ILL is aptly named.

[danceintherain]

One thing that I think is dramatically overstated by many posters is the idea that Genie+ and ILL force you to be staring at your phone all day.

With a little planning in advance to learn the basics of how the system works, and how it affects the attractions you are most interested in, you can use Genie+ and ILL to save yourself a lot of time waiting in lines while only going to your phone to make a reservation once every hour or two at the most.

Yeah. G+ is very similar to what MaxPass at Disneyland was. Granted, Disneyland operates on a different scale than Disney World. At least you don't have to be scanned into the park in order to choose your first G+, which was the case for MaxPass. But, we only ended up on our phones a handful of times throughout the day while using MaxPass at DL. It was easy enough to do it while waiting in a non-FP line or while grabbing a bite to eat. I preferred it to the FP+ iteration at WDW at the time, where if you didn't book 90 days in advance, you didn't get a chance. But, I had also decided that I preferred Disneyland. I'm actually more worried about G+ and ILL$ ruining Disneyland, not WDW.

 

[TikiRob]

The system was impossible this morning.. tried booking FoP for my parents and it either failed or got hung up. This happened from 7:00-7:30am when I finally got them a 5:15pm because it was the only thing available. Now hours later there is availability for all day! It would be nice if you've already spent $$ for these that you could change the time if a more desirable one was available.

 

[kverdon]

Yep! After 2 hours I finally got a 7:30 Remy. This is just nuts.

 

[meremac]

I’m glad to hear some positive feedback and that it worked out for you.

I do think there’s a lot more to it than “learning how to use the system to its fullest”. There seem to be many factors including crowd levels, technology glitches, broken down rides- all that influence how successful genie+ is for a guest on a given day.

Oh sure. There are definitely mitigating factors like the ones you mentioned, but that's always been the case. Crowds and attraction downtimes are not new, and they're not exclusive to Disney. Disney's IT is problematic and there's no excuse for a company this large to have SO may tech issues, but that's been true for as long as I can remember across multiple platforms. My point is that, especially for people who are very new to Genie+ (or who are new to WDW in general), it might be beneficial to take some of what they read here with a grain of salt, as it's really not THAT bad. It's absolutely possible to have an amazing time at Disney still, and the magic is not gone for everyone (in fact, I would wager that it's not gone for most people). Just do some research, practice, have a plan to maximize the system (along with some contingency plans), and allow yourself to HAVE FUN.

 

[Kingoglow]

Hi, can I ask an innocent question or two? My family went to WDW last June, and we all had a great time, we loved it all. I'm now taking my little boy in August (third week), and I'm worried about the new changes. Do you absolutely NEED Genie, Genie +, ILL to have a good trip? I hate the thought of staring at my phone all day, just doesn't sound like what a vacation should be. There are so many posts about Genie, etc, I haven't really explored it all in detail, but......it all seems a bit complicated, and that's not how I want our vacation to go! Thank you in advance for your time and help!

The quick answer is no, you don't need it.

If your vacation is focused on you and your kid, simply being together and enjoying whatever happens during the day and making memories, then you can certainly live without paying $15 for Genie plus.

However, if you subscribe to the 'Must Do List' mentality that is pushed on Mom's google searching how to plan the perfect vacation for their family but all the crazy Disney Vloggers out there, then will absolutely need to pay up for Genie+ to keep up with their list of everything that you 'Must Do' to enjoy your vacation at Disney. I really wish the 'Must Do List' mentality would fade away, but here we are.

 

[notatallmagic]

I always take the surveys Disney emails out. I recently took one for APs. I answered no to “will you be using LL and genie +”…next question they follow up with is why. I was brutally honest during the entire survey but let loose for that question. I hope anyone else that’s unhappy with the current system does the same. After 7 years we’re letting our APs expire this April. Genie +/ILL was the final straw.

Same here. Sad to let our Annual Passes expire, but no way.

We were there in December for a short trip and boycotted Genie and ILL. We are fortunate enough to have ridden everything we wanted to ride on prior trips (Rise for sure) so we just accepted that we wouldn't be riding those attractions during such a busy time. We have one last trip planned during a "down" time for six days - hopefully we'll be able to ride everything at least once.

The shifting times don't work for people - for so many reasons...Dining Reservations, time of day issues for little kids/older adults/DAS holders. This is a total sh#$ show.

