Genie

Genie+ is here. This is the replacement for the old FastPass system, if you were familiar with that.

First, here are some definitions:

Genie+ is the name of the overall service that gives you access to a shorter line at most of the rides in each park. There may still be a bit of a wait but it’ll be soooo much shorter than the Standby line will be. You buy access to the overall Genie+ service first and then you have to select the rides you want to use it on throughout today. More on that below.

Individual Lightning Lane (ILL) passes are for the one to two most popular rides at each park that are not included in the Genie+ ride selection bucket. You have to buy an Individual Lightning Lane pass for these, starting at 7am if you’re a resort guest, otherwise at the park opening time. You can only buy up to two of these total a day, including ones at different parks if you’re park hopping. You don’t have to wait until you use one before buying the second one, nor is it dependent on any of your selected Genie+ passes, so you should buy one or both as early as possible incase they sell out. Just know that they’re non-refundable/not-cancellable/not-changeable, and they’re stricter with these return times, so make sure you select the times that won’t conflict with dining or any other events. The Individual Lightning Lane passes are separate from the Genie+ service. You do not need to buy Genie+ to buy an ILL pass and vice versa.

Lightning Lane is just the name of the physical lane/line that you would get into if you have bought a Genie+ pass or ILL pass for that ride instead of getting into the Standby line. You’ll see the signs in front of each ride entrance. A lot of people use the term Lightning Lane interchangebly with Genie+, but technically, the Lightning Lane is the name of the physical line and Genie+ or Individual Lightning Lane is the name of the ride selection pass that you need to buy in order to get into that line.

Virtual Queue is totally separate from the above, but something to factor in all this. Usually, when a new ride opens and is super popular, they’ll do a Virtual Queue for it so that there’s not a mile-long line of people standing in the physical Standby line. You can’t even just show up and line up in the Standby line if you don’t have a Virtual Queue pass for these rides (currently Tron and Guardians). You go into the Virtual Queue section in the app right before 7am and try to join a boarding group for these rides. If you don’t get it, you have a second chance at 1pm, but those return windows will usually be pretty late in the day so make sure you can stay that late in the park. It’s free to get one though.

Then, during the day, whenever they get to your group, they will notify you in the app that it’s time to get in the physical Standby line. Note that you may still have some waiting time in that line but at least you haven’t spent all day waiting in that line.

These most popular rides will usually also have Individual Lightning Lane passes that you can buy. If you don’t want to have the uncertainty of a Virtual Queue return time or the need to wait still when you return, you can certainly buy an ILL so that you can pick your specific return time and have a shorter line. You can also get a Virtual Queue and also buy an ILL so that you can ride twice.

If you’re interested in getting a Virtual Queue, follow these steps a little before 7am ET. If you don’t get one, try again at 1pm ET.

Go into your Disney app at least 5 minutes before and scroll down to the Virtual Queue section on the Home screen.
Click into it and do the Confirm Party. Pick everyone you’re linked with that’ll want to ride together with you so you all get the same boarding group time.
Then, 2 minutes before (make sure your clock is accurate, don’t be late), start refreshing on the Join Queue screen until the button is not grayed out.
Reeeally quickly (don’t stop to read) click through the buttons on the next few screens until it shows that you have a boarding group 🌝 or that it has already filled up ☹️.

If successful, when you go back into the Virtual Queue screen, it should show what group you’re in. Yay! Screenshot that for proof incase your app acts up or something goes wrong later. Then, just go about your day and wait until your group is called to go line up in the Standby line to ride it.

Virtual Queue passes will usually run out within seconds (not exaggerating) so do this first before doing your other passes.

Tip: If others in your group have accounts all linked together too, have them try at the same time to increase your chances that someone gets it for all of you. Just make sure you each pick everyone who wants to ride in their party too. It’ll only let you get it one time so don’t worry about conflicts even if you all try for all the same people.

Good luck!

Now that the definitions are out of the way, here’s some info on how they all work together.

You can buy the ability to book the Genie+ passes each morning, which will let you skip the longer Standby lines. Then, you can pick which rides you want to use the passes for throughout the day. There are many, many strategies for doing this, but on a very high level, you generally want to book for the most popular rides first since they can run out fastest.

There is so much to explain about Genie+, but in the shortest of shortcuts, here is how you use it:

In the My Disney Experience app, buy the Genie+ service after 12am of the day you want to buy it for.
At 7am, if you’re trying to get a Virtual Queue pass, then do that first. Then, select the first ride that you want to use a Genie+ pass for.
Note the time near the top of the app that says when you can select your next Genie+ pass. Select your next one at that time. Repeat this step throughout your day.
When you’re within the hour-long return time for your selected ride, go to the line that is labeled Lightning Lane at that ride’s entrance and scan your park ticket card or MagicBand to go in to ride it.
If you’re also buying any Individual Lightning Lane rides, you can buy after 7am if you’re a resort guest, otherwise at the park opening time.

