Disneyland Resort

Disney Genie+ at Disneyland

February 3, 2022

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Disney Genie at Disneyland

There is SO much to learn about visiting Disneyland right now and Disney Genie is at the top of that list. Since the Parks have reopened, things have changed and are continuing to change on a regular basis. It can be hard to keep up! But that’s where we come in. We’re covering everything you need to know about Disney Genie, a new service that recently premiered at the Disneyland Resort. This new product is possibly the biggest change to come to the Disneyland Resort in years. We have tested Genie+ numerous times and want to share everything we know with you!

Last year Disneyland announced that both the FastPass and MaxPass systems would be retired permanently and replaced by something called Disney Genie. This article will cover everything from what it is, how much it is, how to use it and more. Please keep in mind that information is always changing. Everything in this article is correct at the time of publishing and we will be updating as things change.

Book Disneyland Park Hopper Tickets with Disney Genie+

Book Disneyland 1-Park per Day Tickets with Disney Genie+

What is Disney Genie?

Disney Genie is a new service that started at the Disneyland Resort on December 8, 2021.When we say Disney Genie, we’re typically talking about three different things; Disney Genie, Disney Genie+ and Lightning Lanes. Here is a brief definition of each of these new terms:

Disney Genie = A free service that gives you itinerary planning based on your preferences and location inside the parks.

Disney Genie + = A paid service that gives you access to Lightning Lanes for select attractions (one attraction at a time, based on availability), unlimited PhotoPass+ downloads and access to audio tours. It is most like the previous MaxPass, which has been retired.

Lightning Lanes = Formerly known as FastPass queues, Lightning Lanes are an alternative to stand-by queues with expedited access to select Disneyland attractions. Lightning Lanes may be accessed via Disney Genie+ or Individual Lightning Lane selections.

How much do Disney Genie + and/or Individual Lightning Lane selections cost?

Disney Genie + is $20 per person per day and includes access for up to 19 attractions. If you did all 19 attractions in a day, which is totally possible, that breaks down to just $1.05 per attraction to access the Lightning Lane! Individual Lightning Lane selections, on the other hand, are dynamic and prices can vary depending on demand for the attraction. Only three attractions offer Individual Lightning Lanes. You can expect to pay approximately $7-$20 per person per attraction for Individual Lightning Lanes.

You can purchase Genie+ for $20 AND/OR purchase up to two Individual Lightning Lanes per day. You don’t have to purchase Genie+ in order to purchase an Individual Lightning Lane, or vice versa. They are considered separate from each other and are not tied together.

How do I buy Disney Genie +?

There are two ways you can purchase Disney Genie +:

First, you can pre-purchase Disney Genie + as part of your Disneyland ticket. By pre-purchasing Disney Genie +, you will have the service for each day of your ticket. For example, to upgrade a 3-Day Disneyland ticket to include Disney Genie +, you’ll pay an additional $60 ($20/day) and have Disney Genie + available all three days of your trip.

There are two benefits of pre-purchasing Genie+. First is the convenience of already having it loaded onto your Disneyland tickets. Once you’re in the Parks, you’re ready to go and start making your first Genie+ selection. The second benefit is that by pre-purchasing Genie+, you are locking in the price of Disney Genie +. If Disney Genie + goes up in price after you’ve purchased your tickets, you’re already locked in at the old price.

You can also purchase Disney Genie + through the Disneyland app. If you purchase Disney Genie + through the app, you’ll only be able to purchase one day at a time and will have to wait until the day you are at the parks to purchase it. You will have to be scanned into the park in order to purchase Genie+ and make your first Lightning Lane selection. You’ll have more flexibility this way, however, just be aware that once you use Disney Genie +, it will be hard to go back to not having Disney Genie +. Because of that, we recommend pre-purchasing your Disney Genie + tickets through Get Away Today.

If you already have your tickets and have made theme park reservations, please keep in mind that if you upgrade to these tickets, you will need to remake your current theme park reservations. Because of this, we recommend checking theme park availability before upgrading your tickets to include Genie+. Once you’ve made sure your dates are still available, give us a quick call at 855-GET-AWAY and we’ll be happy to make the change. If your dates are not available, you can add Disney Genie + to your tickets one day at a time once you’re in the parks and it will NOT affect your theme park reservations.