 

[Sydnerella]

Oh sure. There are definitely mitigating factors like the ones you mentioned, but that's always been the case. Crowds and attraction downtimes are not new, and they're not exclusive to Disney. Disney's IT is problematic and there's no excuse for a company this large to have SO may tech issues, but that's been true for as long as I can remember across multiple platforms. My point is that, especially for people who are very new to Genie+ (or who are new to WDW in general), it might be beneficial to take some of what they read here with a grain of salt, as it's really not THAT bad. It's absolutely possible to have an amazing time at Disney still, and the magic is not gone for everyone (in fact, I would wager that it's not gone for most people). Just do some research, practice, have a plan to maximize the system (along with some contingency plans), and allow yourself to HAVE FUN.

I have been to Walt Disneyworld 9 times And read through every post on the Genie+ thread to make sure I knew how to use it properly and all of the different tricks… and I was honestly crying in the Magic Kingdom Thanksgiving week because of Genie+ frustration not because of another lovely emotional sentimental moment with my family in Disney as in years past.

Crying.

And there are a number of posts in this thread - even from today - indicating similar frustrations so reading your “positive attitude” it’s not that bad post might feel slightly frustrating to those of us who have been in that moment as well, even if that’s not how you intended to sound. Can we get over it and be adults and make the most of a bad situation? Of course we can and we have, all of us. I’m sure we have no choice as we have spent thousands of dollars to be there. You make lemonade out of lemons as best you can but it does not mean you don’t have complaints. So people really need to adjust their expectations and recognize there will be challenges! If there are not - lucky for them!

AND there are fully legitimate critiques of the functionality and guest friendliness of Genie plus. The bottom line is that the system has too many issues/glitches and there is too much at stake to make it an acceptable guest experience considering all of the costs and time investment that are required now for a family to have a Disney vacation comparable to one prior to its invention.

 

[meremac]

I have been to Walt Disneyworld 9 times And read through every post on the Genie+ thread to make sure I knew how to use it properly and all of the different tricks… and I was honestly crying in the Magic Kingdom Thanksgiving week because of Genie+ frustration not because of another lovely emotional sentimental moment with my family in Disney as in years past.

Crying.

And there are a number of posts in this thread - even from today - indicating similar frustrations so reading your “positive attitude” it’s not that bad post might feel slightly frustrating to those of us who have been in that moment as well, even if that’s not how you intended to sound. Can we get over it and be adults and make the most of a bad situation? Of course we can and we have, all of us. I’m sure we have no choice as we have spent thousands of dollars to be there. You make lemonade out of lemons as best you can but it does not mean you don’t have complaints. So people really need to adjust their expectations and recognize there will be challenges! If there are not - lucky for them!

AND there are fully legitimate critiques of the functionality and guest friendliness of Genie plus. The bottom line is that the system has too many issues/glitches and there is too much at stake to make it an acceptable guest experience considering all of the costs and time investment that are required now for a family to have a Disney vacation comparable to one prior to its invention.

Oh, Thanksgiving was definitely a disaster. That was totally unacceptable and I would feel the same way as you if I had gone then. I can't imagine how disappointing that would have been.

 

[aviva5675]

Not being able to lock in the time shown that you first click on is almost inexcusable in this day and age. It also would be nice to be able to do some of the booking at least a day out.

 

[DavidNYC]

Setting aside the fact that ILL$ adds a significant upcharge to use the LL for a single ride, it could have been set up in a way that might greatly enhance a WDW visit. They could have allowed you to purchase your time up to 24 hours in advance instead of having to compete every morning at 7 am. They could have designed the system to hold the time you select for even as little as 1 minute to allow you to check out and actually get the time they offered to you.

Sadly, they rolled this out with, not just glitchy IT, but a fundamentally flawed design that is extremely frustrating for every user as they watch the times keep changing through the check-out process.

Even better - imagine if they had a system where maybe a month prior you could go on and book your rides so you didn't have to feel the stress every day of your trip. And then you could figure out things like meal times, taking breaks (oh - and if they allowed you to choose among open times rather than assign you a time wouldn't that be great).

If only there was some way such a system could ever exist . . . . .

 

[Haley R]

We booked our first ILL$ yesterday for frozen. We had never done it before. We chose a 10 am time frame only to find out after I had paid that it was moved to 10:45. We are seriously considering not renewing our APs this year and it makes me very sad. Our ds is only 21 months, absolutely loves coming to Disney, and now might not get that anymore because of everything that’s changed

 

[jknc]

Worth asking.

