The Genie Thread! All WDW Info Here - FOR TRIPS THRU JULY 23, 2024

[heathernoel]

[Flutegarden]

Seriously. It better be pay after. I’m not paying $25 if I can’t get SDD.

[Jeff_AZ]

New attractions (which I would consider Tiana’s to be since it’s a major refurbishment) usually started out as Tier 1 then moved to lower tiers after the newness wore off if they weren’t popular enough to warrant it. There was a lot of motion in HS tiers over the years from Toy Story Land to Galaxy’s Edge.

[drvillarejos]

Really hate all this tier talk. If they would only include like the top 2 rides in Tier 1 I could handle it but it felt like they were Tier 1 heavy last we had tiers.

[vblank]

I agree. I didnt think I was going to like genie plus but it has made it so much easier to take last min weekend trips and still ride everything in the LL. This have never happened with FPP. I was tied to ropedroppimg most mornings to make sure I got that tier 1 ride in. This system…while it costs more…foesnt force me to plan out every second of my day 2 months agead of time. I would be cool with beimg able to have some slight advantage for on site guests.

[bebe80]

@davej

(1) Off-site guests are at an extreme disadvantage compared to the current system. On-site guests will each book 3 LLs for multiple days before off-sites get any.

(2) Guests with shorter length of stays will be significantly disadvantaged compared to the current system. The first few days of each guest’s trip, the hardest to get Tier A LLs will likely be gone. The happened with the old FP+ system as SDD and FOP were often not available until the 4th or 5th day of a guest’s stay.

I guess leading reservation testing may be in order? Oof, that may be a very tight window though.

[meekomist]

Where I prefer Genie+ is there is no off-site disadvantage. That is what I did not like about about FP+. I don’t want to go back to that.

… other than the price, I don’t have issue with Genie+ …since I have figured out how to work it.

[antirobo1]

Perhaps they will have some system of holding availability for Tier 1 rides for the shorter stays. Interesting to see how Disney will play this out.

[DWJoe]

The one thing I really want to see changed in G+ is the ability to choose return times for all LL’s.

Other than that, I’m confident Liners will adapt and make the most out of whatever Disney comes up with

[stephen4311]

@davej

(1) Off-site guests are at an extreme disadvantage compared to the current system. On-site guests will each book 3 LLs for multiple days before off-sites get any.

Spare a thought for the reservation teams at Swan & Dolphin (and any other branded hotel participating in this mess) that will have to constantly process stacks of cancellations of full-price, fully-refundable room reservations as soon as they hit 5-6 days before arrival.

[Jsanta26]

@davej

Off-site guests are at an extreme disadvantage compared to the current system. On-site guests will each book 3 LLs for multiple days before off-sites get any.

I’ve always said that they should do this to attract more people to stay onsite. It doesn’t make sense financially to allow everyone the same advantages

[Flutegarden]

Yes - that’s one thing I miss but I don’t like most of the other changes. And I bet they won’t give you the 119 min grace period since you chose your time. Back to just 15. I really like the long Grace.

[stephen4311]

@Jsanta26

I’ve always said that they should do this to attract more people to stay onsite. It doesn’t make sense financially to allow everyone the same advantages

You need to balance it out though. You don’t want to disadvantage non-resort staying attendees so much that they start to explore other vacation options. Disney’s park tickets are expensive. People get irate when they pay first-class ticket prices and then perceive/receive third-class treatment… especially if it’s for their family.

Offsite privileges & gimmicks like these are ways for the resorts to avoid growing expenses on improving or maintaining onsite services & amenities.

[Jsanta26]

I suppose. But I would think Disney would care more about attracting people to their resorts, because more $ would be spent at their bars, restaurants and shops.

[Nicky_S]

Plus this is no different to what they had before.

[stephen4311]

Disney can and has attracted people to their resorts by creating good resorts & unique amenities that offsite resorts don’t. Monorails through the lobby, safari animals outside your rooms, cool & unique theming like Wilderness Lodge.

They also used to provide other services that were unique & compelling like in-park purchases delivered to your room, transportation/luggage handling to/from the airport, etc. Those were nice amenities that completely made sense to be limited to onsite resorts, and were compelling. They were also expensive to operate.

You see where I’m going with this. Moderate (or below) Disney resorts are charging more per night than the offsite Ritz Carlton. You should be getting similar amenities at those prices, not just gimmicks.

[davej]

@stephen4311

You need to balance it out though.

Agreed. But with the elimination of magical express, reducing the length of extra magic hours to 30 minutes in the morning, and eliminating evening extra magic hours for all but deluxe guests, WDW has significantly reduced the benefits of staying on-site over the past few years. WDW may think it needs to offer more to on-site guests now.

That said, magical express and extra magic hours didn’t reduce the availability of top attractions to off-site guests during regular park hours like the G+ plan described in the survey (except arguably a reduction in regular park operating hours to accommodate extra magic hours).

[antirobo1]

Sorry, changing the current thread discussion.

How does party size impact G+ usage/available times? Since one selects their party on the screen after selecting a time, does G+ assume you’ll want to book the whole party when showing you times? Any experiences? I’m interested in the difference between a party of 4 vs one of 7, if I would feel any at all

[Jeff_AZ]

90% of the time you won’t have any difference. Party of 7 is fine. If you want to get a LL at a drop or snag random availability that pops up when someone else cancels, it helps to have a party of 6 or less.

[davej]

@Jeff_AZ

when someone else cancels

I agree with 6 or less for the drops, but to pick up cancelled LLs: the smaller the party, the easier it is to pick up LLs. A party of 2 will have an easier time picking up a cancelled LL than a party of 6.