Disney shared more details about their new Genie service this week.
Genie is a planning tool that also has additional services that will replace FastPass+ in Disney World and MaxPass in Disneyland. Some of the features cost money, while others are free, and it’s all a bit confusing, so we’re here to break it down in the easiest possible terms!
Disney Genie
Disney Genie is a FREE service that everyone can use through the My Disney Experience app for Disney World and the Disneyland app for Disneyland. The service will ask about your preferences when planning your trip, and from that, it will create a personalized itinerary for you.
It will map out your entire day and will continue to update your itinerary throughout the day so you can go with the flow more. Basically, you can just tell the Genie what you want to do, and it will do the planning for you.
Genie will also create a tip board that will show your “favorites,” like rides or restaurants. It will display current wait times AND forecasted future wait times to help you decide the best time to go on a ride. The service is also where you can see virtual wait times and you will have a virtual assistant to help you out.
The service is also where you can see restaurant wait lists, check in to restaurants, and reserve restaurants as well as place mobile orders.
Disney Genie+
The Disney Genie+ service is available to purchase on My Disney Experience and the Disneyland apps. It’s $15-$35 per ticket per day in Disney World and $25+ per ticket per day in Disneyland. As of June 8th, 2022, Disney World will ONLY offer Genie+ for purchase day-of, and will be subject to availability.
Genie+ is essentially the new FastPass and MaxPass system. You will see the next available time to arrive for 40+ attractions in Disney World and 15+ in Disneyland (depending on availability). You can only choose ONE attraction at a time.
Once you make a selection, you will be given an arrival window for that attraction. Then, once your arrival time comes, you will go into the Lightning Lane entrance for the attraction. This is like the FastPass/MaxPass line, where you get to skip the majority of the standby line.
There WILL still be standby lines at all of these attractions you can wait in. We do not have a full list of the rides Genie+ includes yet, but we do know Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run are included.
You can use Genie+ to make ride selections across multiple theme parks, so you can park hop and use this service. All guests will be able to start making Genie+ attraction selections at 7AM on the day they are visiting the parks. Genie+ will also include PhotoPass downloads in Disneyland, but not in Disney World. Disney World will have augmented reality lenses available for photos through Genie+.
Individual Attraction Selections
Individual attraction selections are also available to purchase. These are for high demand rides that are NOT included in the Genie+ service. You can select an arrival time for up to two attractions per day that you will pay separately for to use the Lightning Lane entrance.
These attractions will only have the standby line (or normal virtual line) and the Lightning Lane entrance that you will pay individually for. Genie+ will not give you access to the Lightning Lane entrances for these attractions.
We do not know all of the rides that fall under this category yet, but we do know that Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom and Radiator Springs Racers at Disney California Adventure will be available. Pricing for these attractions will vary by date, attraction, and park. We do not know the pricing at this time.
You do NOT have to have Genie+ to use this service. You can just pay for these individual attractions if you wish.
So, let’s say, for example, a Rise of the Resistance arrival time is available to be individually purchased. You still have the option to get a free boarding group through your phone like you did before — this just adds the option of being able to pay for one instead.
Disney Resort guests will be able to select which two attractions they want to pay for starting at 7AM on the day they are visiting the parks. All other guests will be able to select these attractions once they’re inside the parks.
That’s the new Genie system broken down for you! To reiterate, you can STILL wait in the normal lines to get on an attraction, you do not need to pay to go on ANY attractions if you don’t want to. We don’t have an official launch date for Disney Genie yet, but we do know it will be this fall. If you’re still looking for a way to better understand Disney Genie, we also have a helpful video with everything we know!
Stay tuned to AllEars for all of the latest news!
Click here to read more about Disney Genie
What do you think of this new service? Let us know in the comments!
Join the AllEars.net Newsletter to stay on top of ALL the breaking Disney News! You'll also get access to AllEars tips, reviews, trivia, and MORE! Click here to Subscribe!
I have a question about the 7am time available to Disney hotel guests only. Does this apply to Disneyland also? I’ve read conflicting info about this. Thanks.
We’ve been DVC members since 1994 and go to Disney World every year. We have a trip planned for January 2022. We’re seriously thinking about cancelling our trip. We’ll start using our membership for other destinations. We’re sick and tired of all the nickel and diming by Disney. I remember when the present CEO took over. People on every message board made warnings. They were right. Bob “Paycheck” they called him and it is a good nickname.
Great job explaining everything, Molly! However, I am so, so disappointed in Disney. Disney can say they listen to what guest want to make their vacation better, but in the end it’s all about the money. I actually have a 2 week Disney vacation planned in November. But with all the extras (Fastpass, late Extra Hours) that have been replaced by all these new pay as you go features, I’m seriously considering cancelling my vacation. Think about it, as guests, we are still not getting the full experience we had before the pandemic, now all Disney wants to do is charge us more money. So much for feeling special.
So a family of 4 needed to add 420 dollars plus the additional fee for pre booking 2 of the more expensive rides? On top of tickets. So my season passes are now a per trip additional cost on top of everything? So I pay lets say 4 grand for season passes now I got to add those additional fees to access faster lines? Completely insane. I’m a dvc member and season pass member. This is all insane. I bought dvc to save some on rooms but now each trip will still cost money.
Is access to lightning lane immediately after you make selection? Or could you possibly get a return time of a few hours later rendering the genie + useless for several hours of your day waiting around for a return time, since you can only book one at a time?
If the rules are the same as Disneyland’s MaxPass (the services are very similar), you are allowed to get a second pass 2 hours after booking your first one if you have not used the first one yet because it was at such a late time. However, the exact rules have not been announced.
does purchasing the new Genie+ mean I will not need a Memory Maker? I’m confused on how this will work.
If you are in Disneyland, the photopass pictures are included for that day. However in Walt Disney World you would still have to purchase Memory Maker to download all your pictures or just purchase those you want(no Memory Maker required). If it works like MaxPass did, you do not have to purchase the Genie+ for your entire vacation. You may choose which days you think you will need it most.
Just curious.. What happen with people without any electronic device to plan their vacation right now ? I’m not one of those but I think the question is good !1
I think they just may be out of luck.
International guests are going to be at the mercy of Disney wifi unless they want to pay international roaming rates.