My Day Using Genie+ Lightning Lanes in Peak Crowds at Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Genie+ attraction availability goes quickly at Hollywood Studios, especially during peak season dates at Walt Disney World. With that in mind, I headed to DHS on a 10/10 crowd level day to see how much I’d be able to accomplish using Lightning Lanes to skip standby lines when the system was stressed by high demand and heavy attendance.
This photo report walks you through my step-by-step day using paid FastPass, with my Lightning Lane selections & return times, ride reservation screenshots, what I accomplished using Genie+ during peak crowd levels, and thoughts at the end about whether Genie+ is still worth the money at DHS. It also includes strategy and other useful advice, plus plenty of useless and random commentary.
This visit came after Walt Disney World moved Individual Lightning Lane attractions to Genie+. That improves the quality of the Genie+ experience, adding availability, and (maybe) how many standard Lightning Lane selections you can score in a day. We’ll also check out how that theory plays out in practice.
As quick background for those who are unfamiliar with it, Walt Disney World’s new Genie+ line-skipping service is the permanent replacement to free FastPass+ for select attractions in each park. Genie+ costs $16 per person per day and excludes the most popular ride per park. It’s a basically a digital version of the paper FastPass system from the “old days.”
For more info and answers to common questions, see our Guide to Genie+ at Walt Disney World & Lightning Lane FAQ. We’ve already updated that several times, and it’s a great jumping off point if you’re confused, overwhelmed…or fully understand the system, but want some next-level strategy to better leverage Genie+.
One thing I want to note up front is that this is my day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios using Lightning Lanes. It’s not a recommended itinerary, Genie+ touring plan, or universally-applicable day that I would suggest replicating. Simply what I did over the course of testing Genie+ during a busy day at DHS.
If you’re trying to accomplish just as much in a day without Genie+, an aggressive approach and savvy strategy are required at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. It’s the toughest park to tour at Walt Disney World. There’s no magical formula to sleeping in, rolling up to the park a couple hours after rope drop, not buying Genie+, enjoying the park in a leisurely way, and accomplishing everything. We have advice about how you can get as much as possible done in our 1-Day Disney’s Hollywood Studios Itinerary (No Genie+).
Anyway, let’s move along to my day using Genie+ and Lightning Lanes at Disney’s Hollywood Studios…
Let’s start at 6:50 am, which is when my alarm went off. I bought Genie+ in the My Disney Experience app, customized my Tip Board for strategic advantage (see below), and browsed around in Genie to see if anything had changed.
At 7:00:00 am, I refreshed the Tip Board.
My confirmed Slinky Dog Dash Lightning Lane ride reservation was for 9:05 am to 10:05 am.
If you’ve used Genie+ to book Slinky Dog Dash before, you’re no doubt aware that this is a “good” result, and that my return time could’ve been much, much worse. It’s incredibly common to see 9:00 am to 10:00 am on the first screen, but have it jump to 3:45 pm to 4:45 pm on the confirmation. This is a particularly pronounced problem with Slinky Dog Dash and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. Most other attractions do not have this issue.
For booking Slinky Dog Dash especially (but really whenever possible–it’s always good practice), we highly recommend following our Speed Strategy for Genie+ Selections.
Being able to book a second Lightning Lane attraction at DHS before 11 am is huge, because that’s the first possible time anyone subject to the 120 minute rule–which is many savvy guests–will be able to make another Genie+ ride reservation. Even though it’s a far longer window, not many people are booking between ~7:10 am and 10:59 am. Return times tend to move slower during that time frame.
Other headliner attractions move quickly, also hitting early evening return times by 7:05 am. The difference is that these will be replenished throughout the morning and early afternoon, with the clock “turning over” on them–meaning that you’ll see morning and midday times if you just wait a bit.
