My Day at Hollywood Studios Using Genie+
This report walks you through my step-by-step day using Walt Disney World’s new Genie+ service in Hollywood Studios. It features Lightning Lane selections & return times, ride reservation screenshots, what I accomplished with paid FastPass, and thoughts at the end about whether Genie+ is worth the money at DHS.
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, excludes two of the most popular rides per park, and is similar to MaxPass at Disneyland–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. Additional posts are coming soon with strategy, ride recommendations & priorities, and more.
One thing I want to note up front is that this is my day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios using Genie+. It’s not a recommended itinerary, Genie+ touring plan, or universally-applicable day that we’d suggest replicating. Simply what I did over the course of testing Genie+ in DHS. In response to reader complaints about walking, I’m going to include alternatives to my ride reservation selections, which should help illustrate that there’s no one single “right” way to use Genie+ at DHS.
There’s also not going to be a “without” Genie+ counterpart to this article. There are several reasons for that, one of which is that I’m not sure how valuable that would be for planning purposes. As has been pointed out, my Magic Kingdom day not using Genie+ is impractical to most families.
If you’re trying to accomplish just as much in a day without Genie+, an aggressive approach and savvy strategy are sort of required. 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. Compromises are going to be necessary–just as has always been the case.
With that said, I did a lot of standby during this day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios with Genie+ and we have spent a lot of time in the park over the last year finding ways to beat the crowds. It’s been something of a moving target with changes to Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, but I’m confident a lot of strategy is still workable to do DHS efficiently without hour-plus waits for everything. We need another weekend day to test that, but stayed tuned for more on DHS strategy.
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, went to the virtual queue feature for some reason (old habits die hard–and it was early!), and browsed around in Genie to see if anything had changed.
At 7:00:00 am, I refreshed the Tip Board. It automatically scrolled down to Slinky Dog Dash–but for some reason the page readjusted right as I clicked, leading me to select Star Tours by mistake. I fumbled back to the previous page, scrolled back to Slinky Dog Dash, and selected it.
When all was said and done, my confirmed Slinky Dog Dash Lightning Lane ride reservation was for 10:45 am to 11:45 am.
This was a significant setback–I would’ve had 9:05 am but for the fumble–but is an error that anyone could make. If anything, my screw-up here probably makes this day more realistic!
It’s also worth noting that Slinky Dog Dash Lightning Lane reservations via Genie+ went fast.
Two screenshots above, you’ll see a return time of 12:50 pm right at 7 am (that’s from about 30 seconds after I confirmed my 10:45 am ride reservation). By 7:18 am, it’s already at 6:05 pm.
However, the times bounce around a bit. This happened with MaxPass at Disneyland, and was driven by cancellations reentering the inventory. I’m not sure whether that’s the case here, or it’s just early hiccups with the system.
The only other attraction that moved quickly was Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. Even by 8 am, everything else still had Lightning Lane return times in the 9 am hour.
We’ve received a lot of questions asking whether we’re having better success with Genie+ return times as parties of one. That should not be the case, except when there are ride reservation cancellations. (Neither of us have successfully booked one of those, for what it’s worth.)
When it comes to initial availability, this should work just like FastPass, FastPass+ or MaxPass. The system is simply allocating X riders per hour to the Lightning Lane entrance, and distributing for those windows until they’re gone. It is not like Advance Dining Reservations where availability is allocated by table/ride vehicle size. That would be impossible given the one-hour return windows.
To that point, Slinky Dog Dash didn’t run out of Lightning Lane ride reservations until around 10:30 am.
I personally would not sleep in until 10:30 am on my DHS day, but the point is that you could’ve done exactly that and still made ride reservations for every single attraction via Genie+. Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run was the next attraction to run out of availability, and that didn’t happen until mid-afternoon. Everything else had availability well into the evening.
