Does Genie Stacking Actually Save Time?
Genie+ stacking continues to be one of the most popular (and confusing) topics for folks planning Disney vacations. Our TouringPlans Teaches episode about it has more views than any other topic – although I’m half-convinced that its popularity is mostly due to a Lord of the Rings reference in the title and an awesome t-shirt. But a question that is continually lobbed my way is why anyone would bother with stacking when you could just get reservations with more real-time availability so that you can make and use more reservations quickly.
And I’ll tell you why, readers. Math. I haven’t run a real head-to-head test of this concept in the parks. Because I don’t have to – we have all of the data about which return times correlate to different booking times for each attraction, and how much time you can save compared to standby at each attraction during different times of day. So I can use all of that information to “virtually” run a head-to-head test and examine the results at each park. Without subjecting at least 2 humans to 4 different days of touring the parks at my instruction.
Explain the Math
So what information do we need in order to run this series of tests?
- Knowing how far in advance each attraction books out so that I can plan stacking vs. semi-immediate use
- Knowing how much time each reservation will save me compared to standby so that I can add up total time savings
So what are the rules going to be for each “team”?
Stacking Team Rules
- At 7 am, book the attraction that saves the most time on average compared to standby
- 2 hours after park opening, narrow down options to all attractions that have remaining availability and then select the one that saves the most time of the list
- Every 120 minutes thereafter (or when using the most recently-made reservation), narrow down options to all attractions that have remaining availability and then select the one that saves the most time of the list
- Repeat Step 3 until park closing or all reservations are sold out or used
- Bonus rule: make sure that it’s physically possible to use reservations (ie, not have Remy and Frozen and Test Track and Soarin’ all booked at 7 pm)
Use It or Lose It Team Rules
- At 7 am, book the attraction that has the earliest return time. If multiple attractions have the same return time, book the one that has the highest average time savings.
- After using the most recently booked reservation, or 2 hours after making the last reservation, book the attraction that has the earliest return time. If multiple attractions have the same return time, book the one that has the highest average time savings.
- Repeat step 2 until park closing or all reservations are sold out or used
- Bonus rule: make sure that it’s physically possible to use reservations
For each park and each team, I’ll add up the number of attractions experienced via Lightning Lane as well as total time saved compared to doing those attractions via standby at the same time of day. Make your predictions now!
Animal Kingdom
For both tests, we’ll assume that the park is opening at 8 am, and that it’s a medium crowd level day.
Stacking Team
- At 7 am, books Na’vi River Journey for 10 am.
- At 10 am, checks in for Na’vi River Journey and books Kilimanjaro Safaris for 2 pm
- At 12 pm, 120 minutes have passed, so books Kali River Rapids for 3:15 pm
- At 2 pm, 120 minutes have passed, so books DINOSAUR for 5:30 pm. Also checks in for Kilimanjaro Safaris.
- At 3:15 pm, checks in for Kali River Rapids
- At 4 pm, 120 minutes have passed, so books Expedition Everest for 5:45 pm
- At 5:30 pm, checks in for DINOSUAR
- At 5:45 pm, checks in for Expedition Everest and books It’s Tough To Be a Bug with immediate return.
Use It or Lose It Team
- At 7 am, books It’s Tough to Be a Bug for 8:15 am
- At 8:15 am, checks in for It’s Tough to Be a Bug and books Expedition Everest for 9:45 am
- At 9:45 am, checks in for Expedition Everest and books DINOSAUR for 11 am
- At 11 am, checks in for DINOSAUR and books Kali River Rapids for 1:15 pm
- At 1 pm, 120 minutes have passed, so books Kilimanjaro Safaris for 3:15 pm
- At 1:15 pm, checks in for Kali River Rapids
- At 3 pm, 120 minutes have passed. 50% chance of Na’vi River Journey not being sold out. If still available, books for 6:30 pm or later.
- At 3:15 pm, checks in for Kilimanjaro Safaris
- At 6:30 pm, checks in for Na’vi River Journey (if it was still available)
Comparison
The Stacking Team was able to experience all 6 Genie+ attractions at Animal Kingdom. The Use It or Lose It Team definitely gets to experience 5 attractions, and has a 50% chance of experiencing all 6.
Based on timing, the Stacking Team saves 151 minutes compared to standby. And the Use It or Lose It team saves between 104 and 142 minutes compared to standby.
Chalk up a victory (albeit a small one) for stacking!
