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Genie+ Good , Bad, and the Ugly

Genie+
Credit: Disney, Canva

A lot of planning goes into a Walt Disney World vacation. My Disney Experience, Disney’s official app, is a huge part of planning. Disney Genie is a free feature in the app that helps guests plan and navigate the Disney Parks.

A separate part of Disney Genie is Genie+. This is a paid feature found within the app. It is designed to help guests spend less time in line and more time enjoying the parks and all the magic they have to offer.

Because Genie+ is a paid feature, there are a lot of discussions that revolve around its use. To help our readers understand it better, we will break down the good, bad, and ugly of Genie+.

stressful Disney Genie, Disney Genie+, and Lightning Lane

Credit: Disney

What is Genie+

Guests traveling to Walt Disney World can add Genie+ starting at midnight. The price of Genie+ fluctuates daily depending on crowd levels. The starting price is $15, but it can reach $35 per person daily during peak times.

By purchasing Genie+, guests can access the Lightning Lane to around forty rides, shows, and attractions throughout the four Disney Parks. Lightning Lanes are specific entrances that are separate from the standby line. This is an excellent way to bypass the long lines and save time during a Disney vacation.

Once purchased, guests can make Genie+ selections throughout the day, saving time as they enjoy the magic.

We will break down this feature’s good, bad, and ugly. This will allow all guests to determine if Genie+ and the additional cost will benefit them during their vacation.

guests looking down at their phone and smiling, castle in the background

Credit: Disney

The Good of Genie+

A handful of good things come with using Genie+ in Disney Parks. If there weren’t, guests wouldn’t still use it daily.

Shorter Waits

The biggest positive to Genie+ is the ability to skip the longer standby lines and, therefore, save time in line to have more fun in the parks. With Genie+, most waits are around 15 to 30 minutes, even for the most popular rides, such as Star War: Rise of the Resistance.

Many experiences, such as Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Na’vi River Journey, or it’s a small world allow guests to walk right onto the ride.

Genie+ saves a lot of time throughout the day in a Disney Park by cutting down on time waiting in line. By using Genie+, guests can experience more of what the parks offer.

Stacking

Another great feature of Genie+ is that you can “stack” throughout the day. If you aren’t heading into the Park until later in the day or plan on taking a break for swimming, you can still make Genie+ return times every two hours.

Doing this allows Guests to have a few rides scheduled with Genie+ before they arrive in the Park for the day or head back in the evening. This is a fantastic way to have a ride-focused time without waiting in long lines.

Modification

Another major positive with Genie+ is that guests can now modify their selections. Once guests have selected an attraction, they can return to the app and adjust.

This allows guests to adjust the return time and attraction if other options become available. Modifying Geine+ allows guests to make sure they have the best selections throughout the day when visiting and enjoying the magic.

Genie+ is a great way to skip long waits while experiencing the park. Modifying and stacking selections makes Genie+ an excellent feature for guests throughout Disney Parks.

Disney Genie

Credit: Disney and Canva

The Bad

Although it might seem like Genie+ is all great, the system has some downsides.

Early Alarm

One big downside to using Genie+ is the early alarm that goes with it. Guests who want to use Genie+ will want to set their alarm for 7:00 a.m. Doing so will help them snag those top rides with their Genie+.

This can be frustrating each morning of your trip. Sleeping in at least one day during your vacation is often needed to keep everyone happy. That can make Gene+ frustrating.

No Set Times

Another feature that can be frustrating is that you aren’t able to choose your return time. Guests are given the next available time slot and can either take it or move on. This can be hard when you have dining reservations already planned. Having to select the next available time slot, Guests have to be flexible in their Park plans and be able to adjust on the fly.

We are glad that Disney now has the modification option. This helps slightly when finding return times that fit into guests’ plans.

Multiple Rides

Finally, we wished that we could use Genie+ to ride more than once throughout the day. We realize that Disney is trying to spread the selections out between Guests, but it would have been nice to have been able to ride our favorites multiple times during a day instead of having to choose rides that might have been less interesting to us.

Those are a few of the bad when it comes to Genie+, unfortunately, some aspects are even uglier.

Genie+ and Anger from Pixar Inside Out

Credit: Disney and Canva

The Ugly

The Cost

Finally, we find two things to be “ugly” about Genie+ while at Walt Disney World. The first is the cost. It is hard for many to pay additional money for a vacation they already pay thousands for. When you are looking at the price for a family, Genie+ can be a substantial additional cost.

No Guarantee

Our last point that we find to be ugly regarding Genie+ is that even when paying for it, you aren’t guaranteed to ride your favorite ride. We often see selections for popular rides such as Slinky Dog Dash, Jungle Cruise, and Peter Pan’s Flight booked with 7 a.m. time slot minutes.

If we are playing for that much money, it would be nice to know that we would have the opportunity to ride the must-do attractions for our group.

Genie+ is a great feature that guests can add to their Walt Disney World vacation. It allows them to bypass long lines during their trip, giving them more time to enjoy other magical experiences.

The cost of the Genie+ and some of the functions of the feature can be frustrating. The key is to ensure you know how it works so that you can get the most out of your investment if you choose to purchase it during your trip.

About Jennifer Retzlaff

My name is Jennifer Retzlaff and I became a lifelong Disney fan during my first trip to Walt Disney World in 6th grade. From that moment, Disney became a big part of my life. I live in Iowa with my husband and two kids who are growing up too quickly for my liking. I started introducing my love for Disney early to my family with a Disney honeymoon and then trips when our youngest of 18 months. Since then, our family has been to Walt Disney World over five times and we continue to plan and dream for the next trip. I love the magic that Disney brings to people through the theme parks, cruises, adventures and movies they create. As a teacher, I try to bring that magic into my classroom to help kids believe that “If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It.” I recently reached a dream of mine as I joined Magic Vacation Planner as a personal travel advisor. With this team, I can now help others plan magical vacations. As a passionate writer, I also have my own blog at magicalvacationsbyjen which is also where you can follow me on instagram for trip reviews along with tips and tricks for your next magical vacation.