Individual Lightning Lanes can only be purchased day of through the app and prices will vary. You’ll be able to see the price for your desired attraction the day you visit the park, but they will typically be anywhere from $7-$20 per person per attraction.

Book Disneyland Park Hopper Tickets with Disney Genie+

Book Disneyland 1-Park per Day Tickets with Disney Genie+

Do I HAVE to buy Disney Genie + in order to ride anything on my vacation?

Absolutely not. Standby queues will always be available to guests, and many rides don’t have Lightning Lanes available. It’s also important to note that even guests who purchase Disney Genie + will also use standby lanes at times. We always recommend checking the official Disneyland app for wait times. By using the free Disney Genie service, you may even have a better experience by being guided to the best attractions with lowest wait times.

There are also other ways to save time in lines. Rider swap and DAS (Disability Access Service) are all still available to all who qualify to use those services. Single rider lines may be available at some attractions as well. If you’re traveling with adults or older kids, keep an eye out for this option.

Do I need Disney Genie + for everyone in my party or can we share?

If you are using Disney Genie + strictly for the photo downloads, then you’ll only need to purchase Disney Genie + for one person in your group. If you want to use the Lightning Lane access, everyone who wants to ride will need to purchase it.

Children age two and younger will not need to purchase Disney Genie + because they do not need theme park admission. If their group has purchased Disney Genie +, they will be able to ride any attraction using the Lightning Lane with their group as long as they meet the height requirement. Keep in mind that most Lighting Lane attractions have height requirements, so if you have any group members that are too short to ride, you can combine Lightning Lane and Rider Swap. Just check in with the Cast Member at the entrance to your Lightning Lane and they will make sure your rider who sits out is able to ride.

**Please keep in mind that if you want to combine Genie+ and Rider Swap, anyone who is riding will need to have purchased Genie+ in order to use the Lightning Lane. Some riders who purchase Genie+ and use Rider Swap will be able to ride twice, but in order to utilize Rider Swap with Genie+, all riders must have purchased Genie+.

Will Disney Genie + sell out?

While Disney Genie + will not sell out, there are limited amounts of Lightning Lane spots available, so certain attractions may not be available. Like with the old FastPass and MaxPass systems, the earlier you get to the parks and start using your Disney Genie + selections, the more Lightning Lane options you’ll have. Keep in mind that the PhotoPass downloads and audio tour features will still be available to use throughout your day and do not sell out.

What attractions are included with Disney Genie +?

Lightning Lanes are available at many of the attractions that previously offered MaxPass. Here is the list of available Lightning Lanes at Disney Genie + launch broken down by park:

Disneyland Park

Autopia
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
Haunted Mansion
Indiana Jones Adventure
“it's a small world”
Matterhorn Bobsleds
Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin
Space Mountain
Splash Mountain
Star Tours – The Adventures Continue

Disney California Adventure Park

Goofy's Sky School
Grizzly River Run
Guardians of the Galaxy - Mission: BREAKOUT!
Incredicoaster
Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!
Soarin' Around the World
Toy Story Midway Mania

What attractions have Individual Lightning Lane options?

There are only three attractions at the Disneyland Resort that are available for Individual Lightning Lanes, however, each guest can only purchase up to two Individual Lightning Lane selections each day. When Disney Genie + launches, the following attractions will have Individual Lightning Lane options:

Disneyland Park

Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance

Disney California Adventure Park

Radiator Springs Racers
WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure

**Please note that both Disney Genie + and Individual Lightning Lane attractions may vary by date, are subject to change, and may not be available at all on the date of visit or at the time of purchase. Availability can change throughout the day. To learn about any closures or long-term refurbishments, please view details about the attraction on Disneyland's official website or mobile app.**

How do I use Disney Genie or Disney Genie +?

Accessing Disney Genie or Disney Genie + is really easy to use, especially if you are familiar with the official Disneyland app. The only way to access Disney Genie and all of its features is through the app, so once you’re in the app, scroll down to the Disney Genie section and you’re good to go.

Just be sure that before you travel, you have the most up-to-date version of the Disneyland app already downloaded. You’ll also want to load your credit card to make mobile ordering and potential Disney Genie purchases super easy.

