Walt Disney World will quickly be making one other change to Genie+ and it’s an unequivocally optimistic one! This put up runs via latest modifications to the paid FastPass service, explaining how that is an enchancment for Lightning Lane energy customers and newcomers alike.
In the final a number of months, Walt Disney World has been making a ton of tweaks to Genie+ in an effort to stability provide & demand, enhance visitor satisfaction scores, and set expectations at an affordable and reasonable stage. The largest and most up-to-date change was the transfer to date-based pricing for the Genie+ service.
As all the time, ‘changed to date-based pricing’ is Walt Disney World code for “price increase (most of the time).” That’s exactly what occurred, with costs leaping to $20 virtually in a single day for a lot of dates through the first month after the introduction of surge pricing. The value ceiling went up additional final month, maxing out at ~$31 after tax through the week of Thanksgiving. Thus far in December, most dates have truly dropped again to pre-increase territory (it’s once more $15 immediately and was day by day I seemed final week, too).
Prior to this, Walt Disney World did a variety of issues to “load balance” the paid FastPass service. This included eliminating the Genie+ ticket add-on, including character meet & greets to the service, “warning” friends that Genie+ primarily quantities to paid FastPass, and completely shifting one Individual Lightning Lane attraction per park to the Genie+ service.
Earlier this fall, Walt Disney World made a couple of consumer interface modifications of various usefulness (relying upon your perspective). First, through the high-demand window from the time Genie+ goes reside within the morning at 7 am up till 7:30 am, friends usually are not in a position to see the Lightning Lane return window. Instead, My Disney Experience shows a “Check Availability” message that requires an additional faucet to see the return window.
Second, if you’re holding a Lightning Lane, Genie+ now exhibits you that return time on the tip board somewhat than the present availability. This is sweet and unhealthy. It’s good to see your window when shopping different availability, however this additionally obfuscates what’s at present out there in case you wished to cancel and rebook. From Disney’s perspective, this variation was in all probability a matter of killing two birds with one stone.
Third, Disney eliminated the rule that routinely adjusted return instances to start out at 2 pm when Park Hopping. Now, the system prevents you from reserving a Lightning Lane if the present return time is earlier than Park Hopping opens up. This signifies that if the experience you need to reserve has a present return time of 1 pm, Genie+ won’t allow you to make that choice. You’ll be greeted with an error message that claims, “select a new time that is included in your Park Hopper option.”
Finally, Walt Disney World added a banner to the Tip Board in My Disney Experience that prominently shows your subsequent eligible choice time. This works pursuant to the 120 minute rule or the closing of your most recently-booked Lightning Lane return window, whichever is earlier. This is an unequivocally optimistic change, particularly for novices who could have been in any other case unaware of the 120-minute rule (it occurs far more than you may suppose).
Today’s excellent news is that one other very optimistic change is coming very quickly. In reality, this was #1 on our Genie+ Wish List of Improvements for Walt Disney World and a “conspicuous omission” that we’ve complained about often and repeatedly since Genie+ launched final October…
According to journalist Scott Gustin, the Genie+ service will quickly add the power to switch Lightning Lane reservations with no need to cancel and rebook. You may even be capable of make modifications to your occasion dimension throughout modification of your Genie+ Lightning Lane choice.
(Note that this won’t apply to Individual Lightning Lanes. Guests won’t be able to switch these a la carte experience reservations–presumably as a result of that they had the power to decide on a time on the entrance finish?)
You will solely be capable of modify Genie+ Lightning Lanes to different alternatives in the identical park the place unique experience reservation was made. If you need to modify to a Lightning Lane at a unique park, you’ll nonetheless must cancel and rebook.
For instance, in case you at present held the highly-coveted Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival Lightning Lane, you could possibly modify it to the equally essential Journey into Imagination with Figment Lightning Lane since each are in EPCOT. However, you could possibly not modify to pick Na’vi River Journey or Space Mountain, since these points of interest usually are not in EPCOT.
When the modify function formally launches, you’ll discover a “…” in your Genie+ LL choice. You will faucet “…”, “select “Modify Plan,” and also you’ll see different out there Lightning Lane return home windows. From there, you possibly can then choose the brand new attraction and/or return time.
Also noteworthy is that modifications won’t reset the sport clock on the 120-minute rule. All the prevailing insurance policies will nonetheless apply, and modifying doesn’t set off any of them. (At least, to not our information. As all the time, issues may change or quirks may emerge. After all, that is Disney IT we’re speaking about!)
This change is predicted to happen within the subsequent week or so at each Walt Disney World and Disneyland, earlier than the guts of the vacation season.
The modify button will roll out when the My Disney Experience and Disneyland apps are up to date within the subsequent week (for each iOS and Android).
This change is inconceivable to criticize. It’s an enchancment for everybody, an enormous ahead on the ‘quality of life’ entrance that makes Genie+ extra intuitive and user-friendly. Obviously, it’s not a panacea for all that ails the app function, nevertheless it’s good to see UI points are being addressed.
Okay, it’s virtually inconceivable to criticize this. This does disproportionately assist energy customers who perceive how cancellations and experience reservation refill guidelines work. First-timers are much less prone to play the ‘refresh game’ so they’re much less prone to profit from that–and can thus be deprived to some extent.