Fast-forward to my arrival to Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Actually, fast-forward past that as I took the Skyliner over from Caribbean Beach Resort for Early Theme Park Entry, which will be covered in a separate report. Instead, we’ll pick up my morning post-rope drop at 9:26 am when I got in the standby line for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith.
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster had a 25 minute posted wait time as I entered the queue, but it jumped to 45 minutes shortly thereafter. My actual wait was 29 minutes.
As we’ve noted repeatedly in park reports and strategy guides, wait times peak early at Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
I could’ve queued up for Tower of Terror at this point, but its overflow queue was already in use and that 40 minute posted wait time was probably accurate. Instead, I took a leisurely stroll over to Walt Disney Presents and perused that for about 25 minutes.
A good alternative to this for those looking to “accomplish” something would’ve been Alien Swirling Saucers, which probably would’ve taken less than 30 minutes from start to finish despite the 35 minute posted wait.
That would’ve also put me in the neighborhood of Slinky Dog Dash when my Lightning Lane window opened for that.
As Sarah noted in her day using Genie+ at Magic Kingdom, you can tap into Lightning Lane reservations 5 minutes early.
I did exactly that, entering the Slinky Dog Dash Lightning Lane at 10:40 am.
At this point, I had my first Genie+ dilemma of the day: book Smugglers Run as my next Lightning Lane reservation and wait 120 minutes before making another, or go for something with a quicker return time.
I chose Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. This isn’t what I personally wanted to do, but I thought it was the better move “for the sake of research.” (Walt Disney World research is a double-edged sword that sometimes allows me to justify ordering steaks the size of my head, and other times “forces” me to pilot the Millennium Falcon. It’s tough work!) Regardless, I started second-guessing that almost immediately.
There were options at other DHS headliners in the 11 am and noon hours, and that would make for a far more pleasant experience. Whether to cancel and change my selection was a tough decision.
In the meantime, it was time for Slinky Dog Dash (my total Lightning Lane wait was 4 minutes).
I figured the average guest wouldn’t want to spend the entire middle of the day doing standby lines at DHS, so I opted to cancel my Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run ride reservation and book something else. My pick was the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.
For those who want to minimize walking, Toy Story Mania was also available starting at 11:40 am. At this point, I could’ve Mobile Ordered something at Woody’s Lunch Box, done TSM immediately after that, and been finished with Toy Story Land for the day. DHS is the smallest park at Walt Disney World, and it’s also the easiest to do in bite-sized chunks.
Instead, I headed over to ABC Commissary to grab something to eat while waiting out my Tower of Terror Lightning Lane. While browsing My Disney Experience, I also scored an ADR for us later in the afternoon at the Hollywood Brown Derby.
There’s a lot of new food that we “need” to review at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but some might say it’s just as important to do quality control on the Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwich that I order all the time. Perhaps even more important! (You can read all about the new-ish options in our latest ABC Commissary Review.)
Since I was in the neighborhood, I headed over to MuppetVision 3D and did that via the standby line.
No wait and the show started about 7 minutes after I entered, which was actually a disappointment since that meant missing most of the pre-show. MuppetVision finished at 11:49 am, at which point I walked slowly over to Tower of Terror.
I tapped into my Tower of Terror ride reservation at 12:10 pm. I had no wait whatsoever aside from walking through the Lightning Lane, but the standby queue was still backed up into Sunset Boulevard and was posting a 55 minute wait.
After tapping in, I made my next Lightning Lane ride reservation–Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. (My window ended up being later than what’s pictured above because I briefly lost service while in Tower of Terror’s boiler room and had to finish the process upon exiting.)
With a lot of time to kill, I wandered around Sunset and Hollywood Boulevards after that, taking photos and checking out shops. I also caught one of the character cavalcades and cooled off in Mickey Shorts Theater with a viewing of “Vacation Fun.”
I could’ve easily just stayed on Sunset Boulevard, gotten some ice cream or another snack, and arrived early to grab a seat at my next stop. There are constant showings of “Vacation Fun,” and it could’ve easily been slotted into this day elsewhere.
