As I’m sure you know Genie, Genie+ and Lightning Lane have all officially debuted at the Walt Disney World Resort. Here’s a quick run down of each:
Genie: This is a FREE service through the My Disney Experience app. This feature is designed to help maximize your time in the parks and to make sure you’re able to check off your “must do’s”. It shows predicted wait times throughout the day so you can plan on when to go to each attraction. Just select “My Genie Day” on the app, then select “Get started Now”. It will ask you a few questions about your interests so it can help plan the perfect park day for you!
Genie+: This is a PAID service. It is still through the My Disney Experience app, but in this feature you get to choose a time to ride certain attractions. This is basically the new FastPass+. It will cost you $15 a day per ticket.
Lightning Lane: The last feature is the Lightning Lane. If you choose to use this service, you will pay an additional fee to ride some of the most popular/new rides in the park (i.e. Rise of the Resistance and Remi’s Ratatouille Adventure). Prices for these rides vary by day. You do NOT have to have Genie+ to use Lightning Lane. If you do get both, you will pay $15 for Genie+ AND the cost of the rides you choose for Lightning Lane.
Confused yet? If not, you’re probably about to be! I will try my best to break down the rest as best as I can!
When can I make my Genie+ ride selections?
If you’ve decided to purchase Genie+ for your family, you can do this the day of your trip or add it to your package when you book your trip. According to Disney, EVERYONE can select their first ride at 7:00am EST. Some people have been able to make selections before their actual time, but I was told by a Cast Member that it must have been a glitch because they were trained that everyone books at the 7:00am time.
How many rides can I select at a time with Genie+?
Initially, you can only make ONE ride selection.
What happens after I make my selection?
Say you chose Splash Mountain for your Genie+ selection and your return time is at 2:15pm-3:15pm. Seems like a long time to wait before riding anything right? The Cast Member I spoke with also informed me that you are not supposed to be able to choose another ride until you scan in to your first ride. In my experience, you actually can get another ride time for a different ride. I’m not sure if this is a glitch or if this will remain accurate, but we were able to get another Genie+ selection 2 hours after the park opened. After we rode our second ride, we were able to continue getting a new ride every 2 hours until our initial selection. Here’s a break down:
- We woke up at 7:00am and selected Slinky Dog Dash for 5:55pm-6:55pm.
- The park opened at 9:00am
- At 11:30am we were able to choose another Genie+ selection for Smuggler’s Run for 2:55pm-3:55pm
- At 1:30pm we selected Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster for 3:55-4:55pm
Remember, this is only my personal experience from one trip using Genie+. According to Disney, you’re not supposed to be able to stack ride selections. It is definitely worth a try though as it saved A LOT of time, and we were able to ride everything we wanted!
What about Lightning Lane?
Lightning Lane reservations can be made at 7:00am EST for on-site hotel guests or at park opening for non hotel guests.
The only park I found that it was necessary to use this option was Disney’s Hollywood Studios. This park has two rides you can use the Lightning Lane option for (Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway and Rise of the Resistance).
We decided to purchase Lightning Lane for Rise of the Resistance and instead of buying 2, we headed to Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway first thing at park opening. We only waited maybe 15 minutes for the stand-by line so buying a Lightning Lane feels like it would have been a waste of money.
We contemplated buying Lightning Lane for Epcot as well, but I’m glad we decided against it. The two options at this park are Frozen Ever After and Remi’s Ratatouille Adventure. With Remi’s still having a virtual queue, it’s not necessary to purchase a Lightening Lane unless you are unable to get a boarding group. With that being said, Lightning Lane passes do sell out. You are taking a chance if you do not get a boarding group, as you do have to have one or the Lightning Lane to ride.
We were able to get boarding group 7 for Remi’s for 10:45am, so we headed straight to Frozen when the park opened and waited maybe 20 minutes in the stand-by lane. (Note: we did have the 30 minute early entry for being a resort guest).
My thoughts
I have only experienced these options once, but I am glad we did not choose to do Genie+ or Lightning Lane any of our other park days. I really do believe it’s based on your party and when you are visiting. If it’s a really crowded time (i.e. Christmas or Spring Break), I may would consider purchasing it for other days. Also if you have younger kids, it may be helpful to get it if they really want to ride certain rides. At this point, I believe it’s trial and error, and ultimately, you do what’s best for you and your travel party!
If you have any specific questions that I didn’t cover, feel free to comment or email me!
