Disney Genie announcement

[Avery&Todd]

That is a great screen shot!!! Thank you! Great to know. We have been building up a bunch of gc's for our coming trip next Summer and glad to know they can be used this way too!

you're welcome! and as a hint, I used a gift card for paying for mobile food orders, but instead of having to whip out my gift card each time I typed the #s in a "notes" file I have saved on my phone and then I just copy/pasted those numbers into the check out screen and it worked perfectly!

have fun on your trip and happy spending!

 

[Disturbia]

So this begs the question -- forget the arrival day stuff. If you select post-2pm LLs, there is no guarantee you can hop if that park fills and they don't allow it, correct?

We're traveling 2/17-2/20, and 2/21 is Pres Day. We're not in the parks on Sunday, 2/21 so hoping we don't have to deal with park hopping issues, but should probably keep it mind for Saturday.

That’s rare and only happened on 10/1

 

[DavidNYC]

Whoa! This is new information for me. Are you saying that if you indicate your times in the park on Genie, then Genie+ will serve up LL times that fit?

I do not believe the times you indicate affect what Genie+ offers at all - just what the free Genie service recommends. BUT - if you try to select a Genie+ selection at a park you do not have a reservation for - it will only show you times starting at 2pm as you are not allowed in the park before then. Presumably - although I have no data to back this up - it starts at 2pm and moves up sequentially just as the times for the park you have a reservation for will start at 9am and move up sequentially (with the caveat there are some random fluctuations due to cancellations or the system rejiggering inventory).

 

[SCDisneyfanatic]

Never? Not even a powder day or for an early low tide (better for surfing)?

That was a quote from the guy I was responding to. For me, always up early. And years ago when I was avid surfer I would get up at 0400 to drive 2 hours to Wrightsville Beach from Myrtle Beach just to hit high tide at 0600 while the sun was coming up!! Awesome adventure!

 

[DavidNYC]

Everyone is reporting low wait times at MK in the am except a select few rides, so I guess book Test track first, ride standby at MK and then book JC at 11 am

Here's your issue based on times I'm seeing today. If you book TT at 7am you're likely to get a return time of 2 or 3 pm. It's 11am now - the return time for Jungle Cruise is 2:40 - you're not making your TT reservation . . .. What this requires you to do (which was one of my major complaints) is to do your plan you have to monitor the phone until you can get a TT even later in the day and then cross your fingers that at 11am the JC return time doesn't conflict . . . (and this is a low crowd day - as crowds get bigger will be much harder to book your first ride at a hopper park and your second ride at your reservation park.) I'm sure you'll have some choices that work - but again - only the people who have done advanced research to know, for example, what will the likely return time for JC be at 11am. Again - this caters to people who are happy to just have Disney plan their day. If you're set on specific rides - you're at the mercy of the return times that day.

 

[jrsharp21]

Not going to lie, thought I had pretty good grasp of the system going through the posts the first day and most of the day after that G+ started. But after reading the past few pages about hopping, being on a plane and booking, etc, my head hurts now and now feel like I have no idea of what is going on. LOL.

 

[Suzabella]

Noticed the character calvcades and things like The Dapper Dans are listed on the Tip Board today. Pretty sure that's new. Hoping they keep making changes that make this thing better.

 

[LSUfan4444]

So this begs the question -- forget the arrival day stuff. If you select post-2pm LLs, there is no guarantee you can hop if that park fills and they don't allow it, correct?

We're traveling 2/17-2/20, and 2/21 is Pres Day. We're not in the parks on Sunday, 2/21 so hoping we don't have to deal with park hopping issues, but should probably keep it mind for Saturday.

While it is possible, it is less likely than a park closing to no more reservations. I have not heard of one park not allowing hopping since the 2pm rule was announced. Maybe it has happened but the last time I looked into it for our July 4 trip, it had not happened once.

 

[Disturbia]

Yes, but then I wouldn't be able to select an LL at 7am. I'd have to wait until afternoon slots are open for selecting. It would prevent me from using my morning time to stack up > 1 LL.


Yes, I understand that. The problem is, if we're not getting to the parks until 2:30 or 3pm and we STILL have to go to the park where the reservation is first, it's just a colossal waste of time. I agree the 2pm thing is smart for park hoppers, but it's not great for people who aren't arriving into the parks until afternoon on arrival day.




But we still will have to tap into park #1. For people already losing a half day+ in the parks on arrival day, having to tap in is a time waster. I realize this is a specific situation.

You have to wait until rides are next available at 2 pm; which we should be able to estimate based on recent reports; say at 11 am the next abailable for Soarin is 3 pm. I think you’re at a risk if you book a headliner and can’t make it as Genie+ won’t let you book it again.

