Reviews of Disney Genie+ — WDW
Reviewed by KayMyers Review Date: 02/17/2023
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
We paid for Disney Genie + each day of a 4 day trip, we’ve been to Disney in the past and spent months planning and detailing our routes around the park to make a fantastic trip. This experience was terrible to be completely honest. We had reservations booked months in advance, that all of a sudden we had to make decisions of using the only option for a lightning lane and incur last minute cancellation charges on top of the money we spent on genie, or miss the attraction that would make our trip worth it. Attractions constantly running into each other, because it only gives you certain options. We wasted so much money and time being on our phones in the park. I don’t understand why Disney is making so much money off of me and still wants more - we won’t be back until they change this because this trip just was not magical.
Pros:
I can’t think of any - not to be dramatic but there’s nothing I can think of that would make me want this to stay.Cons:
Waste of money, time, inefficient, app constantly glitches because it can’t keep up with the park crowds, zero options for rides - we got to see so much less than what we have in the past because of this system. It’s really terrible. It’s complicated, hard to understand…they need to undo this quickly. I’ve never seen lines as long as I have in February!! Unheard of.Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 02/17/2023
Rating: (2) Not Recommended
Inefficient Service
Pros:
Virtual queues work well.Cons:
The service limits visitor to one \"fastpass\" per ride per day. I noticed that the standby lanes often had 75 minute waits while the lightning lanes were virtually empty. Long lines mean less out and about eating and shopping. Perhaps this could be adjusted to allow a second FP for a popular ride after a specific window of time.Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 02/11/2023
Rating: (6) Recommended
Worked ok for us and did help us get on some rides without a wait which was good as there doesn’t seem to be a low season at Disney anymore BUT it makes for an even more tiring week as any day you go at least one person must be up before 7am to get ready to book. No sleeping in! Difficult to balance with preteens/teens who like to stay at parks late. You also have minimal choice over the time you can ride - only offered next available times. This can have you zigzagging all over the park through the day and causes you to be inefficient at seeing/riding other things or missing them altogether because can’t make a cohesive plan. It could be improved by letting you choose the hour you want to ride like you can with the individual lightening lanes. Also when booking you need to factor in both the rides you want to ride as well as what is going to be the most popular when booking otherwise you will be disappointed by the time your 2/3rd booking comes around. On one of the days we didn’t even bother to book a 3rd ride as there was nothing left we wanted to ride. For example at Epcot we wanted to ride Remy, Soarin and Frozen in that order of preference. However, Frozen is really popular even though lower on our list and so it was completely booked and not available by the time we went to book our last section at 1pm. IMO would be better to just to put all the rides under the individual lightening lane system and show you what’s available before you purchase. Disney you can do better!
Pros:
Ability to book from anywhere and for all of party with ease vs old paper fast pass system. As good as old fast pass system wait wise if you do manage to select your ride.Cons:
Early am wake up Lack of availability of some rides due to popularity No way of knowing what will be available before you purchase and start booking No ability to select time you want that fits with your plans.Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 01/18/2023
Rating: (2) Not Recommended
I’ve been coming to WDW for 30 years, this is by far the worst experience we have had. Genie+ was a necessary purchase in order to have a chance to ride any popular ride without a 90min wait (minimum). Even with genie plus, we rode probably half as many rides as we are normally able to do with 4x more time spent on the phone as well as constant bouncing across the park. Genie+ has taken the magic out of it and has significantly worsened the experience. Previous fast pass systems were much better. We will not be back for a while unless some changes are made.
