Hi there, Christina! It's so wonderful to see you back here at planDisney!
The addition of the
Disney Genie and Disney Genie+ services have thrown all of us Walt Disney World Resort Guests for a little bit of a loop! I'm very glad that you're familiarizing yourself with this new system before your arrival. This will help you maximize your time in the parks and help you experience all of your favorite attractions during your stay.
Now, with Disney Genie+ reservations, you will only be given the option for the next available time slot at each particular attraction. If you search at 7 a.m., you will likely see available times that will be before your desired park entry time. With that said, I think the best course of action would be to monitor the Disney Genie+ availability using the
My Disney Experience Mobile App for a few hours leading up to the time you plan to arrive at the park. For the more popular attractions, the time slots do get reserved fairly quickly, so you may see availability after 1 p.m. pretty early in the morning. I would plan on checking in on the availability every hour or so and you'll begin to see time slots after 1 p.m. ready to book.
Another important note for your particular situation- you may make a second Disney Genie+ selection after scanning into your first ride OR two hours after making your first selection. In your case, if you happened to book a Disney Genie+ time slot for one ride around 10 a.m. that morning, you could make another selection at 12 p.m. even though you still haven't entered the park. This will help you plan out your afternoon a bit better and you can relax knowing you're guaranteed to ride two of your favorite attractions!
Christina, if you chose to purchase an
Individual Lightning Lane attraction at an additional cost the morning of your park visit, you do get to select the time you'd like to ride! For example, at 7 a.m., if you purchase an Individual Lightning Lane attraction for
Avatar Flight of Passage, you could choose from any available time slot, including those after 1 p.m. when you plan to arrive at the park. You can also purchase Individual Lightning Lane attractions without purchasing Disney Genie+, so this may also be a good option for your afternoon park day!
A little-known benefit of purchasing Disney Genie+ is access to a collection of unique
Disney PhotoPass Lenses through the My Disney Experience app. The last time I made this purchase, I was able to take fun photos and videos with an adorable Grogu and even slurp pasta noodles with Lady and the Tramp! Be sure to check these out during your downtime at the parks, especially while waiting in line for rides or meals!
Until next time,
Ashley