Ah, Disney Genie. We’ve covered the good, the messy, and the confusing when it comes to Disney’s new planning service & paid FastPass+ replacement system.
We have uncovered a LOT of tips and tricks for this new service. There are a lot of rules to keep in mind when using Genie+, the paid FastPass+ replacement portion of this service. But there’s one rule in particular that a LOT of guests tend to get wrong. Misunderstanding this rule and not appreciating its full implications can cause a lot of headaches for you during your trip. So today we’re breaking down the BIG Disney Genie+ rule that everyone gets wrong so YOU can make sure you get it right!
A Quick Summary (A.K.A. What is Disney Genie??)
By now, many of you are likely very familiar with Disney Genie. But since this service is relatively new to Disneyland Resort and Disney World, we wanted to make sure we gave a brief summary of the service as a recap. We previously worked on a post that explained Genie in 500 words or less. We’re resharing some of that below to give you the info you need.
Disney Genie is a FREE planning service built into the My Disney Experience App and Disneyland App. You will tell Disney Genie what you want to ride, what types of things you like, etc., and Disney Genie will create a personalized, flexible itinerary for you. With Genie, you’ll be able to see forecasted wait times, mobile order your food, chat with a virtual assistant, see walk-up waitlist availability, make restaurant reservations, adjust your plans, and more. Plans will continuously update to help you get the most out of your day. Essentially, Genie is designed to help you plan your day and optimize your plans.
Disney Genie+ is a PAID FastPass-like service. It has flexible pricing and costs anywhere from $15-$29 per day per ticket at Disney World, and $20-$30 per day per ticket at Disneyland. If you pay for this service, you’ll be able to see when the next available time is to use various rides’ Lightning Lanes (i.e. FastPass+ lanes). You will select the next available time to use the Lightning Lane for whatever ride you want, and when your time arrives, you can visit the ride and use the Lightning Lane (skipping the standby line).
Once you’re done with that ride, you can make another Genie+ Lightning Lane selection — 1 ride at a time, throughout the day (though there’s a special rule we’ll talk about in a second). Over 40 attractions are available through Genie+ at Disney World, and over 15 attractions are available through Genie+ at Disneyland. NOT all attractions will be available through Genie+.
As of June 8th, 2022, you cannot purchase Genie+ or make a Lightning Lane selection until the DAY OF your trip. At Disney World, guests can make their first Lightning Lane attraction selection at 7AM on the day of their visit. (This will be VERY important for our post on this special rule, so hold onto that thought for a moment.) At Disneyland, the first Genie+ Lightning Lane selection can be made once you’re in the park.
Select, highly popular attractions (like Radiator Springs Racers in Disney California Adventure Park or Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance in Disney’s Hollywood Studios) are NOT listed on Genie+. That means that even if you pay for Genie+ you will NOT be able to select a time for/use the Lightning Lane at those attractions. Instead, if you want to use the Lightning Lane for those attractions, you’ll have to pay for the attractions INDIVIDUALLY. Guests are limited to buying 2 of these Individual Attraction Selections (pay-per-ride) per day.
Click here to see our FREE DFB printable to help you make sense of Disney Genie!
The Rule Everyone Gets Wrong
Okay, now that we’ve got a basic summary of Genie, let’s get into the rule that trips everyone up. By now, you’ve probably heard of the infamous 120-minute rule, but do you really know how it works? Let’s go over the basics: You can generally make 1 Genie+ selection at a time throughout the day. But after you’ve made your first one, when can you make your second one? That’s where the 120 rule comes in.
If you book your first Genie+ choice in the morning for later in the day, then you can make a second Genie+ Lightning Lane choice once 120 minutes have passed. But if you book before park opening time, this countdown starts at park opening time. This is the key here! We’ll come back to that for a second.
Basically, after you book your first Genie+ you can book a second Genie+ selection when:
- You have used the first one you booked;
- Your first return time window has ended (if you miss it); or
- 120 minutes have passed since you booked your last one (or 120 minutes after park opening, depending on the situation).
Guests cannot make their first Genie+ Lightning Lane selection until the DAY OF their trip. At Disney World, you can make your first Lightning Lane attraction selection at 7AM on the day of your visit. HELLO, EARLY WAKE UP CALL.
So let’s say you wake up early (at 7AM) and make your first Genie+ selection for a ride at Hollywood Studios that doesn’t have a return time until 12PM (maybe something like Slinky Dog Dash). You won’t be able to use that first Genie+ selection until your designated 12PM return time, and your return time won’t end until later in the day. So are you stuck waiting until you ride the ride or that time passes before booking another one? NOPE! With the 120 minute rule, you can book another Genie+ selection sooner than that. But here’s where people get it wrong.
