It’s easy to look back and blame current problems on one specific action, but the truth is usually a little more complicated than that. Take Disney Genie+, for example. The new FastPass+ replacement upset some Disney fans in 2021, as Disney’s previously free service returned with a hefty price tag.
Although some people have negative feelings toward the current system, are we looking at the past through rose-colored lenses? Were things really better before the pandemic?
Disney World is one of the most popular theme parks in the world. The four Florida parks see millions of visitors each year — and that’s not even counting Disney Springs or the water parks. If Disney were to abandon Genie+ tomorrow and readopt FastPass+, would wait times suddenly improve?
You Can’t Put the Genie Back in the Bottle
Of course, we would all prefer a free FastPass service. No one enjoys paying for something that used to be free. (Looking at you too, Magical Express!) But let’s talk this through logically.
Now that Disney has proven guests can (and will) pay a premium to skip the lines in the parks, you can’t put the genie back in the bottle. Even if Disney decided to take a massive hit to its income by cutting off a major revenue stream, free FastPasses would “sell out” immediately. Free or not, there’s only a limited amount of FastPasses available each day.
In other words, now that Disney has quantified the value of FastPasses, people would work even harder to secure free Lightning Lanes knowing the perceived value of what they are getting. Imagine fighting for a virtual queue but with every ride in Disney World.
Let’s be honest; if Disney were to go back to the old system, it would likely create chaos and frustration among Disney guests fighting for a spot in the shorter line.
Disney admitted that 2021 was one of the busiest years Disney World has seen in a long time, and the wait times are going to reflect the crowd level no matter what variation of FastPass+ is used. Ultimately, we don’t have a perfect solution, but it seems like there’s no going back to the old way of doing things.
New Name, Same Old Problems
Speaking of the old system, though, was it really any better? Even before the surge in crowds post-pandemic and before Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge came along, FastPass+ had its problems.
For a bit of background, in 2013, Walt Disney World began rolling out a new FastPass+ service. With FastPass+, guests selected three FastPass+ attractions per day (all in the same park) through the My Disney Experience website or mobile app. Just like you would book a dining reservation ahead of time, you essentially did the same thing with the Disney World attractions.
Further, just like booking a dining reservation, it could be done before leaving home or after you’ve arrived at Disney World, and you could make changes pending availability. As you may expect, though, the most popular attractions usually ran out before the park even opened for the day.
It might not sound so bad, but the old system was just as challenging to use as the new system. People used to say that they didn’t want to plan their day in the parks months ahead of time. People didn’t like being limited to reserving only three rides per day, all in the same park, either.
Plus, it was next to impossible to secure a FastPass+ reservation for the popular new rides — just like how it’s pretty difficult to grab those free virtual queues now.
The truth is, Disney experts will probably continue to find ways to maximize Disney’s FastPass services and use them to their advantage. But, those that aren’t professional park-goers have always had a disadvantage using both Genie+ and FastPass+.
If guests didn’t know all the rules and intricacies of FastPass+, it was easy to get left in the dust while the theme park experts secured those reservations months ahead of time. Today, guests that don’t understand all the complex Genie+ rules may have trouble booking Lightning Lanes for the most popular attractions. See a pattern?
Ultimately, FastPass+ was not a perfect system, and neither is Genie+. As much as we would all love to go back to a free FastPass service, all the current problems in Disney World wouldn’t suddenly go away; in fact, it could amplify people’s frustration. Who knows, maybe we’ll look back at Genie+ someday with a little more kindness than we do now.
In the meantime, we’re always on the lookout for the latest Disney news, so stay tuned for more!
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What are your thoughts on FastPass+? Let us know in the comments!
After watching many videos on how to use Genie+, I am comfortable using it. I like being able to stack rides. Free line skipping is not coming back.
Many will say spontaneity is the way to go and that’s why they like Genie plus and while I agree that spontaneity is good I don’t like the “having my head in my phone” syndrome, getting up at 7am or having a computer program telling which rides I should go on. I used to be a big planner for WDW and as the kids got older that became less. That said I still rather have some of my rides reserved in advance along with any ADR I might have and be able to spend the rest of the trip doing something we might not have done before or just take it easy without the run from one side of the park to the other. Also if they did a version of the Express Lane like Universal it wouldn’t be a horrible thing to buy it on the days you wanted and maybe include it for free (or discounted price) if you are staying at the deluxe resorts like Universal does, though we all know that probably won’t happen.
First off nothing is free. Magical Express nor the luggage service nor Fast Pass were free. Granted you didn’t ‘pay’ for them. But they were undoubtedly rolled into the resort room and/or ticket price. And when they were dropped and Disney no longer had to.provide them, did room rate or ticket prices drop? No they increased AND you paid for Genie+. But make no mistake being able to start your day at Disney without having to start figuring out what your itinerary will be at 7AM on the day in question was great. And not having to look at your phone until AFTER your 3 fast passes had been used was also nice. By then you were ready for a break anyway. So instead of focusing on what ride you can get a pass for staring at your phone, you can enjoy the sights and sounds and make sure your kids aren’t lost in the crowd.
At least fix it. It’s horrible waking up 7am on vacation. Let us pay and reserve like fast pass. Two or three like before