EPCOT
For both tests, we’ll assume that the park is opening at 8:30 am, and that it’s a medium crowd level day.
Stacking Team
- At 7 am, books Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure for 5:30 pm
- At 10:30 am (2 hours after park opening), books Frozen Ever After for 6:30 pm
- At 12:30 pm, 120 minutes have passed, so books Soarin’ for 4:30 pm
- At 2:30 pm, 120 minutes have passed, so books Mission: SPACE for 4:15 pm
- At 4:15 pm, checks in for Mission: SPACE and books The Seas with Nemo and Friends for 5 pm
- At 4:30 pm, checks in for Soarin’
- At 5 pm, checks in for The Seas and waits to book another reservation
- At 5:30 pm, checks in for Remy
- At 6:30 pm, checks in for Frozen Ever After and books Spaceship Earth for immediate return
- At 7 pm, checks in for Spaceship Earth and books Living with the Land for immediate return
- At 7:30 pm, checks in for Living with the Land and books Journey Into Imagination with immediate return
- At 8 pm, checks in for Journey Into Imagination
Use It or Lose It Team
- At 7 am, books Living with the Land for 8:45 am
- At 8:45 am, checks in for Living with the Land and books The Seas with Nemo and Friends for 9:30 am
- At 9:30 am, checks in for The Seas and books Short Film Festival for 10:15 am
- At 10:15 am, checks in for the Short Film Festival and books Journey Into Imagination for 10:45 am
- At 10:45 am, checks in for Journey Into Imagination and books Spaceship Earth for 11:30 am
- At 11:30 am, checks in for Spaceship Earth and books Turtle Talk with Crush for 12:30 pm
- At 12:30 pm, checks in for Turtle Talk with Crush and books Mission: SPACE for 2:30 pm
- At 2:30 pm, checks in for Mission: SPACE and books Soarin’ for 5:45 pm
- At 4:30 pm, 120 minutes have passed, but all other attractions are sold out for the day.
- At 5:45 pm, checks in for Soarin’
Comparison
Both teams were able to complete 8 attractions throughout the course of the day. So, all even there.
But time savings tell the real story. The Use It or Lose It crew wouldn’t be able to secure reservations for any of the top three time savers, and the Stacking team did two out of the three. So Stackers save 168 minutes compared to standby with their 8 attractions, and Use It or Lose It saves … 75.
An even bigger win for Stacking this time. 2 out of 2.
Hollywood Studios
For both tests, we’ll assume that the park is opening at 8:30 am, and that it’s a medium crowd level day.
Stacking Team
- At 7 am, books Slinky Dog Dash for 4 pm
- At 10:30 am (2 hours after park opening), books Tower of Terror for 5 pm
- At 12:30 pm, 120 minutes have passed, so books Millennium Falcon for 6:30 pm
- At 2:30 pm, 120 minutes have passed, so books Rock’n’Roller Coaster for 7 pm
- At 4 pm, checks in for Slinky Dog Dash
- At 4:30 pm, 120 minutes have passed, so books Toy Story Mania for 7 pm
- At 5 pm, checks in for Tower of Terror
- At 6:30 pm, 120 minutes have passed, so books Muppet*Vision for 7:15 pm
- At 6:30 pm, checks in for Millennium Falcon
- At 7 pm, checks in for Toy Story Mania
- At 7:15 pm, checks in for Rock’n’Roller Coaster
- At 7:30 pm, checks in for Muppet*Vision and books Star Tours with immediate return time
- At 7:55 pm, checks in for Star Tours
Use It or Lose It Team
- At 7 am, books Muppet*Vision for 8:30 am
- At 8:30 am, checks in for Muppet*Vision and books Star Tours for 9 am
- At 9 am, checks in for Star Tours and books a reservation to see Olaf for 9:45 am
- At 9:45 am, checks in for Olaf and books Alien Swirling Saucers for 11:45 am
- At 11:45 am, checks in for Alien Swirling Saucers and books Toy Story Mania for 3:30 pm
- At 1:45 pm, 120 minutes have passed, so books Rock’n’Roller Coaster for 6:45 pm
- At 3:30 pm, checks in for Toy Story Mania
- At 3:45 pm, 120 minutes have passed, so attempts to book Runaway Railway. There is only a 25% chance that reservations will be available. If they are, books for 7:30 pm or later
- At 6:45 pm, checks in for Rock’n’Roller Coaster
- At 7:30 pm, checks in for Runaway Railway if a reservation was available
Comparison
The Stacking team would be able to accomplish 7 attractions via Lightning Lane. The Use It or Lose It team, on the other hand, would certainly be able to experience 6 attractions and only have a 25% chance of adding a 7th.
