Good morning and Salaam, Kari! Thanks so much for bringing this great question to planDisney. I can see you’re a planner at heart, getting ready for your adventure at Disneyland Resort!
I have purchased Disneyland Resort vacation packages through Costco Travel as well. If you purchased
Disney Genie+ as an add-on when you booked your package, it will be associated with your tickets but you won’t necessarily see that noted in the
Disneyland mobile app in your e-tickets. If you're like me and prefer to be extra prepared, just have the confirmation email of your vacation package handy, and someone in Guest Services would be able to assist you if for any reason you don’t see Disney Genie+ available in your app when you arrive.
As soon as you enter through that turnstile, you can make your first wish (rather, Lightning Lane selection!) I’d like to share what I call my Magic Carpet Top 5 – this is how I have learned to maximize the cosmic power of Disney Genie+:
1. Genie+ currently gives you access to
Lightning Lanes for 19 attractions across the two theme parks (see list
here.) You can pick one Lightning Lane per attraction per day. For instance, you can use the Lightning Lane for Space Mountain only once in a day, but you could opt to use the standby queue if you want to ride through space more than once that day.
2. There are three attractions not included in Genie+ - these have
Individual Lightning Lanes you can purchase ‘a la carte’ per ride. You don't need to have Genie+ to purchase Individual Lightning Lanes. These Individual Lightning Lanes can be purchased for up to two different attractions each day, so plan accordingly because you can’t do all three Individual Lightning Lane attractions in a single day.
3. The easiest way to find available Lightning Lane windows is in the app under the Tip Board. As you scroll down, for the attractions that have Lightning Lanes, you'll see "LL Disney Genie+" with a link to "Book Experience."
4. You can make your next selection right after your current selection has been redeemed. But, if it’s been more than 120 minutes from the time you made that selection, even if your current selection’s arrival window hasn’t started, you can make a new selection! Example: at 9:00 a.m. you made a Lightning Lane selection for Space Mountain, whose arrival window starts at 1:00 p.m.. At 11:00 a.m., you can make another Lightning Lane selection, even though you haven’t redeemed your Space Mountain Lightning Lane yet. Pro tip from my daughter - set a timer on your phone to remind you when to make your next selection!
5. Unique to Disneyland Resort, Genie+ gives you complimentary access to
Disney PhotoPass for the day. This is a huge perk for my family! When you link attraction photos as well as those taken by
Disney PhotoPass Photographers, you’ll have access to unlimited digital downloads for the day. Be sure to ask the photographer about taking a Magic Shot which includes special effects or character surprises - they are so fun!
I know Genie+ may sound as mysterious as the Cave of Wonders, but trust me, it makes more sense once you start using it! This is no ordinary lamp.
It’s a whole new world – enjoy the ride!
Kamini