Disney Genie, Genie+, and Individual Attraction Selection (or pay-per-ride) have arrived in Disney World!
Lightning Lanes have replaced FastPass lanes!
We’ve been sharing all kinds of updates about the service in terms of how to buy Genie+, how to buy Individual Attraction Selections, and more. With Genie+, you’ll pay that set $15 per ticket, per day to select return times for Lightning Lanes at many attractions across the parks. But, when using Genie+, there’s an important rule you’ll want to be aware of.
You can purchase Genie+ in advance of your trip by adding it onto a ticket or a vacation package for the entire length of your stay. Or, you can purchase Genie+ on the day of your visit, starting at midnight.
©Disney
Regardless of when you buy Genie+, you won’t be able to make your first Lightning Lane selection until 7AM on the morning of your visit.
Lightning Lane Entrance at Pirates of the Caribbean
When you go to make your Lighting Lane selection, you’ll see a number of attractions available and what their next Lightning Lane return time is. For example, early this morning, we had the option to book a Lightning Lane return time for The Barnstormer at 9AM.
©Disney
While many return times were early, some were already a bit later. For example, one of our reporters was booking their first Lightning Lane selection at 7AM this morning and the first return time they were provided through Genie+ for Slinky Dog Dash was not until 4-5PM.
Because that Slinky Dog Dash return time was for a bit later in the day, it opened up a unique possibility for booking/holding more than 1 Genie+ Lightning Lane at a time.
Slinky Dog Dash
Here’s how things work, based on what we understand. Keep in mind, this is based on what we’ve experienced in the park or what we’ve confirmed with Cast Members. But, things are subject to change, and if we get more information that differs from what we’ve shared below we’ll be sure to update this post.
You can generally only make 1 Genie+ Lightning Lane selection at a time throughout the day. Once you’ve used that selection or the return time for it has expired, you can make another one.
©Disney
For example, let’s say at 10:00AM, you’re in EPCOT and you make a Genie+ Lightning Lane Reservation for Living With the Land for 10:30AM. At 10:30AM you use that Lightning Lane and then you can make another Genie+ Lightning Lane selection IMMEDIATELY.
Living With The Land Lightning Lane
What if your Lightning Lane return time is for later? Let’s say you’re in Disney’s Hollywood Studios at 12:32PM and you book a Genie+ Lightning Lane return time for Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run and the next available one is 6:30PM. You’ll book that later return time, no problem.
If you want to book ANOTHER Genie+ Lightning Lane selection while you wait for that later return time to arrive, you’ll be able to do so 2 hours AFTER you made that initial selection. In other words, you’d be able to book another Genie+ Lightning Lane selection at 2:32PM.
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
What if you book that first Lightning Lane selection at 7AM (in advance of the park opening time)? If you book an early return time, you should be able to just use that and then immediately make your next selection.
What if the return time for the ride you want isn’t until later though? From what we understand, if the Genie+ Lightning Lane return time you booked at 7AM is for any time 2 hours after the park opens, you’ll need to wait 2 HOURS after the park opens to book another Genie+ Lightning Lane.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
In our case, at 7AM one of our reporters was looking for a Genie+ Lightning Lane for Slinky Dog Dash and the first available was 4-5PM, so they booked that. Genie then told that reporter that they wouldn’t be able to book another Genie+ Lightning Lane selection until 11AM (2 hours after Hollywood Studios’ 9AM opening time).
©Disney
At 11AM, our reporter booked a Genie+ Lightning Lane for Alien Swirling Saucers for around 12:30PM. They were then able to use that Alien Swirling Saucers and immediately after using it, they were able to book a Genie+ Lightning Lane for Toy Story Midway Mania.
Alien Swirling Saucers
So, from what we understand, you’ll be able to book your next Genie+ Lightning Lane selection when one of the following happens, whichever comes first:
- You have tapped into a ride (a.k.a. you’ve used your Genie+ Lightning Lane selection and tapped into the ride to redeem it);
- Your return time for the Genie+ Lightning Lane selection you made expires (a.k.a. you never tapped into the ride and just let the return time expire); or
- 120 minutes after booking your Genie+ Lightning Lane.
