Disney’s New Genie+ Decision Leaves Fans Feeling Angry

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom

New news regarding Disney’s Genie+ service at Disneyland Resort has received mixed emotions from fans since being announced.

Two highly-anticipated attractions at Disneyland Resort are poised to make their debut on the Genie+ platform, bringing even more excitement and adventure to visitors. However, one of these announcements has left fans feeling less than magical due to the fear of this decision raising wait times.

Disneyland Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway

At Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, two attractions are set to join the Genie+ service. Among these soon-to-be additions, we have the much-loved Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, an immersive experience that takes Disney Park guests on an exhilarating journey through the whimsical world of these beloved Disney characters. Disneyland Park will soon add Genie+ to this magical attraction, which invites guests to embark on a thrilling adventure with Mickey and Minnie themselves.

The other ride getting Genie+ is the delightful underwater escapade, The Little Mermaid ~ Ariel’s Undersea Adventure, located at Disney California Adventure Park. This enchanting attraction is set to join the Genie+ Service lineup on the Disneyland app in the coming month. While some fans are eagerly anticipating the opportunity to experience this beloved ride through the convenience of Genie+, there is also a sense of concern among some enthusiasts.

The decision to incorporate Ariel’s Undersea Adventure into the Genie+ platform has sparked a wave of mixed emotions within the Disney fan community. While many are thrilled about the added convenience and benefits that come with utilizing Genie+ for this popular attraction, there are some who worry that the introduction of the service may inadvertently lead to longer wait times.

Understandably, fans who have grown fond of Ariel’s Undersea Adventure and cherish the memories made within its fantastical setting express concerns that the inclusion of Genie+ could potentially result in increased demand and, subsequently, longer queues. However, it’s important to note that Disney strives to strike a delicate balance between maximizing guest satisfaction and optimizing the overall visitor experience.

Dozens of fans left comments expressing their dissatisfaction over this decision. Many of them are concerned that this ride will become overly busy after this change is implemented. Some compare this situation to that of the Indiana Jones and Monsters Inc. attractions.

While it’s normal for any change in attraction management to elicit diverse reactions, it’s crucial to remember that Disney consistently evaluates and fine-tunes its services to ensure guests have memorable and enjoyable experiences. With the introduction of Genie+, Disney aims to provide visitors with a more streamlined and efficient way to navigate the park, ultimately enhancing their overall enjoyment.

Only time will be able to tell if this decision will end up being a smart one for Disney. Hopefully, Disney will be able to utilize Genie+ and individual lightning lane selection on these rides without greatly raising the wait time for low-wait attractions like Ariel’s Undersea Adventure.

Guests Line Up For Refunds as Disney Genie+ Service Experiences Outages Across Walt Disney World Resort

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks, Magic Kingdom

Guests lined up at Guest Experience Team kiosks across Walt Disney World Resort on Sunday morning as the Disney Genie and Genie+ services experienced a resort-wide outage. Refunds were offered to guests who had purchased the Genie+ service for the day.

Disney Genie+ Service Experiences Outages

Guests Lines Disney Genie Down 2023 2

The Genie+ service is a paid extension of Disney Genie through which guests can book Lightning Lane passes, which provide guests a time at which they can go to a selected attraction and use the shortened Lightning Lane queue.

Prices for the Disney Genie+ service change daily. They hit a recent high on the morning of October 8, with Walt Disney World Resort charging $29 for a multi-park pass. When available on Sunday morning, the Disney Genie+ service cost $29 at Magic Kingdom, $22 at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, $18 at EPCOT, and $16 at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

For much of Sunday morning, however, the Disney Genie and Genie+ services experienced outages. Guests were greeted with a tab notifying them of the outage upon opening the My Disney Experience mobile application.

The tab notified guests that new selections, purchases, or modifications to Disney Genie+ features were “temporarily unavailable.” When attempting to utilize the Disney Genie service (i.e. check attraction wait times/restaurant availability on the Disney Genie tab), guests were met with an eternally spinning wheel and reaffirming sentiments such as “tapping into phenomenal cosmic power” or “adding a few magical touches.”

Genie Down 1

The constant loading happened when users selected both the “Tip Board” and “My Day” tabs.

Refunds were offered to guests who were impacted by the Disney Genie+ outage. Lines formed at Guest Experience Team tents around Walt Disney World Resort; we noticed several lengthy lines while at Magic Kingdom.

The line at the Guest Experience Team tent in Frontierland wrapped around a portion of the area; a wandering Big Al kept them company for a short time.

Adventureland GET tent

A slightly shorter line had formed at the Adventureland Guest Experience Team tent. Perhaps the largest line had gathered at the Guest Relations Lobby in City Hall near the Magic Kingdom entrance; there, the line stretched out of the building.

Guests Lines Disney Genie Down 2023 6

As of 10:30 A.M. on October 8, the service is slowly coming back online across the resort. Guests are able to view attraction wait times and restaurant availability at all four Walt Disney World Resort parks, though they’re occasionally still prompted with the “Pardon our Inconvenience” pop-up notification. Guests again have the ability to purchase the Disney Genie+ service.

