Jan. 22-26 Genie plus necessary?

Walt Disney World Touring Plans
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For a trip Jan 22-26, park days will probably be Jan 23,24,25 (possible half day 22). Do you think genie plus will be necessary? Parks will be MK, DHS and Epcot. Staying at bay Lake towers.

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I think most people will say “it depends” - is the cost worth it to you? Can you tolerate lines? What attractions do you want to see?

For me - with small kids - I have increased my budget to cover the cost of Genie. That might not ring true for everyone.

This blog might help you decide: https://touringplans.com/blog/how-much-time-can-i-save-with-genie-at-wdw/

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It really depends on what you want to do. Will you take advantage of Early Entry?
We had 3 park days this year and are doing G+ at MK and HS but not at AK.

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If you’re going to be at MK on the 22nd, be aware that’s Splash Mountain’s last day of operation. Nobody really knows for sure how that will affect crowds… in another discussion a Disneylander posted about how crazy the lines got in Tower of Terror’s last days (it was re-themed to Guardians of the Galaxy), but said the insanity was mostly limited to that ride, as people came just for that. I don’t think it will really go that way at MK, or at least not to the same degree, because Disneyland crowds are much more driven by locals who could do that. WDW not so much usually, but the if it’s unseasonably warm weather like they’re predicting that could definitely cause more Floridians to decide to come out for one last splash.

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I always do Genie+ for MK & DHS. It’s not usually necessary for AK. (I only do AK if I’m park hopping) It was busy last year at the end of January.

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It’s actually been fairly busy at the end of January since 2018. No real reason I can see… just a shift in travel patterns, I guess.

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I think some of it is cost. Those are some of the cheapest resort dates.

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yes, will be taking advantage of all early and late hours. Kids will be 16 and 12, but they won’t ride tower of terror or rocking rollercoaster. They wanna hit all the other rides though. The main one my 16 yr old wants to ride is rotr. I figure rope drop for that and maybe once again at around park close? I’m thinking big attractions will still be long, but maybe some of the other lesser rides will have shorter lines bc of Jan week after MLK?

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I have the same choice. We are spending four days (1 per park) and not getting Genie+ at AK. My oldest is only 3yo, so no EE or FOP. I think he might be terrified on Dinosaur. And he loves animals and playgrounds, so I think we will focus on Rafiki’s train, KS, the trails and the boneyard and one of the shows. That will be our slow day (in between MK and DHS).

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What I found in december was that even on a a very slow day at MK (MVMCP, CL4), G+ was worth it for us. I would probably get it at Magic Kingdom regardless of crowd level.

One of the benefits was being able to walk up and book an instant return time for many rides with 15-30 minute stand by lines (Speedway, Pirates etc) and the LL’s were almost walk on. Additionally we used G+ for at least:

  • Space Mountain booked 7.15 am for 10am, 5 minute LL vs 40 min stand by
  • HM booked 11am for 1pm, 5 minute LL vs 50 min stand by
  • Splash booked 1pm for 2pm, walk on LL vs 30 min stand by
  • ILL for 7DMT, 15 minutes vs 70 minute stand by
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Looking at your timing, did you start your instant bookings after the 1pm booking (so 3pm)? I’m doing some mock bookings this week to get a feel for it and I’m torn by getting ones available now (so faster to the next booking) and getting the more popular ones that book later. I actually came online to see what experiences people have had with both methods.

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This is off the top of my head so I may remember something wrong, but heres what I recall doing:

  • ILL for 7DMT booked at 7:02 for 10:10
  • Space Mountain booked at 7.0x for ~10
  • Buzz booked at ~10.30am for instant walk on
  • Speedway booked at ~10.40 for instant walk on
  • HM booked (I think) a little before 11am for 1:05pm, returned right on the clock
  • Splash booked after tapping in HM, for ~2pm
  • Pirates booked after tapping in for Splash after 2pm, walk on
  • Aladdin booked at around 2:30pm for instant walk on

I kept my eye on HM and Splash through out the day to not let the return times slip too far, but they were short because of the low CL

At HS and Epoct I just based my booking order on G+ return time data on thrill-data

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