I hope you are right…WDW cannot be that out of touch with their consumers…I understand the monetization of line skipping and totally agree with it from a revenue/running a business stand point, but this system has some MAJOR flaws and I cannot imagine they want to continue to get the negative press/feedback
Do a simple google search on Genie and EVERY single article is negative, there is not one positive thing to read on it
It seems like they do. Len mentioned a survey on a recent Disney Dish where Disney was asking about all the things we complain about - the 7:00 AM time, the lack of availability for attractions, the lack of ability to select a time, etc.
The sense that I got is they want to get this right the second time, which is why they are taking their time.
All for change, but please, Disney, do take time to make sure you get it right. Recent changes have been painful–would be nice to get a change for the better.
Whats Disney Dish?
Hmm, we’re booked for an October trip but I held off on purchasing Genie+ as I was hoping it would change. The 7am thing is horrible for a mom who is trying to get her kids ready & out the door with a sleepy grumbling husband & now I have to book things at the same time? It’s gonna be a nightmare for me.
However, if a big price increase is coming I might just add it now and hope any positive changes will also grandfather us in.
And on a side note: we fell in love with Disney on our 2019 trip. We thought it would be a one and done, and we couldn’t wait to plan another trip while we were in the middle of that trip. However, the pandemic pushed our plans back and now with all the changes at Disney, I’m not even excited to go back. We are going back and I’m hoping it won’t be as bad as I’m expecting, but I truly think this will be our last time.
I’m more excited planning our first trip to Atlantis with my family for spring break next year than I am for this Disney trip, which is disappointing.
Not surprised, but is this just the view of bloggers and die hard Disney people? I wonder if there’s survey results directly from all types of actual users. I haven’t seen or searched for anything like that. Liners analyze the heck out of this and see its shortcomings, but there may be a lot of casual guests that tried it out, knew just the basic rules, had little kids and did a nice tap and rebook through Barnstormer, Dumbo, and LM and think it was the greatest cheat code ever. Curious to hear feedback from every type of guest.
Great thanks…i’ll be listening in
Good point. And, to be honest, I’ve been seeing some rather positive comments coming from various vloggers, which might be enough to convince people to pay for it who otherwise wouldn’t.
I am sure it is better for some people…I did read on another blog based on reader survey and it received a score of 2.69 out of 10 by responders and it was only recommended by 19% of the responders
Im not sure how that translates to all guests, but usually polls do a +/- of 3-5%, lets assume its on the higher margin that means still that less than 25% of people recommend Genie+
We did DLP last summer and I’ve done Genie+ twice now in December and March. Don’t throw arrows at me but I think the “DLP premier access method” has some merits! It at least made me feel like I was paying for exactly what I wanted/valued. You could pick and choose specific rides and generally it was available to buy throughout the day so you could fit it into your plans or wait and see what the actual line was before buying.
With Genie+ (especially at Epcot and DHS) I felt like I was paying for the whole thing just for a single ride! They threw in some worthless stuff (ala Comcast Triple Play telephone service) that I didn’t want/need to make it seem more valuable. I would have much rather just spent $10 each on Slinky or Test Track.
But I agree that if almost every ride sells out of Genie+ every single day then they are way undercharging. 
I would not have done that without the EPs. We would have been perfectly happy at Cabana Bay.
I just switched from HRH to Sapphire Falls (because it’s one of the two remaining resorts I haven’t tried and it was 1/2 the cost of HRH to go from 2 regular rooms to one 2 bedroom suite. I mean with the suite we get a living room plus two rooms/bathrooms so it’s extra space and half the price) when I purchased the VIP tour since we no longer need EP thru the resort. It’s a huge price step down and the hotel itself from having walked thru it seems perfectly lovely plus it’s still on the boat. I think 100% people are staying in Premier hotels solely for EP.
That’s something I’ve been wondering about too.
I already added it to our tickets for Christmas. The cost of adding it to the UK tickets effectively saves us money after Day 9 of the 14 day tickets so it seemed worth it. I hope they grandfather in those who already have it.
Certainly worth doing if you were considering it IMO.
From what I’ve gathered from the people I’ve talked to, internal guest surveys show that people are extremely dissatisfied with it and they have to give a lot of refunds.
If they limited it to once per ride and excluded the ILL rides, even limited to one park it might work. Would have to be a different price for MK.
Hmmm….
Could maybe go back to the idea of bundles of rides. Say a Star Wars bundle, or the Mountains at MK. Like at Shanghai (I think). That was a model that was definitely on the table initially but dropped very last minute I believe.
I leave Tuesday for Universal, staying at Royal Pacific, specifically for the EP. Would I stay somewhere else if it wasn’t free? Probably.
I’ve got a Disney trip planned for September and staying at Yacht Club. The convenience of being able to walk to two parks and Stormalong Bay were the main reasons, but until the Disney+ discount came through, I was seriously considering Swolphin or even a value or moderate resort. There just isn’t much value to staying at ANY Disney resort now. We are driving from NC, so DME wasn’t an issue, but the Early Magic Hours are only 30 minutes. Deluxe has some additional nights, but they aren’t that plentiful, but what other benefit is there to staying on property right now? This may be our last trip for awhile. I’m much more looking forward to next week’s Universal trip where I don’t have to be a super planner with EP. We will rope drop to ride Hagrid’s, but everything else will be a breeze.
As for G+, I’ve done all the research, practiced with BG1, etc. Would I pay more for G+? Probably. I don’t know what the best solution is. But I’m stressing a little. I remember our April '21 trip and the stress of trying to get a boarding group for ROTR. On our first try, I missed, but luckily got one at the 1 pm drop. The second time I got a good one, but with knots in my stomach while watching the countdown on the time.gov website.
The bigger issue for me, though, is the limitation on park hopping until 2 pm. I get the park reservation system, but can’t we park hop at noon?
Is the prevailing thought that BG1 is better than just using MDE?
Sapphire Falls looks lovely and I really want to stay there.
I have a friend who’s booked a room at RPR purely for the EPs. She won’t be using the room at all. Huge saving overall.
Yes it’s faster and more user friendly. But you can’t use it for ILLs.