Hi Stephanie! Welcome to planDisney! It's always great to talk to a fellow Palmetto State resident.
You must be getting so excited about your upcoming stay. With you being only a few short days away, I'm sure you want to iron out all of the final details!
The Walt Disney World Resort has traded out the FastPass service for the recently introduced
Disney Genie and Genie+! These new services were designed to help you maximize your day at the parks. Disney Genie is complimentary and gives you tailored recommendations to help you navigate your way through the parks. There are live, interactive maps that will show you exactly where everything is and how to get to certain attractions and experiences. To use this, download the
My Disney Experience App to your mobile device and log in to your account. Tap on the three horizontal bars on the bottom right of your screen and select "My Genie Day". Tap on "Get Started Now" to jump right into this service.
Disney Genie+ is a paid service that allows you to access the Lightning Lane entrances on selected attractions to bypass the standby queue. Using this will cut down on your wait times for rides and give you a chance to fit more into your day. If you have children like me, waiting in long lines all day can be difficult. It's a nice change to be able to skip some of these lines and be able to experience more. You can purchase Disney Genie+ the morning of each park day by selecting "My Genie Day" in the app and locating the purple bar that reads "Get Disney Genie+ For Today". Tap on this to continue with the purchase. You'll be able to make your first selection from the comfort of your resort room starting at 7 AM and then continue to make additional selections after you ride that attraction.
There are a few attractions that you can purchase
Individual Lightning Lane arrival windows for. These are dedicated to the most popular attractions at each of the four theme parks. For example, if you have your heart set on riding
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and did not want to wait in the long line, you can purchase this attraction separately and only pay the cost for this one ride. In my opinion, the cost is justified since you can use that time you would have waited to grab a bite to eat or fit in more attractions!
I hope you have a magical time on your visit, Stephanie! Stop back any time to planDisney!
See ya real soon!
Greg