Following that, I wandered back over to Sunset Boulevard and watched the 1 pm showing of Beauty and the Beast: Live on Stage.
This was basically for lack of better options. No offense to this production, but I’ve been saying that this has needed a refresh for years–and the awkward physical distancing modifications are not exactly what I had in mind for that.
From there, I bounced to the other side of Disney’s Hollywood Studios to do Star Tours: the Adventures Continue via the standby line. It was posting a 20 minute wait, but ended up being 7 minutes in actuality.
I actually enjoy walking, so I didn’t think anything of the distance between the two. With that said, Star Tours was pretty much a walk-on from this point forward, so you could slot it into a DHS itinerary wherever. There’s no strategic significance to me doing it here.
The next step was my biggest misstep of the day: Toy Story Mania, which had been posting high wait times throughout the morning. Given its high capacity, I assumed they were exaggerated. Plus, it was 2 pm–officially park hopping time. I figured that meant an exodus of guests leaving Disney’s Hollywood Studios, as is often the case.
I was thus willing to bet on Toy Story Mania’s 45 minute posted wait being significantly inflated. It was not. I waited 65 minutes in an excruciatingly slow-moving standby line, watching as a steady stream of Genie+ guests flowed through in the Lightning Lane. I honestly don’t remember the last time I’ve waited that long for any attraction–probably Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance during a ride breakdown early last year.
This reiterated an important lesson: it’s impossible to gauge waits by looking at lines. Over the last year-plus, I’ve become adept at eyeballing a line and guessing its actual wait time, usually within 5 minutes. This has been incredibly valuable with posted waits being inflated so often. Genie+ and Lightning Lanes threw that out the window, since those guests aren’t standing in line and it’s impossible to know how many ride reservations have been distributed and will return within a given time frame.
This is really nothing new–it was the same way with FastPass+ in the BC (before closure) times. Just a word of warning to other regulars in the last year who have become accustomed to looking at lines and “knowing” wait times based on those. You can’t do that anymore, again.
Anyway, I was late to our late lunch at the Hollywood Brown Derby as a result. We were still seated pretty quickly, and lucked out on getting a booth. This was a welcome relief, and a nice chance to decompress with good food and abundant air-conditioning.
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.
While we were finishing up our meal at Brown Derby, I was able to make another Lightning Lane selection via Genie+, leaving me with the above ride reservations all stacked for my evening.
There has been some confusion as to whether you can stack or overlap with Genie+ and this should answer that. In short, the only timing that matters is when you’re able to make the selections–either after 120 minutes or upon tapping into your previous ride reservation, whichever is earlier. The return times don’t matter at all–just like paper FastPass.
After Brown Derby, we played around with the PhotoPass AR filters that are included with Genie+ for a bit longer.
The joke I want to make here is probably inappropriate for a family-friendly blog (although I’m not sure why any children would want to read this), but any fan of Arrested Development will instantly know it.
At this point, it was time to use my stockpile of Genie+ ride reservations.
Starting at 5:20 pm, I knocked out Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith (50 minute posted wait), Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run (40 minute posted wait), and Toy Story Mania (45 minute posted wait), exiting the last of those at 6:49 pm. I also spent a ton of time enjoying early evening in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run definitely had its wait time inflated by a healthy amount, but the other two appeared fairly accurate. (Again, noting that it’s now tough to judge–but they had long lines in standby and constant flow in the Lightning Lanes. Smugglers Run had neither of those things.)
You cannot re-ride attractions with Genie+ and I was out of options in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, so I started making Lightning Lane ride reservations in other parks.
I managed to book Soarin’ Around the World, Jungle Cruise, and Splash Mountain towards the end of the night. (All of which I ended up cancelling to free up for others when we opted not to Park Hop.) I could’ve had really good options in another park, but we opted to stick around DHS to continue researching by re-riding via standby.
