Disney Genie made its appearance in late 2021, along with the introduction of the new Disney Genie+ service. With this came a lot of questions, and opinions, from guests about this new service. Is it worth it? What does it do? And how do I use it? Today, I am going to tell you about Disney Genie, Disney Genie+, and share my best tips for using both of these!
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What is Disney Genie and What are the Best Ways to Use It?
Disney Genie is the standard, complimentary planning tool in the My Disney Experience app. This allows guests to have multiple planning tools all in one place! The purpose is to help you make the most of your day, and suggest nearby attractions, dining, and shows to help you maximize your park time.
Even before you to the theme parks, you can enter your preferences and interests, and Disney Genie will offer you a suggested itinerary. You can choose your top picks for attractions in each theme park, as well as dining locations and shows you may want to enjoy. Think of it as making a list of attractions and park experiences in the app!
Once you have chosen these, then you can return to the Genie page to see your recommended itinerary. The Tip Board will show you approximate wait times for attractions, as well as Lightning Lane availability (which we will explore later).
Throughout the day, Disney Genie will offer you suggestions. So for example, if you have an Individual Lighting Lane for Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure early in the day, and a Test Track Lightning Lane for late morning/early afternoon, Disney Genie will offer you nearby suggestions to fill your time in between.
Another great feature on the Tip Board is the “Dining”. By tapping on this, you can see the dining locations for the park you are currently in. It will show you which table service locations have current availability, and the option to Mobile Order from nearby Quick Service locations.
The best feature of Disney Genie is the Forecasted Wait Times. On the Tip Board, choose an attraction. Then, on the next screen, it will show you forecasted wait times. This allows you to either enjoy the attraction right then if the wait is low, OR come back at a time when the forecasted wait time will likely be short.
What is Disney Genie+ and Is it Worth It?
Disney Genie+ is the replacement for the previous FastPass Plus system. The idea behind it is to minimize your wait in line at popular attractions. On average guests will be able to enjoy between 3-4 attractions using Disney Genie+ each day. You may be able to enjoy more, depending on how you are moving through the theme parks. But four is about average.
Disney Genie+ costs $15 plus tax, per person per day of tickets.
Guests can purchase Disney Genie+ in two ways. First, you can add it to your resort/ticket package. When doing so, it adds it for the entire length of your park tickets. They can also add it to their tickets while purchasing them as a stand alone purchase through My Disney Experience. OR, guests can add it day by day, each day of their trip while in the theme parks.
The main advantage to adding it right away is convenience. There is not an earlier booking window, or more access to attractions. When purchasing this, and booking return times, guests will enter the Lightning Lane area of the queue.
Guests cannot ride an attraction with Disney Genie+ more than once. If you would like to enjoy Pirates of the Caribbean, for example, three times in one day, only one of those can be with a Lightning Lane. The other two must be stand by.
There are over 48 attractions that accept Disney Genie+. I find it to be most useful when you are at Magic Kingdom and /or when you have park hopper on your ticket. Guests CAN book Lightning Lane selections for a DIFFERENT park in the same day if they have park hopper. This is a huge advantage to Disney Genie+!
The first Lightning Lane selection can be booked at 7AM. Then, at the official park opening, you can book a second one. From there, guests can book them every two hours.
Let me share an example – You have a Park Pass Reservation for Magic Kingdom on May 3rd. At 6:58AM, you open your My Disney Experience app, and click on Tip Board. On the Tip Board, you will see attractions for the park you are entering that day, as well as the next available return time for that attraction.
*TIP: Choose the earliest return time possible!
Choose the attraction you would like to Lightning Lane, confirm your travel party, and when your arrival window opens, arrive at that attraction to board with little to no wait!
When do you get to make your second choice? After you book your first Genie+, you can book a second one when:
- You have used the first one you booked.
- Your first return window has ended (if you miss it)
- 120 minutes have passed since you booked your last one (or 120 minutes after park opening)
The 120 minute rule is SO important! This is what will allow you to book multiple experiences and “stack” them for your day.
If you book your first Genie+ choice in the morning for later in the day, then you can make a second Genie+ Lightning Lane choice once 120 minutes have passed. But if you book before park opening time, this countdown starts at park opening time. This is SO IMPORTANT!
Let’s say you wake up at 7AM and make your first Genie+ selection for Peter Pan’s Flight at Magic Kingdom and the return time you have is 12:00PM. You won’t be able to use that first Genie+ selection until your designated 12PM return time, and your return time won’t end until later in the day. Are you stuck waiting until you ride the ride or that time passes before booking another one? NO! With the 120 minute rule, you can book another Genie+ selection sooner than that.
Because you made that first Genie+ selection BEFORE the park opens, your 120 minute timer starts when the park OPENS. In this case, you booked the Genie+ selection at 7AM, but Magic Kingdom doesn’t open until 9AM. So you’ll be able to book that next Genie+ selection at…11AM. So at 11AM, repeat the process and book another one. Let’s say you book Pirates of the Caribbean for a 1:30 return time. Awesome! Then, at 1PM, you can book a third Lightning Lane, and so on! Paying attention to the 120 minute rule is so important!
What are Individual Lightning Lanes?
Each park has one or two attractions that are SO popular. To manage this, Disney has created Individual Lightning Lane options.
This means that attractions such as Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Avatar Flight of Passage, Rise of the Resistance, as well as several others are not included in Disney Genie+. These attractions are purchased separately the day you want to enjoy them.
The pricing on these varies by day and attraction, and is not a flat rate. Guests can purchase these at the same time, as they are booking their Disney Genie+ Lighting Lane selection in the morning. The price will populate in the app, so guests can see the cost before purchasing.
Onsite guests can purchase these at 7AM. Off Site or ticket only guests can purchase these at park opening. Also, you do NOT need to purchase Disney Genie+ if you only want Individual Lightning Lane attractions!
Is Individual Lightning Lane Worth It?
In the end, is it worth it? That depends. Guests who are visiting at busy times, have a list of MUST DOs, and who have a lot of time planned at Magic Kingdom will find it most worth it. Guests with park hopper will also find it worth it!
Sometimes, it makes more sense to just purchase one or two Individual Lightning Lane attractions and not Disney Genie+.
Disney Genie and Disney Genie+ come with a learning curve. Here’s a video that may help.
Taking time to research, checking wait times, and putting together a park plan will make it so much easier. Will you be using Disney Genie+ on your next trip?
