Seven Tips to Maximize Your Use of Disney’s Genie, Genie+, and Lightning Lane
On my trip to Walt Disney World in February this year, I put Disney’s Genie through its paces to learn everything I could about maximizing the use of this app and saving money. My goal is to maximize your money spent with Disney Genie, Genie+, and Lightning Lane and provide you with a few tips to follow for your next trip.
By now, most people have heard of Disney Genie, but just in case you haven’t, this is a new optional add-on to your Disney park ticket package that you can use on your next Disney trip. Here are a few basic things you should know.
What is Disney’s Genie, Genie+, and Lightning Lane?
- Disney Genie is free. Genie is basically a complimentary planning guide on your My Disney Experience app that helps you plan your day. With Disney Genie, you can build your itinerary for each day of your trip based on tips provided on your app through the Genie+ service. In addition, it provides a real-time display of wait times and has easy access to showtimes and operating hours, recommendations for restaurants, mobile ordering, showtimes, and experiences you may want to add to your itinerary.
- Disney Genie+ is a paid upgrade for Disney Genie. Genie+ allows you to choose your Lightning Lane arrival time for participating attractions. Choosing the arrival time is the same as choosing your Lightning Lane selection under Genie+. This is not to be confused with an Individual Lightning Lane. Lightning Lane selections are offered through Genie+. Individual Lightning Lane is separately priced for designated attractions, not on the Lightning Lane list.
- Individual Lightning Lane is sometimes referred to as ILL on social media tip boards. ILL refers to passes purchased for attractions that are not included under Genie+ and are considered the more popular rides. Two Individual Lightning Lane attractions may be selected per day, and they’re chosen one at a time.
Here are my seven tips for maximizing the use of Disney Genie, Genie+, and Lightning Lane on your next trip to Walt Disney World.
Seven Tips to Maximize Your Use of Disney’s Genie, Genie+, and Lightning Lane
Tip #1: Use a Travel Agent
Using a travel agent is always a given. The cost of a travel agent is built into vacation packages by the supplier, so why not utilize a travel agent’s expertise to plan your travel more strategically? Spend your money wisely when booking travel and use an agent affiliated with an agency who has built a great relationship with the supplier and has personal experience with the brand. I prefer to add Genie+ to park ticket packages before the trip because it will be paid for, and I won’t have to make that decision every day. One exception to this is if you have an Annual Pass. I have an Annual Pass and have to add Genie+ the day of use. My family does not have annual passes, so I buy their ticket package separately and add Genie+. If you work with a good travel agent, they should share the knowledge you need to maximize the money spent on your trip. They will know the ins and outs of Genie+.
Tip #2: Designate who will be your “Master of Genie+”
Everything I learned about Genie+ so far was from my own personal experience and that of my 18-year-old Disney-fanatic daughter. In my opinion, the type of person who maximizes the potential out of adding Genie+ to their tickets at Walt Disney World and Disneyland will be the type who loves a challenge and is well acquainted with phone technology. I think the latter fits most people, but being highly competitive may not be.
Usually, at least one person loves a challenge in every travel party. This is your opportunity to let them do their thing, and you can reap the benefit. My daughter is that person in our group. She gladly takes on the role of “Master of Genie+” for our trips. She loves getting up and “seizing the day” of opportunities at her happy place – Walt Disney World. It is really best not to have too many cooks in the kitchen, so to speak, and delegating this role gives your friend or family member great joy. If you are like me, you appreciate someone who takes care of the job. I would recommend being supportive and offering praise for the effort. One way I am supportive is I will be the person to reach out to the front desk if we need technical help or to a blue Guest Experience umbrella in the parks, which I will explain later. We then feel like a team working together to plan the day.
Tip #3- Know You Always Have Help
So back in January of 2022, when we first used Genie+, we realized we would have some added bumps in the road because I have an Annual Pass, and my family doesn’t. So I cannot purchase Genie+ until the day I’ll use it. Sometimes we had technical problems trying to add it to my package. In that case, I would walk down to the front desk, and the cast member there would add it for me. Having a different type of ticket in a travel party can present challenges, but it didn’t slow us down. We reached out for help if we needed it. Everyone who has used Genie+ knows what the “blue umbrella” is. The blue umbrella refers to a Guest Experience Station, and they are everywhere in the parks. This is a whole new job role for Disney cast members, and I would like to add they are truly magical.
Anytime you need assistance with anything to do with Disney Genie, the cast members at the blue umbrellas can help you. They can even refund your Individual Lightning Lane selections if need be. Here is an example. We had purchased Individual Lightning Lane passes for Space Mountain. That day, Space Mountain was closed down most of the day. I was a little upset at the thought of losing my money because we were told we would have to return to the ride whenever it opened that day. We planned to park hop at 2pm to Hollywood Studios, meaning we would not use the Space Mountain ILL. We walked over to a blue umbrella, and they immediately refunded the cost using their iPad. It was that simple.