The Genie+ portion of the My Disney Experience app WILL indicate when you’re eligible to make another Genie+ Lightning Lane selection, so that’s what you’ll want to look at.
More Lightning Lanes
So, what’s the takeaway from all of this?
- Be sure to look at the Genie+ section of My Disney Experience to see when you’re eligible to make your next Genie+ selection
- Most importantly — try to make those Genie+ selections for EARLY times if possible. If you make it for a later time, you’ll likely be stuck waiting for 2 hours after the park opens or 2 hours after you make the selection before you can make another Genie+ selection. You’re likely better off either waiting in that ride’s standby line, trying to book it ASAP to get an early Genie+ return time, or watching it throughout the day and maybe booking it later.
Also, keep in mind that this all applies to Genie+. It does not apply to Individual Attraction Selection or Disney’s pay-per-ride system.
We’re on the lookout for more updates about this and we’ll let you know what we find. Stay tuned for more.
Learn all about Disney Genie, Genie+, and Individual Attraction Selections here.
All About Disney Genie, Genie+, and Individual Attraction Selection
BIG Genie+ Changes Being Planned For Disney World
FULL List of Rides Included With Genie+ in Disney World
3 Tips to OUTSMART Genie+ in Disney World Right Now
Please Stop Skipping These Genie+ Hacks in Disney World (They Really Work!)
Genie+ Tips for the Most Crowded Days in Disney World and Disneyland
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With regards to the Slink Dog 4-5pm booking, do you think that Disney/Genie is trying space out the reservations? Did It really fill up all the time slots between 9a-4p in less than 60 seconds?
Very confusing… bad show Disney…
Are you able to choose when your Genie+ time is like you used to be able to do with Fast Pass or is your only choice the next available? (We don’t usually go in right at park opening)
What happens if the genie+ gives you an inconvenient return time can
You pick a laterinstead
What an incredibly confusing mess this has become! My head is spinning and my stomach clenching just thinking about how this new system is going to complicate and disrupt a Disney vacation. We used to have all our decisions made, Fast Passes booked and meal plan reservations in place before leaving home. We knew that the moment our luggage was checked in Disney would take care of everything else and all we had to do was sit back, relax and enjoy. Half the fun of the vacation was sitting around the table with the family’s doing making our plans together, Now all that is gone and we don’t even know how we are going to get from the airport to the hotel. This is just so distressing. Going on vacation should be an enjoyable experience, not what a trip to Disney has become: too much stress and atop much phone time!
How ridiculous and convoluted it’s become. This isn’t the magic Walt Disney planned. I am an employee and it’s a total mess.
This is really good information. From what I’m seeing from you all on this will help us out when we go in a few weeks. The one thing that I’d want to ask that I haven’t seen yet is if you are traveling with multiple people (even just 2), if one person is able to book something for the “whole group” and then another is able to book something else at the same time for a little later for the “whole group” and have the ability to book multiple lightning lanes for whole groups with each person doing something different and adding the others into their “boarding group” per say.
We don’t have Magic Bands since we are staying at Bonnet Creek. I know we can use our phones but do we need Magic bands with Genie+?
That is so confusing 😭😭😭 I miss fast pass!!!
Jake, that’s a great question. We’ll keep an eye on this to see if times vary throughout the day. Slinky Dog Dash is very popular (and sold out the past two days), but I don’t think we know for sure if there’s a digital spacing out happening.
Kara, our reporters tell me that MagicBands, MagicMobile, and a Park admission ticket will all work to scan you into an attraction for Genie+ or Individual Attraction Selections.
Derrick, hi. Our reporters tell me that this is not possible (though Disney is known to have glitches in its technology at times…). Each person is recognized in My Disney Experience, and once a Genie+ is assigned to them, the system will give you an error message saying they’re ineligible for another Genie+ (along with an explanation for why).
Sandra, Genie+ just gives you a time; you don’t get to select one from a list, and you can’t change it. You do get an hour-long window for most attractions, and in theory you could refresh the page or go out and go back in to see if the system gives you a different time.
Wendy, with Genie+ you are only given one return time (like paper FastPass back in the day — you just got what you got). You can try refreshing the page in the app to see if they offer you a different time, but there’s no guarantee that a time you want will appear. With the pay-per-ride Individual Attraction Selections, you do receive options for return windows, so you can select to an extent with those.
