If you're planning a trip to Walt Disney World anytime soon, you might be wondering what all the buzz is about with the new Disney Genie service. There are three different parts to Disney Genie: Disney Genie, Genie+, and Lightning Lanes. In this post, we'll explore the differences between each of these offerings and help you understand how they can enhance your theme park experience.
Disney Genie: Disney Genie is a new complimentary service that helps you plan your day at the park by creating customized itineraries based on your interests, desired attractions, and showtimes. It's available through the My Disney Experience app and offers recommendations for where to eat, what attractions to visit, and which shows to see. It uses real-time data to adjust your itinerary if there are any unexpected changes or if wait times change for certain attractions. If you've never been to Disney before and/or are not a planner with ideas of what you want to do you could find this free feature very helpful.
Genie+: Genie+ is an optional paid service that allows you to make Lightning Lane selections for participating attractions and shows throughout the park. Essentially, it replaces the FastPass+ system that was previously in place. You can purchase Genie+ for a daily fee (historically $15-29 during peak times) per person, per day, and make reservations for one attraction at a time.
Once you've used your first reservation or it's been two hours since you made your selection, you can make another one, subject to availability. Some of the more popular attractions, such as Avatar Flight of Passage and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, are not included in Genie+ (more on that in Lightning Lanes below).
Lightning Lanes: Now buckle up because Lightning Lanes can mean two things now. Yes, it's confusing, and no, I didn't make it up...
Lightning Lanes are both:
the new FastPass+ queues, only available if you've purchased Genie+. When you arrive at the attraction, you'll scan your MagicBand or park your ticket at the designated Lightning Lane entrance and be allowed to bypass the regular standby queue. There may still be a short wait, but it's typically much shorter than the standby line.
Each park has 1-2 top-tier attractions that are not included in Genie+. To skip the line for those rides you can buy an "Individual Lightning Lane" for those rides specifically. There are only a la carte or individual Lightning Lanes available and those specific rides are not available in the Genie+ system.
Rides that only have Individual Lightning Lanes (not included in Genie+/only for additional purchase) are:
Magic Kindom: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Tron Lightcycle Run
Epcot: Guardians of the Galaxy
Hollywood Studios: Rise of the Resistance
Animal Kingdom: Avatar Flight of Passage
SO, in conclusion: "Lightning Lane" is the name for the physical line or LANE you get in if you're using Genie+ (previously the FastPass line) and an "Individual Lighting Lane" is the name for the option to purchase just one Lightning Lane for rides mentioned above that are not part of the Genie+ system.
Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lines are totally optional add-ons and you can buy only Genie+, or only a Lightning Lane, or buy them both together if you want to.
So, which option should you choose? It depends on your priorities and budget. Disney Genie is a great option if you want a more personalized park experience without any additional cost. Genie+ is a good choice if you want to save time by bypassing the regular standby queue for certain attractions. Just keep in mind that it's an additional cost on top of park admission. The Lightning Lane queues are only available if you've purchased Genie+, so if you don't want to pay extra for this service, you'll need to stick to the regular standby queue.
In summary, Disney Genie is a complimentary service that helps you plan your day at the park. Genie+ is an optional paid service that allows you to make Lightning Lane selections for participating attractions throughout the park, and Lightning Lanes are the new FastPass+ queues that are only available if you've purchased Genie+. We hope this guide has helped you understand the differences between these offerings and choose the best option for your next Walt Disney World visit!
In my next post, we'll talk about How to use Genie+ and Lightning Lanes!
Stay magic, friends.
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