If the 120 minute rule only said that you could make a second Genie+ selection 120 minutes after you make your first selection, then in theory you’d be able to make that second selection at 9AM (2 hours after you made the initial selection at 7AM).
BUT remember: if you make that first Genie+ selection BEFORE the park opens, your 120 minute timer actually starts when the park OPENS. In this case, you booked the Genie+ selection at 7AM, but Hollywood Studios doesn’t open until 9AM. So you’ll be able to book that next Genie+ selection at…11AM (good job class)!
If you make that Genie+ selection once the park opens (a.k.a. you actually make the selection at 9AM, not before the park opens), the 120 minute rule would start from the moment you actually MAKE the selection. But, again, since you made the selection BEFORE the park opened, your timer starts once the park actually opens.
Let’s do another example! When Genie+ reservations open at 7AM, let’s say you book a Haunted Mansion Lightning Lane return time for 5PM.
Then, at 11AM (two hours after Magic Kingdom opens for the day, we’ll assume it opened at 9AM that day), you could get ANOTHER Genie+ Lightning Lane for a ride like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
Remember: this rule only applies to Disney Genie+ reservations at Disney World. Individual Attraction Selection (a.k.a. pay-per-ride) reservations are separate and you don’t have to use the 120-minute rule for those rides. Also, Genie+ rules in Disneyland Resort are a little different since you can’t make a Genie+ selection until you’re IN the park.
If you’re ever in doubt, you can check the Genie+ section in the My Disney Experience app and it will tell you if you’re too early to make that second selection. In the Tip Board, there is now a banner that tells you when you can book your next Genie+ reservation. The key here is to remember that if you make that first Genie+ selection before the park opens, the 120 rule starts counting after the park opens.
That’s how to use the TRUE 120-minute rule! Want to know more about Genie? Check out our links below:
- Should you get Genie+ around the holidays in Disney World? We experiment
- How is Genie+ different in Disney World vs. Disneyland?
- Have feelings changed towards Disney Genie?
- Don’t make this Genie+ mistake in Disney World!
- Read about this big Genie+ change if you’re going to Disney World soon
We’re always keeping up with the latest Disney news, so stay tuned here for more!
Watch These 10 DFB TikToks If Disney Genie Still Confuses You!
Have you used Disney Genie in the parks? Let us know in the comments!
Rebecca says
Can one person staying onsite make genie+ reservations at 7 am for everyone in the party regardless of where the additional guests are staying?
Marina Teramond @ NMPL says
To tell the truth, I fall in love with Walt Disney World and I have been there about 5 times. Of course, it’s truly frustrating that thеre were such heavy holiday crowds in this place and that it was really difficult to get pleasure from spending time in a full measure. Honestly, I consider all these changes expedient and prudent because there are no other ways to cope with this situation and be in an advantageous position. Such an agiotaje and huge demand are quite justified and I think that it is inevitable in any case. Because of it, I think that it is truly important to take certain measures to create harmony. Also, I really hope that there will be more entertainment in Genie+ at Walt Disney World because it will be a huge advantage of this tool and it will increase the quantity of users. I think that it should be a priority of Genie+ and be of paramount importance in this service in order to refine it.
Tim says
#4 – You can only get 1 Lightning Lane for each available option.
#5 -Many lightning lanes will sell out early so it limits your options.
— Genie is still glitchy so don’t expect pages to update without crashing. Depending on cell service you need to book before going into the attraction.
#6 – rider swap is now a joke so don’t bring short or scared kids. You will likely only get 1 additional rider and you will still have to wait for your 2 riders through the not so lightning lane, lightning lane.
Heather says
Question… Say I make my first LL selection at 7AM for later in the day(5PM)… I then make a second selection 2 hrs after the park opens(for 12PM). Can I still make another selection after riding the 12 PM ride? Or do I have to wait another 120 min since I still have the 5PM LL pass?
DFB Gigi says
Hi Heather, thanks for reaching out. There just has to be a 120 minute wait between each selection. You can still make another selection while you’re in line for your 12pm ride as long as it has been 120 minutes since you made your last selection.
Aaron says
Hello! Thanks for the excellent info. I’ve seen multiple answers on this and hoping you can help. Imagine the following scenerio:
10am – I book Peter Pan for 6pm
12pm – I waited 120 minutes and book Pirates for 12:30pm
12:30pm – I ride Pirates
When can I book another ride?
