I’m glad the option is there. Nothing says you have to purchase it - standby lines are not going away. Many of the complaints I see aren’t taking into account that no one HAS to purchase ANY part of it. You can get Genie+ if you want it, but you don’t have to. If riding a ride that is an ILL option is a must-do-or-vacation-is-ruined, you can purchase that ride alone without getting Genie+. And let’s be honest…how many times have you seen people say they would pay to get on Rise rather than deal with the virtual queue? A LOT. Now that the option is here, they want to complain.
For my August trip, I’m going to wait and see how the crowds are - if it’s as light as it was the same time this year, I won’t need it. IF I find that the crowds warrant it, I’ll go day by day. (But I can guarantee I’m NOT doing ILL for Flight of Passage because I love the detail in the queue too much to skip it.)
For my trip to Disneyland in February, I will likely get it - assuming it is going out there by then - because I’m there Presidents’ Week which is apparently “Ski Week” for a lot of northern Cali schools (and some go to DL rather than skiing) as well as Tuscon Rodeo Week which apparently is “the week Tuscon goes to Disneyland” so I’m anticipating crowds.
ILL is something I doubt I’ll use. MAYBE on MMRR if it’s crazy or Remy if I can’t get the virtual queue. And in DL maybe on Webslingers if I can’t get the virtual queue. But the others? As I said, I love the Flight queue, and I use single rider on Everest. ZERO desire for Rise. And FEA, Mine Train, and Space Mountain are not necessities for me - and they have the regular queue if I decide I want to do them.
Agree with most of this. If it had rerides, the ability to schedule times instead of “next available” and maybe make your first one the night before for resort guests I’d be much more enthusiastic…
I’ll be really surprised if the product that’s out in 3 - 6 months is the same that drops on day one.
From the little actual info out there, WDW has said they know this is going to be a work in progress. Just like how they are adjusting prices in Paris, I bet you’ll see re-rides added in and other benefits.
I don’t know if they are just seeing what the market dictates, IT limits or maybe slow rol-lout, but I’m not too worked up about what’s going to drop next week.
(I mean I guess because I don’t actually have any trips any time in the near future this is all just academic and I can enjoy the roll-out)
I know I’ll be adding it to our tickets as soon as I can. I would not be surprised if they don’t do something like add re-rides and then raise the price to $25. Of course, if they make that a totally new plan, say G++, then I’d be out of luck.
I have always been hopeful as I liked Max Pass at DLR. I am excited to have an option to help handle the crowds when I go at a very busy time. So overall, I am pro Genie+.
What I don’t like, and what annoys the crap out of me (and I am really trying not to join the cranky at Disney train) is the extra fee for “top tier” rides. I could almost handle it for ROTR and RAT, but MMRR, Space and EE just feel like a money grab. Disney has a right to make money, and I have the right to say this is just tacky. It’s tacky.
I am not thrilled that Genie+ does not allow for rerides but I understand this limitation might help keep standby lines reasonable. So I support no rerides for the sake of everyone else not buying Genie+ But no rerides makes me less likely to buy it during slower times.
As a MaxPass user I am very comfortable with how the distribution rolls out and the lack of pre-planning that it allows. You actually get very used to the distribution rhythm and generally can do almost as much planning as before, but with more flexibility (now I sound like Disney).
IMHO - If not getting rerides is the majority of complaints Disney receives (outside of G+ being a paid service) I’ll wager you’ll see that added into the system.
I truly wonder if no repeat rides is an IT issue, a strategy to limit queue waits or just a new policy to see what happens
Disney reminds me of the Druids, who refused to write anything down. That way they could just change things and no one could prove that they hadn’t always been that way.
Thinking of planning during the days of FPP, I certainly didn’t go to official Disney sources. Before I found here, I went to the various advice sites, then once I found here I read through everything here. But, official Disney was worthless beyond, “You can get three!”
Yes, this will be fascinating to see how it plays out in the long run. Agree with the idea that they may add it as a higher cost version.
But you also hear a lot about them worrying about undercutting lucrative tours - both VIP and other less costly ones. So that could play into it as well?
So having written what I’d hoped for and didn’t get, let me redress the balance a little.
I like the fact I can choose whether or not to buy it day by day. It isn’t a length of ticket option only.
I like the fact I can choose to pay to ride the biggest e-ticket rides, whether to skip the line or if I don’t get a BG.
I actually also do see why they’re starting with no re-rides, which means we shouldn’t see rides running out too early in the day.
And a hope:
I hope they do actually release “drops” of passes. This would also mean there was a chance for people to ride even if they arrive later. It also means we Liners can study when those drops are and make good use of that knowledge.
And finally I love that @Len and the team are on top of this and we’ll soon have touring plans which will incorporate Genie+ and ILL$ just like FPs.
And I love that Liners will be reporting back to help others going after them. Because Liners seem to have a way of reporting the details that matter.
Well… this is what I figured was happening… This program is going to be unlimited…This is my main concern. It will oversell at such a low price point that the queues will be the same as FPP…
I keep thinking about how great maxpass is and how much I don’t think it can work at WDW. The guests are just so different. Too many people are going to buy this to get short lines that won’t really be on offer when everyone has bought it. They need a small number of people to do it by percentage.
I have been thinking and I am wondering what others think. What do you think the over/under is on the number of G+ uses one would get on a given day?
The max I believe is 7, if you base your day around maximizing G+. That would be you use it very two hours on the hour and take whatever is available.
I am thinking the O/U is around 3 or 4. I figure as the day goes on the availability for things you actually want will get spaced farther and farther apart, so your time between uses will grow. Also if one takes a break, doesn’t go from open to close, or park hops you will miss some of your windows
At 3 attractions that puts the price at $5 per attraction, which feels a little steep to me. As a comparison I think the cheapest ILL$ is $7 (though I could be wrong there)
The max is 7 if you aren’t able to use your passes quickly. But at MK I imagine people will be able to use up quite a few - maybe a dozen or more. At HS it will be virtually impossible to use more than 7.
