MAJOR changes to Genie+!

[NavyDad]

What do you mean by very limited?

Jrb has stated quite a few times that he would prefer a skip the line pass that was limited to small number of users per day.

 

[NavyDad]

This quote is from a poster over at wdwmagic. They know a quite a bit of behind the scenes stuff. This the reason Genie+ is not working that great.

"The issue is excess demand though. If 10% of guests were purchasing it as opposed to the current 33%, the Genie+ experience would be even better than the OG MaxPass experience. You'd be able to reserve attractions all day long."

..... with the next logical conclusion being that they will try to get those daily usage numbers down with dynamic pricing and/or limiting the number of people that can buy it. That would effectively get the product closer to what you have been hoping for......it's also possible that further limiting crowds using the park reservation systems would help but I'm not sure they want to go that route.

Again, the problem with every iteration of the virtual queues at WDW is caused by the demand/capacity issue. There is just no other theme park in the world that faces the demand pressure that WDW faces. The only potential ways to have a virtual queue system that is fully functional for all guest is to build more attractions (some evidence shows this won't help because it increases demand) which means increasing total capacity or going the other route and limiting the amount of people entering the parks each day. The other option is to scrap the idea of a virtual queue and have a skip the line system that has a severely limited quantity per day.

 

[Jrb1979]

..... with the next logical conclusion being that they will try to get those daily usage numbers down with dynamic pricing and/or limiting the number of people that can buy it. That would effectively get the product closer to what you have been hoping for......it's also possible that further limiting crowds using the park reservation systems would help but I'm not sure they want to go that route.

Again, the problem with every iteration of the virtual queues at WDW is caused by the demand/capacity issue. There is just no other theme park in the world that faces the demand pressure that WDW faces. The only potential ways to have a virtual queue system that is fully functional for all guest is to build more attractions (some evidence shows this won't help because it increases demand) which means increasing total capacity or going the other route and limiting the amount of people entering the parks each day. The other option is to scrap the idea of a virtual queue and have a skip the line system that has a severely limited quantity per day.

I agree they need more capacity. I've been a big proponent of adding more attractions on the level of Alien Swirling Saucers. The parks need more of those then they do more Guardians level rides. With how long it takes for Disney to finish projects there will never be enough capacity in our lifetime.

Til that changes any skip the line system won't work if the majority buy it. This is what you end up with when that happens. At this moment limiting the amount of people that have Genie+ is really the only solution. FP+ has limited availability as well. A lot of availability was gone ahead of time.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

Jrb has stated quite a few times that he would prefer a skip the line pass that was limited to small number of users per day.

Ah I think small is relatively speaking in consideration of how many guests frequent Disney parks.

But I don't know that we could say "not sure that would be the preference of the majority of WDW guests." Most people are concerned about their own experience. I can totally see what you are thinking like someone is just miffed that they were unable to purchase it but I also think how their experience is matters more in the end.

Right now there's an awful lot of chatter in general about the experience being negative overall, all things considered between standby and LL side (not just about waits but the complexity, tech issues, availability, feeling of competition, etc). If there's a limit to the amount who can purchase it and that limit allows for the experiences to be more positive for both the limiting factor ends up being a non-issue. While not perfect that's a bit why you have less discontent over at Universal. Someone may not want to fork over the cash or it may be sold out on their day they want to but so long as there's not an overall negative experience to their day, their waits, the emotions behind it (like being held back at a merge point for a long time, seeing guests go by the line, etc) the fact that it was so cost prohibitive or sold out becomes typically a non-issue.

 

[gorkt]

I agree they need more capacity. I've been a big proponent of adding more attractions on the level of Alien Swirling Saucers. The parks need more of those then they do more Guardians level rides. With how long it takes for Disney to finish projects there will never be enough capacity in our lifetime.

Til that changes any skip the line system won't work if the majority buy it. This is what you end up with when that happens. At this moment limiting the amount of people that have Genie+ is really the only solution. FP+ has limited availability as well. A lot of availability was gone ahead of time.

I think that they have done a pretty good job at adding existing capacity to certain rides that were bottlenecks before. Dumbo, Soarin' and TSM come to mind. I would like to see that where applicable, but many rides can't just add more tracks. It also takes some time to know if a ride is going to be wildly popular in the longer term. Some rides are planned to be headliners and just peter out, like Mission Space.

Instead of low capacity rides like Saucers, they need more track style, high capacity rides. They have added a few of those in recent years, like Remy and Runway. I also think rotating theatre rides would be good, kind of like Ellen's Energy Adventure used to be, since those are a nice restful escape from the heat and can handle 2,3,4 theatres full of people simultaneously.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

I think that they have done a pretty good job at adding existing capacity to certain rides that were bottlenecks before. Dumbo, Soarin' and TSM come to mind. I would like to see that where applicable, but many rides can't just add more tracks. It also takes some time to know if a ride is going to be wildly popular in the longer term. Some rides are planned to be headliners and just peter out, like Mission Space.

Instead of low capacity rides like Saucers, they need more track style, high capacity rides. They have added a few of those in recent years, like Remy and Runway. I also think rotating theatre rides would be good, kind of like Ellen's Energy Adventure used to be, since those are a nice restful escape from the heat and can handle 2,3,4 theatres full of people simultaneously.