However, I strongly consider that even first-timers will profit from this variation to some extent, because it makes the UI simpler and extra intuitive. This is the sort of function the typical consumer–even the typical inexperienced consumer–possible expects to see, so it’s an enormous step ahead, in case you ask me.
To that time, right here was my criticism in regards to the lack of a modify button when including it to my Genie+ Wish List: Genie has a variety of consumer interface “quirks” that make it seem to be it was thrown collectively rapidly with out a lot reference to its predecessor, and with subsequent to no discipline testing. Without query, probably the most irritating omission is the shortage of a modify button on present Lightning Lane experience reservations.
This oversight is especially puzzling as a result of the power to switch a range was current within the outdated FastPass+ system. How it labored is fairly intuitive. You would merely click on on one in every of your present FastPass+ reservations after which click on a modify button, somewhat than cancel. That pulled up a model of the reserving movement, permitting you to entry the complete record of points of interest with FastPass+ availability, together with totally different instances in your present attraction choice.
If that’s tough to visualise, pull up an Advance Dining Reservation and click on the modify button on that. It’s the very same thought with ADRs or, you already know, just about every other on-line reservation system!
The lack of a modify button is so important as a result of that one easy function would supply a security web. It would enable you the power to lock-in a experience reservation after which proceed looking out, searching for higher choices. In explicit, experience reservation refills and cancellations. If you’ve by no means used Genie+, this lacking function could not seem to be an enormous deal. Just cancel and rebook as a substitute, proper?
In concept, that works. In apply, the method of looking for a brand new Lightning Lane, then cancelling your present one and rebooking is extremely time-consuming and includes a number of clicks. I’d hazard a guess that, 9 instances out of 10, by the point you cancel and get again to the reserving display, no matter you wished is already gone. (I’ve actually by no means had success canceling and rebooking one thing higher. I don’t even try it anymore.)
Beyond that, dropping your unique reservation can put you in a worse place, as it’s important to proceed looking out till you discover a appropriate substitute. Meanwhile, the clock has reset on the 120 minute rule. It actually appears like having the magic carpet rug pulled out from below you.
Adding the modify button modifications all of that.
While I name the shortage of a modify button a conspicuous omission, it’s way more possible that it was a deliberate design alternative. It’s not a bug, it’s a function. Which is to say that the modify button was possible purposefully excluded from the unique roll out of Genie+ as a method to throttle energy customers a bit bit and scale back ‘problem behavior’ that Disney had recognized below FastPass+ or MaxPass.
It’s straightforward to handwave this away as typical Disney IT ineptitude, however give it some thought–a modify button has been a typical function of earlier experience reservation methods at each Walt Disney World and Disneyland, in addition to Advance Dining Reservations, and extra. It’s attainable the modify button was glitchy and lower in consequence within the rushed rollout of Genie–that positively wouldn’t shock me. But not remedying it for over a 12 months till different modifications have been made that higher ‘load-balanced’ the paid FastPass system? That suggests to me that this was by design all alongside.
We will possible by no means know for certain, however both manner, we’re extremely joyful that Walt Disney World and Disneyland are remedying this error or omission and including a modify button to Genie+ Lightning Lane reservations.
Ultimately, Genie+ has a variety of issues. It’s convoluted, complicated, and counterintuitive in loads of methods which might be troublesome for first-timers and longtime followers. There’s nonetheless a variety of that to be resolved, however we have now to provide credit score the place credit score is due. Genie+ has improved significantly within the final a number of months due to a wide range of UI modifications. This is much and away the most important of the bunch, and can be a colossal leap ahead.
While energy customers will undoubtedly profit disproportionately from the addition of a modify button, that is such an essential–and anticipated–function that it’s an across-the-board improve. Adding a modify button can be an unequivocal enchancment for everybody who buys the paid FastPass function.
Honestly, I’m a bit shocked Walt Disney World and Disneyland aren’t ready till 2023 to introduce the modify button. Not simply because the weeks of Christmas and New Year’s Eve are busy, making it a “risky” time to check a function change, both. More importantly, that’s when many of the Genie+ ticket add-ons can be gone, that means that utilization will (presumably) be decrease beginning in January 2023. Even past this, I’m actually curious how the demand-dynamic with Genie+ Lightning Lanes modifications (or doesn’t) within the new 12 months.
If you will have questions in regards to the fundamentals of utilizing–or not utilizing–the paid FastPass service, see our Guide to Genie+ at Walt Disney World & Lightning Lane FAQ for all the foundational need-to-know information. This entire system is complicated and convoluted, so that you might need a query or two-dozen. That solutions all the most typical ones we’ve been receiving from readers.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Pleased to listen to that Genie+ will quickly have a modify button to vary Lightning Lane alternatives with out dropping them? What do you consider the latest UI modifications to Genie+ at Walt Disney World? Do you contemplate this a meaningfully optimistic enchancment to the paid FastPass service? Will you buy Genie+ or does this all sound like an excessive amount of of a headache? Do you agree or disagree with my evaluation? Any questions we may help you reply? Hearing your suggestions–even if you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas under within the feedback!