Is Disney Genie Plus Worth It? 15 Tips to Help You Decide (2024)

Do you find yourself asking ‘Is Disney Genie Plus Worth It?’

If you’re considering whether or not to add the Disney Genie Plus service to your next trip, this post is for you. We’ll cover everything you need to know about the service, including what it is, how much it costs, and how to use it.

As annual pass holders, we’ve been using Disney’s Genie Plus every time we travel to Disney World since they first introduced it several years ago. We made mistakes and learned from them. Therefore, you’ll have the benefit of not making the same mistakes we did!

In addition, we’ll give you 15 tips so you are ready to start using it if you decide it is worth it to purchase Genie Plus.

Is Disney Genie Plus Worth It?

After countless times using it, I believe that Genie Plus is definitely worth it if you can spring for the extra cost.

The only park I do not purchase it for is Animal Kingdom.

If you have someone who wants to ride anything related to Star Wars and loves fast rides like Aerosmith’s Rock ‘n Rollercoaster or the Tower of Terror, Genie+ definitely comes in handy as those lines are continuously long.

Let’s face it. Standing in long lines in the blazing sun is not fun.

If you can afford to splurge on it for at least one day, I would do it at Magic Kingdom.

Plus, if you are staying offsite and have a group of roller coaster fanatics, I would also purchase it at Hollywood Studios.

But, is it worth all that money?

Disney has gotten notoriously more expensive than even just 10 years ago. This is one more thing in their arsenal. People are willing to pay.

For me, it’s usually just my daughter and me. On the other hand, there are families of 5 for whom it would cost a lot more.

You need to decide if you are fine with waiting in the standby line for each ride. If you are impatient (and older!) like me, it may be worth it to buy Disney’s Genie Plus.

Maybe you decide not to purchase any Individual Lightning Lanes and just go with Genie+. Remember, they are mutually exclusive, so you can just buy one or the other.

Or, if you have younger kids, the best time to go is during the offseason, like September. In this case, there may not be a need to purchase a skip-the-line pass because the crowd level is low.

Take all of the above into consideration when you are deciding is Disney Genie Plus worth it. Remember, both Genie+ and ILL’s are additional costs to that of your park tickets.

What is Disney Genie+?

Disney’s Genie+ takes the place of the free, now-retired Fast Pass system. Basically, you pay in order to skip the lines at Disney World. This service is completely optional.

Read through Genie Plus at Disney World for a comprehensive guide on how the entire process works.

Genie+ is accessed through the My Disney Experience app on your phone. You’ll use the app to book your times for rides, shows, Disney’s Festival of Fantasy parade special seating, and character meet-and-greets.

How Does Genie Plus Work?

There are two parts to Genie+ and it’s important to know the difference.

Individual Lightning Lanes

First, you have Individual Lightning Lanes (ILL). These are specific to a particular ride. You can purchase ‘skip the line’ access to this one ride. Cost ranges from $10-25 per ride, per person. These are the most popular rides in each park.

Disney allows you to purchase up to 2 of these ILL’s a day (per person), however, only the Magic Kingdom has 2 ILL rides (TRON and the 7 Dwarfs Mine Train) whereas the other parks only have one.

If you are a Disney Resort guest, purchase your ILL at 7:00 A.M.

Log on to My Disney Experience, and in the ‘Tip Board’ section, look for the words ‘LL Individual Lightning Lane’. If you can purchase it, it will be in black and not grayed out.

If you are not staying at a Disney Resort, you cannot purchase any Individual Lightning Lane until the park opens. Make sure you know when each park opens on each day.

Note: When Disney World debuted a new ride in the past, usually admittance is by virtual queues. At this time (Early 2024), two rides use the virtual queue: Guardians of the Galaxy at Epcot and TRON Lightcycle in the Magic Kingdom.

However, they both are also ILL’s, so if you definitely want to ride either of these, you are better off purchasing the ILL.

Sound confusing?

Disney’s Genie Plus

Genie Plus is most similar to FastPass+. This allows you to select rides the entire day that you want the ability to skip the line for.

At the Walt Disney World Resort, Genie Plus costs $15 -35 (each day, per person), although, at the Disneyland Resort, it’s $20-30.

In June 2023, Disney World started pricing this service based on which park you were visiting (or you could purchase it for all parks if you plan to park hop).

Magic Kingdom will always be the most expensive because it is the most crowded. Take a look at the below screenshot. This is what you will find when purchasing Genie Plus. Choose which park you want to buy the pass for, then hit Continue.

Start making your Genie Plus reservations at 7:00 A.M. no matter if you are staying at a Disney Resort or offsite.

You can only make another Disney Genie+ reservation either after you have used one OR after two hours have passed.