Here is a more detailed version:

Log into your My Disney Experience app between 12am-7am (you can buy it after 7am too but for the best value, buy it early) of the day you want to buy it for.
Near the top of the first screen, you’ll see a Purchase button for the Disney Genie+ Service. Click through the screens and buy it for each person in your party that wants it.
Watch the time and only do this next step if it’s still before 7am. Otherwise, come back to it afterwards.
Click over to the My Day screen. Click the Edit My Selections link. Select the things your group is interested in. This just tells the app what you like so it shows you the more relevant rides and such later. You’re not buying any of these at this point. The My Day screen will show you the Genie+ rides and dining reservations that you’ve made for that day, plus what it suggests for you too based on your preference selections.
Click over to the Tip Board screen. Use the Change Park link at the top under the date if it’s not showing the park you’re going to in order to see the ride list and wait times. If you’re park hopping later or buying ILL for a second park, this is how you’ll see those rides to buy them. If it’s before 7am, they’ll be grayed out for now. Refresh again at 7am.
NOTE: If you’re planning to get Virtual Queue times also for rides that use them, jump back to the main screen at 6:58am and go into the Virtual Queue section to do that first. Start refreshing right before 7am. Those will go faster than Genie+ times usually. Or have another person do that part on another phone either from their MDE account if it’s also linked to everyone in your group that wants it, or logged into your account as well.
After 7am, go back to the Tip Board and you’ll see the buttons under each ride with the next available Disney Genie+ or Individual Lightning Lane return window. That wording is how you tell which is which. The ILL rides will also have a separate price listing next to them.
Click on the button for the Genie+ ride that you want to book first. Screenshot the confirmation screen. You’ll then see it under the My Day screen. Set a calendar reminder for it too.
If you’re also buying any ILL rides, scroll to those in your Tip Board screen and click through their buttons to buy those. Screenshot and set a reminder for those times too. Buy as soon after 7am if you’re a resort guest, otherwise at the park opening time.
The Tip Board screen will show a time when you can book your next Genie+ ride near the top. Set a calendar reminder for that time. Book your next one at that time and keep repeating throughout the day.
During your return window, go to the ride’s Lightning Lane side and scan into the ride.

Is Genie+ Necessary or Worth It?

I think this depends on your tolerance for waiting in long lines and whether you want to ride all the rides. After all, time is money. If you’ve paid all this money for park tickets but then only ride say 3 rides all day doing Standby, is that enough for you? Whereas, if you buy the Genie+, you have to add a little more to the overall cost for the day, but you may be able to ride say 6 rides instead. Would that make it a better park day? These are hypothetical numbers of course, but you get the idea. You have to decide how important doing more rides are to your group. Also, make sure to familiarize yourself with the rides included in Genie+, how many rides you want to do, how fast they may run out of passes, how long of a park day you have, and how crowded the park is projected to be that day. This all factors into your ride strategy and whether you may benefit from having the Genie+ access.

There are some ways to save a bit though. You don’t have to buy it for every day of your trip or for everyone in your group. See if it’s enough to just buy the Individual Lightning Lane or get a free Virtual Queue pass if you just care about those most popular or new rides and have already done the rest in the past, so that it’s not vital to ride them all again.

However, if this is your first trip to the Disney parks or don’t come very often, you may want to factor this into your overall budget and strategy so that you get a chance to ride the most rides possible. If you get stuck waiting in long lines all day not doing alot, you won’t have a good first taste of the parks and it could be an overall waste of your time and money instead. Then, in future trips, you can take a more chill approach and not buy it eveytime.

I’m purposefully not including exact prices here because they do dynamic pricing for these, so they vary every day. In general, I’ve seen the Genie+ service range from $20 to almost $40 per person per day, and Individual Lightning Lane passes range from $15-$25 each per person per day. The more crowded and popular the day, the more they’ll cost. This is another reason to avoid popular times of the year like Spring Break or Christmas weeks. Resorts, tickets, and Genie+ will all cost more those times of the year, so you can save on your overall trip cost by going during off times.

I can go over all this in more detail depending on the type of rides your party wants to do and what time you’re getting to each park to form your best strategy. It’s too much to write all the possibilities here, plus details of how this works changes all the time. Feel free to contact me if you’re interested in having me help you plan your trip.

This links to some blog posts that I wrote when it launched in Oct 2021 that contain some more info, but some details have probably changed since. I’ll make updates as I catch them. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions on this.

Genie+ Launched

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