Walt Disney World will quickly be making one other change to Genie+ and it’s an unequivocally constructive one! This submit 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 steadiness provide & demand, enhance visitor satisfaction scores, and set expectations at an inexpensive and practical stage. The greatest 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 in the course of the first month after the introduction of surge pricing. The value ceiling went up additional final month, maxing out at ~$31 after tax in the course of the week of Thanksgiving. Thus far in December, most dates have truly dropped again to pre-increase territory (it’s once more $15 at this time and was each day I appeared final week, too).
Prior to this, Walt Disney World did various 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+ basically quantities to paid FastPass, and completely transferring one Individual Lightning Lane attraction per park to the Genie+ service.
Earlier this fall, Walt Disney World made just a few person interface modifications of various usefulness (relying upon your perspective). First, in the course of the high-demand window from the time Genie+ goes dwell 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, while you’re holding a Lightning Lane, Genie+ now reveals 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 presently obtainable 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 robotically adjusted return instances to begin 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 implies that if the trip you wish 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 constructive 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 assume).
Today’s excellent news is that one other very constructive change is coming very quickly. In truth, this was #1 on our Genie+ Wish List of Improvements for Walt Disney World and a “conspicuous omission” that we’ve complained about frequently and repeatedly since Genie+ launched final October…
According to journalist Scott Gustin, the Genie+ service will quickly add the flexibility to switch Lightning Lane reservations while not having to cancel and rebook. You may even be capable to 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 will be unable to switch these a la carte trip reservations–presumably as a result of they’d the flexibility to decide on a time on the entrance finish?)
You will solely be capable to modify Genie+ Lightning Lanes to different choices in the identical park the place unique trip reservation was made. If you wish to modify to a Lightning Lane at a distinct park, you’ll nonetheless have to cancel and rebook.
For instance, in case you presently held the highly-coveted Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival Lightning Lane, you could possibly modify it to the equally necessary Journey into Imagination with Figment Lightning Lane since each are in EPCOT. However, you could possibly not modify to pick out Na’vi River Journey or Space Mountain, since these points of interest usually are not in EPCOT.
When the modify characteristic formally launches, you’ll discover a “…” in your Genie+ LL choice. You will faucet “…”, “select “Modify Plan,” and also you’ll see different obtainable Lightning Lane return home windows. From there, you may 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 data. As all the time, issues might change or quirks might emerge. After all, that is Disney IT we’re speaking about!)
This change is anticipated 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 unimaginable 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 characteristic, nevertheless it’s good to see UI points are being addressed.
Okay, it’s virtually unimaginable to criticize this. This does disproportionately assist energy customers who perceive how cancellations and trip reservation refill guidelines work. First-timers are much less more likely to play the ‘refresh game’ so they’re much less more likely to profit from that–and can thus be deprived to a point.
However, I strongly consider that even first-timers will profit from this variation to a point, because it makes the UI simpler and extra intuitive. This is the type of characteristic the typical person–even the typical inexperienced person–possible expects to see, so it’s an enormous step ahead, in case you ask me.
To that time, right here was my criticism concerning the lack of a modify button when including it to my Genie+ Wish List: Genie has various person interface “quirks” that make it seem to be it was thrown collectively shortly with out a lot reference to its predecessor, and with subsequent to no discipline testing. Without query, essentially the most irritating omission is the shortage of a modify button on current Lightning Lane trip reservations.
This oversight is especially puzzling as a result of the flexibility to switch a range was current within the previous FastPass+ system. How it labored is fairly intuitive. You would merely click on on considered one of your current FastPass+ reservations after which click on a modify button, somewhat than cancel. That pulled up a model of the reserving circulation, permitting you to entry the complete record of points of interest with FastPass+ availability, together with totally different instances to your current 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 realize, just about another on-line reservation system!
The lack of a modify button is so vital as a result of that one easy characteristic would offer a security web. It would enable you the flexibility to lock-in a trip reservation after which proceed looking, searching for higher choices. In explicit, trip reservation refills and cancellations. If you’ve by no means used Genie+, this lacking characteristic could not seem to be an enormous deal. Just cancel and rebook as a substitute, proper?
In principle, that works. In apply, the method of trying to find 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 you must proceed looking till you discover a appropriate alternative. Meanwhile, the clock has reset on the 120 minute rule. It actually appears like having the magic carpet rug pulled out from beneath 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 characteristic. Which is to say that the modify button was possible purposefully excluded from the unique roll out of Genie+ as a solution to throttle energy customers a bit of bit and cut back ‘problem behavior’ that Disney had recognized beneath 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 standard characteristic of earlier trip reservation methods at each Walt Disney World and Disneyland, in addition to Advance Dining Reservations, and extra. It’s doable the modify button was glitchy and reduce 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 had 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 positive, however both approach, we’re extremely completely satisfied 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 numerous issues. It’s convoluted, complicated, and counterintuitive in loads of methods which can be troublesome for first-timers and longtime followers. There’s nonetheless numerous that to be resolved, however now we have to offer credit score the place credit score is due. Genie+ has improved significantly within the final a number of months because of a wide range of UI modifications. This is way and away the most important of the bunch, and will probably be a colossal leap ahead.
While energy customers will undoubtedly profit disproportionately from the addition of a modify button, that is such an necessary–and anticipated–characteristic that it’s an across-the-board improve. Adding a modify button will probably be an unequivocal enchancment for everybody who buys the paid FastPass characteristic.
Honestly, I’m a bit stunned 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 characteristic change, both. More importantly, that’s when many of the Genie+ ticket add-ons will probably be gone, which 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 have got questions concerning the fundamentals of utilizing–or not utilizing–the paid FastPass service, see our Guide to Genie+ at Walt Disney World & Lightning Lane FAQ for the entire foundational need-to-know data. This entire system is complicated and convoluted, so that you may need a query or two-dozen. That solutions the entire commonest 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 choices with out dropping them? What do you consider the latest UI modifications to Genie+ at Walt Disney World? Do you contemplate this a meaningfully constructive 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 can assist you reply? Hearing your suggestions–even while you disagree with us–is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!