Playing the waiting game with Genie at Walt Disney World

3 years ago 282

I conscionable didn’t spot myself arsenic a Genie+ benignant of guy. As a predominant visitant to Walt Disney World’s taxable parks, I bristled astatine the paying to instrumentality explicit routes — dubbed Lightning Lanes — to rides I’ve done plentifulness of times.

So, I sat retired the archetypal fewer days of the motorboat of the work (available via My Disney Experience app), past gave it a Friday run-through. I imagination of Genie+ a small otherwise now. Here are immoderate moods, reactions and tips aft paying my $15 astatine Magic Kingdom recently.

Time is money

You’re connected the timepiece erstwhile hanging with Genie+. So it makes consciousness to get erstwhile the taxable parkland opens and spell Genie+ connected a time with an aboriginal closing time. It’s a bang-for-buck thing.

The terms for utilizing astir Lightning Lanes is the aforesaid each day, though the outgo for getting the 2 most-wanted attractions successful each parkland is fluid, depending connected season, time of week and possibly Mickey’s mood.

My archetypal angsty infinitesimal of the time was reasoning My Disney Experience was hooked up to an expired recognition card. I could person checked that the time earlier and saved a small spot of sweat and the awkwardness of getting retired a paper and changing the info successful the mediate of the park. (Following my archetypal regularisation of taxable parks, I already had recovered my shadiness connected a bench, which seemed champion for plotting retired the day.)

My 2nd angsty infinitesimal was weighing aboriginal greeting hold times against what aboriginal queuing mightiness beryllium for fashionable attractions. How to prevention waiting successful enactment clip and wealth astatine the aforesaid time?

Picking Pan

Since it wasn’t a once-in-a-lifetime travel to Magic Kingdom, I decided to deed rides I had not done successful a while. Enter Peter Pan’s Flight, which typically has a enactment retired the doorway (with a agelong indoor stretch). The disposable model for that was noon to 1 p.m. Done.

Remember, you can’t person much than 1 thrust preservation astatine a time. So, until noon I was a escaped agent.

At that point, a spot aft 9 a.m., I hot-footed to Frontierland, wherever lines were short, the app said. I opted for Splash Mountain standby due to the fact that 1 can’t beryllium definite erstwhile that thrust volition spell into “The Princess and the Frog” rehab mode (No signs of that yet). Then I went adjacent doorway for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Both of these waits were somewhat longer than listed connected the app but little than 15 minutes.

By then, the enactment for Pirates of the Caribbean was longer than I wanted to wait, and I drifted until the Magic Carpets of Aladdin, which acceptable into my taxable of rides not precocious ridden. I saw nary posted hold time, but the enactment looked short.

It wasn’t. It sneakily curves astir the acold broadside of the attraction, and the queue is mostly stationary portion the thrust is successful motion. I’m nary mathematician, but the ratio of waiting to the existent acquisition — which lasts astir 90 seconds — isn’t great.

I was punished for not consulting Genie and its posted hold times first.

In Genie gear

Doh. There’s a escaped mentation of Genie connected the app that shows hold times and volition suggest a regular for the day, including meals. But without paying, you don’t get the aged FastPass-ish acquisition of skipping the line.

After a amusive PhotoPass experience, a snack, an in-park detour for an upcoming article, and a 20-minute hold for Under the Sea — Journey of the Little Mermaid, it was clip for Pan. I went astatine the opening of the model truthful I could get different preservation arsenic rapidly arsenic possible. The advertised hold was 50 minutes; I waited for astir 5 with Genie+. And, it was astir apt my imagination, but the thrust seemed to spell by rapidly too.

Next, I thought I’d effort to bash a rolling Genie+ routine, meaning I’d instrumentality immoderate I could get adjacent arsenic agelong arsenic it was a line-cutter. This took maine to Dumbo the Flying Elephant ride, and I thought it would assistance maine nonstop revenge connected the Magic Carpet hold successful the sun. Genie+ got maine connected quickly; the mean hold clip was 25 minutes. It did springiness maine that aged thrill of being peculiar due to the fact that I had a FastPass and folks who waited didn’t. (However, I utilized to hatred those FastPassers erstwhile I was the waiter. Life’s comic that way.)

I considered adjacent Barnstormer next, which was either a walk-on oregon a 30-minute wait. The app and I confused each other.

On your options

Then I deed a Genie+ wall. The adjacent preservation slots were further disconnected than I wanted, but I signed up for Pirates of the Caribbean, which would apt beryllium a clip saver. I considered going connected PeopleMover, but it was down. And the adjacent Astro Orbiter, different spinning contraption I hadn’t ventured onto successful years, is 1 of a fewer attractions without a Lightning Lane.

There are non-line options successful the downtime, including the photograph filters that are included successful Genie+, and you tin cheque the app for performances by Dapper Dans oregon the adjacent quality cavalcade. There’s ever PhotoPass (kudos to the newish 1 with E-ticket prop) and eating. I walked implicit to look astatine the operation of the Tron ride.

A fewer attractions had shortish lines by midafternoon, but not many. Part of maine thought, “I didn’t wage $15 to basal successful a agelong enactment for ‘it’s a tiny world.’ I could bash that with escaped Genie.” Granted, I mightiness person been excessively attached to my theme.

Something I didn’t see astatine each was paying adjacent much to get idiosyncratic Lightning Lanes. The Magic Kingdom rides with that enactment are Space Mountain and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, which would adhd arsenic overmuch arsenic $10 to my tally for the day.

Jungle Cruise oregon cupcakes?

It’s ever a atrocious motion erstwhile folks are streaming retired of the entranceway of your adjacent attraction. Pirates was moving against me. Within a mates of minutes, I had a notification connected the app. The attraction was “temporarily unavailable,” it said, and it linked to options wherever my Pirates spot could beryllium cashed in, truthful to speak.

That included astir everything but Seven Dwarfs and Space Mountain (naturally) and Peter Pan’s Flight. I could person done fashionable rides specified arsenic Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise oregon Tomorrowland Speedway and felt OK astir my $15.

There’s a batch to cognize astir Genie. You tin lone deed a peculiar Lighting Lane erstwhile a day. You tin re-ride, but you’ll person to get successful line. You’re constricted to 2 Individual Lightning Lane purchases per day. Park hopping is allowed, and determination are 40 Genie+ options dispersed implicit the 4 parks. You can’t publication an acquisition until 7 a.m. connected the time of the visit. It’s besides bully to cognize the existent names of attractions. On the app’s extremity board, the choices are alphabetical, truthful looking for Wild Tea Party nether T for teacups doesn’t work.

Could I person done better? For sure, with a amended program going in, with a absorption connected what thrust I decidedly wanted astir and the quality to linger longer. But I besides could person had 2 cupcakes for that terms and felt little unit to cheque disconnected boxes.

Your results whitethorn vary.

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