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The Best Disney Genie+ Strategy for EPCOT

EPCOT Monorail with Spaceship Earth in Background
Credit: Disney

EPCOT is a stunning Disney Park at the Walt Disney World Resort that first opened on October 2, 1982 and has been amazing Guests ever since. In recent years, EPCOT has seen much change as it celebrates the Walt Disney World Resort’s 50th anniversary and prepares for many more years of wonder, and Guests have never stopped enjoying spending tons of time there on each vacation.

EPCOT is divided into fur neighborhoods- World Celebration, World Nature, World Discovery, and World Showcase, and each unique area is filled with attractions, experiences, and entertainment that are completely unique to the Disney Park. With so much to see and do in EPCOT, it is no wonder that Guests can easily spend several days trying to enjoy it all, but not everyone has the luxury of that amount of time.

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App Screenshot

Credit: disneyparknerds.com

Some Guests only have one day to enjoy in EPCOT, and this limitation of time can seem daunting, but there are several great ways to be smart about time management and experience as much as possible. Simple steps like being familiar with the Disney Park and knowing the location of specific experiences is key, but the best strategy for saving time and enjoying as much as possible is efficiently using the Disney Genie+ service.

Disney Genie+ is a recent debut at the Walt Disney World Resort that replaced the popular FastPass system that Guests had been using for many years. Disney Genie+ is absolutely complicated in comparison, but once Guests master a few simple strategies and techniques for using it, it can be extremely helpful.

The Disney Genie+ service allows Guests to make Lightning Lane selections for specific attractions and experiences throughout the Disney Parks that assigns a designated window of time to return and use the Lightning Lane entrance. Guests can then enjoy that experience with little to no wait time, effectively skipping losing time in the standby line.

Ride Vehicle

Credit: Disney

Some of the most popular attractions in EPCOT that can feature extensively long wait times for the standby line include Test Track Presented by Chevrolet, Soarin’ Around the World, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, Frozen Ever After, and Mission: SPACE. Due to their popularity, these are the attractions that Guests should prioritize when making Lightning Lane selections.

The first step to using Disney Genie+ is to make sure that the My Disney Experience App is downloaded. Once logged in and ready, Guests can purchase Disney Genie+ any time after midnight for use that day in a Disney Park. Purchase prices are per person and now vary based on the day of the week and which particular Disney Park, so Guests should note that it will not be consistent each day.

Once purchased, Guests can begin to book Disney Genie+ Lightning Lane selections at 7AM, so they should be logged onto the My Disney Experience App by 6:58AM and begin refreshing as the time approaches. Once bookings are open, Guests have to act quickly to score the best selections, making it crucial to know ahead of time which attractions and experiences are most important to them.

A very important note to consider: Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in EPCOT is not eligible for a Lightning Lane selection via the Disney Genie+ service. Instead, this new and incredibly popular attraction is accessible only via Virtual Queue or Individual Lightning Lane purchase, both of which also open to Guests at 7AM. So Guests need to decide if Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is their priority or not and choose which service they are going to attempt to prioritize at 7AM.

Remy

Credit: Disney

Let’s say for example that a Guest is extremely interested in enjoying Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure and does not want to wait on the standby line and lose lots of time. The Guest should then be ready to book their Disney Genie+ Lightning Lane selections at 7AM and immediately select Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure to secure the earliest possible return window. This strategy applies to any popular attraction that Guests are prioritizing including Test Track Presented by Chevrolet and Frozen Ever After.

After making their initial Lightning Lane selection, Guests can finish getting ready for the day and head out to EPCOT to begin enjoying the Disney Park. The key to making the most of the entire day at EPCOT is to continue efficiently using the Disney Genie+ system and additional Lightning Lane selections can either be made immediately after using the first selection or two hours after the Disney Park opens.

An example of what this would potentially look like is that a Guest books a Lightning Lane for Mission: SPACE at 9:30AM and can book another Lightning Lane option once they tap their MagicBands at that experience. Alternatively, if a Guest’s first selection isn’t until later in the day and EPCOT opens at 9AM, they can begin making additional Lightning Lane selections at 11AM.

Guests absolutely need to be aware of when thy can book their next Disney Genie+ Lightning Lane selection in order to continue to score great return times to popular attractions and avoid lengthy standby lines. Guests should continue to prioritize the popular attractions in EPCOT mentioned above, while also strategically stacking Lightning Lane selections throughout the day.

Bruce

Credit: Disney

Stacking Lightning Lane selections comes from choosing as many selections as possible as soon as eligible and bouncing from one attraction or experience to the next using the Lightning Lane queues. While attractions like Living with the Land, Spaceship Earth, Journey into Imagination with Figment, Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival, and The Seas with Nemo and Friends might not seem like worthy candidates for Lightning Lane selections, even saving twenty or thirty minutes here and there can add up to lots of saved time to enjoy other areas of EPCOT.

While it might seem like a daunting task, the Disney Genie+ system can truly be an effective tool in helping to save time throughout a day in EPCOT leaving Guests more opportunities to explore and enjoy all that the Disney Park has to offer!

About Caitlin Kane

Caitlin Kane has been visiting Walt Disney World since she was a child and has developed a deep love and appreciation of the Disney Parks with a particular interest in the small details and history that can be found all around. Visiting every chance she gets, Caitlin loves to enjoy the ambiance of the Disney Parks and try something new every time. She can often be found eating and drinking her way through the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, riding the Haunted Mansion, sipping on a Lapu Lapu, pretending Illuminations: Reflections of Earth was still in existence, and enjoying seeing the magic through the eyes of her children. When not in WDW, Caitlin can be found at home in New York dreaming of a ride on Living with the Land and counting down the days until her next trip.