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Yesterday, Disney Parks announced that the free FastPass as we know it is going away permanently. It’s been noticeably absent since the parks reopened during the pandemic. As many suspected, you will now have to pay extra to get a faster queue experience.
Introducing Genie and Genie+
The MyDisneyExperience app and the Disneyland app will roll out Genie and Genie+ this fall right in the apps. The purpose is to allow guests to better plan their time in the parks.
The free Genie aims to help guests better plan their itinerary throughout the day. You can choose the rides and characters you’d like to see, and the app will help you plan your day accordingly. It tells you current ride wait times and forecasted wait times. The Genie has a virtual assistant to answer your questions.
Upgrading to Genie+ costs $15 a day per person at Disney World and $20 a day per person at Disneyland. Genie+ gives you access to the Lightning Lane entrance for select rides with a shorter wait. You can pick one ride at a time through the app for the Lightning Lane. Genie+ also includes audio experiences and augmented photo features.
In addition to Genie+, select rides that are not included in Genie+ will have an additional cost for Lightning Lane access. The most popular rides, like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Radiator Springs Racers, will have their own TBD costs for the faster queue. This is already in place at Disneyland Paris.
You can see the entire update from Disney on the Disney Parks Blog.
My Thoughts on Genie+
Let’s all admit that its sucks to have to pay for something that used to be free. Dang it, Disney! And if you have a large family and are planning a multi-day trip, the extra costs can really add up. My family of 5 on a 4-day trip would need to spend $300 more for this service. And, Disney park tickets are already expensive as it is.
However, Universal has charged extra for faster lines for a long time now, and it costs $100 or more per person per day there. Yes, their system is a bit different in that you don’t have to sign up for it one ride at a time. But in comparison, it’s a lot more expensive.
I do wish that Disney offered Genie+ for free to guests staying in certain onsite resort categories like Universal does.
Since my family visited Disney World this past May without any FastPass system, I am happy that it’s coming back. It’s nice to have the option, and truthfully I will probably pay for it. We don’t visit the parks that often, so when we do visit we need to maximize our time there.
What do you think of these changes?
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Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
my wish is to go to walt disney. reading this article of yours and some of the comments it seems like walt disney is different from the previous one, I hope they fix this problem, thanks very much for sharing
Regards,
Panel Surya
I am sure Walt would not be happy about this but the almighty dollar prevails. I am happy I grew up going to Disney in the 80’s and it was nothing like the Disney today.
I haven’t gone through the particulars, but there seems to be no limit to the amount of rides you can select, as long as you’re willing to pay for it. I’d say that’s an improvement over the old FP which limited your rides to 3 per day.
@Aaron Well, sort-of. With the old FP+ you could pre-book 3 and then select one at a time in the parks after that. It will be interesting to see the availability of rides with the new Genie+. It could be an improvement if it works well.
We’ll probably pay for Genie…but here’s the thing that really irks me about all this right now. In July 2019, I bought Disneyland tickets for my family that were good until Jan 2021 for a trip we planned for May 2020 (obviously canceled). I purchased MaxPass for $15 per day per person so we could use FastPass on our phones (a must with very young children IMHO). Anyway what I am not happy about is that Disney has not said anything about refunding my MaxPass purchases or switching them over to GENIE or offering me some sort of other value (even a Disney credit would be ok). Maybe they will still do that and in all it’s not that much money, but I feel it’s dishonest of them to take my money and then offer me no value in return…COVID or not. Am I missing something here?
Anyway hopefully our December 2021 trip will still happen. I really wish they would give us more time to use our tickets, but such is life I guess!
@Tammie I would definitely reach out to Disney to see if they will refund your MaxPass. They should.
Agree that it sucks, but I will likely pay for Genie+ too. I have taken the kids to Disney World many times when they were younger and we will probably do the trip ONE LAST TIME so they can really remember it (they are 11 and 10 now). Prior to having kids I remember my ex husband and I used to go there for less than $1000 for 5/6 nights staying at Pop Century. And it included free dining. Those were the days! As I get older I am not really into theme parks anymore. I do like walking around and enjoying the vibe (without the pressure of getting on all the rides), but it’s too expensive to just “walk around” anymore. Anyway, if I think of our next trip as THE LAST TRIP, then the cost might be easier to swallow. However, I have known to say that after every single trip, and have always managed to return somehow.
@Joyce I know what you mean! I think my last trip (this summer when my boys were 13 and 17) might be their last one for a while. They are more into Universal now anyway.
I would think Walt Disney is turning over in his grave. What started as a family park for the masses turned into a money machine available only to those with wealth – that was probably not his intent….I went there many times in the 60s to 80s; no more.
@JRG it’s certainly gotten a lot more expensive, but if it was any cheaper there is no way the crowds could fit in the park.