As always, Slinky Dog Dash Lightning Lane reservations via Genie+ go fast. It’s possible to get lucky with a refill or cancellation, but you’re strongly advised to make Slinky Dog Dash your first pick at Disney’s Hollywood Studios–and as close to 7 am as possible. It remains #1 on our Disney’s Hollywood Studios Genie+ Priorities & Lightning Lane Ride Ranks, even after the recent changes.
Here’s an illustration of that, albeit not a great one. Note that almost three hours later, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway has a slightly earlier time, while Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run is exactly the same.
This isn’t because the latter held static that entire time or Runaway Railway had cancellations–it’s because availability was added and the clock was reset when that happened.
Here’s another example, from later in the day. Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith had been unavailable when I checked just a few minutes earlier, but had a refill (maybe at 1:45 pm?) shortly thereafter.
I wasn’t eligible to make another selection until shortly after 2 pm. By then, it was gone once again.
It’s difficult to offer any hard and fast strategy around this to first-time Genie+ users. Waiting for a lower return time is fraught with peril (who said Walt Disney World vacations aren’t true-life adventures?!), as it’s possible the clock won’t reset or you’ll waste valuable time getting the clock ticking on the next 120 minute rule or you’ll end up spending too much time on your screen.
Generally, I just book my first 3 selections of the day ASAP. No waiting, excessive screen time, or overthinking it. I just set an alarm for my next eligible time and book my highest priority as soon as I’m eligible.
The reason for this approach is a simple practical reality: you’re going to get stuck with evening return times at Disney’s Hollywood Studios regardless.
Given that and the incredibly low chances of a return time inside 120 minutes, on balance, the upside of booking quickly outweighs the upside of potentially earlier return times. Reasonable minds may differ on that, but it’s my preferred approach–and the easier one.
In this particular case, my next selection was Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. In a perfect world, I would’ve tapped into Slinky Dog Dash as soon I hit a wall with rope drop wait times, which would’ve been about 9:45 am.
In the real world, I was racing to get to the park, didn’t rope drop anything, and just barely made the tail end of my Slinky Dog Dash window. (That extra 15 minutes can be a lifesaver sometimes!)
This is already going to be a long step-by-step Genie+ day, so I’m largely going to leave the “regular” half of my morning out of this. It’s not anything you should replicate, anyway, as it involved a lot of wandering, criss-crossing the park, and getting photos to update other posts. A day in the life of a Disney blogger is incredibly unexciting, I assure you.
One thing I do want to note is that the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is currently receiving a “stealth” refurbishment, with one elevator shaft down. This is expected to be ongoing for several months, at which point it’s possible the other side will go down for the same. The whole process could last through summer, or perhaps beyond. This means the attraction is effectively operating at half-capacity.
It also means that the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror is now our #3 Genie+ priority of the day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Wait times won’t be exactly double what they’d be in normal circumstances (due to guest balking points), but they are significantly elevated. (The sign in the photo above shows a wait time of 130 minutes.)
My return time here was 8:10 pm to 9:00 pm. I was not pleased with this because I like setting aside that last hour for doing Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance or other short standby lines. However, I feared that it was late enough in the day and crowds were heavy enough that holding off for a lower time was too risky. YMMV.
One of my top priorities was seeing Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular. Even arriving with (what I assumed was) sufficient time before the first performance, the theater was already full to capacity.
Props to the Cast Member holding the sign for posing and smiling. Being in photos or blogs has gotta be awkward and uncomfortable for some of them–it’s often equally uncomfortable for me.
As a consolation prize, I guess, I met Olaf at Celebrity Showcase.
He still doesn’t have a PhotoPass photographer and it’s still a sighting rather than a traditional meet & greet. Given the recent end of the indoor face mask rule, plus the entirety of the Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser experience being normal, it’s likely we’ll soon see other awkwardly-modified entertainment and character interactions return to normal.
The middle of my day involved a lot of wandering around and taking photos.
For those who are curious for whatever reason, I focused on the performers and details of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge (Batuu is a treasure trove if you slow down and look up). Nothing exciting, but I had fun killing time.
