Disney World used to offer all visitors access to its free FastPass+ system, which enabled them to reserve three rides or experiences before their theme-park visit.
The system wasn't perfect, but at least people visiting Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios knew that when they entered the park, they could do three things without waiting in long lines.
The company, however, scrapped the free FastPass+ system and replaced it with Genie+ and Lightning Lanes, two costly ways to get a lesser version of what had been free.
Walt Disney (DIS) wants people to believe that these are optional purchases -- and they technically are -- but visiting any of the four Disney World parks without at least paying for Genie+ means opting into a much worse experience.
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Genie+ can be purchased beginning at 12:01 a.m. the day you visit one of the Disney World parks. Once you make the purchase, you select an experience (like a character meet and greet) or a ride, where you get to use the faster Lightning Lane. Once you complete that ride or experience, you can make another selection.
You can immediately see why having only one guaranteed activity versus the previous three is a downgrade -- and that's made worse when you consider two things about Genie+.
First, the newest rides usually aren't included, and you will need to make a separate Lighting Lane purchase for those rides (which may be your only option for riding them if you don't get a spot in the virtual line).
Second, Disney uses variable pricing for Genie+. When its parks are more crowded -- and having it becomes even more essential -- the price goes up.
And a further kick in customers' teeth: Genie+ can sell out (and it has).
TheStreet
Disney World's Genie+ Hits a New Price High
Disney World's Genie+ hit a record price of $35 a person (up from a previous high of $29) and was sold out by 10 a.m. on April 4, Blog Mickey reported. That means that on a day where the parks were pushing to capacity crowds, some people didn't even have the option of adding Genie+.
Not having Genie+ dooms people to either visiting mostly high-capacity shows or waiting in hour-plus lines for rides. At 1:37 p.m. on April 4 the third-party ride-wait tracker, Magic Guide, showed wait times of nearly an hour (and sometimes more) for basically every ride at Magic Kingdom.
The situation was worse at Hollywood Studios, where no ride showed less than an 80-minute wait time. If, for example, you wanted to ride both rides at "Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge," "Rise of the Resistance," and "Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run," wait times for both were listed at two-hours-plus.
That means to complete both rides. you'd spend more than four hours waiting in line (unless, of course, you could have bought into the Lightning Lane).
Disney World Needs a Better System
FastPass+ worked and Disney World should bring it back, but also work the price of it into your ticket price. That might be unfair to people (like my wife) who don't ride most rides, but it's the best way to ensure the most people have a decent experience.
Disney is maximizing revenue here in a way that keeps the price of admission artificially low. On most days you simply can't have a decent day at any of the four Disney World parks without Genie+ if you want rides to be part of that experience.
I'm a longtime Disney World annual-pass holder who lives in Florida and visits the parks often. My expectations on a visit are different from those of my friends, who visit on vacation. I can ride a couple of rides, have a nice meal, see a show or parade, and not feel as if I missed out because I literally can come back whenever I want.
For people paying thousands of dollars for a Disney World vacation, the current experience without Genie+ and Lightning Lane purchases means hours spent standing in line. Disney can't solve this, but it can lessen the problem by going back to the old system and charging accordingly.
Disney has every right to make all the money it can, but the way it's doing it simply isn't working for everyone. Pretending you don't have to pay for Genie+ when you more or less do isn't treating its customers well. Higher prices overall won't exactly be cheered, but a better experience with less waiting for everyone would be.
