Genie+ is a new paid feature that was added to My Disney Experience. This feature is part of the new Disney Genie system designed to help Guests navigate the Disney Parks more successfully throughout the day.
Disney Genie is the free option. Through this, Guests can choose top prioritize when it comes to their experience in the Parks, and Disney Genie will then provide a suggested itinerary.
Genie+ is a paid feature. Guests can add this feature starting at midnight. By purchasing this feature, Guests can use the Lightning Lanes at over 40 attractions throughout the four Disney Parks. This saves them time in line as they can skip the regular lines.
Also part of this new feature is Individual Lightning Lanes. This is also a paid feature allowing Guests to individually pay for specific rides in each of the four Parks that aren’t included with Genie+. These rides are typically the most popular experiences in the Park.
So now that we have had Genie+ for a while, there are still some aspects that most Disney Guests are hoping change. We already say a significant change as guests can now modify their selection. This allows them to modify the return time or ride if other options that work better with their plans become available.
Even with this change, there are five big changes that Diseny fans hope will change about Genie+. Some we are more hopeful about than others, but let’s dive in.
Make It Free
The biggest complaint from Disney fans about Genie+ is the additional cost. If Guests are used to the original Fastpass+ system, they are used to having these same perks for free. Previously all Guests who entered into a Disney Park had the opportunity to use the expedited Fastpass+ lanes if they wanted to book them.
Now Guests who want to experience this faster entrance and less time in line will need to spend some serious cash. Genie+ ranges from $15 to $29 per day per person. This is a big change from a feature that used to be free to all Guests.
Many Guests want to see Genie+ become free, and although we don’t think that will happen, we wouldn’t mind seeing the pricing be slightly lower.
Make It a Set Price
If we didn’t get Genie+ free, we would like it to be one set price. When Genie+ was first introduced, it was a price of $15 per day per person. Guests can add it to their vacation package, making it part of their prepaid cost before their arrival.
Now, Genie+ has a fluctuating cost depending on the day. The higher the crowds, the higher the price. This is to help control how many Guests are using the option and therefore limite the wait times for those that have purchased it.
Although we understand the process, it is hard to budget and plan when the price fluctuates daily. Disney doesn’t announce the pricing, so Guests aren’t aware of the cost until they purchase it that day. It would be nice if it were still a set price so we could plan accordingly.
Allow Guests to Book Ahead of Time
Another feature that Guests loved about Fastpass+ was that they could book it before their vacation. At 60 days before check-in, Guests could book three Fastpass+ for each day. This allowed them to know ahead of time what rides they had booked and how it would fit into their touring plan.
Booking ahead of time would also illiminate the 7 am alarm clock each day of a Disney vacation. Right now, Genie+ is available to book at 7 am. For many of the most popular rides, logging in and being ready at 7 am is essential. This means early mornings, which many dislike.
Even if it isn’t 60 days before the trip, it would be nice not to have to set the alarm each vacation day.
Allow Guests to Choose Their Return Time
When using Genie+, Guests are given the next available time slot. Now with the ability to modify, it does allow some flexibility to change your return time. However, most Guests would prefer the ability to select a return time.
Planning and navigating your time in the Park becomes tricky when you aren’t sure when your Genie+ return times will fit into that overall plan. If you have dining or other experience scheduled throughout the day, this makes it even harded.
Allowing Guests to choose their return window would enable them to plan their day better and navigate the Parks more successfully.
Have the Ability to Use it More Than Once
Once you have booked an experience with Genie+, you can’t book it again that day. We like that this allows us to experience more attractions throughout the day, but with that being said, we would still like the ability to rebook experiences.
It would be nice to be able to ride Big Thunder Mountain more than once or Space Mountain if those are top priorities for our family. With how much money we are spending, it would be a good gester by Disney to allow this feature.
While we don’t think Genie+ is going to be going anywhere, we would like to see Disney consider making some of these adjustments to the system. These small changes could make some big improvements to the success of the system and the ease for Guests to use it. We arne’t sure if Disney is listening, but we sure to do hope so. What changes would you make to Genie+?