Pros:
Almost like fastpass.Cons:
Limited fast passes per ride Only one at a time 7am free-for-allReviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 01/08/2023
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
We have been going to Disney World every year since 1978. We found the Genie Plus system to be inefficient, inconvenient and a complete waste of money. Previously, when we were allowed to make the fast passes 60 days out, we were able to plan the times, i.e. 2 in the morning, 1 in the afternoon. Here, first come first serve at 7:00 a.m. meant that even when logged in exactly at 7:00, there were attractions that were not accepting reservations until 3:00 p.m. The claim is that Genie was to help facilitate one's day. By marking the attractions we wished to see, the impression was that Genie Plus would help reserve them and it would logically map out the day. The exact opposite was true. We ended up bouncing from 1 end of the park to the other in order to use a lightning lane. While at EPCOT, we only used the lightning lane once. We tried to use the Genie Plus system (plus an additional $9/person) to see Ratatouille, but by 10:30 it was already filled for the day. To quote the person standing beside me from Soarin' "This isn't the first time I wasted $15." Unfortunately for me, it was a waste of $180 plus tax. As for the "helpful hints", being told that Slinky Dog was a good ride, although the wait was 85 minutes was a joke. The previous My Experience worked just fine. No longer the happiest place on earth - just the greediest.
Pros:
NoneCons:
inefficient, expensive, worthlessReviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 01/04/2023
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
I’m a long term season pass holder and purchased the Genie + service and it was a waste of money. I logged in at 7:00 and could not get into the queue. The rides offered for lightning lanes were all rides that the wait times are low and that we have ridden many times. Don’t waist you time and money!
Pros:
NonCons:
The entire app. UselessReviewed by Rani Review Date: 01/03/2023
Rating: (10) Recommended
Worth every penny. Busy week and we were able to get on every popular ride with minimal to no wait times. Using rope drop meant that we were able to ride Pandora multiple times. We did not have issues with the app not working. It was so simple to use and we could start grabbing times for rides while we were on the Skyliner in the morning. Would use this for anyone who doesn't get the parks very often or if this is a one-time or annual trip. Get familiar with it before you go so you know what to expect. You can try it for one day and see if you like it. You don't need to buy it for the entire trip. We did buy it for all 6 days and got a slight discount because we booked it when we booked our trip, but I'm not sure if this is still an option.
Pros:
Makes the most of your trip. You will get on popular rides with minimal to no wait. Time is money and this was worth every penny.Cons:
Expensive.Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 01/02/2023
Rating: (8) Recommended
Since there are so many negative review I wanted to give some positives. When my family has visited we have been able to ride everything we wanted to. The key is doing a little bit of research before you go. If you just show up and pay the extra it is not going to do you any good. Search on YouTube; all ears has tons of helpful videos. If you know how it works you'll be able to get on several popular rides and have free time instead of waiting in lines all day.
Pros:
make a plan and ride nearly everything you wantCons:
can be glitchy, extra expenseReviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 12/31/2022
Rating: (5) Recommended
Party of 7 went to disney over christmas. Throughout our vacation we used genie + and individual lightning lane at all parks. Although it comes with a greater expense, it did work for us. My party was happy and used LL for most rides. Minimal waits. The draw back to this service comes to the person who “runs” the service for the group. We chose to have once person book for the whole group so everyone was on the rides together. As this person, I personally spent most of my time researching and organizing so there was some sort of flow to it all. I was the one who spent the whole day attached to my phone, not the rest of my party. The smiles on their faces made it worth the trouble, but it did take a bit of the manic away from my experience.
Pros:
If organized and researched well, there will be less time waiting in linesCons:
At least one person has to spend the whole day attached to their phone, constantly checking and rechecking for the best time and schedReviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 12/29/2022
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
Absolutely worthless. Whomever pitched and executed genie+ should be fired immediately. It ruined the experience and demonstrated how classless and cash hungry Disney has become. Bought genie for 2 days, used it on 2 mediocre rides because the premier rides are gone in the 1st 10 minutes. You can't see this until you pay money. The app bottlenecks thousands of people to wake up early and fight the servers at 7am. Tried to book star wars 3 times and the app crashed each time. Boarding went from 11 to 9pm within 2 minutes of trying. The one ride we booked broke down, which gives you a voucher for any alternate ride except for the ones you actually want to ride. It forces you to waste it on something you wouldn't use it for in the 1st place. We wasted the 1st half of the day on this garbage after traveling across the country to be here. Lastly, their are rides they want you to pay extra money on top of the genie+ cost. What?!