Using a travel agent for Disney is always a smart idea, as I pointed out in Tip #1, but don’t expect your travel agent to make your Lightning Lane and Individual Lightning Lane selections for you every day. There are too many variables with figuring out your day when making selections. By this time, your travel agent will have given you the knowledge you need to feel confident in getting your day set.
Tip #4- Add Park Hopper, Memory Maker, and Genie+ BEFORE you Travel
Building the Park Hopper, Memory Maker, and Genie+ into the cost of your trip before traveling is a better way to go to avoid sticker shock during and after your trip. The Park Hopper is a way to add the most flexibility to your trip. With the Park Hopper option, you can seize the day by starting in one park and, after 2pm, switch to another park. With this, you can see fireworks in other parks, and I also like to use this option to think outside of the flow of the crowd. Many guests who start the day at Hollywood Studios, for instance, will park hop after 2pm. This is when I like to head over to Hollywood Studios, which is probably my favorite park at night.
As far as Memory Maker goes, you want the pictures. It’s that simple. They’re great pictures, and your whole group can be in every photo. It’s more cost-effective to add this before travel, and the new filters offered by Disney Genie require the purchase of Memory Maker. You won’t want to miss out on this. We frequently look at our Photopass Photos through Memory Maker while waiting in line. This is so much fun!
Genie+ is better to add before the trip because the extra step of not having to add it while on the trip is nice, and planning the trip in advance with park selections and dining before daily planning eliminates a lot of stress. The more prepared you are, the better. I hear many people say you don’t need Genie+ for Animal Kingdom or EPCOT. I disagree. Most people park hop after going to Animal Kingdom and before going to EPCOT. Maximizing a full day with Park Hopper, Genie+, and Memory Maker gives you the best bang for your buck regarding the investment in time and money taking a Disney vacation.
Tip #5- Know Your My Disney Experience App
You have the opportunity to have your app on your phone at any time. Get well acquainted with the app. Know what is literally at your fingertips. Many guests will be looking at their My Tips board before even leaving for their trip just to see how they can navigate efficiently when it’s the real deal. This is fantastic. So many features work together. For example, you can plan an Animal Kingdom morning with your Lightning Lane selections and then mobile order your early lunch to beat the crowds at Flametree BarBQ and line up the times with maybe seeing Kitetails. You can have your food ordered and paid for on your app, have an easy pick-up, and eat your lunch down by the water behind Flametree while watching Kitetails, so you maximize your time. So cool!
Be sure you know what page you’re looking at on your app, too. When we first were getting acquainted with Disney Genie, we had made selections for Lightning Lane and Individual Lightning Lane, and then we saw all these times jumping around on the page we were on. We thought this meant our times were changing when in fact, we were on the My Tips page and not the My Day page. The My Day page will show your booked itinerary. The My Tips page shows your possibilities.
Tip #6- Set Your Alarm!!!
So many alarms go off in Disney now! You won’t want to miss your opportunity to book your Lightning Lane, and Individual Lightning Lane selections at 7am on the dot. If you get early morning times, you get a lot of bragging rights. Don’t give up in despair if you do not get a coveted early morning time because more passes will be dropped in the queue throughout the day, and you will be an expert, ready to grab the next great time. You can select your next Lightning Lane time at the time of check-in at the Lightning Lane entrance or 120 minutes from when you chose your previous selection. This is another reason to set your alarm. You will hear people’s alarms going off in lines reminding them it’s time to make the next selection.
Tip #7- Always Be Positive and Enjoy the Moment You’re In
Well, this is a pretty lofty statement, but if you remember this, you can turn that frown upside down every time. I have been planning Disney trips for my family since 2002 when my husband and I were first financially able to load our four kiddos (soon to be five) up in the old Suburban in Maryland and head down I-95 to Orlando. If I hadn’t taken this advice, I would have missed out on so many good memories as we kept traveling to Disney over the years. I am rarely with my kids at Disney anymore because they went and grew up on me! To the young families out there, I say, “You can do it!” To retired couples, “You can do it!” To grandparents, I say, “You can do this!” To all, I say, “Carpe Diem” and Genie+ your way into so many memorable experiences. Using Genie is fun! It’s up to you how you handle the hiccups that happen along the way.
There’s nothing like Disney, and they think of every possible way to fully engage you in the whirlwind of amazement that their creative genius has to offer us. Enjoy it!
If you’d like to learn more about how you can leverage Disney Genie, Genie+, and Lightning Lane and add more dimensions to your next Disney trip, contact me.