To Genie+ or Not?

[Nemo32]

Hi all! I'm headed to WDW on June 25th. For my trip in October 2022, we used Genie+ but we didn't NEED it because we did rope drop, had a plan, etc. etc.. However, this time I'll be 23 weeks pregnant (yay!), and while I can't ride the headliners, am thinking Genie+ is worth it to avoid waiting a ton in the FL heat while pregnant. Thoughts on if I should pre-purchase Genie+ (currently on hold with Disney to do so since option is no longer in app though it was last week) or do day-by-day once there? My concern with that is possibly missing out on booking it the day-of if they're limiting how many can book for the day plus the added headache of stressing over booking it the day-of. Since we can't do headliners, I originally wanted to do this and just book it for my MK and EP days but not AK (nothing really for me to do there, haha). Do you think it'll really be an issue booking the day-of? Asking you pros for your thoughts! TIA.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

We've used G+ perhaps 6-7 times over 3 trips, all booking day-of. We didn't have any issues buying it and using it. It's a small savings over buying it the entire stay, and wasn't a big deal. The only concern we've seen and heard about is if the IT side of things is messed up that day - it doesn't happen too often when Disney is trying to sell something, but it could - very small chance. There's an even smaller chance (imo) they'll sell out of G+ for the day before you can get in to buy it. If you're up late the night before you're going to buy it, plan to buy it at midnight. If not, I'd recommend being online 6:30/6:45 to make the purchase, and then make your first reservation at 7AM - if that's how you want to use it. If you're doing non-headliners and want something later in the day, you might need to wait until the time window moves to where you want it. Have a great trip! Hoping the Florida heat doesn't live up to its reputation the week you're there, but if it's June, not much chance of that!

 

[igrsod]

We have done with and without Genie+ and to be honest, if your touring plan is rope drop, have a plan etc. etc. you probably don't need Genie+. We won't ever buy it again. We were happier and less tired without it.
NOW, I wasn't pregnant though. But I am old (almost 50... but I consider myself old lol) with bad knees.

 

[bnhonest]

Just back. We bought Genie+ at every park but AK. We also RD'd the main headliner for each park. Genie+ was a nice supplement to help in the mornings, especially with some of the tier 2 rides.

But I could see it being a real frustration for those that are not RDing too. The headliners were off the board by around lunch, and you don't need it for non-headliners.

 

[gharter]

We have done with and without Genie+ and to be honest, if your touring plan is rope drop, have a plan etc. etc. you probably don't need Genie+

Would agree as that was our experience as well. We didn't get anywhere near the number of rides with Genie+ that we did with FP+.
Getting the first Genie + ride about 90 minutes after the park opens, then keep getting new ones as early as possible and riding other rides in between worked well.

 

[mdoc]

I was at MK on the 2nd Wednesday in March. It wasn't supposed to be a particularly busy day, although I'm sure it ended up being more crowded than the crowd calendars had predicted. We were staying onsite, were at the park for ETPE, and the trip was primarily for a 2 year old so we weren't trying to ride the Mountains or even Mine Train. As it was we didn't get to ride Pooh (it went down a few times during the day) or the Little Mermaid ride, and I can't imagine we'd have been able to do Jungle Cruise or Peter Pan without G+. The line for Peter Pan was disorganized chaos and over an hour long at 8:35 (maybe because Pooh was down). After we got those two (at 7 and 11), we got a LL for Pirates, but then weren't able to get anything except rides like Barnstormer and Dumbo which didn't have big lines - the rest were extended out past when we were planning to leave. Based on that experience, even though it wasn't the best, I'd always want G+ at MK.

 

[gharter]

We found Genie + very helpful at MK for the reasons you noted. It was also helpful at HS.
Really found minimal help at AK and no use at EPCOT. Now with Frozen and Remy going to LL instead of ILL$, that may change.

 

[godfather927]

Hi all! I'm headed to WDW on June 25th. For my trip in October 2022, we used Genie+ but we didn't NEED it because we did rope drop, had a plan, etc. etc.. However, this time I'll be 23 weeks pregnant (yay!), and while I can't ride the headliners, am thinking Genie+ is worth it to avoid waiting a ton in the FL heat while pregnant. Thoughts on if I should pre-purchase Genie+ (currently on hold with Disney to do so since option is no longer in app though it was last week) or do day-by-day once there? My concern with that is possibly missing out on booking it the day-of if they're limiting how many can book for the day plus the added headache of stressing over booking it the day-of. Since we can't do headliners, I originally wanted to do this and just book it for my MK and EP days but not AK (nothing really for me to do there, haha). Do you think it'll really be an issue booking the day-of? Asking you pros for your thoughts! TIA.