And just like at EPCOT, the real story is found in the time savings compared to standby. The Stacking team gets to use Lightning Lane at all 5 of the Genie+ attractions that have the highest average wait times. So stacking saves 222 minutes compared to standby. The Use It or Lose It team only saves between 135 and 155 minutes depending on whether they’re able to use a reservation at Runaway Railway.
That’s another score for Stacking!
Magic Kingdom
For both tests, we’ll assume that the park is opening at 9 am, and that it’s a medium crowd level day.
Stacking Team
- At 7 am, books Jungle Cruise for 4 pm
- At 11 am (2 hours after park opening), books Peter Pan’s Flight for 5 pm
- At 1 pm, 120 minutes have passed, so books Splash Mountain for 6:30 pm
- At 3 pm, 120 minutes have passed, so books Space Mountain for 7:45 pm
- At 4 pm, checks in for Jungle Cruise
- At 5 pm, 120 minutes have passed, so books Buzz Lightyear for 6:45 pm
- Also at 5 pm, checks in for Peter Pan’s Flight
- At 6:30 pm, checks in for Splash Mountain
- At 6:45 pm, checks in for Buzz Lightyear and books Big Thunder for 8:45 pm
- At 7:45 pm, checks in for Space Mountain
- At 8:45 pm, checks in for Big Thunder and books Pirates of the Caribbean for 9 pm
- At 9 pm, checks in for Pirates of the Caribbean and books Under the Sea for 9:30 pm
- At 9:30 pm, checks in for Under the Sea
Use It or Lose It Team
- At 7 am, books Mickey’s PhilharMagic for 9 am
- At 9 am, checks in for Mickey’s PhilharMagic and books Mad Tea Party for 9:30 am
- At 9:30 am, checks in for Mad Tea Party and books Under the Sea for 10:15 am
- At 10:15 am, checks in for Under the Sea and books Barnstormer for 11:15 am
- At 11:15 am, checks in for Barnstormer and books Dumbo for 12:15 pm
- At 12:15 pm, checks in for Dumbo and books Tomorrowland Speedway for 1:15 pm
- At 1:15 pm, checks in for Tomorrowland Speedway and books Monsters Inc Laugh Floor for 1:45 pm
- At 1:45 pm, checks in for Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor and books Magic Carpets for 3:15 pm
- At 3:15 pm, checks in for Magic Carpets and books Buzz Lightyear for 5 pm
- At 5 pm, checks in for Buzz Lightyear and books it’s a small world for 6:45 pm
- At 6:45 pm, checks in for it’s a small world and books Meet Tiana & Rapunzel for 8:30 pm
- At 8:30 pm, checks in for Meet Tiana & Rapunzel
Comparison
Finally for one metric we can say that Use It or Lose It yields better results – and that’s solely for count of Genie+ attractions experienced via Lightning Lane. Thanks to its abundance of options, Magic Kingdom allows this team to use 11 different reservations throughout the day before things are sold out. The Stacking team “only” gets to use 8 reservations – which is still pretty great compared to other parks.
But if we focus on time saved (which is really the whole point of Genie+, since there’s no point to paying extra money to skip nonexistent lines), the story totally changes. The Use It or Lose It team saves a total of 96 minutes compared to standby with their 11 reservations. The Stacking Team saves (insert drumroll here) 234 minutes with their 8 reservations. Wowza.
I’m still calling this a win for Team Stacking.
What Does This Mean For You?
- If you’re wanting to save the most time with Genie+, stacking is the way to do it. At every park.
- This theoretical head-to-head ignores a sort of “hybrid” strategy popular with quite a few visitors that involves using a few quick-availability reservations in the morning and then starting to stack before the big headliners sell out for the day. So … that’s a thing. But this article is already 87 novels long, and I didn’t want to turn that into 130 novels.
- Really, you need to find an appropriate balance for your party between attractions that save time and attractions that make your group happy. Just know that if you have park hopers, stacking for your second park can absolutely save you a lot of time. And even if you don’t, it might be worth doing standby (or resort time) in the morning and saving all of your line-skipping for the afternoon and evening.
Do you typically fall on the side of stacking or the side of immediate availability for Genie+ reservations? Do the results of each park surprise you? Let me know in the comments!
