When you’re super excited to go on a ride at Disney World, one of the worst things that can happen is that sinking feeling you get in your gut as you walk up to the attraction and see a LOOOONG line of people waiting to go in. Waiting multiple hours in line for a ride is not at the top of anyone’s wish list for their Disney World vacation. But did you know that there’s a way to SKIP those long lines?

Disney World introduced Genie+ back in October 2021 as a way for guests to pay to skip standby lines at some of the rides and attractions in the theme parks. The price for Genie+ fluctuates based on which park you’re visiting and what time of year it is, and today we noticed that the price has gone up quite a bit compared to recent days!

Since Genie+ was introduced a few years ago, several changes have affected the system. Initially, it was a set price of $15 per person, per day. Then, surge pricing was introduced, meaning the price started to change based on the time of year. During busier times (like summer break or the holiday season), it is more expensive.

Later, Disney also introduced tiered pricing based on the theme park you’re visiting. The price to buy Genie+ in Magic Kingdom is higher than buying it for, say, Animal Kingdom.

We typically see the highest Genie+ prices during the holiday season, like Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year. Over the last few weeks, the cost for Genie+ has been much lower than those peak price points, but now we’re starting to see it creep up once more!

This weekend is likely to be a busy one at Disney World, as the UCA Cheer Competition kicks off on February February 9th, 2024, and will continue until February 12th. Cheer teams from all over the country will flock to Disney World to compete, and the cheerleaders and their families tend to spend a lot of time in the parks. With Disney expecting busier crowds, the Genie+ price has gone up.

Here’s a look at how much Genie+ costs in Disney World today:

• Multi-park: $29
• Magic Kingdom: $29
• EPCOT: $21
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios: $26
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom: $18

We haven’t seen prices that high since January 2nd, 2024! However, we still haven’t hit the highest prices we’ve seen for Genie+ this year, which were on New Year’s Day at $35 for Multi-park and Magic Kingdom, $25 for EPCOT, $30 for Hollywood Studios, and $20 for Animal Kingdom.

With Genie+, you can make Lightning Lane reservations to skip the line at many attractions across the theme parks. However, some of the most popular rides are not included in the base Genie+ and instead have Individual Lightning Lanes, which you must purchase a la carte. (Note that you don’t have to buy Genie+ to buy Individual Lightning Lanes and vice versa.)

The Individual Lightning Lane prices today also saw some pretty big increases. Here’s a look at those prices:

• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (in Magic Kingdom): $12
• TRON Lightcycle / Run (in Magic Kingdom): $20
• Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind (in EPCOT): $17
• Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance (in Hollywood Studios): $25
• Avatar Flight of Passage (in Animal Kingdom): $16

Those prices are comparable to what we saw over the holidays last year.

So if you’re going to Disney World this weekend, prepare for crowds, because it seems that Disney is expecting lots of people and high demand!

Purchasing Genie+ is one way to beat the crowds and save time in the parks, but it’s certainly not the only way. We highly recommend “rope dropping” the theme parks, which means getting to the parks well before they open (at least a half hour early) and then heading straight to the most popular rides first thing. The crowds will still look big, but you’ll likely get on those popular rides with lower wait times than you’ll see later in the day!

If you’re staying at a Disney World hotel or one of the good neighbor hotels, don’t forget about Early Theme Park Entry. Guests at these hotels get to go inside the parks a full half hour before all the other visitors!

See a list of hotels that qualify for Early Entry here.

You may also have some luck if you stay in the parks late, as we typically see crowds die down the closer you get to the parks’ closing times.

To avoid long lines when it’s time to eat, make sure to utilize Mobile Order. You can even order your lunch or dinner early in the morning, set the time you want to eat, and then go pick up your food at that time!

In the gift shops, use Mobile Checkout on the My Disney Experience app to skip the long lines at the cash registers.

Stay tuned to DFB, and we’ll keep you updated with all the latest Disney news and best vacation tips!

Learn more about how to use Disney Genie+ here!

Are you going to Disney World this weekend? Let us know how you plan to beat the crowds in the comments!