# Disney Genie Is Now Live Post Your Hints and Tips



## BadPinkTink

Genie, Genie+ and Individual Attraction Lightning Lane Passes are now live on The Disneyland California App. You will need to update your App, from the previous version updated on December 3 to the new update version 7.0 December 8

After the update, when you open the App, this is what you will see








Once you click DONE, the introduction message is gone and the App opens.

If you have a park ticket linked to the App and had made park reservations and restaurant reservations before December 8 , they will be automatically loaded into the new Genie system.


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## BadPinkTink

Place holder, free genie tour plan update


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## RyanLowdermilk

Would love to know if the Disneyland implementation of Genie+ supports multiple rides for Guardians. Similar to how MAXPASS operated. I know at DisneyWorld there are no re-rides but still holding hope that Genie+ at Disneyland will allow it!


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## evilmommie

Reloaded my app and loaded our preferences for today. Should be interesting to use on the first day!


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## Martenique

It looks like if you want to book a lightning lane you have to scroll through a long list of attractions and entertainment that don't offer lightning lane on the My Tips page. That will be really frustrating if it's the case. I'm really hoping there's another place to book them or a way to filter the list!


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## mistyinca

I have a ticket and reservation for 12/11, and I can't get any Genie options. It says Not quite ready to craft your day. Says I'll need a reservation. The app shows my tickets and reservation but this part of it seems blind to it. Any ideas what to do?


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## Dobermanns

Martenique said:


> It looks like if you want to book a lightning lane you have to scroll through a long list of attractions and entertainment that don't offer lightning lane on the My Tips page. That will be really frustrating if it's the case. I'm really hoping there's another place to book them or a way to filter the list!


In the Tip Board, under the chosen park, there is the Edit Selection. Go into it and select the rides with LL offered. Save. Then those top picks of yours will be listed first. This worked when i toggled between the parks (not sure if there’s another way to refresh).

ETA: you can pull down the screen to refresh. Looks like the top picks will be listed in alphabetical order regardless of the order they were selected.


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## DisSurfer878

RyanLowdermilk said:


> Would love to know if the Disneyland implementation of Genie+ supports multiple rides for Guardians. Similar to how MAXPASS operated. I know at DisneyWorld there are no re-rides but still holding hope that Genie+ at Disneyland will allow it!


It does not. One ride per attraction per day.


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## BadPinkTink

*Individual Attraction Lightning Lane Prices Wednesday 8 December*

Rise of the Resistance = $20

Radiator Springs = $7

Web Slingers = $7


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## ociana

As an analyst who works on user interfaces for systems, my first reaction to this was OMG SO MANY WORDS. For a company that accommodates international tourists and people with a variety of reading and retention skills it floors me that they would go with a wall of text to share such important information. That choice, by itself, is going to result in confused and angry people in the parks who did not really understand what they bought.


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## ishbit92

Here now, in DCA
Bought a Webslingers ILL$, took 4 tries before it went through. App is slow with lots of people on it. Otherwise easy enough to use.


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## poptart90

Dobermanns said:


> In the Tip Board, under the chosen park, there is the Edit Selection. Go into it and select the rides with LL offered. Save. Then those top picks of yours will be listed first. This worked when i toggled between the parks (not sure if there’s another way to refresh).
> 
> ETA: you can pull down the screen to refresh. Looks like the top picks will be listed in alphabetical order regardless of the order they were selected.



I don't have an Edit Selection. Only a Change Park option. Do you need an active reservation to see the Edit options?


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## dieumeye

mistyinca said:


> I have a ticket and reservation for 12/11, and I can't get any Genie options. It says Not quite ready to craft your day. Says I'll need a reservation. The app shows my tickets and reservation but this part of it seems blind to it. Any ideas what to do?


Same. Seems like you can’t do anything ahead of time, at least at the moment. In the Genie area it’s only showing info for today. There is a “change day” tab in the Genie area but only today is selectable.


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## poptart90

Just figured out that you can also access the ILL's and Genie+LL's by clicking on each attraction in the Map portion of the App.


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## daneenm

Ugh, all of my dining reservations are gone!  Hoping this is just a first day glitch!  Anyone else seeing this??


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## evilmommie

A tad slow, but super easy to use. I love seeing my selections with the standby times and Genie+ options.


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## dieumeye

At 8:20 I’m seeing most LL return times are immediate except Indy which is at 10:05.

Rise $LL return is 9:25, which is great, but that’s expected since standby is only 60 minutes and $LL is 20 dollars!

Gonna keep an eye on Indy!


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## Epicnemesis

Isn’t rise 15 in disneyworld?

Strange that it would cost more here when the lines have been shorter and locals are more inclined to say “eh, I’ll ride it next time”


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## katyringo

Martenique said:


> It looks like if you want to book a lightning lane you have to scroll through a long list of attractions and entertainment that don't offer lightning lane on the My Tips page. That will be really frustrating if it's the case. I'm really hoping there's another place to book them or a way to filter the list!


 You can use the my day planning feature to choose priority rides and it will bring them to the top of the tip page.


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## ishbit92

So far return times are all still early. Taking a few times to book them because the app is glitchy but overall enjoying this. Makes me feel like I'm on an old disney trip


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## sjdrr1313

dieumeye said:


> Same. Seems like you can’t do anything ahead of time, at least at the moment. In the Genie area it’s only showing info for today. There is a “change day” tab in the Genie area but only today is selectable.


Me three- we'll be there friday and saturday but i can't change to those dates


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## sjdrr1313

daneenm said:


> Ugh, all of my dining reservations are gone!  Hoping this is just a first day glitch!  Anyone else seeing this??


This happened to me when genie+ went active in Disneyworld too. a work around was to click the search icon and type "my plans" and it brought everything up the old way. but that was the WORLD app, not LAND. Give it a try though, maybe it will work?


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## poptart90

ishbit92 said:


> So far return times are all still early. Taking a few times to book them because the app is glitchy but overall enjoying this. Makes me feel like I'm on an old disney trip



Out of curiosity, which cell phone provider are you using? We have Verizon and when we were just there we could barely make a phone call in the Parks sometimes! Wondering if it makes a difference on the App speed too?


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## disneylover102

For those in the park with a park hopper, what times are showing for the other park? Are they after 1?


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## ishbit92

poptart90 said:


> Out of curiosity, which cell phone provider are you using? We have Verizon and when we were just there we could barely make a phone call in the Parks sometimes! Wondering if it makes a difference on the App speed too?


Have AT&T


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## ishbit92

disneylover102 said:


> For those in the park with a park hopper, what times are showing for the other park? Are they after 1?


No they're not. I'm in DCA--Rise for example is showing for almost 10am. I just keep checking it to wait until its after 1.


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## daneenm

sjdrr1313 said:


> This happened to me when genie+ went active in Disneyworld too. a work around was to click the search icon and type "my plans" and it brought everything up the old way. but that was the WORLD app, not LAND. Give it a try though, maybe it will work?



Thank you for the suggestion.  I could not find that.  I am going to relax and wait a day for the kinks to be worked out.


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## Dobermanns

poptart90 said:


> I don't have an Edit Selection. Only a Change Park option. Do you need an active reservation to see the Edit options?


I don’t have a park reservation for today but it’s here:


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## Epicnemesis

Lines somehow seem shorter this morning than previous days. (At least on the app)


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## mistyinca

The info for Genie+ says if you make a selection that is more than two hours out, you may make another selection. Based on that statement with no further explanation, I take that to mean:

It's 8:00am. I book a LL for for 10:05. Now I can make another one, correct?


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## JC1984

dieumeye said:


> At 8:20 I’m seeing most LL return times are immediate except Indy which is at 10:05.
> 
> Rise $LL return is 9:25, which is great, but that’s expected since standby is only 60 minutes and $LL is 20 dollars!
> 
> Gonna keep an eye on Indy!


For 60 minutes I will keep my $20 x5. I waited for Indy 5 hours when it opened


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## FeistyDisneyMom

mistyinca said:


> The info for Genie+ says if you make a selection that is more than two hours out, you may make another selection. Based on that statement with no further explanation, I take that to mean:
> 
> It's 8:00am. I book a LL for for 10:05. Now I can make another one, correct?



With that exact wording yeah, I would think you could book another one right away, but I think in reality what it means is you have to wait until you use the selection OR 2 hours, whichever comes first.  So you could book another one at 10am.


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## Piglet99645

Dobermanns said:


> I don’t have a park reservation for today but it’s here:View attachment 628909



i definitely don’t have that option.   Glitchy.


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## poptart90

Dobermanns said:


> I don’t have a park reservation for today but it’s here:View attachment 628909



Wow, nope. I don't have that option available. I've tried reloading several times. Hopefully it's just a glitch. It's a lot to scroll through! Thanks for the help


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## mistyinca

FeistyDisneyMom said:


> With that exact wording yeah, I would think you could book another one right away, but I think in reality what it means is you have to wait until you use the selection OR 2 hours, whichever comes first.  So you could book another one at 10am.


Exactly what I'm thinking, but they don't have any additional mice type that I could find.


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## jknc

JC1984 said:


> For 60 minutes I will keep my $20 x5. I waited for Indy 5 hours when it opened



are you there today as well? are waits accurate?thank you.


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## JC1984

jknc said:


> are you there today as well? are waits accurate?thank you.


I am not sorry


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## Astylla

I'm here now. Genie plus is down , overloaded servers. Got one for HM at 8:50am then went in , nothing after.

Needed to register for DAS actually and they can't do that currently either. I'm a passholder so can do it another time but yes very long lines with angry people demanding refunds which are reportedly only at city hall.

I will keep checking today.


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## mster425

Astylla said:


> I'm here now. Genie plus is down , overloaded servers. Got one for HM at 8:50am then went in , nothing after.
> 
> Needed to register for DAS actually and they can't do that currently either. I'm a passholder so can do it another time but yes very long lines with angry people demanding refunds which are reportedly only at city hall.
> 
> I will keep checking today.



do you mean they cannot register for DAS the old way at City Hall??? That’s really disappointing


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## Astylla

BadPinkTink said:


> Thanks for the replies, its very interesting to me, as I seem to be from a very different socio economic background than many of the posters here on DIS who visit Disneyland.  I guess I just have very different life experiences to many people who post on here.





mster425 said:


> do you mean they cannot register for DAS the old way at City Hall??? That’s really disappointing




This is my first time.so went to one of the smaller kiosks outside HM just as the entire system went down so unsure. Having panic attacks today due to anxiety so will check later.


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## Dobermanns

poptart90 said:


> Wow, nope. I don't have that option available. I've tried reloading several times. Hopefully it's just a glitch. It's a lot to scroll through! Thanks for the help


You are welcome.  Hope they fix it soon.


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## DCLMP

mistyinca said:


> I have a ticket and reservation for 12/11, and I can't get any Genie options. It says Not quite ready to craft your day. Says I'll need a reservation. The app shows my tickets and reservation but this part of it seems blind to it. Any ideas what to do?


Same here for 12/14


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## JC1984

A lot of people are reporting dining reservations disappearing. Myself included.


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## Bcarrier1983

this is a smaller glitch, but I have added selections to Genie in an attempt to get them at the top of my tip board but they all still show up under "other experiences to consider" with the full list of attractions. I tried going to "edit selections" to re-add them but it doesn't fix it, the top of the tip board still just says "To customize your tip board....." but when I click "edit selections" it shows I have already selected things.


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## Didi8367

Several reports on Twitter of the system being down completely. Yikes.


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## jordan13402

I was able to get my dining reservations for this weekend to show on the website finally, just keep refreshing


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## evilmommie

I’m sure the glitches have nothing to do with the millions of people in the app checking it out. LOL


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## DLRExpert

Could be system issues, but so far LL and ILL returns seem easily available.
Before Indiana Jones went down at 915am, LL return times were at 1020am. When it came back up at 930am LL went down to 935am.
Right now 1025am I can get a LL for 1025am.

All LL seem to have a return time of 1030am at 1025am.
ILL for RISE is fully available as well.
Besides Indy the Stand By waits are short.


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## Dobermanns

evilmommie said:


> I’m sure the glitches have nothing to do with the millions of people in the app checking it out. LOL


I was just saying the same thing! We ALL contributed the App being Genie’d.


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## millie0312

So I finally figured out how to find my lost park and dining reservations! You might try if yours disappeared too- I have an apple if that matters (maybe Android is different?). My day only shows plans for today- I am not going until January so today isn’t helpful to me yet.  if you press the menu button on the bottom right (the 3 lines on the bottom from the Home Screen on the app) it gives you multiple choices including one that says future plans- my park and dining reservations were there- thank goodness! On my phone it is on the right side of the menu on the second line down, not sure if each menu could be different but worth a try if yours were lost like mine- hopefully that finds them!

Looking forward to seeing how the lines/times plays out with this roll out In The next couple weeks. Hoping the rest of the app starts working- some of mine gets an error still. I’m hoping the ROTR price goes down too- $20 a person?!


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## V & S

When you buy individual LL the ticket for it will disappear. Just go to attraction and it shows up when they scan regular ticket.

We had ROTR, and it went down while we were waiting. We were given passes to come back any time today.

‘My  day’ doesn’t work at all for me. Also, could buy LL w/o Genie plus while still at GCH.


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## Zerzura

millie0312 said:


> So I finally figured out how to find my lost park and dining reservations! You might try if yours disappeared too- I have an apple if that matters (maybe Android is different?). My day only shows plans for today- I am not going until January so today isn’t helpful to me yet.  if you press the menu button on the bottom right (the 3 lines on the bottom from the Home Screen on the app) it gives you multiple choices including one that says future plans- my park and dining reservations were there- thank goodness! On my phone it is on the right side of the menu on the second line down, not sure if each menu could be different but worth a try if yours were lost like mine- hopefully that finds them!



Just found this as well, although my dining and park reservations are still not there. Also on an iPhone.


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## twodogs

On


Dobermanns said:


> I don’t have a park reservation for today but it’s here:View attachment 628909


On the WDW side, you can only see "edit selections" if you have park tickets.  So on the DLR app, if you have a MK or tickets, maybe you can see it, but if not, maybe not.  I don't have park tickets to DLR right now, so I don't see "edit selections" on the DLR app.   I do have WDW tickets, and I can see it on that app (but I could not see it UNTIL I bought tickets to WDW).


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## dreamer17555

All of my dining is gone even in future plans... trying not to panic.


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## Zerzura

dreamer17555 said:


> All of my dining is gone even in future plans... trying not to panic.


My dining plans are still appearing on the website. It looks like an app issue.


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## le sommeil

DCLMP said:


> Same here for 12/14


Me too! I hope they fix it soon.


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## Dobermanns

twodogs said:


> On
> 
> On the WDW side, you can only see "edit selections" if you have park tickets.  So on the DLR app, if you have a MK or tickets, maybe you can see it, but if not, maybe not.  I don't have park tickets to DLR right now, so I don't see "edit selections" on the DLR app.   I do have WDW tickets, and I can see it on that app (but I could not see it UNTIL I bought tickets to WDW).


That’s probably it. I have a MK.


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## dreamer17555

Zerzura said:


> My dining plans are still appearing on the website. It looks like an app issue.


Cant see mine on the app or website...


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## twodogs

dreamer17555 said:


> Cant see mine on the app or website...


I'm in the same boat.  My GCH reservations are in the app and the website, but dining are not showing up in either.  I do have all of the email confirmations though!!


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## Astylla

dreamer17555 said:


> All of my dining is gone even in future plans... trying not to panic.



I take acrenshots thankfully days ahead of time. They are not gone just not showing up. Had one ar Oga's today for 1105am , and no issue finding it.

Also check your emails as a last resort and take screenshot or print out worst case if you can.

So I went to smugglers run and asked about LL since I showed them I had it bur was getting errors which they acknowledged. They let me into the LL. They also said check with each attraction and they should be able to accomodate.


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## Didi8367

DLRExpert said:


> Could be system issues, but so far LL and ILL returns seem easily available.
> Before Indiana Jones went down at 915am, LL return times were at 1020am. When it came back up at 930am LL went down to 935am.
> Right now 1025am I can get a LL for 1025am.
> 
> All LL seem to have a return time of 1030am at 1025am.
> ILL for RISE is fully available as well.
> Besides Indy the Stand By waits are short.



An acquaintance who is there now (and is currently unable to book anything via Genie+) just said that the current theory among guests is that the return times look so good because very few people are able to book anything right now. She pointed to Indy having a 75 min wait but an immediate return time (this was about 10 mins ago).

ETA: She was posting while standing in a very long guest services line.


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## jknc

Someone wished for Genie to go back in the lamp, so he did.

Refunds for everyone!


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## Mel887

I was able to book Radiator spring racers and guardians of the galaxy when I first got on this morning at 740am. I haven’t been able to get another reservation since. Just keep getting errors. I can’t see those reservations either so no clue if they even went through properly.


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## dieumeye

Didi8367 said:


> An acquaintance who is there now (and is currently unable to book anything via Genie+) just said that the current theory among guests is that the return times look so good because very few people are able to book anything right now. She pointed to Indy having a 75 min wait but an immediate return time (this was about 10 mins ago).
> 
> ETA: She was posting while standing in a very long guest services line.


This is what I wonder because I just checked and every LL has an immediate return time. Will be curious to see what happens when they get it working, and during the weekend which will theoretically be busier.


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## disneylover102

V & S said:


> When you buy individual LL the ticket for it will disappear. Just go to attraction and it shows up when they scan regular ticket.
> 
> We had ROTR, and it went down while we were waiting. We were given passes to come back any time today.
> 
> ‘My  day’ doesn’t work at all for me. Also, could buy LL w/o Genie plus while still at GCH.


Like before you entered the park?


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## Mel887

Didi8367 said:


> An acquaintance who is there now (and is currently unable to book anything via Genie+) just said that the current theory among guests is that the return times look so good because very few people are able to book anything right now. She pointed to Indy having a 75 min wait but an immediate return time (this was about 10 mins ago).
> 
> ETA: She was posting while standing in a very long guest services line.



Yea this is definitely the case. I’m here and almost every ride has an immediate return time. But the majority of people I’ve talked to can’t get any reservations.


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## Epicnemesis

Epicnemesis said:


> Isn’t rise 15 in disneyworld?
> 
> Strange that it would cost more here when the lines have been shorter and locals are more inclined to say “eh, I’ll ride it next time”


Lines are starting to creep up to standby times in the fastpass era. Obviously not enough sample size to draw a conclusion, and who can trust the quoted times anymore, but it looks like LL will have a pronounced effect on wait times.

Expected and annoying, the last few months had ideal stand by lines. They are creating a problem and finding a solution.*

*Again, based off today. I’ll hold off final judgement but it seems like this program’s endgame is a net loss to everyone other than Disney. The mere existence of the program creates the artificial need for the program, which in turn makes people sign up for it, which in turn dilutes the effectiveness of the program for everyone, which brings the overall park productivity back to where it was pre genie plus. The only benefit is to Disney who have managed to increase park revenue by 20-50 per guest for most guests.


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## mdmost

Seeing on Twitter that you have to go to Guest Relations right now to book LL selections. So that plus people in line wanting refunds is going to be awful. You would think with the amount of time DLR has had to get ready for this that it wouldn't be this bad today.


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## JC1984

Disney IT has another “successful” launch. Meanwhile Chapek is thinking of all the other ways he can screw the consumer


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## Zerzura

I lied, now I do not see my dining reservations on the website. Sigh. However, I see  dining reservations by time and day under future plans, but not where I am dining.
However, my park reservations are back, so hooray.

ETA: And haha, the dining times have disappeared again.


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## Astylla

Update on DAS:

Went to Kiosk between FL and Big Thunder and they are issuing physical DAS cards today.


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## mdmost

Would be hilarious if they were issuing physical LL selection tickets.


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## FeistyDisneyMom

The irony of people having to stand in a line in order to take advantage of 'skip the line' is almost too much for me.


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## dieumeye

mdmost said:


> Would be hilarious if they were issuing physical LL selection tickets.


And to avoid a long line at Guest Services they could dispense LL tickets from multiple machines located around the park, say, one at each attraction!


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## evilmommie

It’s down. Here now. Long lines at the GS kiosks. GS is walking down the line letting guests know. In other news, the new Pelican Landing is a great perch to observe this all unfold.


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## dieumeye

FeistyDisneyMom said:


> The irony of people having to stand in a line in order to take advantage of 'skip the line' is almost too much for me.


AND paying for it!


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## JC1984

I can’t find my dining reservations on app or the website. Going to give it through the weekend to pull their head out of you know where.


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## GBRforWDW

FeistyDisneyMom said:


> The irony of people having to stand in a line in order to take advantage of 'skip the line' is almost too much for me.


I laugh, but it's not funny.  Terrible launch.  Uggh


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## PirateBrigade

mdmost said:


> Seeing on Twitter that you have to go to Guest Relations right now to book LL selections. So that plus people in line wanting refunds is going to be awful. You would think with the amount of time DLR has had to get ready for this that it wouldn't be this bad today.



lol... the irony that you have to wait in line to skip a line.

can we lightning lane the lightning lane line?


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## PirateBrigade

FeistyDisneyMom said:


> The irony of people having to stand in a line in order to take advantage of 'skip the line' is almost too much for me.



My coffee came out of my mouth just a little bit 

But my thoughts and prayers to our disboard friends that are stuck in this mess. Thank you for your service.


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## dieumeye

Are they not issuing refunds? If you have to stand in line to make an LL selection why wouldn’t you just get a refund?


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## JC1984

PirateBrigade said:


> My coffee came out of my mouth just a little bit
> 
> But my thoughts and prayers to our disboard friends that are stuck in this mess. Thank you for your service.


On behalf of a grateful nation…


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## jknc

dieumeye said:


> Are they not issuing refunds? If you have to stand in line to make an LL selection why wouldn’t you just get a refund?



Disney doesn’t do refunds.

Everyone is getting free churros.


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## JC1984

I heard the ILL for guest relations was $50 and the return time was after park closing


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## twitch

jknc said:


> Disney doesn’t do refunds.
> 
> Everyone is getting free churros.



 Imagine the lines at the churro carts as guests attempt to redeem their coupons while supplies last.


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## BrianL

Man, I'm glad this started AFTER my trip. Good luck to those in it now or soon - looks like some challenges ahead.


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## Mel887

I waited in line at guest services. They can’t give refunds right now as the system is down. Have to come back later tonight. They said the couple reservations I managed to make earlier should work even though I can’t see them. They also handed out 3 passes good for 6 people to any ride besides those in galaxy’s edge.


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## DLgal

Well, so much for Disneyland avoiding more bad press.

What a nightmare.


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## DLgal

Mel887 said:


> I waited in line at guest services. They can’t give refunds right now as the system is down. Have to come back later tonight. They said the couple reservations I managed to make earlier should work even though I can’t see them. They also handed out 3 passes good for 6 people to any ride besides those in galaxy’s edge.



That's BS. They can't hand out Disney giftcards as refunds? I'd demand that, to be honest. This is an unacceptable failure of a paid service.


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## starlite_

Hate to say I told you so....but I told you so. This launch was a disaster waiting to happen, so sorry for everyone who's day has been disrupted because of this


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## DLgal

starlite_ said:


> Hate to say I told you so....but I told you so. This launch was a disaster waiting to happen, so sorry for everyone who's day has been disrupted because of this



I mean, we were all expecting this.


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## jknc

DLgal said:


> That's BS. They can't hand out Disney giftcards as refunds? I'd demand that, to be honest. This is an unacceptable failure of a paid service.


Sorry, maybe I missed your post. Were you adversely affected by the system issues today? What did relations for to resolve?


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## DLgal

jknc said:


> Sorry, maybe I missed your post. We’re you adversely affected by the system issues today? What did relations for to resolve?



No, I was responding to the poster who DID experience issues and was told they could not get a refund. I said that I would have not been satisfied with that response if I had paid $80 for my family to use Genie+. Their system failed massively. That's their fault. Not giving refunds is ridiculous. It's not that they can't, it's that they don't want to.


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## evilmommie

We just must be lucky people. After seeing that Genie+ went down we started getting into line every ride we have our list and nothing as been over 20 mins. <rise is not on our list today. > Really pretty day in the park. Heading over to Craftsman’s Bar for our ressie soon. Looking forward for to a refreshing Kentucky mule!


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## nicole88s

BrianL said:


> Man, I'm glad this started AFTER my trip. Good luck to those in it now or soon - looks like some challenges ahead.



Right? I was slightly sad it didn't launch when I was there because I was used to MaxPass and loved it, but I feel like I majorly dodged a bullet.


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## poptart90

Wow. Not that I expected a better launch, but to be told sorry you have to return tonight to get your money back and here's 3 measly passes??What...???? So now you can't even wait in a line to get a refund for the "skip the line" fail. Ummm. No.

Here's my idea for fair compensation. Pull out the Disneyland letterhead, type up a list of ALL the Genie+LL options that should've been available to choose from, hand one out to every guest that forked over the $20 in good faith, and give every CM at each attraction Lighting Lane a flippin' hole puncher! You know, cutting edge technology!!


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## DLgal

poptart90 said:


> Wow. Not that I expected a better launch, but to be told sorry you have to return tonight to get your money back and here's 3 measly passes??What...???? So now you can't even wait in a line to get a refund for the "skip the line" fail. Ummm. No.
> 
> Here's my idea for fair compensation. Pull out the Disneyland letterhead, type up a list of ALL the Genie+LL options that should've been available to choose from, hand one out to every guest that forked over the $20 in good faith, and give every CM at each attraction Lighting Lane a flippin' hole puncher! You know, cutting edge technology!!



Or just dispute the charge with your credit card for services not rendered. That's the easy solution. I can do that in my credit card app with 2 clicks.


----------



## AndrewC

Epicnemesis said:


> Lines are starting to creep up to standby times in the fastpass era. Obviously not enough sample size to draw a conclusion, and who can trust the quoted times anymore, but it looks like LL will have a pronounced effect on wait times.
> 
> Expected and annoying, *the last few months had ideal stand by lines*. They are creating a problem and finding a solution.*
> 
> *Again, based off today. I’ll hold off final judgement but it seems like this program’s endgame is a net loss to everyone other than Disney. The mere existence of the program creates the artificial need for the program, which in turn makes people sign up for it, which in turn dilutes the effectiveness of the program for everyone, which brings the overall park productivity back to where it was pre genie plus. The only benefit is to Disney who have managed to increase park revenue by 20-50 per guest for most guests.



75+ minutes for Holiday Haunted Mansion to me is not ideal (Mid October)... I was there for 7 days and only did it ONCE because I just couldn't bring myself to spend that much time in line. I don't mind "booking it" at 10:30 AM with a return for 7pm or something when lines get that long but it's a big one I like to do a few times and previously had always done it three or four times during a week long trip.


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## ironband74

On the one hand...this shouldn't have been this hard.  The only code differences between maxpass and this is the paid attractions, 2 hour cool-down instead of 90 minutes, and once per attraction per ticket.  And the only difference between the WDW version and this is the attractions and the "entered the park to use" limitation.  

On the other, they invoked the name of the Ever impressive, long contained, often imitated (but never duplicated) GENIE OF THE LAMP!  I like to imagine that *someone* is having some fun with their project from the great beyond, even if only for a short while.


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## SOCALMouseMommy

I was at the parks for four hours today, 9:30am to 1:30pm.  I did not plan to purchase Genie+ but I thought I might check out the free Genie service that makes suggestions for you. I tried many times throughout the day but never could get it to work.  Sometimes it wouldn’t launch, sometimes it told me I didn’t have a park reservation, sometimes it said it the genie  “can’t escape technical difficulties.” Later just a pop-up message that none of the new services were available. Disney IT is operating as expected. 

People were using both services though. We saw them using the lightning lanes. It didn’t seem to affect standby times much.

We felt pretty bad for those people we saw using the pay-per-ride LL for RotR, which the app said was $20/person today (!). We weren’t planning on riding it, but we were in Galaxy’s Edge eating Ronto Wraps and I saw that the standby wait time was only 55 minutes so we decided to hop in line. The end of the line was inside the standby entrance. We reached the Rey preshow in 17 minutes. There was really no value for that today at least.

Some other rides we experienced today with posted standby times versus actual wait times:

Indy: 25 minutes posted/16 minutes actual
Big Thunder: 30 posted / 11 actual
IASW: 10 posted / 12 actual
Space Mountain: 50 posted / 11 single rider
Incredicoater: 15 posted / 8 actual

It was a great day! Wish we didn’t have to leave to pick up our kids from school, ha ha. (Shhhhh … they don’t know we went without them.) They were setting up to film ACF on Main Street as we were leaving to hit Incredicoaster.

Which reminds me, it was so weird, the lines to hop at 1pm were INSANE! The worst I’ve ever seen. Half the turnstiles at DCA were closed and one very short line for “non park hoppers” the the other lines to the middle of the esplanade. I’ve never seen that before. It was really strange. DL lines to hop also extraordinarily long.

Finally, we saw R2D2 roaming Galaxy’s Edge (so awesome!) and picked up the cute new Chip and Dale Nuimos on Main Street. They are so cute and will be poking out of my kids stockings on Christmas morning.


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## JeannieNM

I read that the AWS crash impacted Disney. Given they were aware of this, they should have postponed the launch.


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## Pluto468

All of my dining reservations are gone on the website, and I haven't been able to find them on the app. Luckily I copied them all down earlier. I'm sure they will be back in the next few days. Hopefully, anyway. My savi's reservation is gone, too. Are we supposed to find dining reservations under "My future plans"?

My park reservations are still there.


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## JC1984

I think the appropriate title for this thread would be “Disneyland Genie+ Launch was AWFUL!”


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## artoftheglitch

On-the-ground report: bought G+ the moment it was available. Bought the ILL for ROTR and rope-dropped, so we got to ride twice in a row, which was fun.
Booked a LL for Smuggler’s Run, and by the time we got there, the system had crashed and took all of our dining reservations with it. Went to guest services at 10:30 am, stood in line for about 15 minutes and then was told by a CM to “go ride some rides”, get out of line, and check back later.
Saw reports they were offering paper passes, so we headed back after lunch. Stood in line at Guest Services for about 35 minutes for the person at the window to tell me there wasn’t anything they could do for us and to maybe check back around 2pm.
Got a notification on the app around 2:30 telling us to go back to city hall. They took our information and gave us two pre-loaded $20 gift cards as our refund. Guess they made sure they still have our money at the end of the day.


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## PirateBrigade

JC1984 said:


> I think the appropriate title for this thread would be “Disneyland Genie+ Launch was AWFUL!”



I just snorted


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## katyringo

What a flop today. I usually give Disney benefit of the doubt but come on....

Anyway.. I wouldn't base anything off today.  

before Covid there was someone on this board that studied maxpass patterns. Obviously the pay to ride will change the patterns but I wonder if we could d some of that up.. I bet we see similar patterns.

I used genie+ for all 5 days of WDW trip and these were my big take aways:

use the my day page to select my priorities so they go to the top of my tip board.

it isn't always best to book the ride that runs out the fastest- especially if they run out very first thing.Not sure this will happen at Disneyland but it might.  If you book and get a late return time you are locked out for 2 hours.

example: at WDW slinky dog dash runs out often within the first couple of minutes.  Booking it first sometimes led to late evening return times. That means that person couldn't book again for 2 hours after park open. I decided to not use it to book slinky dog, instead I rope dropped slinky and made
My first selection for a ride with a quick return time. Once I scanned into that first ride I booked another... folks who had a late return time were still locked out while I was on my second selection.

while you have to be in the park to start genie+ you don't have to be in the park to continue genie+. Use your afternoon pool breaks to stack for the evening!


