Hi Gwen! Welcome to planDisney!
You bring up a great question and one that most upcoming Guests want to know more about. With this service being new, many Guests have not had the opportunity to experience it just yet. And if you are anything like me, you want to ensure that you cover all your bases in planning prior to your arrival. There is nothing quite like a day in the parks going sideways because you were not prepared for what to expect. Let’s break it down a bit.
Disney Genie is a complimentary service that Walt Disney World Resort introduced to Guests a few months ago. It is built into the
My Disney Experience App so you will have access throughout the day as you tour the parks. Disney Genie provides tailored recommendations and personalized daily itineraries to ensure that your day runs as smoothly as possible. It will even have access to a live map to show you where to go! Simply log into the My Disney Experience App and select My Genie Day.
Disney Genie+ is an added paid feature that will allow your party to make Lightning Lane reservations to qualifying attractions to bypass the stand-by queue. Essentially, this will create shorter wait times on rides and give you the opportunity to experience more attractions during your park day. You will have the option to purchase Disney Genie+ for your entire stay before your arrival or, if you only care to use it on select park days, you can purchase the day of as well. You are allowed to make your first
Lightning Lane reservation at 7:00 AM EST prior to park opening. You will need to access your My Disney Experience App to use this service. Once you enter the park and ride your first Disney Genie+ attraction, you will be able to use the App to find your next selection. You will then continue this process as the day progresses.
Note: You will only be able to have one active reservation at a time. There is one exception and that is if your next selection is over two hours from the current time. In this scenario, you will be able to make another Lightning Lane selection during this time.
There are some attractions that do not qualify for Disney Genie+. There are two popular attractions selected at each of the four theme parks that have Individual Lightning Lane options. These rides are an additional cost, and the price varies depending on the ride and day. For example,
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance is an Individual Lightning Lane and will need to be purchased separately on your
My Disney Experience App. If you want to bypass the stand-by queue on these selected attractions, this will need to be an additional purchase to your park day.
Gwen, I hope I was helpful in explaining the new Disney Genie services and Lightning Lane entrances. Once you get the hang of it, I anticipate it being a great perk to your park day!
Happy planning!
Greg