Make sure all of your tickets are linked and assign one person in your group to be in charge. You’ll also need to turn on your notifications and location services in order for Disney Genie to work to its best ability.

Once you’ve accessed Disney Genie +, you’ll see all available Lighting Lane attractions and return times. You can select one at a time. The person in charge can make selections for everyone in the group. If you have some people that want to split up, you can make attraction selections for each member of your party. This way your group can have different plans, but keep everything organized.

Can I book a Lightning Lane selection for Disneyland if I’m in Disney California Adventure and vice versa?

If you have a Park Hopper ticket, then YES! You can make Lightning Lane reservations for another park. Park Hopping is allowed beginning at 1pm, so just be sure that your attraction return time is at 1pm or later if it is in the park other than the one you started your day in. If you select a Lightning Lane with a return time in the other park before Park Hopping is available, Disney will automatically assign a return time for 1PM or later depending on availability.

Do I have to have a Park Hopper to have Genie+?

You can add Genie+ service to either a Park Hopper or a 1-Park per Day ticket, however we strongly recommend buying a Park Hopper ticket so that you have the most flexibility with your ticket. This is especially true if you are starting the day in Disney California Adventure Park. There are seven Genie+ attractions with Lightning Lane access inside Disney California Adventure Park, and it’s pretty easy to get through all of them in a morning with the new service. If you have a Park Hopper ticket, beginning at 1pm, you can move on to the other 12 attractions available through Genie+ in Disneyland Park. You can get so much more done with a Park Hopper!

Can I have more than one Lightning Lane at a time?

Yes… and no. Lightning Lane selections are intended to be available one at a time, however there are three exceptions to this.

First, Individual Lightning Lane attractions are not tied to the Disney Genie + selections. You could hold up to two Individual Lightning Lane attractions and hold one Disney Genie + Lightning Lane.

Second, much like Disneyland’s previous FastPass and MaxPass systems, Disney Genie + will allow you to make a new Lightning Lane reservation after you’ve redeemed your active reservation OR two hours after you’ve made your selection. For example, if it is 10am and the next available time for Space Mountain is 2pm, you could select Space Mountain for a 2pm return and you’d be able to select another Lightning Lane at 12pm. You will NOT have to wait until 2pm to make your next Lightning Lane reservation.

Third is our favorite, and most flexible exception: Multiple Experiences. These happen if an attraction you have a Lightning Lane return time for goes down at any time during that window. Those reservations become “Multiple Experiences” that you can use for most attractions at any time during your day. You are able to hold as many “Multiple Experiences” you get (again, the attraction you’re hoping to ride has to go down temporarily in order to get one), PLUS whatever active Genie+ Lightning Lane reservation you make.

How long will I have to wait in line with Disney Genie +?

Lightning Lanes are intended to have much shorter wait times. The actual wait time will vary, however when we used the Lightning Lanes when they debuted at the Disneyland Resort, they typically waited 5-15 minutes per ride that had stand-by lines of 40-60 minute waits. The one exception to this was Guardians of the Galaxy, which was experiencing some delays. With the delays, we waited 30 minutes, however the standby line was 75 minutes, so we still saved 45 minutes in line.

The Individual Lightning Lanes seemed to have shorter wait times than the traditional Lightning Lanes offered with Genie+, with typically only a 5-7 minute wait at most.

Adding Disney Genie+ to Your Package

We are thrilled with the addition of Disney Genie + to the Disneyland Resort. We think it’s going to make family vacations go even smoother, whether you choose to upgrade or not. Because there are limited Lightning Lanes available, we think that both the Lightning Lane and Standby Lines will go more quickly than they did when FastPass and MaxPass were available.

If you’d like to add Disney Genie + to your vacation package or Disneyland tickets, we’d love to help. These tickets are available to purchase at getawaytoday.com. And of course, when you purchase your tickets with Get Away Today, you’ll always get a savings off the gate price and have flexible options. Theme park reservations are required and can be made 120 days in advance. If you’re planning to visit the parks past the 120 day mark, we’ll send you a reminder when it’s time to make your theme park reservations.

We can’t wait to help you plan your Disneyland vacation!

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