I’ve often wondered if adding extra capacity to Soarin’ was the right move. It used to be the hottest thing on property, but now it just seems like another attraction that generally has a short wait.

I don’t think the current film is as popular as it’s predecessor, but I do believe that the capital spent for the expansion may have been better served somewhere else.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I’ve often wondered if adding extra capacity to Soarin’ was the right move. It used to be the hottest thing on property, but now it just seems like another attraction that generally has a short wait.

I don’t think the current film is as popular as it’s predecessor, but I do believe that the capital spent for the expansion may have been better served somewhere else.

I don't think the expansion was the issue. The film relies heavily on CGI and if you're not perfectly dead center you can bendy Eiffel Tower lol. It really needed the additional theater.

 

[Smugpugmug]

I don't think the expansion was the issue. The film relies heavily on CGI and if you're not perfectly dead center you can bendy Eiffel Tower lol. It really needed the additional theater.

Agreed. I don't miss the 2-3 hour waits when you were not able to get a paper Fastpass due to the massive hordes of people running to the Land pavilion to grab one. On my last trip it had a posted 45 minute wait and we were at our concourse in 20.

 

[B-Ride]

I worry this is going to be a huge inconvenience for guests. If there's a cap to Genie+, will guests have to stay awake to add this at midnight to avoid being shut out? And then will they have to get up early to make their first reservation at 7am? That...doesn't seem like fun.

I think we are well past the point where going to WDW is supposed to be fun.

 

[jcemom]

I don't think the expansion was the issue. The film relies heavily on CGI and if you're not perfectly dead center you can bendy Eiffel Tower lol. It really needed the additional theater.

Yes, this. We used to do Soarin' two or three times per Epcot day. Now we do it once per trip. If I didn't get to do it at all I wouldn't be too upset. I loved the old Soarin' but this wonky one just doesn't do anything for me.

 

[Bork]

They should do 1 theater with Soarin' over CA. Let you choose.

 

[CarolynFH]

Yes, this. We used to do Soarin' two or three times per Epcot day. Now we do it once per trip. If I didn't get to do it at all I wouldn't be too upset. I loved the old Soarin' but this wonky one just doesn't do anything for me.

We don’t do it at all. I think the new film got caught by budget cuts that occurred during the time it was in production.

They should do 1 theater with Soarin' over CA. Let you choose.

I wish! Last time we visited DL, they were showing the original version at CA. We made sure to see it multiple times. Whenever they show it there, lines are long.

 

[mom22boys]

Are you still able to "edit selections" on Genie+? I am not seeing it on my Tip Board today. Our trip is 11 days away and I am just trying to make sure I understand how Genie+ is working.

Also, has anyone heard a case of Genie+ selling out for a day?

Thanks!

 

[Lorinola]

I was able to practice/test until this morning. I now have no ability to edit selections for any day that I don't have a reservation for.

 

[mom22boys]

I was able to practice/test until this morning. I now have no ability to edit selections for any day that I don't have a reservation for.

So, once we get there and are on our actual park days will we still be able to edit selections then? Thanks!

 

[Lorinola]

So, once we get there and are on our actual park days will we still be able to edit selections then? Thanks!

You should be able to go into the app now, choose My Genie Day, select the date for which you have reservations, and then choose Edit My Selections. I'm assuming that Edit My Selections will also be at the top if our tip boards when we start out the day on which we have reservations.

 

[Frozen2014]

I am also no longer seeing Edit Selections....whereas it was there prior. (I had to do something initially to have it added - forget what offhand). My trip is in August.

 

[wisblue]

There is a short thread about this with a title “changes to Tip Board”.

It looks like you can now only see “Edit Selections” on the Tip Board if you have a park reservation that day. To get it to appear you first hit the My Day tab and make selections there.

It also looks like the tab will only appear on the Tip Board for a park if you have made some selections for that park.

 

[ktlm]

Max Pass at DLR online worked great. The old WDW FP system where you pulled one at a time worked great -except you had to run from ride to ride.

If they weren't money grabbing with LLs, they could just put those LL rides back in the system and go to an online version of the old WDW FP system (which is basically what Max Pass was). That solves the problem of having to run from ride to ride to get paper slips, like DLR did with Max Pass-- but puts a system that actually worked back in place. Put ALL the rides with a FP type line ability in the system with everyone only allowed 1 FP at a time unless a waiting period has passed like it was back in the paper days and for Max Pass. That limits what people can hold at a time and increases capacity with the other rides added back in (instead of gumming up the process with LL rides booked all day and less rides available for Genie +).

We went to DLR last October when it was really crowded and there was no FP at all because MaxPass was gone and Genie+ not started yet. DH said he isn't going back to WDW or DLR without some type of fast pass system in place. No way we are paying thousands of dollars on a trip not knowing if we will be able to purchase Genie+ if they are limiting them daily and it is a morning race-- we had really bad luck with the DLR virtual queues in the mornings last October even though I was following every tip from these boards, articles, videos, etc. I could find and I really don't want to have to play that kind of game again every morning of my trip to try to get Genie+

 

[Dean Kennedy]

I worry this is going to be a huge inconvenience for guests. If there's a cap to Genie+, will guests have to stay awake to add this at midnight to avoid being shut out? And then will they have to get up early to make their first reservation at 7am? That...doesn't seem like fun.

It’s a true pain in the arss!!!!