Ever since Disney Genie+ was introduced last year, it’s been…controversial to say the least. Disney Genie+ and Lighting Lanes replaced the previous FastPass+ system and Disney guests have lots of opinions about this change.

We’ve heard a lot of bad things about Genie+, but there are a few things that aren’t so bad about it, too. We wanted to know what our readers’ favorite and least favorite things were about Genie+, so we went over to our Facebook page and asked them!

Disney Genie+ replaced FastPass+ as the way you skip the line for rides in Disney. For a flat rate of $15 per person, you can choose which rides you want to skip the line at beginning at 7AM. Disney Genie+ can be purchased at midnight the day you are planning to use it and the first selection can be made at 7AM.

Now that we’ve gotten that background out of the way, let’s get into what our readers had to say about the service.

Favorite Part About Genie+

Let’s start with the positives! Many people don’t like how Genie+ forces you to wake up early (which we’ll get into in a minute), but one reader says that we should be looking at it from a different perspective, we should consider how much time it will save us later! “Getting up early to ensure that I don’t spend 2 hours of my precious day standing in a boring line is amazing,” they said.

Another thing guests like is not having to plan out your park day months in advance the way you used to have to with the old FastPass+ system: “I hated having to schedule my entire day with [FastPass+] 2 months in advance.”

And many of our readers agreed that, especially as we head into the crowded summer months, it’s nice to not have to wait in the standby line. “We were able to ‘skip’ the lines on a lot of our must-see rides and I didn’t think it was too complicated to use,” one reader said, with another saying that because of Genie+ they “zipped through at least 6 lines in less than 5 min!”

Least Favorite Part About Genie+

Some of our readers had some pretty strong opinions when it came to their least favorite thing about Genie+ with one reader saying: “Least favorite: That it exists. That is all.”

One of the other big problems guests had with Genie+ was the fact that you had to wake up so early in order to make your first selection with one reader saying “getting up at 7am every day was a bit exhausting.” 

You can, of course, choose not to wake up that early and just book your Genie+ selections when you do wake up in the morning but then you run the risk of not being able to find a time for some of the rides: “a negative is that a lot of the rides are gone mid day…even when I refresh.” Many of our readers also cited the price as one of their least favorite things about Genie+.

Many readers also wish that Disney would still allow you to purchase Genie+ ahead of time, instead of at midnight the day of. One reader said “Right now, the fact that you can’t buy it in advance is my least favorite thing. That’s super annoying.” This is a recent change that Disney made to the program as guests were previously able to purchase Genie+ ahead of time. “I’d prefer to buy it and make my first reservation of the day in advance,” said one of our readers.

Many of our readers also said it was confusing, mostly due to the 120 minute rule. The 120 minute rule has to do with when you can make a new Lightning Lane selection after your first one. It states that after you make your first Genie+ selection, you can make your next one when:

1. You have used the first one you booked;
2. Your first return time window has ended (if you miss it); or
3. 120 minutes have passed since you booked your last one (or 120 minutes after park opening, depending on the situation).

Guests say that this rule overcomplicates things and makes an already confusing system even more confusing.

Many readers also mentioned their frustration with not being able to pick the times they ride things. With Genie+, you are at the mercy of Disney for what time you’re going to ride something. “I wish you could pick your time instead of just next available,” one of our readers said.

Genie+ can be difficult to navigate and many guests feel as though it’s not a very intuitive experience. If the 120 minute rule is confusing, we have lots of resources that help explain it. If you’re not a morning person, or don’t want to wake up at 7AM while on vacation, you can try to delegate who makes the Genie+ selection each morning, or choose to wake up later in the morning and make your first selection then.

If you choose to wait and make selections later in the day, but are worried about ride availability, be sure to keep refreshing and checking the app, because you never know when more times may be added. This is also true if you’re wanting to push your Lightning Lanes out later into the day: keep checking the app and you might be able to get the time you’re looking for. The best thing you can do to make the process a seamless as possible is to learn how to navigate the Genie+ system before you head out on your vacation, so once you get there, you know exactly what you need to do.

So, maybe Genie+ isn’t all bad, but according to our readers, it certainly isn’t all good. It has many confusing aspects and makes days difficult to plan when you can’t choose the times you want to ride things. For the latest news and updates on Disney Genie+ and Disney in general, make sure to stay tuned to DFB.

Click here for EVERYTHING you need to know about Disney Genie and Genie+

What are your favorite and least favorite things about Genie+? Let us know in the comments!

The post The BEST and WORST Facts About Disney Genie+ first appeared on the disney food blog.