Another reason I’d advocate for leaving BG1 till later is that it’s not guaranteed to be around forever, so it’s good to know how the Disney booking interface works just in case.
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Good point. So learn Disney’s system, then add BG1 to it.
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You got this.
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I’m off to try again…
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We just got back from our first trip since 2019 and I was so overwhelmed when I started planning, but I just kept reading the threads and getting to know the MDE app and we had the best trip! You will be ok!
I did figure out BG1 which is super easy and user-friendly once you install the book marklet. But if you really feel like you can’t take that on, I think as long as you understand how to do all the things in MDE you’ll be ok!
One thing to realize is that you can’t plan out your days in such detail with Genie+. You really have to see what’s available each day. I bought Genie+ at midnight each night and then booked our first LL at 7am each day. For most of our park days we tapped in to that first LL and then saw what was available next, which is similar to the old FP system. Modifying is still your friend, just like the old FP system.
On our last MK morning we got 6 LLs before we left for a break at 1:45 just by tapping in and booking what was next, and then modifying to get time that worked. We also had ILLs for Tron and 7DMT so it was an amazing (but expensive!) morning.
We rope-dropped a few days and that still works well for knocking out rides with low waits - especially on the 7:30 early entry days. We got a ton done from 7:30-8:30 without using any LLs.
You got this! I’m sure your trip will be amazing!
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Thanks for the encouragement! So glad you figured it out and had a great trip. Congratulations!
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Regarding BG1…I found it terribly confusing to get setup when I was trying to use it with Chrome on my phone (Android). But when I saw you could do it via Firefox on Android instead, I installed Firefox JUST for BG1. MUCH easier to install and use that way. So, if you have an Android phone, I highly recommend doing the Firefox route instead of Chrome.
Back to your original question about is G+ necessary? Well, no. In fact, we will go out of our way to avoid it for numerous reasons. But it means planning around ETPE, etc., and being prepared for long standby lines. If you are going when it is busier, and for fewer days, then perhaps avoiding G+ isn’t such a good idea. But if you going during a bit less crowded time, and/or with more days, then you can get by without it.
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ETPE? We plan to do one day in each park with likely a second in HS as it has the most new that we will be most interested in and I have a fear of not getting to ride everything we want to on the first day there. CLs are predicted to be 5-7 during our visit.
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Early Theme Park Entry. Aka, Early Entry or EE. (In Disney’s official terminology, it becomes ETPE.)
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Not necessarily. The two attractions (Tron and GotG) that use boarding groups, also use Individual Lightning Lanes (ILL). Those are the ones you buy via MDE and you choose your time. There is no standby during regular park hours. To ride at all, you need to be able to do one of these systems.
If you are not so tech-savvy about BG1 and all the others, get the rest of your family on board to help. They’re old enough.
DH and I did a trip to WDW early this past December. I (68 yr old) was able to eventually successfully load BG1 on my Android using Firefox. It was easy to use for boarding groups, with terrific results. We did not buy Genie+ nor $ILL, we just toured wisely and waited patiently in some lines. But we did have to trim a couple low priority things from our to-do list.
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Thank you! That is what I would like to do- not buy Genie + nor ILL just tour wisely. I’m encouraged that you were able to do that. It does mean though I have to at least learn the BG process and load BG1 in the hopes it will help with that. I have an iPhone. Folks keep mentioning Androids but I hope that suggests it is actually even easier to install on iPhones??? I’m decently tech savvy. I think my brain has a block when it comes to these new systems because they just sound absolutely horrible to me. I loved with the old FPP and ADR system that I could map out a plan, have those reservations in place and not have to be figuring it out day of on my phone. I got comfortable enough with them that I certainly could and did add to the plans the day of. But I didn’t feel like I had to. I do not want to spend the money or time on Genie+ or ILL.
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I also did WDW June 2022 and December 2023 with neither Genie nor Boarding Groups nor even headliner rides.
Some things tho -
our trip plans were not ride centric.
we did have teens with us in 2022 who grabbed a boarding group at Cosmic Rewind for all 4 of us. The five days we toured, the teens did their own thing, rope dropping, watching wait times in MDE, taking a mid day break - it was hot 
- and they did every thing they wanted to without Genie. Their budget was admissions tickets and food.
DH and I were on a food and chat trip. In between eating we’d locate benches in the shade and chat up anyone. Huge fun.
In 2023 Disney wanted to make good on an error they’d made so I asked for a BG for Cosmic Rewind. The ride made my sister motion sick so we won’t be needing BG for Cosmic Rewind.
Even when FPs were a thing we had started not using them. We actually completely forgot we had a FP one day. We did rope drop and avoid the parks in the middle of the day.
I don’t do rides that drop. Other family don’t do spinning rides, and we had some that weren’t doing dark rides, so rides were never a main draw at WDW. Pools and restaurants, mini golf, and recently lounges.
There is no one way to Disney. We had a great time in 2022 sharing suppers with the teens and each spending time our own way.
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I will also chime in and say you do not have to get Genie+ to have a successful trip, but you DO have to be prepared for it to be different from the “old days”. Here is my trip report from two summers ago, and you will see that we struggled the first couple of days until we adjusted to the “new” Disney:
We definitely missed some things, but we are starting to consider going back and doing it again either this summer or next, without Genie+ once again. Good luck with your planning!
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The install of BG1 was so over my head I gave up on it. My strategy continues to be rope drop and a TP. Sometimes I buy G+ and more often than not I feel cheated by the purchase. Fortunate to go often enough I don’t have to do all the things, but it’s nerve wracking when I’ve traveled with others. On a positive note, I have had good experiences joining boarding groups through MDE.
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Another vote for Ear Scouts! There are definitely much more detailed videos out there but they can be overwhelming - he does such a good job of clearly showing you what I’d say is the least you need to know. He also does great videos about how to make the most of rope dropping as well as sleeping in and still getting things done.
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Thanks! I will watch them. They sound helpful!
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Thank you everyone for your tips and encouragement! I spent a big chunk of time yesterday making myself really go through information and actually try to understand. I think I have a much better working knowledge of the options now and even successfully installed BG1 on my phone. Looking at things makes it a lot easier for me to understand them. I also did some TPs with and without G+ to see what the difference might be for what we hope to accomplish. So a few clarifying questions now:
-Assuming it is working during our trip, I just go into BG1 at 7 (or a little before really) and tell it which ride I want to get a BG for and it does the rest, correct?
-How accurate are folks finding TPs projected waits to be these days? When I created the TPs around what we might want to do and then optimized with and without G+ there was a difference but nothing close to what we would find worth the cost for all four of us to get G+. But that assumes TPs projections are within range of what we would likely experience.
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