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Great article and I have been enjoying your YouTube series. I have a question about doing a partial day at Hollywood Studios and whether we should try to stack or even get Genie +.
On this Saturday (July 30), we are flying into Disney World and will be going to Hollywood Studios that evening around 4:30 or 5:00. I was planning to try to get an ILL for Rise and also do Genie+. Does it make sense to do this if I can even do this from where I live before we fly in from Arizona? It seems like stacking is the best approach by trying to get reservations throughout the day that start no sooner than 4:30 PM roughly.
We have one other day at Hollywood Studios but that is another half day where we will rope drop but need to leave a little after 3:00 to head to the airport. I assumed that didn’t make as much sense to do an ILL or genie+ since I may not get to use many lightning lanes by the time we have to leave.
Any thoughts are appreciated! Thanks!
This was a very easy to follow explanation! So…where did you get your data of:
1.Knowing how far in advance each attraction books out so that I can plan stacking vs. semi-immediate use
2.Knowing how much time each reservation will save me compared to standby so that I can add up total time savings
All of that data is further detailed in previous blog posts. You can click on my name to scroll to them, or search for “How Has Genie+ Availability Changed?” and how much time Genie+ will save me at WDW
Thanks for crunching the numbers! As an accountant with a statistician husband, your articles are right up my alley. We analyze stuff like this for fun all the time…
Ok, question. Using the stack and hop strategy, hows that interact with DAS? Can I enter MK while stacking for later at EP, but still use DAS in MK?
This data just confirms that you don’t need to stay on-site to have a successful trip. Disney’s resort prices are so high and they aren’t offering any good incentives to stay on-site anymore.
These examples could actually both be accomplished regardless of whether the guest is onsite or offsite, since the only Genie+-related perk for onsite guests is related to Individual Lightning Lane purchases.
Another well done article for data/efficiency nerds! You’ve made several references to your Instagram account that seem like they have a wealth of useful info. For those of us who aren’t really “into” social media, do you have any plans to share the additional insight via any of the existing touring plan avenues?
Love this article, thank you so much Becky! We are heading to DW next month and will definitely use this. I would have never thought that the difference in time savings between the two methods would be so extreme. And you’re right, this information goes hand in hand with the “How has Genie+ Availability Changed?” article. In attempting to create touring plans, I notice that the LL/Genie + option states “Lightning Lane via Genie+ is available for this attraction. We will support forecasted return times at a later date.” Any idea when the update will be released?
Signed,
A obsessive planner 🙂
Your question is on top of my mind too 😉 I can make any promises re: dates, but I know the guys are working _hard_ at pressure testing the integration in Lines this week.
Can you do the same thing for Genie+ & LL at Disneyland? I don’t think at Disneyland you can book an exact return time, it is just the return time that is available next. Also when park hopping it will only give you return times for when you can be in the other park.
Thanks!
Excellent article, great numbers (data).
Some day I want to see how many rides I can have stacked at the same time. Y (You have four here, can you get five or six at once?)
Most articles / tests about Genie+ use genie+ exclusively and disregard the standby queue. Instead of waiting for the next reservation you could be waiting in queue for a ride. I’d like to see this test again including using standby.
There is obviously lots of room in these write-ups for standby attractions as well – that wasn’t the focus for today’s article those. If you’d like to see realistic strategies that include both, I have several up on my Instagram account.
My problem with Genie+, whether stacking or not, is how you’re at its mercy in terms of the flow of attraction locations. In other words, tons of extra walking and backtracking. If I’m going to pay, it’ll be for ILL so I can do things the FastPass+ way.
It doesn’t have to be backtracking. It can be. But especially at Magic Kingdom, you can focus your reservations in certain areas of the park and therefore avoid some of the back-and-forth.
Hi Becky,
I feel bad for asking as I’m sure this has been written somewhere already, but what is the best plan for someone planning to hit the park first thing in the AM and be done by 4pm or so? Will I be able to get more than a couple Genie+ bookings? I think I was naive in thinking I could get the one I really wanted (say, Jungle Cruise or Tower of Terror) for my first pick at 7am and then just be happy with my lot from there. My other question: if I don’t want to stress about figuring out the system, should I just go with what Touring Plans tells me to do when I hit Optimize for my current plan for a future date? It seemed like I would only get 2 Genie+ times when I looked last.
