Disney just let Genie out of the bottle, so how exactly is he going to help Guests in the parks?

There’s so much “new news” coming out daily at the Walt Disney World Resort, like the announcement by Disney yesterday that its new Genie and Genie+ and Lightning Lane systems will debut in the parks on October 19.

On the heels of all the 50th anniversary news and announcements, it’s a lot to take in, so let’s take a look at how the ever-impressive, the long-contained, the often imitated, but never duplicated Genie is going to take the guesswork out of Guests’ days at the Most Magical Place on Earth.

https://youtu.be/u9fP50klEPE

According to Disney Parks Blog, Genie is a complimentary digital service that is built right into the My Disney Experience app. It was created to decrease the amount of time Guests spending waiting in line for attractions, limit the wasted time in the parks wondering, “what should we do next?” and help Guests to find magic little surprises around every corner inside the parks.

The Genie service makes suggestions about what you and your traveling party can do on any particular day at the parks, literally mapping out your entire day, but with a personalized touch only Genie can give!

The service will help you navigate attractions, entertainment experiences and foodie opportunities, among other offerings at Disney World. And if you don’t like a suggestion the service has made, you can swap it!

Disney’s Genie service has it all: forecasted wait times at attractions, a function to allow Guests to join virtual queues at some attractions and a function that allows Guests to make dining reservations. It will even make mobile food ordering a snap!

See more of what you need to about the service, according to Disney Parks Blog, below. It sounds impressive!

With Genie, Guests will be able to:

• Get Itinerary Updates from Morning to Night: Disney Genie will continue to update your itinerary throughout your day, so you can be more spontaneous and go with the flow.
• Find Your Favorites at a Glance: Create your very own personal tip board to instantly see your favorites. It will display current AND forecasted future wait times, helping you predict when you might experience quicker entry to attractions.
• Enjoy More Flexibility and Fun: Disney Genie brings existing planning features together in one place. Join a virtual queue at certain attractions, make dining and experience reservations, mobile order food at many locations, get help from a virtual assistant, and more.

NOW let’s talk about Genie+.

This service is an upgrade from the complimentary Genie service, which of course comes with a fee. Genie+ costs $15 per day at Disney World and allows you to choose the next available time for arrival at certain attractions and experiences at the parks, using the Lightning Lane entrance (RIP, FastPass+).

With Genie+, Guests can make one attraction selection at a time throughout the course of the day. Choices include attractions like Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain and the Millennium Falcon at Galaxy’s Edge.

The upgraded version of the service will also include Disney Parks-themed photo features, such as augmented reality (AR) lenses and unlimited Disney PhotoPass downloads for that day.

Another part of Disney’s new services and systems is the Individual Attraction Selection option, which allows Guests to pick an arrival time at up to two of the parks’ most popular attractions, such as Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, using the Lightning Lane entrance. (Think, “I am speed!”)

Attractions available for selection through this option are not available with Genie+ and require a separate fee. Think of this service as representing the “pay-to-play” attractions in the parks. They include the following:

Magic Kingdom

• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
• Space Mountain

EPCOT

• Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
• Frozen Ever After

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

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

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

• Avatar: Flight of Passage
• Expedition Everest

There is a cost per attraction, per person, per day for each of these attractions (unless you choose the stand-by queue), and the cost varies based on the date of your visit and the attraction itself.