UPDATE August 22 – Disney is always looking to improve the guest experience when using the Genie+ app. There is now a new feature available on the Genie+ app for both Walt Disney World and Disneyland which is proving to be helpful for guests.
According to reporter, Scott Gustin, Disney has added a Genie+ Lightning Lane filter on the Tip Board so you can easily see which attractions are available with Genie+ Lightning Lane. We will continue to update you on any further Genie+ updates as they occur.
NEW: The Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort apps now feature a much-needed Genie+ Lightning Lane filter on the Tip Board.
If you toggle on, you will only see attractions that offer Genie+ LL. A minor update – but really helpful. pic.twitter.com/yevN7bJPph
— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) August 21, 2023
June 27 – Disney has been slowly making changes to Genie+ to enhance the experience for its guests. We heard at the beginning of June that beginning January 9, 2024, Disney will be allowing guests to plan what attractions they want to experience with the Genie+ service and individual Lightning Lane selections before the day of their park visit. Last week, another change was announced which should further improve this contentious system at Walt Disney World.
Starting today, June 27, Disney will offer guests the opportunity to purchase Genie+ as either a single-park option or multiple-parks option with a valid Park Hopper ticket. Ticket prices will vary and may be lower at some parks compared to others. Disney has added this information to the Genie+ page on the Walt Disney World website.
Even though guests can purchase a multiple-parks Genie+ ticket, the park hopping rules that are currently in place will still apply meaning you can not make selections for your second park until after 2PM.
So far this announcement as been made for Walt Disney World only and will not apply to Disneyland Resort. We await further details regarding the change coming at the beginning of January 9, 2024 which will allow guests to plan their selections before the day of their visit. This new system will likely resemble the FastPass+ system which was in place prior to Genie+.
March 21 – As of yesterday (March 20) Disney has added a new perk for guests at Walt Disney World who purchase Disney Genie+. Digital downloads of all their Disney PhotoPass attraction photos taken in the park on the day of their purchase will be available at no additional cost.
This new perk was announced at the end of February and is we hope, the beginning of a number of perks we will see for Walt Disney World guests from Disney in an attempt to restore some of the Disney ethos we have seen lacking in the last few years. Let us know your thoughts on this new perk by leaving us a comment below or on our Facebook page.
NEW: Starting on March 20, Walt Disney World guests purchasing Disney Genie+ will also receive digital downloads of their Disney PhotoPass attraction photos, taken in the park on the day of their purchase, at no additional charge. pic.twitter.com/BO3gMM1oie
— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) February 23, 2023
December 7 – It appears that another positive change is coming to Genie+ Lightning Lane in the next couple of weeks. Guests will be able to modify their Genie+ Lightning Lane booking without having to cancel and rebook.
This will only work when changing bookings for Genie+ Lightning Lane bookings at the same park you originally made the booking for. It will mean that you should be able to find a new time and change to that without losing your original time. Many guests have found with the current system that by the time they have canceled their original booking, the new time they were hoping to change it to has already been taken leaving them with no option.
NEW: Genie+ will soon add the ability to modify Genie+ Lightning Lane reservations without needing to cancel and rebook. This change will happen in the next week or so at both Walt Disney World and Disneyland. pic.twitter.com/cjYtwk7PhF
— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) December 6, 2022
Just to note, if you want to modify to a Genie+ Lightning Lane at a different park, you will still have to cancel and book.
November 15 – Many Disney fans are no doubt still trying to get used to the variable rate Genie+ Lightning Lane and Individual Lightning Lane pricing which was introduced in mid-October. It has been reported by reporter, Scott Gustin that the daily rates for Genie+ Lightning Lane and Individual Lightning Lane are now being clearly shown on the My Disney Experience App home screen and tip board.
We understand that for many Disney fans, being able to see how much extra you will have to pay for a service which was once free will not necessarily feel like a positive but this addition to the app should at least make it easier for guests to make decisions on which service(s) to purchase.
A small but positive update: Disney is now prominently displaying the price of Genie+ on the app home screen and tip board. pic.twitter.com/5dvisDrdXM
— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) November 15, 2022
October 17 – It was no surprise to hear last week that Disney has increased the cost of Genie+ Lightning Lane and Individual Lightning Lane at Walt Disney World. Disney said that moving to a variable-dated system enables them to better control the demand. From reports online, Saturday October 15 saw Genie+ Lightning Lane hitting the top price of $22 (plus tax) per person. For a family of four it now means that on peak busy days when this service is now going to cost $22 (plus tax) rather than the original $15, it will cost you $28 (plus tax) more to purchase Genie+ Lightning Lane and that doesn’t include the increased cost if you are wanting to purchase an Individual Lightning Lane.
Disney vacations continue to get more and more expensive but Disney fans appear to keep paying however much the increases are. It will be interesting to see if the approximately 50% take up of Genie+ Lightning Lane which was reported earlier in the year continues as these price increases became established at Walt Disney World. Let us know your thoughts by voting in our recent poll below or by leaving us a comment on this article or on our Facebook page.
October 12 – In breaking news, it has been announced that the cost of the Genie+ Lightning Lane service at Walt Disney World will now vary based on the date you are visiting. The lowest price for Genie+ will remain at $15 for less busy days, with the maximum cost now rising to $22 (plus tax) per person per day.
The reason for the introduction of this variable-dated pricing has been given as being because of the strong interest there has been in the Genie+ service since it was introduced back in October 2021. Disney has said that this new system will allow them to continue to manage the demand.
Genie+ can only be purchased from 7:00AM on the date of your visit and Disney is advising guests to visit the My Disney Experience App to see the price you will need to pay for the service on the day of your visit.
It has also been announced that the Individual Lightning Lane prices for select attractions in each Disney park will also move to a variable-dated pricing system, with minimum prices staying the same but more expensive prices put in place for busier dates. Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at Disney’s Hollywood Studios will cost $15-$22 (plus tax) for an Individual Lightning Lane.
Disney has also said that we can expect Genie+ Lightning Lane and Individual Lightning Lane prices to increase further from October onwards. The news that Genie+ prices are increasing and are likely to increase again in the near future, is unlikely to come as a surprise to many Disney fans.
Is Disney trying to discourage so many people taking up the service? We have been expecting Disney to do something to try to tackle the problems with Genie+ and the impact it has on queue times for those not purchasing the service. We expect prices to increase considerably more as we head through 2023 but are guests just going to keep paying the rising prices? Could we see an ultimate style Genie+ ticket in the future which can only be afforded by the rich? We can’t see Disney willingly reducing the amount of Genie+ Lightning Lane tickets available each day as this is inevitably earning them a huge amount of extra revenue. Genie+ has created a difficult problem to try to solve.
With news of these price increases, we are interested to find out whether you still plan to purchase Genie+ Lightning Lane when you visit Walt Disney World. With Chapek announcing earlier this year that Genie+ is being taken up by approximately 50% of guests, we are expecting Disney fans to continue to pay whatever price point Disney chooses in order to have access to the Lightning Lane selection. Let us know your thoughts by voting in our poll below or leaving us a comment. We will keep you posted on further price increases and details regarding Genie+ when they are announced.
