Everything Genie, Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane - Please Read Posts 1-7

Have a specific question about morning touring at AK. Heading down next week from Boston for short trip with a friend. We plan to hit AK for early resort entry on Fri 10/21, morning only. I want to get her an ILL$ for FOP (I need to pass). It looks like we’ll be taking an Uber around 7 AM from VGF to be there for 7:30 opening. If I can’t get on MDE app right at 7 AM do you think there will still be FOP ILL$’s for morning times around 7:30?

Also, am I correct in remembering that you can buy an ILL$ without buying G+ for the day? If that’s the case we may try to do our other top items without it (between 7:30 AM and 12 noon).

Without G+, what order would you attempt these, for morning completion, to minimize wait times?

- Safari
- Kali River Rapids
- Festival of Lion King
- Navi (not a must do)
- FOP (only if we get an ILL$ for her)

Many thanks!

Safari and Kali won't be open yet at 7:30. If you buy ILL$ for FOP, then Navi is your only choice for 7:30, and you should be able to walk right on, even if you're as late as 7:55 when you get to it.

Safari should start running soon after 8:00, and I would recommend going on it after Navi. Kali may not start running until 9:00. To minimize the wait for Kali, I would go to Kali after the Safari (by 10:00 today, the Kali wait was almost an hour).

There are Lion King shows at 10:00 and at 11:00. Which one you attend will be determined by what time you get your FOP ILL$ for (you'll want your FOP ILL$ somewere in the 9:30 to 11:30 time period).

This plan will have you trekking from Pandora to Africa to Asia, then back to Pandora/Africa, but my preference is always for extra walking rather than extra waiting in Standby lines.

Yes, you can purchase ILL$ without purchasing G+.
 
Safari and Kali won't be open yet at 7:30. If you buy ILL$ for FOP, then Navi is your only choice for 7:30, and you should be able to walk right on, even if you're as late as 7:55 when you get to it.

Safari should start running soon after 8:00, and I would recommend going on it after Navi. Kali may not start running until 9:00. To minimize the wait for Kali, I would go to Kali after the Safari (by 10:00 today, the Kali wait was almost an hour).

There are Lion King shows at 10:00 and at 11:00. Which one you attend will be determined by what time you get your FOP ILL$ for (you'll want your FOP ILL$ somewere in the 9:30 to 11:30 time period).

This plan will have you trekking from Pandora to Africa to Asia, then back to Pandora/Africa, but my preference is always for extra walking rather than extra waiting in Standby lines.

Yes, you can purchase ILL$ without purchasing G+.
Thank you so much - super helpful and just what I needed!
 
There used to be a Genie+ "strategy" thread. Is that still active? Or is this the thread to ask about an 'approach' on a given day/park plan?
 
+ another $88 if you want regular genie+ for the day (assuming it is a $22 day)... so $176 on top of your park ticket to *hopefully* skip the line on a few rides. ouch! It isn't so much the extra cost that kills me, it's that it is a crappy product that they are now charging even more for.
Doing it with no advance notice is not cool. If a family is there now, and they had a budget, which included $15 for Genie, and now it's $22 on the morning of?
I'm guessing you now don't know the price until you start the purchase process each morning? I will buy it anyway because I am like that, but still, not cool.
 
Doing it with no advance notice is not cool. If a family is there now, and they had a budget, which included $15 for Genie, and now it's $22 on the morning of?
I'm guessing you now don't know the price until you start the purchase process each morning? I will buy it anyway because I am like that, but still, not cool.

We already paid our G+ feed with our booking for next month, but if we end up with 2 ILLs at max price for 6 people on our trip next month, it's $264 before tax lolol. It's too late now, but we joked about our per day spending when we're there (we're bring adult kids + SOs and paying) and on our AK/EP day with 2 ILLs + F&W -- it's a ridiculous amount of money for 1 day and that's AFTER the cost of getting in and sleeping. We're idiots, but this trip was conjured up before the pandemic and delayed twice.
 
It looks like those people who bought Genie+ with their tickets back when that was allowed made a wise investment.
 
+ another $88 if you want regular genie+ for the day (assuming it is a $22 day)... so $176 on top of your park ticket to *hopefully* skip the line on a few rides. ouch! It isn't so much the extra cost that kills me, it's that it is a crappy product that they are now charging even more for.
THIS^^^ Give me a great product and I'll pay. Don't try to manipulate me into buying something terrible that may or may not even help much.
 
I will see this as a way to deter people from buying. That can cost over $150 now for a family of 4 to just do HS (G+ and ROTR)
 
Did I hear that LL's booked between 7-7:30am do not give you a return time until you confirm/submit? What happens if it is during a ADR? Do you only know return times if waiting until 7:30 to book? Thanks!
 
I have a LL question that I can't figure out.
We went in March which is before they started hiding the booking times from 7:00-7:30. But we are going again next week.
So now for example if I want to book Slinky I can't see what time I'm booking it for, but we are park hopping to MK that evening so I would only want a LL if it fits in our schedule.
Same could be said for our Epcot day with Remy we will not be hoping that day but are planning a break at the resort.
How can this possibly work out if these rides sell out quickly and I can't see what time I am booking?
 
Can you clarify that if our goal isn't to stack with genie + and we just want to book things as often as possible, we are able to schedule the next lightening lane after tapping into the current LL genie + reservation? We don't have to wait 2 hours?
 
Can you clarify that if our goal isn't to stack with genie + and we just want to book things as often as possible, we are able to schedule the next lightening lane after tapping into the current LL genie + reservation? We don't have to wait 2 hours?
Correct.

You book first pass at 7, park opens at 9, you use the pass at 930, can book the next LL right away, I start refreshing/searching right after I tap in (2nd tap for some rides)
 
I have a LL question that I can't figure out.
We went in March which is before they started hiding the booking times from 7:00-7:30. But we are going again next week.
So now for example if I want to book Slinky I can't see what time I'm booking it for, but we are park hopping to MK that evening so I would only want a LL if it fits in our schedule.
Same could be said for our Epcot day with Remy we will not be hoping that day but are planning a break at the resort.
How can this possibly work out if these rides sell out quickly and I can't see what time I am booking?

I'm in the same boat, not having experienced the new 7-730 experience. Can I click the ride and THEN it shows me? Then I can back out and try again? We have a 4 hour window for our arrival day and I'm not sure I understand how easy (or not) it will be to find times that match that window, even if I start with the ride I *think* will be the first into that window.
 

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