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As the holidays approach, crowds flock to Disney World. Genie+ may offer a way to reduce waiting, but is it worth it?
Today’s Wait Times
There are a few busy weeks at Disney World that come to mind. Christmas is at the top of the list, followed by the week of 4th of July, Easter, and Thanksgiving. Many schools have the entire week off, and families flock to Disney World to enjoy a nice, long vacation. We shared crazy wait times for yesterday HERE, and they’re not any better today!
There are definitely some benefits of going during this week. For one, you can enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving meal at many Disney World and Orlando restaurants. Christmas decorations and festivities are in full force, and the weather is pleasant.
However, there are definitely some drawbacks of visiting when it’s so busy. Like other holidays, you’ll find massive crowds at Disney World this week. Just take a look at some of the highest wait times for each theme park today at 11:30am…
Animal Kingdom
- Avatar Flight of Passage: 160 minutes
- Na’vi River: 140 minutes
- Kilimanjaro Safari: 115 minutes
- Expedition Everest: 95 minutes
Hollywood Studios
- Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance: 165 minutes
- Slinky Dog Dash: 130 minutes
- Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster: 120 minutes
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway: 105 minutes
- Millenium Falcon: 90 minutes
- Toy Story Mania: 85 minutes
EPCOT
- Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure: 140 minutes
- Test Track: 110 minutes
- Frozen: 110 minutes
- Soarin’ Around the World: 105 minutes
Magic Kingdom
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Trail – 180 minutes
- Peter Pan’s Flight – 105 minutes
- Jingle Cruise – 100 minutes
- Pirates of the Caribbean – 85 minutes
- Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin – 85 minutes
- Haunted Mansion – 80 minutes
As you can see from this list, everyone is ready to experience all the Disney World attractions. Unfortunately, with such long wait times, it’s not possible to do as many as during non-peak times.
Genie+ Variable Pricing
Along with a huge list of recent price increases, Disney also moved to variable pricing for Genie+. Since its launch in 2021, Disney World’s Genie+ cost $15 and Disneyland’s version cost $20 per person (plus any applicable tax). However, guests have since seen pricing vary at Disney World and Disneyland.
With date-based theme park ticket pricing and Disney’s announcement that Guests could no longer purchase Genie+ in advance, variable pricing came as little surprise. Disney saw a way to increase revenue during peak crowd levels on this service and capitalized on it.
Today’s Genie+ reached an all-time high of $29 per person! While it’s not that much for a solo guest, the cost can quickly rise for families visiting on multiple day. If you plan to use this service, it’s important to budget these costs into your vacation.
Genie+ During Busy Times
With these insane wait times, Genie+ sounds like a no brainer to cut down on waiting in line, right? Well, maybe not. Many guests report when it’s this busy, they only get 2-3 choices each day. You need to weigh the “time value of money” to decide if purchasing Genie+ is worth it or not for your party.
During busy times, guests may only get a few Genie+ selections each day.
Another option is to purchase an Individual Lightning Lane for the most popular rides. If there is availability, this gives you a guaranteed return time and reduces wait time. However, this is an additional cost. For example, today’s Rise of the Resistance ILL costs $29 per person plus tax today. And that’s just for one ride!
Would you purchase Genie+ during peak crowds at Disney? If not, will you wait in the longer lines or focus on holiday experiences and treats instead? Please share your thoughts in the comments below or on our Facebook Page.
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Ian Lamble
Saturday 21st of January 2023
Last minute guest and Disney don’t go hand in hand. You need a park reservation and to get one need a ticket in advance. The system simply doesn’t work. Clear the decks. Start again.
Ian Lamble
Saturday 21st of January 2023
100% agree
Lori O'Brien
Tuesday 22nd of November 2022
Actually, they could still use variable pricing, just as they do with ticket prices, but it would have to be determined at least somewhat in advance. Since they can do it with tickets because they have enough of an idea on crowds, they could do it with Genie+. I agree that it's reasonable for a business to monetize this, just not the way it's implemented. The guest is gambling too much with value. To be guaranteed that you would know how many and what you would get in advance lets everyone win. And truthfully, if they allowed choosing time slots like they used to, then guests would organically do their own little bit of crowd control.
CRT
Monday 21st of November 2022
The problem is that booking 60 days out would not allow Disney to use dynamic pricing. In addition, everyone who planned their vacation 60 days out would book the same handful of rides leaving none of the popular rides available for the last minute guest. Disney wants to make more money from every guest, not just the pre-planners. The FastPass system was broken, and this was one of the major complaints. The simple answer is that Disney needs to add more rides and expand the capacity in the parks. It would also help immensely if Disney would maintain its rides so that they are not constantly breaking down.
Ian Lamble
Monday 21st of November 2022
I don’t really have a problem with Genie +. Disney has a right to monetise as Universal do. The issue I have is paying for something when you have no idea what you are getting. If you could book 3 like the Fastpass days say 60 days out fair play. I would pay.