If you are preparing to head out on your next vacation to Disney, then you’re sure to have heard about the Disney Genie pass. An essential and useful addition to the My Disney Experience app, the Disney Genie service aims to improve the guest experience in its parks. Read on to learn all you need to know about this new app with the latest guide.
What is the Disney Genie Pass?
The Disney Genie pass is a free service available on the ‘My Disney Experience’ app, designed to help enhance and streamline your time in Disney’s parks. It allows you to fully customize your Disney trip, as it provides planning tools, the ability to order food, secure dining reservations, and offers recommendations throughout your visit via a real-time tip board.
Map out your day at Disney
Using a combination of all the free planning tools included with the Disney Genie pass, you can have your day planned out from the get-go. Know exactly which ride to head to next, keep your dining reservations safe, and arrange your food order from your favourite quick service restaurant. You can structure your day exactly how you like, and can visually plan it all out on your phone. You can also find out the next showtimes for all your favourite performances and daily events, so that you won’t miss out on anything.
Before you arrive at the park, you can put in your ‘top picks’ for the day, which is a great tool to use if you know what you want to do but don’t know the best order in which to do them. The Disney Genie Pass will automatically generate a personal itinerary just for you, based on what you would like to do.
If you are more of the spontaneous sort and prefer to plan as you go, the Genie Pass has got you covered for that too by making suggestions throughout the day.
Book all your dining through the Genie Pass
It’s very easy to book fabulous dining experiences using the Genie pass:
- First, open the ‘My Disney Experience’ app.
- Look on the menu for ‘My Genie Day’ and select this option.
- Click ‘My Tip Board’ at the top of the screen.
- You’ll see a list of experiences and dining that you can book. You’ll also see information including food order pickup times and walkup wait times.
Are all restaurants included?
You will see a list of all the restaurants that are available on the day of your visit. Once you select one, you will have the opportunity to book a time at the restaurant or order from quick food venues.
Can I put in dietary requirements?
You can use the Genie pass to select dietary requirements. Many dining establishments at Disney World and Disneyland have menus for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and allergy-conscious diners.
Recommendations throughout your visit
Is your stomach rumbling? Just open the Disney Genie app, and you will find a list of recommendations for your dining options around the park, so you won’t waste time wandering from restaurant to restaurant trying to find the meal with your name all over it. Not only does the Genie Pass recommend restaurants, it also suggests which theme park rides you should head to next, which attractions you might like, and where to meet your favorite characters.
If you don’t like a suggestion, just remove it and it will soon be replaced with something else – flexibility is what the Genie Pass is all about.
Minimize wait times at Disney
This handy app offers you an overview of both current and projected wait times for rides around the park. This means you can work out exactly where to go next to reduce the amount of time spent waiting in a queue, as well as streamlining your overall day so you can pack in as much as possible. You can now also enjoy a virtual queue for Remy’s Ratatouille adventure at Disney World. Ultimately, the Disney Genie Pass ensures you make the very most out of your time.
What is the Genie Pass replacing at Disney?
Disney has now retired the free FastPass, FastPass+, and Disney MaxPass services. Fastpass kiosks have been removed from the park, and the passes are no longer available for purchase. Instead, they are being replaced by ‘Lightning Lane’ entries to rides and attractions, available to purchase through the new Genie tool in the My Disney Experience app.
What is the Lightning Lane feature?
The Lightning Lane feature is a separate service where you can pay extra to skip the queues on the most popular rides. The cost varies depending on the season and day that you visit. You do not need to purchase Genie+ in order to use Individual Lightning Lane Selections.
The Lightning Lane Selections tool is an additional purchase on each day of your visit. Booking attractions using the Individual Lightning Lane Selections is done on each morning of your trip for that day’s rides.
Individual Lightning Lanes
Some of the most in-demand rides are excluded from the Lightning Lane feature. Also known as pay-per-ride, you can pay a one-time fee to skip the line for a few select rides, such as Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
If you want to use this service, you can book them for the same day as your visit, and can be used for the most popular rides across all the theme parks; perfect if you are park-hopping.