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## JC1984

It honestly may not relaunch tomorrow till they fire some people and Chapek rips out their hearts shouting KALI-MA! Today was embarrassing. I feel horrible for the cast members left to pick up the pieces


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## GrizzlyGirl

We got G+ as soon as we were in the Park. It saved us 30 mins on Haunted Mansion before the crash. We got paper passes t/o the day with no problem when we showed that we paid for G+. We didn't need the paper pass for Smuggler's Run - the cast member checked our G+ right at the entrance and put us in the LL.  People who bought individual LL for RotR were righteously cheesed - that seemed like a huge mess.

The Genie listed wait times were sometimes way off.


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## mommabo

While at daughter’s place near campus, had issues with the app this morning. My Ipad updated the app, both phones did not.  Couldn’t see how to buy Genie+ so decided to figure it out once we arrive.  With MaxPass was easy, walk in, open app, add MaxPass.  I figured, surely that would be the solution.

We Arrived at 11. Asked a CM at a merchandise kiosk how to buy or where to go to ask to purchase Genie+.  Very angry woman who is leaving the park tells me ‘don’t bother, it’s not working, I just wasted $60‘. Sure enough a CM outside of City Hall confirms this, app is crashed, not selling anymore. At least we found out before we purchased.

Quick adjustment, we are back to plan B.  Plan A had been one last visit before Genie+ while taking advantage of virtual queues (we had great luck 3rd week in September scoring each time we tried - 3 times for ROTR, and 1 time for Web).  Then DL went to all standby.  Okay, plan B.  Then 2 days ago DL announces Genie+, cool, plan C. Nope, just kidding, back to plan B.

We head to BTMRR posted wait 30 minutes (jumped to 40 while we were in line). We were on ride in 22 minutes. Indy next.  Posted wait, 25 minutes, on ride on 27 minutes.  Smugglers run 2x single rider, walk-on both times and we got to ride together both times … as pilots!  Found CMs playing a Batuu Card game and they invite us to join.  Really fun interaction.  Lunch at Docking Bay.  Easy mobile order and pick up was fast.  Remarkably uncrowded. Decided we were going to take advantage of late night so thought we’d head to hotel to finish checking in then head back to DL around 6 tonight.  On the way out, Splash showed a posted 35 minute wait.  Why not we thought, better now than at night.  Good call. We were on in 5 minutes … then we were soaked!  Worst soaking we’ve ever had.  Left Disney at 3. In our 4 hours we had 5 rides, fun with CMs, and lunch.  

Keep in mind we were not trying to hit Disney hard, just relax and enjoy our time.  With 2 relatively inexpensive magic keys, we are trying a new approach.  Go with the flow and enjoy what the day brings.  It’s had its moments, we are fighting our commando habits and the constant changes to our plans have been ‘interesting’, but nothing that has really been deal breaker.   If we were here with the whole family and their significant others as we plan to do in May, we’d likely be frustrated with the constant changes and app crashing.  Here’s hoping things get better and issues resolved quickly.  

Now we are back at hotel with a whole other host of issues, but that’s another story.  Will head back to DL in an hour or so and expect to have a lovely night.


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## DontSpamMe

Today's results are no surprise to many here including me. After experiencing Disneyland the last 5 years the only conclusion I'm left with is the only thing Disney has mastered is taking your money.


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## CaliforniaGirl09

Wow, what a disaster. A not unexpected disaster given Disney IT and the issues at WDW, but still.


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## MonocularVision

Curious what they do tomorrow. If this was still AWS related, which I wouldn’t rule out, they maybe have an ok day tomorrow. But if it wasn’t… do they dare turn it on again?

I wonder if Genie+ is going to run better or worse than Rise for the next few months.


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## Angel141925

Is it bad I’m glad I was in the park last week lol. I knew this was going to be a disaster. I was quite happy with standby times last week.


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## Wedgeout

Message pop up on app now that if still in the park use genie+ on them as they fix this. They are apologizing for the day.


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## Geemo

JC1984 said:


> I think the appropriate title for this thread would be “*Disneyland Genie+ Launch was AWFUL!*”


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## Jaina

Sounds like a party! I have family going the next two days, and I'm wondering if they should just skip it... I'll be there Friday, and I'll probably try it and see what happens!


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## disneylover102

So it seems like it’s back up now? IASWH has a return time a couple hours away


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## Drewski77

If you scan into the park and then are outside the park taking a break, can you reserve rides from outside the park?


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## MonocularVision

Drewski77 said:


> If you scan into the park and then are outside the park taking a break, can you reserve rides from outside the park?



Yes.


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## Astylla

Back at hotel after a early morning - today is a bonus day for me since I originally wasn't flying into Anaheim until tonight so hey was interesting to see how things went. Here's my recap.

Had alarm set for 6am , decided nope too tired and left Park Vue Inn at 8:25am. Inside park by about 8:45am , took about two times to get the purchase to go through for Genie+ and get confirmation. Make first selection for HM for 9am. Scan into HM by 9:10am , try to make another selection and just keeps erroring out. Come off HM to the kiosk and see a long line , assuming it's Genie + related and I was right. 

Basically got overloaded ( I expected this) so tried to check often but went on with my day.
Arrived at smugglers run and showed I had LL purchased on my phone and they waved me in saying that was enough for them , same with IASW. I then caught the taping of the parade at 130pm , gor Gibson girl and went back to hotel. 

Around 4pm decided to randomly check and I coukd book things again. Given almost all the LL were near instant or within 10 minutes return , I don't think  many checked or were able to purchase before it all went down.

From 4:45pm to 5:15pm did both Guardians and Monsters Inc. Guardians had a posted wait of 60 minutes and Monsters Inc about 15 just fyi. Due to meeting up with several coworkers and having a surprise dinner at Storytellers didn't go back but still showed options to reserve as I type this.

Yes this is a "failed" launch. Yes I would do it again. No I would not get it everytime but plan it around one or two days I want to maximize my time and photos. Just wanted to share


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## Karin1984

They should add the wait time at guest services to the app.


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## Wedgeout

To all who come to this happy place today and rub Genie’s lamp; Welcome and hope all your wishes come true.


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## mistyinca

mdmost said:


> Seeing on Twitter that you have to go to Guest Relations right now to book LL selections. So that plus people in line wanting refunds is going to be awful. You would think with the amount of time DLR has had to get ready for this that it wouldn't be this bad today.


Disneyland SHOULD HAVE created a soft start Wednesday and Thursday and provided Genie + complimentary those days.


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## mistyinca

Astylla said:


> Update on DAS:
> 
> Went to Kiosk between FL and Big Thunder and they are issuing physical DAS cards today.


Wait… we’re you able to pre register for DAS? The website said for visits 12/20 forward. If so, I need to do my “chat” register today for Saturday.


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## bcassidy

DCLMP said:


> Same here for 12/14


Exactly the same problem. I started a chat from the app yesterday (12/8) at 7:30 AM and got a message that it could take up to 24 hours to get a response! Have reservations for 12/14.


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## By-Tor and Snow Pup

_Questions: _
Can you purchase Genie+ before your visit?
If you come later in the day will it be too late? Will all the LL be taken?

Thank you for answers.


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## mster425

bcassidy said:


> Exactly the same problem. I started a chat from the app yesterday (12/8) at 7:30 AM and got a message that it could take up to 24 hours to get a response! Have reservations for 12/14.



i left a specific question in the chat at around that time yesterday, and at 9 pm got a canned response about park hopping. It took 15 hours for a bot. I changed my reservation from 12/14 to tomorrow because of the weather forecast, I’ll report back


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## BadPinkTink

By-Tor and Snow Pup said:


> _Questions: _
> Can you purchase Genie+ before your visit?
> If you come later in the day will it be too late? Will all the LL be taken?
> 
> Thank you for answers.


Genie+ can be added at midnight for the day of but you can only get both types of Lightning Lane passes when you scan into a park.
Genie + Lightning Lane passes can only be booked on the day once you have scanned into a park
Individual Attraction Lightning Lane passes can only be bought on the day once you have scanned into a park


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## mdmost

On a different forum I'm on, a guy was at DLR yesterday and said after the Genie+ went down they just walked to the LL entrances for rides they wanted to get on and scanned their paper ticket at the check in which got them right on. Also said he paid for the ILL for Rise and was on in 8 minutes.


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## BadPinkTink

People need to really think and make strategies now. Go on rides with low standby wait times first, then either book Genie+ Lightning Lane Passes or buy Individual Attraction Lightning Lane Passes for later in the day when standby wait times go up. You need to be clever with your use of  Lightning Lane Passes if you want to go on rides multiple times as you can only use them once per day per ride.


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## JC1984

Just wanted to give everyone a heads up on here. Choose your words wisely. I got a violation from the DIS for cursing even though it was not fully the word but I still used the word in context of what a disaster the G+ launch was. I received “30 points” and am on probation the next 30 days. I am sorry if I offended anyone.


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## poptart90

JC1984 said:


> Just wanted to give everyone a heads up on here. Choose your words wisely. I got a violation from the DIS for cursing even though it was not fully the word but I still used the word in context of what a disaster the G+ launch was. I received “30 points” and am on probation the next 30 days. I am sorry if I offended anyone.



Wow, I have to say I laughed out loud at that post, so no offense taken here. But I get it and thanks for letting us know. Good reminder.


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## Geemo

JC1984 said:


> Just wanted to give everyone a heads up on here. Choose your words wisely. I got a violation from the DIS for cursing even though it was not fully the word but I still used the word in context of what a disaster the G+ launch was. I received “30 points” and am on probation the next 30 days. I am sorry if I offended anyone.


I was not offended by your posts.
I rather enjoyed your posts and many others too.

I do feel bad for those in the parks experiencing Disney's lack of Magic yesterday. 
Hopefully today goes better for Genie.


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## disneyland_is_magic

Is Photo Pass included with Genie Plus? So let's say you plan to not get genie because it's cost prohibitive.

  But one day you could have mom or dad spend the $20 to essentially get Photo Pass?  Is that right?

  I would be interested in hearing about the experience of photo pass with Genie Plus and if it's a better "value" in CA or DL.   In CA you would get the RSR photo for example?


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## jknc

By-Tor and Snow Pup said:


> _Questions: _
> Can you purchase Genie+ before your visit?
> If you come later in the day will it be too late? Will all the LL be taken?
> 
> Thank you for answers.



from what I see you have to include it for all of your days. example, we have 4 day ticket and it’s now $400 to add it, for the 5 of us.


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## disneylover102

disneyland_is_magic said:


> Is Photo Pass included with Genie Plus? So let's say you plan to not get genie because it's cost prohibitive.
> 
> But one day you could have mom or dad spend the $20 to essentially get Photo Pass?  Is that right?
> 
> I would be interested in hearing about the experience of photo pass with Genie Plus and it's a better "value" in CA or DL.   In CA you would get the RSR photo for example?


Yes photopass is included


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## evilmommie

At both parks yesterday, 6-7 hours. Didn’t need Genie+  based on inflated stand-by times. Literally 45 min posted ride times were 20 mins. GS lines were longer than ride lines. Overall park guests were in happy moods, as they were strolling around. Didn’t notice any agro people and we covered 14 miles of Park.


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## ktlm

evilmommie said:


> At both parks yesterday, 6-7 hours. Didn’t need Genie+  based on inflated stand-by times. Literally 45 min posted ride times were 20 mins. GS lines were longer than ride lines. Overall park guests were in happy moods, as they were strolling around. Didn’t notice any agro people and we covered 14 miles of Park.



That sounds like a great day!  I would have LOVED to have had 20 minute waits for rides on our October trip.


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## JC1984

poptart90 said:


> Wow, I have to say I laughed out loud at that post, so no offense taken here. But I get it and thanks for letting us know. Good reminder.





Geemo said:


> I was not offended by your posts.
> I rather enjoyed your posts and many others too.
> 
> I do feel bad for those in the parks experiencing Disney's lack of Magic yesterday.
> Hopefully today goes better for Genie.


Thanks for the support you may see me on Harbor Blvd picking up trash and seediness as part of my plea deal


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## JMommyof3

By-Tor and Snow Pup said:


> _Questions: _
> Can you purchase Genie+ before your visit?
> If you come later in the day will it be too late? Will all the LL be taken?
> 
> Thank you for answers.



If you already have tickets, you can only buy each day and you MUST be scanned into the parks to buy it.  You can't pre-purchase at midnight like WDW.

If you have not bought tickets, you can add it to your entire ticket purchase.  If you don't wait it for your entire trip, you can also do it day of.

It will really depend on how busy the day is to determine how fast things go.


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## Wedgeout

disneyland_is_magic said:


> Is Photo Pass included with Genie Plus? So let's say you plan to not get genie because it's cost prohibitive.
> 
> But one day you could have mom or dad spend the $20 to essentially get Photo Pass?  Is that right?
> 
> I would be interested in hearing about the experience of photo pass with Genie Plus and it's a better "value" in CA or DL.   In CA you would get the RSR photo for example?


Yes on the photopass! If only want photos need only one in your party with genie+ purchase. Can scan all your photographer pics and add all the ride photo numbers into that account. Build great family trip album for $20 per day.


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## KPeterso

We were there yesterday. I did not purchase Genie+ as I knew we would get to the park a bit later in the day (was at Merriest Nights the night before so slept in). We got into the park about 10 AM and by then Genie was down. We went over to the GS kiosk in Tomorrowland though to get a return time for a ride. Line was about 5-6 families deep and quickly learned what had been happening all morning. We were given a paper DAS (boy that felt strange) and used it all day. We left around 4 PM so sounds like things were back up after we had left. Our day went ok overall, but there were a lot of people in the park that were definitely a bit irked about the situation.


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## evilmommie

ktlm said:


> That sounds like a great day!  I would have LOVED to have had 20 minute waits for rides on our October trip.


Hope the next trip the wait times are better for you!

Pirates was listed at 35 mins, literally took us 12 mins. Big Thunder about the same. Got in HM line said 45 mins, about 10 mins in they said it was down. Some people got out of line. Not a lot. Was up just a few mins later. Maybe 20 mins total. Longest time we spent was watching the line at GS grow around 10-11am, from the new Pelican Landing. And, Jack and Sally came out!


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## bradmanuel

Accidental post, sorry


----------



## mommabo

I tried to post this last night, but boards down for nightly maintenance.

We went back in park at 6:15. Hit Star Tours. Posted time 10 minutes, we were on in 5.  Since it was prime dining hour, places were busy so we just wanted something to tide us over.  Ronto Roaster had immediate return for mobile order.  Figured we’d share one then check out line for ROTR.

Posted wait time for ROTR at 7:15 was 75 minutes, but looking at the line, it looked shorter than anything we saw earlier in the day.  Decided to jump in and were in Rey room 40 minutes later.  Off the ride 30 minutes after that.  I consider all the stuff from Rey room on as part of the ride.  Never felt bothered by the line and let me tell you, I hate lines.  I have no qualms paying for MaxPass or Genie+ so this is saying a lot.

Did some shopping then decided to grab Pozole at Rancho.  While there, the fireworks started and we had a partial view while we shared our soup.  Then we hit Jungle Cruise around 9:30.  Posted wait time 10 minutes, on in less than that.  Pirates at 9:50 with posted wait 20 minutes, on in less than 10.  Haunted at 10:20 on in 10 minutes. Posted wait was 30 minutes. Over to Matterhorn, basically walk on.  Tea Cups, walk on.  Buzz 2 times in a row, walk on.

By now it’s 11:30 and we called it a night.  We could have done Space with very short wait, but it’s not our favorite and we were tired.  Stopped for a coffee to warm up in the room in the morning.

Daughter has a zoom meeting with Professor this morning so we won’t hit the park (DCA)  until after she is done. We had to give up a Lamplight Lounge reservation at noon as professor tends to  go long so we plan to do festival booths, enjoy the holiday entertainment and play it by ear regarding rides.  If Genie+ is up and running, we will likely give it a go.  Like I said, I hate lines and I’m curious to see how/if it runs smoothly or if it runs at all.

All in all, I’d say we had a successful day.  It did require a bit of mental maneuvering and flexibility.  Our original plan, Plan A, when Genie+ was announced for fall debut was to use virtual queue one last time as we had great success with it mid September (3 for 3 on ROTR and 1 for 1 on Web). Then virtual queues were eliminated, okay plan B.  Two days before visit, Genie+ launch date announced, okay plan C.  We get here, nope not working, back to plan B. 

Was the launch what Disney would have wanted? Not by a long shot. Did the day have us thinking on our feet and  sometimes making less than perfect decisions? Oh yes it did. But overall, we had a great time. Weather was beautiful, we laughed a lot, ate more than we should, had great interactions with CMs and guests and didn’t focus on the occasional unpleasant moments.  Here’s hoping Thursday is another good day along with what is forecasted to be buckets of rain.


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## bcassidy

Has anyone been able to access Genie if they haven't been in the park? We have reservations for 12/14 and when I click Get Started with Disney Genie, I get a screen that says:

"Not Quite Ready to Craft Your Day"
"Disney Genie can't wait to get started!"
"You'll just need to make a theme park reservation first."

and a "Schedule Park Visit" button. When I press that, it takes me to my account in a web browser and when I log in it shows my reservation (my reservation also shows in the app), but when I go back to the app, it says "Granting your wish to get started." and then goes right back to the "Not Quite Ready to Craft Your Day" screen where I can "Schedule Park Visit" again.

In street talk we call that getting the runaround. In coding, it's called an endless loop! In the meantime I've included all of that in the support chat in the app and still waiting for a response since 7:30 AM yesterday. That's more than 24 hours. I'm guessing that they shut down Genie access for anyone that's not in the park and hasn't previously accessed it.


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## DLgal

bcassidy said:


> Has anyone been able to access Genie if they haven't been in the park? We have reservations for 12/14 and when I click Get Started with Disney Genie, I get a screen that says:
> 
> "Not Quite Ready to Craft Your Day"
> "Disney Genie can't wait to get started!"
> "You'll just need to make a theme park reservation first."
> 
> and a "Schedule Park Visit" button. When I press that, it takes me to my account in a web browser and when I log in it shows my reservation (my reservation also shows in the app), but when I go back to the app, it says "Granting your wish to get started." and then goes right back to the "Not Quite Ready to Craft Your Day" screen where I can "Schedule Park Visit" again.
> 
> In street talk we call that getting the runaround. In coding, it's called an endless loop! In the meantime I've included all of that in the support chat in the app and still waiting for a response since 7:30 AM yesterday. That's more than 24 hours. I'm guessing that they shut down Genie access for anyone that's not in the park and hasn't previously accessed it.



Not sure what you expect to do prior to your visit. Genie at Disneyland only starts working AFTER you have scanned into a park. There isn't anything you can do beforehand.


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## ttig34

KPeterso said:


> We were there yesterday. I did not purchase Genie+ as I knew we would get to the park a bit later in the day (was at Merriest Nights the night before so slept in). We got into the park about 10 AM and by then Genie was down. We went over to the GS kiosk in Tomorrowland though to get a return time for a ride. Line was about 5-6 families deep and quickly learned what had been happening all morning. We were given a paper DAS (boy that felt strange) and used it all day. We left around 4 PM so sounds like things were back up after we had left. Our day went ok overall, but there were a lot of people in the park that were definitely a bit irked about the situation.


How  does the paper DAS work?  Do they give you the paper pass, and you just show it at each ride and they give you a return time or do you have to go to Guest Services and get a new paper pass for each ride? Assuming the latter wasnt  the case or you would have been waiting in GS lines all day due to the Genie issues.


----------



## BadPinkTink

bcassidy said:


> Has anyone been able to access Genie if they haven't been in the park? We have reservations for 12/14 and when I click Get Started with Disney Genie, I get a screen that says:
> 
> "Not Quite Ready to Craft Your Day"
> "Disney Genie can't wait to get started!"
> "You'll just need to make a theme park reservation first."
> 
> and a "Schedule Park Visit" button. When I press that, it takes me to my account in a web browser and when I log in it shows my reservation (my reservation also shows in the app), but when I go back to the app, it says "Granting your wish to get started." and then goes right back to the "Not Quite Ready to Craft Your Day" screen where I can "Schedule Park Visit" again.
> 
> In street talk we call that getting the runaround. In coding, it's called an endless loop! In the meantime I've included all of that in the support chat in the app and still waiting for a response since 7:30 AM yesterday. That's more than 24 hours. I'm guessing that they shut down Genie access for anyone that's not in the park and hasn't previously accessed it.



Yes, I'm in Ireland and have part tickets and reservations for January. I just checked right now after reading your post and everything works fine. I just clicked through to one of the days I havent inputted any info and I could go right through all the steps.


----------



## DLgal

BadPinkTink said:


> Yes, I'm in Ireland and have part tickets and reservations for January. I just checked right now after reading your post and everything works fine. I just clicked through to one of the days I havent inputted any info and I could go right through all the steps.



The steps to do what? What am I missing? What can you do before arriving?


----------



## BadPinkTink

DLgal said:


> Not sure what you expect to do prior to your visit. Genie at Disneyland only starts working AFTER you have scanned into a park. There isn't anything you can do beforehand.



Actually there is. On the free Genie system you can input your top 10 attractions, any dining options you are interested in, any special experiences you are interested in, and what type of parks experience you want to focus on. Your dining reservations are pre loaded. It will then give you a countdown to that day, as in a message will appear that tells you in x amount of days ie on the actual day of your park reservation, Disney  Genie will be able to find the best ways to fit your top experiences into your itinerary.


----------



## BadPinkTink

DLgal said:


> The steps to do what? What am I missing? What can you do before arriving?


----------



## DLgal

BadPinkTink said:


> Actually there is. On the free Genie system you can input your top 10 attractions, any dining options you are interested in, any special experiences you are interested in, and what type of parks experience you want to focus on. Your dining reservations are pre loaded. It will then give you a countdown to that day, as in a message will appear that tells you in x amount of days ie on the actual day of your park reservation, Disney  Genie will be able to find the best ways to fit your top experiences into your itinerary.



Oh, right. The "crowd management" part of Genie. I went through that process and it's silly. Recommending Disney Jr. Dance party for my family with 15 and 17 year old boys.   I won't be using that either. We know what we like to do.


----------



## bcassidy

DLgal said:


> Not sure what you expect to do prior to your visit. Genie at Disneyland only starts working AFTER you have scanned into a park. There isn't anything you can do beforehand.


I thought you could start planning your day.


----------



## BadPinkTink

DLgal said:


> Oh, right. The "crowd management" part of Genie. I went through that process and it's silly. Recommending Disney Jr. Dance party for my family with 15 and 17 year old boys.   I won't be using that either. We know what we like to do.



for you it might be "silly" as you are a local and can go to the parks anytime you want. For someone like me, who hasnt been to the parks since June 2019 and was banned from entering The USA from March 2020 to November 2021, even something as small as being able to be be part of the Genie launch and be able to use some functions from half way across the world is just AMAZING!!


----------



## DLgal

bcassidy said:


> I thought you could start planning your day.



I mean, that's how they make it seem, but really the logarithms can't give you real time recommendations until you are in the park. And don't expect the recommendations to actually align with what you want to do. You will be steered towards things with less people.


----------



## BadPinkTink

bcassidy said:


> I thought you could start planning your day.



yes you can plan your day with the free Genie system on The App, I posted screen shots a few posts up. You don't need to be in the parks to use the free Genie planning tool.


----------



## KPeterso

ttig34 said:


> How  does the paper DAS work?  Do they give you the paper pass, and you just show it at each ride and they give you a return time or do you have to go to Guest Services and get a new paper pass for each ride? Assuming the latter wasnt  the case or you would have been waiting in GS lines all day due to the Genie issues.



They gave me a card that has a ton of lines listed that can be filled in for return times. I went to the GS kiosks for most of my return times. Honestly, the lines were hit or miss. Some would have a line of about 6-8 families. One I walked up and there were no guests and 3 plaids standing there. I avoided the Main Street ones though. I hit the one by Haunted, Tomorrowland, and Fantasyland (by Matterhorn). As I would use one time, they would cross that one off and initial it. And then I could get my next one. At Haunted Mansion, I went to the ride and since we had the wheelchair too, they just handed me a pre-written one and sent us straight over to ride. It was definitely a strange day.


----------



## mistyinca

bcassidy said:


> Has anyone been able to access Genie if they haven't been in the park? We have reservations for 12/14 and when I click Get Started with Disney Genie, I get a screen that says:
> 
> "Not Quite Ready to Craft Your Day"
> "Disney Genie can't wait to get started!"
> "You'll just need to make a theme park reservation first."


Yesterday, I had the exact same experience, and I have a reservation for this Saturday 12/11. But early this morning, I was able to click the 11 (couldn't do it yesterday), and then select the rides, dining, experiences etc. that I wanted for the plan your day feature.

I think though we can't purchase Genie + until in the park (I did see another post somewhere that said you could do it after midnight day of, but that remains to be seen.)


----------



## prestoncaldwell

jknc said:


> from what I see you have to include it for all of your days. example, we have 4 day ticket and it’s now $400 to add it, for the 5 of us.



You can do it for single days after midnight starting the day.


----------



## bcassidy

BadPinkTink said:


> View attachment 629124


I wish that was working for me! I even tried deleting and reinstalling that app, but I'm just stuck in this endless loop even though my reservation shows in the app.


----------



## prestoncaldwell

uggh

I know what I won't be wasting any money on....


----------



## jknc

For those saying, I won’t use it or I won’t spend money on G+ etc. why?


----------



## ThistleMae

I haven't decided whether to use it or not.  I checked out the app and not being that familiar with it, it will take me a bit of time to adapt and figure out what I'm doing.  I don't want to be spending a lot of time on the phone.  I think I'm just going to stroll and maybe when I sit and have a snack, I might check it out some more.  I definitely don't think it will be worth it at either Epcot or Animal Kingdom, but may consider MK.  We shall see. Heading there on Saturday...whoo hoo!


----------



## jordan13402

so with Genie+ will I be able to scan into a ride at the entrance with my phone?


----------



## prestoncaldwell

jknc said:


> For those saying, I won’t use it or I won’t spend money on G+ etc. why?



A couple reasons:

1.  Reading here, the platform is a god awful mess, with unreliable times and varying success even getting it to work.
2.  I'm not sure how much real time savings it gives over just going standby and using extended hours.
3.  And this is a big one--Disney has a vested interest in applying social engineering in a way that doesn't benefit the guest, but rather optimizes crowd control.  Disney designed Genie for Disney's benefit, both in profit and crowd engineering, not to enhance your experience as a guest.  Touring Plans, for all its shortcomings, exists for the crowdsourced benefit of its subscribers.  I would rather use TP to best navigate the path I want to take through a park than have Genie try to force me on a different path that suits Disney's needs, not mine.  It has long been proven that Disney has been either egregiously errant in posted wait times, or cynically manipulative of guest behavior by purposefully misstating them, for example.  I'd like to give them the benefit of a doubt on that and assume that their system is just flawed, but if their wait time system is flawed, how can I depend on Genie to manage precious in-park time?


----------



## Geemo

jknc said:


> For those saying, I won’t use it or I won’t spend money on G+ etc. why?


I am disappointed that Genie+ only allows one use per attraction on the list.
Especially since some of the rides on the list are not one I generally ride.
I use to us MaxPass to ride certain ride multiple times.  
In my opinion, Genie+ is too expensive for what you get.


----------



## KPeterso

jknc said:


> For those saying, I won’t use it or I won’t spend money on G+ etc. why?



I plan to try it a couple of times our of curiosity, but being a local with a magic key, I go a lot. If things have a long line, we skip it. It would add up too quickly. Now if Disney offered an add on to the AP of the Genie, I would definitely consider doing a year long add on upgrade to my pass. I want to try it out a bit and decide if I am interested in adding it to some of my WDW days for my trips in March and September there.


----------



## jknc

jordan13402 said:


> so with Genie+ will I be able to scan into a ride at the entrance with my phone?


I’ve seen people do this on YouTube.


----------



## Didi8367

Has anyone seen/heard any reports of how it’s going today? Are people able to use it, etc?


----------



## twitch

jknc said:


> For those saying, I won’t use it or I won’t spend money on G+ etc. why?



I don't see myself spending money on G+. And we used MaxPass to the Max.

But there's a big difference between the cost of MaxPass being added to an AP and the per-day cost of G+. If I make 12 visits to DL on my SoCal AP (sorry... MK), then for the two of us, we could spend as much as $480, more than twice as much as what we paid for MaxPass. (I think we added it on to our first pass for $75, and then paid $100 for the year after that.)

Since we're just the lowest tier keyholder, we have lots of blockout dates. We tend to visit on Thursday, when things aren't necessarily as busy. Each trip is its own adventure, and we know that we'll be back again.

Also, we are a married couple with no kids. We enjoy spending time together whether we are hiking a mountain, seeing a show, cooking a meal together, watching TV, or standing in line at Disney. We also make good use of single rider lines (especially RSR), and it's OK if we don't ride together--after all, we got to spend time together waiting in line! 

Additionally, we're finally transitioning out of park commando style touring where we feel like we have to ride EVERYTHING every time we go. Over the last 6 years, we've ridden everything countless times (although, I keep a detailed record in the Notes App on my phone, so I COULD actually count them if I wanted to). Consequently, we're at the point where we don't mind if we only hit two or three headliners a day and fill the rest of the day with shorter waits. Plus... having waited an hour to ride Star Tours before... the 10-15 minute waits for that ride right now are amazing!

So...to put it another way, I've conquered my FOMO... and am better able to roll with the punches. I don't love waiting in lines, but (as Jack Reacher says) "you have to be somewhere"--and there are many places in life that are worse than a DL line.  We can spend that money on something else.

That's a very long answer to your short question... and I realize that it is not a universal response that covers everyone's situation. Other guests have very different scenarios and reasons for buying (or not buying) G+. 

Lastly, having said all of that -- I haven't ruled it out entirely. I suppose that if we landed there on a busy day, we might shell out the money. But that's certainly not my primary strategy, and I'm not even sure I think it's likely.


----------



## DLRExpert

Some thoughts after two days of testing (in reality confirming things from today since day one was so bad). 