In addition, once you make your 7:00 A.M. reservation, you cannot make another one until 2 hours after the park opens, or once you have used the first one you made, whichever is the earliest.

Admittedly, there are a lot of rules around Genie+ and Lightning Lanes. I remember hearing people thought Fastpass+ was confusing. In my opinion, that’s nothing compared to this! Feel free to ask a cast member if you can’t figure something out.

Just remember that using Genie Plus gives you access to the Lightning Lane entrances instead of the long lines of the standby queue.

Remember, it’s important to know the difference between Individual Lightning Lanes vs Genie Plus.

15 Disney World Genie+ Tips

So, if you decide that Genie Plus is worth it. Or, if you are still contemplating it, but want to know more about it, here are 15 tips to help you use it! Maybe these tips will help you decide if it’s worth it or just too much trouble!

1. Download and setup My Disney Experience before your trip

This first tip is quite simple, yet it’s very important.

Do this before your trip. You don’t want to be fumbling around at 7:00 A.M. when it’s time to make your first reservation.

Look for ‘My Disney Experience’ and download it here for Apple phones or here for Android. Setup an account if you don’t already have one. Remember your password! I can’t stress this enough. You will use this app heavily.

2. Don’t give up!

For those of you that were pros at FastPass+ (R.I.P.), do you remember seeing the message ‘All Fastpasses have been given out for the day’?

Well, I thought the same was going to happen for Individual Lightning Lanes (ILL)…. but, it didn’t!

Two out of four times when I tried to get my ILL right when the park opened (I stayed offsite. For those staying on Disney property, you can get them at 7:00 A.M.), it said none were available.

However, I kept looking to see if more times became available and they did!

Availability came and went sporadically, but I wasn’t quick enough to get it. Then, around one and a half hours later, I was finally able to snag a Ratatouille reservation. The same thing happened for the Seven Dwarfs Mine train.

So, the moral here is don’t get discouraged if you don’t get your Individual Lightning Lane reservation immediately. Be persistent and keep checking your phone for availability. Hopefully, you will eventually get it (we did not get so lucky for Rise of the Resistance).

3. Get your first Genie+ at 7:00 A.M.

No matter if you are staying at a Disney Resort or offsite, purchase your first reservation at 7:00 A.M.

Trust me, everyone that is planning on using Genie+ is up on their phones this early in the morning trying to score a coveted reservation.

You do NOT get a choice of times.

Disney gives you the next open slot available. Keep this in mind if you are deciding between two reservations.

If it looks like a particular attraction will ‘sell-out’, by all means, secure that one. So, if the return time is already 5:00 P.M., most likely this attraction will sell out of its open slots soon. Grab it now – it won’t be there by the time you can make your next Genie+.

4. Secure the most important reservation first

This is necessary if you have someone in your family that HAS to go on a particular ride. For me, my daughter really wants us to go on Space Mountain.

I’m not a fast rollercoaster person (although I love Big Thunder Mountain) and I promised her the next time we were at Disney World, I would ride Space Mountain. She and my husband kept thinking I would throw up and they would laugh. Well, I didn’t!

Since this was so important for Little K, I secured this first. Luckily, it still was in the morning, around 10:10, so once we used this one, I immediately booked our next.

5. Set alarm for park opening and secure Individual Lightning Lane

This only applies if you are staying offsite at a non-Disney resort: Individual Lightning Lane reservations can only be first purchased starting at park opening.

NOTE: Disney Resort guests can purchase them at 7:00 A.M.

Just so you don’t forget to get them ASAP, set an alarm on your phone to remind you.

Park hours differ between parks and sometimes days of the week. Make sure you check the official Disney World calendar for the correct park hours.

6. Set your alarm for 2 hours after the park opens

Why, you may ask? Because that’s the next time you can get another Genie+ reservation if you didn’t secure one that you already used.

Let me try to explain:

If you already used your first Genie+ reservation, make another one immediately.

However, if your first Genie+ reservation has not been used yet, you can still make another one 2 hours after the park opens. In this case, you would have two Genie+ reservations to use.

The easiest way to remember this is to set an alarm. Don’t worry, the My Disney Experience app also tells you if you can or cannot make a new reservation. In addition, it tells you what time your next reservation can be made.

Get the free Disney Genie Plus Primer here!

7. Secure the next Genie+ immediately after using one

Similar to Fastpass+, make your next Genie+ reservation immediately upon using one. Be aware that some rides need you to tap in twice, so don’t make a new reservation too soon.

This is what is known as churning and this is my absolute favorite way to use Genie at Magic Kingdom.

So, while you are sitting in an It’s a Small World boat for 14 minutes, don’t forget to secure your next ride reservation!

8. Know which rides are Genie+ rides and which are Individual Lightning Lanes

These two new Disney terms are mutually exclusive of each other, so know what attraction is which.

