Credit: ITMDemand is continuing to dominate the Walt Disney World Resort, with Magic Kingdom hitting capacity for Disney’s add-on service.
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Disney Genie+ has completely sold out at the Magic Kingdom for the second day in a row. As of 10:30 a.m. February 21, guests will no longer be able to purchase Disney Genie+ for the Magic Kingdom. Disney Genie+ was priced at $29 for Magic Kingdom, with Disney’s Hollywood Studios coming in at $26. Genie+ for EPCOT was set at $21, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom was priced at $18.
Disney Genie officially rolled out in October of 2021 and completely changed the way guests visit, explore, navigate, and enjoy the Disney theme parks. Disney Genie services are available at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resorts and were designed to help make planning out your day a little bit easier, though it can also make your Disney day quite a bit more expensive.
Disney Genie is free, but for a price, guests can upgrade to Disney Genie+, granting them access to other features, like the ability to make Individual Lighting Lane Reservations. Disney Genie+ is the replacement for Disey’s FastPass systems, which were used throughout the Disney theme parks for decades.
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The price of Genie+ varies by day, ranging anywhere between $14 and $35 per guest per day. However, despite Disney Genie+’s rather controversial status among Disney theme park fans, it remains an incredibly popular add-on for guests visiting the Walt Disney World Resort.
As we stated earlier, this is the second day in a row that Disney Genie+ has sold out at the Magic Kingdom, with it completely selling out at other parks throughout the beginning of 2024 as well. The Walt Disney Company attributed its booming profits in 2022 and 2023 to Disney Genie+ sales. The popularity of Disney Genie+, along with massive wiat times throughout each theme park, indicates that demand is simply too great for the amount of rides and attractions found within the Walt Disney World Resort.
January through March used to be considered the “slow season,” with guests usually able to ride and do anything they wanted with minimal waits. This has changed significantly over the last few years due to a multitude of reasons. In this modern age of Disney theme park adventures, guests will simply need to be prepared to wait an average of at least 30-60 minutes for popular thrill rides like Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, with classic dark rides not being any better.
On a recent trip, Pirate of the Caribbean, wait times spiked, reaching 70 minutes at one point. Other “E-Ticket” rides like Expedition Everest at Disney’s Animal Kingdom reached a staggering 140 minutes, with DINOSAUR stretching well behind the hour-long mark.
With Tiana’s Bayou Adventure opening this summer, it’s incredibly interesting to think about the demand it will bring with it. The new attraction acts as the replacement for Disney’s former Splash Mountain experience, refitting the old write with new music, characters, and locations inspired by Dsney’s 2009 animated film The Princes and the Frog.
It’s unknown if the new attraction will utilize a Virtual Queue like Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and TRON Lightcycle / Run, but it’s safe to say that Tiana’s Bayou Adventure will not help the crowd situation at Magic Kingdom.
Do you enjoy using Disney Genie+? How do you prefer to plan your Disney World day?