- I would wait to buy Genie+ until you enter the park. See what the Stand By wait times are like when you enter the park.
- You may want to buy the Individual Lightning Lane (ILL) as the Rise line is long, BUT it is kind of up to you as there will be a time the Stand By line will go down to 60-70 minutes (in reality it should be less). From a Star Wars fan perspective you also miss out on all of the props in the queue if you use LL.
- If you are park hopping and you only have 1 day to see both parks then buy Genie+, I would probably wait for Rise and purchase ILL for Web Slingers and Racers.
- You can enter Disneyland through the Monorail station and buy Genie+ and book LLs.
- Free Genie is worthless for trip planning. As expected they use it as an opportunity to upsell you into G+, ILL, and food.
However, it is good in seeing if dining reservations are available.
- One way to make Genie+ worth it on slow days is to bring back the option to use LL on the same attraction multiple times.
- You can use the LL barcode or your Ticket barcode on the LL scanner.
- If an attraction breaks down the LL return time for that attraction shoots up by an hour or two (This is not the case for ILL attractions). When the attraction opens back up the LL return time goes down as well. Probably a way to lessen the release of a Multiple Experience Pass.
- Trying to scam the system by taking a screenshot of your LL barcode , then cancelling your LL, and using the screenshot does not work when you scan.
- Refresh trick still works, but hard to see or test during the first two days as the LL return times were only minutes away from the actual LL return time.
- You can cancel a LL if your return time has been called.
- You can save money if Single Rider is an option during your visit.
- With a small amount of attractions at DCA. LL selections for certain rides tend to go faster. For example 115pm, we are at a return time of 330pm for Guardians. Note, Guardians was also down on Day 2 for a while so this could be the cause. 
- If you rope drop DCA, you don't need G+. However ILL for WS and Racers makes things even easier. 
- If you are using G+ enter each LL attraction as your Top Pick in the app. It will help in seeing the LL return times and help if you do the refresh trick.
- I do not think this is going to take off as a huge success for Disney at Disneyland. Fastpass was free, MaxPass was an additional fee for comfort and ease of use since you did not have to go to every FP machine to get a FP. With G+ and ILL being a paid option I do not see it being used as much at Disneyland especially by Magic Key Holders.

ME


----------



## DLRExpert

Didi8367 said:


> Has anyone seen/heard any reports of how it’s going today? Are people able to use it, etc?


No problems for me on an Android phone today.


----------



## starlite_

DLRExpert said:


> *I do not see it being used as much at Disneyland especially by Magic Key Holders.*



I have the feeling, this is the point. If I could go more than once a year I wouldn't care for G+ either. But as an international traveler, one really has to try to max out the days you have to get the most out of your visit imo. And that should help out with it I think, if not everyone buys it then it works best for those that do. At least in theory.


----------



## MissouriTink

If you book a Lightning Lane (say Toy Story) and it has an immediate return time can you ride that one and then immediately book for another ride (say Incredicoaster) as soon as you exit the first ride or do you have to still wait the pre-determined amount of time (can’t remember if it was 90 or 120 minutes) before booking your second ride?


----------



## MiddKid

DLRExpert said:


> - You can use the LL barcode or your Ticket barcode on the LL scanner.


This triggered a question in my mind.  Our last few family trips have been to WDW (MagicBands) and am curious how scanning works for our upcoming Disneyland trip (next week).  When I get a LL pass, do I scan the code on my phone at the checkpoint and then they count all 5 of us in?  I'm used to the WDW version where we all tap in, but I would assume this is a one-time scan for the whole group...right?  All 3 of my kids have phones so I could set it up so they each have access but probably easier to just do one scan.

Thanks!


----------



## MonocularVision

Just checked Disneyland rides and every single Genie+ LL had an immediate return time except for Indy which was 10 minutes later. Rise’s ILL$ has a return time only 30 minutes out (and a standby listed as 60 minutes)

The posted standby lanes for everything seem extremely low (even if they are inflated). Seems to be a very slow day today.


----------



## DLRExpert

MissouriTink said:


> If you book a Lightning Lane (say Toy Story) and it has an immediate return time can you ride that one and then immediately book for another ride (say Incredicoaster) as soon as you exit the first ride or do you have to still wait the pre-determined amount of time (can’t remember if it was 90 or 120 minutes) before booking your second ride?


As soon as you scan your TSMM  LL, you can book for Incredicoaster.


----------



## DLRExpert

MiddKid said:


> This triggered a question in my mind.  Our last few family trips have been to WDW (MagicBands) and am curious how scanning works for our upcoming Disneyland trip (next week).  When I get a LL pass, do I scan the code on my phone at the checkpoint and then they count all 5 of us in?  I'm used to the WDW version where we all tap in, but I would assume this is a one-time scan for the whole group...right?  All 3 of my kids have phones so I could set it up so they each have access but probably easier to just do one scan.
> 
> Thanks!


There is an open slot near the bottom of the scanner. You use the Ticket or LL barcode on your phone or the physical ticket you get when you go through the turnstiles. The circle light above will spin and then turn green when you are confirmed to go in.


----------



## MissouriTink

DLRExpert said:


> As soon as you scan your TSMM  LL, you can book for Incredicoaster.



Thank you so much! I am here now and may give it a shot. Lines were pretty short this morning but were starting to pick up right before we left for a break because we didn’t want to hang out in the rain. If the return times remain immediate like they looked this morning it might be a good way to run through all of those rides really quick later this afternoon. IF the system is working today that is.


----------



## ociana

bcassidy said:


> I wish that was working for me! I even tried deleting and reinstalling that app, but I'm just stuck in this endless loop even though my reservation shows in the app.



I have the exact same issue with mine. Our reservations are for later this month and they show in the app, but I get the "Not quite ready to craft your day" message as well.  Would love to see this fixed.


----------



## bcassidy

ociana said:


> I have the exact same issue with mine. Our reservations are for later this month and they show in the app, but I get the "Not quite ready to craft your day" message as well.  Would love to see this fixed.


I’ll post if they ever respond in the support chat that I started yesterday at 7:30 AM!


----------



## KPeterso

MonocularVision said:


> Just checked Disneyland rides and every single Genie+ LL had an immediate return time except for Indy which was 10 minutes later. Rise’s ILL$ has a return time only 30 minutes out (and a standby listed as 60 minutes)
> 
> The posted standby lanes for everything seem extremely low (even if they are inflated). Seems to be a very slow day today.



It has been raining on and off all morning (or has been in Irvine - 20 minutes away), so that may have scared some people away for the day.


----------



## DLgal

KPeterso said:


> It has been raining on and off all morning (or has been in Irvine - 20 minutes away), so that may have scared some people away for the day.



It's also cold. Brrr...

This is the WORST kind of day for Disneyland, IMO.


----------



## KPeterso

DLgal said:


> It's also cold. Brrr...
> 
> This is the WORST kind of day for Disneyland, IMO.



Oh yeah - cold too. Have not been out today. Was definitely chilly the last 2 days when we were there, but we did come prepared with layers (especially for the Merriest Nights party).


----------



## evilmommie

MonocularVision said:


> Just checked Disneyland rides and every single Genie+ LL had an immediate return time except for Indy which was 10 minutes later. Rise’s ILL$ has a return time only 30 minutes out (and a standby listed as 60 minutes)
> 
> The posted standby lanes for everything seem extremely low (even if they are inflated). Seems to be a very slow day today.



My husband is in the park today and waited standby for Rise - 30 mins actual wait.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

evilmommie said:


> My husband is in the park today and waited standby for Rise - 30 mins actual wait.


Was that to the preshow or the ride vehicle?


----------



## jordan13402

58 is cold? I cant wait for 58 degrees this weekend!


----------



## Geemo

KPeterso said:


> Oh yeah - cold too. Have not been out today. Was definitely chilly the last 2 days when we were there, but we did come prepared with layers (especially for the Merriest Nights party).


Curious....  What do you consider Too Cold?


----------



## DLgal

jordan13402 said:


> 58 is cold? I cant wait for 58 degrees this weekend!



When it's raining, it is! Being cold and damp is miserable.


----------



## Piglet99645

jordan13402 said:


> 58 is cold? I cant wait for 58 degrees this weekend!


Right? It was below zero inAlaska last week.  58 is shorts weather!


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

Keep in mind that this is about as cold as it gets here in SoCal in the daytime, even in winter. A lot of us don’t own clothing for really cold temperatures since we don’t get much weather that necessitates it. And being wet from the rain in 58 degrees all day long can take its toll. I remember our rainy day visit in Feb 2016 and the hardest thing was wet shoes and wet socks … my feet were numb! We weren't expecting rain and didn’t know how to prepare (extra socks and shoes for sure, or waterproof shoes, not that I own any, ha ha).


----------



## jordan13402

yeah I'm just joshing..it's 43 and rainy here in Oregon today so anything above 55 is awesome...i can handle high 50s rain no problem


----------



## evilmommie

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> Was that to the preshow or the ride vehicle?


He’s going to look at me odd when I ask him that question. He doesn’t think like us Dis’ers. LOL


----------



## starlite_

It's 14 degrees here, how I miss 58 haha


----------



## mommabo

Day 2. Woke up around 7:30 with the screams of excitement of young families leaving their rooms and headed to the parks.  Since we were awakened by the noise and it appeared Genie+ was up and running, we threw on some clothes and headed to the parks for a quick check in despite the fact we wouldn’t be having our park day start until 1pm.  We didn’t know how the day would go with the Genie+ option and we wanted to test it out.  Quickly through security and the gates just after 8, turning immediately around and back to hotel.  With Genie+ purchased, I nabbed a return time for Guardians at 1:30. Dozed off and on while daughter had her zoom meeting.  

Back to DCA just before 1.  Lines for park hopping at both parks were rather long.  While waiting to enter, grabbed a LL for Monsters (I like this ride) with an immediate return.  Once we bought our sip and savor pass, we headed straight to Monsters.  Posted wait 25 minutes, on the ride in 5 minutes durning which time grabbed a TSMM pass. Then to Guardian.  Posted wait 80 minutes.  Walk on with LL and immediately to room with Rocket.  There was a delay with a couple of elevators, but that affected everyone not just LL. Actually delay worked to our advantage as rain had picked up and we were inside staying dry and warm.  Off to TSMM posted wait 30 minutes, we were on ride in under 5.  Again grabbing next LL for Incredicoaster.  Posted wait 20 minutes, on ride in under 5.  Rinse and repeat.  Soarin’ posted wait 30 minutes, basically walk on and front row seats.  Ended up in CarsLand around dusk and tried RSR single rider.  Complete walk on and ended up in the same car together.  TowMater, less than 5 minutes. Ended night at Animation Academy.  

The whole day we moved at a leisurely pace enjoying the festival foods and various entertainment offerings.  We did everything we wanted and felt very satisfied with our day.  The crowds from DL were hopping to DCA as merriest nights was chasing them out of that park.  So having done all we wanted, the crowds growing, and the colder weather setting in, we decided we were tired and head back to hotel.  Plus I believe DCA closing at 10 does not offer the same late night benefits as a midnight closing at DL.

To compare the 2 days as far as with and without Genie+, I was pleased with our purchase of it on day 2.  Some might argue we only used it on 5 rides and it didn’t save us much time, but for us, it allowed a more casual pace and the time we would have spent in line, we spent enjoying the atmosphere.  Now day 1 without it was also enjoyable, but definitely more time spent in lines.  

For our future visit in May with adult children and their significant others, I can definitely see the advantage of Genie+ since it’s so easy to park hop and it helps deal with the parks without rope dropping.  The one thing I miss from MaxPass is the ability to re-ride an attraction.  I didn’t think I’d miss it much as we are usually one and done with each ride, but for 1 or 2 rides in each park it would have been nice.  As to ILL, I briefly considered it for RSR just to ride at night, but we nailed a dusk ride as single riders and were satisfied with it.  Now with serious Star Wars fans joining us in May, I can definitely see us forking over the cash to avoid an hour plus wait.  Will I do it repeatedly? No, but yeah definitely once.  

For those of you hoping people will hate Genie+ and refuse to buy it thus bringing about its quick demise, my generally positive reception of it may not be what you want to hear, but I am just one person/family.  Perhaps others will feel differently and the reception will be lukewarm and it underperforms in sales, perhaps they will tweak it (repeat rides as a suggestion).  I wouldn’t count on it, but one can dream.


----------



## lcp9

I'm interested to see over the next few weeks if ILL prices fluctuate based on the day...$20 for Rise is hilarious to me. I can almost choke down $7 for RSR, I'm ashamed to say. $20 is greed - full transparency, out in the open, saying "HERE I AM!!!" and it's hilarious.


----------



## MissouriTink

Tested out the new Genie+ service today in California Adventures and I’m kind of loving it. We rode a bunch of rides between 8 & noon today that were all walk ons because everyone else was in long lines for Guardians, Spiderman & Radiator Springs Racers. Then it started to rain so we went back to the hotel for a break until 4:00. When we came back into the parks it was packed and every line was ridiculously long. So, I paid for the individual lightning lane for Spiderman and walked right past a 60 min line. Then we watched the parade & had had some dinner. By this time it was about 5:15 or so. I purchased Genie+ at that time and used it to bypass every ride that it is available for back to back because they all had immediate return times. Toy Story was a 115 min wait at the time and we were on it in 5 minutes!! After using it for every other ride we selected the next available time for Guardians of the Galaxy which was about 40 minutes out. We stopped to watch some shows & meet Loki & Thor while we waited and then hopped in line. We were in line for about an hour for Guardians which seemed excessive for a lightning lane BUT the standby lane at that time was 215 minutes!!!! All in all the parks were open 8am-10pm and we did 13 rides, saw 4 shows & a parade, sat down for lunch & dinner in the parks, and took a 4 hour afternoon break at the hotel. I’d call that a successful day!


----------



## starlite_

Good to hear Genie it's starting to work properly. Might be a while before I get to try it but all this happy experiences in DLR make me excited to.


----------



## twitch

mommabo said:


> For those of you hoping people will hate Genie+ and refuse to buy it thus bringing about its quick demise, my generally positive reception of it may not be what you want to hear, but I am just one person/family.  Perhaps others will feel differently and the reception will be lukewarm and it underperforms in sales, perhaps they will tweak it (repeat rides as a suggestion).  I wouldn’t count on it, but one can dream.



I suppose there are some in the "I hate it, I hope for its quick and speedy demise" camp. I think most people are in the "I hope they make some changes to it (cheaper, reduce ILL$ cost, eliminate one-ride usage)" camp.

I'm not entirely certain, but I think I'm in the "I think Disney is attempting to improve the lines for everyone by limiting LL/ILL$ usage to those who want it the most, and I hope it works, but I'm probably not going to use it" camp.

I don't see a lot of Magic Key holders using it... or even many locals. I think that those with limited time will find great value in it... and even though it's a little expensive, will decide that it's cheaper than adding an extra day/night in the parks. With less people using it, its impact on standby lines will be less than FP/MP was. This may improve Disney's ability to predict wait times, and improve everyone's experience.


----------



## BrianL

evilmommie said:


> He’s going to look at me odd when I ask him that question. He doesn’t think like us Dis’ers. LOL



Honestly, on Rise, the "experience" starts at the preshow.


----------



## NewbieMouse

DisSurfer878 said:


> It does not. One ride per attraction per day.



I know I am probably really late to the party in coming to terms with this, but I just want to say how much of a bummer this all is. With that and having to delay hopping until 1:00, I cringe at the whole thing - I am just so grateful for you DISers, from whom I know I will learn some strategies before our trip, which I've postponed now to April.


----------



## Piglet99645

Glad to hear things are turning around.   Good point about paying for Genie+ is cheaper than another day at the park …. We always stay for 5 days.   Really glad I have three weeks to watch this unfold before we get there.


----------



## avalon451

From the comfort of home yesterday, I was watching wait times and LL return times off and on. I was pleased to see it was up and running. Also I was amazed to see almost immediate return times on nearly everything, ALL DAY. That would make it an obvious good choice to purchase G+ -- pick up a LL, and immediately go ride it and pick up another in the short line., even late in the day. However, I’m skeptical that it will continue to operate like that as they work out the bugs and as people become accustomed to it. 

Give it a few weeks and we’ll again need strategies for which rides run out of return times first, how to maximize the number of LLs obtainable in one day, and when to cave and purchase the ILLs.


----------



## evilmommie

BrianL said:


> Honestly, on Rise, the "experience" starts at the preshow.



He said he got to the "preshow" at about 30 mins, if that... Wait time was posted at 45 min. Wasn't raining when he got into line around 11:30...was pouring when he got out of Rise.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

evilmommie said:


> He said he got to the "preshow" at about 30 mins, if that... Wait time was posted at 45 min. Wasn't raining when he got into line around 11:30...was pouring when he got out of Rise.


How interesting!

On Wednesday the posted wait time was 55 minutes and we got to the preshow in 17 minutes.


----------



## Jaina

So, maybe I am totally oblivious, but how in the world do you buy Genie+? I have been here for like an hour, and I keep looking through the app, (while I wait in line, haha) but I’m not seeing it.


----------



## GBRforWDW

Jaina said:


> So, maybe I am totally oblivious, but how in the world do you buy Genie+? I have been here for like an hour, and I keep looking through the app, (while I wait in line, haha) but I’m not seeing it.


First, have you updated your app? If so, you should see this at the top of the main page:



Click View My Day to see the following screen:



Click the purple area Get Disney Genie+ for Today.


----------



## Jaina

Yes, I updated two days ago, and have all the other Disney Genie stuff, just can’t find anything about Genie  plus. I went to check the App Store, (Apple) and there is no further update available.


----------



## Jaina

OK, when I went into an individual attraction and looked at the wait time and said I wanted the lightning lane, then it finally prompted me to buy it. It’s weird that I couldn’t find it anywhere else though!


----------



## bcassidy

Jaina said:


> So, maybe I am totally oblivious, but how in the world do you buy Genie+? I have been here for like an hour, and I keep looking through the app, (while I wait in line, haha) but I’m not seeing it.


I had 3 different experiences updating the app on different devices. 1: When launching the app, it notified me that an update was available and updated automagically. 2: I went to the App Store and searched for Disneyland and in the resulting list it showed an Update button next to the Disneyland App. 3: The list in the App Store showed Open instead of update, so I had to press on the app where it then showed the Update button.


----------



## mdmost

Radiator Springs Racers and Webslingers are both $12 today if you want the Individual Lightning Lanes.


----------



## DLRExpert

mdmost said:


> Radiator Springs Racers and Webslingers are both $12 today if you want the Individual Lightning Lanes.


Weekend prices?
Return times being about an hour away for some of the top attractions.
At 1045 Rise showing 60 minute wait. Doubt it is that long.
Disney is DEFINITLEY inflating wait times to get more LL and ILL purchases.


----------



## VandVsmama

I haven't read all 11 pages yet, but I watched a Fresh Baked video this morning and they reported from using a paid LL for IJ that the only part of the standby queue that you skip with IJ is the outdoor portion of the line.  So Fresh Baked ended up still waiting over 30 minutes even with a paid LL.


----------



## mdmost

I may be wrong but I remember that being the same thing when Maxpass was going. You only really skipped the outside queue but the inside queue was walk through.


----------



## Wedgeout

That’s correct on Indy. Now in days of fastpass that lower line outside was mass packed and were down there a long time!


----------



## DLRExpert

VandVsmama said:


> I haven't read all 11 pages yet, but I watched a Fresh Baked video this morning and they reported from using a paid LL for IJ that the only part of the standby queue that you skip with IJ is the outdoor portion of the line.  So Fresh Baked ended up still waiting over 30 minutes even with a paid LL.


This has always been the case. If the line builds to the outdoor queue then using FP and now LL was worth it.

What I am noticing more than anything is that LL and ILL at this point does not seem to make Stand By lines all that much longer.
Before with free Fastpass/MaxPass, this wasn't the case as more people were using the service. Not as much when you are asking people to pay.


----------



## JMommyof3

VandVsmama said:


> I haven't read all 11 pages yet, but I watched a Fresh Baked video this morning and they reported from using a paid LL for IJ that the only part of the standby queue that you skip with IJ is the outdoor portion of the line.  So Fresh Baked ended up still waiting over 30 minutes even with a paid LL.



Seems like the only reason to get an IJ LL is the same as MaxPass days.  It always breaks down and you are guaranteed an "any time experience pass"


----------



## DLRExpert

JMommyof3 said:


> Seems like the only reason to get an IJ LL is the same as MaxPass days.  It always breaks down and you are guaranteed an "any time experience pass"


Especially since you can now cancel it anytime during your return window.


----------



## Rich M

JMommyof3 said:


> Seems like the only reason to get an IJ LL is the same as MaxPass days.  It always breaks down and you are guaranteed an "any time experience pass"


 If you have it available and it is to use in less then 5 mins then might as well use it.  At least get your money's worth by using them all.


----------



## mommabo

DLRExpert said:


> This has always been the case. If the line builds to the outdoor queue then using FP and now LL was worth it.
> 
> What I am noticing more than anything is that LL and ILL at this point does not seem to make Stand By lines all that much longer.
> Before with free Fastpass/MaxPass, this wasn't the case as more people were using the service. Not as much when you are asking people to pay.


So far, I’d agree with you regarding not making standby lines worse.  Yesterday at DCA, we virtually walked on all 5 rides we used LL.  They basically stopped standby and let us right on then resumed everyone else.  There weren’t very many people using LL so little effect on standby.  Of course that will change as more people buy Genie+, but the 64K question is will standby go back to before times? Hard to say for certain since back then both MaxPass and free FP woukd have resulted in a higher number of people in FP lines and it remains to be seen what the Genie+ numbers will look like.  

If I was a betting woman, I’d say let’s not hold our breath.  People may not like the no free option and may gripe about the cost (and it will go up), but I anticipate if they’ve made the decision to visit the parks, they will fork over the money.  The notable exception likely to be locals who visit frequently.  While those numbers are sizable, I think the less frequent visitors still make up a big enough chunk of people who will pay for the convenience of LL and it will negatively affect standby.  This will feed on the perceived need for Genie+ thus fueling more purchases.


----------



## Wedgeout

I think standby will not be as bad as before. At least not for a little while as genie+ and extra lightning start to feel like the new normal. It still all comes down to the trip budget of each guest. Feel all want it but all can’t afford it. This genie+ type system is currently not available with any of the Annual Passes (Keys) like before. Plus guests loved free fastpasses and grabbed those until the kiosks ran out. Buying into Genie+ is better at Disneyland because of all the photos you can get. That alone should spark more interest.


----------



## bcassidy

bcassidy said:


> I’ll post if they ever respond in the support chat that I started yesterday at 7:30 AM!


Well, after over 48 hours, support got back to the chat and here was their response: "It should be working. I will go ahead an send in a ticket to our IT team to look in to this. Please check back later to try again."


----------



## MissouriTink

DLRExpert said:


> At 1045 Rise showing 60 minute wait. Doubt it is that long.



I got in line for Rise at 11:00 this morning and it had a posted wait time of 60 minutes. 2-1/2 HOURS later I finally made it to the pre-show.


----------



## JC1984

MissouriTink said:


> I got in line for Rise at 11:00 this morning and it had a posted wait time of 60 minutes. 2-1/2 HOURS later I finally made it to the pre-show.


Yikes did it go down?


----------



## Rich M

MissouriTink said:


> I got in line for Rise at 11:00 this morning and it had a posted wait time of 60 minutes. 2-1/2 HOURS later I finally made it to the pre-show.



This is why I will pay the $20 if I want to go on.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

MissouriTink said:


> I got in line for Rise at 11:00 this morning and it had a posted wait time of 60 minutes. 2-1/2 HOURS later I finally made it to the pre-show.


That’s too bad. It must have gone down.


----------



## MissouriTink

JC1984 said:


> Yikes did it go down?



I don’t think so. I never noticed it saying that it was down on the app (it had been down earlier in the morning though) and the line was moving for the most part. It was just moving very slowly. The end of the line started at the entrance to the ride then went all the way down to Hungry Bear and then wrapped back around again. There were a few brief moments when it stopped moving but not for very long. There was a huge line of people in the Lightning Lane though so I think that was the problem.


----------



## MissouriTink

Rich M said:


> This is why I will pay the $20 if I want to go on.



I would definitely do this next time.


----------



## MonocularVision

I am starting to feel more hopeful about G+. With these changes:

One use per ride, per day
No free option
No Magic Key add-on
You can get the following benefits:

Closer return times
Less impact on Standby
Because you have far fewer folks using it. It really caters to the folks who are making a more rare trip and want to hit everything in a short amount of time.

Of course, this is still *very* early. We will see how this fares during the week of Christmas/NYE.


----------



## Wedgeout

If you observe the ROTR line headed in any way towards the railroad bridge and critter country and back keep walking. Wait until later.


----------



## avalon451

Wedgeout said:


> If you observe the ROTR line headed in any way towards the railroad bridge and critter country and back keep walking. Wait until later.


I was there a week ago, and the line STARTED just past Ronto Roasters (with the accompanying guy holding the sign “Line for Rise of the Resistance starts here” went all the way through the entrance, looped ALL the way down to Hungry Bear and back. I stood in it. (With a blue milk and crossword puzzles on my phone). I was into Rey’s ready room 50 minutes later and off by 65 minutes. The line had been posted on the app as 90 minutes.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

MissouriTink said:


> I don’t think so. I never noticed it saying that it was down on the app (it had been down earlier in the morning though) and the line was moving for the most part. It was just moving very slowly. The end of the line started at the entrance to the ride then went all the way down to Hungry Bear and then wrapped back around again. There were a few brief moments when it stopped moving but not for very long. There was a huge line of people in the Lightning Lane though so I think that was the problem.



Sounds like a case of a inaccurate wait time listed. When I rode on Wednesday and the wait time said 55 minutes the end of the line was inside the line entrance point (not spilling out and wrapping to Hungry Bear). That day we got to the Rey preshow in 17 minutes.


----------



## mommabo

MonocularVision said:


> Because you have far fewer folks using it. It really caters to the folks who are making a more rare trip and want to hit everything in a short amount of time.
> 
> Of course, this is still *very* early. We will see how this fares during the week of Christmas/NYE.



I agree or does seem aimed more at the less frequent visitors which I tend to agree with.   Those of us on the boards and locals who know all the ins and outs have been at an advantage for years.   I have overheard more than a few conversations from first time visitors overwhelmed by the masses and underwhelmed with their experiences.  Having said that, it may be aimed at a more positive experience, but it certainly is starting out very confusing.  As a semi-frequent visitor and one who learned all types of systems across both WDW & DL, so far this is very clunky and not at all intuitive.  Now I admit I’m getting older and my adult children tease me regarding my lack of tech-savviness.  But when it comes to Disney, it make a bit longer than it used to, but I learn it eventually and usually end up with an A in the class.  Less frequent visitors probably will give up long before then.


----------



## dieumeye

MonocularVision said:


> I am starting to feel more hopeful about G+. With these changes:
> 
> One use per ride, per day
> No free option
> No Magic Key add-on
> You can get the following benefits:
> 
> Closer return times
> Less impact on Standby
> Because you have far fewer folks using it. It really caters to the folks who are making a more rare trip and want to hit everything in a short amount of time.
> 
> Of course, this is still *very* early. We will see how this fares during the week of Christmas/NYE.


My guess is that it will be like a lot of things at Disney when they were new (MaxPass, Mobile Order): It’ll be awesome in the beginning because not many people use it, but down the line when it becomes common, “too many” will use it and the advantage of quick access will start to disappear.


----------



## MonocularVision

dieumeye said:


> My guess is that it will be like a lot of things at Disney when they were new (MaxPass, Mobile Order): It’ll be awesome in the beginning because not many people use it, but down the line when it becomes common, “too many” will use it and the advantage of quick access will start to disappear.


I think it they keep the current limitations in place, it should retain its value. I get the feeling that Disney will ruin it though by offering it as a MK add-on.


----------



## Wedgeout

MonocularVision said:


> I think it they keep the current limitations in place, it should retain its value. I get the feeling that Disney will ruin it though by offering it as a MK add-on.


I would just like the photopass part back on my Key.


----------



## dieumeye

MonocularVision said:


> I think it they keep the current limitations in place, it should retain its value. I get the feeling that Disney will ruin it though by offering it as a MK add-on.


You just know there’s a memo somewhere with “GenieMAX” written on it!!


----------



## JC1984

I posted this in another thread. A MUST WATCH


----------



## DonnerB

Here today and comparing to our visit 11/27, I DO notice a negative impact on standby lines (and posted wait accuracy).  Especially in DCA, the standby lines are crawling.  The lines look and are physically shorter than they were two weeks ago, but they are not moving nearly as well.  My waits on this side have all been 15-30 minutes longer than the posted wait.  Still not enough to make me fork over $20 unless I’m with people who aren’t Magic Key holders and don’t visit regularly…


----------



## Drewski77

As someone who goes to Disneyland once or maybe twice per year at most, paying $20 for Genie+ is an easy decision.

Admission costs are so high to begin withthat the extra $20 makes the investment on the first $100+ far more worth it to us.

As now we get many rides with little wait, compared with really only having bearable wait times at rope drop and end of the night.

Sure, I wish MaxPass was still available, but I’ll take Genie+ for $20 and enjoy the park much more than I would without it.


----------



## DLRExpert

Side news Rise closing at 9pm on Friday instead of 8 or 830pm. No ILL available but stand by line at 845 is 45 minutes.


----------



## 87disney

DonnerB said:


> Here today and comparing to our visit 11/27, I DO notice a negative impact on standby lines (and posted wait accuracy).  Especially in DCA, the standby lines are crawling.  The lines look and are physically shorter than they were two weeks ago, but they are not moving nearly as well.  My waits on this side have all been 15-30 minutes longer than the posted wait.  Still not enough to make me fork over $20 unless I’m with people who aren’t Magic Key holders and don’t visit regularly…



^ This -  we were at the parks since Tuesday this week, and stand by was miserable today when genie really hit its stride (it had no effect on Thursday).  They have gone from overestimated wait times to now being underestimated by 10 - 15 minutes on average today . Posted 45 minutes wait on Guardians really took an hour. Lines have gone back from a good steady flow to long pauses of standing in one place.  We may opt for genie the next visit .  Sad.


----------



## poptart90

87disney said:


> ^ This -  we were at the parks since Tuesday this week, and stand by was miserable today when genie really hit its stride (it had no effect on Thursday).  They have gone from overestimated wait times to now being underestimated by 10 - 15 minutes on average today . Posted 45 minutes wait on Guardians really took an hour. Lines have gone back from a good steady flow to long pauses of standing in one place.  We may opt for genie the next visit .  Sad.





JC1984 said:


> I posted this in another thread. A MUST WATCH



Wow. Exactly as the video referenced describes. The basic “FastPass to standby” ratio was 4 to 1. Four FP on to one Standby guest when it was slow. But it was always at the discretion of the CM at the merge point.

Wondering if the directive to drive Genie+ and ILLs will result in the merge CM doing what the video above describes-which can be far worse than a 4 to 1 ratio. No shade on the CMs here. They are simply doing what they are told. But what a great way to drive the Genie+ upsell, right? Stall the standby line at every opportunity.

IMO, this will be the key element to watch. The Standby line wait times. 

The video above is long but give it a chance, if you’re interested. My non-DISer DH watched it with me and was fascinated! Lol


----------



## smallbutmighty

So just to clarify, you need park reservations + tickets to buy Genie + ??

Then after you have that, you have to wait until the very day you're entering the park to actually make the reservations ?

No complaints, I'm just trying to understand. The walls of text and concepts I'm not familiar with are very overwhelming to me.
For reference, we're not local, and only visiting once next May. I just don't want to get screwed over by waiting "too long"  Scared.


----------



## BadPinkTink

smallbutmighty said:


> So just to clarify, you need park reservations + tickets to buy Genie + ??



Correct. 

