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Post by tomandrobin on Oct 27, 2023 12:26:24 GMT -5
Disney Genie / Disney Genie+ and Lightning Lane Changes are coming.....
The attraction reservation nightmare is about to get worse at Walt Disney World. While Disney has yet to talk about this publicly,WDW President Jeff Vahle shared the news with a group of 400 Travel Agency owners that the ability to make “pre-trip reservations” for attractions will be coming to Genie+.
Walt Disney World didn’t learn from their mistakes the last time, when they turned FastPass+ into a living nightmare for all other guests by allowing WDW resort guests to pre-book three attraction FastPass+ reservations each day up to 60 days in advance of their trip. If you don’t remember how that worked out the last time, essentially imagine walking into the Magic Kingdom first thing in the morning and now PAYING for Genie+ (rather than the free FastPass+ program), only to discover that you can’t get a Lightning Lane pass for anything you really want to ride until that evening because the resort guests already pre-booked everything two months prior.
Rules are not out for this new system yet. Based on how bad FastPass+ got towards the end, pre-trip reservations for Genie+ are only going to make your experience worse.
I don’t think that any reservation of any kind (Genie+ or Individual Lightning Lane, or Virtual Queue Boarding Groups) should be possible until a guest has entered the park.
This is gonna be such a disaster. The park experience is already bad.....everything is so rigid and hard planned for rides.
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Post by fuzzylogic on Oct 27, 2023 12:43:36 GMT -5
Interesting news! Tho I don't agree w the negative spin. So many ppl liked the reserving and would call the switch to purchasing day-of the mistake. It just depends on your travel habits which is right and which is the mistake to you.
It does have the problem of rides getting taken up by onsite guests... but I think what we're finding is that using FP as a means to sell rooms for a premium is more valuable than using FP to make $20.
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Post by nickys on Oct 27, 2023 12:48:20 GMT -5
Also, there is a very good authority (who I won’t name but he runs his own TA / Planning website) who says from what he has seen - unofficially - MK will also be tiered.
You will be able to get an LL for one of the Tier 1 rides (which I think were Tirana’s Bayou, Space and 7dmt. And 2 from the remainder.
But there is nothing yet about whether you can book another Tier 1 after using your first or not.
Also those that have managed to delve into the code have suggested that currently the advance period is 7 days, but it isn’t clear if that is for everyone or onsite only. And that could easily be changed to 24 hrs or 60 days
So yes, this is looking just like FP+ in all but name, but with tiers for MK too. Even though the whole point of bringing in the name Genie+ and making the changes was to avoid the perception that they were simply changing FP+ from a free system to a paid system.
Quite what they think the perception of this will be now I don’t know. 🙄
Disney did announce advance booking was coming. Or more specifically they said something along the lines of “guests have told us they want to be able to book LLs in advance and we’re listening to them”.
As someone who loved FP+ I was surprised how easy I found G+ in the end, but I will admit to be being pleased with having some measure of control back over my plans for the day.
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Post by tomandrobin on Oct 27, 2023 13:22:13 GMT -5
The issue is you will satisfy one group of people and piss another.
This only complicates people's park time, especially newbies and in frequent park visitors.
Even though the reservation system does not apply to me, I still don't like what it is currently and where it is heading.
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Post by rigby on Oct 27, 2023 14:51:24 GMT -5
We loved being able to book rides in advance. Very much looking forward to this change.  |
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Post by dlwdwdvc on Oct 27, 2023 15:32:43 GMT -5
This is giving me a headache already .
I don’t like having to study for trip planning version along with all the other changes .
I try to keep a Calendar to alert me to everything I need to know but it’s not easy and definitely not my idea of Magic
It would be nice to believe in their tech updates Haha and maintenance improvement , etc.
Is that too much to expect ?
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Post by simbasmom on Oct 27, 2023 16:07:48 GMT -5
In a way I can see a method to Disney's madness here (i.e.-a reason for it). People have been complaining about the decreasing number of advantages of staying on-site. Especially at Disney's astronomic prices by comparison to local hotels'. If Disney hotel guests get a jump on reserving Genie + over off-site guests, that might be a big factor in deciding where to stay.
