Today Disney dropped some very big, very important news regarding how park guests will plan their vacations. While the service isn’t “new” per se (it was talked about over a year ago by Disney), nothing has been said about it until today. The new Genie Planning Service will take over guests itineraries for both Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resorts.
Implemented right into their respective apps, Genie will take what you love and want to experience, whether attractions, dining, shows or entertainment, and make you an itinerary for the day. It’s taking the “burden” of planning off the guests and making things simple. And it’s ever changing based on wait times and availability.
Disney Genie also introduces the new Lightning Lane for certain attractions. A paid FastPass so to say. And speaking of FastPass, Disney is getting rid of them. Yes, this includes FastPass, Fastpass+ and MaxPass. Say goodbye to them and hello to Lightning Lane with Genie+. Genie+ is a paid service, per day, per person that allows you access to Lightning Lane, mobile booking of attractions, photos and more.
We will have a bigger breakdown of all the new offerings with Disney Genie in a future article. For now, read what Disney has to say about the new service:
“Coming this fall to Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort, Disney Genie is a complimentary and convenient new digital service designed to create the best Disney day for our Guests. We’ve been listening to Guest feedback – they want planning to be easier, they want more flexibility and they want better tools to help you make the most of your visit – and that’s exactly what Disney Genie is here to do.
We’ve made significant investments in this cool new technology, which guides Guests through our theme parks with tips that can help them reduce time in lines, discover magic around every corner and take the guesswork out of “what’s next.”
Built right into the My Disney Experience and Disneyland apps, Disney Genie service will maximize park time for our Guests, so they can have more fun. It includes a personalized itinerary feature that will quickly and seamlessly map out an entire day. From specific attractions, foodie experiences and entertainment, to general interests like Disney princesses, villains, Pixar, Star Wars, thrill rides and more – Guests just tell Disney Genie what they want to do and it will do the planning for them.
Here are a few more features:
- Get Itinerary Updates from Morning to Night: Disney Genie will continue to update the Guest’s itinerary throughout your day, so they can be more spontaneous and go with the flow.
- Find Favorites at a Glance: Guests can create their very own personal tip board to instantly see their favorites. It will display current AND forecasted future wait times, helping Guests predict when they might experience quicker entry to attractions.
- Enjoy More Flexibility and Fun: Disney Genie brings existing planning features together in one place. Guests can join a virtual queue at certain attractions, make dining and experience reservations, mobile order food at many locations, get help from a virtual assistant and more.
For even more convenience and flexibility, there are two other options for enjoying our theme parks, through a queue we are introducing called the Lightning Lane entrance that also saves Guests time in line:
- Disney Genie+ service (available for purchase): For the price of $15 per ticket per day at Walt Disney World Resort and $20 per ticket per day at Disneyland Resort, Guests can choose the next available time to arrive at a variety of attractions and experiences using the Lightning Lane entrance. Guests can make one selection at a time, throughout the day – from classics like Haunted Mansion to thrill rides like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and newer favorites like Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run (attractions subject to limited availability). This convenient option is the next evolution of the fan-favorite Disney MaxPass service from Disneyland Resort. Disney Genie+ will also include Disney parks-themed audio experiences and photo features to capture your memories – augmented reality lenses for those visiting Walt Disney World Resort and unlimited Disney PhotoPass downloads from your day if you are visiting Disneyland Resort.
- Individual attraction selections (available for purchase):Guests can schedule a time to arrive at up to two highly demanded attractions each day using the Lightning Lane entrance – like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom Park and Radiator Springs Racers at Disney California Adventure Park (subject to limited availability; attractions not included with Disney Genie+). Pricing will vary by date, attraction and park.
Lightning Lane selections will be made on the same day of the Guest’s visit and can be used across multiple theme parks, great for those who love the Park Hopper option. Attractions continue to offer a traditional standby queue, or a virtual queue at certain attractions like Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance – to maximize flexibility.
While the FASTPASS, FastPass+ and Disney MaxPass services will be retired, we’re incredibly excited about the flexibility and choices Disney Genie service provides. Guests can choose from all of our new options, a mix of them or none at all, and continue to have a great experience no matter how Guests decide to plan their best Disney day.
We are also making some enhancements to our Disability Access Service (DAS) program, including new options to enroll in the program pre-arrival and for DAS participants to select arrival windows for attractions directly in the app. These options will be available in addition to our existing, in-person DAS program. Visit our Services for Guests with Disabilities page on DisneyWorld.com and Disneyland.com for more details.”