This Walt Disney World park report with Genie+ is already over 3,000 words–and I fear it’s going to be overwhelming if I keep going with our evening after that and go off-topic with standby strategy.
I’ll just say that our evening at Disney’s Hollywood Studios was just getting started at 7 pm with no Genie+ reservations left on the board and 120 minutes left on the clock. As a teaser, I did every major ride *via standby* during this day in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. That includes Star Wars: Rise of Resistance and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, twice each.
It was a long day from before park opening until park closing, but you saw most of it–not like I overexerted myself trying to cram in as much as possible!
Instead, we’ll turn to some additional commentary. Included with Genie+ is audio tours, one of which at DHS covers “California Crazy.” I’m a huge sucker for that architecture (see our Disney Details: Dinosaur Gertie at Hollywood Studios) and we’ve stopped at plenty of real roadside designs, including the Cabazon Dinosaurs outside of Palm Springs.
As such, I really wanted to give the “California Crazy” audio tour a listen. However, you can’t without keeping the screen on–a pretty significant and unnecessary flaw–that makes the audio tours a big battery drain. The PhotoPass AR filters and the My Disney Experience app itself already do plenty to deplete your phone, to the point where an external charger is almost necessary for a full day in the park. (See our Unique Packing List for Walt Disney World for recommendations.)
This is just one of many perplexing UI issues with Genie+ and Genie. I’m going to refrain from enumerating those here as they are not unique to DHS (and Disney is already starting to fix some of these), but will do a separate post in about a week or so with whatever problems still remain.
With that said, I do want to push back a bit on the complaints that you’re forced to spend all day looking at your phone with Genie+ or Lightning Lanes. If you previously only ever booked 3 FastPass+ reservations before your trip to Walt Disney World, sure, Genie+ means more screen time on vacation.
If you had a strong refresh game day-of trying to score fourth FastPass+ reservations (and beyond), this is literally no different than that. You can be on your phone for ~60 seconds once every 120 minutes or immediately after returning to a Lightning Lane. It’s really not that much for ordinary guests.
It may not seem that way while reading this, but you’re seeing a ‘peek behind the curtain’ at what my day entails while testing this stuff. This is another instance of my experience not being comparable to yours–I’m constantly checking the app for the sake of research and putting together plans. Just as during a normal, pre-Genie day I’d be obsessively checking wait times.
Beyond that, this all makes way less sense when viewing screenshots in isolation and not actually navigating through the Genie features in the My Disney Experience app. Some of the user interface is clumsy, confusing, and cumbersome–there’s no denying that Genie would’ve benefited from a few more months of refinement and testing. However, as with anything, Genie+ is much easier to use when you actually use it, rather than just read about it. I’m guessing you wouldn’t learn to ride a bike by reading “Bricker’s Beginner’s Blog to Biking.”
Like my biking blog (coming in 2027!), this is more useful in sharing experiences, “paths” to take–or not take, helping you learn from my mistakes, and so forth. When it comes to this day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios with Genie+, there are a few key lessons and takeaways.
First, your first Lightning Lane ride reservation should absolutely be Slinky Dog Dash. Get your “fast fingers” strategy ready and try to secure an early return time. Even if you don’t get one, book it anyway–the 120 minute rule is your friend.
Second, go for the “low-hanging fruit” with earlier return times after that. While Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run might be the objectively-best #2 selection, you’re subjectively better off with ride reservations throughout the late morning and early afternoon.
Finally, figure out a plan in advance that fills out your day in DHS or be prepared to Park Hop in the late afternoon. Night is a great time at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, so our strong recommendation would be to book an ADR or two for midday, especially if you’ve already done the shows and don’t have much interest in repeating them.
Ultimately, I knew going into this that Disney’s Hollywood Studios is the park where Genie+ is second-most useful, after Magic Kingdom. My park touring experience definitely benefited from using Lightning Lane ride reservations, especially with Slinky Dog Dash and during the late afternoon. I saved a ton of time over the course of the headliners, making Genie+ easily “worth it” in terms of the time v. money cost calculus.