Disney Makes Changes to Genie+

Posted on by Mathew Corn Animal Kingdom, Disney Parks, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom

Disney Genie+ is complicated. Many have complained that it is too complicated. In recent months, Disney has promised that they hear those complaints and are working to simplify the process. Over the past few months, changes have trickled out to make the experience easier. Today they issued an update that makes it MUCH easier.

Disney Genie+ is a paid service offered by Disney theme parks that allows visitors to access shorter wait times for popular attractions. With Genie+, guests can use the app to book reservations for a selection of rides and shows. This service replaced FastPass in 2021 and has been the source of many complaints due to it being overcomplicated.

Simply finding rides to book has proven difficult for many guests. In the past, the app’s tips board listed Lightning Lane rides alongside non-Lightning Lane rides. This made booking a Lightning Lane reservation difficult because you’d have to wade through everything to find the ride you wanted. Since there are a limited amount of Lightning Lane reservations available, this costs valuable time.

Disney has now fixed this issue with a small but meaningful change. As of today, August 21, 2023, guests can now sort the list to show Lightning Lane attractions only. This filter will be helpful when planning your day and making your Lightning Lane selections. It’s a minor change that will have a big impact.

Guests on X (formerly Twitter) have praised the change but hope for more. Currently, you’re only allowed to select a Lightning Lane for a specific attraction once per day. Because of this, fans hope the app will hide attractions that have already been chosen in the future so that only eligible (to you) attractions are visible.

Hopefully, this change will come soon. As always, stay tuned right here, where we will keep a close eye on the developments.

New Update to Disney Genie+ Service at Walt Disney World

Posted on by Mathew Corn Animal Kingdom, Disney Parks, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom

As we recently shared, we are working on ways to simplify the Disney Genie+ service, including offering the ability to plan before the day of your visit, which many Guests have asked for. We plan to share more news in the future, but in the meantime, we also want to improve the experience for guests using the service as it exists today, so we will be making an update as we continue to listen to guests.

Beginning June 27, Guests at Walt Disney World will now purchase Disney Genie+ service based on how they want to visit. Guests will be able to select either a single-park option or a multiple-parks option, subject to availability. With this update, prices may now be lower at some Walt Disney World theme parks compared to others. Guests will continue to be able to purchase Disney Genie+ service through the My Disney Experience app on the day of their visit.

We will continue to listen to guest feedback, and look forward to sharing more information about updates to Disney Genie+ in the future.

Please reference the Disney Genie Job Aid for more information. A comparison chart is also available here.

Disney Pressured to End Genie+ and Lightning Lane

Posted on by Mathew Corn Animal Kingdom, Disney Parks, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom

Disneyland Guests are outraged over the treatment for Guests using Disney Genie+ and Lighting Lane.

Disneyland Resort, known as “The Happiest Place on Earth,” is a popular tourist location seeing thousands of Guests daily. Disneyland is home to two theme parks: Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park. Each Disney Park includes something for Guests of all ages and sizes to experience. Being this popular, Disneyland has made it where Guests can purchase Genie + or Lighting Lanes for attractions.

At Disneyland, there are two main ways to experience an attraction: the “Lightning Lane” and the “Standby Line.” The Lightning Lane is a new paid service that allows Guests to bypass the traditional standby line and access rides more quickly. Disney Guests can either purchase Genie +, which includes Lightning Lane or Guests can just purchase Individual Lighting Lane for certain Disneyland attractions.

The Disney Genie+ and Lightning Lane services work by allowing Disney Park Guests to make reservations for certain attractions in advance. These reservations can be made using the Disneyland app or at kiosks located throughout the theme park. Guests who have made a reservation for an attraction using Lightning Lane can bypass the standby line and use a separate entrance to access the attraction. Prices for the service vary based on the time of day and the popularity of the attraction. It should also be noted that you’re not guaranteed to be able to book a time to ride your favorite attractions as reservations can go quickly, especially for popular rides.

While Guests who chose to use the Standby Line, which is the traditional queue, may wait longer than those who are going through the Lightning Lane, there are no extra fees. But, it seems that Disney is facing some pressure from Guests who are upset with the service.

In a social media post, many have started to get angry with the treatment of Guests using the Lighting Lane instead of the regular Standby Line. In this post, Guests were waiting for a popular Disneyland attraction and they say the line was moving slowly. Though the regular wait time said 105 minutes, this Guest waited over two hours. When they got to the front, the Disney Cast Member was reportedly only allowing four Standby Line Guests to go at a time, filling the rest of the space with Lightning Lane Guests.

“Yesterday I noticed when we were in line for Guardians at DCA the line was moving rather slowly. Estimate was 105 min but it ended up being over 2 hours. As we made it into the front before preshow I saw the CM could only let 4 standby guests at a time MAX into the room, the rest was full of LL. Does anyone know why? (I get LL has priority) Preferably a CM explain it. I am honestly just curious because I never noticed it to be like that?”

Genie+ Guests

While Lighting Lane or Genie + does not mean you will be at the front of the line ,Guests who purchase will have an advantage over Standby Line, allowing them to pick a certain time and get on the attractions faster. Though many Guests have called for Genie+ to come to an end, it would seem that the controversial system is here to stay.