Why not just make a LLIA$ for the evening and the see at 11 am when you’re closer to your destination what is available

 

[LSUfan4444]

Yes, you have to do that either way if you want to ride headliners

Not nearly as much if you're booking your second park because the time windows start so much later. You're literally saving a half day of refreshing.

 

[Disturbia]

Here's your issue based on times I'm seeing today. If you book TT at 7am you're likely to get a return time of 2 or 3 pm. It's 11am now - the return time for Jungle Cruise is 2:40 - you're not making your TT reservation . . .. What this requires you to do (which was one of my major complaints) is to do your plan you have to monitor the phone until you can get a TT even later in the day and then cross your fingers that at 11am the JC return time doesn't conflict . . .

That’s why we need to know what passes and when to book; we should get a guesstimate soon; keep watching videos of reports from bloggers

 

[rmclain73]

This is the best video I have seen thus far.

 

[Disturbia]

Not nearly as much if you're booking your second park because the time windows start so much later. You're literally saving a half day of refreshing.

But travel time between parks is like an hour+. Seems like a waste of time

 

[Orsino]

This whole hop hack thing has my mind thinking of exploits. Question: if I book AK with a 8am opening and book a LL at MK via hop which opens at 9am, when is the next LL available to book?

 

[Disturbia]

Then you have to refresh looking for available times...for those flying in and unable to be on the phone that isn't really an option. if you're driving in and can sit in the passenger seat and just refresh all day, that definitely makes sense.

I’d rather be refreshing than relying on Disney transportation

 

[Disturbia]

This whole hop hack thing has my mind thinking of exploits. Question: if I book AK with a 8am opening and book a LL at MK via hop which opens at 9am, when is the next LL available to book?

Based on first park opening, 10 am if you booked one at 7 am

so at 7 am you get Navi River 8-9 am; at 10 am you could book 2 pmBig Thunder

you ride Navi and can get another pass right after second turnstile scan (say 8:10 am), book 8:15-9:15 am safari. I’m not 100% sure if you can do this with a 2 pm or it makes you wait another 2 hours so at 12?

 

[DavidNYC]

That’s why we need to know what passes and when to book; we should get a guesstimate soon; keep watching videos of reports from bloggers

Absolutely - this system will favor those who have done a lot of research to understand the typical time trends for rides just like the prior system favored those who understood other things. I expect Touring Plans and other services will be frantically monitoring how fast all of the return times move up for every ride to be able to provide LL reservation strategies and priorities. And obviously we'll have to see how this works on weekends, and then holidays, etc.

 

[LSUfan4444]

But travel time between parks is like an hour+. Seems like a waste of time

Thats the decision. Spend an hour to travel between parks OR save that hour and potentially spend that (and more) in longer stamdby lines and waiting for the only G+ you were able to get.

I’d rather be refreshing than relying on Disney transportation

Also, depends on what resort..access to skyliner? Ferries? Can you walk? Uber? Etc. All of that should come into play, no doubt

All of that though, I put on the stupid park reservation system, not G+. That does NOTHING for the guest and except create commitments, give up flexibility and add inconveniences.

 

[DisneyKidds]

Can someone elaborate on this “tapping in” thing people keep referring to? Is that a G+ thing, a park hopping thing, or both?

Say I use G+. Make a LL reservation at 7am with a return of 11:30am. I could make a second LL reservation (stack) when the park opens at 9am, right? Do I have to actually tap into the park to be able to do that, or can I do it from my hotel (for example if I’m sleeping in/eating/getting work done)?

I haven’t done park hopping since the reservation and 2pm park hop rules went into effect. Say we have reservations in the MK with the intent to hop to Epcot after 2pm. Me and the boys, for example, stick to the plan but wife and and daughter decide to do a spa morning. Can they not meet up with us in Epcot after 2pm unless they change their park reservation or actually go tap into the MK first?

I get the park reservation thing (well, not really anymore, but let’s forget that)…..but it seems like everyone should be free to go wherever they want after hopping “opens” at 2pm, regardless of what they did before that.

 

[snikki]

I thought I had most of G+ figured out but now my head is spinning.

Ok I understand that G+ will only show me LLs for after 2 pm if I’m hoping if I put that into my day plans. Got it.

So you’re telling me that if my park reservation is at DHS and I put in G+ that I’m hoping to MK, G+ will let me make a LL at Splash at 7 am for 2:30 pm even though people that actually have MK park reservations can only book next available which would be 9 am???

I thought I would have to wait for the window of 2 pm and after to open for everyone.