That ride with Doc and Marty probably beats the pants off of anything at WDW. But on a serious note, for our trip in late April, using Genie+ was a no-brainer. We're not rope droppers, so late afternoon stacking fit our daily schedule a bit better and was more our style. Wasn't crazy about the zig-zagging but we using it allowed us to check off all the major attractions from our list for each of the 4 parks. On average, it saved us about 2-3 hrs of waiting per day which was easily worth the $60 for our family of 4.

 

[Mousetopia]

I am pretty sure you cant call and add ahead of time. It was an intentional change.

My plan is..I pay enough to get in the parks, I am not paying for Genie+ Paying to have magic diminished by my head in my cell phone..nope. I plan instead to have studied up and have a touring plan in place using early and late entry, etc. to get it all done. Very doable ! My trip is not successful and magical due to the headliners. I enjoy some but none are a must do really..certainly not worth what you pay for genie + ..money, loss of magic, frustration.

 

[twoplustwins]

We just got back and we did not get G+. We rope dropped and knew what rides/attractions we wanted. We did end up purchasing an ILL for GOTG because we didn't get a 7:00 VQ spot.

 

[Nemo32]

That ride with Doc and Marty probably beats the pants off of anything at WDW. But on a serious note, for our trip in late April, using Genie+ was a no-brainer. We're not rope droppers, so late afternoon stacking fit our daily schedule a bit better and was more our style. Wasn't crazy about the zig-zagging but we using it allowed us to check off all the major attractions from our list for each of the 4 parks. On average, it saved us about 2-3 hrs of waiting per day which was easily worth the $60 for our family of 4.

Haha...I blame the pregnancy brain for that typo!

 

[Nemo32]

Thank you all for the replies! I appreciate it. We do plan to arrive to the parks early to avoid midday heat. It sounds like we should be ok purchasing the day-of, if we need to. Like others have said, it seems most helpful in MK, especially for me since a lot of those I can do while pregnant. I'm thinking we skip for the other parks and just go early in day with a plan like we've done for previous trips. Thank you again!

 

[CaptainRogers2021]

Hoping someone in this thread could help clarify a Genie+ scenario…!

If at 7am, I book (for example) Tower of Terror with a lightning lane selection. Prior to the two hour “120 minute” window expires, can I BUY LL passes for ride of the resistance???

TIA

 

[Tom_E_D]

Hoping someone in this thread could help clarify a Genie+ scenario…!

If at 7am, I book (for example) Tower of Terror with a lightning lane selection. Prior to the two hour “120 minute” window expires, can I BUY LL passes for ride of the resistance???

TIA

Yes, Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane selections are treated separately. You can make your Individual Lightning Lane purchase(s), for Rise and the others, starting at 7:00. You can do it before making your Genie+ selection, after making your Genie+ selection, or instead of making a Genie+ selection. You can buy an ILL (or two if park hopping) without buying Genie+, if you want. The 2-hour rule has nothing to do with ILLs.

EDIT: you can buy your ILLs at 7:00 if onsite. If offsite, you have to wait until park opening.

 

[CaptainRogers2021]

Yes, Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane selections are treated separately. You can make your Individual Lightning Lane purchase(s), for Rise and the others, starting at 7:00. You can do it before making your Genie+ selection, after making your Genie+ selection, or instead of making a Genie+ selection. You can buy an ILL (or two if park hopping) without buying Genie+, if you want. The 2-hour rule has nothing to do with ILLs.

That could not have clarified it better! Thank you!

 

[ChadsGirl]

I'm torn about this. We were there last week and pre-purchased G+ so we didn't have to worry about buying it day by day. We rope-dropped with ETPE every day, and even doing that I think we needed it because the lines grew very quickly. We only used it once at Epcot and once at AK, but if we hadn't we would have been waiting in long lines by like 9:30-10. I'm a little bitter about paying for it and not using it a lot, but when we did use it it was helpful. We walked right on.