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Post by nrspepe on Oct 27, 2023 16:16:10 GMT -5
We would gladly return to the fastpass + system!, it actually made planning easier. You knew where you would be when. ADR decisions follow easily along.
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Post by nickys on Oct 27, 2023 16:45:01 GMT -5
In a way I can see a method to Disney's madness here (i.e.-a reason for it). People have been complaining about the decreasing number of advantages of staying on-site. Especially at Disney's astronomic prices by comparison to local hotels'. If Disney hotel guests get a jump on reserving Genie + over off-site guests, that might be a big factor in deciding where to stay. Also it commits people to pay for Genie+ if they want to prebook their rides. Which many will do for fear of missing out. And Disney can make it length of stay only, like the dining plan. From the guest perspective it also locks in the price. Which could be good or bad. |
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Post by brp on Oct 27, 2023 18:03:57 GMT -5
We loved being able to book rides in advance. Very much looking forward to this change. yeah, from what I read here among all the negativity, this looks like it will let folks pick things in advance, unless I read it wrong. This is great news and an absolute positive in this case. Back to what FP+ was like, albeit with a charge. And I'd be surprised if anyone didn't see that coming.
Definite step in the right direction.
Cheers.
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Post by WDWGoof on Oct 27, 2023 19:27:29 GMT -5
The issue is you will satisfy one group of people and piss another. This only complicates people's park time, especially newbies and in frequent park visitors. Even though the reservation system does not apply to me, I still don't like what it is currently and where it is heading. Agree with you Tom. Old system, everyone was equal in choosing to take advantage of perks or not. Now, there will be groups that loses out. Disney is constantly making changes in separating people out (ones who can afford or who are planners vs one trip in a lifetime after saving for years just to walk through the gate). So tired of todays environment of separation. Take care of your customer by giving opportunity to all. |
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Post by Cali10 on Oct 27, 2023 20:19:41 GMT -5
If the change means I don't have to get up at the equivalent of 4 am to my body (7 am Eastern time=4 am West Coast time) every morning during our trip to make Genie+ selections for each day I'm all for booking in advance.
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Post by mamab24 on Oct 27, 2023 21:07:52 GMT -5
So I never experienced the before time magic prior to FP+, and the crashing of that system in 2015 almost caused us to never be a Disney family…..and as I plan for this upcoming trip with the few genie+ experiences I’ve had over the past year and a half—I can’t say that I’m unhappy some semblance of booking at least a few rides prior to arrival is returning. I hate having to be up at o’dark thirty to hope the genie+ gods are smiling on me to get at least a few of my favorite rides lined up. I have not been able to get a ToT pass in over a year, and it really sucks some of the fun out of my day—either by standing in a freakishly long line that seems to move slower than ever or by skipping it once again. And I’m then ticked because I paid for a service that under delivered and sucked my day as I stared at my phone. If they offer me the chance to grab a few rides ahead of time and guaranteed for a price, I’m on board. Again…no before times of paper fast passes.
…and I admit that because I had to learn the lesson about planning the hard way, while I empathize with the underprepared…I also believe the knowledge is out there. Make an informed choice to stay on site for the perks or stay off-site. It’s always a compromise. You may need to travel when crowds are lower instead—-unlike my crazy pants going over NYE. (It still makes me gag a little like a cat on a hairball.)
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Post by DrMinnie on Oct 27, 2023 23:03:10 GMT -5
I realize this is giving the loudest people what they want. But it’s not a good plan. It doesn’t work well. If you’re not taking a super long trip and able to book 60 days + 10, it means you don’t get the priority fast passes. And all of the people who don’t stay on Disney property lose out. Not to mention all of the people who don’t do months of research on food, rides, order, etc just don’t have a chance.
I mean, we’ll figure it out. But I hate the change. We also never experienced the mad dash for paper fast passes. We did experience the joy of getting 3 extra anytime fast passes each for our 3rd trip. That was AMAZING.
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Post by annamaria on Oct 28, 2023 4:09:54 GMT -5
My son mentioned this rumor to me about a week ago.
For us, by the time we figure out and get comfortable with "new changes", they change it up again. We did not mind reserving our 3 Fastpasses in advance. Let's see now if and when it happens/starts.
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