I was mostly stacking, but not entirely. Generally 1st was something high priority and harder to get, and 2nd was something with a quicker return. Then stacking. I have teenagers with fast fingers so we did pretty well with getting early 1st LLs.
MK:
Space (high priority and did not want all thrill rides saved for afternoon)
after that it was too early to get Peter Pan, given our long mid-day break. so I got a couple with morning returns before starting to stack. Of note, we were not interested in jungle cruise.
HS:
Slinky
RNR (got somewhat lucky to get before lunch)
then stacking
Of note, I chose a Sunday for HS because LL availability seems much better on weekends.
EP:
Test Track (high priority for all my kids)
Frozen (high priority for one)
Spaceship Earth, with return time before lunch
After that I actually had to wait before stacking (starting with Soarin) because everything was running early. It was June 28 and I wasn’t expecting that. I did not get Remy in the morning because it was of much lower priority to my family, but if you want it, get that 1st because it won’t generally be available later. Test Track or Frozen you can almost definitely get 2nd, but no guarantees for after that.
AK: (note: no mid-day break, left before dinner)
Navi
Adventurers Outpost (mid-morning return)
Safari, etc
OP, I totally agree with you, started reading the responses, and then this thread turned into a foreign language. Someone please just give me a touring plan on a piece of paper.
I’m trying to get things figured out here. I can absolutely see where BG1 is going to be an awesome help. Thank you very much for developing that! My question…if I want to stack, I can only see one time available in BG1, will there be multiple selections of later times available in Genie+?
For instance, if we rope drop Rise then hit ToT and RnR. At 7:00 AM I was planning to grab a later SDD then 9:00 a ToT, 11:00 RnR, etc etc. We’ll probably hop to Epcot so at some point I will start grabbing some Epcot stuff too. Speaking of Epcot, do I have to be in Epcot to grab the 6:00 VQ drop for Guardians? I’ve got a month to kinda get this stuff figured out. Thanks for all the help. To not derail anything here, please feel free to PM me instead of replying. Thank you all for your help. Was FPP+ pro. Hoping to get close to the same here. Obviously won’t be exactly the same because you can only grab things once.
Hoping some of our time we won’t really need to worry about it as we’ll hit MK for the MNSSHP and then from 11:00 - 1:00 AM for extended hours. should be lower crowds then. Really want to maximize our HS ride time and to some extent AK although i don’t think we’ll need Genie as much there. Thanks again!
in either G+ or BG1 you will only see the next available time. You can try stacking but remember that not all rides will have the same availability and you might not be able to stack them nicely.
I recommend that you do a test run using Thrilldata to check what will be available at each time and see what works. See link below (scroll down a bit or click in each park to see a park-specific table). In the LL availability table you can see what is available when.
And remember, your next selection is 2 hours AFTER PARK OPENING so you won’t be able to do that 9:00 selection for ToT until 11:00am.
thank you! I will definitely take a look. So I can book at 7:00 because we are onsite, but then I can’t book again until 11:00? Is that right? If I grab an early SDD then I would be able to book something else as soon as I tap in though correct? This Genie stuff is so freakin confusing.
Onsite and offsite guests are identical for G+ purposes. Both can make their first bookings at 7AM. Only for $ILL rides (eg RotR) is there a difference: onsite guests can book $ILL’s at 7AM, offsite must wait til park opening.
Personally, a pure late stacking approach seems harder than catching a falling knife and most people just like it because of the “rush” feeling you get when you are able to chain several passes in a row.
However, you can do that by using BG1 smartly and drops to your benefit. BG1 also has the highly convenient option of Merlock’s picks which are high-demand attraction with quick return times.
A better strategy is this:
at 6:50am preload you BG1 with your top priority pick (SDD, Remy, FEA, etc.). Do not wait like an idiot in the attraction selection screen wasting precious seconds! That’s ok for testing but not for the real deal.
at 7:00am complete you LL selection. You will get an early time because everyone else with be scrolling, refreshing and selecting their parties.
at 7:01am do you ILL pick, remember you can choose the return times for these. If offsite, sit back and relax.
if offsite, at park opening, make your ILL selections. If RDing, just step aside and forget about the crowds for a second. Investing some time here will save you precious time later.
Ride your “second priority” or the “second tier” attractions first before you use your first LL. Why? because you will be riding the top tiers using either LL or drops and you can get ahead of everyone rushing to the top tiers because you will already have your LL pass.
Maybe ride one more on SB.
Use your first LL before the first drop.
Use Merlock’s picks as available
10:17 or 10:47am (depending on park) get the first drop. But Sneaky, how will I remember so many time? First, set alarms. Second, BG1 display the next drop time always. The first drops are always more reliable,
Keep selecting Merlock’s picks or LL as you feel like.
Keep hunting those drops. If you play it right you can get upwards 7 passes or more this way.
Enjoy a well deserved rest while thinking about all those stacking fools who are just arriving at the park with their meager stack of 3 or 4 passes.
Some great tips there, I’ll just say that for G+ beginners or anyone feeling overwhelmed, stacking is a simple way to use the system and still save significant time.
Thank you so much! Posts like this give me hope that we’ll be able to enjoy our time there more than I initially thought we would. One last question. Do I have to book my ILL for the park I have a reservation for? For instance if I’d like to book GotG instead of rise because I plan to hop to Epcot later can I do that? Is it better to try and grab the 6:00 boarding pass? Do I have to be in Epcot to do that? Thank you all again so much. I’m feeling a little better. Starting to grab some of my coveted dining reservations through the alerts that many have mentioned so things are definitely on the upswing :).
We don’t park hop so I’m not sure but I know a lot of people do make ILL selections in different parks so I’m almost sure you can.
For GotG, try to grab a VQ as fast as you can and then try for the ILL if you want to double dip. It doesn’t matter how late you get to your VQ, they will still let you in.
You don’t have to be physically inside Epcot to do anything.
It’s just some cute name for the “lighting deals” shown in BG1. When BG1 detects a good return time for a LL, it displays it with a little lighting bolt on the side.
OK, we are returning after 7 years and I’m trying to brush up on G+. Seems really confusing but I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it just like FP & FP+. Can someone please explain “BG1?” I can’t figure out that acronym. Thanks!
BG1 got its name from the original BG or boarding group (or virtual queue) that was used when Rise of the Resistance opened in 2019. A person got a BG number assigned to them, with BG1 being the first one of the day.
Now BG1 is also the name of a free bookmarklet (like an app) that a Liner developed to simplify the process for obtaining a Genie+ LL. I will let someone else explain that. Some people also call it Merlock, to make sure they mean the bookmarklet, not the actual boarding group number a person gets for a ride, such as GOTG.
Look in this forum, under the La Cava section. There is a pinned thread at the top of La Cava that explains all about it, with useful links for getting it and learning how to use it. Good luck!
I admit I don’t have it yet, because my next trip to WDW is likely a few years away.
Soooo, I posted this and then got busy with… summer, and completely forgot about it! I actually booked stuff (other than my main DVC reservation and dining) and bought tickets today, so it’s all at the forefront of my mind right now (and probably for the next 37 days).
Thanks for all the tips! Since then I did read up on stacking, and I have a stacking question (but it’s more an “I wonder…” discussion prompt than a question anyone will have an answer to) I’m about to post, but I’m excited to play around with BG1.