The only ride I did was Star Tours: the Adventures Continue. My actual wait time for that was over 30 minutes, which was a pretty good indicator that actual waits were going to be long for literally everything.
I also arrived at an afternoon showtime of Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular with plenty of time to spare. I ended up taking over one hundred photos that I’ll probably never end up using, so might as well randomly insert a few here:
The rest of my midday at Disney’s Hollywood Studios was largely uneventful. It involved a stop at ABC Commissary for my tried and true favorite, the Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwich. (You can read all about the new-ish options in our latest ABC Commissary Review.)
Other stops included MuppetVision 3D, Mickey Shorts Theater, and Beauty and the Beast – Live on Stage. Came very close to also watching the Frozen Sing-Along, but Sarah wasn’t with me and that’s an awkward attraction for a solo male.
When it came time for me to make another selection, Toy Story Mania was my next best option.
I debated waiting for something higher priority (Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run before 7 pm would’ve been great), but the practical reality at this point was that I was staying until closing, and standby lines for everything would be shorter by then.
The reason for all these time-killers was because my Lightning Lane reservations via Genie+ at Disney’s Hollywood Studios were all backfilled into the evening.
My goal with DHS right now is not doing any rides (outside of Star Tours) via standby lines between ~10 am and ~4 pm. This is difficult, but if you do every single show, other entertainment, and eat twice, it’s doable. The midday wait times are why Disney’s Hollywood Studios needs to bring back streetmosphere more than any other park. I could’ve killed a lot of time watching the Citizens of Hollywood.
We make this recommendation elsewhere, but if you’re doing a full day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, consider two table service meals. Maybe the first seating at 50’s Prime Time Café, when everyone in your party is still in the spirit for shenanigans.
Then a late afternoon lunch at Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant, when you’re all wanting a dark respite from the sun and heat. Strategically, eating both meals early is ideal. Getting Advance Dining Reservations for both is the tricky part, as that’s about as “easy” as booking Lightning Lanes for both Slinky Dog Dash and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway!
To quickly recap, this is what my evening would look like at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
The overlap is no big deal. It will require criss-crossing the park, but thankfully, DHS is no Animal Kingdom. Bouncing around doesn’t require nearly as much walking–and is definitely worth it for the time savings.
For my next selection, I chose Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run. However, I did not get it.
This is where my screen time increased exponentially–I had been doing a pretty good job up until ~4:30 pm of staying off my phone. After failing to secure an available time for Smugglers Run, I became obsessed with getting it. I saw the above screen 3 different times, being just a little too slow each time. I could’ve booked Alien Swirling Saucers instead, which would’ve saved some time, assuming I wanted to do that.
I never succeeded in getting Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run.
Can’t complain too much given my good luck earlier in the day, but it was still frustrating to “have it” only for it to vanish as I clicked through. Too bad there isn’t a temporary lock/guarantee for ~60 seconds from the time you first click through completion of booking.
High crowd levels persisted into the evening at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
Expect this to be the case more and more as higher wait times and returning entertainment extend guests’ days at DHS. This will be especially true once Fantasmic returns.
I could have done Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance towards the end of the night, but its posted wait time was still 115 minutes when I headed over there and the overflow queue was in use. I hadn’t paid attention to downtime earlier in the day, so I wasn’t comfortable queueing up.
The end of the night is such a crapshoot with this attraction. Sometimes, the posted wait time is dramatically inflated and the actual wait ends up being 30 minutes or less. Other times, breakdowns make it an underestimate. From the overflow queue alone, I knew this would be much more than 30 minutes.
Since I’ve done this attraction many times, I had no interest in testing and timing the wait. (See our Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance Ride Guide for strategy, best & worst times to do the attraction.) I ended my evening with Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster as a near walk-on instead.
Ultimately, I ended up using Genie+ to secure 4 Lightning Lane selections during this 10/10 crowd day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios (plus one for Soarin’ that I didn’t/couldn’t use). For those wanting a little more insight into crowds, it was the 18th busiest day in the last 450 days, with an average posted wait time of 57 minutes.
