Farewell to our beloved FastPass. Welcome… Disney Genie!
“You ain’t never had a friend like me!” ♫
**INFO UPDATED October 11, 2022
What is Disney Genie?!
If you’ve been to Disney in the past few years, you likely have downloaded the My Disney Experience app (Disneyland App for those traveling to Disneyland Resort) at some point (it’s one of the first things I have my clients do after booking!). This app is your best friend during your Disney trip and helps with all of the planning!
The new Disney Genie is a complimentary (free!) service built into the My Disney Experience and Disneyland apps that helps you to maximize your time in the parks. One of the most common questions I get (and ask myself!) is “Which ride should I ride first?!” Disney Genie takes the guesswork out of things and includes a personalized itinerary feature that maps out your entire day based on your likes and dislikes and the logistics of the park that day. Even wait times are measured and you’ll be kept up-to-date on what to do next!
Disney Genie Features (FREE!):
Itinerary Updates All Day: Disney Genie updates your itinerary throughout your day so you can go with the flow and maximize your time in the parks. It takes the guesswork out of “what’s next”.
Favorites at a Glance: Guests can create their own personal “Tip Board” to see their favorites all in one place. It will display current and predicted future wait times and helps predict when wait times may be the shortest. For example, if you love Splash Mountain and you’ve made it a favorite in the app, it will show current AND forecasted wait times so you’ll know when it’s the prime time!
Flexible & Fun: Existing planning features are all located in one place with Disney Genie. You can join a virtual queue at certain attractions, make dining reservations or join the walk-up list, order food at quick service restaurants, and even utilize a virtual assistant where you can chat with a cast member regarding any questions you have.
The built-in FREE Disney Genie service in the My Disney Experience or Disneyland mobile app works as a complimentary sidekick helping plan out seamless days within the parks.
Disney Genie puts guests at the center of the experience by prioritizing ways to:
- Reduce time in lines while keeping in mind guest’s top picks
- Pace the day with experiences guests will enjoy – and haven’t already done yet
- Build around existing plans like dining reservations and Park Hopper® preferences
Lightning Lane Entrance:
AKA the new “Fast Pass Line”
Available for purchase through the Disney Genie+ add-on at more than 40 attractions – or individually, “a la carte” at some of our most highly demanded attractions – the Lightning Lane entrance can save you time waiting in line. These two options can also be combined!
DISNEY GENIE + LIGHTNING LANE SELECTIONS
When you take your day to the next level by purchasing Disney Genie+ service, you can select arrival windows for Lightning Lane entrances that are available at more than 40 attractions and entertainment across all 4 theme parks, one at a time throughout the day.
Price
- Walt Disney World: Disney Genie+ will vary in price based on the date a guest is visiting. Similar to theme park tickets, throughout the year, prices may be lower on less busy days and higher during peak periods like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Pricing will fluctuate between $15 – $22 per person per day (plus tax; prices subject to change beyond October).
- Disneyland: Pricing will start at $25 per person per day, and may vary by date, based on demand.
How to Purchase
Purchase via Disney Genie service in the My Disney Experience mobile app or Disneyland mobile app on the same day
When to Select Attractions
- At Walt Disney World: You can book your first selection starting at 7AM on your park day. This is the same for on-site and off-site guests.
- At Disneyland: You can book your first experience after scanning into the parks.
Once you’ve redeemed your initial selection (or the arrival window has passed), you can make another selection using the app, up to park closing.
INDIVIDUAL LIGHTNING LANE SELECTIONS
Some of the high-demand attractions will offer Lightning Lane entry as an “á la carte” purchase. This option will be available for all guests—with or without Disney Genie+ service—and lets you choose a time to arrive at up to 2 attractions each day (booked one at a time).
Price
Pricing and availability will vary by date, attraction and park. Be sure to check the My Disney Experience or Disneyland mobile app on the day of your visit for current prices and attraction availability (see more info below).
How to Purchase
Purchase via Disney Genie service in the My Disney Experience mobile app or Disneyland mobile app on the same day of your visit.
When to Select Attractions
You can purchase individual selections for up to 2 different attractions per day.
- At Walt Disney World: Guests of a Disney Resort Hotel and Other Select Hotels can make their first ILL purchase starting at 7:00 AM on the day of their visit. (Available to Disney Resort hotel Guests and Guests of Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotels and Shades of Green.)
- All other guests can make their first purchase when the park opens.
- At Disneyland: all guests can make their purchases once they have entered the parks.
You can only select one ride at a time, but you can choose as many as you want throughout the day for Genie+ selections! With FastPass, you could make 3 selections ahead of time, but by the time you finished those and went to the kiosk to add more, they were likely picked over and many rides were unavailable. You also could not choose FastPasses for more than one park if you planned on Park Hopping. With Disney Genie+, you can book even more attractions and even hop to another park and continue choosing selections! This is a huge perk that wasn’t available with FastPass!
MORE INFO – DISNEY GENIE+
‣ Disney Genie+ can no longer be added to your vacation package. Starting June 8th, guests must wait until their park day to add it in the app (starting at midnight on your park day).
TIP: add it around 6:40AM so you’ll be ready to make your first selection at 7AM!
‣ Unlike FastPass, you cannot make your selections months in advance (I always found this to be unfair to people who booked spontaneous last minute trips and couldn’t get any decent FastPasses). Your selections can be made the day of your visit starting at 7AM for both on-site and off-site guests at Walt Disney World, and once you scan into the parks at Disneyland.
MORE INFO – INDIVIDUAL LIGHTNING LANE SELECTIONS
‣ Only 2 high-demand attractions can be booked each day, and you cannot book the same ride twice.
‣ A PERK FOR STAYING ON PROPERTY: guests who stay at a Walt Disney World Resort Hotel will have first dibs for their selections at 7AM before entering the parks. Guests staying off property will have to wait until the park opens to make their selections. At Disneyland, selections can be made for all guests once they’ve scanned into the parks.
Lightning Lane Attractions at Walt Disney World
Lightning Lane Attractions at Disneyland
Which attractions should I choose first?
This will definitely vary between groups and what your preferences are! However, these are the rides that tend to fill up the quickest. If you’re hoping to ride these rides, definitely make these a priority when making your selections:
MAGIC KINGDOM:
Peter Pan’s Flight
ANIMAL KINGDOM:
Kilimanjaro Safaris
HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS:
Slinky Dog Dash (fills up very quickly!)
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
EPCOT:
Frozen Ever After
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
Information overload! I hope this was helpful and can be a resource to you on your next Disney trip.
As a reminder, attractions continue to offer a traditional standby queue or from time to time, a virtual queue may instead be used at select attractions (it has been used for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, and will be utilized for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind starting May 27, 2022).
Thanks for reading! Your support means the world to me!
