Good evening everyone! I’m reaching out for some clarity & touring suggestions for a last-minute planned trip to the World, as I’m trying to sift through all the Waltham of information in the Genie+ thread. We last visited in April '21 (pre-Genie) and I’m wondering if it’s even possible to tour like the “days of old” when we just FP’d our way from ride to ride during our day it seemed. When we were last here we also utilized DAS as my daughter was also touring with us, but will not be utilizing that this go-around. We used to follow the touringplans approach of rope-dropping & hitting it hard in the morning, leaving mid-day for naps, pool time, etc., & then having a more relaxed evening touring plan. I’m not sure if that plan will be workable this time.
Some basic deets:
My mother & I will be visiting 9/25-9/28
We have 3-day PH tickets and currently have reservations for EP on the 26th, MK on the 27th and MK on the 28th (but this last day we are leaving flexible in case we change our minds & there is still availability for HS or AK)
-We will be staying at a good-neighbor hotel with early entry privileges (so we plan to rope drop)
How do I approach touring in this new way? I feel like I cannot wrap my head around how to tour with this new system. If we are rope-dropping all days, will we need ILLs? Is there a work-around to entering EPCOT from International Gateway if you’re not staying in a nearby resort or a Skyliner resort so we can rope-drop Remy? Is that even a good idea/approach? Is it possible to snag many LLs in the mornings and knock-out a big bulk of most headliners like we used to? I’m not even sure what questions to begin asking beyond those, lol!
I’m also trying to catch up on the TouringPlans Teaches YouTube videos, read the most recent Genie+ prioritizations for each park, and make touring plans in the app, but feel like I’m finding conflicting info between them all. For example, or EP touring plan has us going to Soarin’ first.
Rides we don’t really care to ride/can pass on: @EP:
I’ve been overwhelmed planning for our trip too. Discovered the Youtube channel Ear Scouts today and watched a bunch of videos. Maybe start with their explanation of G+. I really liked the EE Strategy and G+ Strategy videos. It’s a pure look at each strategy (i.e. not G+ strategy but with a headliner at EE), so it gives you an idea of how to do one without the other.
I’ve also been using Thrill Data’s park information for G+ return times and general ride waits. I’m using that to make my basic plan and then plugging it into TP to see how the timing shakes out. I figure if I build a TP that looks like it will work as all standby rides, then I’m golden with G+.
I am replying here because I have basically the same questions. We have traditionally toured in essentially the same way with our primary goal of doing the headliners in the morning (rope dropping plus leveraging fastpass when available), spending the afternoon at the resort/pool, and then going back into a park (usually Epcot) for dinner hitting some of the walk-ons. The issue I see with Genie+ is that the available return times are generally beginning in the afternoon. I believe the ILL times are a little better so I am thinking those can be leveraged in a morning plan, but are obviously limited to a very few attractions.
Our home DVC resort is Beach Club, but I can answer that you should be able to Uber to the Boardwalk in the morning, pick up breakfast at the Boardwalk Deli if you want, and then enter at the International Gateway which definitely saves time with Early Entry especially if you are focused on doing Remy.
I am probably one of a few here that thinks a TP still works. It did for me. I have been solo, so don’t know if that makes a difference. I used a regular TP at HS and MK and absolutely crushed it. In fact, I felt like LL’s were difficult because of the random return times. I haven’t been since February, and I believe G+ has improved since then. I hope so because there were a few days I felt duped into Genie+ because my TP worked so well.
For example, at HS my TP sent me to MMRR first. I was mid of pack to enter. In line at 8:00. Ride opened at 8:30. By 10:15 I had completed MMRR, TSMM, HM. My SDD LL return was way later, so I ended up waiting SB to kill time. Mind you, I did not try for, or ride anything in Galaxy’s edge. At the end of my time at HS I felt like I had spent $15 on G+ just to ride SDD.
At MK, TP had me rope drop 7DMT. From there I did Barnstormer, Buzz and Philharmagic. By that time I still didn’t have an early enough LL, so I did HM standby even though I had a LL for it later in the morning. At some point also G+ messed up and wouldn’t let me book another LL immediately after canceling one. It was a whole mess. In any case, I again felt like I spent $15 on G+ for nothing. What I learned, or what I believe (LOL) is if I stick with a traditional TP, purchasing ILL’s will be far more valuable than purchasing G+.