A) 12:31pm because I scanned in at Pirates
B) 2pm because I had to wait another 120 minutes after booking Pirates
C) 6:01pm because I had to wait until I used Peter Pan
I’ve seen multiple user comments and YouTube reviews that all have different answers. Thanks for any tips!
DFB Gigi says
Hi Aaron! You would grab your next return time after you tap in to Pirates in this scenerio.
Pam says
If their is early park opening for guests staying on property, does the 120 minute rule start from the true park opening or early?
DFB Gigi says
Hi Pam! The 120 minute rule starts at official park opening.
Jillian C says
Is the 120 minute rule still in effect as Feb 2022? We’re doing our research and planning for an early March trip and want to make sure I’ve got the Genie+ rules down! 🙂
DFB Gigi says
Hi Jillian! Yes, as of right now, the 120 minute rule is still in effect. If it changes we will be sure to update! Have a great time!
SB says
If I start my day at AK and hop to HS (which opens later), how is it determined when 120 minute has elapsed? Is it based on where my first park reservation is (AK) or where my first LL is booked (HS)? Does it matter if I attempt to book my second LL at AK?
Thank you.
DFB Gigi says
Hi Sherry! The 120-Minute Rule is based on when you booked your last Lightning Lane selection so if 120 minutes have passed since you booked the last one, you can go ahead and book one over at the next park you’re hopping to, just make sure it’s after 2pm when you can get in.
Rob says
Very helpfull information, thanks DFB. But to me, it just shows how much of a pain it is to use and how it is such a rip off compared to the FastPass system. To me it makes things way more complicated and as why stand-by line wait times are so longer, if not longer now because of the guest who don’t to deal with it and/or pay for Genie+.
Caryn Pittman says
Have we heard of how they will work Annual Pass Holders? Will it still be the $15.00 per day?
FL-Dad says
All of this doesn’t really matter much, because by 7:05am, ALL of the slots for Genie, Genie+, and Lightning Lane have been spoken for (except for those right before park closing time), and you will still be stuck waiting on the standby line for anything you really want to ride. If you don’t opt to stay in the first park all day until closing, and you park hop after 2pm, you cannot make any reservations until you get to that second park, and then you still won’t get any Genie/Genie+/Lightning Lane slots because they have already been taken.
Genie/Genie+ and Lightning Lane are just tools to allow Disney Parks & Experiences to keep the most minimum number of Castmembers on shift on any given day. When DP&E knows how many people they will let into the parks (Park Reservation system) they can schedule only the minimum number of CMs to work the parks, thereby cutting costs for salaries and overtime.
CG says
We went to Disney World the last week of February 2022 and used Genie+ every day. Here are some things that we learned that might be helpful:
1) There is apparently a maximum to the number of lightning lane selections that you can make in a day. I can’t remember if it was 5 or 6 but upon trying to book my next lightning lane selection, I received a message that I had reached the maximum number of lightning lane selections that I could make for that day.
2) Because everyone is logging into the My Disney App right at 7am, we had trouble getting into the app at that time every day. It took several minutes of refreshing for it to finally load and by that point, many of the hard-to-get lightning lane spots were already taken.
3) When you make a lightning lane selection, make sure to check your confirmation email. We experienced several times where we selected one time (say 9am) but then the confirmation stated that our window was for a completely different time (5:00-6:00 pm). Once you make a lightning lane selection, it can’t be changed so you either have to just wait for that window (or the 120 min) or try to find a Disney representative (around the park in blue tents). The Disney representatives were very helpful in these cases, getting us on the rides for the window that we thought we were booking, but we found the lines to wait for Disney representatives were also long.
Abby says
The parks open at different times, but genie bases the 120 minutes rule on park opening in the morning.
If I book a 5pm lightning lane for Peter Pan and magic kingdom opens at 9am, but I start my day at animal kingdom which opens at 7am, can I book a second lightning lane at 9am or at 11 am according to the 120 min rule?
DFB Gigi says
Hi Abby! In this instance, since you have a 5pm Lightning Lane reservation at MK, but you’re starting your day at AK, you would be able to book your next Lightning Lane as soon as Animal Kingdom opens.
DFB Gigi says
Hi Caryn! Yes, Annual Pass Holders also have to pay the $15 per day for Genie+ when they want to take advantage of Lightning Lanes.
Max says
Since paid Lightning Lane doesn’t count towards 120 minutes rule, can I book both RotR and Slinky Dog at 7am?
DFB Gigi says
Hi Max! Yes! You can book both Lightning Lane and Individual Access Selections at 7am if you’re staying at a Disney Resort or good neighbor hotel, otherwise you will not be able to book the Individual Access Selection until park opening.
