Use Disney Genie and Get the Most Out of Your Disney Experience
Disney Genie will make planning and enjoying a vacation much easier. How does Disney Genie work and when does it launch?
Oct. 18 2021, Published 12:39 p.m. ET
Are you frustrated by the long lines at Space Mountain? Walt Disney World Resort’s new Disney Genie promises to help you plan your trip to the resort. You can even schedule your rides to make the most out of your visit. How does Disney Genie work?
The new Disney Genie and Disney Genie+ services, which were introduced in August, go live on Oct. 19. The digital services are built right into the My Disney Experience app. Park visitors can use Disney Genie to plan what rides they want to go on, shows they want to see, and restaurants that they want to check out.
“It’s like having a genie in the palm of your hand,” says the Disney World website.
Once you plan your itinerary with the different attractions, entertainment, and dining options you’re interested in, the service will map out your day at the park, let you know what the wait times are on specific rides. It will even suggest good times to experience the rides and shows you are interested in. You can also use Disney Genie to make dinner reservations or order food at any of the park’s numerous restaurants.
The new Disney Genie service and Lightning Lanes are replacing the theme park’s older FASTPASS, FastPass+, and Disney MaxPax tools.
How much does Disney Genie cost?
There isn't a cost for the standard Disney Genie service. However, if you want the ability to avoid the long lines at your favorite rides, you’ll have to upgrade to the Disney Genie+ service. The Genie+ service costs $15 per ticket per day. So, if you have four tickets for your family, you’ll have to fork out an extra $60 to make sure you can all get to the front of the line. The Disney Genie+ service costs $20 per ticket per day for visitors to Disneyland Resort in California.
The Disney Genie+ service enables park visitors to select the next available arrival for the new Lightning Lane entrances on over 40 attractions and experiences in the park including Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run.
Visitors with the resort’s Park Hopper option can select Lightning Lane arrival windows across multiple theme parks like Magic Kingdom, EPCOT Center, and Animal Kingdom Theme Park.
Lightening Lanes are available for purchase on select Disney rides.
Visitors without Genie+ can buy up to two Lightning Lane passes à la carte on a small selection of rides. The à la carte prices vary by date, attraction, and park. Those rides are:
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Space Mountain at Magic Kingdom
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure and Frozen Ever After at Epcot
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway at Disney Hollywood Studios
Avatar Flight of Passage and Expedition Everest at Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Disney Genie has faced some criticism.
Not everyone is as excited about the new Disney Genie service as those at Disney seem to be. Some people have criticized the new service for adding more cost to already expensive ticket prices, which can cost up to $159 per person.
“There’s not a lot I don’t agree with at Disney and their parks, but this Disney Genie+ and Lighting Lane malarkey is a shambles and a terrible way to try and claw back the lost pandemic money. #disney #wdw,” tweeted Max Everson.
The Twitter page “IsGenieWorthIt” that started this month already has 843 followers.
“Should I shell out more cash, or save it for more Mickey Bars?” reads the bio line of the IsGenieWorthIt Twitter page.