Based on posted wait times at my return times, I saved 345 minutes with those 4 ride reservations. Even if 100 minutes were knocked off that due to the disparity between posted v. actual wait times at Walt Disney World, I still would’ve saved 4 hours of waiting in line. Given the $16 cost, that’s roughly $4 per hour, making Genie+ “worth it” in terms of the time v. money cost calculus.
However, the argument could be made that a strong itinerary, arriving for rope drop (or better yet, Early Entry) and staying until park closing would’ve yielded similar–or better–results. I wouldn’t disagree with that. I probably could’ve done better following my own strategy for the beginning and end of the day.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios remains the most difficult park for Genie+ from my perspective. While I could’ve done better and scored another Lightning Lane reservation for Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run (or even Alien Swirling Saucers), I also could’ve done much worse. Less tech-savvy guests won’t be able to book Slinky Dog Dash so early (even when following our speed strategy), which could then close the door on Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, too.
That’s the tough and sad thing about Genie+ and Lightning Lanes. “Success” with the system comes at the expense of tech novices or less knowledgeable guests, many of whom will drop $16 per person for next to no advantage. This isn’t just theoretical–we’ve received feedback from literally hundreds of guests at this point who have reported exactly that.
This was also the case with FastPass+, but at least that wasn’t directly monetized and moved at least some of the stress to 30 or 60 days before vacation. There’s no perfect solution, but I certainly hope Walt Disney World is paying attention to guest satisfaction and feedback. Even though Genie+ works well for me (and can for you), it shouldn’t require being a power user who has taken a crash course in the system’s strategy to have a good day in the parks.
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Your Thoughts
Thoughts on my day in Disney’s Hollywood Studios using the Genie+ service after the Lightning Lane changes? Are you planning on buying Genie+ or sticking to free standby lines at DHS? Do you agree or disagree with my assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
As always, so helpful to read your research experiences. My major concern for our visit in late-March is that getting paid LL or Genie+ times will be really tough for a family of 5. But I guess I’m viewing it like a restaurant reservation in terms of capacity limits, and maybe it’s not like that. Maybe you get the spot solely on timing and not group size. This is our first post-Covid visit. Regardless, you’re right about getting out of the blazing mid-day sun at Hollywood. Thank you, and keep the fresh info coming!
Thanks so much for your reporting — it really helped us make the most of our Disney trip!
We were at DHS on what felt like a 10/10 day — Feb 24. We were able to get Slinky at 7:00am sharp and paid for LL access to Rise at 7:19am after getting shut out of the 7am queue. So we were really lucky! But honestly DHS felt overcrowded during the day to the point where we just decided to leave for the afternoon and come back in the evening. Batuu was teeming with people. Toy story land looked like a fish feeding. I really loved our experience at WDW overall but it just did not seem like there were enough rides or entertainment at DHS or Animal Kingdom to support the size of these crowds. It’s a huge bummer as well that the shows mostly only run from like 10-4 so you can’t use them to pad your days while you are waiting for a ride.
Hollywood Studios is such a craps shoot, even on lower crowd days. We had an impossible time securing slinky dog dash in mid-January when there were app issues. I followed all of your advice, had everything loaded, pulled down to reload the app, and then it just wouldn’t load. I couldn’t book anything for the first 15 minutes and by then they were all gone. On the same day, we arrived with what we thought was plenty of time for Beauty and the Beast. It was full. We sat through the first scene of Indiana Jones and then they couldn’t get the set pieces to move. We sat and waited while they kept trying before they called the show off. Later in the day, we saw the pyro from the show and saw that it was back up and running. Went to the last Indy show of the day, and once again the set piece didn’t move. (Insert sad trombone) I had some super devastated kids who, for some unknown reason, had their heart set on seeing the Indy show. Ate at Sci-Fi and we’re sat at a “stretch limo,” not a real car. (Boo to those). We went to get in line for RotR at 8:50 right before closing hoping to take advantage of a shorter line. We were informed the ride was down and IF it came back up, there was at least a 90 minute wait with the number of people in line. It’s wasn’t a great day in Hollywood, but luckily, the rest of the trip redeemed that stinker of a day.
