As you probably know, Genie+ is Walt Disney World’s latest iteration of its “select an attraction return time” service. When you buy Genie+, you can reserve return times for select attractions throughout the day. When your retune time comes, instead of waiting in the regular standby line, you get access to the ride through the “Lightning Lane”. This allows you to get onto the ride faster.
While that description sounds simple, Genie+ is anything but simple. It has all sorts of different rules and restrictions which can make the head spin of even the most seasoned WDW guest. It’s no wonder that several myths have arose regarding this service.
In this article, Buster takes on the role of MythBUSTER (see what I did there?), and tackles some of the most persistent Genie+ myths.
If you haven’t read our previous articles on Genie+, I highly recommend that you check them out as well. Like a fine wine, they pair very well with this post. With that out of the way, on to the myth busting!
MYTH #1: You Are Only Allowed to Book 2-3 Lightning Lanes Per Day
This is absolutely false. However, it persists as a myth thanks to the following disclaimer that Disney added to its Genie+ website:.
On average, Guests can enter 2 to 3 attractions or experiences per day using Lightning Lane entrances if the first selection is made early in the day.
The intent of this is to convey expectations on how many Lightning Lanes the average person might be able to experience on a given day. My guess is that Disney’s lawyers and/or marketing team wanted to add this language so that people aren’t disappointed when they aren’t able to ride everything using the Lightning Lane (which is its own myth that we will cover later). However, many people have (wrongly) interpreted this mean that this is a hard limit on the number of LL’s you can select in a day.
No such hard limit exists. We have personally booked more than three in a single day. Others have as well. I have never heard of anyone not being able to book because they already booked three. But this myth persists thanks to the language on the website.
MYTH #2: If You Purchase Genie+, You Are Guaranteed a Return Time For Every Ride
This is the flip side of Myth #1, and like that myth, it is also false.
Disney reserves a certain number of LL return time slots for each ride per day. Once the time slots are filled for a particular attraction, no more can be booked. This is to make sure that LL capacity doesn’t completely overrun the ride.
This might not seem fair to Genie+ purchasers. After all, you might be dropped up to $40 per person per day for this “skip the line” service. But the fact is that there are only a limited number of LL slots available, so Disney had to restrict them somehow.
Contrast this with Universal, SeaWorld, and Six Flags. They all have “skip the line” passes which DO guarantee access to each ride. However, all three not only have priced their passes much higher, but they also greatly limit the number sold (moreso than Disney does).
Disney could have gone down that road, but instead they chose a middle path. They decided to make the pricing more reasonable in comparison, but they aren’t going to guarantee time slot availability for every ride.
Honestly, I can’t really fault Disney too much for this. They had similar time slot restrictions under both the FastPass and FastPass+ systems, so Genie+ is consistent in that respect. You might not get everything you want, but you will usually get some things you want, and the pricing isn’t as outrageous as their competitors.
MYTH #3: I Can Only Book Every Two Hours
This one is definitely false.
There are two additional rules you need to be aware of. First, and most importantly, you are able to book a new return time immediately after you “check in” to the ride you most recently booked. No waiting is required.
Secondly, if you book your first LL before the park opens, the two hour clock starts at park opening, not when you book. This rule sometimes catches people off guard. What often happens is that people will book their first LL at 7am (which is the earliest time you can start booking) and then expect to book their next one at 9am.
You can’t.
If the park opens at 9am, you can’t book your next return time until 11am, assuming you haven’t checked into the ride you booked at 7am (see first rule)
MYTH #4: You Aren’t Able to Pick Your Return Times
I would say that this is only somewhat true.
When you book a return time, you are assigned the earliest one hour time slot that is currently available. In that respect, it is similar to the old paper FastPass system. However, unlike the paper FastPasses, you can modify your return time to whatever is the next earliest available time slot. By strategically waiting, you can “walk” your return time to a later time of your choosing.
Let’s look at a quick example.
Let’s say that you want to book a Lightning Lane for Space Mountain for sometime between 5pm and 6pm. However, when you first book a LL for Space Mountain, the time slot you are assigned is 1pm to 2pm. Not what you wanted, but you take it anyway. As the day goes on and people continue to book Space Mountain LL’s, you’ll see the return time start to get later and later in the day. You wait until the next available return time is somewhere around 5pm to 6pm. Once you see this, you can MODIFY your reservation and choose the new time slot.
