Disney Genie+ Guide for Walt Disney World

Disney Genie
©Disney

Disney has converted the Disney FastPass+ system at Walt Disney World Resort to a paid version with the introduction of Disney’s Genie+. DisneyGenie+ (Genie+) is a great system that lets you make your theme park visit easier and more fun.

Disney Genie+ service is found in the My Disney Experience mobile app. It can help you to book guaranteed ride times for favorite shows and attractions and allows Guests the opportunity to use Lightning Lane entrance at select attractions and experiences at the Walt Disney World theme parks. (The former FastPass+ queues.)

The things that Disney Genie can to help you with are:

  • Reduce time in lines while keeping in mind your top picks
  • Pace your day with experiences you’ll enjoy and haven’t already done yet
  • Build around your existing plans like dining reservations and Park Hopper preferences

With the launch of Disney Genie, Guests are able to also purchase Disney Genie+ to utilize the Lightning Lane entrances. (These are formerly the FastPass+ entrances.) Two different options are available. The first one is Disney Genie+ which allows you to add-on access to more than 40 attraction. The second option is the ability to purchase access to certain attractions that you can add on individually. The individual attraction access is available at the most highly demanded attractions.

Keep reading for more information, tips, and strategies on how to best utilize these options while on your Walt Disney World vacation.

Disney Genie+ Basics Individual Lightning Lanes Using Lightning Lanes Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane Attractions

Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane Tips and Strategies

Disney Genie+ Basics

The Disney Genie+ System allows you the opportunity to select arrival windows for Lightning Lane entrances that are available at more than 40 attractions and entertainment across all 4 theme parks, one at a time throughout the day. (This is similar to how FastPass+ worked.) Disney Genie+ varies in pricing, based on the date the Guest is visiting, much like theme park tickets currently do. Pricing is lower on less busy days and it will cost you more to use the Disney Genie+ service on busier, peak days. Guests can currently only purchase it on the same day of your visit for a single-day use for existing ticket holders or Annual Passholders in the My Disney Experience app. This same day purchase can occur starting at midnight and may be limited for any individual day.

Guests who have purchased Disney Genie+ service can begin to book reservations for your first experience via the My Disney Experience app beginning at 7:00 AM on the day of your visit. Once you’ve ridden your initial selection, or the arrival window has passed, you can make another selection using the app. What if you book a reservation and it’s hours away? Well, you can book another reservation 120 minutes from the time of that booking. The app will let you know when you can book another reservation.

MagicBands/MagicBand+

MagicBands are used when Guests go to the attraction to redeem their Disney Genie+ reservation. MagicBands/MagicBand+ are available for purchase at a special pre-arrival price. This special price is for guests staying at a Walt Disney World resort. The MagicBand can be shipped to you before your trip. For guests not staying at a Walt Disney World Resort, MagicBands/MagicBand+ are available for purchase. In addition, your park admission ticket can be used in place of a MagicBand. For more information about MagicBands, click here.

What if the Attraction is Closed?

Unfortunately, attractions sometimes cease operations during the day for maintenance, safety, or even the weather. If you have a Disney Genie+ or Individual Lightning Lane reservation for an attraction and the attraction closes during the time window you can experience the attraction, then you will generally receive a bonus reservation for a variety of other attractions. Typically, this bonus reservation does not have a time window and can be used anytime during the day.

Individual Lightning Lane Selections

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Some of the most highly demanded attractions will offer Lightning Lane entry as an “á la carte” purchase. This option is available for all Guests. That means it doesn’t matter if you’ve already purchased Disney Genie+ or not. Guests who choose this option can choose a time to arrive at up to 2 attractions each day. (They must be booked one at a time). Pricing and availability will vary by date, attraction, and park. You will need to check the My Disney Experience app on the day of your visit for current prices and attraction availability.

The pricing of Individual Lightning Lane typically ranges from $14.00 to $17.00, but could be more during peak season.

To purchase individual attraction access you can do it via Disney Genie in the My Disney Experience mobile app on the same day of your visit. Guests of a Disney Resort Hotel and Other Select Hotels will be able to make their first purchase starting at 7:00 AM on the day of their visit. This option is available to Disney Resort hotel Guests and Guests of Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotels and Shades of Green. If you aren’t staying at a Disney Resort Hotel, you can make your first purchase when the park opens.

Using Lightning Lanes

Whether you purchased an Individual Lightning Lane or booked one utilizing Disney Genie+, you redeem you selection through the same process.

Each Lightning Lane reservation has an arrival window (usually an hour, but check your selections to be sure). During that time period, look for signage indicating the location of the Lightning Lane entrance. At that entrance will be Cast Members and several touch points (the same sort you see when scanning to enter the park). You can then scan your Magic Band, ticket/key card, or Magic Mobile pass to confirm your reservation during that time. (Note: after scanning at the entrance, many attractions have you scan again closer to the loading zone – so keep your Magic Band, ticket, or phone handy).

From there you will go through a designated Lightning Lane queue and then merge with the Standby queue just before the attraction or pre-show begins.

Note: If using Genie+, you won’t be able to book a new selection until you have completed all scans, whether that is one or two.

Disney Genie+ and Lightning Lane Attractions

Here are the attractions in each park that offer Disney Genie+ access or Individual Attraction Access:

Magic Kingdom

Magic Kingdom

Individual Lightning Lane Selections

Disney Genie+ Lightning Lane Selections

EPCOT

Epcot

Individual Lightning Lane Selections

Disney Genie+ Lightning Lane Selections

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Hollywood Studios

Individual Lightning Lane Selections

Disney Genie+ Lightning Lane Selections

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom

Individual Lightning Lane Selections

Disney Genie+ Lightning Lane Selections

Disney Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane Tips and Strategies

Know Before You Go

  • If you are booking those Disney Genie+ reservations later in the day, you can also “stack” reservations close to each other. This means that you can experience numerous attractions in quick succession. Be sure you give yourself enough time to experience the attractions and travel to the next.
  • Availability of a Disney Genie+ experience, the number of experiences you may select and arrival windows are limited and may vary based on factors such as the theme park you are visiting, the attraction or entertainment experience, the time of year and the day of the week, and prior demand.
  • Each selection will designate an arrival window for an attraction, restaurant location, or entertainment experience. The Disney Genie+ selection is not valid before or after the designated arrival window or at any other location.
  • Currently, all guests can access Genie+ online. The system also works in conjunction with the My Disney Experience mobile application.

Disney Genie+ Tips for a Group

  • Talk about the rides and limitations. Find out if everyone wants to ride together. While riding together is great fun, there may be people who don’t like roller coasters, have health issues that you don’t want to aggravate on a ride, or may simply not meet the height requirements for the ride. A mix of large group rides and smaller groups may help satisfy everyone.
  • Utilize the Friends and Family feature in My Disney Experience. It is a valuable tool to help make all of your plans work together. You can decide how much or how little others see about your plans. Connecting this way and having one person make all of your Disney Genie+ reservations is far easier than multiple people trying to get similar times for the same rides.
  • Make as many Disney Genie+ reservations together at once. It’s always possible to change a few from the group if they decide to do something else. It’s best to start out planning for as many rides together as you think you will want and change from there.
  • Utilize the change feature on My Disney Experience to add people to your current Disney Genie+ reservations. You can even search for people not already linked to your account this way.

Finally, remember that people change their reservations all the time. Make sure to keep checking back to see if you can get what you want. You never know what things may open up, so keep trying!

For general strategies, and tips for each of the theme parks, check out our guide.

Click here for an easy breakdown of how the process works.

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