One of the best parts, and most chaotic at times, parts of planning a Disney trip in the past were Fastpasses. These would provide guest passes to selected ride attractions during designated times that could be booked 60 days ahead of schedule. However, this was closed down at the start of the pandemic and has not been brought back in the past year and a half. Disney has moved to a new style of pass that is closer in line with Disneyland’s Maxpass (which has also been retired). As you may imagine, this is now a paid system compared to the free option of Fastpass previously. Here is what I know of the Disney Genie Plus that will be released in Fall 2021.
What is the Genie Plus?
This is the new “Fastpass” type system that will be rolled out to Walt Disney World and Disneyland parks. It will have a little more flexibility than the older system without the hassle of choosing your rides 60 days in advance. However, this is a paid version compared to the free system that WDW had put in place. Guests can pick 1 ride at a time and select when they will get to ride. After this is completed, you will be able to make another selection. There is no reported limit to how many times this can be done in a day. If you purchase Genie Plus, it can be used for 40 rides at Disney World and 15 rides at Disneyland.
Separate from this is the Lightning pass, which is another upgrade through the Genie app. There will be a separate breakdown for Lightning Lane later on. A quick synopsis is that you can purchase time to ride at the high wait time attractions, separate from the Genie Plus. think of it as a paid individual fastpass rather than a day of options.
This will be for the popular rides, including Rise of the Resistance and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. It is important to note that you are only able to book 2 of the rides under the individual paid lightning lane per day. The prices for each ride have not been released yet but will vary based on Ride, crowd levels, and park. It is unclear if this will fluctuate from day to day or even fluctuate throughout a given day. I may be alone in this but the name brings on thoughts of Car’s star Lightning McQueen. Hopefully, it will work as well as described.
How much will Genie Plus cost?
Where this will be used for both US Disney parks the prices will be different. For Disneyland, it will cost guests $20 per person per day. Across the US to DisneyWorld, It will be an upcharge of $15 per person per day. There are no discounts that have been announced at this time, such as AP or DVC members. One bonus is that it has been reported that there will be augmented reality scenes and possible audio tours with Genie Plus but not much has been released for this.
Genie app
This will be a free part of My Disney Experience (MDE) app that will be available to anyone. Part of this will include the ability to purchase Genie Plus through the Disney Genie and book your ride times. It will reportedly have features similar to a tour guide to the Disney parks. However, this may only be through the Genie Plus option. This will be broken down a little more as soon as the section of MDE becomes available. Hopefully, it will work well when it is released compared to some of the issues that have plagued My Disney Experience.
What are your thoughts on Disney Genie Plus that will be implemented later this year? Let us know in the comments below!