Okay, let’s say at 7 am you book a Lightening Lane for Test Track at 5 pm. Epcot opens at 11 am (assuming they don’t incorporate Early entry of hotel guests into this calculations). So you can make your next booking at 1 pm, 2 hours after the park opens. You ride it, and book again at 2 pm. You ride it, book again at 3 pm. And so on.
My question is: at what point does the 5 pm lightening lane booking prevent you from booking earlier lightening lanes? Or can you keep booking right up to the 5 pm booking?
Kendra, you can book one-at-a-time Genie+ right up to that hypothetical 5PM Lightning Lane/Individual Attraction Selection. And those one-at-a-time Genie+ selections can be back-to-back; as soon as you tap in for a Genie+, you can open the app and book another for the next available time (as long as it’s not repeating an attraction you already experienced that same day using Genie+).
So much for spontaneity, and they said it would be better. This is horrible. Not good, not cool. I may wait years to go back if they don’t shake this out to be better. First of all I’m not paying for it. What was wrong with fast pass+?
WHY ARE PEOPLE PAYING MORE TO RIDE A RIDE THAT WAS ALWAYS PART OF ADMISSION. DISNEY IS SOOOO GREEDY!!
I HATE THIS NEW SYSTEM. LET’S GO BACK TO FAST PASS
I love Disney World years a ago. I miss the way it was and now that way is dead and buried. Genie and all the other changes that nickel and dime you are so transparent . How could you dare to cheat the public with your very very extra and over the top
Charges . You are destroying the dream . You are alienating people from wanting to visit. How could you destroy everything that the dream meant. How could you justify your actions. Simply it is greed just greed. This reason is the saddest reason ever. How could you.
I could cry over what Disney World is becoming. It is unbelievable so so sad. No thought to the adults who want to give their children the dream of going . No thought to how they could afford this. You have cut these people off because you are charging for every little thing How could you except most ordinary families. Are you consumed with money making instead of making people’s dreams come true ? How could you be so cruel to children. , how?
So so sad Disney World costs have become.. I loved going and miss it very much. Sad that I can not afford going anymore. I mourn the death of Disney World. For me and many many more.
I want to love Disney Parks again, but I stopped reading about midway through. I loved planning Fastpasses and reservations with my family and I don’t want to get up early on my vacation to try to reserve “Lightning Lane”. I just think Disney has misread what people want. After the mask hassles, shutdowns, and lack of services all through 2020, I’m probably done going to Disney until the COVID restrictions are totally gone and they have done this for a while to work out the kinks and listen to visitor feedback. I just don’t think they are customer-focused right now.
Can the 120 min rule apply twice? Ex: I get up at 7 and Book Slinky Dog for say, 6pm. At 11a (2hr after opening), I book Smugglers run for say, 5pm. Then at one, can I book another after 120 min- again, at 1pm… for say, Aerosmith at 4, and so on…
How many can I Stack for later in the day, with 120 min between?
After waiting for two years, I am finally going back in October and I am dreading all of this planning! I am really hating that my Disney trip that I have been so excited about is now giving me so much stress.
BRING BACK FAST PASS!
How do you incorporate your dining reservations with Genie+. So I make my dining reservation for Character dining in Hollywood Studios (can’t remember the restaurant name) for 5:00PM 60 days before my trip. Then I wake up 7:00 AM day of trip and pay for the Rise of the Resistance and my return time is between 5:00 and 6:00 PM. Do you have to cancel the dinner? or can they hold the reservation for a period of time? I just don’t see how you can make those dining reservations before your get your ride return times.
Hi Sue! If that’s the case, I advise speaking with a cast member and usually they can work around it by either finding a better time for you to ride or possibly tweaking dining. They’re pretty good about making accommodations, but they’re not guaranteed.
Perhaps if certain upper management personnel were replaced some of this park-customer gouging will disappear.
This is all a disgrace. Glad we sold our Boardwalk DVC. No spontaneity whatsoever. Everything is now a forced march . We started going to Disney the month the Magic Kingdom opened and have taken 4 generations of our family there. Done Done Done. …. Such a shame. Walt is turning over in his grave. The Big Mucky Mucks just don’t care.