When you head to the Disney World parks, you’ll quickly realize how busy it can be. There are people everywhere and long lines, not only for the attractions but for the meet and greets, restaurant reservations, and food kiosks, as well.
If you want to get the most out of your time in Disney World, you’ll have to plan ahead and use the Genie Plus and Lightning Lane services to ensure you can ride the attractions you want to and skip the lines during your stay.
If you are planning a family vacation to Walt Disney World, make sure to read these articles Which Disney World Park Is Best and follow our Tips and Tricks for Disney World.
You’ll also want to get our Printable Disney Games to entertain your children while you travel to Disney World or while waiting in line at the Disney Parks. And if you need a little help with planning your Disney vacation, then check out our Disney World Planning Guide with Printable Worksheets. It will help your family plan a fun, easy, stress-free, magical vacation to Walt Disney World.
So, what is Disney Genie Plus, and is it worth it? Keep reading to find out.
What Is Disney Genie Plus?
Disney Genie Plus is the new and improved version of the Disney Genie trip planning service. This service is complimentary, whereas Genie Plus is the paid service that allows you to use the Lightning Lane to skip the standby lane on some attractions and get on them quicker.
Disney Genie is a free trip-planning service where you can create a personalized itinerary for your Disney vacation, including your own preferences.
You can add all of your must-see attractions, shows, and events and alter the Genie app to make it a custom itinerary of how you want to spend your day at Disney World (see also, ‘How Big is Disney World?‘).
Disney Genie Plus is the version of this app that you purchase to reserve an arrival time at many attractions at Disney World and use the faster ‘Lightning Lane’ to bypass long queues and get onto the rides without wasting time waiting with everyone else.
How Does Disney Genie Plus Work?
To use Disney Genie Plus, you will need to add your general interests, such as characters or princesses you would like to see, or your favorite rides and attractions, along with shows and nighttime spectaculars you can’t miss, and it’ll magic up your own custom itinerary for you.
Within the Genie Plus app, you can also view the wait times of your favorite rides to help you navigate your day and ensure you can fit everything in. If you play your cards right, you can go on the rides with shorter wait times, while the bigger, more popular rides have longer wait times.
With real-time information, you can see what characters appear where in the park and look at the map to find showtimes, queue times, and wait times for food and restaurants. The Genie Plus app does everything for you.
It will map out your day, and with the Plus version, you will also get Lightning Lane for your favorite attractions, which works much as the original FastPass would.
You used to be able to add Genie Plus to your vacation package before your trip, but now you can only buy Genie Plus on your park visit via the My Disney Experience application.
You can only select attraction arrival times on the day of your visit and not sooner. First selections can begin after you enter the park, or they can be done on the application at 7:00 am.
Who Is Disney Genie Plus For?
The purpose of Disney Genie Plus is to plan out your trip so that you can spend less time in line and more time enjoying the magic that Disney World brings.
If you are the type of person that likes to plan their Disney vacation down to the minute, and squeeze the most out of their visit, then the Disney Genie app and the paid version – the Disney Genie Plus app will be perfect for you, along with a Disney World vacation planner.
In addition, if you are the type of person who likes to go along with the flow while spending the day at Disney World, then Disney Genie Plus is also beneficial, as it will take note of your preferred rides and attractions and let you know when the best times to go on them will be. It will help you skip the queue to get more out of your time there.
Disney Genie Plus is for anyone who wants the stress of planning the perfect day at Disney taken away.
You won’t need to check when the parks open or close, or when the fireworks and parades are, as it will tell you- and plan out an easygoing day where you get to see and do everything you possibly can while at Disney.
Disney Genie Plus Summary
To get started, you’ll need to download the My Disney Experience application from either the App store (for iOS devices) or the Play Store (for Android devices). Familiarize yourself with the features of the Disney app before your travel to Disney with kids.
Then, on your first day in the park, you must purchase the Disney Genie Plus service to enjoy the features and benefits.
Features
The feature of Disney Genie Plus include:
Disney Photo Pass
Once you have purchased Disney Genie Plus, you can use the Disney PhotoPass Service inside the parks. This includes seeing ride photographs and having photographs taken by professional photographers, with augmented reality characters added to your images. These are high-quality photos to commemorate your trip. You get special lenses with Genie Plus, but you must purchase a Memory Maker if you want to keep your images or have them printed. To save money, get Advanced Purchase 3 or more days before your visit.
Lightning Lane
With Genie Plus, you gain lightning lane passes to the busiest, most popular attractions, such as The Haunted Mansion, Pirates Of The Caribbean, Space Mountain, and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Not all attractions are included, but it can speed up wait times massively. However, you can purchase Lightning Lane reservations for attractions not included with Genie Plus, but only one at a time, and you are limited to two per day.
