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    Genie Plus Information and Tips at Walt Disney World

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What is Genie+?

Genie+ is a paid, app-based version of Disney’s previous ride reservation system called FASTPASS.

Genie+ is a feature in the My Disney Experience app, so you'll need the app on your smartphone to use Genie+.

Paying for Genie+ allows you to make Lightning Lane ride reservations that work similarly to Disney’s previous FASTPASS system: at participating rides, you can reserve the next available return window for your group to ride. Then during your return window you’ll get into the Lightning Lane—a separate line that’s shorter than the Standby Line.

Guests in the Lightning Lane will be given priority to board the ride, so that queue should move quickly. Almost all the attractions that offered FastPass+ now offer Lightning Lane.

How Much Does Genie+ Cost?

Genie+ costs $15 or more per person, per day, plus tax. In October 2022 Disney embraced date-specific pricing for Genie+, so the price will be higher on busier dates. On the day you want to use it, you can purchase the Genie+ option using Disney's app.

Same-day Lightning Lane Access via Genie+ goes on sale at midnight each day; you don't need to purchase Genie+ for everyone in your party, so for same-day purchases you can choose which people get Genie+ that day.

How Do I Sign Up for Genie+?

Sign up for Genie+ is done using Disney's My Disney Experience app on your phone. There is no paper-based or non-phone way to use Genie+. Genie+ is sold on a per-person basis, not per family. If you want everyone in your family to have access to Genie+ reservations, make sure you select each family member when you're buying Genie+ that day.

Disney limits the number of guests who can sign up for Genie+ each day. To avoid being shut out of the Genie+ service, we suggest signing up for Genie+ at midnight on each day of your park visit.

How Does Lightning Lane in Genie+ Work?

Selecting return windows for Genie+ attractions works similarly to how it worked with FastPass+. Beginning at 7 AM those who have paid for Genie+ that day can make their first ride selections. You can make a second selection at the earliest of the following times:

  • When you redeem that first selection.
  • When the first selection's arrival window has ended.
  • When 120 minutes have passed since you made the first selection (or, if you made your first selection prior to park opening, 120 minutes after park opening)

That pattern continues all day, so making a Lightning Lane selection with an earlier return window will allow you to make subsequent selections earlier, maximizing the number of selections over the course of the day.

What Attractions are Included with Genie+?

The list of available attractions that use Lightning Lane is subject to change. Here are the current attractions for Genie+:

Magic Kingdom - Genie+ Attractions

  • The Barnstormer
  • Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
  • Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
  • Disney Festival of Fantasy Parade
  • Dumbo the Flying Elephant
  • Enchanted Tales with Belle
  • Haunted Mansion
  • “it’s a small world”
  • Jungle Cruise
  • Mad Tea Party
  • The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
  • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
  • Meet Cinderella and a Visiting Princess at Princess Fairytale Hall
  • Meet Mickey and Minnie at Town Square Theater
  • Meet Princess Tiana and a Visiting Princess at Princess Fairytale Hall
  • Mickey's Once Upon a Christmastime Parade (seasonal)
  • Mickey’s PhilharMagic
  • Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor
  • Peter Pan’s Flight
  • Pirates of the Caribbean
  • Space Mountain
  • Splash Mountain
  • Tomorrowland Speedway
  • Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid

Lightning Lane access to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and TRON Lightcycle / Run are available only with the separately priced Individual Lightning Lane.

The Best Genie+ Choices at the Magic Kingdom

Read our blog post about Genie+ Priorities at Magic Kingdom.

It's important to know where using Genie+ can save you the most time in line.

At TouringPlans, we figure this out by comparing how long families using Genie+ have waited in line, to how long other families waited in line at the same ride using the regular standby line.

To do this, we collect thousands of wait times every day, and actual wait times from our Lines app. We're the only organization outside of Disney that does large-scale collection of actual wait times.

Here's how much time you can expect to save using Genie+ at the Magic Kingdom's attractions:

Time Saved Using Genie+ at Magic Kingdom Instead of Standby
Attraction
Estimated Savings w/ Genie+ versus Standby
Jungle Cruise
46 minutes
Peter Pan's Flight
42 minutes
Splash Mountain
33 minutes
Space Mountain
30 minutes
Meet Mickey Mouse at Town Square Theater
30 minutes
Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin
28 minutes
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
26 minutes
Haunted Mansion
23 minutes
Pirates of the Caribbean
20 minutes
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
19 minutes
Magic Carpets of Aladdin
14 minutes
Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid
14 minutes
Tomororwland Speedway
13 minutes
It's a Small World
11 minutes
The Barnstormer
8 minutes
Mad Tea Party
8 minutes
Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor
7 minutes*
Dumbo the Flying Elephant
6 minutes
Mickey's PhilharMagic
2 minutes
*We don't yet have a lot of data on this attraction, so this estimate might change.

EPCOT - Genie+ Attractions

  • Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival
  • Frozen Ever After
  • Journey into Imagination with Figment
  • Living with the Land
  • Mission: SPACE – Green
  • Mission: SPACE – Orange
  • Remy's Ratatouille Adventure
  • Soarin' Around the World
  • Spaceship Earth
  • The Seas with Nemo & Friends
  • Test Track
  • Turtle Talk with Crush

Lightning Lane access to Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is available only with the separately priced Individual Lightning Lane.

The Best Genie+ Choices at EPCOT

Read our blog post about Genie+ Priorities at EPCOT.