Since these boards are loaded with fanatics and a bit of an echo chamber how many folks are actually complaining to Disney about the issues?
Anyone seen their recent TripAdvisor reviews?

 

[jknc]

Disregard

 

[vincep]

And just think with every bad decision Cheapek makes another million gets added to his yearly salary. What a great job.

 

[notatallmagic]

I have been to Walt Disneyworld 9 times And read through every post on the Genie+ thread to make sure I knew how to use it properly and all of the different tricks… and I was honestly crying in the Magic Kingdom Thanksgiving week because of Genie+ frustration not because of another lovely emotional sentimental moment with my family in Disney as in years past.

Crying.

And there are a number of posts in this thread - even from today - indicating similar frustrations so reading your “positive attitude” it’s not that bad post might feel slightly frustrating to those of us who have been in that moment as well, even if that’s not how you intended to sound. Can we get over it and be adults and make the most of a bad situation? Of course we can and we have, all of us. I’m sure we have no choice as we have spent thousands of dollars to be there. You make lemonade out of lemons as best you can but it does not mean you don’t have complaints. So people really need to adjust their expectations and recognize there will be challenges! If there are not - lucky for them!

AND there are fully legitimate critiques of the functionality and guest friendliness of Genie plus. The bottom line is that the system has too many issues/glitches and there is too much at stake to make it an acceptable guest experience considering all of the costs and time investment that are required now for a family to have a Disney vacation comparable to one prior to its invention.

I certainly didn't "love" your post because of your experience, but because of your articulation.

Disney was/is our escape from some serious real world trauma over the years. It just doesn't work anymore. Constant need to be online; the maybe/most likely not ability to get ILL/Boarding Groups; the early 7am craziness; the crowds...so much has changed, and each management decision is like acid eroding the magic for us.

I get that some people might embrace this and it might not bother them the way it does me - and that's fine for them. Just like some people might love a scuba vacation with vegan food. But I don't like scuba diving and am not vegan, so that's not a fit for my family.

It's hard to feel like you're missing out on the nostalgia and memories, but I'm looking forward to new places and experiences.

 

[UrsulaTime]

I have been to Walt Disneyworld 9 times And read through every post on the Genie+ thread to make sure I knew how to use it properly and all of the different tricks… and I was honestly crying in the Magic Kingdom Thanksgiving week because of Genie+ frustration not because of another lovely emotional sentimental moment with my family in Disney as in years past.

Crying.

And there are a number of posts in this thread - even from today - indicating similar frustrations so reading your “positive attitude” it’s not that bad post might feel slightly frustrating to those of us who have been in that moment as well, even if that’s not how you intended to sound. Can we get over it and be adults and make the most of a bad situation? Of course we can and we have, all of us. I’m sure we have no choice as we have spent thousands of dollars to be there. You make lemonade out of lemons as best you can but it does not mean you don’t have complaints. So people really need to adjust their expectations and recognize there will be challenges! If there are not - lucky for them!

AND there are fully legitimate critiques of the functionality and guest friendliness of Genie plus. The bottom line is that the system has too many issues/glitches and there is too much at stake to make it an acceptable guest experience considering all of the costs and time investment that are required now for a family to have a Disney vacation comparable to one prior to its invention.

I very much appreciate hearing about positive experiences. I equally appreciate hearing about crappy ones. Especially when we're talking about a system that's not only new, but that costs money for services that weren't separately billed in the very recent past. That many of us on these boards will, in the not-too-distant-future, decide whether or not to purchase. So the value I put on people taking the time to report candidly on their lived experiences -- whether good/bad/ugly/middling/logistical/emotional -- is significant. I value all of them equally and have no preference for one or the other. A positive attitude is great to be around in general but that's not what I'm here for.

At the moment I'm especially grateful to sydnerella for sharing a) how the frustration of the new system affected her emotionally, and b) calling attention to the fact that just because someone had a great time with genie+ doesn't mean negative experiences are invalid or caused by user inadequacy.

A note on the user-friendliness of the apps...in my experience with MaxPass at DLR, I 'studied' beforehand but was still caught off guard by new-user-learning-curve. I thought I'd love it (I don't recall reading about many, if any, issues with it), but we didn't jive.
When I got to the park I was SO EXCITED because we were FINALLY HERE and in my excitement I somehow forgot the corresponding schedule times/boarding times for several rides...it just wasn't the easy-breezy-whimsical experience I'd imagined. And frankly, I felt like a dunce, which didn't help matters! The point is, I probably could have judged myself less harshly, since it was my first time using that style of touring (instead of going to 'Everyone else loves this, what is wrong with me?!').

