Hey Howdy Hey Catherine and welcome to planDisney!
Oh wow! Looks like we are closing in on the big travel day! I bet you are getting so excited about your trip and it sounds like you have been doing a lot of planning as well for it. I will admit, Disney Genie can be a little tricky to understand, so let's go through a bit to see if this is the right fit for you for your upcoming trip.
So first off, with the
Disney Genie service, this is a free planning tool available to anyone planning a trip to Walt Disney World Resort. You have the ability to tell the Genie your likes and interests and it can best help you navigate the parks showing you up-to-date wait times to help maximize your time in the parks. This service does not give you access to Lightning Lanes and is just the regular stand-by entrance line.
Disney Genie+ gives you a little extra magic with this purchase as you will have the ability to book your
Lightning Lane reservations. These reservations can be booked at 7:00 a.m. EST as long as you are staying at a Disney Resort Collection hotel and at park open for those that are not. With this service, you can specifically book a reservation to experience almost all of the attractions throughout the parks at designated times. With this purchase, you will be able to reserve your spot in line with minimal wait times. This is the big difference between Genie and Genie+.
Personally, I see a lot of value with Genie+. The biggest resource you have when you are in the parks is your time and who wants to spend most of it waiting in lines, right? With Genie+, it allows you to experience many of the top attractions throughout the parks with minimal wait times. This ensures that you are able to experience these attractions at designated time slots and avoids the standby times that we have seen getting a little on the long side for some attractions this time of year. This purchase is an extra fee on top of your ticket, but I feel is really worth it. It is completely optional to you and you do not have to purchase it, you just might have to be ready to wait a little longer in lines or be more creative when it comes to getting in line for the popular attractions. This is best done to experience something like Space Mountain in Magic Kingdom during parades or nighttime shows or even taking advantage of Early Theme Park Entry as the lines will be shorter during those times.
One of the many benefits of Genie+ is you can purchase it for the length of your stay or for individual days. If you are still undecided, try to purchase it for one day in the parks and see how it works out. There are plenty of Cast Members at your resort and throughout the parks with the
Guest Experience team that can help you navigate Genie+ on your My Disney Experience app if you are unsure how to make Lightning Lane reservations or for pointers as well. This way, if you do not like it, you do not have to purchase it for the rest of your days. The opposite is true if you really enjoyed it, then you can purchase it for more days. The flexibility of it is one of the many perks!
I hope this information was useful and cleared up some of your questions. Enjoy the final days of preparation, we cannot wait to welcome you to the Most Magical Place on Earth real soon!
Have a Magical Day,
Nick