Buy tickets
Make Park Reservation
Use Free Genie+ to input rides, attractions and dining preferences before your visit
For single or multi day one park per day or single or multi day park hopper tickets you can buy Genie+ in advance for length of ticket
OR
For single or multi day one park per day or single or multi day park hopper tickets you can buy Genie+ at midnight for day off  park visit, one day at a time


----------



## JC1984

poptart90 said:


> Wow. Exactly as the video referenced describes. The basic “FastPass to standby” ratio was 4 to 1. Four FP on to one Standby guest when it was slow. But it was always at the discretion of the CM at the merge point.
> 
> Wondering if the directive to drive Genie+ and ILLs will result in the merge CM doing what the video above describes-which can be far worse than a 4 to 1 ratio. No shade on the CMs here. They are simply doing what they are told. But what a great way to drive the Genie+ upsell, right? Stall the standby line at every opportunity.
> 
> IMO, this will be the key element to watch. The Standby line wait times.
> 
> The video above is long but give it a chance, if you’re interested. My non-DISer DH watched it with me and was fascinated! Lol


Yes it is long but the research into it was top notch. I’ve watched it 3 times now. I agree with the producer I think it is a way for Disney to meet in the middle with consumer I don’t think it is a perfect system but I think they are trying to figure out the line issues. The one thing I found interesting was the fact Imagineering never liked the idea of Magic Bands and Fastpass. The whole push was brought on by the operations department.


----------



## bcassidy

BadPinkTink said:


> Buy tickets
> Make Park Reservation
> Use Free Genie+ to input rides, attractions and dining preferences before your visit


I wish that worked for me. I did steps 1 & 2, but when I try to use the free Genie service, I get, "Not Quite Ready to Craft Your Day" and Disney tech support had me try a few things, but still no joy. My genie is stuck in the bottle.


----------



## BadPinkTink

bcassidy said:


> I wish that worked for me. I did steps 1 & 2, but when I try to use the free Genie service, I get, "Not Quite Ready to Craft Your Day" and Disney tech support had me try a few things, but still no joy. My genie is stuck in the bottle.



The only thing I can think of is that maybe its your phone, that the phone operating system is not new enough to support the Genie features. This happened to me in 2019. I could access the Disneyland App but I could not use the Play Disney Disney App as my phone was an old make / model and did not have the updated operating system.


----------



## bcassidy

BadPinkTink said:


> The only thing I can think of is that maybe its your phone, that the phone operating system is not new enough to support the Genie features. This happened to me in 2019. I could access the Disneyland App but I could not use the Play Disney Disney App as my phone was an old make / model and did not have the updated operating system.


I tried it on three different iPhone 12 Pro phones and two iPads all running the latest iOS.


----------



## disneycasey2020

Mine is the same way. I thought I read somewhere it will work after midnight the night before your day for genie and then genie plus you have to be in the park.


----------



## Wesley815

JC1984 said:


> The one thing I found interesting was the fact Imagineering never liked the idea of Magic Bands and Fastpass. The whole push was brought on by the operations department.


....and only office level ops management, NOT guest facing hourly / day to day in park positions.

Having worked Merge point in attractions many times, it's one of the toughest spots to be in with 99% of standby line blaming and hating every move you make. Sadly most leads and managers will hide out and never check on Merge CM's.

It's not physically demanding, just holding back standby line as hundreds and hundreds of Fast Pass run by laughing and smiling isn't exactly easy.


----------



## JC1984

Wesley815 said:


> ....and only office level ops management, NOT guest facing hourly / day to day in park positions.
> 
> Having worked Merge point in attractions many times, it's one of the toughest spots to be in with 99.9% of standby line blaming and hating every move you make. Sadly most leads and managers will hide out and never check out Merge CM's.


Luckily when I worked attractions the only attraction I worked was DLRR and never dealt with that crap. Better yet is when I went to Zoo Crew and didn’t have to worry about lines ever again.


----------



## JC1984

So for those of you all about the Genie+ is it in your opinion worth it for DCA? We are using our DL trip as a warm up for WDW with the kids? I am about 90% sold of using it for DL but really on the fence about DCA. Granted I stood in regular lines for 17 years so I am not even too sure about it for DL the days we are going. Thoughts? Touring Plans is giving our DL day a 2/10 and DCA day a 3/10. I am really leaning to skipping G+ all together and using the LL$ for RoTR if the line is over 60 minutes. Also wondering if anyone on here has done a side to side comparison of TP vs G+ at DLR in the last few days? TP did one at WDW but as we know that is a different monster.


----------



## althepostman

87disney said:


> ^ This -  we were at the parks since Tuesday this week, and stand by was miserable today when genie really hit its stride (it had no effect on Thursday).  They have gone from overestimated wait times to now being underestimated by 10 - 15 minutes on average today . Posted 45 minutes wait on Guardians really took an hour. Lines have gone back from a good steady flow to long pauses of standing in one place.  We may opt for genie the next visit .  Sad.


According to the guest generated wait times on the Touring plans app, all the Disney posted wait times for DCA attractions are inflated by 15-30 minutes and DL attractions by 5-10 mins today.

Touring plans app has always been the most accurate with actual times IMO.


----------



## DonnerB

althepostman said:


> According to the guest generated wait times on the Touring plans app, all the Disney posted wait times for DCA attractions are inflated by 15-30 minutes and DL attractions by 5-10 mins today.
> 
> Touring plans app has always been the most accurate with actual times IMO.


I was also using TP yesterday.  Their estimates were better, but still off.


----------



## cdoc29

starlite_ said:


> I have the feeling, this is the point. If I could go more than once a year I wouldn't care for G+ either. But as an international traveler, one really has to try to max out the days you have to get the most out of your visit imo. And that should help out with it I think, if not everyone buys it then it works best for those that do. At least in theory.



This is exactly why we will be using MaxPass.

We are from the east coast making our second trip out to Disneyland. DS is a huge Spiderman fan so WDW would not cut it for us. We got Moblie MaxPass with our tickets last time and hardly used it as the crowds were very low the week we visited. This time I am expecting the crowds to be higher (first week of Jan) and even though we are there for 5 days I plan on getting it but will play it day to day to see how things go. I am glad they only allow one time for ILL otherwise I would be shelling out $14+ an hour for Webslingers. So far looking at the how it has been working I expect we will rope drop (from the east coast and will be up early anyways) hit a few rides and then start doing repeats with the Genie Plus as the crowds start to build.


----------



## bcassidy

disneycasey2020 said:


> Mine is the same way. I thought I read somewhere it will work after midnight the night before your day for genie and then genie plus you have to be in the park.


Well according to Disney support, the free portion is supposed to work as soon as you have tickets and reservations so that you can start planning.


----------



## bcassidy

bcassidy said:


> Well according to Disney support, the free portion is supposed to work as soon as you have tickets and reservations so that you can start planning.


I just kept trying and it finally started working as advertised. I did nothing different; it just started working. I really like that you can choose your favorite rides and they show at the top of the Tip Board so you don't have to scroll as much. Now the question is to go + or not to go +.


----------



## dieumeye

Got Genie+ today and also did ILL$ for Rise and RSR. Honestly, it worked really well. As a frequent visitor, it’s not something I’m going to get every visit (especially that $20 Rise ILL) but if I am ever doing a ride focused visit in the future, I probably would buy Genie+. Some observations:

-You can scan into an attraction five minutes early, just like the old MaxPass system.

-If you are park hopping, you can buy a 1 PM ILL selection for the other park without waiting for the attraction return time to hit 1 PM. Example: At noon, I was in Disneyland and the RSR return time was 12:15. I tried to buy it just to see what would happen. It offered a 12:55p RSR return time, saying “time changed due to park hopping“. This is great so you don’t have to “stalk“ the app to try to buy an ILL for 1 PM.

-I was pleased with the short waits after the merge points. Especially Space Mtn (no line inside), GotG (no line in the boiler room after pre show), and Rise (no line after pre-shows). Didn’t get to test Indy since it was down all morning.

-App layout is weird. “Tip Board” is where all the attractions you’ve selected for your day show up. “My Day” only shows the current reservations you have along with random recommendations. For mobile order it was easiest to just go to the regular Order Food area in the app because Genie wouldn’t necessarily show all available dining locations.

-There’s a catch 22 with Genie+, and this was true with MaxPass as well, but now that it’s a paid service and you can only ride each attraction once, it’s something I consider more carefully. The “catch” is that Genie+ is most EFFICIENT when you can get an immediate return time (but that’s also when standby lines are short anyway), and it offers the most VALUE when standby lines are longest (but that’s when LL return times are the farthest out). So do you burn your LLs when lines are 20 minutes or less just to save a few minutes? Or do you wait to use them when lines are long even if that means you’ll have longer stretches between reservations? It’s a bummer to be shut out of the system for two hours. I know that’s how FastPass was, but that was free! Feels different having paid for it.

-The Genie is kinda dumb. It kept recommending things I couldn’t do. For example, I had said I wanted to go to Oga’s so it kept telling me to book a reservation even though none were available. Also, at 2:30 it recommended I go on Luigi’s… even though it was closed. Lots of that kind of stuff.

-There’s a somewhat hidden feature called Audio Tales that are short audio clips that tell behind the scenes info about different areas all over the park. I listened to a few and they were pretty interesting. You could make a decent couple hours strolling around the park listening to them all. Kind of like your own private DL history tour.


----------



## Zerzura

Thank you for the audio tales tip. I love stuff like this and this would tip my purchase for day of Genie+.


----------



## bcassidy

dieumeye said:


> -There’s a somewhat hidden feature called Audio Tales that are short audio clips that tell behind the scenes info about different areas all over the park. I listened to a few and they were pretty interesting. You could make a decent couple hours strolling around the park listening to them all. Kind of like your own private DL history tour.


I saw that once while playing around in the app, but don’t remember where. Can you point me in the right direction?


----------



## dieumeye

bcassidy said:


> I saw that once while playing around in the app, but don’t remember where. Can you point me in the right direction?


Looking at the app now at home I cannot find any way to access it. Maybe you need to purchase Genie+ to get access?

When I was in the park yesterday and had purchased Genie+, there was a banner in the My Day section that had a link to Audio Tales.


----------



## JC1984

dieumeye said:


> Looking at the app now at home I cannot find any way to access it. Maybe you need to purchase Genie+ to get access?
> 
> When I was in the park yesterday and had purchased Genie+, there was a banner in the My Day section that had a link to Audio Tales.


Correct it is a G+ perk


----------



## disneyseniors

It sounds like Genie+ works pretty well for the DL setting.  That's not what I am reading at WDW.  This encourages me as we will probably be visiting DL this Spring.  I've never been there and was really looking forward to it, then Genie descended on us all and I got nervous.  I hope all the bugs are fixed by next Spring.


----------



## thenicefamily

bcassidy said:


> I wish that worked for me. I did steps 1 & 2, but when I try to use the free Genie service, I get, "Not Quite Ready to Craft Your Day" and Disney tech support had me try a few things, but still no joy. My genie is stuck in the bottle.



Are you in the US? I've found my digital and direct-contact (i.e. no toll-free number for Canadians) mileage varies widely from most posters here because I'm in Canada. 

I've also found the workaround in many cases (dining/spa) is to sign-in and change my location to US. When links to the newly opened Tenaya Spa weren't leading anywhere I came on these boards and someone suggested that change location option and, it worked! On my laptop.

Sadly, in the case of Genie+, it has to be done on mobile and as far as I can see there's no way for me to change my location on that so, I'm in the same boat as you.


----------



## Briarrose1306

Geemo said:


> I am disappointed that Genie+ only allows one use per attraction on the list.
> Especially since some of the rides on the list are not one I generally ride.
> I use to us MaxPass to ride certain ride multiple times.
> In my opinion, Genie+ is too expensive for what you get.


Starting to have the same opinion.  We'll be in the parks Monday through Wednesday and I was considering getting it but with the fact that I do single rider for most things, I'll only be able to use it once per attraction, and we're expecting rain, it just seems way too overpriced for what it is.  TBH I'm not sure if I would've bought MaxPass on the daily but I paid $75 at time of purchase to just have it on my pass so it never seemed like an issue.  As a Northern California local I feel like I would have to be much more planned than I usually am for it to be of any value.


----------



## Jaina

Briarrose1306 said:


> Starting to have the same opinion.  We'll be in the parks Monday through Wednesday and I was considering getting it but with the fact that I do single rider for most things, I'll only be able to use it once per attraction, and we're expecting rain, it just seems way too overpriced for what it is.  TBH I'm not sure if I would've bought MaxPass on the daily but I paid $75 at time of purchase to just have it on my pass so it never seemed like an issue.  As a Northern California local I feel like I would have to be much more planned than I usually am for it to be of any value.


I had it on my pass before Covid too, and it was so nice! I agree that if you're only doing it for a partial day or even for one park it might not be worth it. For just 2-3 people I think it would be worth it much of the time, but it's going to be hard if I choose to buy it for 7 people a day.    But still cheaper than doing 3 days vs 2. And we will probably just budget it in to get the most out of an already expensive trip. But we'll see how it's going if we take a whole family trip like that any time soon! I used it by myself yesterday and it was nice to have, but by no means necessary, even though the parks were busy. The return times were usually immediate on most rides. It will be interesting to see how it evolves as more people become aware of it and start using it.


----------



## katyringo

disneyseniors said:


> It sounds like Genie+ works pretty well for the DL setting.  That's not what I am reading at WDW.  This encourages me as we will probably be visiting DL this Spring.  I've never been there and was really looking forward to it, then Genie descended on us all and I got nervous.  I hope all the bugs are fixed by next Spring.


I used the system for 5 days and in all the parks at WDW. I did my due research and learned how to maximize it but I gotta say that 7am booking window there really kills the Vibe. I DO like how at WDW I could pick my times for the upgraded extra paid rides.  This system is rebranded maxpass with a couple tweaks and we loved maxpass.


----------



## V & S

disneylover102 said:


> Like before you entered the park?



Yes, could buy before we entered the park, but that was the first day of Genie, so not sure it's still working that way!


----------



## V & S

Home, now. Thoughts: we didn't think Genie+ was worth it, because we were there long enough to be able to ride whatever we wanted to by by lightning lane for ROTR and arriving at 9am in the mornings and doing rides before 10 or 10:30, and then going back and staying after the fireworks. No problem.


----------



## laugard

Was in the park approximately 9 to 4:30 so decided to try Genie+ and found it completely worth it...at least for today. We used it for eight rides, four in DL and four in DCA, though could've done more if we'd wanted. We walked on nearly all the rides and the longest we waited was Indy, which was walk-on to the inside portion of the line and then 12 min to the car. This is one of the few where because of where it merges, it can still take a little time once inside if it's busy. (Stand-by time was 50 min and based on experience with the line, I don't think that was inflated. If anything, many times looked underestimated.) But we skipped the entire long, outdoor line. The others were either walk-on or 2 to 5 min wait, max.

Over 7.5 hours, we sat four times to eat something, picked up the gingerbread men we'd mobile ordered, and rode 16 rides, including IASW, Indy, Haunted Mansion, Monsters, Soarin', Toy Story Midway Mania, Incredicoaster and Radiator Springs Racers (single rider). Plus several dark rides including Peter Pan and Snow White. We skipped Guardians and a few others as we've ridden them a lot recently. And that was with us not rushing at all. We also never crossed back to DL after hopping to DCA (normally we do.)

For our needs (Magic Key holders, but ones who live 40-ish min away so don't do drop-in or weekday visits), Genie+ was a success today. We got to ride a few we'd skipped the last few visits due to the lines, which was exactly what we wanted.

Do I wish we still had free Maxpass? Yes. Would I add Genie+ if I were visiting all the time? No, likely not as it would add up. But as key holders who probably will go less than once a month once the holidays have passed (we were on pace for 6x for the year with our Flex), I can definitely see Genie+ making sense occasionally. While we were fine skipping certain rides during these last few busy months—knowing we could ride another time—it was was really great not having to do that today, and avoiding long lines in general (especially for Haunted Mansion and IASW, given the holiday-specific overlays.)

I'll add that we could've ridden Indy and HM early without Genie+ while lines were still relatively short. But we didn't want to try and cram as much as we could in before 10 today. And weren't in the mood for either attraction yet either. So we concentrated on Fantasyland and breakfast that first hour instead. (Peter Pan was the longest line we waited in all day at 25.) We also didn't leave time for the parade as we'd already seen it.


----------



## ironband74

Watching how the weekend shaped up via the app, and curious to continue monitoring as the holiday rush intensifies, I've been having thoughts as a chronic min/maxer.

Seems like many attractions, at least for the moment, are not "selling out" by evening. I suspect that this is because most people who get Genie+ use it as quickly as possible and with the one ride per attraction limitation in play, by evening many folks have already used their rides. Many of the lightning lanes seem to have almost immediate LL return times in the evening. Of course some have very short stand-by waits which would make Genie + superfluous, but some are 30-45 minutes or more at certain times with a nearly immediate return time for Genie+

It seems like none of the DL attractions on Genie+ are selling out. Guardians seems to be the main one that runs out over at DCA, though to be fair I didn't monitor DCA quite like I did DL.

This present an interesting puzzle for the min/maxer - Instead of steadily booking G+LL, it may behoove us to hold off on certain attractions which are likely to have a substantial wait in the evening, but a near immediate return time via LL. Using time during the day to do other stuff and/or judiciously ride stand-by and saving G+LL rides for the evening may prove to be an efficient use of time.

Under Maxpass, without any restriction of how many times one could book for a certain attraction, we didn't really try to optimize. We wanted to 1. Get them before they were gone and 2. Get them as soon as possible because the sooner we got one the sooner we could book another. This often meant that we'd happily book a pass to skip a 20 minute line, because once we scanned in we could book another one, so nothing was really lost, even if we only saved 10 minutes total by doing so. Now, booking early has a cost. I could now wait in that 20 minute line stand by, and book that ride later on when it would save more time, whereas if I booked the time now, later on when the wait was longer I would have to ride stand-by if I wanted to go a second time. I suspect that I will start plotting the delta t between stand by and return time (minus some differential wait between LLQ and SBQ) to figure out the most efficient use of lightning lanes.

Anyway, half baked ideas and not fully formed strategies and limited data with less than a week of G+, but if the trends continue I could see some interesting touring strategies emerging where high demand (Guardians, Indy?) LLs get booked early in the day to avoid getting skunked, shorter stand-by lines are enjoyed throughout the morning, Food, shows, and rest are enjoyed in the busiest hours of late morning/early afternoon, and then attacking attractions in the evening with Genie+.


----------



## disneylover102

Anyone know what happens if an individual LL breaks down during your window? Can you use it on any LL ride? I think I remember all ears saying that at WDW you could book a 3rd one if that happens? I’m wondering if for example I see that RSR is broken down and I book a LL for it and it’s still broken down when the time comes, maybe I can use it later on RSR, WS, or ROTR but then also book a LL separately for WS and ROTR. Lol does that make sense?

Also what exactly has been happening for normal genie+ rides when a ride goes down? I’m thinking it might be possible to take advantage of breakdowns for the smaller rides to re-ride the bigger rides. For example at this time of year Grizzly River Run is very, very slow. Say for example I see that it’s down and book G+ for it and then that converts to a pass I can use on other G+ rides instead such as Guardians.

Lol I’m kinda bitter that Genie+ only lets you on each ride once per day and I’m just trying to find workarounds I guess


----------



## disneyseniors

laugard said:


> Was in the park approximately 9 to 4:30 so decided to try Genie+ and found it completely worth it...at least for today. We used it for eight rides, four in DL and four in DCA, though could've done more if we'd wanted. We walked on nearly all the rides and the longest we waited was Indy, which was walk-on to the inside portion of the line and then 12 min to the car. This is one of the few where because of where it merges, it can still take a little time once inside if it's busy. (Stand-by time was 50 min and based on experience with the line, I don't think that was inflated. If anything, many times looked underestimated.) But we skipped the entire long, outdoor line. The others were either walk-on or 2 to 5 min wait, max.
> 
> Over 7.5 hours, we sat four times to eat something, picked up the gingerbread men we'd mobile ordered, and rode 16 rides, including IASW, Indy, Haunted Mansion, Monsters, Soarin', Toy Story Midway Mania, Incredicoaster and Radiator Springs Racers (single rider). Plus several dark rides including Peter Pan and Snow White. We skipped Guardians and a few others as we've ridden them a lot recently. And that was with us not rushing at all. We also never crossed back to DL after hopping to DCA (normally we do.)
> 
> For our needs (Magic Key holders, but ones who live 40-ish min away so don't do drop-in or weekday visits), Genie+ was a success today. We got to ride a few we'd skipped the last few visits due to the lines, which was exactly what we wanted.
> 
> Do I wish we still had free Maxpass? Yes. Would I add Genie+ if I were visiting all the time? No, likely not as it would add up. But as key holders who probably will go less than once a month once the holidays have passed (we were on pace for 6x for the year with our Flex), I can definitely see Genie+ making sense occasionally. While we were fine skipping certain rides during these last few busy months—knowing we could ride another time—it was was really great not having to do that today, and avoiding long lines in general (especially for Haunted Mansion and IASW, given the holiday-specific overlays.)
> 
> I'll add that we could've ridden Indy and HM early without Genie+ while lines were still relatively short. But we didn't want to try and cram as much as we could in before 10 today. And weren't in the mood for either attraction yet either. So we concentrated on Fantasyland and breakfast that first hour instead. (Peter Pan was the longest line we waited in all day at 25.) We also didn't leave time for the parade as we'd already seen it.



Wow, it sounds like genie + really works for DL.  You seem to have gotten alot done in a day!  
I think that WDW and DL are two different animals because it definitely is not liked much at WDW.  The reviews have been horrible for genie+ at WDW.
I wonder what the big difference is between them?  I know the size of the parks is different, but Why does it work for most of DL guests?  Just wondering?


----------



## starlite_

disneyseniors said:


> Wow, it sounds like genie + really works for DL.  You seem to have gotten alot done in a day!
> I think that WDW and DL are two different animals because it definitely is not liked much at WDW.  The reviews have been horrible for genie+ at WDW.
> I wonder what the big difference is between them?  I know the size of the parks is different, but Why does it work for most of DL guests?  Just wondering?


DL guests are used to maxpass and genie+ is almost that with more restrictions. So it's easier for ppl to adapt.


----------



## disneyseniors

starlite_ said:


> DL guests are used to maxpass and genie+ is almost that with more restrictions. So it's easier for ppl to adapt.



I think you are right about Maxpass.  I only heard positive things about it when reading these sites.  It must have been a great way to do it.
I wonder why WDW didn't try a version of maxpass instead of genie?  
It's just so crazy that it's hated by so many at WDW and liked by most in DL?
Oh well, I guess we will find out for ourselves this Spring.  thanks for answering.


----------



## GBRforWDW

disneyseniors said:


> It's just so crazy that it's hated by so many at WDW and liked by most in DL?


Another part is that in most of the parks at WDW, they have every ride and show included, but few of the rides/shows actually need it - meaning it's quantity instead of quality, while many of the Genie+ passes available in DL/DCA are actually worthwhile. Quality over quantity.



Parks are also open longer.  10-12 hour days at WDW vs 14-16 hour days at DL allowing passes to last longer.

DL also sees a bigger local crowds who are less likely to spend the upcharge amount or come later in the day, so more availability throughout the day for those that did purchase.


----------



## mommabo

ironband74 said:


> Watching how the weekend shaped up via the app, and curious to continue monitoring as the holiday rush intensifies, I've been having thoughts as a chronic min/maxer.
> 
> Seems like many attractions, at least for the moment, are not "selling out" by evening. I suspect that this is because most people who get Genie+ use it as quickly as possible and with the one ride per attraction limitation in play, by evening many folks have already used their rides. Many of the lightning lanes seem to have almost immediate LL return times in the evening. Of course some have very short stand-by waits which would make Genie + superfluous, but some are 30-45 minutes or more at certain times with a nearly immediate return time for Genie+
> 
> It seems like none of the DL attractions on Genie+ are selling out. Guardians seems to be the main one that runs out over at DCA, though to be fair I didn't monitor DCA quite like I did DL.
> 
> This present an interesting puzzle for the min/maxer - Instead of steadily booking G+LL, it may behoove us to hold off on certain attractions which are likely to have a substantial wait in the evening, but a near immediate return time via LL. Using time during the day to do other stuff and/or judiciously ride stand-by and saving G+LL rides for the evening may prove to be an efficient use of time.
> 
> Under Maxpass, without any restriction of how many times one could book for a certain attraction, we didn't really try to optimize. We wanted to 1. Get them before they were gone and 2. Get them as soon as possible because the sooner we got one the sooner we could book another. This often meant that we'd happily book a pass to skip a 20 minute line, because once we scanned in we could book another one, so nothing was really lost, even if we only saved 10 minutes total by doing so. Now, booking early has a cost. I could now wait in that 20 minute line stand by, and book that ride later on when it would save more time, whereas if I booked the time now, later on when the wait was longer I would have to ride stand-by if I wanted to go a second time. I suspect that I will start plotting the delta t between stand by and return time (minus some differential wait between LLQ and SBQ) to figure out the most efficient use of lightning lanes.
> 
> Anyway, half baked ideas and not fully formed strategies and limited data with less than a week of G+, but if the trends continue I could see some interesting touring strategies emerging where high demand (Guardians, Indy?) LLs get booked early in the day to avoid getting skunked, shorter stand-by lines are enjoyed throughout the morning, Food, shows, and rest are enjoyed in the busiest hours of late morning/early afternoon, and then attacking attractions in the evening with Genie+.


I agree with your analysis so far.  On the 9th, day 1 of Genie+ actually working as it should, we were faced with choices you mentioned, do we grab now or wait, but possibly get skunked? Plus, I was initially caught off guard with the immediate return times since even MaxPass had us wait a bit.  We went with maximizing rides and minimizing walking.  For us this worked best because we didn’t plan to arrive until 1pm and as the day wore on the 30k steps we took on the 8th we’re catching up.

My children are adults now, but still enjoy the occasional Disney visit even after nearly 20 years of Disney finding its way into our vacation plans via either the parks or cruises.  They are well versed in rope drop/nap/back for the evening armed with collected FP strategies, they still talk about mom’s commando trip to WDW in 2007 with  the Christmas crowds and never more than a 15 minute wait for anything.  Back then FP were free and return times treated more like suggestions, we followed the sage advice of Tour Guide Mike (anyone remember him?) and my kids not only never doubted the plan, they learned to make their own.  We’ve adjusted to the various incarnations of FP both at WDW & DL, and by far the favorite was MaxPass.

Genie+ is not MaxPass, but given the crowds Disney is now facing, I think it’s a reasonable compromise (at DL, WDW is another beast). I found I miss the ability to ride an attraction more than once, but I can see where it might help ensure more availability to more people.  As for our touring style with Genie+ in place, I can definitely see some options emerging.  With just myself and husband or just one of the kids, we might be more aggressive in the morning and then strategize for LL evening returns, a version of the commando style of years past though slightly slower as we have become slightly slower in our age.  But with our whole family and their significant others who most definitely are not accustomed to hitting Disney hard and want a more relaxed vacation, I really think this is where Genie+ might shine for us.  Mid morning arrival, see what Genie+ rides are available, go with the flow, grab lunch or dinner at off peak hours, park hop (or not) depending on what Genie+ is serving up and how we feel.  And for the ILL like ROTR, we will likely pay for it once so the whole group can have that shared experience, possibly RSR for an evening ride only, and probably only doing Web-slingers via standby for those who are interested. 

Will both Genie+ and ILL get pricey? For our group of 8, you betcha!! Will we do it frequently? Not a chance, each visit will be evaluated on case by case basis.  Its not lost on me that we are in a place of our lives where we can consider these options, so it’s not something everyone can do, but we’ve been in the pinching pennies to make this happen as well.  Despite our 20 year relationship with Disney it has not always been consistent.  Most visits were conceived when I noticed special pricing or taking advantage of off site hotels or packing our own food to be eaten/prepared at hotel with kitchen, etc.  While I’d love the convenience of staying at GC, we will continue  stay across the street on Harbor and use the money we save to cover our Genie+ purchases.  It’s a choice that works for us.


----------



## JC1984

mommabo said:


> I found I miss the ability to ride an attraction more than once, but I can see where it might help ensure more availability to more people.


I kind of like this. It will force me to enjoy things maybe I haven’t enjoyed in years because I have so focused on the best attractions. And you could always go standby on the LL attractions if your willing to wait standby.  There are so many cool hidden gems at DL wether it be attractions we haven’t ridden in years or an area of the park we have failed to stop and notice the beauty in.


----------



## mommabo

disneyseniors said:


> I think you are right about Maxpass.  I only heard positive things about it when reading these sites.  It must have been a great way to do it.
> I wonder why WDW didn't try a version of maxpass instead of genie?
> It's just so crazy that it's hated by so many at WDW and liked by most in DL?
> Oh well, I guess we will find out for ourselves this Spring.  thanks for answering.



Genie+ IS MaxPass albeit a watered down version.

I think the reason it works better at DL is simply the fact there are more attractions in one place (yes, DCA & DL are essentially one place since they are so close) that provides so many more options to book your next LL pass.


----------



## dieumeye

ironband74 said:


> Watching how the weekend shaped up via the app, and curious to continue monitoring as the holiday rush intensifies, I've been having thoughts as a chronic min/maxer.
> 
> Seems like many attractions, at least for the moment, are not "selling out" by evening. I suspect that this is because most people who get Genie+ use it as quickly as possible and with the one ride per attraction limitation in play, by evening many folks have already used their rides. Many of the lightning lanes seem to have almost immediate LL return times in the evening. Of course some have very short stand-by waits which would make Genie + superfluous, but some are 30-45 minutes or more at certain times with a nearly immediate return time for Genie+
> 
> It seems like none of the DL attractions on Genie+ are selling out. Guardians seems to be the main one that runs out over at DCA, though to be fair I didn't monitor DCA quite like I did DL.
> 
> This present an interesting puzzle for the min/maxer - Instead of steadily booking G+LL, it may behoove us to hold off on certain attractions which are likely to have a substantial wait in the evening, but a near immediate return time via LL. Using time during the day to do other stuff and/or judiciously ride stand-by and saving G+LL rides for the evening may prove to be an efficient use of time.
> 
> Under Maxpass, without any restriction of how many times one could book for a certain attraction, we didn't really try to optimize. We wanted to 1. Get them before they were gone and 2. Get them as soon as possible because the sooner we got one the sooner we could book another. This often meant that we'd happily book a pass to skip a 20 minute line, because once we scanned in we could book another one, so nothing was really lost, even if we only saved 10 minutes total by doing so. Now, booking early has a cost. I could now wait in that 20 minute line stand by, and book that ride later on when it would save more time, whereas if I booked the time now, later on when the wait was longer I would have to ride stand-by if I wanted to go a second time. I suspect that I will start plotting the delta t between stand by and return time (minus some differential wait between LLQ and SBQ) to figure out the most efficient use of lightning lanes.
> 
> Anyway, half baked ideas and not fully formed strategies and limited data with less than a week of G+, but if the trends continue I could see some interesting touring strategies emerging where high demand (Guardians, Indy?) LLs get booked early in the day to avoid getting skunked, shorter stand-by lines are enjoyed throughout the morning, Food, shows, and rest are enjoyed in the busiest hours of late morning/early afternoon, and then attacking attractions in the evening with Genie+.


I thought about this a lot when I was at the park last Saturday. In the old days I had MaxPass on my AP and would consider myself a MaxPass expert. Having to pay daily (and more for the ILL$) and with the one ride restriction, Genie+ definitely feels different than MaxPass in terms of strategy.

A lot of it comes down to what your goals are and what you value in the experience.

If your goal is to ride every ride (or many of them) one time, you’ll favor a different strategy than someone who is attempting to ride as many rides as many times as possible.