Andrew says
Hi DFB, thanks so much for all your great articles and videos! It’s a great resource that has not only helped my family prepare but has also enhanced the anticipation. Needless to say, the 120 minute rule has us thoroughly stumped. We’ve seen other channel’s videos describing multiple LL ‘boxes’ that allow for double and triple stacking? Is this still a thing? I’d love a video with a day of only LL booking (like a LL challenge for MK) with a time of day pasted to the corner of screen and a running tally of LLs booked. See if you can definitively crush Disney’s new expectation of 2-3 LLs in any given day! Thanks again for your help.
Susan Stickle says
I was in Disney World in March with my husband. I am an annual pass holder. It was expiring on April 2 2022. I was so very sad to let it expire but until Disney gets it’s act together with Genie+ I will not be back. Everyone looking at their phones constantly to try and get the next attraction. Parents not being able to enjoy because they are too busy wondering where they can go next. We had lunch reservations which then became OMG that’s when we have a LL what do we do????This is horrible and expensive for a large family. Not what Walt would want his legacy to be remembered by.
Scoop says
DFB had previously stated that they were able to get something like 5 lightning lanes in one day. Either they were going on very unpopular rides or they were staying until late at night. With young kids, your likely scenario looks something like this for a HS day. Get up at 6:30 to buy your Genie+ for your annual pass. At 7:00 try to buy a single purchase for “Rise”. While you are purchasing, you will see your times changing continuously. You likely started at 10:00 and ended up at 3:30 by the time you were done. Quickly go back and try to book Genie+. By now, popular attractions like Slinky Dog are gone. You can probably still get something like “Mania” for noonish. So now you will have to do the usual “rope drop sprint” to get to Slinky Dog. If your lucky you will have a 70-90 wait. Which if you are staying on grounds will give you 2 hours to stand in line for “Runaway Railway”. As you are heading for Mania, you can make a second reservation at 11:00 but will find that all the best rides are gone until late at night. Gone forever are the days of taking your kids to the park to do 4-5 fun rides, back to the resort for rest and/or pool, park for dinner and a couple of rides. The “new world order” means lots more standing around and more days where its just not worth going to the park.
Nikki says
I booked my Genie at 7 AM and the 120 rule didn’t start after park opening unless the park wasn’t open yet. If I booked at 7 and the park opened at 9 I was able to book my next one at 9. It only made me wait if the park opened at 9:30. Also anytime I booked a ride, I set a timer on my Fitbit for 119 minutes later as an easy reminder.
Karey says
Just returned from the parks and the 120 minute feature did not work at all. Tried many times, none successful. Also, LL was getting prioritized over standby in a big way- upwards of 100 LL guests passing through to loading a ride to a single party from standby. (That started midway through the trip) This doubled a posted wait time.
The program has flaws, needs working on and I know they’re trying. It will be interesting to see what happens with it in the future.
Danielle says
I completely agree with Karey. I followed all the rules and could not book rides. I waited the 120 minutes and then some and, it was well after the park opened. The pay for rides were not available to me but ONCE and then you can only select one. And it is annoying that you can’t rebook a ride already ridden.
Sarah says
Hello, thank you for this resource. I would like help with the following scenario at Hollywood Studios:
1. At 7a booked 11:15 Slinky Dog
2. At 10:30 (120m after park opening) booked 2:55 Runaway Railway
3. Scanned into Slinky Dog @ 11:30. Can I make another reservation at 11:30, or do I have to wait until 12:30 (120m after last reservation)?
Thanks so much!
DFB Gigi says
Hi Sarah! You would be able to make another reservation at 11:30.
Danielle says
I experienced the same as Karen, CG, FL Dad and Scoop in April!!! It was very frustrating! I wait longer in lines than ever before and ride selections are limited.
David Dominie says
Get rid of the LL and go back to FREE FP. Charge everyone an extra $5.00 on their ticket and you will make more money Bob “Paycheck”. You are going to raise the ticket price anyway.
Mike J says
To tell the truth, I fall in love with Walt Disney World and I have been there about 5 times. Of course, it’s truly frustrating that thеre were such heavy holiday crowds in this place and that it was really difficult to get pleasure from spending time in a full measure. Honestly, I consider all these changes expedient and prudent because there are no other ways to cope with this situation and be in an advantageous position. Such an agiotaje and huge demand are quite justified and I think that it is inevitable in any case. Because of it, I think that it is truly important to take certain measures to create harmony. Also, I really hope that there will be more entertainment in Genie+ at Walt Disney World because it will be a huge advantage of this tool and it will increase the quantity of users. I think that it should be a priority of Genie+ and be of paramount importance in this service in order to refine it.