I was also surprised at the amount of stuff I needed my phone out for (pictures, park map, wait times, boarding pass, menus/snack locations, mobile ordering; park entry, ride entry, MaxPass) and how much I disliked that. I'm not a technophobe nor am I unused to multitasking...but without MagicBands and with MaxPass, I guess there was a tipping point for me in there somewhere. In the past I'd been fine with phone usage at WDW.

Anyway. The new system is the reality. If I choose to purchase it, at least my expectations will be calibrated. That's a GOOD thing.

 

[Davey Jones II]

We are planning to go to WDW in October. We are Canadian, and haven't been able to set foot outside of the country since our last trip in Oct. 2019. Since we haven't spent on any expensive vacations, we can afford to go all out with Genie+ and ILL. However. due to threads like this, my expectations are somewhat low. If the new system gets us into a short line for a few rides every day, then I'll say mission accomplished.

The rest of the time, we'll have to use the standby queue. So what kind of wait times can we expect? We will probably only get in a standby line for a headliner during early entry, and near closing time.

 

[CTDisneygal]

The quick answer is no, you don't need it.

If your vacation is focused on you and your kid, simply being together and enjoying whatever happens during the day and making memories, then you can certainly live without paying $15 for Genie plus.

However, if you subscribe to the 'Must Do List' mentality that is pushed on Mom's google searching how to plan the perfect vacation for their family but all the crazy Disney Vloggers out there, then will absolutely need to pay up for Genie+ to keep up with their list of everything that you 'Must Do' to enjoy your vacation at Disney. I really wish the 'Must Do List' mentality would fade away, but here we are.

Just my $.02 (and take it with a grain of salt

Hi, can I ask an innocent question or two? My family went to WDW last June, and we all had a great time, we loved it all. I'm now taking my little boy in August (third week), and I'm worried about the new changes. Do you absolutely NEED Genie, Genie +, ILL to have a good trip? I hate the thought of staring at my phone all day, just doesn't sound like what a vacation should be. There are so many posts about Genie, etc, I haven't really explored it all in detail, but......it all seems a bit complicated, and that's not how I want our vacation to go! Thank you in advance for your time and help!

Well said, Kingoglow.

@AliceNDinah, this is just my $.02 and you may certainly take it with a grain of salt, but I would not fret. While I've yet to use Genie+ (we were there early AUg 2021, I do know the crowds drop drastically the third week in August. I know January is typically a slower month and people were amazed by the higher crowds this January, but the huge difference is kids have been in school for an entire semester by January. Aug, they're just beginning and people have less of a tendency to pull kids out the first or second week.

 

[Sydnerella]

Worth asking.

Since these boards are loaded with fanatics and a bit of an echo chamber how many folks are actually complaining to Disney about the issues?
Anyone seen their recent TripAdvisor reviews?

Yes. I complained to Riviera manager about an issue there and my other frustrations because i really had it by this day, I complained in detail in the post trip survey, complained at GET daily and saw on an IT call last month all my GET visits and issues were logged, and I have a long email started that was interrupted by the holidays to send to guest services. I was always polite but honest, as none of the CMs made the bad decisions in most cases and I know one is more apt to be helped when you are reasonable and courteous.

Thus far no follow-up on any of those complaints despite our long history of patronizing Disney. But I will say that Riviera took $200 off our $10,300 room/park ticket bill for the housekeeping glitch in the post below. So at least it was something for that specific situation. But not much in the grand scheme of the money spent on top of the room/tickets…

Anyway - My draft complaint email mirrors the things I have said here and my post in this other similar thread:

https://www.disboards.com/threads/b...lower-your-expectations.3869236/post-63730906

or below:

Hello!
If you go in with average expectations and recognize you will have some glitches when you have heavy crowds using Genie+ in the app and probably need to visit guest experience team for recovery, you will still enjoy have fun and make memories that you treasure.

