Are you excited or disheartened by the new Disney Genie system? No matter how we feel about it, it will be arriving soon but with a few new modifications. Check out the new estimated release date and a change to attractions listed for the Individual Lightning Lane.
What is Disney Genie?
One day we will be telling our grandkids that when we were younger Disney offered FastPasses for FREE. You know those kids won’t believe us (ha). Disney has been developing a new Disney Genie system that will replace the free FastPass+ in Walt Disney World and MaxPass in Disneyland.
There is so much to take in with the different levels of Disney Genie, Disney Genie+, and also the Individual Lightning Lane. Be sure to check out Monica’s article where she helps explain each aspect of this new system.
When will it be Available?
We saw signs that could point to a debut of the Disney Genie in time for Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary celebration on October 1, 2021. The Disney Company continued to state a fall debut date, but this is such a broad time frame.
Although the Disney Company has still not released a debut date, we have a better estimation when Disney Genie may be available. At this time it appears that Disney Genie will be available later in October 2021 at Walt Disney World. Disney Genie will be available for Disneyland a couple of weeks later.
This is still an estimation and these dates could continue to shift. Earlier this month, we reported that testing would soon be underway for Disney Genie. It is possible that additional time was needed to perfect this system after that initial testing.
It is now estimated that Disney Genie will be available later in October 2021 at Walt Disney World. Disney Genie will be available for Disneyland a couple of weeks later.
We will continue to share information regarding an official debut date once announced by the Walt Disney Company.
New Individual Lightning Lane Attractions
Individual Lightning Lane is a paid system priced per person per attraction. You can select up to two headliners per day to ride using this option. At this time, Disney has not yet released the cost of this new Individual Lightning Lane system.
Here is a new breakdown of which attractions will offer the Individual Lightning Lane:
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
- Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
Slinky Dog Dash(this has been changed to Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway)
Magic Kingdom
- Space Mountain
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
EPCOT
- Frozen Ever After (previously Test Track was offered)
- Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
- Expedition Everest (previously Kilimanjaro Safari was offered)
- Avatar Flight of Passage
What do you think of this new attraction list for the Individual Lightening Lane? What do you think about the estimated debut date for Disney Genie at Walt Disney World? How will this affect your touring plans? Share your thoughts with us on our Facebook Page.
A blatent comment from one that is entitled, who doesn’t mind being that or telling others that he deserves it.
You need to try living on the other (poor) side so you can appreciate their view. While I certainly do not mind you paying 10 times more for a wider/better first class seat (as all the passengers arrive at the same time), I do think your housing comment (where certain people were blocked from neighborhoods and/or unfairly charged much higher interest rates) illustrates your lack of understanding.
Capitalism is American, though it would be nice if the rich paid their fair share of taxes to even things out (unless you truly believe that one person is better than another because of their $$$).
Ford created the Model T so everyone could afford an automobile. Walt created Disneyland so every family could enjoy time together.
The rich don’t get to rewrite the rules just because they don’t pay their fair share of taxes.
I wonder if everyone who is planning on boycotting Disney because of perceived discrimination against the poor, also plan on carrying that boycott over to every airline that offers that horrible and discriminatory First Class seating? So unfair.
You have to be rich to travel like that.
That should also be eliminated, right? That will solve things. Except for the fact that the up charge the First Class travelers pay probably helps offset the cost of the flight. But in the interest of fairness, that increased cost can be shared amongst everyone on the plane.
So when the price of the plane ticket goes up for everyone, anybody who doesn’t have much money won’t be able to fly as much, but can stay at home knowing that everything is fair. And that is better than being able to get to where you want to.
I mean, you can drive to where you want to go.
But by traveling on a freeway that has some kind of HOV lane or toll roads, you’re also encouraging discrimination. Some poor people cannot afford that luxury. One should probably stick to side roads to send a message that you aren’t going to travel on those highways until things get a little more woke and everyone can now sit in the new higher density traffic.
Oh, and those people driving in nicer cars than me that have all those nice luxuries that I can’t afford (and I am pretty sure Henry Ford never even thought about things like airbags, power steering, air conditioning, etc., so let’s get back to Ford’s original vision), well that is just thumbing your nose at my financial situation. A more fair system will be if we have just one option for a vehicle. I mean, some people treat their vehicles like status symbols. Like they just get off on spending the money they are working for. So unfair.
I guess the righteous boycotter should just stay home. Oh wait. Housing. Darn. Not everyone can afford a house. So unfair. Technically there are people who live on streets. In the interest of being completely fair, living with an actual roof over your head goes against everything that those have fought for equality before us have suffered for. So unfair.
