Hey there, hi there Angela!
Thanks for stopping by planDisney with your question. Summer is right around the corner and so is your visit to
The World's Most Magical Celebration! You're going to love the new nighttime shows like
Harmonious in EPCOT and
Disney Enchantment in Magic Kingdom.
With the new
Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane Options, guests are able to completely customize their touring plans in each park. Genie+ gives you the ability to access Lightning Lanes for over 40 attractions throughout the parks. However, there are some attractions that aren't included with Genie+. In order to access the Lightning Lane for these attractions you'll need to make a separate purchase for each attraction. You can purchase Genie+ for your entire stay, or you may decide to purchase it on a day by day basis. While I just like to have Genie+ for every day, it may not always be needed. I'll give you some examples of when I might want to use one or both of these options.
Using only Individual Lightning Lanes: The standby lines in some parks can be pretty manageable throughout the day. Let's say I had older kids and we were headed to EPCOT. Instead of purchasing Genie+ for that day, I might decide to only purchase an Individual Lightning Lane for
Remy's Ratatouille Adventure. For other rides that typically have longer wait times like
Frozen Ever After, we would take advantage of
Early Entry as a resort guest and ride it first thing in the morning or, in the case of
Test Track, we would hop in the single rider lane.
Using only Genie+: In Magic Kingdom, I would probably only purchase Genie+. I would hop in the standby line for
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train first thing in the morning if it was an attraction that the whole family wanted to enjoy. Then I would use my Genie+ to save time waiting for other attractions throughout the day.
Using Genie+ AND Individual Lightning Lanes together: In Disney's Hollywood Studios, because there are so many popular attractions that tend to have long standby wait times, I would probably purchase Genie+ AND purchase an Individual Lightning Lane for
Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
If you have
My Disney Experience mobile app, you can start looking at the Tip Board for each park now. It will give you a good sense of which attractions generally book their Lightning Lanes first, and you'll know the standby wait times for each attraction. This way, you'll be able to get a good feel for which days you'll want to have Genie+ and/or purchase an Individual Lightning Lane for a specific attraction. You may decide that you don't need either to have a great day in the parks.
Hope this helps. Mickey can't wait to see ya real soon!
Diane