And for me, I am someone who values being able to do what I want when I want. That’s more valuable to me than any perceived “savings” vs the length of the standby line. For example, I was happy to use my LL to walk onto Space Mountain even though the standby line was only 15-20 minutes. I’d much prefer that instead of, say, booking a LL that requires me to come back in an hour even if I’m getting more “savings“ because the standby line is 60 minutes at that point.

This is why I was really happy to see that many attractions had an immediate return time, or at least a return time within 5-10 minutes. Again, me personally, I value the immediate return, regardless of how short the standby line is.

Saturday morning at 8:00am I did Buzz, Space Mtn, Haunted Mansion, Matterhorn, Small World, Smugglers Run, and Rise. I walked off Rise at 10:20 am. (I took a leisurely pace, there was a snack break in there and some inefficient ride choice since Matterhorn, Big Thunder, & Indy were all down!) In each case I used the LL, and practically walked onto each ride. I did save at least some time over the standby line for each ride with the exception of Buzz and Small World (both standby walk ons).

The funny thing is though, I could’ve had a very similar morning without Genie+. Sure, my waits would’ve been a little longer at each attraction. And Smugglers Run and Rise both had long lines when I rode them, but swap them for Pirates and Star Tours, and you could’ve had just as good of a morning as I did without buying Genie+.

At 2:00 I was ready to leave. Incredicoaster had an immediate return time, so I could’ve done that. But Soarin’ return time was an hour out, and Midway Midway was two hours out. I wasn’t interested in staying that long.

So, yeah, Genie+ hits different than MaxPass. It’s definitely not something I’m going to buy every visit. But I’ll buy it occasionally. And this, I assume, is probably what the Disney folks have intended.

As long as return times remain fairly immediate for a good portion of rides for a good portion of the day, I think it’s a pretty good value. However, if it starts to get very popular and more difficult to get immediate LL return times, it’s going to be less valuable, at least to me.

Just some more half formed food for thought and ramblings!


----------



## MonocularVision

GBRforWDW said:


> DL also sees a bigger local crowds who are less likely to spend the upcharge amount or come later in the day, so more availability throughout the day for those that did purchase.



I think this is the key difference and what I am most afraid of. If Disney offers a “buy it once” option for MK’ers, I think the “mostly immediate return times” at DL would disappear.


----------



## bcassidy

JC1984 said:


> Correct it is a G+ perk


I think you are correct that it’s a Genie + feature .


----------



## dieumeye

MonocularVision said:


> I think this is the key difference and what I am most afraid of. If Disney offers a “buy it once” option for MK’ers, I think the “mostly immediate return times” at DL would disappear.


Are locals less likely to spend the upcharge? Probably. At least I know I am not going to spend $20+ each time I visit every week.

BUT lots of locals paid $125 to add MaxPass to their AP, so I don’t think it’s correct to assume that locals are totally unlikely to pay for the up charge. $125 is equivalent to SIX purchases of Genie+ throughout the year.

That’s a decent amount of money that any local former AP-now-Keyholder could theoretically be willing to spend. Besides, once you’ve paid off your Key, every visit is “free”, right, so what’s another 20 bucks?

If Genie+ is like other new things that Disney introduces, chances are it will be great in the beginning when not many people know about it, but then will become overburdened once it starts to become popular and heavily used.


----------



## MonocularVision

dieumeye said:


> Are locals less likely to spend the upcharge? Probably. At least I know I am not going to spend $20+ each time I visit every week.
> 
> BUT lots of locals paid $125 to add MaxPass to their AP, so I don’t think it’s correct to assume that locals are totally unlikely to pay for the up charge. $125 is equivalent to SIX purchases of Genie+ throughout the year.
> 
> That’s a decent amount of money that any local former AP-now-Keyholder could theoretically be willing to spend. Besides, once you’ve paid off your Key, every visit is “free”, right, so what’s another 20 bucks?
> 
> If Genie+ is like other new things that Disney introduces, chances are it will be great in the beginning when not many people know about it, but then will become overburdened once it starts to become popular and heavily used.



I think you and I agree. If they add it for MK’ers, many will purchase it because their actual cost per visit will be pretty low. And adding all of those folks to the pool means the slots will go much faster pushing out the return time.

Better to keep the price the same for everyone so it can remain high-value.


----------



## mommabo

MonocularVision said:


> I think you and I agree. If they add it for MK’ers, many will purchase it because their actual cost per visit will be pretty low. And adding all of those folks to the pool means the slots will go much faster pushing out the return time.
> 
> Better to keep the price the same for everyone so it can remain high-value.


I agree, don’t offer as an add-on to MK passes.  And I say this as a magic key holder this year.


----------



## ThistleMae

I was confused about the return time for Genie+ because it gave me a return time under the tips board but I had to go to my day to get the actual time I was supposed to be there.  The guest service people were very helpful in answering questions.


----------



## starlite_

mommabo said:


> I agree, don’t offer as an add-on to MK passes.  And I say this as a magic key holder this year.


Agree too, and I think this is the reason they are allowing to only book things after park entrance too. To keep things fair and equal between MK'ers and all other guests.


----------



## thenicefamily

Loving all the valuable info on this thread! Thanks all.

A Genie+ feature that I haven't seen mentioned often though is the PhotoPass. Have the opportunities for photos throughout the parks increased? i.e. as in the "before times"


----------



## gelatoni fan

thenicefamily said:


> Loving all the valuable info on this thread! Thanks all.
> 
> A Genie+ feature that I haven't seen mentioned often though is the PhotoPass. Have the opportunities for photos throughout the parks increased? i.e. as in the "before times"



I last visited during the Halloween season pre-Genie+ so it may be a bit out of date but PhotoPass photographers seemed to be around longer than in the before times. So it's easier to find photographers still working places like train station, castle, pumpkin/christmas tree/etc rather than be there and just happened to miss the photographer. But when you subtract the photopass photographers that would normally be with characters, there's fewer PhotoPass overall.


----------



## NotTheBatesMotel

Re: Why WDW-er’s seem to hate Genie+: We are AP holders at WDW. I can’t speak for others but I can share my experience. We tried Genie+ in early November right after it rolled out at WDW. My family didn’t like it overall because the headliners (not the ILL’s but rides like Big Thunder) had return times several hours in the future and the smaller rides weren’t much better. Many of us used to be wizards with the FastPass+ system “refresh” method and made that work way better than Genie+.

There was no such thing as immediate return times with Genie+ at WDW when I went. Even rides like Magic Carpets didn’t have an immediate return time. We’re trying Genie+ at DL tomorrow and I’m super interested to see how it goes compared to WDW. No doubt we will all adjust in the future no matter what.  It was just a huge change from a much more effective (not to mention free) touring strategy that many WDW veterans were used to.


----------



## GBRforWDW

NotTheBatesMotel said:


> Re: Why WDW-er’s seem to hate Genie+: We are AP holders at WDW. I can’t speak for others but I can share my experience. We tried Genie+ in early November right after it rolled out at WDW. My family didn’t like it overall because the headliners (not the ILL’s but rides like Big Thunder) had return times several hours in the future and the smaller rides weren’t much better. Many of us used to be wizards with the FastPass+ system “refresh” method and made that work way better than Genie+.
> 
> There was no such thing as immediate return times with Genie+ at WDW when I went. Even rides like Magic Carpets didn’t have an immediate return time. We’re trying Genie+ at DL tomorrow and I’m super interested to see how it goes compared to WDW. No doubt we will all adjust in the future no matter what.  It was just a huge change from a much more effective (not to mention free) touring strategy that many WDW veterans were used to.


Good luck at DL!  I was on the tip board last night at 6pm PT and saw either immediate availability or within an hour return for nearly every ride, so I think you'll love using G+


----------



## WebmasterMaryJo

Making this thread a sticky thread at the top of the forum


----------



## Wesley815

NotTheBatesMotel said:


> We’re trying Genie+ at DL tomorrow and I’m super interested to see how it goes compared to WDW.


Any feedback? Looking forward to how your day went, esp with someone who can compare G+ at DL vs. WDW. Hope you had fun!!


----------



## e_yerger

I've pretty much written off G+ for WDW, but after booking a trip to DL I think it may be worth it... We're going the end of January (when crowds are predicted to be really low, Wed - Sat park days). I'm thinking we may buy G+ just for Fri & Sat, or just Sat depending on crowds.


----------



## MonocularVision

Treat yourself today and read this entire Twitter thread of a guy allowing Genie to guide his DCA experience. 

I am not joking. Go read this now. It will make your day.


----------



## mdmost

MonocularVision said:


> Treat yourself today and read this entire Twitter thread of a guy allowing Genie to guide his DCA experience.
> 
> I am not joking. Go read this now. It will make your day.



There are some great videos on YouTube of WDW fan  sites doing this at the 4 parks there. They were pretty hilarious, especially Epcot, because they had the person going from one end of the parks to the other repeatedly. Nothing made much sense. The only one that did well was Animal Kingdom and I believe that more because there's just not as many options in AK.


----------



## NotTheBatesMotel

Wesley815 said:


> Any feedback? Looking forward to how your day went, esp with someone who can compare G+ at DL vs. WDW. Hope you had fun!!


We loved Genie+ at Disneyland and DCA! It was so worth the $. Return times were nearly immediate every time we used it. It was night and day difference compared to WDW's return times. My only complaint with it is that Photopass photographers were much more scarce in the CA parks compared to FL parks. I didn't see a single Photopass photographer at Disneyland which I assumed was due to the rain, but when we went back that night (once it stopped raining) we still didn't see any. We saw a couple at DCA. Even with the lack of photographers I think it's worth the $ with the quick return times.


----------



## avalon451

Is RotR running out of LL+ at opening? I haven’t seen them available the last few days when checking from home.


----------



## MonocularVision

avalon451 said:


> Is RotR running out of LL+ at opening? I haven’t seen them available the last few days when checking from home.


Sure looks like it.

Since we arrived Friday I have noticed return times for Genie+ inching up each day. Looks like the mix of tourists vs locals is meaning a higher percentage of folks getting Genie+ and ILL$


----------



## ironband74

I see that ILL$ for RSR and WS are now $18.  How long before they realize they can charge $50 a pop for ROTR and start doing so?


----------



## dina444444

ironband74 said:


> I see that ILL$ for RSR and WS are now $18.  How long before they realize they can charge $50 a pop for ROTR and start doing so?


I just came in here to post this and as of 5pm passes are still available for both rides. Only ROTR has run out which is understandable.


----------



## MonocularVision

ironband74 said:


> I see that ILL$ for RSR and WS are now $18.  How long before they realize they can charge $50 a pop for ROTR and start doing so?



I hope they do. The more the charge, the fewer folks will buy it and the less impact to standby.


----------



## EmJ

I have a Genie-adjacent question, so I hope that is okay but it feels too small for its own post. 

I've read through this whole thread and see a lot of references to the standby line for Rise. Are boarding groups for Rise a thing of the past now? Or are there now functionally three ways of getting on (boarding group, standby, LL)?


----------



## MonocularVision

EmJ said:


> I have a Genie-adjacent question, so I hope that is okay but it feels too small for its own post.
> 
> I've read through this whole thread and see a lot of references to the standby line for Rise. Are boarding groups for Rise a thing of the past now? Or are there now functionally three ways of getting on (boarding group, standby, LL)?



They still have an option to turn it in but I don’t believe Boarding Groups have been enabled at all since switching to standby. At this point your realistic options are standby and ILL$.


----------



## EmJ

MonocularVision said:


> They still have an option to turn it in but I don’t believe Boarding Groups have been enabled at all since switching to standby. At this point your realistic options are standby and ILL$.


Huh. My how things change. I've been largely absent from the board since DL closed in March 2020 and it became apparent we weren't going to be visiting for some time. Now we are rebooked for June 2022 and it's like starting all over... but come hell or high water, we will be there this summer! Thanks for the clarification.


----------



## mich311e

Can someone clarify something for me - If I book an attraction that's 3 hours out I can book my next attraction in 2 hours? Is that right?


----------



## DLRExpert

mich311e said:


> Can someone clarify something for me - If I book an attraction that's 3 hours out I can book my next attraction in 2 hours? Is that right?


yes


----------



## DC in DC

MonocularVision said:


> Sure looks like it.
> 
> Since we arrived Friday I have noticed return times for Genie+ inching up each day. Looks like the mix of tourists vs locals is meaning a higher percentage of folks getting Genie+ and ILL$



so does this mean we need to get there for rope drop just to get a ILL for ROTR?


----------



## MonocularVision

DC in DC said:


> so does this mean we need to get there for rope drop just to get a ILL for ROTR?


I wish I could say. We haven’t done ILL$ for any ride this trip so I haven’t been paying much attention to it.


----------



## MonocularVision

Since our first day on Saturday, the return times for LL’s have been inching up every day. It has also gotten much busier. Looks like the busy tourist Christmas season is getting into full swing.


----------



## MonocularVision

My first real tip!

Appears that LL have the same cancellation properly of FP/MP. I have been refreshing the times and notice the time will occasionally show earlier and then return to the later time.

For refreshing, you want to tap into booking the experience and then go back. On this main list of you tap the top of your phone, it should scroll to the top. You can pull to refresh and then _the app automatically scrolls back to the last ride you went into_ so you can check the refreshed time. This is in an iPhone, can’t speak to the Android version.


----------



## GabrielMom

I purchased a 1pm rise ILL at 9am yesterday, Monday Dec 20, our busiest day of our trip.  I think I noticed they ran out around 1pm.  I did notice in the trip sometimes it would be sold out and then some might show up later.  This happened with regular genie plus LL also.  At 2pm LL may be 2 to 3 hours out (on a busy day), but later in day may show up for same time frame.  Refresh helps a little, not as much as it would with old fastpass at wdw.


----------



## DLRExpert

About the refresh trick aka Fiddle Faddle (via AllEars).
I have used LL and ILL for five days and here is what I found.

*This works on Android and iPhone (iOS)*
- Select the circle + at the bottom navigation bar
- Select View Genie Day and Tip Board
- Select Tip Board at the Top of the Screen
- Select Edit Selections to the LL or ILL Attraction you want most. For example, I select the ILL (say Rise) and the top 2 LL attractions I want to experience. This way those LL and ILL selections are at the top of the Tip Board screen. As I start to either buy ILL or use LL, I will remove the attraction from the Edit Selection and add another LL attraction. You are basically trying to keep your LL at the top of the Tip Board so you do not have to scroll down.
- If a LL or ILL return time does not meet the earlier time you need or want, PULL DOWN on this screen to refresh.
- HOWEVER, if a ILL is sold out, it is RARE that you will see it come back at all.

*Example Scenario*
- Got a Guardians LL for 1pm-2pm, was ready to get in line at 1pm.
- The next LL attractions that interested me were Monsters Inc and Soarin (top priority). So I put those two at the top of the Tip Board via Edit Selections.
- I scanned the Guardians LL and went to the app for my next LL. Monsters was an hour out, Soarin was two hours out.
- I refreshed multiple times to see if I can get an earlier time. After the 6th refresh, Monsters came down to 130pm, Soarin was still two hours away, So I went with Monsters.
- I get off Guardians, go to Monsters and scan my LL in.
- Now I remove Monsters from my Edit Selections and add Grizzly with Soarin.
- I refresh a few time and now Soarin is at 2pm and Grizzly is ride now. I select Soarin.
and then remove it from my Edit Selections.
- As soon as I scan LL for Soarin I get Grizzly which is a ride now. Get off Soarin, go to Grizzly.

*PLEASE be sure to CANCEL any LLs you may not be using as it may help other guests that are doing the LL refresh trick.*


----------



## mich311e

We were there on 12/22, 23, 24, 25, and 26. (Partial days on 12/22 & 26). We got Genie+ for our 3 full days.  

I couldn't figure out how to cancel a LL on Android. Also, we had a LL for Incredicoaster but it went down so it converted to a multi-attraction. The multi-pass never went away and stayed on our phones all day. (My son has an iPhone, we all share the same account)

We also had an issue with holding a LL for Indiana Jones but the ride went down. It never converted to a multi-attraction LL so we were stuck not able to pick a new one or ride something in it's place. But it was the busiest part of the day so we didn't want to stand in line for 30-40 for Pirates or Jungle Cruise (we rode it before our IJ return time). So we ended up walking to Star Tours only to be told that we should cancel the LL to book the next one. We went back and hung out by Indie and it came back up at the end of our return time. 

Another thing I noticed was I picked a LL for Incredicoaster at a time it was down, the return time was about 90 minutes away. We went and did something else and the next time I looked our return time had been extended by 30 more minutes, I guess because it was down.

We didn't go super hard on trying to get multiple attractions each day and having LL was handy. It was nice to get a short return time for Space Mountain and Haunted Mansion after being at DCA for most of the day. We had a return time for Matterhorn one night at 10:30 but they had closed LL return for the night already.  

We were previously pros at using both paper fast pass and Max Pass. We felt that Genie was clunky and difficult to use. I didn't use any of the extra features like the Genie suggesting things for us to do. And at least twice I went through all the motions of reserving the next LL attraction and the next time I looked it wasn't there. I swear I did all the steps and saw our confirmed return time, who knows what happened. 

We did not do any ILL during our trip. We waited 2 hours for ROTR one night, it had broken down but thankfully we stayed in line (it was raining so were just fine with just being dry for a bit). The second time we rode ROTR it was during the mid-morning and the estimated wait time was 1.5 hours and we waited 1 hour 45 minutes. We rode RSR once, it was quoted for 85 minutes but we waited 1 hour 45 minutes. I understand ROTR being on the ILL and if someone only had one day I would definitely suggest they pay the $20 to guarantee a ride.  But I do miss RSR being on the fast pass/Max Pass option. So we rode it once in 5 days instead of 2 or 3. We didn't ride Web Slingers at all, we rode it once in October during the OBB but we wouldn't spend an hour waiting for it, we just didn't enjoy it THAT much.


----------



## confetti

BadPinkTink said:


> Correct.
> 
> Buy tickets
> Make Park Reservation
> Use Free Genie+ to input rides, attractions and dining preferences before your visit
> For single or multi day one park per day or single or multi day park hopper tickets you can buy Genie+ in advance for length of ticket
> OR
> For single or multi day one park per day or single or multi day park hopper tickets you can buy Genie+ at midnight for day off  park visit, one day at a time




I'm trying to understand this part.  I have 4 day hoppers that we bought in the summer with the plan to visit in September but we had to cancel.  Now we're going in late February.  So on the first day of my visit, I have to wait until I'm scanned into the park to add Genie+ and then I can book things?  No 7 am option to grab a LL for Rise?  But I can buy Genie+ for all 4 days in one step?  So the rest of my days at the park, I can make my reservations at 7 am and not have to wait until I'm in the park, correct?  I hope this is true, otherwise I'm screwed out of getting a Rise LL since those seems to be selling out before park opening.


----------



## dina444444

confetti said:


> I'm trying to understand this part.  I have 4 day hoppers that we bought in the summer with the plan to visit in September but we had to cancel.  Now we're going in late February.  So on the first day of my visit, I have to wait until I'm scanned into the park to add Genie+ and then I can book things?  No 7 am option to grab a LL for Rise?  But I can buy Genie+ for all 4 days in one step?  So the rest of my days at the park, I can make my reservations at 7 am and not have to wait until I'm in the park, correct?  I hope this is true, otherwise I'm screwed out of getting a Rise LL since those seems to be selling out before park opening.


That’s only at WDW. At DL everyone has to scan into one of the parks before they can start making reservations of any kind.


----------



## confetti

dina444444 said:


> That’s only at WDW. At DL everyone has to scan into one of the parks before they can start making reservations of any kind.



Ah, thank you!!  The info is confusing since it works differently in each park.  I must have misread the 7 am info and thought it was Disneyland.  Ok, so everyone is on the same page, can't book anything until you scan into the park, just like Maxpass worked.


----------



## Cindylieu

MonocularVision said:


> I wish I could say. We haven’t done ILL$ for any ride this trip so I haven’t been paying much attention to it.



I am not expert yet, but it looks to me like at DL/DCA you must have scanned your ticket to be able to claim LL or ILL.  So, yes, you must be at rope drop to get a RotR ILL for your day, since they are all going fast at Rope Drop.


----------



## disneylover102

Question: can you hold an ILL for 2 rides at once? For example if I’m starting at DCA and get an ILL for WS and notice they are going fast for ROTR can I also book one for that? Or can you only hold one ILL at a time?


----------



## DLRExpert

disneylover102 said:


> Question: can you hold an ILL for 2 rides at once? For example if I’m starting at DCA and get an ILL for WS and notice they are going fast for ROTR can I also book one for that? Or can you only hold one ILL at a time?


You can hold two at a time.


----------



## disneylover102

Has anyone had success booking the same ride twice? I know the official rule is that you can’t but I just watched a vlog where they said it was letting them book Incredicoaster a second time but they didn’t because they weren’t interested. If I can book the same ride multiple times that changes EVERYTHING


----------



## mel2014

disneylover102 said:


> Has anyone had success booking the same ride twice? I know the official rule is that you can’t but I just watched a vlog where they said it was letting them book Incredicoaster a second time but they didn’t because they weren’t interested. If I can book the same ride multiple times that changes EVERYTHING



In my observation, Incredicoaster has been down frequently since reopening. It's possible they booked it, had it break down during their window and it converted to a multiple experience pass. It's my understanding that if happens, even if you later use that pass on the original ride, you can book that ride again.


----------



## disneylover102

So when you’ve already ridden a ride can you just see the next available return time but then when you actually try to book it you get an error message since you’ve already ridden it?


----------



## sosoready

Yes, it lets you choose the experience, and then lists all the members in your party as not eligible, either for booking an LL too early, or on something you've already done. I wanted to buy a 3rd ILL so kept checking, hoping for a fluke opportunity.

We had a party of 6. There were tons of times I would click on a return time and then it would automatically kick me to a later return. I don't know if that is because of my larger party size or someone else was just that much faster. It got a bit frustrating when I wasn't paying close attention or trying to minimize gaps. You definitely need to pay attention to the next screens.


----------



## CableKC

As I understand it, you can only use 1 Lightning Lane per ride per day.    If you arrive early, is it a better strategy to get onto short rides through the regular Stand-By and then use the Lightning Lane pass in the early afternoon ( Standby early and LL later )?

or

Vice versa ( early LL and Standby Later )?

I would think that if there would be shorter lines earlier in the day and then use the LL later?

Thoughts?


----------



## Belia

CableKC said:


> As I understand it, you can only use 1 Lightning Lane per ride per day.    If you arrive early, is it a better strategy to get onto short rides through the regular Stand-By and then use the Lightning Lane pass in the early afternoon ( Standby early and LL later )?
> 
> or
> 
> Vice versa ( early LL and Standby Later )?
> 
> I would think that if there would be shorter lines earlier in the day and then use the LL later?
> 
> Thoughts?



This is the same exact thought that's been pinging around my brain as I start to plan our March / April trip.  We've never been to DLR and never used Max Pass.  If we could do return trips on rides it would be so easy- just snag those LLs for whatever you can.  But limiting to one per day.... GAK.  

I suspect we're going to just do SB at the beginning of the day to leave the option for re-rides w/ LL later, but then never get to it and Genie+ will turn out to be a giant waste of money.  

So far all I have decided for sure is to use them right away on the rides that I'm pretty certain we will NOT want to re-ride.  Like, I'm the only coaster fan so I'm pretty sure nobody will be interested in re-riding Space and Matterhorn.  But after that... I got nothin'


----------



## CableKC

Belia said:


> This is the same exact thought that's been pinging around my brain as I start to plan our March / April trip.  We've never been to DLR and never used Max Pass.  If we could do return trips on rides it would be so easy- just snag those LLs for whatever you can.  But limiting to one per day.... GAK.
> 
> I suspect we're going to just do SB at the beginning of the day to leave the option for re-rides w/ LL later, but then never get to it and Genie+ will turn out to be a giant waste of money.
> 
> So far all I have decided for sure is to use them right away on the rides that I'm pretty certain we will NOT want to re-ride.  Like, I'm the only coaster fan so I'm pretty sure nobody will be interested in re-riding Space and Matterhorn.  But after that... I got nothin'


I wonder if you are able to book and use the LL passes for the roller coaster rides and just go on it at night by yourself?

Does the Disney Cast Member check your name and whether you look like the person with the LL Pass?

I mean, if so......and you bought the Genie Plus pass for your family....why not use the LL Pass for those rides if they aren't using it?


----------



## Belia

CableKC said:


> I mean, if so......and you bought the Genie Plus pass for your family....why not use the LL Pass for those rides if they aren't using it?



Because won't that lock one (or more) of our party out of making a LL reservation for the rides we DO all want to ride together... and maybe repeat?  I have a feeling I'm going to have a hard enough time keeping track of all of this stuff, let alone trying to manage us as separate entities.  

Maybe if I were running around trying to ride stuff while they were out of the parks or eating or taking a break or something.  It's not worth it to me, though.  I like the old rickety coasters more than them, but I'm not obsessed.


----------



## disneylover102

I’ve found these last few days that you don’t want to start using LLs right away but you want to start using them soon so you get to use all the ones you want. Today what I did (I started at Disneyland) is I booked Soarin’ immediately after I scanned into the park around 8:15 (when the park officially opened at 9) and it automatically changed the time to 1-2 PM because of park hopping. I could book another LL 2 hours after that and that’s when I started getting and using all my LLs for the day. It also depends if you’re doing both parks and if you want to use LL on everything you can. I easily got everything I wanted today but that didn’t include Autopia, Roger Rabbit, Falcon (because of single rider), Matterhorn (also single rider), Small World (did that on Friday and don’t need to do it again), Grizzly, or Goofy’s.

Also something that I’ve been doing that definitely takes up time is purposely booking rides that are down hoping for a multiple experience LL. I successfully got one each from Grizzly, Goofy’s, and Roger Rabbit breaking down valid on any ride except Rise, Space, Indy, Matterhorn, WEB, Racers, or Toy Story. Because of this I did Guardians 4 times today


----------



## EmJ

Question on ILL and LL, and apologies if it's been asked.

When reserving a time, do you have to take the next available/soonest, or do you have the option to take times later in the day? For example, if we know we want to visit BTMR in the late afternoon, could I select 4:00, even if the next available is 10:00? I realize this could reduce the efficiency of selecting the next LL ride because I'd have to wait two hours, but I'm just wondering. Thanks!


----------



## dina444444

EmJ said:


> Question on ILL and LL, and apologies if it's been asked.
> 
> When reserving a time, do you have to take the next available/soonest, or do you have the option to take times later in the day? For example, if we know we want to visit BTMR in the late afternoon, could I select 4:00, even if the next available is 10:00? I realize this could reduce the efficiency of selecting the next LL ride because I'd have to wait two hours, but I'm just wondering. Thanks!


It’s the next available time for both ILL and LL at Disneyland. For WDW, it’s next available for LL, but for ILL you pick your hour window.


----------



## EmJ

dina444444 said:


> It’s the next available time for both ILL and LL at Disneyland. For WDW, it’s next available for LL, but for ILL you pick your hour window.


Thanks! That makes it a bit more complicated….


----------



## Wilcojoe

When you try and book a LL on a ride that is currently down, I am assuming you have to wait for your window and hope it’s still down?  For example if I book BTMR at 8:30 for a 9:00-10:00 window and it’s still down at 9:00, will it give me the multi ride LL at that moment or does it need to stay down the duration of my window?


----------



## dina444444

Wilcojoe said:


> When you try and book a LL on a ride that is currently down, I am assuming you have to wait for your window and hope it’s still down?  For example if I book BTMR at 8:30 for a 9:00-10:00 window and it’s still down at 9:00, will it give me the multi ride LL at that moment or does it need to stay down the duration of my window?


It will convert to a multi experience pass


----------



## Wilcojoe

dina444444 said:


> It will convert to a multi experience pass


Thanks.  What is the timeframe at which you can use that pass?  Is it the same window?


----------



## dina444444

multi experience will be good for the rest of the day.


----------



## Wilcojoe

dina444444 said:


> multi experience will be good for the rest of the day.


Great, thanks!


----------



## CableKC

To purchase and pay for the Genie Plus service and the Lightning Lane passes for RotR, Cars RS and Spiderman ride,  when's the earliest that you can buy it through the app?

Is it at 12:01am PDT on the day that your Ticket Reservation 

or

Is it when your ticket/QR Code is scanned at the main entrance when you physically enter the park?

It sounds like it's best to buy the Lightning Lane passes for RotR, Cars RS and the new Spiderman WebSlinger's ride AS SOON AS POSSIBLE ( since those appear to sell out quick ).  But I suspect I can't do that until get to the park.

For those special LL passes that you have to pay for, is it best to get one whenever it is available?  

or

Is it best to simply continually check and then buy it when your "desired" time appears?


----------



## CableKC

dina444444 said:


> I just came in here to post this and as of 5pm passes are still available for both rides. Only ROTR has run out which is understandable.


Any idea about when the RotR ILL$ tickets sold out?

Are we talking about morning time or early afternoon?

I'm trying to figure out what the best way to buy these tickets.   I suspect that I'd have to simply continually check throughout the day until the timeslot for when I want to go opens up?


----------



## CableKC

<< I'm bumping my earlier post >>



CableKC said:


> As I understand it, you can only use 1 Lightning Lane per ride per day.    If you arrive early, is it a better strategy to get onto short rides through the regular Stand-By and then use the Lightning Lane pass in the early afternoon ( Standby early and LL later )?
> 
> or
> 
> Vice versa ( early LL and Standby Later )?
> 
> I would think that if there would be shorter lines earlier in the day and then use the LL later?



Does anyone have any suggestions on when's the best time to use the LL passes for the day?

Assuming that you're going to be the park early in the morning, is it better to go on "Standby" during the morning and then monitor the availability of the LL passes and aim for early afternoon time slots?


----------



## senoragilbert

CableKC said:


> Any idea about when the RotR ILL$ tickets sold out?
> 
> Are we talking about morning time or early afternoon?
> 
> I'm trying to figure out what the best way to buy these tickets.   I suspect that I'd have to simply continually check throughout the day until the timeslot for when I want to go opens up?



From everything I've been reading (do check the latest posts on the "other" Genie + thread in pinned posts, there's a wealth of information from a recent visitor there), you can choose your ILL timeframes, but the G+ LLs are "next available."


----------



## Disney Vegas

I got the Genie+ , it claims that photo pass is included and yet even though it's linked to my tickets & my account, it's telling me I have to pay for each picture. So what is photo pass then???
 I have emailed them and they are not answering me, I tried to talk to them on the app and they're not answering me.



disneyland_is_magic said:


> Is Photo Pass included with Genie Plus? So let's say you plan to not get genie because it's cost prohibitive.
> 
> But one day you could have mom or dad spend the $20 to essentially get Photo Pass?  Is that right?
> 
> I would be interested in hearing about the experience of photo pass with Genie Plus and if it's a better "value" in CA or DL.   In CA you would get the RSR photo for example?


----------



## Disney Vegas

disneyland_is_magic said:


> Is Photo Pass included with Genie Plus? So let's say you plan to not get genie because it's cost prohibitive.
> 
> But one day you could have mom or dad spend the $20 to essentially get Photo Pass?  Is that right?
> 
> I would be interested in hearing about the experience of photo pass with Genie Plus and if it's a better "value" in CA or DL.   In CA you would get the RSR photo for example?