You sound eyes wide open which helps. I was overly optimistic during our nine day Thanksgiving trip in 2021. And while I knew there would be challenges I too had my annual Disney crying experience… However, it was crying in the Magic Kingdom out of pure exhaustion and frustration with yet another set of Genie+ glitches that kept me from securing a LL reservation as I watched the times we needed go bye bye… This was Tuesday and we had arrived Friday so after a number of days with issues already, I was now at my wits end and let out a big F bomb while “enjoying” breakfast pastries and Starbucks with my in-laws and children while watching the castle from the little yellow and white umbrella tables in front of the Plaza. Yikes!

Not the emotional Disney moment I was hoping for.

Despite daily trips to GET during this trip we still made happy memories that we treasure and enjoy reminiscing about. You will too - as a Disney fan you will - especially knowing things are different and have potential challenges. So yes we managed a good time as we always do.

However, we still have a long laundry list of complaints, as we believe they are indeed ruining the guest experience in lieu of making more money.

Because the guest experience is NOT important to them. Only money is important.

If the guest experience were important would:

1. We have to get up every day on vacation before 7 AM to get G+, book lightning lanes and ILLs - Even on Epcot days or planned late park arrival days when you actually can sleep in??
2. Would we have to book ADRs and CP packages etc 60 days in advance at 6 AM central or 5:30 AM central or whatever the H time they decide they want to release them as we learn sometimes they open “earlier” without warning. Planning our workday around this “booking event” to only deal with Disney glitches long after we should’ve had them booked and now we are late to our meetings or rescheduling meetings or just have to give up on the coveted reservation.
3. Would we deal with crappy glitches in the genie plus app while you’re trying to enjoy a park day with our family but spending more time in the GET lines or the alternative… just give up all together and settle for the errors and less ride options despite paying for them and doing everything “correctly”
4. Would we settle for one day of housekeeping at Riviera while paying 700+ per night, rack rate on nine nights? Even after you told them your daughter vomited all over the bed?
5. Would we deal with buying ILLs for THE Premium Attraction that constantly goes down and when you finally get to ride it you only get half the experience after paying $60 for your family to ride it? Missing both pre-shows. And GET has the gall to argue with you before giving you a chance to try again for the full experience.
6. Would we deal with constant breakdowns on other rides from Test Track to Haunted mansion to splash to tower of terror?
7. Would we have to resort to paying for ubers because unreliable Disney transportation cannot get us to their own scheduled EE rope drop lines early enough to avoid long attraction waits in the 30 whopping minutes we get early access. Or to bring us back to our resort reliably without long waits at the bus, Skyliner, monorail after long days in parks.
8. Would people walk a mile plus - before even entering the park - for a year and a half without trams that are open air transport - Safer than any other transportation for transmission of Covid?
9. Would we lose the only reliable Disney transportation we had in the MagicalExpress To all of the sudden get shown new options for vans, limos etc at higher prices that we can add to our packages - oh lucky us!
10. Would we pay so much more for so much stress and so much less?

No - the guest experience is NOT important to Josh D’Amaro, Bob Chapek nor any of the decision makers at Disney. Deni recently suggested that Disney decision makers should have to do all of the things that we do when we plan a trip/take a trip and perhaps they would better understand the new guest experience. I thought that was a fantastic idea!

I am happy to pay higher prices, if I believed cast members were actually being paid a living wage and treated fairly. This is not the case based on many accounts including Roy Disney’s granddaughter.

I am happy to pay for good service and a good product. We try do so at home buying local, shopping small/local when we can and trying to spend money where people are earning living wages. We book our trips through Dreams because we listen to their podcasts and have for years and believe it’s important To patronize places/people that you get value from and provide you with good service. We are not perfect in this regard everywhere, but we are willing to pay more, When we believe in the product, the experience or the business.

Genie+ Is a huge symptom of a larger problem at Disney that they do not care about having a good product nor a good guest experience. Just the guest’s dollars.

And until we stop buying this subpar stuff they sell us without complaint they will not care.

Hard to say all of that about my Happy Place but it has really bummed me out.

 

[PaladinButters]

If the new system gets us into a short line for a few rides every day, then I'll say mission accomplished.

The rest of the time, we'll have to use the standby queue. So what kind of wait times can we expect? We will probably only get in a standby line for a headliner during early entry, and near closing time.

That's how you do it. It would depend by park and if you are also getting ILLS for anything how your waits look. We used G+ or ILL for most headliners combined with EE and then did standby for the smaller things with 20-30 minute posted waits. Gave us a bunch of free time to buy dole whips and merch instead of standing in lines and now I'm telling everybody the extra money is worth it exactly as Disney intended.