When we were at Hollywood Studios, we filled Lightning Lanes to be able to choose the next quicker with a show and just kept an eye on the app for another to open up. It seemed to help us end up getting Slinky Dog, riding Rock n Roller Coaster twice, and Smuggler’s Run twice in one day. Of course I am not sure how the crowds rate with the day he was there though. It did seem very busy and at times most of the big rides were at 110 or over wait times.
My son and I are coming for three days in April. We are very seasoned Disney veterans but have never used Genie+ as our last trip was in Sept of last year. I was planning to buy it for all three days, but or plans are: Tues: HS hop to Epcot, Wed: AK hop to MK, Thurs: Start at MK, end at Epcot, do whatever in between. My question is, should we bother with Genie+ on Tues? If we’re only going to get evening return times and we’ll be at Epcot by then, and Epcot doesn’t need Genie+ is it just pointless? I know it might work better to flip the two parks but 1.Epcot opens later and 2. HS has no nighttime entertainment. I don’t want to go back and forth all day, though I know if there’s any two parks where that’s doable those two are it. Thoughts? (Anyone feel free to chime in here)
Just back from a Disneyland surprised trip my family gave me for my birthday and first trip with Genie+ and paid LL. Hate paying for it but thought necessary given how infrequently we visit.
We visited California Park this past Wed Feb 23rd and the crowds were nuts. We had to buy Genie and ended up buying paid LL for Racers & WEB slingers – I recall seeing on the app ride wait times hit 150 -200+.
One big issue I had with Racers and feeling duped in paying LL is that Racers LL queue is right next to single rider line. No sooner does my family 3x get in line which we paid $45 those from the single rider line jumped the line behind us into the LL line putting us in an award situation. 8 – 10 additional kids and even young adults jumped the line as we waited for it to merge with the stand-by line. When we arrived at the merge, I was fuming that I paid and spoke to the ride cast members. The 2 cast members did nothing, suggesting only that those who cut the line simply might be joining other members from their party – which caused me to hit the roof. A couple in the LL line supported my observation and said they are local guests and indicated that it happens all the time. Locals from the single rider line know that LL is right next to it – simply jumping a three-foot high railing and they skip the 200+ line. I indicated to the cast members that they should either monitor the line or scan the LL at the merge so paying guest don’t feel deceived. That’s when they showed me that they did but Disney took out the scanners and one of the cast members pointed to the wholes that held the scan machines. I told them that tells me as a paying guess that Disney was aware of the problem but didn’t feel it was worth the trouble or added cost to address and was weighting the cost of those who paid to see the violation and address it themselves. I then wanted my money back – and that’s when I got blank stares and no answers how I go about getting my money back. When I got off the ride, I spoke to the cast members at the start of the ride and was told I had to go to Chamber of Commerce at the park entrance. I figured we will do when exiting. Of course, Chamber of Commerce was closed when we exited. Had to communicate next through the app since we were not visiting the park next day. Got the run-around and given an email – nothing. On Friday, while in Disneyland went first thing to City Hall. At this point, not happy with the time spent through their app, email and now City Hall – I finally got them to refund $45. Not happy how they handled it, no apology or indication that they will address issue. I know Disney deals with many issues and complaints, but to me this was my issue and complain which was important to me, and by all accounts I never felt that any of the cast members who I raised this concern with cared personally. I also had a ADR issue which was handled even with less care – for another day. DO NOT PAY for LL for Racers.
Sorry, still confused on when I am eligible for a new Genie+ pass. Only 120 minutes from park open? After I tap into a reserved Genie+ pass? Both?