Each genie plus pass costs $20 and some people say the photo pass is included that any picture you've taken Disneyland is already paid for when you buy the genie plus, it's one of the benefits of paying that much money.

Yet the app is telling me it's not. But other people say it is? So I don't know


----------



## Disney Vegas

Disney Vegas said:


> Each genie plus pass costs $20 and some people say the photo pass is included that any picture you've taken Disneyland is already paid for when you buy the genie plus, it's one of the benefits of paying that much money.
> 
> Yet the app is telling me it's not. But other people say it is? So I don't know



I don't want to go and spend $40-$60 buying pictures that we took in front of the castle from the photographer, if it's already paid for and part of the "Genie +"


----------



## senoragilbert

Disney Vegas said:


> I don't want to go and spend $40-$60 buying pictures that we took in front of the castle from the photographer, if it's already paid for and part of the "Genie +"


Just to make sure I'm understanding your problem, these photos are from the day you had purchased Genie+?


----------



## jodybird511

Does anyone know if you can use a Disney Visa Rewards card to pay for Genie+/ILL?


----------



## hulamom

jodybird511 said:


> Does anyone know if you can use a Disney Visa Rewards card to pay for Genie+/ILL?



I actually asked this question, and it was answered on the Plan Disney Q&A.  I thought I was sending and email, but it was answered and posted.  Quick answer is "yes" you can use a Disney Visa redemption card to purchase Genie+ and ILL.  Here's the full answer:

“*Can I use my Disney Visa redemption card to purchase Genie+ or any of the Individual Lightening Lane attractions at Disneyland?”*

Hello Doreen! Welcome to planDisney and thank you so much for bringing this excellent question to us. It looks like your trip to Disneyland Resort is approaching quickly. I'm excited to hear you are planning on purchasing Disney Genie+ service.

I just recently returned from a trip to the parks and I was able to use Disney Genie+ for the first time. I am happy to report that when I was purchasing it in the app, I saw that you can use both gift cards and your Disney Visa redemption points card as options to pay for Disney Genie+.

Doreen, I would recommend adding your redemption points card number and information on your phone so you can quickly copy and paste the information into the payment field when you are in the parks and ready to purchase. Since it sounds like you are all about strategizing and maximizing your time in the parks, don't forget to use the mobile order feature. Our family saves so much time being able to order in the Disneyland app and skipping the lines!

I'm so excited for you to be heading to The Happiest Place on Earth soon! Please come see us again if you have any other questions for us here at planDisney. You've got a friend in us!


----------



## LizzyS

Just for clarification, I can buy Genie+ after midnight of my park day, correct?  And I can only purchase the Individual Lightning Lanes after scanning into the parks for the day?


----------



## ironband74

LizzyS said:


> Just for clarification, I can buy Genie+ after midnight of my park day, correct?  And I can only purchase the Individual Lightning Lanes after scanning into the parks for the day?


As I understand it, you have to be scanned into the park to purchase Genie+ at DLR.


----------



## mel2014

ironband74 said:


> As I understand it, you have to be scanned into the park to purchase Genie+ at DLR.



You can buy any time after midnight but can't make your first selection until you scan into a park.


----------



## Rich M

mel2014 said:


> You can buy any time after midnight but can't make your first selection until you scan into a park.



I believe that is at Disney World but is that the same at DL.  I know for Magic Key we had to be scanned in first so maybe that is the difference.


----------



## mel2014

Rich M said:


> I believe that is at Disney World but is that the same at DL.  I know for Magic Key we had to be scanned in first so maybe that is the difference.



You are right, I was mistaken -- the website says "Disney Genie+ service is available for purchase as an add-on with new ticket or vacation packages before your visit, or as a single-day purchase for existing ticket holders through the Disneyland app *on the day of your park visit after park entry*. " https://disneyland.disney.go.com/genie/ 

I could have sworn I read reports of people buying after midnight for DL.


----------



## smeg3030

mel2014 said:


> You are right, I was mistaken -- the website says "Disney Genie+ service is available for purchase as an add-on with new ticket or vacation packages before your visit, or as a single-day purchase for existing ticket holders through the Disneyland app *on the day of your park visit after park entry*. " https://disneyland.disney.go.com/genie/
> 
> I could have sworn I read reports of people buying after midnight for DL.


I think that was the case initially, early on.

But I just bought tickets today and was surprised to see genie+ addon as an option.


----------



## MonocularVision

smeg3030 said:


> I think that was the case initially, early on.
> 
> But I just bought tickets today and was surprised to see genie+ addon as an option.



The quote also says:



> Disney Genie+ service is available for purchase as an add-on with new ticket or vacation packages before your visit.


----------



## Winston Wolf

smeg3030 said:


> I think that was the case initially, early on.
> 
> But I just bought tickets today and was surprised to see genie+ addon as an option.



I'm about to buy tickets, but we'll only be getting a partial day on day 1.  From what I can tell, unlike WDW, since there's no way to make any reservations until you scan into the park, there's no real advantage to pre-purchasing G+ on your tickets, correct?  Just buy it with a couple clicks when you enter the park and start making reservations?


----------



## Obi-J Kenobi

Winston Wolf said:


> I'm about to buy tickets, but we'll only be getting a partial day on day 1.  From what I can tell, unlike WDW, since there's no way to make any reservations until you scan into the park, there's no real advantage to pre-purchasing G+ on your tickets, correct?  Just buy it with a couple clicks when you enter the park and start making reservations?


My understanding is that same as yours.


----------



## LizzyS

MonocularVision said:


> The quote also says:



Hmm, ok then.  I had seen a few folks probably a month or so ago saying that you could buy after midnight on the day of your park reservation, so that's why I asked.  I'd rather go ahead and purchase prior to entering the park, but if it's just a couple of clicks after entering, I suppose it makes little difference, anyway.


----------



## disneylover102

LizzyS said:


> Hmm, ok then.  I had seen a few folks probably a month or so ago saying that you could buy after midnight on the day of your park reservation, so that's why I asked.


That’s how it is at WDW. At DL you have to enter a park


----------



## LizzyS

disneylover102 said:


> That’s how it is at WDW. At DL you have to enter a park



Thank you, good to know!


----------



## Dug720

Question... (And I get that it might be in 19 pages somewhere, but...)

I know if you have hoppers you can (if you want - not debating "worth it" or not...we all have different line tolerance levels) book a LL for the other park first thing and it will auto-convert to the first available slot after 1pm.

Does it work the same way with ILL? Like if I'm starting in DL and know I'm hopping that afternoon, could I book Webslingers and/or RSR first thing and they will convert to the first slots after 1? Or do I have to wait until I hop to see if there are any slots left?


----------



## disneylover102

Dug720 said:


> Question... (And I get that it might be in 19 pages somewhere, but...)
> 
> I know if you have hoppers you can (if you want - not debating "worth it" or not...we all have different line tolerance levels) book a LL for the other park first thing and it will auto-convert to the first available slot after 1pm.
> 
> Does it work the same way with ILL? Like if I'm starting in DL and know I'm hopping that afternoon, could I book Webslingers and/or RSR first thing and they will convert to the first slots after 1? Or do I have to wait until I hop to see if there are any slots left?


Yes, ILLs convert to 1 PM


----------



## Dug720

disneylover102 said:


> Yes, ILLs convert to 1 PM



Great! Thanks!


----------



## Squinty

I am planning on booking all the LL's through my phone while we are there, but I hate the scrolling when trying to actually redeem them. Are LL's tied to tickets, so that we can each scan our tickets to redeem LLs instead of using the app on my phone?


----------



## disneylover102

Squinty said:


> I am planning on booking all the LL's through my phone while we are there, but I hate the scrolling when trying to actually redeem them. Are LL's tied to tickets, so that we can each scan our tickets to redeem LLs instead of using the app on my phone?


Yeah you can redeem using your physical tickets. But I’m not sure what you mean by scrolling because they show up right there on my genie day


----------



## Squinty

disneylover102 said:


> Yeah you can redeem using your physical tickets. But I’m not sure what you mean by scrolling because they show up right there on my genie day



The screenshots I've seen showed one bar code at a time, and if I'm making them for my family of four I assumed I'd have to scroll across 4 screens, but perhaps that's not right. Either way, thanks for the confirmation that physical tickets will work too.


----------



## disneylover102

Squinty said:


> The screenshots I've seen showed one bar code at a time, and if I'm making them for my family of four I assumed I'd have to scroll across 4 screens, but perhaps that's not right. Either way, thanks for the confirmation that physical tickets will work too.


Oh, I see what you mean. I thought you were saying you had to scroll through a bunch of stuff to even pull up those barcodes. Yeah, your physical tickets will probably work better


----------



## CeCe0906

I plan to buy Genie + for our trip this summer, even though my granddaughter has a DAS, for the photos and maybe to be able to coordinate the two.  We will be doing a VIP tour in the afternoon leading  ending up with the fireworks.  Would it be an  good option to make Genie + reservations of attractions that historically break down more often while I'm on the tour, in hopes of getting a recovery pass to use while not on the tour?  Do the recovery passes have to be used the same day issued or could we use them the next day?


----------



## disneylover102

CeCe0906 said:


> I plan to buy Genie + for our trip this summer, even though my granddaughter has a DAS, for the photos and maybe to be able to coordinate the two.  We will be doing a VIP tour in the afternoon leading  ending up with the fireworks.  Would it be an  good option to make Genie + reservations of attractions that historically break down more often while I'm on the tour, in hopes of getting a recovery pass to use while not on the tour?  Do the recovery passes have to be used the same day issued or could we use them the next day?


You have to use them the same day. Don’t you get to do LL for the VIP tour? It sounds to me like buying genie+ wouldn’t be worth it


----------



## CeCe0906

disneylover102 said:


> You have to use them the same day. Don’t you get to do LL for the VIP tour? It sounds to me like buying genie+ wouldn’t be worth it


Thanks, wasn't sure about the recovery pass.  We do get LL during the tour, but we won't be on tour until after lunch.  So may not be worth it since we will have the DAS to deal with lines, and will mostly be doing shows and things I don't want to waste tour time on.. but that would also probably include seeking out the photographers and doing the magic shots and I would want the photo part of genie for that and ride photos


----------



## Dug720

CeCe0906 said:


> Thanks, wasn't sure about the recovery pass.  We do get LL during the tour, but we won't be on tour until after lunch.  So may not be worth it since we will have the DAS to deal with lines, and will mostly be doing shows and things I don't want to waste tour time on.. but that would also probably include seeking out the photographers and doing the magic shots and I would want the photo part of genie for that and ride photos



How many days is your trip? And how many people? Photopass is $78 for a week. Genie+ is $20/person/day. Seems like if you just want Genie+ for the photos, you're better off price-wise getting PhotoPass alone.


----------



## CeCe0906

We will be doing 3 day park hoppers.   I Plan to do park res DL on Tues, CA Wed, and DL on Thursday.  Thursday we will be a relaxed day checking out of hotel, going to try for character breakfast at Plaza in morning, then do some rerides or things we didn't get to do bc of rides being down or weather, told my granddaughter she could shop for souvenirs.  We will move to a hotel next to Universal that evening, trying to go when traffic settles down some.


----------



## CeCe0906

CeCe0906 said:


> We will be doing 3 day park hoppers.   I Plan to do park res DL on Tues, CA Wed, and DL on Thursday.  Thursday we will be a relaxed day checking out of hotel, going to try for character breakfast at Plaza in morning, then do some rerides or things we didn't get to do bc of rides being down or weather, told my granddaughter she could shop for souvenirs.  We will move to a hotel next to Universal that evening, trying to go when traffic settles down some.


It is just 2 people, myself and my granddaughter.


----------



## Dug720

CeCe0906 said:


> It is just 2 people, myself and my granddaughter.



So Genie+ for 2 people for 3 days would be $120+tax.
PhotoPass would be $78+ tax.

Seems like a no-brainer to me financially. Though maybe the money is not an issue with doing a VIP tour?


----------



## CeCe0906

Dug720 said:


> So Genie+ for 2 people for 3 days would be $120+tax.
> PhotoPass would be $78+ tax.
> 
> Seems like a no-brainer to me financially. Though maybe the money is not an issue with doing a VIP tour?
> [/QUOTE
> Money not an issue.. haha.. No.
> But this trip is a bit of a splurge.  My mom recently passed away, and her favorite things to do were travel and spoiling her grandkids.  So while I am doing responsible things with the money I inherited from her, like funding some college funds for the grandkids, I set aside some for fun also.
> Also, my grandchild has some anxiety/sensory issues, so me being able to be fully present and being more relaxed about things will make the trip better, so that's what the VIP tour is for.  We can't stake out spots for fireworks or fanstasmic hours ahead, and being in a crush of people for extended periods is hard on my granddaughter, so being able to take a quiet snack break is important or not having a set time to HAVE to ride or miss out is good.
> 
> But if I don't use it for rides,just photo pass, then only I would need it.  So then it would just be $60 for the 3 days.  With her DAS, we probably don't need it for rides, as we can reserve time to return, and do shorter wait stuff in between.  Could still to an ILL, if necessary.


----------



## JohnR5101

Dug720 said:


> So Genie+ for 2 people for 3 days would be $120+tax.
> PhotoPass would be $78+ tax.
> 
> Seems like a no-brainer to me financially. Though maybe the money is not an issue with doing a VIP tour?



But just buying one G+ for the photo benefit would only be $60 - better than photo pass.


----------



## Dug720

JohnR5101 said:


> But just buying one G+ for the photo benefit would only be $60 - better than photo pass.



She did not originally specify she was only buying it for one person.


----------



## CeCe0906

Thanks for all the advice.  There's always a lot of moving parts on a Disney vacation.  Where to stay, where to eat, and reserve or not, new Genie stuff, rope drop, how to maximize you time, vs taking the time to stop and just enjoy, you're on vacation!  I'm a planner, so I love all the info from the people in the know.


----------



## Jperiod

How does DAS work with the 1 per ride limit on G+?  Now that the indoor mask mandate is being dropped, we're starting to consider a trip, but it seems it will be vastly different than the way we've toured in the past.


----------



## BadPinkTink

This is how I used Genie and Genie+ on my recent trip.

I am a solo international visitor and this was my first visit since June 2019. I don't park hop, I do one park per day.

I bought Genie+ first thing each morning after scanning into the park.
I used the photopass option all over both parks
I went to a land, checked the App and then bought or booked Lightning Lanes with almost immediate return times.
If a standby has a longer than 15 minute wait I go Lightning Lanes instead.
I use single rider to repeat rides
If a ride has a low standby I used Lightning Lanes when the standby went high
I used Lightning Lane on Rise of The Resistance with an almost immediate return time to make sure I got to ride it.

I loved using the App, and was constantly checking My Day, Tip Board and the filters on the interactive Map.

For me it was worth paying $20 per day / $60 for my 3 park days for Genie+ and it was defiantly worth paying $20 per ride /$40 over 2 days for Rise of The Resistance.


----------



## CeCe0906

DAS has nothing to do with Genie.  Because of my granddaughters anxiety /sensory issues, the long waits especially in noisy close quarters queues are an issue, so she and her party that ride with her get a return time based on the standy time.  We still wait, just not in the line.  We snack, bathroom, take a quiet break, or sometimes do a short wait time attraction or show, then come to the ride later.  She can also hold a Genie + reservation for the ride as her DAS return is considered a standby ride, since she is still waiting, just not physically in line. Once she redeems her DAS ride by tapping into the ride, she can request another DAS return time for the ride again or some other ride.  
So with the DAS, she could theoretically ride twice close together, if she gets a DAS return time, and a Genie + time close together.  The person with the DAS must ride with her party to utilize the DAS return time. 
One thing that is nice about the new system, is that you can request the DAS return time in the app, instead of having to go to the attraction in person.


----------



## Gisele

I so miss fast passes. I'm hoping that they will be returning this year. And honestly I'm still confused about how this lighting lane thing works. And that is do you have to pay each and every time extra, in order to not do stand by? That would add up to a small fortune


----------



## GBRforWDW

Gisele said:


> I so miss fast passes. I'm hoping that they will be returning this year. And honestly I'm still confused about how this lighting lane thing works. And that is do you have to pay each and every time extra, in order to not do stand by? That would add up to a small fortune


Fastpass is not coming back.  Genie+ has taken its place and the execs are heaping praise on it.

Genie+ is a once a day purchase of $20 that includes the ability to choose from numerous rides to skip the line.  Photopass is also included in that $20 cost.

Rides available in Disneyland:
https://disneyland.disney.go.com/ge...rawer-card-disneylandAttractionsEntertainment
Rides available in California Adventure:
https://disneyland.disney.go.com/genie/lightning-lane/#drawer-card-dcaAttractionsEntertainment
Individual Lightning Lane attractions ($5-$20) are a once a day purchase for a single ride for that purchase.  Those rides are Rise of the Resistance, Radiator Springs Racers and Spiderman.  You are paying to skip 1 specific line and that is all you get from that purchase.

Again, these costs are for 1 day only.


----------



## disneycat321

I've read through a lot of this thread and done some Googling, but can't seem to find this info...

With parkhoppers, if I book a 1pm ride return LL for the other park (I know that it auto converts to that time), will I then have to wait the full 2 hours before booking another LL in my current park?


----------



## edhmom

I thought you were only allowed to book a ride once per day. Maybe the better phrasing would be, you are only allowed to book and ride once per day. What happens if I, for example, book Space because it's down and I'm hoping to get a bonus pass. If Space comes back up during my window but I don't actually ride it., am I allowed to book it again? Does that make sense?

Thanks!


----------



## hulamom

I tried looking for this question within this (and other) threads, so apologies if it has been asked already...

If I rope drop DCA, and purchase a ILL for ROTR, I know that the time should automatically change to 1pm for the ROTR return time.  Can I then, immediately purchase a ILL for RSR for a time *earlier* than 1pm, or does that next ILL return time have to be after 1pm?


----------



## Gisele

Thank you for your reply. Now I understand better how it works. And if I completely understand it, I do not like it anywhere close to, much less more than fast passes. I really love the fastpass, that has always been my closest Disney friend you know what I mean? Anyway, I still am just wondering though is that $20 for more than one different ride or only one ride? That's what I'm still not quite clear on. 
Sorry I don't mean to sound thick. 

Thank you


----------



## Disney loving Iowan

I'm much more familiar with using Genie+ at WDW so I have a couple questions.  At WDW if you are staying in a Disney resort you can buy your LL and make reservations starting at 7AM and other people can only do it at park opening.  Is that the same at DL?  Can you guy Genie+ in the morning before getting to the park?  Are there any other differences I should know about?


----------



## GBRforWDW

Gisele said:


> Thank you for your reply. Now I understand better how it works. And if I completely understand it, I do not like it anywhere close to, much less more than fast passes. I really love the fastpass, that has always been my closest Disney friend you know what I mean? Anyway, I still am just wondering though is that $20 for more than one different ride or only one ride? That's what I'm still not quite clear on.
> Sorry I don't mean to sound thick.
> 
> Thank you





Disney loving Iowan said:


> I'm much more familiar with using Genie+ at WDW so I have a couple questions.  At WDW if you are staying in a Disney resort you can buy your LL and make reservations starting at 7AM and other people can only do it at park opening.  Is that the same at DL?  Can you guy Genie+ in the morning before getting to the park?  Are there any other differences I should know about?


Hello, this is mainly for Disney Loving Iowan, but should help you out as well Gisele:

Genie+ and ILL$ Differences between Disneyland and Disney World:
https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2021...s an added cost you,on using the system there.


----------



## Disney loving Iowan

GBRforWDW said:


> Hello, this is mainly for Disney Loving Iowan, but should help you out as well Gisele:
> 
> Genie+ and ILL$ Differences between Disneyland and Disney World:
> https://www.disneyfoodblog.com/2021...s an added cost you,on using the system there.


Thank you!


----------



## Ladyslug

CeCe0906 said:


> I plan to buy Genie + for our trip this summer, even though my granddaughter has a DAS, for the photos and maybe to be able to coordinate the two.  We will be doing a VIP tour in the afternoon leading  ending up with the fireworks.  Would it be an  good option to make Genie + reservations of attractions that historically break down more often while I'm on the tour, in hopes of getting a recovery pass to use while not on the tour?  Do the recovery passes have to be used the same day issued or could we use them the next day?


Your VIP tour should include a single-use code that will allow you to download all your Photopass photos for free (including Disney photographers, magic shots, and ride photos) -- no need to purchase Genie+ for that purpose.  Just hang on to your Photopass card(s) and keep track of those ride photo codes so you can add everything to your account before downloading.


----------



## CeCe0906

Ladyslug said:


> Your VIP tour should include a single-use code that will allow you to download all your Photopass photos for free (including Disney photographers, magic shots, and ride photos) -- no need to purchase Genie+ for that purpose.  Just hang on to your Photopass card(s) and keep track of those ride photo codes so you can add everything to your account before downloading.


Thanks for the info.  At  our WDW trip, I had memory maker for the whole trip, linked with magic bands, so I didn't have to deal with cards or getting my phone out so much, so I never asked about photos included with tours


----------



## LizzyS

So after I scan into the park, where in the app do I go to buy genie+?  It wasn't available as an add on when I bought my tickets 4 months ago or I would have added it on at that time.


----------



## GBRforWDW

LizzyS said:


> So after I scan into the park, where in the app do I go to buy genie+?  It wasn't available as an add on when I bought my tickets 4 months ago or I would have added it on at that time.



Right at the top of the main page in the app, click View My Day:



On the next page, click Get Disney Genie+ for Today:



Then Get Disney Genie Services:



On the last page, you'll select the guests you're purchasing for.


----------



## LizzyS

GBRforWDW said:


> Right at the top of the main page in the app, click View My Day:
> 
> View attachment 649484
> 
> On the next page, click Get Disney Genie+ for Today:
> 
> View attachment 649483
> 
> Then Get Disney Genie Services:
> 
> View attachment 649485
> 
> On the last page, you'll select the guests you're purchasing for.



Thank you SO much, you are *awesome*!


----------



## Ladyslug

GBRforWDW said:


> On the last page, you'll select the guests you're purchasing for.


Should I link the tickets of the other members of my party so we can reserve Genie+ times together?  Or can we keep them separate and coordinate and likely be okay (much like getting the old paper fastpasses)?  If I do link other tickets, can the other person with the app make their own Genie+ selections, or only through my app?


----------



## dina444444

Ladyslug said:


> Should I link the tickets of the other members of my party so we can reserve Genie+ times together?  Or can we keep them separate and coordinate and likely be okay (much like getting the old paper fastpasses)?  If I do link other tickets, can the other person with the app make their own Genie+ selections, or only through my app?


If you are planning to do genie+ Link your tickets together. If they are not liked you could end up with different return times.


----------



## Ronferr80

dina444444 said:


> multi experience will be good for the rest of the day.



So a ride booked that is down it will turn into a multi experience, I can then go back onto the app and book another LL attraction or I have to use that multi pass first?   Hope I worded that correctly.  Thanks!


----------



## dina444444

Ronferr80 said:


> So a ride booked that is down it will turn into a multi experience, I can then go back onto the app and book another LL attraction or I have to use that multi pass first?   Hope I worded that correctly.  Thanks!


You can book another ride. You can also rebook the rice you had the pass for that turned into a multi experience.


----------



## Wilcojoe

If I book a LL for a window from 8:30-9:30am while the ride is down and it opens up right at 8:30 can I cancel my LL and just ride standby or do I have to continue with my 8:30 LL window?


----------



## Wilcojoe

And just to confirm I can book a LL and $LL at the same time?  Can I book a LL and 2 $LL at the same time? (I.e. Guardians, Web and RSR?)


----------



## Wilcojoe

Can anyone answer these  last two questions?


----------



## ironband74

Wilcojoe said:


> And just to confirm I can book a LL and $LL at the same time?  Can I book a LL and 2 $LL at the same time? (I.e. Guardians, Web and RSR?)



Yes.  $ILL do not affect your G+ LL selections and vice versa.



Wilcojoe said:


> If I book a LL for a window from 8:30-9:30am while the ride is down and it opens up right at 8:30 can I cancel my LL and just ride standby or do I have to continue with my 8:30 LL window?


Reports have been that you can cancel an LL up until it disappears from your app.  In this case you could ride standby and cancel your LL, or ride standby and then ride again via LL.


----------



## Wilcojoe

ironband74 said:


> Yes.  $ILL do not affect your G+ LL selections and vice versa.
> 
> 
> Reports have been that you can cancel an LL up until it disappears from your app.  In this case you could ride standby and cancel your LL, or ride standby and then ride again via LL.


Awesome, thank you!


----------



## Wilcojoe

ironband74 said:


> Yes.  $ILL do not affect your G+ LL selections and vice versa.
> 
> 
> Reports have been that you can cancel an LL up until it disappears from your app.  In this case you could ride standby and cancel your LL, or ride standby and then ride again via LL.


One other question.  If I book an $LL and it closes, I can get a pass to ride just that ride anytime of the day?  However If I book a LL ride and it closes, I get a pass to ride that ride or a specific list of other rides anytime of the day and I could still book it a second time?  
It that is correct, the compensation for booking a $LL and it closes during your window is not nearly as good as with a non $LL ride?


----------



## mouschievous

Wilcojoe said:


> One other question.  If I book an $LL and it closes, I can get a pass to ride just that ride anytime of the day?  However If I book a LL ride and it closes, I get a pass to ride that ride or a specific list of other rides anytime of the day and I could still book it a second time?
> It that is correct, the compensation for booking a $LL and it closes during your window is not nearly as good as with a non $LL ride?


You're correct in how it works - if a $ILL goes down during your ride time, you get a pass to use it  anytime once it's back up and running.  If you can't  use it then, you go to guest services and ask for a refund.  If a regular LL goes down, you get a multi-experience LL and the ability to rebook the LL for the same ride.  In essence, the multi-experience gives you the ability to ride an LL ride twice in the LL instead of standby.

I'd disagree that it's not as good of a compensation. If I bought Rise at $20 each and it went down, I would want to either ride Rise or get my money back, not use it to ride Indiana Jones, for example. The only way it might be worth it is if it became a multi $ILL pass so I could use it on WS or Racers, but that would be a logistical nightmare I'm sure. Not to mention, those rides are dynamic pricing and neither WS or RSR charge $20, so you're still losing on that deal.


----------



## superdeluxe

Wilcojoe said:


> And just to confirm I can book a LL and $LL at the same time?  Can I book a LL and 2 $LL at the same time? (I.e. Guardians, Web and RSR?)



you can book a LL and a ILL at the same time.  We never tried a LL and 2 ILl


----------



## superdeluxe

Wilcojoe said:


> If I book a LL for a window from 8:30-9:30am while the ride is down and it opens up right at 8:30 can I cancel my LL and just ride standby or do I have to continue with my 8:30 LL window?



you can cancel!  We did it several times when we came for our time and standby was only 15 minutes.  Decided to cancel abs save to ride later


----------



## duckboyone

dina444444 said:


> If you are planning to do genie+ Link your tickets together. If they are not liked you could end up with different return times.


I have a similar question, I'm actually in the opposite situation.  I bought 6 tickets for June (for me, my wife, and kids) and have them all linked in my Disneyland app.  I did not buy Genie+, since we have 5-day passes we decided to wait and only get it on certain days.

So if I wanted to get it, but let's say half of us want to do a LL for a different ride, how do I go about doing that since all the passes are linked to my account?  Can I have my kids create their own account and link their tickets?

Also, what exactly does it mean that PhotoPass is included?  PhotoPass is already free, the cost comes when you want to download the pictures later.  Is the downloading free for pictures on that day when you buy Genie+?


----------



## dina444444

duckboyone said:


> I have a similar question, I'm actually in the opposite situation.  I bought 6 tickets for June (for me, my wife, and kids) and have them all linked in my Disneyland app.  I did not buy Genie+, since we have 5-day passes we decided to wait and only get it on certain days.
> 
> So if I wanted to get it, but let's say half of us want to do a LL for a different ride, how do I go about doing that since all the passes are linked to my account?  Can I have my kids create their own account and link their tickets?
> 
> Also, what exactly does it mean that PhotoPass is included?  PhotoPass is already free, the cost comes when you want to download the pictures later.  Is the downloading free for pictures on that day when you buy Genie+?


You click off the tickets your reserving the lightening lane for once you’ve bought them. And yes you get free downloads for PhotoPass  pics in the days you pay for Genie+


----------



## duckboyone

dina444444 said:


> You click off the tickets your reserving the lightening lane for once you’ve bought them. And yes you get free downloads for PhotoPass  pics in the days you pay for Genie+


Thanks for responding!  Sorry if I misunderstand, by "click off" do you mean I can reserve a LL say, for my daughter, then have her use her phone/app to enter?  Like, if she goes to a different ride than me?

So if I was planning on using Photopass anyways, I believe it's $200 to download all the pictures regardless of how long you are there.  So if I got Genie+ for everyone for 2 of the 5 days that almost covers the cost of that.


----------



## GBRforWDW

duckboyone said:


> Thanks for responding!  Sorry if I misunderstand, by "click off" do you mean I can reserve a LL say, for my daughter, then have her use her phone/app to enter?  Like, if she goes to a different ride than me?
> 
> So if I was planning on using Photopass anyways, I believe it's $200 to download all the pictures regardless of how long you are there.  So if I got Genie+ for everyone for 2 of the 5 days that almost covers the cost of that.


I would keep all tickets under 1 account so if you do want to all do something together, it'll be easier, plus it'll be easier to buy Genie+ for everyone under 1 account.

Just download the app to the kids phone and log in with your account.

After you buy Genie+, when you make your selection, one of the screens will give you an option to change your party.  If you're all doing the same ride, leave everyone checked.  If some want to do a different ride, uncheck the ones not going with you.  You can then select the other ride for the rest of your party, or, they can do it themselves with your account on their phone.


----------



## duckboyone

GBRforWDW said:


> I would keep all tickets under 1 account so if you do want to all do something together, it'll be easier, plus it'll be easier to buy Genie+ for everyone under 1 account.
> 
> Just download the app to the kids phone and log in with your account.
> 
> After you buy Genie+, when you make your selection, one of the screens will give you an option to change your party.  If you're all doing the same ride, leave everyone checked.  If some want to do a different ride, uncheck the ones not going with you.  You can then select the other ride for the rest of your party, or, they can do it themselves with your account on their phone.


Thank you, that's exactly what I was looking for!


----------



## sddc

I have a related question for our first DLR trip: There'll be four of us, Dad, Mom, Uncle, Son. Sounds like it'll be easiest if all three adults use Dad's account on the app on their own phones.

If we do that, and Uncle goes back to the hotel (PPI) for an afternoon nap, will he be able to come back to the park on his own? Guess I'm not clear on whether everything at DLR tied to the app, the way everything's tied to Magic Bands at WDW. Thank you for any guidance!


----------



## superdeluxe

sddc said:


> I have a related question for our first DLR trip: There'll be four of us, Dad, Mom, Uncle, Son. Sounds like it'll be easiest if all three adults use Dad's account on the app on their own phones.
> 
> If we do that, and Uncle goes back to the hotel (PPI) for an afternoon nap, will he be able to come back to the park on his own? Guess I'm not clear on whether everything at DLR tied to the app, the way everything's tied to Magic Bands at WDW. Thank you for any guidance!



as long as he has an app and he links the party’s ticket/tickets to his app,  he should be able To get in.  Does that make sense?  When we went (a week ago) both the wife and I had the tickets on both of our phones,  so we both were able to ‘check in’. Get rides etc.


