Disney Heavily Promotes Paying to Skip Lines While Warning Guests of Service Limits

in Walt Disney World

Disney World crowds

Credit: Inside the Magic

When it comes to Disney Genie and Lightning Lane, Guests visiting Walt Disney World have had to get themselves well acquainted with the My Disney Experience app to ensure that they are able to understand the new paid “FastPass” system, so that they are able to snag the attractions they want for the day. Now, Disney has made sure that Guests are not setting their expectations too high regarding Lightning Lane, and the number of rides they will be able to enjoy with the paid service.

genie disney phone mobile
Credit: Disney

Disney Genie was recently added to the My Disney Experience app, which is a new way for Guests to plan their day. Disney Genie is meant for those who are unsure on what they should do while at Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios and gives them a variety of specifically catered options. On top of that, Disney Genie also has a Disney Genie+ feature. For $15.00 per day per Guest, you can skip the long standby queue by making a Lightning Lane reservation (new FastPass) and returning at that time.

The cost for Disney Genie+ is slightly more expensive at Disneyland, and so are the a la carte options. Rise of the Resistance has hit costs of $20.00 per person per ride, which would essentially double the daily cost of Disney Genie+ if Guests wanted to Lightning Lane the Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge attraction, as well as use the paid system for other attractions.

Disneyland Disney Genie
Credit: Disney

At each Park, however, there are two attractions that Guests would need to purchase a separate Lightning Lane ticket for if they wanted to skip those lines. Those attractions are: 

  • Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
  • Space Mountain
  • Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
  • Frozen Ever After
  • Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
  • Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
  • Avatar Flight of Passage
  • Expedition Everest

Now, it seems that Disney has added a line to their Disney Genie section of the website, stating that Guests will, on average, be able to ride 2 or 3 attractions with Disney Genie+ a day.

The site states:

This unique new service lets you use our new Lightning Lane entrance at select attractions and experiences at the Walt Disney World theme parks. On average, guests can enter 2 to 3 attractions or experiences per day using the Lightning Lane entrance if the first selection is made early in the day. You may make one selection at a time, starting at 7:00 AM on the day of your visit (experiences are subject to limited availability). If your theme park ticket includes the Park Hopper option, you can select Lightning Lane arrival windows across multiple theme parks.

This new language of only 2 or 3 rides being ridden with Disney Genie+ is new and surely will help lower expectations to help curb Guest disappointment. Many Guests have thought that since they are paying, they will be able to skip more than 3 attraction lines, but it seems that that has not been the average case, so Disney has now clarified that on their site to not promote any other thoughts for Guests.

That being said, the My Disney Experience app is actively promoting Disney Genie+ and the use of Lightning Lane from the moment you open it. We recently opened our app and had a Disney Genie+ “ad” pop up instantly. It fully discussed the positives of the service, and is likely there to pull Guests in from the moment they open the app. It is interesting that they are advertising Disney Genie+ after recently pushing out a notification that was deterring Guests from making the purchase due to the overwhelming demand from others purchasing it at such high speeds.

Credit: Disneyland App

When this happens, the Lightning Lane return times sell out quickly, and may end up resulting in Guest disappointment if they purchased the service to skip a specific line, such as Tower of Terror, only to find that by 10:00 a.m., all Lightning Lane reservations are booked. Below, you can take a look at what was notified via the app!

My Disney Experience disney genie ad
Credit: Screenshot via My Disney Experience
My Disney Experience disney genie ad
Credit: Screenshot via My Disney Experience
My Disney Experience disney genie ad
Credit: Screenshot via My Disney Experience
My Disney Experience disney genie ad
Credit: Screenshot via My Disney Experience

More on Lightning Lane

Previously, Guests could pre-purchase Disney Genie+ prior to their theme park day, now some Guests will not be able to. It seems Disney has changed their policy which will affect Guests buying a one-day ticket. Disney Genie+ must be purchased on the My Disney Experience app on the day of their visit. Multi-day tickets can still have Disney Genie+ added on in advance.

At Walt Disney World Resort, the attractions that are available through Disney Genie+ and Lightning Lane include:

Magic Kingdom

Genie-Phone-Angle-WDW
Credit: Disney

Individual Lightning Lane Entrances
Attractions include*:

  • Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
  • Space Mountain

Disney Genie+ Lightning Lane Entrances
Experiences include*:

  • Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
  • Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
  • Dumbo the Flying Elephant
  • Haunted Mansion
  • “it’s a small world”
  • Jungle Cruise
  • Mad Tea Party
  • Mickey’s PhilharMagic
  • Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor
  • Peter Pan’s Flight
  • Pirates of the Caribbean
  • See Mickey at Town Square Theater
  • See Princess Tiana and a Visiting Princess at Princess Fairytale Hall
  • See Cinderella and a Visiting Princess at Princess Fairytale Hall
  • Splash Mountain
  • The Barnstormer
  • The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
  • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
  • Tomorrowland Speedway
  • Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid

EPCOT

Disney genie
Credit: Disney

Individual Lightning Lane Entrances
Attractions include*:

  • Frozen Ever After
  • Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure

Disney Genie+ Lightning Lane Entrances
Attractions include*:

  • Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival
  • Journey into Imagination with Figment
  • Living with the Land
  • Mission: SPACE – Green
  • Mission: SPACE – Orange
  • Soarin’ Around the World
  • Spaceship Earth
  • Test Track
  • The Seas with Nemo & Friends
  • Turtle Talk with Crush

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

disney genie app
Credit: Disney

Individual Lightning Lane Entrances
Attractions include*:

  • Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
  • Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance

Disney Genie+ Lightning Lane Entrances
Experiences include*:

  • Alien Swirling Saucers
  • Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage
  • Disney Junior Play & Dance!
  • For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration
  • Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
  • Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
  • Muppet*Vision 3D
  • Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
  • See Olaf at Celebrity Spotlight
  • Slinky Dog Dash
  • Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
  • The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™
  • Toy Story Mania!

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Disney Genie_ Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane
Credit: Disney

Individual Lightning Lane Entrances
Attractions include*:

  • Avatar Flight of Passage

Disney Genie+ Lightning Lane Entrances
Attractions include*:

  • Celebration of the Festival of the Lion King
  • DINOSAUR
  • Feathered Friends in Flight!
  • It’s Tough to Be a Bug!
  • Kali River Rapids
  • Kilimanjaro Safaris
  • Naʻvi River Journey
  • The Animation Experience at Conservation Station

Have you used Disney Genie+ yet? What are your thoughts? 

Let the expert team at Academy Travel help you plan your next magical vacation to Walt Disney World Resort’s four theme parks — Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios — and the Disney Springs shopping and dining district!

 

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