With that said, Genie+ wasn’t quite as useful at Disney’s Hollywood Studios as I had anticipated. Whereas our strong and unequivocal recommendation is that tourists and families purchase Genie+ at Magic Kingdom, the endorsement here is more qualified. It’s good in tandem with standby if you want to do popular rides multiple times. It’s also great if you plan on being in DHS from late morning through late afternoon.
However, Genie+ is not necessary at DHS. There’s still plenty of room for strategizing and accomplishing everything at Disney’s Hollywood Studios without Genie+ or Lightning Lane ride reservations. For anyone who doesn’t want to re-ride attractions multiple times, that is arguably also the better way to do DHS, as it doesn’t involve spending the full day at the park. Our follow-up posts will focus on those alternative plans of attack, so stay tuned!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
Your Thoughts
Thoughts on my day in Disney’s Hollywood Studios using the paid Genie+ service? 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!
I was reading somewhere that the Genie+ 120 rule was only implemented from park opening time. For example, if the park opens at 9, and you make a LL reservation at 7 am that is for later in the day, you must wait until 11 am to make the next one (120 minutes after the 9 am park opening time). Do you have any insight on this?
Wow. Not the answer I had hoped to see, but still very helpful info. Thank you Cece!
If I have a later in the day LL return time, wait two hours after booking the first reservation to book a second reservation, and then tap into that second earlier ride, can I keep making new LL reservations right after tapping in while the later one is still reserved, or will I only be able to reserve every two hours until the later return time is used? For instance, let’s say you end up with a Slinky Dog Dash LL reservation, booked at 7:10 with a return of 3pm. I know that at 9:10 I can book a second LL reservation. Now let’s say I tap into that second reservation at 9:45. Can I make another reservation as soon as I tap into that earlier ride at 9:45 even though I still have SDD reserved, or do I need to wait until 11:10 (2 hrs after making my last selection)?
Hi Tom,
Great work doing all the research. Lots of variables now. Doing early entry or not. Using Genie+ or not, and all combinations.
I’ll patiently wait until you’ve had enough time to do all the research and come up with plans. Since I’m coming from the UK next year, my body clock will be waking me up at the crack of dawn, combinig this with staying on site, means i’m looking forward to your early entry plans
One question, which I’ve not seen answered. If you have early entry to a park – say 8.30 for a park that opens at 9.00. Can you use genie+ lightning lanes in that first extra 30 mins?
“If you have early entry to a park — say 8.30 for a park that opens at 9.00. Can you use genie+ lightning lanes in that first extra 30 mins?”
No. Genie+ availability starts at 9 am.
I used genie+ at DHS on 10/21. To answer other’s questions: Yes, you have to take the LL return time that is next available. This was problematic as at one point, all the times were between 4-5p and it’s impossible to be in different areas of the park and on several rides at the same time. We had to go from one end of the park to the other and back again many times just to ride on the LL. It would have been better if we could pick the times so that we could plan to do rides in the same area of the park and space out the timing better. I ended up not selecting as many passes because I couldn’t select the times. Genie also kept suggesting rides we already rode and It also kept inserting rides or shows into our day that we did not want and had already deleted. Genie is flawed at best. Genie + did allow us to walk on every ride we wanted to do, so that was great considering the average wait for most rides was about an hour. Besides the issue with not being able to select return times in an order that would make better sense, genie + was wort it to not wait on long lines. Yes, it is terrible that we have to pay for what was once “free” and ticket prices are already crazy high and we shouldn’t have to do this. We are an older group without children in tow and I can’t be bothered with long queues when I only visit Orlando every 2 or 3 years and need to make the most of my limited time here, so, yes, we decided to use genie+. As far as ROTR, is concerned, because we do not stay at Disney we were unable to get a paid LL because they were sold out by the time 9am came around. I would have gladly paid for a LL pass because I refuse to wait over 2 hours in 90 degree heat for a ride. I was very disappointed but I guess I will ride ROTR when we return in a few years. BTW, the wait was still about 90 minutes at 8:30p and the park was closing at 9p so we left.
