Genie Plus - Experiences and Reviews

[ValpoCory]

Never mind! Found a good explanation a couple pages back! Ahhh Disneyland! Where i don't have to have a heart attack at 7am...

Remind me- at Disneyland you can't pick your time for ILL right?

We didn't buy ILL on our trip due to the fact you can ride with minimal wait at rope drop (at the park that doesn't have resort guest early entry) or the end of the night (usually 9:55pm as both rides close at 10pm).

But if you can't do rope drop or stay late, ILL is a great option.

 

[mk717]

Does anyone have insight on how daily Genie (+) pricing changes? I will be there first week of April and didn't buy Genie plus with the tickets. So far it's been $30 the last few days I checked. Will it be busier in April with higher Genie plus prices? Any chance of it selling out?

 

[ValpoCory]

Does anyone have insight on how daily Genie (+) pricing changes? I will be there first week of April and didn't buy Genie plus with the tickets. So far it's been $30 the last few days I checked. Will it be busier in April with higher Genie plus prices? Any chance of it selling out?

It's been $30 every day since I started looking around New Years. Definitely add it each day and go for those Gold Tier MEPs!!

 

[CookieandOatmeal]

First time using Genie+ at DLR (WDW vet here) and was wondering how we scan in to use our LLs if you’re not using a MB+? Is there somewhere you can scan in with your tix barcode? Used to doing it with MBs at WDW.

 

[Dreams&wishes]

Well, we were there March 9-11, and to summarize ... Accelerating LLs using a Gold Tier MEP is a Disneyland CHEAT CODE!

The key to getting that Gold Tier MEP (we pronounced it MEEP like the Phineas and Ferb character) is getting in early and looking for Gold Tier rides that are down. If you see a Gold Tier ride down, change your current LL booking to it, and start refreshing for earlier return times closer to now.

We got one at Web Slingers before 8:30am on our first day when we rope-dropped Racers. We then booked a noon TSM LL and went to use the Gold Tier MEP at 9am at TSM, and it worked, taking our noon TSM LL and letting us keep the Gold Tier MEP.

Then it was on. We went from one ride to the next, booking far out lightning lane times and immediately accelerating them. We rode every LL ride in DCA by lunch. Then after a mid-day break at the hotel, we went to DLR and used the Gold Tier MEP to ride every LL ride in Disneyland that day. Every LL ride in both parks, with no criss-crossing the park. Whichever was the closest LL ride to us next, we did.

The 2nd day we slept in and ate a sit down breakfast at Minnie & Friends, and no Gold Tier rides were down long enough to snag a Gold Tier MEP. We grabbed 4 sets of Silver Tier MEPs after 11am when we noticed Goofy's Sky School was down all day (you can't fish for MEPs in the other park until Park Hopping time starts). So that helped a little, but not as fun as a Gold Tier MEP.

The 3rd day we slept in again and entered the park at 9:30am. Matterhorn went down, but came back up 12 minutes before our Lightning Lane time. No MEP. Then around 11:30am, MMRR went down, but they only had 3pm LL return times. We snagged that, and my son played the Disney Genie Slots while we waited at the Storybook Land Canal Boats, and he snagged a noon return time. Around 11:50am, we were awarded a Gold Tier MEP! At 11:55am, MMRR came back up, so we barely got the MEP. The rest of the day was incredible. Riding every LL ride at Disneyland and going over to DCA to ride every ride there. We even grabbed a few Silver Tier MEPs so we could ride Silver Tier rides multiple times.

From 11pm-midnight, we finally used up the MEPs to ride SM and BTMRR again before getting in the Matterhorn standby line at 11:55pm.

Using Silver Tier MEPs on rides without Lightning Lanes is cool (sometimes cast members don't even scan it, like on Jungle Cruise at Mr. Toad's for us), but risky if you try to split up your party. One time 2 of our 4 tried to accelerate a future Soarin' LL using 2 Silver Tier MEPs, and it took the MEPs and left us with 2 future Soarin' LLs. Luckily, we had multiple Silver Tier MEPs, so we adjusted, but I would have been mad had it took our Gold Tier MEP when I didn't want it to.

This sounds soo complicated, I'm scared!

 

[ironband74]

First time using Genie+ at DLR (WDW vet here) and was wondering how we scan in to use our LLs if you’re not using a MB+? Is there somewhere you can scan in with your tix barcode? Used to doing it with MBs at WDW.

Yes, you can scan your ticket barcode or your app. If you have multiple people in your party you can pull the LL up on the app and then swipe to the side to scan each in turn.

 

[ironband74]

This sounds soo complicated, I'm scared!

Fear is the fun killer.

The key is not to put pressure on it happening. If you manage the top tier MEP and can accelerate it, then it's a bonus. If not, hey, you're still at disneyland and still have Genie +, and you can still refresh your way to sooner times etc.

Just one more tool in the box.

 

[MonocularVision]

Yeah, I rarely manage to snag MEPs but can hit tons of LL rides simply through refreshing my way to earlier times.

 

[mk717]

Haven't been checking every day but today's daily price is $35.00! Probably the start of pre Easter spring break season.

 

[ironband74]

Haven't been checking every day but today's daily price is $35.00! Probably the start of pre Easter spring break season.

Looks like that started yesterday. And ROTR at $28! RSR at $21.

On the whole, not a fan.