----------



## GBRforWDW

sddc said:


> I have a related question for our first DLR trip: There'll be four of us, Dad, Mom, Uncle, Son. Sounds like it'll be easiest if all three adults use Dad's account on the app on their own phones.
> 
> If we do that, and Uncle goes back to the hotel (PPI) for an afternoon nap, will he be able to come back to the park on his own? Guess I'm not clear on whether everything at DLR tied to the app, the way everything's tied to Magic Bands at WDW. Thank you for any guidance!





superdeluxe said:


> as long as he has an app and he links the party’s ticket/tickets to his app,  he should be able To get in.  Does that make sense?  When we went (a week ago) both the wife and I had the tickets on both of our phones,  so we both were able to ‘check in’. Get rides etc.


When we went to DLR last summer, they gave us a ticket printed on a little 2x4 souvenir card even though we scanned in with our phone app.  Do they still give that out @superdeluxe?  If so, that little card would be sufficient for your uncle to get back in, @sddc, if he doesn't have or want to keep his phone on him


----------



## DLNEWBIEWDWVETERAN

BadPinkTink said:


> This is how I used Genie and Genie+ on my recent trip.
> 
> I am a solo international visitor and this was my first visit since June 2019. I don't park hop, I do one park per day.
> 
> I bought Genie+ first thing each morning after scanning into the park.
> I used the photopass option all over both parks
> I went to a land, checked the App and then bought or booked Lightning Lanes with almost immediate return times.
> If a standby has a longer than 15 minute wait I go Lightning Lanes instead.
> I use single rider to repeat rides
> If a ride has a low standby I used Lightning Lanes when the standby went high
> I used Lightning Lane on Rise of The Resistance with an almost immediate return time to make sure I got to ride it.
> 
> I loved using the App, and was constantly checking My Day, Tip Board and the filters on the interactive Map.
> 
> For me it was worth paying $20 per day / $60 for my 3 park days for Genie+ and it was defiantly worth paying $20 per ride /$40 over 2 days for Rise of The Resistance.


With your included photopass- do you have complete access to download photos taken by cast members and at rides? Or do you have to purchase the ones you want to keep?


----------



## BadPinkTink

DLNEWBIEWDWVETERAN said:


> With your included photopass- do you have complete access to download photos taken by cast members and at rides? Or do you have to purchase the ones you want to keep?



Complete access. Not having used Photopass before I downloaded each days photos to my laptop when I got back to my hotel each night as I didnt know how long they were available.  I just checked now, all the photos are still in the App, even though my park days were January 30, January 31, February 2.


----------



## katyringo

I'm going to admit I have not read through this whole thread.  I've used genie at WDW really successfully (and stressfully!). I understand the differences at Disneyland. So the concepts and such isn't new to me.

are there any really good posts/blogs you have found about the order of rides to book at Disneyland? We won't have hoppers but have 5 days of genie+.  I'm looking for some good play by plays of folks who have used genie+ with rope drop.  I'm not too worried as I can navigate myself around a Disney park, but I always like to have a general plan in place.


----------



## Ladyslug

BadPinkTink said:


> Complete access. Not having used Photopass before I downloaded each days photos to my laptop when I got back to my hotel each night as I didnt know how long they were available. I just checked now, all the photos are still in the App, even though my park days were January 30, January 31, February 2.


Photopass photos are supposed to remain available for download in your account for 45 days from the date of the picture being taken.


----------



## BadPinkTink

Ladyslug said:


> Photopass photos are supposed to remain available for download in your account for 45 days from the date of the picture being taken.


 Thanks, this was my first time using photopass, so I wasnt sure how long they would stay


----------



## DisneyAndreaM

GBRforWDW said:


> When we went to DLR last summer, they gave us a ticket printed on a little 2x4 souvenir card even though we scanned in with our phone app.  Do they still give that out @superdeluxe?  If so, that little card would be sufficient for your uncle to get back in, @sddc, if he doesn't have or want to keep his phone on him



They’re still giving out the card passes, so he can use that. (Got one yesterday)


----------



## Piglet99645

Sorry if this has been answered but I don't have time to read 22 pages right now!   The app is not letting me see my second park to make selections for a future reservation. I can fiddle around all I want for Disneyland in May (I understand it cannot really do me any good until the day of), but I can't figure out how to toggle to CA.  

I'm starting to worry I booked a single park with my parkhoppers.  Is it possible to make that mistake? (I don't think it is.)


----------



## JohnR5101

Piglet99645 said:


> Sorry if this has been answered but I don't have time to read 22 pages right now!   The app is not letting me see my second park to make selections for a future reservation. I can fiddle around all I want for Disneyland in May (I understand it cannot really do me any good until the day of), but I can't figure out how to toggle to CA.
> 
> I'm starting to worry I booked a single park with my parkhoppers.  Is it possible to make that mistake? (I don't think it is.)


You don't book a second park. Just know that you can hop at 1:00


----------



## soniam

katyringo said:


> I'm going to admit I have not read through this whole thread.  I've used genie at WDW really successfully (and stressfully!). I understand the differences at Disneyland. So the concepts and such isn't new to me.
> 
> are there any really good posts/blogs you have found about the order of rides to book at Disneyland? We won't have hoppers but have 5 days of genie+.  I'm looking for some good play by plays of folks who have used genie+ with rope drop.  I'm not too worried as I can navigate myself around a Disney park, but I always like to have a general plan in place.



I didn't see this answered. I haven't been to DLR since 2019, but I am going in June. However, on our previous trips, the Fantasyland stuff in DL park gets long waits. They are not on G+ or ILL. GE is probably next, but Smugglers is on G+. The mountains, Matterhorn, Space, Splash, and Big Thunder, also get long waits but are also on G+. Indiana Jones can also get long waits about like the mountains; it's on G+. HM, pirates, and JC are probably next. HM and JC have G+, and pirates is currently closed for refurb. JC doesn't seem to be as long as WDW JC waits currently though. Star Tours and Buzz are about on par with Adventureland, except Indy. Nemo subs can be long. That's pretty much the order for DL park. Pooh is rarely long, even though the waits get long at WDW.

At DCA, Web Slingers is very long but has ILL. Cars Land and Mission Breakout are long but have G+ or ILL. Incredicoaster and Soarin' are next; both with G+. The ferris wheel can get long sometimes and doesn't have G+. Toy Story isn't bad, especially compared to WDW, and has G+. Everything is minimal.

If any of this is inaccurate for current times, please correct. Thanks


----------



## Piglet99645

JohnR5101 said:


> You don't book a second park. Just know that you can hop at 1:00


 Thanks.  But will Genie+ let me make plans for the day?  Or do I have to be in the park first?


----------



## JohnR5101

Piglet99645 said:


> Thanks.  But will Genie+ let me make plans for the day?  Or do I have to be in the park first?


Yes, it will. I just tried it for my first reservation day of May 1. I can make "Plans" using the Genie. I can tell it which LL attractions I'm interested in. It is true that it only shows the attractions in the first park for that day. It does not show attractions in the park you can hop to.
However, be advised that this feature of telling what you are interested in is totally useless to most people. You are not actually booking the LL's. You are only telling Genie what you might like to ride. Then on that day it will try to guide you around to things you indicated. But so far the reports are that it is not really helpful at all. It sends you back and forth across the park and does not really make your day efficient.
You still can only book an LL after entering a park and choosing the next available time it shows you. Forget the basic Genie planning service. Just use Genie+ and decide for yourself where you will go next and what LL's you will book and when.
The other type of plans you can make at anytime are dining reservations. Do that on the app at 6:00 am Pacific time 60 days out before the day you want to eat (do it for each day 60 days before that day). Some reservations go quickly. If you don't get it at 60 days out, keep watching for cancellations, use one of the services that will alert you. Or on the day of, go see if there are walk ups available (often the case).


----------



## Ladyslug

Piglet99645 said:


> Thanks. But will Genie+ let me make plans for the day? Or do I have to be in the park first?


My understanding is that if you have a parkhopper ticket, once you have scanned in to your reserved park, you can make Genie+ selections for either park, but the return times for your LL selections at the hopper park will automatically be made for return times after 1pm (and thus the 2-hour rule for the next LL booking will be in effect).

As far as Genie planning (for whatever that is worth), once you go through and select your favorite attractions and other experiences for the reserved park (or skip ahead), you should see a blue banner near the bottom of the screen (below the purple "Buy Genie+" banner) that says "Plan for Your Next Park" and you can tell it if you plan to park hop to the other park, and if so, for how long, and then go on to select top attractions/experiences there as well.


----------



## JohnR5101

Ladyslug said:


> As far as Genie planning (for whatever that is worth), once you go through and select your favorite attractions and other experiences for the reserved park (or skip ahead), you should see a blue banner near the bottom of the screen (below the purple "Buy Genie+" banner) that says "Plan for Your Next Park" ...


I see the "Get Disney Genie+ for Today" purple banner. But below that there is only:
"Is Anything Missing?" and
"Need Help?"

I don't see plan for your next park. I do have hoppers and I also purchased tickets with G+ on them. And this is for a future date. Can you only see the next park on  the day you are there and in the first park?
But in any case, I find the Genie plans to be lame.


----------



## GBRforWDW

JohnR5101 said:


> I see the "Get Disney Genie+ for Today" purple banner. But below that there is only:
> "Is Anything Missing?" and
> "Need Help?"
> 
> I don't see plan for your next park. I do have hoppers and I also purchased tickets with G+ on them. And this is for a future date. Can you only see the next park on  the day you are there and in the first park?
> But in any case, I find the Genie plans to be lame.


Have you made park reservations?  If so, try changing the date to the day of your reservation.


----------



## Ladyslug

GBRforWDW said:


> Have you made park reservations? If so, try changing the date to the day of your reservation.


This.  The blue banner only shows up if I have selected one of the dates for which I have a reservation.  I also think the Genie plans are lame (but I wasn't sure which info you were interested in).


----------



## KaystotheKingdom

So- this is our one and done trip to Disneyland, I had decided we would do genie plus and not worry about it. Im dealing now my son cannot ride the majority of the eligible rides as he is 3. My daughter, husband and I can. 

Do we just skip it for him? 

How does rider swap work with this? If I rode with my daughter, and then my husband wanted to ride with my daughter is that allowable, or is one of us always going to end up riding alone while the other 3 wait. 

Thanks!


----------



## chezcurrie

KaystotheKingdom said:


> So- this is our one and done trip to Disneyland, I had decided we would do genie plus and not worry about it. Im dealing now my son cannot ride the majority of the eligible rides as he is 3. My daughter, husband and I can.
> 
> Do we just skip it for him?
> 
> How does rider swap work with this? If I rode with my daughter, and then my husband wanted to ride with my daughter is that allowable, or is one of us always going to end up riding alone while the other 3 wait.
> 
> Thanks!


Rider Swap works as before - up to 2 people can re-ride with the person stayin back with the non rider. This was our experience in Dec 2021. We did still purchase Genie+ for our 5 year old as there were things we wanted to do as a family (Haunted Mansion, Toy Story, etc etc etc so for me it was *worth* the $20 for him for lack of lines (and not to mention the number of re-rides my older 2 got over the course of the day!)


----------



## xipotec

BadPinkTink said:


> Thanks, this was my first time using photopass, so I wasnt sure how long they would stay


You need to remember the G+  Photopass is NOT automatic, as the WDW one is with the Magic Bands.

When you leave a ride, you need to look for your picture and enter the number of the picture into your app. Or better yet, take a screenshot of the number and enter it in later.
If you do not, you will have no photos.


----------



## Federalist45

KaystotheKingdom said:


> So- this is our one and done trip to Disneyland, I had decided we would do genie plus and not worry about it. Im dealing now my son cannot ride the majority of the eligible rides as he is 3. My daughter, husband and I can.
> 
> Do we just skip it for him?
> 
> How does rider swap work with this? If I rode with my daughter, and then my husband wanted to ride with my daughter is that allowable, or is one of us always going to end up riding alone while the other 3 wait.
> 
> Thanks!


If this is really a once in a lifetime trip, Disneyland is way more fun & rewarding with an adventurous 5 year old than with a 3 year old.


----------



## kpd6901

So, first trip since 2019 (family of 5). Last visit, we used Maxpass and we loved it so much better than the WDW FP+, even though FP+ was free and we paid for Maxpass.  From everything I had read when Disney announced Genie+, it was a huge change for WDW, but I didn't see any huge difference from what DL already had had. The only things I saw was that the free paper ticket option (which we weren't using anyway) went away and was our Maxpass an extra $15/20...minimal price difference if any, in addition to the change where there is ILL selections for the "fancy rides", where Maxpass was for every available ride. Now, for us, we would be utilizing DAS as well, so that would be the means for us to work through those via virtual standby. At WDW, we had purchased Memory Maker for our pics, but pics being included at DL, that seems like a no-brainer to me.....unless I'm missing something.

Did someone say earlier in the thread that there is a photo pass package available for a week stay? I wasn't aware of that. Does that get added to our vacation package thru the TA, or do we add that in the app....if we choose this instead of the G+.

Thanks!


----------



## mom2rtk

kpd6901 said:


> So, first trip since 2019 (family of 5). Last visit, we used Maxpass and we loved it so much better than the WDW FP+, even though FP+ was free and we paid for Maxpass.  From everything I had read when Disney announced Genie+, it was a huge change for WDW, but I didn't see any huge difference from what DL already had had. The only things I saw was that the free paper ticket option (which we weren't using anyway) went away and was our Maxpass an extra $15/20...minimal price difference if any, in addition to the change where there is ILL selections for the "fancy rides", where Maxpass was for every available ride. Now, for us, we would be utilizing DAS as well, so that would be the means for us to work through those via virtual standby. At WDW, we had purchased Memory Maker for our pics, but pics being included at DL, that seems like a no-brainer to me.....unless I'm missing something.
> 
> Did someone say earlier in the thread that there is a photo pass package available for a week stay? I wasn't aware of that. Does that get added to our vacation package thru the TA, or do we add that in the app....if we choose this instead of the G+.
> 
> Thanks!


One big difference is the lack of re-rides.


----------



## Kerr84

kpd6901 said:


> So, first trip since 2019 (family of 5). Last visit, we used Maxpass and we loved it so much better than the WDW FP+, even though FP+ was free and we paid for Maxpass.  From everything I had read when Disney announced Genie+, it was a huge change for WDW, but I didn't see any huge difference from what DL already had had. The only things I saw was that the free paper ticket option (which we weren't using anyway) went away and was our Maxpass an extra $15/20...minimal price difference if any, in addition to the change where there is ILL selections for the "fancy rides", where Maxpass was for every available ride. Now, for us, we would be utilizing DAS as well, so that would be the means for us to work through those via virtual standby. At WDW, we had purchased Memory Maker for our pics, but pics being included at DL, that seems like a no-brainer to me.....unless I'm missing something.
> 
> Did someone say earlier in the thread that there is a photo pass package available for a week stay? I wasn't aware of that. Does that get added to our vacation package thru the TA, or do we add that in the app....if we choose this instead of the G+.
> 
> Thanks!


And at DL, the rides do not sell out by 10:00am. You can actually get a LL for big rides all day long.


----------



## FeistyDisneyMom

Does anyone have experience booking LLs for large groups?  We have 7 in our family, but are also traveling with a family of 6.  The youngest two won't be tall enough for some of the LL rides, but even with just 4 that would put us at 11.  Will it let us book for all 11 or should we book separately as individual families and just hope they are close to the same time?


----------



## kpd6901

I need a brain refresher. Is there a difference between old Maxpass and new Genie+ in terms of ride selection windows? Was the old Maxpass 90 minutes (or after tapping in) before selecting another one...and the new Genie+ 120 minutes (or after tapping in)?


----------



## DLRExpert

kpd6901 said:


> I need a brain refresher. Is there a difference between old Maxpass and new Genie+ in terms of ride selection windows? Was the old Maxpass 90 minutes (or after tapping in) before selecting another one...and the new Genie+ 120 minutes (or after tapping in)?


Correct +
Cannot use LL more than once like you could with MP.


----------



## Skippy918

Genie + was worth it for Disneyland and California adventure. We rode several rides with the passes plus got extra passes because when the window for one of the rides came up it was shutdown so those passes could be used anywhere. We did about a day and a half at Disneyland and a full day at California adventure. Rise of the resistance was awesome. Also really enjoyed the guardians of the galaxy and incredicoaster.
Weather was amazing too!


----------



## CyndiLouWho

I read through theses threads before but now we’re here and I’m confused. We’re in DCA this morning, hopping to DLR this afternoon. I got LL for Matterhorn first, then when another opened I got Hyperspace mtn. It booked both at the same time. Is it supposed to do that?  I thought they couldn’t conflict.


----------



## dina444444

CyndiLouWho said:


> I read through theses threads before but now we’re here and I’m confused. We’re in DCA this morning, hopping to DLR this afternoon. I got LL for Matterhorn first, then when another opened I got Hyperspace mtn. It booked both at the same time. Is it supposed to do that?  I thought they couldn’t conflict.


Your return times can overlap, what’s happening is your likely getting the first hour of return after park hopping starts because the passes aren’t that far out yet for in that park guests at the moment.


----------



## mdmost

I have to report that we had a fantastic time with Genie+. It really only became difficult later in the evening but by then we had ridden most of what we wanted. It's not as good or as fair as Maxpass + paper Fastpass for all but for an out-of-town, once maybe 2 years visitor who wants to maximize their time, it is great. 

Some advice on Genie+ if you rope drop Tomorrowland, you do not need to book anything in the 8-10am hours. It is all walk-ons minus Space Mountain. RD Space Mt and you are golden. Then you can book it again later with your Genie+. Honestly, we found this was true for Big Thunder, Haunted Mansion, Splash Mt, Millenium Falcon, Matterhorn, and Indy before 10am. All were low waits to walk ons. 

We did this on day 1: Hyperspace Mt>Star Tours>Buzz>Jolly Holiday>Alice>Tea Cups>Mr Toad>Snow White>Pinocchio, all before 11am. Then it was Big Thunder (LL)>Haunted Mansion(LL)>Indy (LL)>Jungle Cruise>lunch>break. Booked Matterhorn LL at 5pm>Carousel>Casey Jr>Small World LL>MSEP>Hyperspace (LL)>Star Tours (LL)

A big tip and I'm sure it's been covered here but Fresh Baked helped me see this though he was reporting it more in the negative for Genie+, if the standby for Indiana Jones says under 30 minutes, check what the outdoor queue looks like. Head into the standby line and see if there are many people waiting in the area next to the Jungle Cruise river and on the outdoor ramp heading into the building. If it is low, do not book the Genie+ for Indy as you only skip the outdoor standby portion which is a waste of a Genie selection. Save it for when the ride is fully booked in that outdoor standby line. 

Genie+ was even better in DCA. We hit every Genie+ ride except Grizzly River Run as we didn't want to get soaked. If you want to rope drop Pixar Pier, you can ride Incredicoaster multiple times before even needing to think about using a LL for it. We rode it 3 straight times with made DD14 very happy. Then we grabbed the breakfast burrito from the Joffrey's cart just over the bridge and sat on the bench to eat before going to Midway Mania on a LL selection. I would definitely do a quick LL for Goofy's Sky School as that is a terrible loader and a bad line to get stuck in. 

We did this at DCA: Incredicoaster X3>breakfast>TSMM (LL)>Jessie's carousel>Pixar Pal Around>Inside Out>Swings>Goofy Sky School (LL)>Ariel>lunch at Pym's>Spiderman ILL>Guardians (LL)>Mater's>break. Radiator Racers wasn't open that day so we did a ILL for it the next day when it reopened. 

Day 3 at DL: Rope dropped Millenium Falcon since we didn't want to wait in the Rise line and risk all that wait time for it to go down. So we booked a ILL for it. It's worth it to me given how much that ride goes down. It went down when our original 9am time was up so we waited until after our Oga's reservation at 10:25 to try it. We did MFSR twice, walk on>Ronto Roasters for breakfast>Big Thunder (LL)>Oga's>Rise>Haunted Mansion (LL)>Splash Mt (LL)>Radiator Racers ILL>break. Came back and did the Matterhorn LL before our Fantasmic dinner.


----------



## KaystotheKingdom

Tried to buy genie plus on a one day ticket today but there is not option listed.  Unless I’m missing it looks like June 8th was not the correct date. Bummer


----------



## mdmost

KaystotheKingdom said:


> Tried to buy genie plus on a one day ticket today but there is not option listed.  Unless I’m missing it looks like June 8th was not the correct date. Bummer


You can buy it tomorrow morning on the Disneyland app once you're scanned in at the turnstile. 

I just checked and I could get it when I selected June 12th as the single day. After you select your park and hit next, you can buy both Genie+ and parking.


----------



## xipotec

So, can we still edit the tip board to move attractions we want to the top?

No seeing an option for this, unless its only unlocked when your are in the parks on your day?


----------



## dina444444

xipotec said:


> So, can we still edit the tip board to move attractions we want to the top?
> 
> No seeing an option for this, unless its only unlocked when your are in the parks on your day?


No


----------



## dmunsil

xipotec said:


> So, can we still edit the tip board to move attractions we want to the top?
> 
> No seeing an option for this, unless its only unlocked when your are in the parks on your day?


Yes, just start the Genie process (the free "day planning" service, not Genie+) and only check the attractions you want at the top. Don't select any other options or interests. Once you've gone through it at least once and selected at least one attraction to pin at the top of the list, you'll get that "edit selections" option at the top to make it easier to change which attraction(s) are pinned.


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

dina444444 said:


> No


It’s such a bummer. Genie+ has not worked well for us today.


----------



## GBRforWDW

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> It’s such a bummer. Genie+ has not worked well for us today.


Would love to hear you elaborate once you're done with your trip what went wrong and even things that went right with G+


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

GBRforWDW said:


> Would love to hear you elaborate once you're done with your trip what went wrong and even things that went right with G+


In a nutshell, we had park hoppers starting in DCA and RSR was down when the park opened that day. It never opened all day, which had a major effect on the other LL attractions. It was also extremely crowded that day.

We got a bit of a late start arriving at 9am and the LL return times were already 1-2 hours out for the things we wanted to ride (Toy Story, Guardians, Soarin, Incredicoaster). This meant we only got to ride three rides with LL before we hopped at 1pm (Incredicoaster, Soarin and Guardians). The standby waits were very long even early in the morning. It was a rough morning.

Once we hopped to DL it was a similar scenario with lots of ride breakdowns and LL return times that were 2-5 hours out. Due to this and also due to the fact that we had a dining package to watch Fantasmic (and we were traveling with young kids who can’t stay up much past the fireworks), we were only able to get four LL in DL between 1:30pm and 7:30pm (when we sat down to wait for Fantasmic). Those were Star Tours, MFSR, Big Thunder and Autotopia (which we were only able to ride due to a ME pass that we got when Big Thunder broke down before we could ride).

It was pretty disappointing to spend all that money ($120 for the six in our immediate party) and only get a few rides in each park. We were in the parks for 13 hours (9am to 10pm). 

The return times being so far out meant we had to wait a long time to be able to pick up another LL. By which time the returns were so far out that eventually we couldn’t use the service anymore. And the standby lines were so long that doing things standby wasn’t a great option either. 

We are passholders who come often and rarely buy Genie+ but our friends with us only come every few years and shelled out $500 for two tier-five park hoppers with Genie+. It was just really disappointing and felt like a waste of money though without it I guess we wouldn’t have ridden much of anything at all.


----------



## GBRforWDW

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> In a nutshell, we had park hoppers starting in DCA and RSR was down when the park opened that day. It never opened all day, which had a major effect on the other LL attractions. It was also extremely crowded that day.
> 
> We got a bit of a late start arriving at 9am and the LL return times were already 1-2 hours out for the things we wanted to ride (Toy Story, Guardians, Soarin, Incredicoaster). This meant we only got to ride three rides with LL before we hopped at 1pm (Incredicoaster, Soarin and Guardians). The standby waits were very long even early in the morning. It was a rough morning.
> 
> Once we hopped to DL it was a similar scenario with lots of ride breakdowns and LL return times that were 2-5 hours out. Due to this and also due to the fact that we had a dining package to watch Fantasmic (and we were traveling with young kids who can’t stay up much past the fireworks), we were only able to get four LL in DL between 1:30pm and 7:30pm (when we sat down to wait for Fantasmic). Those were Star Tours, MFSR, Big Thunder and Autotopia (which we were only able to ride due to a ME pass that we got when Big Thunder broke down before we could ride).
> 
> It was pretty disappointing to spend all that money ($120 for the six in our immediate party) and only get a few rides in each park. We were in the parks for 13 hours (9am to 10pm).
> 
> The return times being so far out meant we had to wait a long time to be able to pick up another LL. By which time the returns were so far out that eventually we couldn’t use the service anymore. And the standby lines were so long that doing things standby wasn’t a great option either.
> 
> We are passholders who come often and rarely buy Genie+ but our friends with us only come every few years and shelled out $500 for two tier-five park hoppers with Genie+. It was just really disappointing and felt like a waste of money though without it I guess we wouldn’t have ridden much of anything at all.


Thanks for the info.  Sounds rough, was hoping it'd be easier to use G+ at Disneyland this summer than it was at WDW over Christmas 

When rsr didn't open, was that because of the ride vehicle fire a few weeks ago?


----------



## mom2rtk

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> In a nutshell, we had park hoppers starting in DCA and RSR was down when the park opened that day. It never opened all day, which had a major effect on the other LL attractions. It was also extremely crowded that day.
> 
> We got a bit of a late start arriving at 9am and the LL return times were already 1-2 hours out for the things we wanted to ride (Toy Story, Guardians, Soarin, Incredicoaster). This meant we only got to ride three rides with LL before we hopped at 1pm (Incredicoaster, Soarin and Guardians). The standby waits were very long even early in the morning. It was a rough morning.
> 
> Once we hopped to DL it was a similar scenario with lots of ride breakdowns and LL return times that were 2-5 hours out. Due to this and also due to the fact that we had a dining package to watch Fantasmic (and we were traveling with young kids who can’t stay up much past the fireworks), we were only able to get four LL in DL between 1:30pm and 7:30pm (when we sat down to wait for Fantasmic). Those were Star Tours, MFSR, Big Thunder and Autotopia (which we were only able to ride due to a ME pass that we got when Big Thunder broke down before we could ride).
> 
> It was pretty disappointing to spend all that money ($120 for the six in our immediate party) and only get a few rides in each park. We were in the parks for 13 hours (9am to 10pm).
> 
> The return times being so far out meant we had to wait a long time to be able to pick up another LL. By which time the returns were so far out that eventually we couldn’t use the service anymore. And the standby lines were so long that doing things standby wasn’t a great option either.
> 
> We are passholders who come often and rarely buy Genie+ but our friends with us only come every few years and shelled out $500 for two tier-five park hoppers with Genie+. It was just really disappointing and felt like a waste of money though without it I guess we wouldn’t have ridden much of anything at all.


Just be glad you visit DLR and not WDW where guests are actually warned in the app to expect G+ to work for 2-3 attractions per day.


----------



## confetti

We are here now and did day 1 yesterday. Genie was worth every penny for us. We planned to arrive at rope drop but it took longer than expected to get in. We started in DL and hit Smugglers at 8:45 with a 10-15 min wait standby. Then RoTR with ILL. Then Smugglers again with LL. In between we did GE and shops. Then lunch. Then BTM LL and Star Tours LL. By then it was getting warm and crowded and we had planned a break around 1ish.

While out on break, I got ILL for Web and LL for Guardians and TSM. Arrived back at CA around 4:30. Rode Guardians, then got LL for Incredicoaster. Rode that and TSM and then Web. In between shops and dinner. Then World of Color. 

I felt like we got on a lot with very minimal waits. Plus the photopass was great too. Got lots of photos all over. We never waited more than 15 min and boy lines were long on standby most of the day. 

Today we go back but in reverse, starting in CA then DL. Hope Rsr comes back up today. Also holing to see Fantasmic tonight!


----------



## SOCALMouseMommy

GBRforWDW said:


> Thanks for the info.  Sounds rough, was hoping it'd be easier to use G+ at Disneyland this summer than it was at WDW over Christmas
> 
> When rsr didn't open, was that because of the ride vehicle fire a few weeks ago?


This was Saturday 6/11. I’m not sure why RSR didn’t open.


----------



## GBRforWDW

SOCALMouseMommy said:


> This was Saturday 6/11. I’m not sure why RSR didn’t open.


Thanks, I looked back and saw that the ride just reopened last Monday, I think, from the fire, so guessing they're still having intermittent issues with it.  Sorry you and your friends missed out


----------



## confetti

Day 2 with genie. Started at 9 am in CA. Rode Web with ILL, also purchased RSR ILL for noonish. Rode with LL: TSM and Incredicoaster, got Shawarma for lunch, saw the avengers show, watched Spidey fly twice. Rode Monsters with LL. Went to RSR, ride went down hard when we were two people away from getting on, was going to be 1-2 hours until back up. Got MEP for later, took break at hotel. Between 12-4, i was able to stack up Space Mt, Matterhorn and Buzz LL for the evening. 

Came back around 4:30, went to RSR, was able to ride with MEP. Hopped to DL, rode Space, had dinner, rode Buzz then Matterhorn then Small World with LL. Walked around GE a little and then left around 7:30.

So total of 9 rides (7 LL and 2 ILL) in about 7 hours of park time. I would say that was a good day and totally worth it. Today we took it a little easier since we went hard yesterday and stayed later for world of color. Day 3 Wednesday we will start in DL and probably not hop. Hope to catch Fantasmic and maybe electric parade if we can swing both. Tomorrow is much needed day off from 20,000 steps in the parks.  Storytellers brunch at 11 and Dodgers game in the evening.


----------



## BroadwayHermione5

Ok so I have read through the boards and youtube and what not but I still for the life of me cannot figure out how Genie plus fully works with the stacking. I understand how $LL work, but this stacking concept is throwing me for a loop. Is it possible to do so and not criss cross the park? How does it work with park hopping?

Any help you be greatly appreciated


----------



## DLRExpert

BroadwayHermione5 said:


> Ok so I have read through the boards and youtube and what not but I still for the life of me cannot figure out how Genie plus fully works with the stacking. I understand how $LL work, but this stacking concept is throwing me for a loop. Is it possible to do so and not criss cross the park? How does it work with park hopping?
> 
> Any help you be greatly appreciated


Note: You can get your next LL when you use the LL you currently have, the LL you have has expired, *or 2 hours have passed.*
Example.
At 12pm you book a LL for Space Mountain with a return time of 4pm-5pm.
At 2pm you can book your next LL, effectively giving you two LLs to use at a later time.
Then again at 4pm you can book your next LL or when you have used the LL you booked at 2pm.


----------



## GBRforWDW

DLRExpert said:


> Note: You can get your next LL when you use the LL you currently have, the LL you have has expired, *or 2 hours have passed.*
> Example.
> At 12pm you book a LL for Space Mountain with a return time of 4pm-5pm.
> At 2pm you can book your next LL, effectively giving you two LLs to use at a later time.
> Then again at 4pm you can book your next LL or when you have used the LL you booked at 2pm.