My family and I rope dropped DHS today, with Geinie+ and a LL for Rise. With a 1pm rise reservation (made at 7am) and light Saber reservations at 5:30 we stayed until after that and headed to the pool after, instead of breaking up the day and coming back in the evening. If this is your plan, i.e. not syaing until close, don’t waste your $ on Geinie+. I was up before 7am and slinky went so fast that I took a mania reservation to coinside with rope dropping slinky. And then all the good fast passes were only available for the evening. The morning reservations go so fast. I thought I had this figured out before we got here and I was sorely mistaken today!! Planning on breaking up DMK tomorrow to hopefully get Geinie+ to work better for us!
Oh yeah, just a heads up, family members of mine ( though I hate to admit they are blood ), have admitted to me that they have gone to WDW, when they knew they had been infected with COVID.. back in June this year. .. I asked why they would do that and was told “ don’t care if I got it, don’t care if I give it. I’m Living my life, unvaccinated is the new sexy, I had reservations, no one there is checking, Florida has no restrictions, “ etc, etc.. so just beware.
Bring back the Fast Passes. Shelve the Genie+ money-grabbing experience. Guests need to see it for what it is, a shameless money grab. What a pain! I’m not resistant to technology, but this is obscene in so many ways. Walt must be turning over in his grave.
I see some of your LL experiences were walk on or very short waits. Was this true across the parks or were there regular lines forming in LL at the boarding point? We will be using LL with DAS and due to allergies will avoid rides with any line in an enclosed space and almost all standby queues because someone invariably will apply perfume, sunscreen or sneak a bite of granola bar. When fast pass lines would back up they would take us in the exit but with electronic scanning I’m betting that’s not a thing anymore (we haven’t been with magic bands even and still miss the GAC we used with our eldest)
I cannot believe some of the comments in past postings. Tom, I’m glad you finally just said it!
“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. Compromises are going to be necessary—just as has always been the case.”
We ALL want a great experience. Sorry, but perhaps an adjustment of expectations are necessary to truly enjoy your day. If you are worried about running around, spending extra, looking at your phone all day (which most people do anyways while waiting in line!) – then do it your way and don’t stress. Enjoy the time with your families, get some sleep, spend the money on what’s important. Don’t expect the magic be hand-delivered on a silver platter!
To hopefually clarify my question in the previous post…
Is it possible to book return times later in the day, like it used to be with FastPass+? Or are you instead “forced” to take ONLY the next available return time that the app displays?
It was not clear from screenshots if there were app controls/options to tell Genie+ something like: “Hey, that 10:00AM return time to Tower of Terror is not what I wanted – I would like 1:00PM at Tower of Terror instead”.
Thanks again!
When you book a Lightning Lane reservation, do you get to select the return time at all, or is it just the current earliest slot available?
We always take a midday nap break for the littles, and I’d love to continue making selections every 2 hours but have the time slots all in the evening when we return.
Or, similarly, what do you do if the only return time for a must-do ride is during an ADR? Keep checking back every 15 minutes until the return time fits around your reservation?
Love the shout to to Dr Tobias Fünke (I would have put his Analyst / Therapist title here, but it is a family site!)
Question for Tom (or anybody else who might also know)…
Is it possible to reserve a Genie+ return time LATER than the return time the app initially displays?
Example: Let’s say it’s 7:00AM and Genie+ says I can have a 9-10AM return window on Jungle Cruise. I don’t want that return time, but would prefer to have one later in the day around 1:00PM. Does the app let me book the later 1:00PM return time at 7:00AM? Or do I instead have to keep checking the app while Jungle Cruise returns times “fill up” and wait until 1:00PM return times start to be offered?
