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?”
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.
Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort initiated the Lightning Lane system last year, replacing the free FastPass+ system with a paid alternative through the Disney Genie app.
Many Guests have complained about the service and the need to spend all day planning your Disney Parks visit minute by minute. Even an expert app developer claimed they would be fired if his team designed the Disney Genie system.
This week, an influencer spoke about his experience with Disney Genie+ and Lightning Lane. @kingzippy is a family-friendly content creator with 7.4 million TikTok followers. He visited Walt Disney World Resort with his daughter and shared this video about his experience there:
“Mickey Mouse, what happened to Disney?” he asked. “I went to Disney to get off of my phone and just enjoy my vacation, and then the whole time, I’m sitting there on my phone.”
Additionally, the influencer felt it was unfair that Guests still in their hotel rooms get to select Lightning Lane return times at the same time as Guests in the Disney Parks.
“It’s not fair that Carol sitting in her hotel room, gets to schedule she’s going on ‘it’s a small world’ at 10 to 11 a.m. while I’m walking around the Park wondering how I’m going to get in the Lightning Lane,” he explained. “… It’s not fair for the people at the Park that are really trying to get on rides, meanwhile, Carol is in her hotel room scheduling her entire day.”
“I just want to buy a FastPass. Give me a wristband and let me just go on all the rides,” the Guest said. “So Mickey Mouse, if you give me the option to just buy a FastPass wristband, I will pay whatever money you want, and I will schedule a vacation to Disney next week.”
In written comments, he explained that when he arrived at Park open, all Lightning Lane rides were booked through 3-5 p.m. Though he eventually figured out how to better utilize the paid service, he still felt it wasn’t worth it.
“I figured it out at magic kingdom thankfully we got on every ride but I was still on my phone the entire time instead of enjoying it with my daughter,” he replied to one commenter.
Despite the negative feedback, Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World Resort recently increased the price of Disney Genie+. At Walt Disney World Resort, some Individual Lightning Lanes can cost up to $25 per Guest.
Walt Disney World has just introduced and implemented its completely revamped ride reservation system, and not everyone is feeling the love for it.
That’s because the new services replace the old FastPass and FastPass+ systems at Disney World, both of which were free to Guests and only required making a reservation for a time to enjoy a particular attraction, and then returning to experience the attraction.
Now, Guests will pay for the once-free option of making a reservation to ride. Guests don’t have to use the service; they can, instead, wait in the stand-by queue instead of paying to walk through the Lightning Lane. Guests can opt for the Genie+ option, which will cost them $15 per person in their traveling parties, per day. But there are 2 attractions at each theme park that aren’t included in the $15 per person, per day fee.
Rather, if Guests want to enjoy Seven Dwarfs Mine Train or Space Mountain at Magic Kingdom, Frozen Ever After or Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure at EPCOT, Tower of Terror or Rise of the Resistance at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, or Avatar: Flight of Passage or Expedition Everest at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, they will have to pay an additional per person, per attraction fee if they don’t want to use the standby queue.
But one Disney fan has apparently been very observant since the system first debuted, and she, like other fans, has noticed, that there are times when the Lightning Lane option is counter-productive: Guests pay to access the attraction without a huge wait, but then the Lightning Lane wait time is longer than the expected wait time in the standby queue, or, in other cases, the posted times in the stand-by queue are much longer than actual wait times. It has happened with the Rise of the Resistance attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
At least she has some humor about it.
Pssst. Don't pay $15 for Rise of the Resistance. Just get in line at the end of the night.
So, she’s found a “hack” to use in response to this issue, and it’s probably the easiest hack you’ll ever employ: simply wait till the end of the evening to enjoy the Rise of the Resistance attraction at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but don’t pay for Lightning Lane. She doesn’t think you’ll need it.
Disney fans have taken to social media to air their opinions about the new Genie+ and Lightning Lane systems, and the majority of those opinions are not of the positive persuasion.
@BlozzS says the new system is the “end of the world.”
At Disneyland this weekend and two separate cast members have quietly confided in me that they think paid lighting lane is "shameful" and "atrocious." Even cast members thing it's a terrible program. I hope Disney considers ending this program. People already pay a lot for parks.
In this tweet, a user responds to a tweet by @DisneyParksNews, touting the new Disney Genie as a magical itinerary-making phenomenon.
Disney Genie service can magically evaluate thousands of possible itineraries in seconds to create your best Disney day – and make the experience better for everyone! Learn more about how it works on @TheMotleyFool. https://t.co/TQneZ0Jutw
Some Disney fans, like @JulieaMankin, simply entreat Disney World to bring back their beloved FastPasses.