As of January 2024, there is one Individual Lightning Lane attraction in each of the theme parks, except for Magic Kingdom which has two. Disney deems these the most popular attractions.

Individual Lightning Lane Attractions

• Magic Kingdom: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Tron Lightcycle/Run
• Epcot: Guardians of the Galaxy – Cosmic Rewind
• Hollywood Studios: Star Wars Rise of the Resistance
• Animal Kingdom: Pandora Avatar Flight of Passage

Genie+ is most similar to Fastpass+ in that there are many rides you can access. Here’s a list of the parks and their respective Genie+ attractions. Maybe seeing these will help you decide if Genie Plus is worth it for you.

➡️ Using Genie Plus at Magic Kingdom makes the most sense due to the sheer number of rides it gives you access to faster.

Magic Kingdom Genie+ attractions

• Barnstormer
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
• Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
• Dumbo
• Festival of Fantasy Parade
• Haunted Mansion
• It’s a Small World
• Jungle Cruise
• Mad Tea Party
• Magic Carpets of Aladdin
• Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
• Mickey’s Philharmagic
• Monster’s Inc Laugh Floor
• Peter Pan’s Flight
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• See Cinderella at Fairytale Hall
• See Mickey at Town Square Theater
• See Princess Tiana at Fairytale Hall
• Space Mountain
• Splash Mountain (Closed for rebrand/refurbishment until 2024)
• Tomorrowland Speedway
• Under the Sea

Epcot Genie+ attractions

• Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival
• Frozen Ever After
• Journey into Imagination with Figment
• Living with the Land
• Mission: SPACE
• Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
• Seas with Nemo
• Soarin’
• Spaceship Earth
• Test Track
• Turtle Talk with Crush

Disney’s Hollywood Studios Genie+ attractions

• Alien Swirling Saucers
• Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage
• Disney Jr Play and Dance
• First time in Forever Singalong
• Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular
• Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway
• Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run
• Muppet Vision 3D
• Rock ‘n Roll Coaster
• See Disney Stars at Red Carpet Dreams
• See Olaf at Celebrity Spotlight
• Slinky Dog Dash
• Star Tours – The Adventures Continue
• Toy Story Mania
• Twilight Zone Tower of Terror

Animal Kingdom’s Genie+ attractions

• Animation Experience at Conservation Station
• Celebration of the Lion King
• Dinosaur
• Expedition Everest
• Feathered Friends in Flight
• It’s Tough to be a Bug
• Kali River Rapids
• Kilimanjaro’s Safari
• Na’vi River Journey

Virtual Queues

Often when introducing a new ride, Disney uses a virtual queue instead of a standby queue.

• Enter the virtual queue through the Disney app at 7 am.
• Get your boarding group with an estimated time of when your group will be called.
• No guarantees you will be able to ride this attraction, especially if it breaks down before your group is called.

➡️ However, virtual queues are free and open to everyone. In my experience, we waited 2 hours in the Guardians of the Galaxy line after our boarding group was called. I thought this was quite long and wasn’t sure I would do it again.

But, we did. The next time, our wait in line was one hour. Still, very long in my opinion. Purchasing an ILL for this ride definitely has shorter lines.

Curren virtual queues:

• Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
• TRON: Lightcycle

Enter at 7 am from anywhere. In addition, if you are inside the park, there is another virtual queue you can enter at 1 pm.

On nights that Disney World operates Extended Magic Hours for guests of Deluxe Resorts and Villas, there is an additional virtual queue at 6 pm, just for those specific guests.

With the opening of TRON: Lightcycle in April 2023, this new ride is now the fastest ride at Disney World. Expect both the virtual queue and the ILL access to sell out quickly.

🔷 TIP: If you KNOW you want to ride Tron, my suggestion is not to waste time with the virtual queue and instead, purchase the ILL. We did this a couple of weeks after the ride opened and only waited 10 minutes in line compared to the hours we waited in the virtual queue line for Guardians.

Sign up below to have a printout of this list to take with you. In addition, you get all these 15 Disney Genie+ tips in a condensed format! WIN!

9. Buy Genie+ each day you need to rather than for all parks

Determine if you really need Genie+ before buying. This probably depends on what your traveling party wants to do. Most of Epcot’s attractions are slow. At the same time, Animal Kingdom does not have many on Genie+.

Decide if you want to spend the money or just wait in line. You could also only buy the ILL for that park.

If you decide you only want to purchase Genie+ for some of your park days, know that the only time you can purchase it daily is starting at midnight of the day you go to the park (this is for annual passes, too).

10. Stack Genie+ reservations in the afternoon or evening

There are two reasons (that I can think of) in which you may want to stack your Genie+ reservations.

First, you are staying at a Disney Resort and plan to rope drop (aka beat the crowds) as many rides as you can in the first two hours of park opening. Lines are usually the shortest then and there isn’t a need for a reservation.