Matt, I am confused. You say that this is not discriminatory but most of your comment suggests it is (since poor people can no longer afford it).
I am sorry you never got to experience the magic, it was there (not just Disney marketing).
Walt created Disneyland such that families could enjoy time together is a fun and safe environment (amusement parks were seedy back then).
For a few decades, Disney was just that. Things changed over time (mostly for a better experience) and the magic was there. Employees were treated well and enjoyed their work, and most every guest had a great time and created memories. Ride lines were reasonable (bar holidays) and the park was not overcrowded With the exception of some overtired children, most everyone shared a happy spirit during their visit.
Disney management changes (which focused on profit over the experience) has changed the magic. Yes, it is a business, but it is a business that should support Walt’s initial concept — a special shout out today for the death of Walt’s EPCOT — Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow; an acronym that is now longer valid without the Future World (renamed as of Oct 01 to World Celebration, World Discovery, and World Nature).
I certainly agree with you that Disney should consider park expansion over price hikes. Walt would have corrected the supply side such that more families could visit, over the current management attitude of increasing price to reduce demand.
Yes, it is Capitalism at its finest, which we could debate may be discriminatory on its own.
In any event, the average family which use have equal (fair) access to rides now needs to yield to richer folk that can pay for priority service. Its Capitalism, but also it is discrimination, since it takes away equal treatment (in favor of the rich).
My perspective is very different from Tlaw. I am middle class and have 3 young kids. We live 16 hrs away in Ohio and Disney is already a vacation that is nearly double any other trip at ~5k if done on a budget for less than a week. We can budget vacation to the beach for half that, tent camping and attending other awesome parks (Cedar Point) under 1k. For people like me Disney has always priced out the poor or at least made it a once in a lifetime opportunity because of how long saving for such an trip takes.
What is “the magic”? I personally do not know what people are talking about here. When people refer to this, I think they mean good memories of times past at Disney. There is no magic, however, there never was any magic either. The “magic” was Disney marketing, an idea sold to people to justify and make the return visits at those incredibly high prices. Those great memories of times past can occur anywhere, some of our families most magical experiences are those budget non luxurious camping trips.
We are a family of 5 that need to take at least 5 days to make a trip to Disney worth while. 3 park days is about all we can handle during a 5 day trip. The trip budget approaching 1000/day in cost. Adding G+ will be 75 dollars. Will we add each day, probably not depends on the crowd calendar, season, and how many days we go to each park. So this up charge will be between 1.5% to 5% of our total trip. Hardly an impact on my wallet at all and already poor individuals are unfortunately left out. Also seems a relatively fair value if we spend 1 day at Hollywood and likely would never return again. We spent 1.5 days a HWS 3 years ago and had a very unmagical experience with slinky dog. FP+ was not available despite logging in as early as possible on the earliest day I was able. We decided to go at rope drop on an extra magic hour day. Despite efforts we got to the park late (shuttles overwhelmed) and already met a 3 hour line. So our then 5 year old never got to ride despite half our park time being used at that park. They simply don’t have enough attractions there (pre-star wars) so felt like we wasted a lot of money and time that day. The magic for us that trip was Fort wilderness golf cart driving and outdoor movies.
We have summer passes to the local amusement park, Kings Island. We wait in the lines with others of all walks. They have paid fast lane lines that we have never purchased but see people using and I have impression these are wealthy elites in those lanes. The wait times are what they are, we get used to it and most our trips are short visits when crowds are low. I’ve never lived in FL so don’t know what the Disney pass holder experience is like in comparison. Your parks are much more visited by vacationers.
Basic economics would say the Disney price is one limiter to high crowds. Our world is becoming overcrowded with people. Disney demand is high, basic economics are the cost goes up. This is capitalism not magic. I don’t know Walt or his ideals, but magic is in us and in our experiences not a corporate theme park. Money doesn’t make people happier nor am I saddened when the fast lane people get on the rides before me at Kings Island. My family have our own magic in line talking and interacting while those people go by. We don’t really pay much attention to it at all.
Change is hard and people who use Disney often may be loosing a perc of fastpass+, but people like me this system never helped much. It required to much insider knowledge and gave those with experience an advantage. Great for diehard Disney fans, but left casual visitors not in the know with scraps of fast passes for Dumbo and Muppets.
