The Travel ResourceThere has been a lot of confusion over Disney World’s introduction of Disney Genie and Disney Genie+. Even Disney World pros have trouble getting their heads around the new system and for good reason! This article will help you break down exactly what Disney Genie is and how to best utilize it for your upcoming trip to Disney World.
So what is Disney Genie and Disney Genie+? If you are completely new to this some background to start is that Disney Genie is meant to be the replacement for the old FastPass+ system (and more) at Disney World. All components of Disney Genie are found in the MyDisney Experience app (you do not need to download anything separate to use it).
It’s best to think of Disney Genie as having three components:
- Disney Genie
- Disney Genie+
- Individual Lightening Lanes (ILLs)
Disney Genie:
- Free available to all guests
- Will need to enter your preferences in advance of using
- Pushes recommendations for which attractions to do next based on your preferences and wait times
- Can “pin” rides at the top (called the tip board) that are priorities
- Can decline Genie’s suggestions and unpin rides for the tip board
- Makes recommendations based on your GPS location in parks
- Does not send out same recommendation out to everyone – only goes to limited number of guests at a time
Disney Genie+ (Lightening Lanes):
- $15/person/day, book one attraction at a time (for the most part).
- You can make reservations starting at 7AM if staying on Disney property. If staying off property you can make reservations as soon as the park opens.
- It will show only the next available time not all the times.
- Reservations can “sell out” BUT Disney will sometimes open additional slots as the day goes on depending on how many people are at the parks so keep checking throughout the day.
- You have a one-hour return window to use your lightening lane booking.
- You can enter your booked attraction five minutes before the time officially listed if desired.
- Once you tap into your reservation you can book your next one.
- Bookings cannot be modified but they can be cancelled so you can book something else.
- There is a loophole two-hour exception to the one ride at a time rule. If you book a lightening lane two hours or more in advance then another slot will open up to you that you can use before then. You can only book that extra ligtening lane reservation though two hours AFTER you book the first one – ex. At 10AM you book Jungle Cruise for 1PM, at 12PM you will be able to book another ride while keeping your first reservation for Jungle Cruise.
- If you use the two-hour rule unlike FastPass you can book rides at overlapping times.
- If you experience a glitch with the system take a screen shot if you are able and talk with a cast member. They are getting used to dealing with this and may be able to offer you something as a consolation.
Individual Lightening Lane (ILL) Attractions:
- You pay for these separately regardless of whether you are using Disney Genie+
- Two rides at each park currently fall under this category:
- Magic Kingdom: Splash Mountain & Mine Train
- Hollywood Studios: Rise of the Resistance & Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
- Epcot: Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, Frozen Ever After
- Animal Kingdom: Avatar Flight of Passage, Expedition Everest
- Limited to two per person per day
- Surge pricing (like Uber) generally $7-15/person/ride with a max cap at $15
- If a ride goes down that you have paid for go to guest relations to talk about what options are available to you.
- Additional cavet! Disney World sometimes adds several of the Individual Lightening Lane attractions to the Disney Genie+ lineup. In the past, Space Mountain, Frozen Ever After and Mickey Expedition Everest and Minnie’s Runaway Railroad have been moved to Genie+. Disney World has been doing this when crowds are expected to be high and we are all for it!
So now that you know what Disney Genie+ is, should you purchase it and/or Individual Lightening Lanes for your next trip? That all depends.
Disney Genie+ Tips by Park
Magic Kingdom:
- Peter Pan tends to be the most popular so try to book it first however lately Jungle Cruise has gone even faster (this may be due to the holiday season and its popularity could decrease somewhat after the holidays).
- Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion are also very popular Genie+ reservations and book up quickly
- Individual Lightening Lane tips for Magic Kingdom: expect Seven Dwarfs Mine Train to book up quickly. If you are paying for an Individual Lightening Lane for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train you will want to make it a top priority to book this as early as you can.
Epcot:
- Test Track & Soarin’ tend to be the hardest reservations to get so make these your priority at Epcot.
- Individual Lightening Lane tips for Epcot: Frozen Ever After and Remy are both extremely popular. Expect reservations to go quickly. If you plan to pay for these rides through the Individual Lightening Lane system you should make it a top priority the morning you are visiting Epcot to book one of these first. Alternatively if you are staying at a Disney World Resort or Good Neighbor Hotel a good strategy is to “rope drop” one of these attractions and pay for an Individual Lightening Lane at the other. I would recommend doing Frozen Ever After for rope drop and saving your purchased Lightening Lane for Remy.
Hollywood Studios:
- Slinky Dog books up FAST, you will want to get a LL for it as soon as the window opens to make reservations.
- Millennium Falcon Smuggler’s Run can often be the second most popular LL reservation.
- Individual Lightening Lane tips for Hollywood Studios: In case you haven’t heard… Rise of the Resistance is insanely popular. Reservations will go hyper speed fast. The other Lightening Lane attraction at Hollywood Studios is Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railroad typically has easier to get Lightening Lane reservations. Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railroad can also be a good option for rope drop if you are eligible for early entry.
Animal Kingdom:
- Expect Na’vi River Journey & Kilimanjaro Safari reservations to be two of the most popular.
- Individual Lightening Lane tips for Animal Kingdom: Flight of Passage continues to be very popular so prioritize getting an Individual Lightening Lane reservation here if it is something you are hoping to get. Expedition Everest tends to have more availability (and also shorter lines so you may not find it worth it to purchase Individual Lightening Lane access for that attraction).