 

[JerrodDragon89]

Honestly like ROTR....it doesn't offend me

But Racers only has insane lines because its the last E ticket added to the park (GOTG was a redo not a new ride) and that was.......12 years ago

Also even if I give them GOTG that was 7 years ago

But no E ticket for that long is why DCA needs sooooo much more attention then Disneyland

 

[ValpoCory]

Honestly like ROTR....it doesn't offend me

But Racers only has insane lines because its the last E ticket added to the park (GOTG was a redo not a new ride) and that was.......12 years ago

Also even if I give them GOTG that was 7 years ago

But no E ticket for that long is why DCA needs sooooo much more attention then Disneyland

Web Slingers is a Gold Tier ride. It would for sure be an "E ticket" if they still used that terminology. The bar for E ticket designation was pretty low (It's a Small World, Country Bear Jamboree, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, the Tiki Room, etc.).

On a side note, I get what you're saying about GOTG Mission Breakout being a redo. But it's an awesome redo. We were not huge Tower of Terror fans, but we love GOTG Mission Breakout. The way they changed the g-force patterns to be more playful and fun vs. the old "drop you in a scary way" pattern was awesome.

 

[ValpoCory]

Fear is the fun killer.

The key is not to put pressure on it happening. If you manage the top tier MEP and can accelerate it, then it's a bonus. If not, hey, you're still at disneyland and still have Genie +, and you can still refresh your way to sooner times etc.

Just one more tool in the box.

Yep. We still had a blast on our 2nd day when we couldn't find a Gold Tier MEP. We just reset back to our default positive attitude of having an incredible magical day using Genie+ like we would use Genie+ at WDW. Using the 2 hour rule to stack lightning lanes for Gold Tier rides, etc.

 

[JerrodDragon89]

Web Slingers is a Gold Tier ride. It would for sure be an "E ticket" if they still used that terminology. The bar for E ticket designation was pretty low (It's a Small World, Country Bear Jamboree, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, the Tiki Room, etc.).

On a side note, I get what you're saying about GOTG Mission Breakout being a redo. But it's an awesome redo. We were not huge Tower of Terror fans, but we love GOTG Mission Breakout. The way they changed the g-force patterns to be more playful and fun vs. the old "drop you in a scary way" pattern was awesome.

Was Low but we aren't near when those rides came out and....I would 100% with no Joke put a few of those above Web Slingers....its just screens and no where near the excitement of Universal Spiderman ride which was made 20 years ago, lol

No ride has come closeeeeee to be as big of an investment as Racers....I think Avatar Land would help but even then DCA needs like 5+ attraction added while Disneyland is good

Besides TL, the entire park has seen updates in the past few years and while I love Disneyland its great on crowd control and they have Fantasyland theater if the really need to add something or the fireworks....parades so please Disney help DCA become worth the the insane ticket price it has right now and help spread out crowds more

 

[OlliePop27]

I agree with the critiques of DCA and its lack of ride capacity. It needs much more. It also needs more family friendly stuff to do without height requirements. If the rumors about Avatar going into Hollywoodland are correct, I believe it would be a huge loss to lose Monsters Inc. It would be great if there's a way to preserve or move Monsters Inc. and add new capacity. I know it's a cheap overlay of Superstar Limo, but my family really likes the ride.

This is why park hoppers are so critical. If you have Genie+ with DL and DCA, it makes the LL offerings so much better. DCA on its own is kind of disappointing for Genie+ (likely why they forced it onto Little Mermaid last year).

 

[candy0730]

Very helpful discussion! Where can I find a list stating which rides are gold tier, silver etc?

 

[JerrodDragon89]

For DCA is pretty easy

E tickets
Cars Racers
Incredicoaster
Soarin
GoTG Mission Break out
Grizzly River Rapids

D ticket
Monsters Inc
Goofys Sky School
Toy Story Midway Mainia
Spiderman Web Slingers (I guess some call it an E ticket....butI don't its not the impressive)
Little Mermaid

Most the other attractions are themed flat/carnival rides

Edit: never mind talking about the genie plus value on attractions

 

[Jawwdoc]

Very helpful discussion! Where can I find a list stating which rides are gold tier, silver etc?

For the purposes of MEP and tiers, keep in mind that Radiator Springs Racers and Rise of the Resistance do NOT accept the MEP regardless of tier (gold/silver) as they are paid Individual Lightning Lane attractions are are not included with Genie +. There have been recent reports that non-lightning lane rides (Peter Pan, Alice, Mr. Toads etc) are no longer accepting MEPs. The best advice would be to check the DL app to see which attractions are included for your MEP.

 

[row]

If I got an MEP at Disneyland can I use it to accelerate at CA adventure?

 

[wishesUT]

If I got an MEP at Disneyland can I use it to accelerate at CA adventure?

Yes. Here’s our experience from this past week. I traveled with a group of 11. Our first day at Disneyland (Tuesday the 26th) we were able to get an MEP at opening which we used to accelerate throughout the day. Our last LL booked was for MMRR which began at 11:20. That ended up going down and we got an MEP which we could use anytime that night or the next day. Obviously we chose to use it the next day at DCA (Wednesday the 27th) which enabled us to accelerate throughout the day there. We did not have park hoppers, but I could have booked attractions over at Disneyland if we’d wanted to. Our last day (Thursday the 28th) we did not get an MEP, but still had a great day focusing on less visited attractions mingled in with our LL selections. We had a great trip even during a very busy spring break week.