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Credit: DisneyDisney has been tinkering with how its controversial Disney Genie+ and Lightning lane services work at the Parks.
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Over the years, the Guest experience at Disney has changed quite a bit. However, the largest update came in 2021, when Disney officially launched Disney Genie for the Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts, and to say it’s been a controversial addition to the DIsnye experience would be, well, an understatement. Disney Genie is a free service Guests can use to help plan and adjust their trip in real time.
Guests can make reservations through the app. However, for an extra cost, Guests can purchase Disney Genie+, a service that allows Guests to utilize quite a few more features. Along with Disney Genie+ came Lightning Lane.
Guests can pay for individual Lightning Lanes, which allows them to essentially skip the standby queues. This is where the controversy comes in, as FastPasses through standby lines used to be free at Disneyland and Disney World.
A common complaint about Genie+ is that the price per Guesr varies day-to-day. Earlier in May, the price was four dollars more than it was at the start of the month.
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However, Disney is “full steam ahead” with these systems, implementing them on both coasts as well as overseas, though it’s not called Disney Genie in other countries.
Recently, Disney has been playing around Lightning Lane entry at a classic attraction. As WDWMAGIC reports, Haunted Mansion is now being tested for extended Lightning Lane entry at Walt Disney World.
The two Lightning Lane touchpoints that were original there are now covered, with Disney adding three mobile touchpoints inside the actual entry gate. We aren’t sure what prompted Disney to make this change or if we can expect more rides and attractions to undergo this change.
Do you like Disney Genie+ and Lightning Lane, or do you prefer the original FastPass method?