What Else You Could Do Instead of Paying for Genie+

When Genie+ pricing was first announced, there was a lot of chatter around the daily price, and whether it would be “worth it”. We even did a series of articles based on that price to try to guess at time savings (based on FastPass data) vs hourly cost of a park ticket. And then Genie launched, and people’s eyes opened even wider when they realized that the $15 that Disney advertised doesn’t even include tax. Those 98 cents aren’t much, but they mean a lot. And it all adds up quickly if you purchase for multiple days, or multiple people. The data still isn’t in on Genie+ time savings, so calculating some sort of value per minute saved in line isn’t possible yet. But there are other ways to calculate worth. So today we’re going to compare various prices of Genie+ for certain party sizes and park days to other Disney experiences with similar cost. That way we can visualize the trade-offs for equivalent costs.

Explain the Math!

Easy math today! We know that Genie+ costs $15.98 per person per day. So that means the calculation for total Genie+ cost for your vacation is:

Cost = $15.98 x # of people x # of days

So we can very quickly come up with a table based on those two factors – number of people and number of days, and then show the Genie+ cost for your vacation (which is on top of all other costs).

This chart is easy to use – I have four people in my family. Our typical vacation is 4 park days, one park per day. But we’re not dummies, so we’re not going to use Genie+ at Animal Kingdom. So, 4 people, 3 park days makes my Genie+ price $191.76. If I took an adults-only trip with my husband and only wanted to use Genie+ at Hollywood Studios, 2 people + 1 park day makes my Genie+ price $31.96.

What Else Could I Do With My Genie+ Money?

Let’s start with some Star Wars swaperoos!

• 3 people using Genie+ for 5 days (or 5 people using Genie+ for three days) will cost $239.70. That’s about equivalent to the cost of building a lightsaber at Savi’s Workshop (after you add tax to that purchase). That’s generally considered a pretty “deluxe” experience, so if you’ve got two adults and three kids and you’re paying for Genie+ for three days, that’s like buying Mom a lightsaber.
• 1 person using Genie+ for 7 days (or 7 people using Genie+ for one day) will cost $111.86. That’s close to the cost of building a droid at Droid Depot (no extras, and after tax). So if you have a solo week-long trip planned – lucky you – consider whether you’d like 7 days of Genie+ or a cute little droid to take home with you.
• Maybe you have 2 people in your party, and you’re considering using Genie+ for your Hollywood Studios day. That’s the exact same price (excluding tip) as two specialty alcoholic beverages at Oga’s Cantina – one Jedi Mind Trick and one Jet Juice. So would you rather buy Genie+ or a fun beverage at the end of the night for each of you?

Now for some experience swaperoos!

• If you have a party of four, and you use Genie+ for 6 days, your total cost would be $383.42. For the same price, you could treat your party of four to tickets to Cirque Du Soleil’s new show – Drawn To Life – in Disney Springs.
• Now let’s say your party of four is only going to use Genie+ for 2 days. Or you’re a party of two that is looking for a full 4 days, your cost will be $127.84. For that price, you could also go for an Amphicar ride in Disney Springs.
• If your party of 5 uses Genie+ for five days on your vacation, your price will be up at $399.50. For roughly the same cost, you could get two tickets to go on the Wild Africa Trek – one of my personal favorite tours at Walt Disney World!

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  Maybe you’re a party of two adults and two small kids that are going to Magic Kingdom and you want to use Genie+ for that one day. That cost is $63.92. For that price, you could get both of your kids haircuts at the Harmony Barber Shop (when it reopens) – including tax and tip too!

• If a party of 6 wants to use Genie+ for four park days, that total Genie+ cost would be $383.52. That’s about the same cost as a horseback riding excursion at Tri-Circle D ranch for all 6 people, which is $55 per per person (pre-tax) for a 45 minute ride. That a pretty cool and unique thing to do.
• If you’re two adults travelling with some young teens, your cost for 3 days of Genie+ would be $191.76. That’s the exact same cost (after tax) as doing archery lessons for all four of you at Fort Wilderness. And wouldn’t your kids love to spend 75 minutes shooting arrows at things?!

What about other swaperoos?

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  Let’s say you’re a party of 3 adults and you have a big 8-day trip planned. You could spend $383.52 on Genie+ to cover your whole trip. Or, you could buy a Lego Cinderella Castle! And have many hours of fun building it together when you get home.

• What if we go all out and say you’re a party of 8 spending eight days and using Genie+ ever day. Maybe Grandma and Grandpa and a bunch of their family. They’re paying $1022.72 for Genie+. Alternatively, Grandma and Grandpa could do a nice meal at Victoria & Albert’s with two wine pairings and come in pretty dang close to that same total after tax and tip.
• A party of three (two adults and a child) that used Genie+ for 3 days would spend a total of $143.82 on Genie+ for their vacation. For that same cost, they could take a morning off and go eat breakfast at Topolino’s Terrace – one of my favorite ways to spend a morning at Disney.
• Maybe on a solo trip you’re staying for 5 days. You can either purchase Genie+ for your whole stay for $79.90, OR you could use that same amount of money to buy … wait for it … 12 Mickey Premium Bars. That’s a lot of delicious chocolate-covered ice cream.
• When we get up into more expensive combinations, like 7 people for 6 days or 6 people for 7 days, things get even more interesting. That will cost you $671.16. For that same price, in low season, you could get five nights at an All-Star resort.
• If your party of four is tempted to buy Genie+ for a full week of touring (or a party of seven wants to purchase it for four days), that cost is a cool $447.44. For that same price, you could easily afford a specialty fireworks cruise for up to 10 people!

What Does This Mean For You?

This is mostly fun and shenanigans, but it helps bring up some points to consider when thinking about whether to purchase Genie+:

1. This doesn’t include the cost of Individual Lightning Lane Access attractions. Those prices are variable, and will definitely go up if there are crowds. This is just Genie+.
2. Like any Disney decision, the best choice is the one that will make you happiest and least stressed. If you absolutely hate lines and will avoid them at all costs (literally), then obviously Genie+ is a purchase that makes sense for you.
3. If you’re on a tight budget and are willing to tour strategically to avoid lines, you can do that to. And then if you’ve saved up a little money, maybe you can use the table to Treat Yo Self.

Have you done the math on Genie+ for your vacation? Do you have other suggested tradeoffs for our Treat Yo Self table? Let us know in the comments!