Time Saved Using Genie+ at EPCOT Instead of Standby
Attraction
Estimated Savings w/ Genie+ versus Standby
Remy's Ratatouille Adventure (when Genie+)
54 minutes
Frozen Ever After (when Genie+)
50 minutes
Test Track
30 minutes
Soarin'
23 minutes
Mission: Space (Orange)
15 minutes
Spaceship Earth
14 minutes
Living with the Land
11 minutes
The Seas with Nemo and Friends
9 minutes**
Mission: Space (Green)
8 minutes
Disney/Pixar Short Film Festival
4 minutes**
Journey Into Imagination with Figment
3 minutes**
**We see more Genie+ usage here when wait times are high. That might overstate the time savings on days of moderate or low attendance.

Disney's Hollywood Studios - Genie+ Attractions

  • Alien Swirling Saucers
  • Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage
  • Disney Junior Play & Dance!
  • For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration
  • Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
  • Meet Olaf at Celebrity Spotlight
  • Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway
  • Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
  • Muppet*Vision 3D
  • Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
  • Slinky Dog Dash
  • Star Tour - The Adventures Continue
  • Toy Story Mania!
  • The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

Lightning Lane access to Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is available only with the separately priced Individual Lightning Lane.

The Best Genie+ Choices at Hollywood Studios

Read our blog post about Genie+ Priorities at Hollywood Studios.

Time Saved Using Genie+ at Hollywood Studios Instead of Standby
Attraction
Estimated Savings w/ Genie+ versus Standby
Slinky Dog Dash
56 minutes
Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
54 minutes
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
46 minutes
Toy Story Mania
36 minutes
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster
33 minutes
Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway (when Genie+)
29 minutes
Meet Mickey and Minnie Starring in Red Carpet Dreams
27 minutes*
Alien Swirling Saucers
25 minutes
Star Tours
18 minutes
MuppetVision 3D
0 minutes*
*We don't yet have a lot of data on this attraction, so this estimate might change. Also note that shows are rarely a good use of Genie+.

Disney's Animal Kingdom - Genie+ Attractions

  • The Animation Experience at Conservation Station
  • DINOSAUR
  • Expedition Everest
  • Feathered Friends in Flight!
  • Festival of the Lion King
  • Finding Nemo: The Big Blue...and Beyond!
  • It’s Tough to Be a Bug
  • Kali River Rapids
  • Kilimanjaro Safaris
  • Meet Favorite Disney Pals at Adventurers Outpost
  • Na'vi River Journey

Lightning Lane access to Avatar Flight of Passage is available only with the separately priced Individual Lightning Lane.

The Best Genie+ Choices at Animal Kingdom

Read our blog post about Genie+ Priorities at Animal Kingdom.

Time Saved Using Genie+ at Animal Kingdom Instead of Standby
Attraction
Estimated Savings w/ Genie+ versus Standby
Na'Vi River Journey
51 minutes
Kilimanjaro Safaris
43 minutes
Kali River Rapids
29 minutes
Expedition Everest
24 minutes
Dinosaur
15 minutes
It's Tough to Be a Bug
4 minutes
The Animation Experience
0 minutes*
*We don't yet have a lot of data on this attraction, so this estimate might change. Also note that shows are rarely a good use of Genie+.

Tips and Advice for Using Genie+

The number of Lightning Lane reservations available is limited, so Lightning Lane doesn’t eliminate the need to arrive early. In the old and free FastPass+ system, Disney would normally allocate 75%–80% of a ride’s hourly capacity to FastPass+ riders. In practice, that meant Disney put three or four people from the FastPass+ line on the ride for every one person it took from the Standby Line. But even with a separate line for FastPass+ riders, people often waited 30 minutes or more in the FastPass+ line once they returned to ride.

We're constantly researching the best ways to use Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lanes in the parks, especially with our touring plans. Here are some of our best blog articles on Genie+ and ILL:

  • Disney hasn’t said how much of each ride’s capacity is now for sale. But because using a Lightning Lane costs real money, we believe Disney will want to set an upper limit on how long people will wait in the Lightning Lane—for example, something like 25%–35% of the posted wait for the Standby Line.

  • You are allowed to cancel a Genie+ Lightning Lane selection and then book a different one (something that cannot be done for individual Lightning Lane selections) so keep checking for a better attraction or sooner time window.

  • Don’t use Lightning Lane unless it can save you 30 minutes or more at an attraction or if the ride is distributing immediate return times.

  • If you arrive after a park opens, obtain a return time for your preferred Lightning Lane attraction first thing.

  • Always check the Lightning Lane return period before obtaining your reservation. Keep an eye out for attractions whose Lightning Lane return time is immediate, or at least sooner than the standby wait.

  • Don’t depend on Lightning Lane being available after noon during busier times of the year.

  • Make sure each ticketed person in your party has a Lightning Lane return time. Reservations are tied to each individual admission pass and may not be transferred.

  • With Genie+, maximize efficiency by always obtaining a new Lightning Lane return time for the next attraction while waiting to board the previous one.

  • Attractions may not dispense Lightning Lane reservations while they are closed for technical difficulties or special events.

  • In certain situations you can hold more than one unused Genie+ reservation at time (often called "stacking") because you can obtain a "next" return time 120 minutes after getting your current one, even if your current one is for a time several hours in the future.
  • Last updated on April 26, 2023

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