Stacking is a good strategy, but none of these simulations is realistic for visitors who don’t want to or can’t spend 12+ hours in the parks each day. I think we’re going to need a new article about hybrid strategies that build in time for a mid-day break and dining reservations.
I have several of those “hybrid” attempts at realistic schedules on my Instagram page, but this article was solely meant to compare the extremes of immediate use vs stacking.
Or, as a long time visitor I could just skip the headliners, hang out and enjoy the ambience, and save quite a bit.
Thank you for the article – I always enjoy geeking out to the maths ! (I’m from the UK so the “s” is correct…)
We stay off-site so our day tends to be rope-drop and then stay for as long as possible until everyone gets too tired/irritable in the heat. That is usually around 6pm or so.
It seems the stacking method works best if you can commit to being in the park late afternoon/evening. Given that any thoughts on the best way for us run our trip (which is last week in August/first week in September)
Thanks
Same! I’m seeing us leave for dinner around 6 and not coming back because of the kids.
In late August/early September, crowds shouldn’t be too bad anyway. So, if it was me, and knowing that time constraint, I’d probably only purchase Genie+ for Magic Kingdom, and I’d use it in such a way that I’d just “pretend” the park was closing at 6 (in fact, it may be closing at 6 on some days) and try to fit some bigger attractions into the afternoon. Every other park I’d just approach with a smart touring strategy
Thanks – that certainly makes life less complicated. Touring Plans for the win again !
Really, really helpful article, Becky! I just started watching your Touring Plans Teaches series and LOVE it. Thank you for guiding us through this step by step. I’d love to see sample touring plans that feature afternoon/evening stacking how a family could spend their morning/early afternoon to minimize waits in the standby line. Right now, I feel like I need to make two plans a day – an AM plan with no Genie+ LLs and then an afternoon plan with anticipated stacked Genie+ LLs. Thank you so much again!
Thanks Natalie! Do you happen to have an Instagram account? Because I’ve posted several “Strategy Saturday” sets of slides that lay out days just like you’re requesting for Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.
Yes I do! I’ll hop on over there and check those out! Thank you!
Is this the touring plans page or yours?
The Strategy Saturdays are on my own page!
The one thing that appeals to me about this is the opportunity to ride all the big attractions during the second half or even final third of the day. With fp+, I would just be riding whatever I could grab at that point, but all the big touring happened in the morning. This could change things a little bit, but it has some appeal.
Yeah, unfortunately for those of us planning for little kids, bedtime is 8ish at best if they don’t melt down before then, so the stacking approach isn’t super useful. I liked that with FP+ you could slot them in whenever it was convenient, ahead of time.
Becky, thanks for this analysis (as always!). I’d love to see a play-by-play of a hybrid option, but wherein a person takes advantage of the lighter crowds in the first hr-ish of the park’s opening. So, stack 1-2 of the biggies before they sell out (say, JC and Space), rope drop 1-2 other biggies (ie, Peter Pan and Splash), maybe sneak in one or two other less in-demand rides, then see what’s available for immediate booking. I wonder if this might hit the sweet spot between availability and not having to wait the 2 hrs to book again.
I’ve got something similar coming up in Friday’s TouringPlans Teaches video. An early entry strategy for if you have Genie+. Magic Kingdom definitely has the most flexibility in how you combine savvy touring strategy with Genie+ (or not)
Although I don’t feel like one, in the US I’m classed as a senior due to my age! I have quite a lot of knowledge of how to use apps etc on my phone for most things (although my 2 daughters aged 27 and 29 think that my saying this is absolutely hilarious). So it’s not that I won’t be able to cope with Genie+ or ILL – it’s just that I’m on holiday and really don’t want to have my eyes on my phone all the time and miss the things I’ve come to WDW to see! Booking fast passes before the day of your visit was better as you could then just get on with enjoying yourself on the actual day. Oh well – that’s progress for you!
Ugh I haaaaaaaaaaaate this. I just want to be able to pick a few rides to lock in (like the old FP+) so I can plan my days and then get off my phone and just be in the moment. I don’t want to be constantly fiddling with this, criss-crossing all over creation for G+. Also… stacking loses a lot of its appeal if you can’t guarantee you’ll be in the park until close. This is our first time traveling with lots of kids, and I can’t predict how late they’ll be able to stay in the parks, which makes this whole system a lot less useful.
I liked the old way, where you could do all your planning and then just enjoy your vacation. I don’t want to be in line for one attraction trying to figure out what our next one should be. Blech.
