Hey there, DFB friends! What a week it has been with the Disney Genie.

October 19th was the debut of the Disney Genie service in Disney World and it’s been a bit of a whirlwind while we figure out all the bells and whistles of this new service. There was also some unexpected news and experiences around Disney World this week, so let’s get into it!

Disney Genie+

Among many other Genie surprises was the 120-minute rule we discovered for the Disney Genie+ service. What’s that, you ask? Well, typically you can only book one Genie+ Lightning Lane at a time, but there is an exception to that. Once you book a Lightning Lane, you can’t book another one until you either use your existing Lightning Lane OR wait through a 120-minute cool-down.

So, for example, if you book a Slinky Dog Dash Lightning Lane for 6PM at 11AM; you won’t be locked out of booking another Lightning Lane until the evening. Instead, once your 120-minute cool-down ends at 1PM, you’ll be able to book a SECOND Lightning Lane — while keeping your Slinky Dog Dash reservation.

Note that if you book your first Lightning Lane before the park opens, your cool-down won’t kick in until the park opens. So, if Hollywood Studios opens at 9AM and you book your Slinky Dog pass at 7AM, you’ll need to wait until 11AM to book your second Lightning Lane.

Remember, this rule ONLY kicks in if you don’t use your first-booked Lightning Lane. This will likely only happen with mega-popular attractions like Slinky Dog Dash. In most cases, you’ll be able to book a Lightning Lane that you’ll use within two hours.

Learn more about the new 120 minute rule here!

Filming for Cosmic Rewind

Filming has begun for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind in EPCOT! Disney recently announced that the highly anticipated ride would be opening sometime in 2022, but they have yet to release an official date.

This indoor omnicoaster will be able to rotate 360 degrees so guests don’t miss any of the ride’s storyline.

We can’t wait to see what scenes they’ve filmed for the ride!

We went INSIDE the Guardians of the Galaxy Ride. Read about our experience HERE!

Rise of the Resistance Technical Issues

We learned what happens when a ride closes down after you purchase Individual Attraction Selection, or pay-per-ride, when Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance closed not once but THRICE after we purchased an IAS Lightning Lane for $11. Disney’s official policy is that there are no modifications or cancellations allowed for Individual Attraction Selection, so when the ride temporarily went down we received an “experience redemption” pass good for one Rise of the Resistance Lightning Lane until the end of the day.

A Cast Member let us know that if the ride never reopened, we would receive a refund. However, because Rise kept reopening and then closing, we continued to receive a replacement experience redemption pass good through the end of the day. One important thing we noted through this experience is that we were able to make another Individual Attraction Selection once receiving the experience redemption pass. Normally you are limited to two Individual Attraction Selections a day, so this allowed us to purchase a third!

Rise of the Resistance broke down HOW many times??

Cost of Genie+ and Individual Attraction Selection

We discovered that Genie+ and Individual Attraction Selection will actually cost more than we previously thought. We already knew that Genie+ would cost Disney World guests $15 per ticket per day, but we found that the total cost was $15.98 after tax. And when it came to Individual Attraction Selections, which currently range from $7 to $15 depending on the day and the ride, we were also charged tax.

While some people might argue that these hidden costs aren’t actually that much, if you have a strict budget unexpected costs can really add up! You might want to plan for your Genie+ daily cost to be almost $16, rather than $15.

ALERT: Disney Genie+ and pay-per-ride will cost more than expected!

50th Anniversary Polynesian Collection

A new 50th anniversary collection debuted at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort! This collection is a tropical take on Disney World’s 50th anniversary, with a limited edition MagicBand, a Tiki button-up shirt, AND a matching dress.

We also saw a souvenir glass, a pin, and more. You can find this collection at Boutiki in Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort!

Check out more photos of the 50th anniversary Polynesian collection here!

And that’s all the unexpected news from this week! Keep checking back with DFB for more Disney World tips and tricks.

Five Disney World pros tried out the new Genie planning system and here’s what they learned!

Are you surprised by any of the Disney World news this week? Tell us in the comments!