Disney Genie service can magically evaluate thousands of possible itineraries in seconds to create your best Disney day – and make the experience better for everyone! Learn more about how it works on @TheMotleyFool. https://t.co/TQneZ0Jutw
The new Disney Genie program has officially launched at Walt Disney World and will soon be arriving at Disneyland Resort. With the Disney World launch on October 19, we’ve been able to see and experience the three-part program that has arrived at the Disney Parks. The complimentary Disney Genie upgrade in the My Disney Experience App is rather impressive with the ability to help guide your day through the Parks. The second component is the Disney Genie+ which is $15 per person, per day. You can use Disney Genie+ to skip the lines (much like a paid FastPass) on select attractions. Thirdly, there are the Lightning Lane attractions which consist of eight a-la-carte attractions that you can buy the ability to skip the line. While the $15 Disney Genie+ price remains the same whether it’s the weekday or weekend, Lightning Lane pass pricing does increase on the weekend due to the crowd increase. We’re now seeing the Disney Park first weekend pricing settle in with Lightning Lane attractions.
Weekend Lightning Lane Pricing
As the first Disney Genie weekend arrives, pricing for Lightning Lane access is on the climb! More people equals a higher upcharge for the following Lightning Lane attraction. Here is pricing for the Lightning Lane attractions as of Friday, October 22:
Magic Kingdom
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train: was $10, now $12
Space Mountain: was $7, now $9
EPCOT
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure: was $9, now $11
Frozen Ever After: was $9, now $11
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway: was $8, now $10
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance: was $15 – remains $15
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Expedition Everst: was $7 – remains $7
Avatar Flight of Passage: was $11, now $14
Interestingly enough, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is the one Lightning Lane attraction to regularly sell out almost immediately with Park opening. If this is a ride you want to pay to Lightning Lane, you’ll want to buy your pass as a Disney Resort Guest at 7:00 am. If you aren’t a Disney Resort Guest, you can try to snag a Lightning Lane as soon as the Park opens, but don’t wait as it is selling out within minutes!
Disney Genie is going to officially launch on October 19 at Walt Disney World. The date for Disneyland has not yet been determined. The information was shared as part of a Zoom Meeting with several Disney Executives who have been working on the project. They also shared plenty of information on the new service.
During the meeting, it was stated that the goal of Disney Genie is to optimize Guests’ time and maximize Guests’ fun. It will be a lot like a navigation app on your phone, with updates depending on where you are and what you are interested in. It will match your must dos and interests, and find ways for you to get the most out of your day. Any plans that you currently have such as dining reservations will be taken into account when the suggestions are made.
Disney Genie will use algorithms to determine what you should do and when. The suggestions will be not only for attractions, but dining will be included as well. If you don’t like a suggestion, you can swap it out for something else. If you aren’t sure why something was suggested for you, there will be a feature where you can find out why it was a suggestion. Current Wait Times will be available, as well as forecasted Wait Times. There will also be a Tip Board to help you figure out your next move. The Tip Board will give the status for each attraction or restaurant. Another nice feature will be that if a full service restaurant has spots available on the Wait List, you will be able to join through Disney Genie. No more “you’re aren’t close enough” messages!
Suggestions will change based on other factors as well. If storms are rolling in, an indoor attraction could be recommended. If a ride is down Disney Genie will let you know and adapt as needed. You won’t have to walk across a Park, only to discover that you can’t ride.
If you plan to Park Hop, Disney Genie is adaptable for that as well. You can include the time that you plan to hop and which park, and your suggestions will be updated. If you change your mind it is easy to put that information into Disney Genie and you will have new recommendations appear.
Don’t worry that Disney Genie is going to cause long lines because it recommends the same things to all Guests. The system will take that into account, so everyone will not receive the same recommendations at the same time.
Disney Genie will be complimentary. The free service will include personalized optimizations for your day. The Tip Board and many other features will be included as well. If you’re worried about your battery, the service will update only when you open it on your phone. That will help to prolong your battery life.
The paid extra that everyone is talking about is Disney Genie+. This will cost $15 a day at Walt Disney World. You do not need to purchase it for the length of your ticket, you’ll just buy it the day of. There will be no special add-on at launch for Annual Passholders, they also will have to pay each day they want to use it. The main draw of Disney Genie+ is that Guests will have access to the Lightning Lane. You will be able to pick one attraction at a time, and will be given the next available time. If your return time is too far away you will be able to make a second selection after two hours. The system will work much like the old FastPass system did, you cannot make selections until the day of your visit. One person can make Lightning Lane selections for everyone in a party. If you want to break the group up, you will be able to do that as well.
Another extra in Disney Genie+ will be Augmented Reality Lenses. There will be 20 to choose from. You will be able to turn yourself into the Genie, or enjoy a plate of virtual spaghetti with your favorite Tramp. Most of the lenses are for use in the Theme Parks, but some will be available outside of them.
There was also an update on the Individual Lightning Lane attractions. These will be available for purchase a la carte, so to speak. You will be able to purchase a maximum of two different attractions per day. At launch the Individual Lightning Lane choices will be as follows; Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Space Mountain at the Magic Kingdom, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure and Frozen Ever After at EPCOT, Rise of the Resistance and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Avatar Flight of Passage and Expedition Everest at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The price point was not mentioned, but will reflect how busy the Parks are expected to be.
More information on Disney Genie and Disney Genie+ will be released in the coming days. The new service is meant to help you to make the most of your time at Walt Disney World. It is not mandatory to use, but since the basic service will be free we recommend that you try it. You could end up saving a lot of time.