I know this may seem counterintuitive – why would you NOT want the earliest return time possible? Well… I have small kids, and with breaks and meals and such, it would be ideal for me to book a later 1PM-ish return time. So it would be GREAT if the app lets us do that at 7:00 instead of waiting/watching until enough Genie+ passes have been reserved to ‘push’ the return time to 1:00PM.
Does my question make sense?
Any insight would be most welcome Re: whether or not it is possible to reserve later return times then what the app initially tells you is available.
My mind is spinning round n round reading all this Genie stuff…..im hating the fact that i have to be on my phone most of day….spend extra money to get this thing ….Disney lost its Magic to me……guess if u are below the age of 65 its all easy to spend time on phone….wont be for us……im sad an disappointed in Disney….my pixie dust has left the building…..ONE question if anyone can answer…..Is it possible to even go anymore if we choose NOT to do this Genie or lightning lanes??? ughhhhhhhhhhhh…..thanks Walt….
“Is it possible to even go anymore if we choose NOT to do this Genie or lightning lanes?”
Regular standby lines are still available, just as before!
Hi Tom..Love your articles day and information on Disney World. I noticed that you had reservations at Brown Derby, 50’s Diner, etc.
HOW DO YOU DO IT!
I have tried to get reservations at different restaurants, even 60 days ahead, and it is always sold out. I never had this problem before. It is literally impossible to get theme park reservations. Do you have a secret. If so…please, pleasse, impart to me your knowledge
We only had ADRs for Brown Derby, which popped up day-of (although it’s generally easier than 50s or Sci-Fi).
No secret, just persistence. Another good option is using one of the ADR finders/trackers.
@Candy
LL is not necessary for any of the shows at HWS. With Muppets, you actually want to have some time in the pre-show area since that’s an integral part of the experience. You can use it on Beauty+The Beast if you want because they let in the Lightning Lane folks to the theater before everyone else, but it’s only important if you have a particular seat you want to get (and the front row is saved for people in scooters anyway so it’s not a big deal).
@Jeanne and John
Genie+ actually seems to require less time on the phone than either Fastpass+ or Non-Fastpass times. One of the benefits of it is not having to obsessively refresh to get the best rides, or having to constantly check the wait-times in the app. You just book, ride, and look to see what’s next to book. Or don’t. If you want a day off your phones and don’t mind standing in line, then just be savvy about it and hit popular rides in the morning and evening, and fill up mid-day with shows and dining.
@Jerry
The characters in GE don’t do much in the way of shows right now, but if you’re looking for interaction and they’re out in their respective areas, they will absolutely talk to you if you approach. This isn’t on a schedule, but they come out frequently throughout the day.
@Andrew
I got into line for Rise at the end of my day and it was a pretty short wait–up until we reached the entrance and it broke down. This was before LL, but they gave out a free ‘fastpass’ for the next day that could be used on any ride (including RotR) to everyone who was in the queue.
@Steven
You can stack LL, but only really at the end of the day (since you have to make a selection that’s at least 2+ hours in the future, wait two hours, and then make another selection).
@Heidi
Yes, you can make another selection immediately after tapping into your previous selection, and in that case you don’t have to wait 120 minutes. But to stack them at the end of the night…see my response to Steven above.
You said that the wait for the muppet’s show wasn’t long. Would u purchase a LL for any of the shows and if so which ones are the most important? I have two young girls and was wanting to know which ones to book first so we don’t miss any. Thanks!
How is it fun being at a park and being on your phone so much? I’ve been going to Disney World since the beginning and I’m so disappointed in all this technology. It seems to take the fun out of the Disney Experience.
All this just seems Disney makes what was once a simple gratifying experience going to the parks and made it difficult especially for older folks not as adept at all this technology.
All I want to do is go-enjoy-ride some rides see a little entertainment. Now if I don’t want to pay more for this Genie+ Seems in all likelyhood you will be shut out