Walt Disney World has recently launched a new virtual system (via the Disney World app) called Disney Genie+! This program was created to help guests organize their day at the park, and has essentially replaced Fast Pass with Lightning Lanes. While the service has received very mixed reviews due to its complex and somewhat confusing nature, we decided to take it for a spin around EPCOT for an evening of futuristic fun. Come along as we explore this virtual planning service and try Lightning Lanes at EPCOT for the first time!
LIGHTNING LANES
We paid $15.00 to utilize Disney Genie+ at EPCOT, and while the lines were already rather short on the day we went, we found it helpful to make Lightning Line reservations for various rides over the course of the evening. By using this system, we were able to experience six different attractions in just four hours! And the best part is, we barely waited for any of them. We initially booked Lightning Lane reservations for Living with the Land, Spaceship Earth, Test Track, and Soarin’.
We discovered that we were able to access the Lightning Lane five minutes early! To check in, we simply arrived at the designated Lightning Lane queue for whichever attraction we were riding, and tapped our Magic Band to enter. While Disney Genie+ only allows you to have four Lightning Lane Reservations at a time, we were able to book a new one (for The Seas with Nemo and Friends) immediately after checking in to Living with the Land.
As a side note: Living with the Land has received an updated narration and a dazzling Christmas overlay for the holiday season! We recommend checking it out.
OUR THOUGHTS
While we’re still not completely sure how we feel about Disney Genie+, we were happy for the opportunity to try it out for ourselves. The concept is solid: pay a small price to avoid lines and plan out your ride times accordingly. However, we did hit a few snags while using it across the evening, such as being unable to reserve a fourth ride at one point (a technical error?), and waiting about the same time as regular guests for rides with short waits. Admittedly, it was very nice to have it for more popular rides such as Test Track, where we bypassed a 60 minute wait.
At the end of the day, we were able to ride six attractions in four hours, and while that isn’t bad, it still seemed as though we should have been able to do even more. The only thing we truly didn’t like about Disney Genie+ was that is was pretty difficult to use, and that we couldn’t ride anything twice. Overall, we found that this system might not be worth it on slow nights at parks with less rides, such as EPCOT or Animal Kingdom. Of course, we still recommend it for Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, or for very busy days. We look forward to seeing the service improve and grow in the future!