Will Disney Genie replace TP?

Walt Disney World Other
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From the press release at D23, it looks like Disney is trying to make their own TP app.

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And it will be brought to us with Disney’s fantastic internet service. :poop:

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It seems like it is designed to give people a themed vacation, not necessarily an efficient one. Efficient vacations are not in Disney’s best interest since they want you coming back to do what you couldn’t get to.

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And they will try to find a way to capitalize on it. “Pay for a FP here” and “you cant get all these things done in 1 day, extend your stay, 1 click here!”

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Uh.

No.

Disney can’t get their current technology to work reliably.

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Wont stop them from trying, lol

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Haha. Definitely not. They’ll also inflate waits etc.

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After reading some more, it does look like they are attempting to get some of the TP slice of the pie. That said, I’m not sure I can trust them to give me the best plan. This is a company that manipulates crowds to get them to or away from various areas. I feel like this is just another tool for them to do that.

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They are attempting to, yes. Will they be successful? Only with first timers I would say.

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I’ll probably still use it to help fill in gaps like M&Gs but will use TP as my ultimate source.

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It will be interesting to see how TP adjusts its data. If Genie has trends and pulls people in certain directions at certain times what effect will this have on waits? We have to remember that only a small percentage of people going to WDW will use Genie, although it will be higher than TP users.

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I am curious to see what Disney Genie actually is when they roll it out. If it truly incorporates plan optimization similar to the TP app, it would definitely have a leg up based on the vast amount of data that only Disney has access to. However, I’m not sure if the plans it presents are optimal for the user or optimal for Disney…

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That’s exactly my feeling on it, about the plans being optimal for Disney. Sure, the average user will probably have more success with it than with nothing, but I trust the neutrality of TP a lot more than what Disney says, especially knowing about their tricks like inflating wait times.

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Whatever it does, however it works, I’m Disney will make sure it is “magical”. (That is to say, generates more revenue for themselves.)

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so there is potentially an upcharge for this service?

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Oh, I don’t know. But Disney doesn’t really do anything these days unless they either directly or indirectly hope to drive more revenue for themselves. Things that are there benefit you, the consumer, ultimately aren’t theref for you the consumer, but for Disney’s bottom line. So, I’m not sure if they will directly charge for this…but you can bet that they will use it to drive more dollars their way somehow…whether it is by only offering it as a free service for resort guests, or the “recommendations” the Genie makes will result in longer lines for off-site guests who then are more inclined to want to stay on-site, etc.

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It can’t work like TP at all. The only reason TPs work so well is that most don’t use it. The Disney app, since it’s official, will be used by many people. Disney could use it to control park flow.

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I think that will be the primary advantage for Disney. Since they know where everyone is already, they can use this to direct crowds even more than they do already.

In fact, the same-day FPP system tries to accomplish this, but in a passive way (only those “in the know” use it to obtain same-day FPs). But with this system, Disney can effectively direct people to the same rides that would have the same-day FPs without the user having to take the initiative. This will distribute the crowds more, and eventually make the same-day FPP system bordering toward obsolescence.

I fear that this will impact TP negatively. Even if TP is superior in every other regard, the convenience of it being all part of the Disney eco-system, with a whiz-bang user experience design means a lot of folks who might have considered TP in the past might no longer.

This gives TP about 1 year to take things up a notch…or else change their long-term business model.

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True, if for any reason Disney determines to use it for park flow, TP will either become ineffective, or have some growing pains.

There will always be patterns.

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Touring Plans will always be better for the average tourist.
Remember, they are the “unofficial” guide to WDW. Their job is to make our trip more enjoyable.
Disney’s job is to control crowds and make more money.

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