Personalized Itinerary
You will also get a personalized itinerary in your ‘My Day’ tab, where you will also see recommendations, dining reservations, bookings, and more. You can virtually chat with a Cast Member for help.
Custom Tip Board
You will find a tip board with estimated wait times for attractions, shows, and restaurant options. Here you can also order your food, make reservations, or check into virtual queues and book your arrival windows for your Lightning Lane entrances.
Audio Tales
These are fun facts and behind-the-scenes information that you can listen to through the app while exploring Disney parks.
Real-Time Updates
Throughout the day, Genie Plus will offer you recommendations based on wait times. For instance, if a selected favorite attraction of yours has a sudden low wait time, it will recommend that you head over there to make the most of it.
Price
Disney Genie Prices are subject to vary and change, so this is only a general guide. However, Genie Plus can cost between $15 and $25 per guest per day in Disney World.
Therefore, if you want to use this application perk on multiple days for multiple parkgoers, you’re looking at spending at least $100 per day that you utilize Genie Plus.
Usability
The application is relatively easy to use, as it builds an itinerary for you. It’s easily accessible, and the map features are particularly helpful in finding the shortest wait times and all of the show times and operating hours you need.
Disney Genie Plus Pros
When you consider the fact you can get shorter wait times and dinner reservations easier, it may seem worth it for the price. If you want to get the most out of your trip, then the cost of Genie Plus will not bother you.
Genie Plus is better than the FastPass system. Your day would be dictated by when you could secure FastPasses in advance, which means that you would have to go to certain parks on certain days and go on that ride at that particular time.
Without the pre-reserved system, you can explore the parks much easier and enjoy the experience with Genie Plus. Another pro is that you can choose when to buy it. You don’t have to purchase it for your whole trip; you can just do it one day and get as much done in that time as possible.
With Genie Plus, you can purchase additional Lightning Lane passes for rides that are not included with the app, so if there is something you really want to go on and you don’t want to wait in the standby, then this is a big perk.
Disney Genie Plus Cons
Disney Genie Plus costs around $15 per person daily at Disney World, which can quickly rack up if you have a large family. You can still use the Disney Genie application without paying the steep costs of the plus version.
For additional Lightning Lanes, you can only purchase one at a time and only get two per day. These also range from $8-$20 per person, depending on the attraction.
There is also a 120-minute wait from booking one lightning lane on Genie Plus to when you can book another. Alternatively, you can book another if you have ridden the attraction you booked it for already.
Use these Printable Disney Games to entertain your children while you travel to Disney World and while waiting in line at the parks. The Disney-themed activity pack has 35 pages that include popular travel games for kids.
Verdict – Is Disney Genie Plus Worth It?
As long as your budget allows, Disney Genie Plus is definitely worth it if you want to have the full Disney experience.
You will be able to get food reservations much easier, get on more attractions, and keep track of where characters are and when shows will be.
We would argue that as long as you are strategic in which lightning lanes you use and which booking times you select, then Disney Genie Plus is worth it.
The parks at Walt Disney World are very busy, and even at rope drop, the waiting lines can be off the charts.
It is worth booking ahead and getting ahead of the game with Genie Plus if you are in Magic Kingdom or Hollywood Studios, but not so much for the remaining parks (Epcot and Animal Kingdom), as they are not as busy and don’t have such long wait times.
If you want the best Disney World experience, we’d recommend buying Disney Genie Plus.
Also, get our Disney World Planning Guide with Printable Worksheets to help your family plan a fun, easy, stress-free, and magical vacation to Walt Disney World.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Many Rides A Day Do You Get With Genie Plus?
Not every attraction is included with the lightning lanes on Genie Plus- but there are 40 rides to choose from. Here are the attractions included in the Individual Lightning Lane Entrances or Disney Genie+.
You can only select one Lightning Lane at a time and can only select another either once you’ve gone on that ride or once 120 minutes have passed.
Your best strategy is to pick rides with the closest return time; otherwise, you will be waiting all day to make your next selection. By doing it this way, you can go on far more rides while at Disney.
How Early Can You Tap Into Genie Plus?
You can purchase Genie Plus as soon as the day you are visiting the park. For instance, when it changes to midnight on the day you will be going, you can select Genie Plus. Then, you can make your first bookings at 7:00 am that day.
We hope you found this review of Disney Genie Plus helpful and that you feel more equipped for planning your family vacation to Walt Disney World.
For more about family travel, check out these posts:
Which Disney World Park Is Best?
Disney World Itinerary Planning: What You Need to Know
Tips and Tricks for Disney World
Walt Disney World Vacation Planner
Games To Play In Line At Disney
How Many Days For Disney World?