This might require a little patience and some good timing, but it is definitely a doable strategy for many rides.
This probably won’t work for rides that book up quickly (like Slinky Dog Dash, for example). Because return times are being booked so fast, it is very difficult, if not impossible, to time it so that you get your ideal return time. In that case, you really do have to take what you can get!
This also works the other way. Let’s say you get a return time later in the day, but you really want to ride sooner. If you keep refreshing periodically, you might see an earlier return time because someone with that time cancelled or modified theirs. In that case, you can book that earlier return time. You are essentially taking their place in line!
Trying to get an earlier return time is a bit harder than walking your return time to a later window, but it is definitely possible if you are patient and lucky!
MYTH #5: You Need to Have Your Nose in Your Phone All Day to Use Genie+
I would say that this one is mostly false.
If you are just booking LL’s as your next booking time becomes available, you are only really choosing LL’s either after two hours have passed since your last booking time, or after you check into your most previously booked ride. That’s really not a lot of phone interaction.
However, I can see where this could be true if you are obsessively trying to modify your return time (see Myth #4).
Personally, I try to take things in moderation. I am not going to constantly be stalking the app for a new return time as I am walking through the park. I might do it when I taking a break, or using the bathroom, or during some other quiet moment. However, I am not going to let looking for new return times take me out of the moment. And certainly, you don’t have to have your eyes glued to the phone to be successful at finding updating return times!
MYTH #6/#7: Genie+ Isn’t Worth It / You HAVE to Get Genie+
I put these together because they are different sides of the same coin. Of course, neither is true, because it all depends on your circumstances.
There are several scenarios where Genie+ may be worthwhile:
- You are going during a very busy time of year
- You are on a “once-in-a-lifetime” trip, so you want to make sure you experience everything
- You only have a limited time at Walt Disney World
- You are getting to the parks later in the day when the crowds are at their heaviest
- You are going to Magic Kingdom or Hollywood Studios
On the flip side, there are other situations where it may not be worthwhile to you:
- You are going during a time when crowds are light
- You visit Walt Disney World often enough where you don’t need to see everything in one trip
- You are “rope dropping” (i.e. you are going to be at the park when it opens)
- You have access to exclusive extra evening hours
- You are eligible for the Disability Access Service
- You are going to EPCOT or Hollywood Studios
Here is the way I look at it. The goal of Genie+ is to save precious vacation time. I am paying a good amount to visit WDW, so I don’t want my limited vacation time to be spent queuing all day. Anything that allows me to do more of the “fun stuff” is worth something to me.
However, I understand that Genie+ isn’t free either. For a family of four, it can run $100 or more per day. That adds up quickly! So it is up to each of us to decide whether Genie+ fits into our budget.
MYTH #8: You Should Always Book the Ride With the Earliest Return Time
This might be a matter of opinion, but my opinion is that it is false.
I do see how this myth arose. Because you can reserve your next LL immediately after checking into your previous booking, you may not have to wait your full two hours between bookings. This potentially could allow you to maximize the number of return times you get during the day. However, I feel like this strategy misses the point of Genie+.
The goal of Genie+ should be to save the most time, not to ride the most rides!
Generally speaking, if a ride has an immediate return time, it is because it isn’t a very popular ride. Therefore, waiting in the standby line probably won’t be that much longer than using a LL. On the flip side, a ride with a return time later in the day (more than two hours later) is likely to be very popular and have much longer standby wait times. For these rides, you will save a lot of time by using the LL.
If you still aren’t convinced, would you rather:
- Book 10 Lightning Lanes which save you 10 minutes of wait time each, OR
- Book 3 Lightning Lanes which save you 60 minutes of wait time each
I would take Option #2 without a doubt. With this option, you will save 180 minutes of wait time (3 times 60). With the first option, you are only saving 100 minutes of wait time (10 times 10). Yes, I might have only used the Lightning Lane three times, but I saved myself an additional 80 minutes of standing in line!
Wrap Up
I hope you enjoyed this installment of Buster the MythBUSTER. Genie+ is not a simple thing to understand, so it isn’t surprising that these myths persist. But they do.
Are there any other myths about Genie+ that you think I missed? If so, leave us a comment and let us know what other myths you think exist out there. We’d love to learn from your experience!
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