So I was at DHS on President’s Day… total 10/10.
While I’ve generally been positive about Genie+, I encountered “useless” G+ that day.
I was only planning half the day — catching evening flight.
Without being able to stack in the evening, I knew my value would be limited out the gate.
At 7am— I got “something went wrong” on several refreshes of the app. By the time we got the tip board at 7:02am, there were no morning return fines for any priority attraction. We ended up with 11am Star Tours.
On another device, I tried to book ROTR as early as possible. But that quickly turned into 11:40 return time. But I had 11:45 ADR. If I did the dining first, I’d definitely miss my ROTR window. And doing ROTR would get me to the restaurant way too late. So I spent 40 minutes on line at Guest Services to get that fixed.
So 11am Star Tours… 40 minutes at Guest Services… for the cost of $35 per person.
Very helpful report – thank you! It’s true that Disney has always been a place where planning pays off, but it’s becoming a bit excessive! I like this strategy of riding some things early and then stacking reservations for end of day. In theory, this makes a lot of sense. However, with a family and teens, waiting until “end of day” for all the rides isn’t necessarily a viable strategy. Or I guess we just have to re-think our days … with better use of the pool or hotel during the midday. We can only eat so much, and since the kids can’t yet drink with us, some of the in-park afternoon activities just won’t work to keep us all occupied.
Great report. My plan is actually to do One evening at HS (stacking 3-4 rides), and then one afternoon for shows with the evening for stacked rides for what I didn’t get the first time.
As far as Indians Jones. About how early do you recommend then to queue up for it mid afternoon on a busy day?
We were there this past week and while all the parks were crowded, they mostly felt manageable with genie+. We decided to do genie+ every day given the crowds and I think that was a good call. We didn’t wait on any lines over 45mins except a posted 90 min wait for Peter Pan that ended up being 45mins. Hollywood Studio was the toughest part of our trip. I never managed to snag slinky dog, even at 7am on the dot. We did get all the Star Wars rides in, though!
Strategy question – I’m thinking of skipping trying to get a G+ for slinky dog, since it would probably have a return time later in the day, and booking runaway railway for my first pick and rope dropping slinky as you suggest in your without genie itinerary (we are staying on site so will have a head start). Then we could almost definitely ride railway and get a second pick before 11, and be ahead of the crowd for the rest of the day. Is there a drawback here I’m not seeing?
I can’t confirm if it’s a good strategy, but I can say it’s what I’m thinking of doing when we go in late March. My kids are younger and don’t necessarily need to ride Star Wars rides. Our top ride priorities are probably Slinky Dog and Mickey Minnie (also Toy Story Mania). Knowing my kids, being able to guarantee 1 shorter wait for a ride they’re really excited about seems best. I will say that 3 years ago we did this, and our wait for Slinky Dog was still at least 45 minutes. Good luck and I hope you enjoy your trip!
Am I correct in assuming it’s also significantly harder to effectively make Genie + work with a family due to the extra passes trying to be booked? We found this week staying onsite to be worth it for the 30 minute head start, but Genie + has been a bust for the most part this week except for MK. We’re “seasoned” vets but this was our first Genie experience. We read all the posts and we’re fully comfortable with the process. My wife and I were ready with freshly refreshed apps on cellular (not WiFi) right at 7 on the dot this past Wednesday 2/24. Able to get Rise at 8 pm and shut out of Slinky. Able to get Millennium but again in the evening. This all was done before 7:03. And that was pretty much all she wrote. Did get Tower after 60 minutes of refreshing the tip board every second for over an hour in line for the Runaway Rail. Blown away. Considering we could rope drop slinky and still we’re able to do Millennium after that with less than a 30 minute wait the Genie + was definitely NOT worth the $60+ spent for a family of 4.
I am planing a trip in March of 2023. It is a group of 7 adults and five children. We are staying at a Disney resort. Hopefully by then, they will allow us to book some rides in advance. Just reading about the problems people are experiencing with this Genie service is causing me stress before I even arrive.
