming the return time was less than 2 hours away. I would have to use up my Space Mountain Maxpass before I could get my Star Tours one. Additionally, doing this with Genie+ means I can't get Lightning Lanes for either of those rides again later in the day.

That 2 hours is also a change from the previous additional Maxpass which was 90 minutes. So let's say it's 1PM and I got a Maxpass with a return time at 2:45PM. Under Maxpass, I could get a new Maxpass at 2:30 but under Genie+, I would have to either use the Lightning Lane starting at 2:40PM or wait till 3PM.

The rules around ride breakdowns also aren't clear yet but no matter what they do, without being able to get passes for the same attraction multiple times, it's harder to get Multiple Experiences passes.

There's also the change of upcharging for Radiator Springs Racers. It used to be included with Maxpass but is not anymore. With only 7 Lightning Lane rides in California Adventure and no re-rides, Genie+ is a significantly worse value compared to Maxpass if you aren't park hopping.

 

[Geemo]

It will be interesting to see how the "Stand-By" line times compare once Genie+ and Pay to Ride is active.

It reminds me of the Old Days when you had ticket books (A-E) for rides. When you were out of tickets, you were done riding attractions.

 

[starlite_]

Apart from the lack of an annual option which is a major issue, there's also major changes to the rules and how return times work. A savvy Maxpass user would be able to stack Fastpasses throughout the day, optimize for Multiple Experience passes and other things being equal, get significantly more Maxpasses per day (it was possible to get over 30 Maxpasses in a day). The changes make all of these significantly harder.

As an example, in the past, I liked to grab a Space Mountain Maxpass at rope drop and then 30 minutes after park open, grab a Star Tours Maxpass. Then, I could use both of them around an hour after park open. This is no longer possible because instead of allowing you to get your next Lightning Lane after the start of your return time, you have to use your previous Lightning Lane assuming the return time was less than 2 hours away. I would have to use up my Space Mountain Maxpass before I could get my Star Tours one. Additionally, doing this with Genie+ means I can't get Lightning Lanes for either of those rides again later in the day.

That 2 hours is also a change from the previous additional Maxpass which was 90 minutes. So let's say it's 1PM and I got a Maxpass with a return time at 2:45PM. Under Maxpass, I could get a new Maxpass at 2:30 but under Genie+, I would have to either use the Lightning Lane starting at 2:40PM or wait till 3PM.

The rules around ride breakdowns also aren't clear yet but no matter what they do, without being able to get passes for the same attraction multiple times, it's harder to get Multiple Experiences passes.

There's also the change of upcharging for Radiator Springs Racers. It used to be included with Maxpass but is not anymore. With only 7 Lightning Lane rides in California Adventure and no re-rides, Genie+ is a significantly worse value compared to Maxpass if you aren't park hopping.

Yup this all makes sense, I did things like this as well, never got all the way up to 30 but maybe 15 on a good day. Taking breaks for food and shows and stuff.

I didn't see all these new rules when I first read about the Genie+. At first glance it all seemed like the same thing rebranded for DLR. Are these rules on the page and I just missed them (very likely) or are we basing on the rules for WDW?

Besides the cash grab that is LL$. That one sucked from the start.

 

[starlite_]

Buzz Lightyear many times!!

Me too. If I could ride Big Thunder Mountain 4 times in a day it was a day well spend.

 

[Steven G]

as said above, DCA without a park hopper is a real horrible deal for Genie+ as stated above, if you can't ride them more than once, especially if you don't want to ride 1 or 2 of them.

I think the only way I would buy genie+ is if I had a park hopper.


So summary:

Maxpass: $20 pp, comes with photopass, ride each maxpass ride multiple times if available, free option (fastpass) available. Able to add on to Annual Pass. All maxpass rides are included in the $20.

Genie+: $20 pp, comes with photopass, ride each ride only once (if follow DW rules), no free option available other than standby. Cannot addon to Magic Key (at this point). As well, less rides are available for the $20 (since some are blocked like RSR, ROTR, and Web Slingers to pay individually). Finally, even if you want to pay for RSR, ROTR, and Web Slingers, you can only ride 2 of them per day (and not the same one again).

So if you are in DCA with no park hopper, at BEST, you can ride 7 rides with Genie+, plus two additional for extra cost (RSR and WebSlingers).

If you are in DL with no park hopper, at BEST, you can 12 rides with Genie+, plus one additional for extra cost (ROTR).

I think they really need to rethink the no repeat rule for DCA, even for DL, assuming they do that.


Edit: To be clear the following are still unknowns (unconfirmed either way):
1) Whether you can only ride once per attraction per day on the Genie+ attractions.
2) Whether it can be added on to Magic Key in the future.
3) Whether hotel guests will get to book lightning lanes before regular guests (they can at DW).

 

[starlite_]

Yup if it follows WDW rules it's definitely a worse option that maxpass was. Kinda hoping that it's different for DLR in general. I don't see why it couldn't since the price is different and the photopass addon is dif too. But Chapek greedy, so who knows.

Thanks for your super comprehensive answer ♡