Life in the Lightning Lane with Disney Genie

While at Walt Disney World last week, I was able to test out the new Disney Genie service that is built into the My Disney Experience mobile app.  Like most, I wasn’t happy when I heard about the upcharge.   But after trying it out, it won me over with all the new features and personalization it has that FastPass didn’t offer.​

There is a complimentary portion that helps you create “your best day ever” by mapping out your favorite attractions and letting you know ideal times to arrive at each for a lessor wait time.  It continues to update throughout the day as things change.  

There are two new ways to purchase and schedule an arrival window:
 
Disney Genie+ Lightning Lane offers more than 40 experiences across all 4 theme parks for you to pick an available return time window.  The cost for this option is $15 per person, per day.  You can purchase it before your trip as an add-on to your vacation package for your length of your stay or purchase individual days on the same day of your visit.  Once purchased, you can select your first attraction, beginning at 7:00am on the day of your visit.

Individual Lightning Lane is a separate selection of the two most highly demanded attractions at each park.  Pricing and availability for the attractions vary by date and attraction.  These can also be selected beginning at 7:00am on the day of your visit if you are staying on property or at park opening for other guests.  

Individual Lightning Lane attractions include:

Magic Kingdom - Seven Dwarfs Mine Train & Space Mountain
Epcot - Frozen Ever After & Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
Hollywood Studios - Rise of the Resistance & Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railroad
Animal Kingdom - Expedition Everest & Flight of Passage

Here are my observations and tips:

•    I don’t think the Lightning Lane options are necessary for every day of your trip during slower seasons.  But I do recommend it any time you plan to be at Magic Kingdom on a weekend. 

•    With regular crowd levels, Individual Lightning Lane purchases aren’t necessary if you are staying on property and take advantage of early morning magic or plan to stay later in the evening.  I found wait times for high-demand attractions to be under 45 minutes during these times with most being 25 minutes or less.

​•    During peak periods, Individual Lightning Lane selections are recommended if you don’t want to wait in line more than 60 minutes.

•    In addition to Guest Services, located at the front of each park, there are multiple Guest Experience podiums located under blue umbrellas to assist with Disney Genie and answer questions. 

•    Once you’ve scanned into any Lightning Lane attraction, you can schedule your next attraction.  I did this as soon as I scanned in, while I was still waiting for the attraction, to maximize use. 

•    Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure uses a virtual queue.  So, before you purchase an individual Lightning Lane pass for this attraction, try getting in the queue first for no cost.

Overall, I really liked Disney Genie and found its wait-time forecaster to be fairly accurate.  I will purchase Lightning Lane on my next trip to maximize my time there.  But will take advantage of Early Morning Magic and later evening times for high-demand attractions. ​

​Dreaming of your next trip? I would love to help you design the perfect Disney experience or beyond for your family! Click here to schedule a “Let’s Get Acquainted Session” with me so we can start planning your family’s next great adventure.