In no way am I saying the new system is much better. While I am hopeful the basic Genie will do what it says and decrease wait times for everyone by using algorithms to sort itineraries for large crowds keeping everyone distributed and able to ride everything on the iteneraries in the most efficient way possible, I do have doubts. Genie+ meh, probably will add to our HWS visit and see. Lightening Lane, may buy for ROTR depending on pricing. Don’t think we will know untill we use it. If people don’t like it and demand is low then capitalism economics says it will go away. If people buy it then it is something people value even if not you personally and either learn to live with it or leave it. The discrimination argument just doesn’t hold water.
You will still be able to ride, but you will wait in the standby line. If you add genie plus, it’s like the old fast pass. If you purchase lighting lane, you will bypass all lines and go directly to the ride.
Nope. Cancelled my Disney cruises (was Platinum) and all future park reservations. I will no longer participate encouraging companies to discriminate against poor people.
Disney may never get the message, though they are not getting my $10k+/yr like they use to.
Previously, I bought into the Disney hype. I did not realize my participation in their special events discriminated against the poor (and back then Disney had programs to assist needy families).
This all changed for the quest of the mighty $$, and the new Genie system. Anyone who can afford it will pay for shorter ride times, and the ones screwed are the poor people that can not afford the extra charge. Their reward will be ridiculousy long wait times, in which they will watch the happy rich people take 2 or 3 rides while they wait in line – will there be ‘rich only’ water fountains and toliets in the future?
Disney effectively doubled the ticket price in which only the rich people are allowed to ride.
This is certainly not the Disney Walt intended. Chepak must go, before customers are required to provide their credit score before making a park reservation.
Wonder if they will replace a paid ride with a non paid one if it goes down for a refurb. Specifically replacing Everest with Safari when it goes down in January. It wouldn’t surprise me.
Yeah I don’t get it either? So is this lightening lane basically fast passes but only if you pay for them? And this is suppose to make people jump for joy? Am I missing something? Wasn’t it that we got 3 fast passes per day for free before? So how is this a good thing? The only good thing that came out of this, is the disability return time, is going to be accessible on an app. I hope it happens by October 6th when I’m there with my daughter as it makes life so much easier than running around finding green umbrellas to get a return time.
Bob paycheck continues to charge more for less. Walt would be ashamed at what Disney has become. Walt once said to all who come to this happy place welcome. Bob paycheck says to all who come here surrender your wallets and passholders are not welcome at all .Fire bob paycheck
And all of you people complaining…..will still be going and padding their pockets, giving them no incentive to change.
Tlaw, yes!! Whey aren’t they seeing this? I love the back of the bus analogy! It does happen everywhere.. kids with Under Armor backpacks versus kids with a Walmart character bag, name brand vs generic at school.. Universal premier resorts with express pass vs. value resorts with paper thin walls.. BUT Walt Disney would not want this and that is the sad part. That is NOT what Disney is about, I agree completely!
Rich people have been attending Early Morning Magic, fireworks desert parties, and all kinds of up-charge events way before Genie. How about the family on the 8k private tour! Nothings really changed in relation to rich vs poor at WDW. Its just a change in the way the up-charge is offered. Rich people have been able to buy a better experience at WDW for years.
Again I agree with tlaw. This is an absolute disgusting money grab and discriminatory against those who are not wealthy. Chapek needs to go NOW. Double dipping! We are beyond angry
It will be hard for middle class people with children to go to Disney.
WOW! I think i agree with Tlaw’s sentiments. While I can still afford to go to Disney ONLY because I have DVC my heart goes out to people who will now struggle to go to a park that Walt intended for ALL families. So sad. Lois
So the rides that are listed for each park, you will only be able to purchase those? So if I were to purchase Everest, I can’t get a regular (fast pass) for it?
We need to change the Genie (to CBIS) name to reflect what it really is – the Chepak Bonus Improvement System.
Maybe we should just return to Walt’s original A-E ticket system and lose these systems that make poor people feel like they don’t belong there (at Disney).
I will no longer support a company that purposely discriminates against poor people. Even if the family is lucky enough to afford the initial visit, they still need to explain to their children why the rich people can go on the ride before them.
Genie/Lightning Lanes are systems purposely installed to discriminate against lower income (second class) people. This is not a fair approach and certainly not what Walt initially intended.
Will Disney start making the poor people ride in the back of the Disney Bus next? Of course, that assumes that there still is a bus for poor people, since the Magic (Mickey) Express was cancelled.
RICH PEOPLE — How can you support a system/company that purposely discriminates against poor people? Think about that when you are in the Lightning Lane next time.