I need a dumbed down tutorial on this… geez… I feel like this junk is gonna ruin our vacation.
I have some handy tutorials up on YouTube 😉
Will be hitting Disney next summer. The more I read, the less I would tell anyone to waste their time and money on Disney that’s for sure. My Cedar Fair platinum pass for more thrills costs less than a day pass to Epcot essentially
Everything is a money grab though and Disney invented the money grabbing.
I’ve heard horror stories from people that have just come back from WDW recently about crowds and trying to use Genie+. All that seemed to do was make their trip that much more stressful. They have said it will be a long time before they go back. The more I read about the need to do this over a “tried and true” touring plan, the less I’m looking forward to going again. We like to park hop, but that just doesn’t seem doable with this approach. The recent story out about Bob Iger saying hiring Chapek as the CEO was a terrible mistake just shows how far Disney has fallen into the cash grab game. Genie+ was a bad idea from the start! Just sad. Bring back FastPass!
My thoughts exactly
Will there be a hybrid stacking post ? Would be interested in the time savings there at least at MK
I nearly spit out my drink at AK when I ready the Use It or Lose It group would book It’s Tough to Be a Bug first (and similar mistakes later in the day)! But I suppose someone who does not research their trips would likely do that (especially if free Genie recommended it).
Great work as always!
Would love to see these two strategies in action for hot summer days where you only plan to be in the parks in the morning and then again in the evening hours (no afternoon!). Great article, Becky!
I would think that makes stacking even better. We did this approach at LAND a few years ago when they had their hold maxpass system. We sat at the pool and hotel booking return times / stacked for the evening.
I have some strategies like this posted on my Instagram account if you have one!
This is exactly what we did last week. We early entry rope dropped Animal Kingdom for Flight of Passage (took about 20 minutes total), and then headed to the Safari when it was still early enough for a short wait time in the regular queue. Then enjoyed other attractions through the regular queues, leaving after an early 11:30 lunch.
In the mean time we leveraged Genie+ and ILL for Hollywood Studios for the evening once the furnace was turned down a little. Got Slinky dog for 6:00pm, then Smuggler’s Run for 7:00. Then booked Toy Story Mania for 6:30, and Rise of the Resistance through ILL for 7:30. Finally Runaway Railway at 8:15. Also enjoyed dinner at Docking Bay 7, and Star Tours after Rise.
Very successful in stacking and rope dropping, while avoiding the heat.
This sounds like a spectacular day! Thank you for sharing your experience.
This new system continues to be bananas, and (I assume) purely for the sake of revenue.
The old FP+ system let you make your reservations and plan out your day weeks in advance. Not everyone’s favorite, but you could plan your day with some confidence.
The other sensible approach is Disneyland’s Genie+ implementation, where you can’t start booking stuff until you enter the park. This makes it difficult to plan much in advance, but it also means that LL inventory is only being consumed by people who are actually in a position to use it. If you show up at Disneyland at 9am, your only competition for LL slots is other people who are also there at 9am – not (tens of) thousands of people who booked LL slots at 7am before even getting out of bed.
BUT now that LL is something people are *paying extra* for, they don’t want offer advance bookings and then deal with the hassle of refunds/complaints if that ride isn’t operating on that day. AND they don’t want to restrict people to only booking Genie+ LLs until they’ve actually entered the park, because then fewer people will buy Genie+.
So we’re left with a system where people are *paying extra* for the privilege of waking up at 7am and entering a lottery for the most popular rides. It’s just so lame.
So if you have park hoppers, you’re getting times that ar elate in the afternoon for the stacking team. I don’t know the current rules, but I thought you can’t make reservations for a park that you don’t have a reservation for. Our old FP+ plan used to be to rope drop park 1 with FP for rides in park 2 in the afternoon.
You can get Genie+ return times for any park, no matter where your reservation is. If you select a Genie+ attraction that isn’t in the park where you have a reservation, the return time gets automatically pushed back to after the allowable park-hopping time.
The examples above don’t use any hopping. If you have a park reservation for Epcot and book a G+LL for Remy at 7am, you could get a return time of 10am or 5pm. It’s a random lottery at that point.
A very common strategy these days is “Stack & Hop”, where you tour your reserved park in the morning while accumulating G+LLs for a different park, and then hop there and use up your stack. Because of the current 2pm restriction on park hopping, if you are booking an LL in a park that you *didn’t* reserve, you will only be offered return times starting at 2pm or later.