Does Disneyland allow park hoppers to reserve for the opposite park?  If so, this might be what the OP is looking for.  It's hard to stack Genie+ at Disneyland because there's few rides that put you out more than 2 hours, but if you start stacking for the afternoon at a park you're hopping to, you can get a LL at 8, after scanning into the park, then at 10 and 12, assuming 2 hours after booking the first.  

I know at WDW, for park hopping, your time is given at first available time after park hopping begins, I just wasn't sure if the same applied to Disneyland.  

Because of how slow some rides are to fill up though, you may be booking 3 rides for the first hour of park hopping.  You can probably schedule them so that they're in a line to avoid zig zagging the park too.  If you go to the ride you booked at 12 first, you can immediately request another LL, otherwise you'll have to wait to use that or until your 2 hours is up around 2pm.


----------



## pdx

BroadwayHermione5 said:


> Ok so I have read through the boards and youtube and what not but I still for the life of me cannot figure out how Genie plus fully works with the stacking. I understand how $LL work, but this stacking concept is throwing me for a loop. Is it possible to do so and not criss cross the park? How does it work with park hopping?
> 
> Any help you be greatly appreciated



I think Genie plus actually works best with park hopping. The schedule below shows how I stacked LL's on a crowded June day where we rope dropped DL, hopped to CA at 1pm, took a long hotel break from 3-8pm, and then went back to DL from 8-10pm. Basically, while we were at DL in the morning, I was "stacking" LL's for CA for 1-3pm. And then during our afternoon break, I "stacked" LL's for DL for 8-10pm. (I also purchased ILL's for Rise of the Resistance on this day. You can buy those anytime, independent of when you get your Genie+ LL's.)

-------------
While waiting at the rope in DL: got LL for Guardians of the Galaxy with return time of 1pm (even though the actual LL return time was 8:15am, we automatically got a return time of 1pm since that's the earliest time you can hop to CA)

8-10am: Rode our favorite DL rides standby with almost no lines: Big Thunder, Indiana Jones, Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, Buzz (Pirates was closed or we would have done that too)
Checked on Rise of the Resistance ILL return times every now and then--bought them around 9am when the return time was 11am

10am: got LL for Soarin with return time of 1pm

10:30am: Went to Galaxy's Edge and enjoyed the ambience. Rode RotR with our ILLs. Rode Smuggler's Run single rider. Had lunch.

12pm: Got LL for TSMM at 2:30pm

12:30: Walked to CA

1-3pm: Entered CA and rode Soarin' (LL), GotG (LL), Radiator Springs Racers (single rider), Incredicoaster (single rider), TSMM (LL), and Grizzly River Run (single rider)
At 2:15pm, got LL for Indiana Jones with return of 7:15pm

3pm-8pm: back to hotel for nap, swim, and dinner. At 4:15pm got LL for Matterhorn at 8:30, at 6:15pm got LL for BTMR at 8:30

8-9pm: Back at DL, rode Indiana Jones (LL), Big Thunder (LL), and Matterhorn (LL). At 8:15, used the refresh trick to get LL for Smuggler's Run with return of 9pm

9pm: Went back to Galaxy's Edge for a night view. Rode Smuggler's Run (LL)

10pm: Rode Star Tours standby with no wait as we left the park.
------------------

In all, we rode 18 rides, and never waited more than 20 minutes for a ride. And I didn't feel like I had to be on my phone all the time. I just set a timer for 2 hours later each time I made a LL selection. When the alarm went off, I looked over all the current return times and picked the one that was farthest out that fit into the hours when I was trying to stack rides (1-3pm in CA, and then 8-10pm in DL). If you look through the list of rides and none of the return times work for you, just wait a bit for the return times to get later, or if you want an earlier return time, try refreshing the screen a few times in case someone else cancels their LL for the time you want. And remember if your LL time is 2pm, you can check in for the ride any time between 1:55 and 3:15, so that gives you a lot of flexibility.

---------------
8/17/22: Editing to say that this strategy won't work as well now that the Lightning Lane rules for park hopping have changed. Sorry!


----------



## Aurora0427

pdx said:


> I think Genie plus actually works best with park hopping. The schedule below shows how I stacked LL's on a crowded June day where we rope dropped DL, hopped to CA at 1pm, took a long hotel break from 3-8pm, and then went back to DL from 8-10pm. Basically, while we were at DL in the morning, I was "stacking" LL's for CA for 1-3pm. And then during our afternoon break, I "stacked" LL's for DL for 8-10pm. (I also purchased ILL's for Rise of the Resistance on this day. You can buy those anytime, independent of when you get your Genie+ LL's.)
> 
> -------------
> While waiting at the rope in DL: got LL for Guardians of the Galaxy with return time of 1pm (even though the actual LL return time was 8:15am, we automatically got a return time of 1pm since that's the earliest time you can hop to CA)
> 
> 8-10am: Rode our favorite DL rides standby with almost no lines: Big Thunder, Indiana Jones, Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, Buzz (Pirates was closed or we would have done that too)
> Checked on Rise of the Resistance ILL return times every now and then--bought them around 9am when the return time was 11am
> 
> 10am: got LL for Soarin with return time of 1pm
> 
> 10:30am: Went to Galaxy's Edge and enjoyed the ambience. Rode RotR with our ILLs. Rode Smuggler's Run single rider. Had lunch.
> 
> 12pm: Got LL for TSMM at 2:30pm
> 
> 12:30: Walked to CA
> 
> 1-3pm: Entered CA and rode Soarin' (LL), GotG (LL), Radiator Springs Racers (single rider), Incredicoaster (single rider), TSMM (LL), and Grizzly River Run (single rider)
> At 2:15pm, got LL for Indiana Jones with return of 7:15pm
> 
> 3pm-8pm: back to hotel for nap, swim, and dinner. At 4:15pm got LL for Matterhorn at 8:30, at 6:15pm got LL for BTMR at 8:30
> 
> 8-9pm: Back at DL, rode Indiana Jones (LL), Big Thunder (LL), and Matterhorn (LL). At 8:15, used the refresh trick to get LL for Smuggler's Run with return of 9pm
> 
> 9pm: Went back to Galaxy's Edge for a night view. Rode Smuggler's Run (LL)
> 
> 10pm: Rode Star Tours standby with no wait as we left the park.
> ------------------
> 
> In all, we rode 18 rides, and never waited more than 20 minutes for a ride. And I didn't feel like I had to be on my phone all the time. I just set a timer for 2 hours later each time I made a LL selection. When the alarm went off, I looked over all the current return times and picked the one that was farthest out that fit into the hours when I was trying to stack rides (1-3pm in CA, and then 8-10pm in DL). If you look through the list of rides and none of the return times work for you, just wait a bit for the return times to get later, or if you want an earlier return time, try refreshing the screen a few times in case someone else cancels their LL for the time you want. And remember if your LL time is 2pm, you can check in for the ride any time between 1:55 and 3:15, so that gives you a lot of flexibility.



This is freaking genius. I saved this post and when we go back in August, I’m following this exact plan. I wish I had read this before we went with my mom last week! We would’ve been so much more productive park hopping to DCA!


----------



## sweethannah

pdx said:


> I think Genie plus actually works best with park hopping. The schedule below shows how I stacked LL's on a crowded June day where we rope dropped DL, hopped to CA at 1pm, took a long hotel break from 3-8pm, and then went back to DL from 8-10pm. Basically, while we were at DL in the morning, I was "stacking" LL's for CA for 1-3pm. And then during our afternoon break, I "stacked" LL's for DL for 8-10pm. (I also purchased ILL's for Rise of the Resistance on this day. You can buy those anytime, independent of when you get your Genie+ LL's.)
> 
> -------------
> While waiting at the rope in DL: got LL for Guardians of the Galaxy with return time of 1pm (even though the actual LL return time was 8:15am, we automatically got a return time of 1pm since that's the earliest time you can hop to CA)
> 
> 8-10am: Rode our favorite DL rides standby with almost no lines: Big Thunder, Indiana Jones, Jungle Cruise, Haunted Mansion, Buzz (Pirates was closed or we would have done that too)
> Checked on Rise of the Resistance ILL return times every now and then--bought them around 9am when the return time was 11am
> 
> 10am: got LL for Soarin with return time of 1pm
> 
> 10:30am: Went to Galaxy's Edge and enjoyed the ambience. Rode RotR with our ILLs. Rode Smuggler's Run single rider. Had lunch.
> 
> 12pm: Got LL for TSMM at 2:30pm
> 
> 12:30: Walked to CA
> 
> 1-3pm: Entered CA and rode Soarin' (LL), GotG (LL), Radiator Springs Racers (single rider), Incredicoaster (single rider), TSMM (LL), and Grizzly River Run (single rider)
> At 2:15pm, got LL for Indiana Jones with return of 7:15pm
> 
> 3pm-8pm: back to hotel for nap, swim, and dinner. At 4:15pm got LL for Matterhorn at 8:30, at 6:15pm got LL for BTMR at 8:30
> 
> 8-9pm: Back at DL, rode Indiana Jones (LL), Big Thunder (LL), and Matterhorn (LL). At 8:15, used the refresh trick to get LL for Smuggler's Run with return of 9pm
> 
> 9pm: Went back to Galaxy's Edge for a night view. Rode Smuggler's Run (LL)
> 
> 10pm: Rode Star Tours standby with no wait as we left the park.
> ------------------
> 
> In all, we rode 18 rides, and never waited more than 20 minutes for a ride. And I didn't feel like I had to be on my phone all the time. I just set a timer for 2 hours later each time I made a LL selection. When the alarm went off, I looked over all the current return times and picked the one that was farthest out that fit into the hours when I was trying to stack rides (1-3pm in CA, and then 8-10pm in DL). If you look through the list of rides and none of the return times work for you, just wait a bit for the return times to get later, or if you want an earlier return time, try refreshing the screen a few times in case someone else cancels their LL for the time you want. And remember if your LL time is 2pm, you can check in for the ride any time between 1:55 and 3:15, so that gives you a lot of flexibility.



Amazing 
But I'm a bit confused, what was your actual return time for GOTG if you couldn't hop until 1pm and you rode Soarin before your LL? We'll be hopping too so I'd like to try your approach


----------



## sweethannah

Can anyone let me know if a MEP can be carried over to the next day? For example we book Guardians for 930pm but it's down. That would convert to a MEP however 30 mins to close options are limited. Can we go to guest services and request it to carry over to the following day? Thanks!!


----------



## pdx

sweethannah said:


> Amazing
> But I'm a bit confused, what was your actual return time for GOTG if you couldn't hop until 1pm and you rode Soarin before your LL? We'll be hopping too so I'd like to try your approach


Our actual return times for GOTG and Soarin were both 1pm, even though both of them actually had earlier return times when I made my selections. When you go to make your LL selection, it will list the earlier return time, but after you choose it, the return time will be 1pm (for rides in the other park). Of course, if the ride already has a return time after 1pm, you'll get that time rather than 1pm. You can see that when I made my TSMM reservation at noon, the return time was 2:30, so that's the time I got. That's why you want to choose the ride with the farthest out return times whenever you can. GOTG is a good first choice since it fills up fast. At 10, I looked to see whether Soarin or TSMM was filling up faster that day--it varies from day to day.

Since we had 1pm LL return times for both GOTG and Soarin, we could ride those any time between 12:55 and 2:15, and we didn't have to ride GOTG first.


----------



## sweethannah

Perfect thank you! I wasn't sure how broad the return time window was, again very helpful information. Thank you!


----------



## Pluto468

sweethannah said:


> Can anyone let me know if a MEP can be carried over to the next day? For example we book Guardians for 930pm but it's down. That would convert to a MEP however 30 mins to close options are limited. Can we go to guest services and request it to carry over to the following day? Thanks!!


The ones we didn't use were gone the next day, but I hadn't thought to ask about carrying it over. I haven't heard of that as an option.


----------



## denisejk

I am trying to understand all the ins and outs of Genie+ strategies, and I think I am following along until this detail...



pdx said:


> Our actual return times for GOTG and Soarin were both 1pm, even though both of them actually had earlier return times when I made my selections. When you go to make your LL selection, it will list the earlier return time, but after you choose it, the return time will be 1pm (for rides in the other park). Of course, if the ride already has a return time after 1pm, you'll get that time rather than 1pm. You can see that when I made my TSMM reservation at noon, the return time was 2:30, so that's the time I got. *That's why you want to choose the ride with the farthest out return times whenever you can. *GOTG is a good first choice since it fills up fast. At 10, I looked to see whether Soarin or TSMM was filling up faster that day--it varies from day to day.
> 
> Since we had 1pm LL return times for both GOTG and Soarin, we could ride those any time between 12:55 and 2:15, and we didn't have to ride GOTG first.



I'm sure this makes total sense and is true, but I can't figure out the reasoning.... maybe because this is not something we tried to do with the old (free) FastPass system. What am I missing? Why is it important to choose the ride with the farthest out return time whenever you can? Is this specific to park hopping or also when selecting a LL for the park you're in? I think if I can understand the logic behind it, I will do a better job of using it.

Thank you!


----------



## GBRforWDW

Depends on your strategy.  If you are park hopping and stacking for the park you're hopping to, it helps if your first selections aren't all at 1pm, however, with DLs Genie, that's hard to avoid.  

Also, the next pass selection is based on last chosen. So, when you select 3 rides and get them all for 1pm, if you go first to the most recent selection, you can make your next selection right away, instead of waiting out the 2 hour window, so if your first 2 ride selections are at 2pm Instead of 1pm, and your 3rd is at 1pm, you can use that one and get your 4th pass without worrying about how to get to all 3 right away or forgetting which one you need to use first to be able to book another. 

If you are using the passes in the park you start in, it's best to get passes for sooner so you can use it and get your next pass.

But, if you have 2 days per park, you don't really even need Genie.  I didn't even use it on one day per park.  I did buy a couple individual Lightning Lane passes tho.  If you can take advantage of rope drop and low attendance for the first couple hours and single rider lines later, you can knock out several of the higher wait time rides with little to no waits.

However, it can still be a nice to have feature once you are in the middle of the day to skip a few more rides, or as I mentioned, stacking for park hopping.


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## pdx

denisejk said:


> I'm sure this makes total sense and is true, but I can't figure out the reasoning.... maybe because this is not something we tried to do with the old (free) FastPass system. What am I missing? Why is it important to choose the ride with the farthest out return time whenever you can? Is this specific to park hopping or also when selecting a LL for the park you're in? I think if I can understand the logic behind it, I will do a better job of using it.
> 
> Thank you!


@GBRforWDW is correct that it depends on your strategy. If you're staying in one park, you might want to always go for a return time that is soon (and maybe also close by), so you can get another LL quickly. Since I knew that I was only going to be in DCA from about 1-3pm, I wanted to make sure that we didn't miss out on a ride that we really wanted to do. GOTG is really popular, and it often gets to a late return time earlier than other rides. So if I didn't choose that one early, it might have had a 5pm return time by the time I tried to get it. It was like a puzzle where I was trying to figure out when to get each LL so that the ride would have a return time that could be used from 1-3pm. In practice, that meant that I was choosing the most popular rides earliest.


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## Markonefive

I have a question I hope someone can answer.  We will be a party of 6 all linked in one Disneyland account.  If I want to book a LL, can I select which members of the party need the LL?  Some don't want to ride Space Mountain, for example.


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## starlite_

Markonefive said:


> I have a question I hope someone can answer.  We will be a party of 6 all linked in one Disneyland account.  If I want to book a LL, can I select which members of the party need the LL?  Some don't want to ride Space Mountain, for example.


Yes, you can select the ones you want the LL for.


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## BroadwayHermione5

So conceivably i could stack t 7 am for the morning in one park and then throughout the day at the other park after the respective time opens (i say this as someone going to DLR right when both HM and Monsters will be reopening)


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## Turk February

WDW vet headed to DL this week and using G+ for the first time. If I have everyone's tickets scanned into my DL app, I will be able to make LL reservations for everyone, correct? It doesn't matter if we aren't all on the same reservation for park passes, right? Just need their tickets in my account.


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## GBRforWDW

Turk February said:


> WDW vet headed to DL this week and using G+ for the first time. If I have everyone's tickets scanned into my DL app, I will be able to make LL reservations for everyone, correct? It doesn't matter if we aren't all on the same reservation for park passes, right? Just need their tickets in my account.


That's correct.


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## starlite_

Wanted to thank DLRExpert and everyone on this thread. Thanks to Indy being broken most of saturday we were able to get not 1, not 2 but 4 MEPs which made our day absolutely perfect. So thank you for the tips ♡♡


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## Jrog92

sweethannah said:


> starlite_ said:
> 
> 
> 
> Wanted to thank DLRExpert and everyone on this thread. Thanks to Indy being broken most of saturday we were able to get not 1, not 2 but 4 MEPs which made our day absolutely perfect. So thank you for the tips ♡♡
> 
> 
> 
> How did you get more than 1 MEP?
Click to expand...


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## scrappinginontario

Things changed today (Aug 11th) at WDW re: hopping and stacking. Has anyone heard of changes at DL?


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## DLRExpert

scrappinginontario said:


> Things changed today (Aug 11th) at WDW re: hopping and stacking. Has anyone heard of changes at DL?



No but will find out tomorrow.


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## scrappinginontario

Have fun!!


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## Turk February

I’m here now and cannot book a Guardians LL while in DL for later.


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## sweethannah

I


Turk February said:


> I’m here now and cannot book a Guardians LL while in DL for later.


 I was able to yesterday I'm like 99% sure. I'll check tomorrow. Another little thing that eats away at G+'s overall value.


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## Lissame

sweethannah said:


> I
> 
> I was able to yesterday I'm like 99% sure. I'll check tomorrow. Another little thing that eats away at G+'s overall value.


I would love to see a for sure answer about this!


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## sweethannah

Lissame said:


> I would love to see a for sure answer about this!


I scanned in to CA just after 11am. I bought G+ I was able to book a LL for Splash with a 3-4pm return time immediately


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## Lissame

sweethannah said:


> I scanned in to CA just after 11am. I bought G+ I was able to book a LL for Splash with a 3-4pm return time immediately


So to me it sounds as if you can book them as long as they are already after 1.


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## dina444444

Lissame said:


> So to me it sounds as if you can book them as long as they are already after 1.


Yes, that’s what the recent app change did. Before you could book them at anytime and it would automatically make it for 1pm if you had a park hopper and they hadn’t gotten that late yet on distribution.


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## Prez8983

Hello all, new to Genie+ and have a quick question. I could swear I purchased the option when purchasing my tickets. Is there a way to know for sure? I see my tickets on the website and app, but don't see anything about Genie+. Any thoughts?


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## Lissame

Prez8983 said:


> Hello all, new to Genie+ and have a quick question. I could swear I purchased the option when purchasing my tickets. Is there a way to know for sure? I see my tickets on the website and app, but don't see anything about Genie+. Any thoughts?


When I sign into the app and click on "Tickets and passes" our tickets pop up and they say 5-day park hopper ticket with Disney Genie+ Service" on them. If yours don't say that, then you might not have purchased it


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## sweethannah

People are reporting they cannot book LL in the opposite Park even after 1pm unless they've scanned into the opposite Park


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## Markonefive

Wondering if Disney is seeing too much traffic hopping over to DCA using up LL slots?


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## dieumeye

Markonefive said:


> Wondering if Disney is seeing too much traffic hopping over to DCA using up LL slots?


Maybe. DCA has a lot of problems when attractions go down. Especially RSR. It gums everything up.


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## Prez8983

Lissame said:


> When I sign into the app and click on "Tickets and passes" our tickets pop up and they say 5-day park hopper ticket with Disney Genie+ Service" on them. If yours don't say that, then you might not have purchased it



Thanks Lissame, that helped me to confirm I did indeed purchase Genie+!


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## katyringo

I think this change could also be happing in anticipation of OBB about to start.


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## DisneyMommy77

Hi Everyone,
Been reading page after page, hoping to not mess this up when we go.
We have park hoppers.
Questions/confirmation I am understanding correctly:
1. If we start at DL in the morning we book our first Genie + as soon as we enter the park? (I swear in Florida I remember booking the first one while still at our Disney resort) Must be different at DL?
2. After we ride the first one, or 2 hours have passed, or it expires, whichever is sooner then we book the next one? 
3. Around what time will I be able to start booking for CA Adventure for the late afternoon and evening? Sounds like I need to wait for the CA Adventure ones to have times available after 1pm now. 
4. I read something about a refresh trick. What is that? 
5. Can I do both Radiator Springs and ROTR in the same day buying individual lightning lanes? 
6. Is it possible that lightning lanes with Genie + will run out and I won’t get one for every available ride? Does that happen often?

Thank you!


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## Obi-J Kenobi

DisneyMommy77 said:


> Hi Everyone,
> Been reading page after page, hoping to not mess this up when we go.
> We have park hoppers.
> Questions/confirmation I am understanding correctly:
> 1. If we start at DL in the morning we book our first Genie + as soon as we enter the park? (I swear in Florida I remember booking the first one while still at our Disney resort) Must be different at DL?
> 2. After we ride the first one, or 2 hours have passed, or it expires, whichever is sooner then we book the next one?
> 3. Around what time will I be able to start booking for CA Adventure for the late afternoon and evening? Sounds like I need to wait for the CA Adventure ones to have times available after 1pm now.
> 4. I read something about a refresh trick. What is that?
> 5. Can I do both Radiator Springs and ROTR in the same day buying individual lightning lanes?
> 6. Is it possible that lightning lanes with Genie + will run out and I won’t get one for every available ride? Does that happen often?
> 
> Thank you!


I can answer numbers 1, 5 and 6.

You can start booking LL and ILL as soon as you enter the park.  However, if an attraction is down in the morning (i.e. ROTR) bookings may be accepted or available.

I just returned from DLR this week.  My family had PH feature.  You can absolutely purchase ILL for RSR and ROTR.  ILL was available in the morning for one ride and then after we park hopped to the other park it was available for the other ride.  We did not actually purchase ILL, but it was available.

It is possible for LL times to run out.  However, I never once saw times completely run out and we were in the parks pretty late (10:00 p.m. more or less).  I think what you are likely to see, in my limited experience, is that if you want a LL for INDY and it is 10:30 a.m. the LL window may not be available until 2:00 p.m.  Some attractions book up way faster than others.  Some attractions like IASW, I noticed that LLs were available almost the same time of booking (i.e. booking a LL at 10:30 a.m. and the LL availability starts at 10:35 a.m.).


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## serendipityaey

I bought our tickets for November yesterday but did not add on G+, planning to just do it when we are there. But is there a limited number of G+ each day?


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## GBRforWDW

serendipityaey said:


> I bought our tickets for November yesterday but did not add on G+, planning to just do it when we are there. But is there a limited number of G+ each day?


The rides and passes available for each ride are limited, but you're not limited to how many you can get.  As long as you meet the eligibility requirements and there's availability for selecting a new ride, you'll be able to do so.


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## mom2rtk

serendipityaey said:


> I bought our tickets for November yesterday but did not add on G+, planning to just do it when we are there. But is there a limited number of G+ each day?


They don't sell them with G+ any longer.


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## serendipityaey

mom2rtk said:


> They don't sell them with G+ any longer.


Yes they do, the option was clearly there to add on Genie plus for an additional $100 per person at the time of purchase.


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## serendipityaey

GBRforWDW said:


> The rides and passes available for each ride are limited, but you're not limited to how many you can get.  As long as you meet the eligibility requirements and there's availability for selecting a new ride, you'll be able to do so.



Ok, someone elsewhere seemed to imply only a certain number of people in the park could purchase the genie plus add on each day (and no one corrected them so it gave me a little fright). Would like to just decide each day even though we will probably end up doing it anyway


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## GBRforWDW

serendipityaey said:


> Ok, someone elsewhere seemed to imply only a certain number of people in the park could purchase the genie plus add on each day (and no one corrected them so it gave me a little fright). Would like to just decide each day even though we will probably end up doing it anyway


Oh I gotcha.  I think even if there is a limit, it hasn't been reached, so no one knows really for sure if there is a max.


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## dina444444

mom2rtk said:


> They don't sell them with G+ any longer.


That’s only for WDW.


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## hiroMYhero

Lissame said:


> So to me it sounds as if you can book them as long as they are already after 1.


That was true for us on Monday. We wanted Soarin’ for early evening and by 12noon, Soarin’ was available for 1:30. So, stacked Toy Story before finally getting Soarin’ - booked at 4p for a 5:15 return slot - for our early evening hop to DCA.


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## goofy1954

serendipityaey said:


> Yes they do, the option was clearly there to add on Genie plus for an additional $100 per person at the time of purchase.


I bought a package just last week that included Genie+. I'm thinking you may not be able to at Disney World?


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## dina444444

goofy1954 said:


> I bought a package just last week that included Genie+. I'm thinking you may not be able to at Disney World?


Disney World stopped selling included Genie+ back in June.


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## asgaga

how late can you cancel a genie+ ride or if you don't use it does it count against you?


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## DLRExpert

asgaga said:


> how late can you cancel a genie+ ride or if you don't use it does it count against you?


Cancel before the shown return time expiration.


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## Mommy2PrincessAbby

Hi all! We were maxpass pros… later at night most people had given up on max pass because nothing was available, and we would just refresh and snag random rides, can we still do this with genie?


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## mjmcnns

Process question...

We bought our tix (5 day PH) through an approved third party vendor. I've loaded the tix barcodes into the app/my disney/profile and it seems to have accepted them as it let me make park reservations.

But there's nothing in the app that is a ticket/something we could scan for entry.

Do I need to bring the original email barcodes from the seller (or e-copies, etc) to the gate on the first day?


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## dina444444

mjmcnns said:


> Process question...
> 
> We bought our tix (5 day PH) through an approved third party vendor. I've loaded the tix barcodes into the app/my disney/profile and it seems to have accepted them as it let me make park reservations.
> 
> But there's nothing in the app that is a ticket/something we could scan for entry.
> 
> Do I need to bring the original email barcodes from the seller (or e-copies, etc) to the gate on the first day?


Did you scan the tickets in the tickets and passes section of the app? That’s where they would appear if you scanned them in.


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## mjmcnns

dina444444 said:


> Did you scan the tickets in the tickets and passes section of the app? That’s where they would appear if you scanned them in.


Aha. There they are. Thanks!!!


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## DisneyElite4

I've been confused on some responses saying that you can't buy Genie+ in advance for DL. We have a March trip booked at GCV, and we purchased discounted Disneyland tickets through my husband's employer. We were able to purchase Genie+ as an add-on to these tickets. I have loaded both our stay and the tickets on the Disneyland app, checked on the website, and verified they do indeed include Genie+. Additionally, when I walk through purchasing tickets on the Disneyland website, it also gives me the option to purchase Genie+ as an add-on to my 4-day tickets. What am I missing?


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## dina444444

DisneyElite4 said:


> I've been confused on some responses saying that you can't buy Genie+ in advance for DL. We have a March trip booked at GCV, and we purchased discounted Disneyland tickets through my husband's employer. We were able to purchase Genie+ as an add-on to these tickets. I have loaded both our stay and the tickets on the Disneyland app, checked on the website, and verified they do indeed include Genie+. Additionally, when I walk through purchasing tickets on the Disneyland website, it also gives me the option to purchase Genie+ as an add-on to my 4-day tickets. What am I missing?


You can no longer but it with your ticket at WDW, there you can only purchase it day of. DLR is still selling them in advance. At DLR if you do not buy it with your ticket you can’t buy it until after you’ve scanned into the park. At WDW you can buy it starting at midnight and can start booking at 7am without being in the park.


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## dbenlee

I have seen this question asked earlier in this thread, but never saw a response so I would like to see if someone is able to answer this question.  We are experienced with Genie+ at WDW and used to WDW resort guest being able to book LL selections being able to book LL selections beginning at 7 am.  Is it the same at DL for resort guest?


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## dina444444

dbenlee said:


> I have seen this question asked earlier in this thread, but never saw a response so I would like to see if someone is able to answer this question.  We are experienced with Genie+ at WDW and used to WDW resort guest being able to book LL selections being able to book LL selections beginning at 7 am.  Is it the same at DL for resort guest?


No. You can’t start booking until after you enter the park for both genie+ and $LL. There is also no advantage to being onsite for $LL. 

For reference today rotr was still available well into the afternoon.


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## katyringo

Yes it's not the same at Disneyland. You can't pick your $LL time either, you take the time it gives you.


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## CJN

dina444444 said:


> You can no longer but it with your ticket at WDW, there you can only purchase it day of. DLR is still selling them in advance. *At DLR if you do not buy it with your ticket you can’t buy it until after you’ve scanned into the park.* At WDW you can buy it starting at midnight and can start booking at 7am without being in the park.


The bolded seems to have changed. For the last two nights I’ve been able to buy DLR’s G+  just after midnight in prep for the next day.


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## dina444444

CJN said:


> The bolded seems to have changed. For the last two nights I’ve been able to buy DLR’s G+  just after midnight in prep for the next day.


Look like they are mirroring WDW in that respect now.


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## MilitaryMouse

CJN said:


> The bolded seems to have changed. For the last two nights I’ve been able to buy DLR’s G+  just after midnight in prep for the next day.


Could you start booking at 7am? Or did you have to enter the park first?


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## CJN

MilitaryMouse said:


> Could you start booking at 7am? Or did you have to enter the park first?


I didn’t try that early, sorry.


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## mjmcnns

Beginner question: i previously put our tickets on the app and made park reservations.  My wife now has linked the tickets on her phone  - should the park reservations also be visible in her app?


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## Cardiackid

mjmcnns said:


> Beginner question: i previously put our tickets on the app and made park reservations.  My wife now has linked the tickets on her phone  - should the park reservations also be visible in her app?


If I recall correctly when we did all the parks at DW last year it did show the park tickets and the entry date for that specific park


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## MMR76

Have they changed Genie+ selection to 7 am or is it still upon park entry?


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## dina444444

MMR76 said:


> Have they changed Genie+ selection to 7 am or is it still upon park entry?


It is still upon park entry. And you can’t buy it until you enter the park if you did not buy it with your ticket.


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## MMR76

dina444444 said:


> It is still upon park entry. And you can’t buy it until you enter the park if you did not buy it with your ticket.


Thank you.  I purchased it with my tickets so I wasn’t sure if I could book at 7.  How about $ILL, do you book at 7?


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## dina444444

MMR76 said:


> Thank you.  I purchased it with my tickets so I wasn’t sure if I could book at 7.  How about $ILL, do you book at 7?


No. At Disneyland you can’t book anything until after you enter the park. Also, for $LL you won’t pick the time it will assign it like it does for regular LL.


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## MMR76

dina444444 said:


> No. At Disneyland you can’t book anything until after you enter the park. Also, for $LL you won’t pick the time it will assign it like it does for regular LL.


Thank you!


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## chezcurrie

Saw yesterday that G+ will soon have the option to refresh/change your existing reservation without cancelling it. So if you have a Space Mountain at 3:00 and its just before lunch you can check the app and if there is an earlier time or another ride you would prefer you can see it and can book it. A small postive change, IMO.


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## live2teach123

If you are in the park at 7:30 for EE, can you book your first LL then or do you have to wait until official park opening?


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## ironband74

live2teach123 said:


> If you are in the park at 7:30 for EE, can you book your first LL then or do you have to wait until official park opening?


Once you scan in,  you can book LL, whether you have EE or not.


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