Since the retirement of the FastPass+ system at Walt Disney World, you may be questioning how you can afford to make the most of your experience without dropping hundreds of additional dollars on your Disney vacation.
While usage of the Disney Genie+ and the Individual Lightning Lane service will vary from party to party and may differ depending on crowd levels, we have some tips that can help make the most out of the Disney Genie+ and Lightning Lane services while keeping extra spending to a minimum.
Rope Drop Individual Lightning Lane Attractions
One way to decrease the amount of money you spend on Disney Genie+ and Lightning Lane is to rope drop high popularity rides. Rope dropping means getting to the park prior to park opening and heading straight to a specific attraction. This is especially great for guests staying on Disney property because on-site guests can enter the parks thirty minutes early. Most of the highest popularity rides require additional fees to purchase the Individual Lightning Lane.
If you can rope drop one of these attractions, it will eliminate the need for the Individual Lightning Lane purchase. Between the two Individual Lightning Lane attractions at each park, these are the attractions that are worth rope dropping: at Magic Kingdom, you want to rope drop Seven Dwarves Mine Train; at Hollywood Studios, head to Rise of the Resistance; at Epcot, it would be best to rope drop Frozen Ever After (if you are able to secure a virtual queue boarding group for Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure); and at Animal Kingdom, it is best to rope drop Avatar: Flight of Passage.
Know Which Rides Are Not Worth the Extra Cost
Of the eight Individual Lightning Lane attractions, there are 3 that you can probably pass on. Obviously, this will be dependent on the crowd levels, but for average crowd levels, you can usually count on these rides having lower wait times at some point throughout the day. The attractions you can probably pass on paying extra for are Space Mountain, Expedition Everest, and Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. Additionally, virtual boarding groups have been slightly easier to come by for Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure than they previously were for Rise of the Resistance. If you are looking to cut costs, opt for this route rather than paying extra for the Individual Lightning Lane.
Know Which Parks are Worth Spending Extra on Disney Genie+
Based on average crowd levels, there are only two parks that are absolutely worth it when purchasing the Disney Genie+ service. Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom are going to be worth the $15 per person, per day cost since each of these parks has several attractions, and most are quite popular.
There are a couple of exceptions. First, if you are spending more than one day at either of these parks, you probably do not need to purchase Disney Genie+ because you should have enough time to hit all the attractions you want to check out. Also, if you are attending any after-hours event at one of the parks in addition to spending the day at that same park, you can pass on Disney Genie+ as you will typically find very low ride wait times at the after-hours event.
Finally, if you are staying at a deluxe resort and can take advantage of both early park entry and the Extended Evening hours, you can utilize that time to hit popular attractions instead of paying for Disney Genie+. Epcot and Animal Kingdom are not as worth purchasing Disney Genie+. Crowd levels are typically lower at these parks, and they do not have as many attractions. The most cost effective option is to only purchase the Individual Lighting Lanes for Frozen Ever After, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, and Avatar: Flight of Passage rather than purchasing Genie+ for these two parks.
If you are traveling during high crowd times, or really want to skip lines it is probably advisable to go ahead and purchase the Disney Genie+ Service and Individual Lightning Lanes. However, if you are looking to utilize Disney Genie+ in the most cost-effective way, these tips can help you on your next Walt Disney World trip.