It seems like they could ‘fix’ Genie+ with a few small changes:
1. Move the booking window back to 30 or 60 days, at least for resort guests. It would be nice to see at least two rides being able to be booked in advance. The 7 AM thing is weird and problematic
2. Fix the ‘locking’ issue that causes return times to be offered to multiple parties then unceremoniously yanking them when you click through
3. Allow guests to pick morning/afternoon/evening return times to allow ‘stacking.’ Not being able to tweak return times to account for other plans (dining, Savi’s, etc) is a big problem
As always, I appreciate your work Tom!
I agree completely. We are planning a trip to Disney in mid-May and I am completely stressed out about the whole ordeal. A vacation should NOT be stressful!! Based on what I am reading it seems like I am doomed if I don’t buy the Genie+ for all 4 of us, but then it may not help much if I do. And waking up before 7AM each day to clamor for ride reservations is ridiculous! So stressful. After this trip we are planning my family will NOT be going back anymore.
There is. Not one aspect of Genie+ That I like. I really hope Disney listens to customer feedback and tries to address it. This article hit on all the negative aspects of it, starting with the fact you had to get up at 6:50. We won’t be back unless it changes. Absolutely hate it and it ruined our trip
I have to agree with you, Jeff. Forcing guests to wake up so early and have to stress about trying to secure a fast pass that they have paid for is not something I could ever support. Some people always thought I was crazy going to Disney for vacation, but with advance planning it used to be fun. Now it seems like such a headache.
I have not used it ,nor do i plan to go to Disney anytime soon, but I have only heard negative things about the goofy Genie thing. I never thought I would want the paper Fast passes back. Get the pass, after you ride that attraction, get another. Disney makes me sad nowadays
Tom, you’re awesome! Thanks!
What is a 10/10 day?
Max crowds. 1/10 would be low crowds. 5/10 would be medium crowds.
Okay, a couple things:
1) If I can do the Frozen Sing-Along by myself, so can you. Do it, Tom, you’re healthy and vaccinated: belt those tunes.
2) This seems to confirm to me that DHS on a busy day is one of the worst times to buy G+. Never mind time saved, that’s like $4 a ride which has to be the most expensive on a per ride basis. And I agree, I think you got luckier than most at Slinky.
3) (Okay three things) DLR continues to be the best place to use G+ and, with the exception of MK, WDW really needs something else. I just probably wouldn’t use G+ at the other parks unless it was time for serious parkhopping. Rarely anything I do is that serious.
4) (Okay four things) Let it go let it goooooooooo
What is DLR?
Disneyland Resort
I agree. I don’t think Genie+ works well for WDW. It works fine for DLR and has. But WDW needed something like FastPass+. It helped to break things up and seemed to move the rides along. It wasn’t as crazy as it is now. I get that we have all been in lockdown and are running out there to get in some fun. But once the money runs out from the people that have saved during the lockdown, Disney is going to see a BIG EMPTY. Try to give the people back what once was a happy event. Saying that Genie+ would make things easier, I do not see it still. I see us stressing over trying to get rides, shorter windows for restaurant reservations, and having a dead phone because we are trying to get reservations for rides. Please Disney can we start listening to the people.
Nice report. Yesterday we went into DHS to take 70 photos of me in my boba Fett hoodie in SWGE with the dark saber lol. The park was definitely crowded even when we arrived at 6. Basically we grabbed coffee and headed to ABC for the buffalo grilled cheese. Then wandered around SWGE for a couple of hours. At 830 our decision was to wait for RoR or M&M. We opted for M&M which was a walk-on at 8:57.
LL at this park is a must of you’re only there for one day. Your report really does help showcase that I feel good stuff as always.
I would definitely end the night at HWS at least once, instead of Epcot twice. HWS is just so much more pleasant at night, and you can always pop over to Epcot after if it’s open later.