If this is the case, still make your initial 7:00 A.M. reservation in addition to reservations at 2 hours past the opening, plus 2 hours after that. This way, with a 9:00 A.M. park opening, by 1:00 P.M. you will have three reservations to use later in the day when it’s most crowded (in addition the ILL reservation if you choose to make one).

Second, maybe you are park-hopping and want to use all your Genie+ reservations at the second park. Follow the plan laid out in the above paragraph. When you get to your next park (currently, park hopping is allowed after 2 P.M.), you will have reservations for the rides you want the most.

11. Genie+ reservations can overlap

Unlike traditional FastPass+, Genie+ and Lightning Lane reservations can overlap. I actually love this feature. Go from one attraction immediately to the next.

Remember, you can enter an attraction 5 minutes before the stated time and 15 minutes after.

Here’s what it looks like in the My Disney Experience app when you have overlapping reservations:

In this case, I have overlapping reservations because I purchased the ILL for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and I secured a Genie+ reservation for It’s a Small World at the exact same time.

12. Grab Genie+ reservations for close to the current time, then repeat

This was by far my favorite thing to do, but I realize it may not work for all parties, especially if you have your heart set on riding certain attractions.

When I chose my first Genie+ reservation, the return time was between 10:15 – 11:15 A.M. Perfect. After I tapped into this reservation, I immediately booked my next one, but this time, I just looked for a time frame that was close to the current time.

I repeated this process throughout the day and we hardly waited in line at all. This is what’s known as churning.

For times when we had to wait an hour, we grabbed something to eat or shopped.

This allowed us to ride almost everything at both Magic Kingdom and Epcot. I say almost because we never rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad because the reservation times were always 4+ hours away, and then they sold out.

In addition, this process did not work at Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom. I think that’s because they just don’t have the number of rides the other two parks do. I don’t really care to see shows (I’ve seen them all, mostly twice), so we were mostly stuck waiting a couple of hours for each Genie+ reservation.

13. Stay onsite for better Individual Lightning Lane reservations

Ugh! I can’t believe I typed that, but I did. For those who have been following me for a couple of years, you know that I prefer to stay in offsite Disney World hotels.

But, similarly to Fastpass+, you do not have access to the best rides at the same time those staying onsite do. There are several good reasons to stay at a Disney resort, although I usually prefer the quietness of a condo.

An offsite guest can make ILL reservations when the park opens. A Disney resort guest can make them at 7:00 A.M. While I was able to get the ILL at both Epcot and Magic Kingdom, I could not get Rise of the Resistance at Hollywood Studios.

I kept trying, but never saw more availability for this particular ride. I’m assuming most everyone staying onsite did get reservations for this.

14. Rope drop either the ILL or your second Genie+ selection

Now that Disney World allows Disney Resort guests in every day a half-hour early, only those guests can now participate in ‘rope drop’. This is when you get to the park early and are there waiting for the cast members to drop the ropes and allow you into the parks.

However, even though we did not stay on-site, we rushed to Haunted Mansion after entering the park and only waited 5 minutes in line.

So, if you do not want to pay for the ILL, my suggestion is to make this your first attraction of the day. Unfortunately, if you are staying offsite, the line will already be filled with resort guests. The two times of the day the lines are shortest are early morning or right before closing.

If you do pay for the ILL, make your second most wanted attraction the first you stand in line for. Again, lines are short right now (assuming you are there at the park open). Now, this ride is out of the way and you won’t be waiting hours for your Genie+ reservation.

15. Make sure you bring a phone battery pack!

So, what did you notice when reading all of the above? Your phone is getting a good workout! Make sure you bring a battery pack with you and throw it in your Disney park bag. There are not that many places within Disney World where you can charge your phones, Yes, there are some, but who wants to be tethered to one spot for a half-hour?

Instead, take a portable charger that connects to your phone while it’s in your purse or backpack. This is the exact one I have and it worked great for my iPhone. It has enough charge to reload a phone 2.5 times.

Disney Genie Plus FAQs

Is Disney Genie Plus Worth It Summary

If you are going to Disney World anytime soon, it is important that you know the differences between Disney’s Genie Plus vs Individual Lightning Lanes. You should also decide whether or not this service will be worth the cost for your family before making a decision about the purchase.

Take a few minutes to really understand all the Disney Genie Plus tips above. If this is something you can see yourself doing, and you don’t mind shelling out the extra cash, then it may be for you.

Here’s your last chance to download the Genie Plus Primer now!

However, if all those steps sound way too complicated and it’s not something you want to engage in, then maybe save yourself the extra money and just have fun without being tied to your phone!

What are your thoughts? Is Disney Genie Plus worth it or not? Let us know in the comments below!

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