The cost of the Individual Lightning Lanes can vary, but tend to hover in the region of $7 to $15., and you can purchase them via DIsney Genie on the My DIsney Experience app.
Where do you get a Genie pass?
The free Disney Genie pass is easy to come by. Simply head to the app store and download the ‘My Disney Experience’ app, which is used to keep all your tickets, reservations and more all in one place. Once the app is downloaded, set up an account. Within that app, you will find the free Disney Genie feature. Here, you can also upgrade to the paid version of DIsney Genie: Disney Genie+, which you can find out all about a little further down.
Can I use the Disney Genie pass without a smartphone?
Unfortunately, the Disney Genie pass is only available on smartphones, so you won’t be able to use it if you don’t have access to one. Instead, you can use the standard standby queues to access rides and attractions.
What is the Genie+ Pass?
There is also a payable add-on service called Disney Genie+. Visitors will be able to access their favorite rides at a specific time, meaning there’s no standing around in queues for hours on end!
Price: $15 per day at Disney World, Orlando / $20 per day at Disneyland, California
The service replaces the FastPass+ and MaxPlus services, by providing Lightning Lane Entrance to 40+ select attractions at Disney World, Orlando, and 15 attractions at Disneyland, California. Although the rides are yet to be announced, they will be classic park favorites such as Big Thunder Mountain. Visitors will be able to skip the standby line and ride at an allocated time, effectively giving you a digital version of the classic paper FastPass. Please note that the Genie Pass+ ride-booking service doesn’t include Individual Lightning Lane Selections.
Disney Genie+ can be booked in advance of your trip and used alongside the Park Hopper ticket. However, the attractions are only pre-bookable from 7 am on the day of your visit to Disney World Orlando, and from the time you arrive at the park at Disneyland, California.
This will change a key element to Disney trips, as previously rides could be booked 60 days in advance. A potential benefit, though, is that this system will enable local US residents to access the rides and enjoy the parks more freely than before.
How many rides a day can you use the Genie+ on?
As many as you can fit in! The only stipulation is that you can’t use it to ride the same ride twice. You also cannot select a preferred ride time, but have the option to choose the next available ride time.
What are the steps to using the Genie+ Lightning Lane tool?
In the ‘My Disney Experience’ app, you will find the ‘My Genie Day’ tab. You can use it to book your first ride selection at 7 am. Currently, you can only book the Lightning Lane for each ride once per day, and you can only book one attraction at a time.
Are there any tips and tricks to using the Genie Pass?
The Genie Pass is a particularly useful tool for those of you who are visiting for only a short time, as you will be able to skip the queues and get onto the rides you want much faster.
Once you’ve tapped in for your Lightning lane reservation, as long as 120 minutes have elapsed since you made your last reservation you can book your next one straight away to minimise wait times between your rides.
You can arrive 5 minutes early for your attraction reservation, and up to 15 minutes late. So time your day accordingly!
Look out for the guest experience team members who can help you with any queries about your Genie Pass that you might have. You can find them at kiosks throughout the park.
If you are using the Genie+ Lightning Lane tool, make your first reservation as early as possible, as the most popular attractions are known to book up very quickly.
Stay with Top Villas
For those coming to Disney World Orlando, you may now feel like exploring your accommodation options — particularly as there is little incentive or benefit now to stay in a Disney hotel or resort.
With world-class amenities on tap, including a Disney shuttle service, many of our Top Villas resorts in Orlando offer the perfect family treat and accompaniment to your Disney vacation. Varying in size and style, our luxury vacation homes suit couples, families, and large multigenerational groups. Choose from themed kids’ rooms, private pools, and game rooms, to a plethora of 5-star amenities!
All located within a short drive (or shuttle service) of the parks, you’re guaranteed a first-class Disney vacation. Our Guest Experience team is also on hand to help enhance your vacation, with an amazing range of Travel Extras.
What’s more, we make payments a breeze. Our new Affirm credit payment option* means you can spread the cost of your villa rental over a 3, 6, or 12 month period. Simply look out for properties with the Affirm banner.
*Subject to meeting Affirm’s credit criteria. T’s & C’s apply.
