Disney Genie App | What is Disney Genie Plus and is it Worth the Buying?

August 12, 2022
Holly Smith
Blog

What is Disney Genie?

Disney Genie is a free planning service offered by Disney World Resort that visitors can use during their visit. This complimentary service creates your best Disney day inspired by your top interests. With the Disney Genie feature built into the My Disney Experience mobile app, you can plan specific attractions, entertainment, and foodie experiences.

You can also plan other special interests such as thrill rides, Pixar, Disney Princesses, and much more. Once you do so, the Disney genie will create a personalized itinerary that maps out your special day.

From morning to night, the service will not only continue building a custom itinerary for you and your party. But it will update you with the latest information. For example, the service will remind you when to book activities and dining reservations. By providing new suggestions day and night, you can make the most of your time as you visit Disney World Resort.

To view your personalized itinerary, launch your My Disney Experience mobile app. Then tap the “My Day” tab and you can view all the recommendations and plans. They include hotel reservations, activity bookings and dining reservations. If you’ve any questions, you can chat with a Cast Member who will help answer your queries.

The Disney Genie service has a Custom Tip Board. This feature allows you to see the estimated wait times for your dining, attractions and entertainment. Using the Tip Board, you can check into a restaurant, make dining reservations, order food, and even join an available virtual queue.

What is Disney Genie+?

Disney Genie+ is a paid version of the Disney Genie service. Basically, Disney Genie+ has all the great features you can find in Disney Genie plus more. By upgrading to Disney Genie+, not only will you enjoy the flexibility and convenience of the service. But you can spend more time enjoying the day with your family and friends.

One of the upgrades you’ll enjoy is Save Time Waiting in Line. This unique feature allows you to use the Lightning Lane entrance at Walt Disney World theme parks. By using the Lightning Entrance, guests can enter up to 3 attractions per day if a visitor makes the selection early in the day.

Guests can purchase Disney Genie+ on the day of their visit. They must also make sure they have a valid admission and a reservation to the same park and attraction on the same day. While the Disney Genie+ Lightning Lane entrance makes entry to attractions fast, you can only make selections one at a time. You must redeem an existing reservation before you make another Lightning Lane selection.

Another feature you’ll enjoy once you upgrade to Disney Genie+ is Disney PhotoPass Lenses. This service allows you to explore the new augmented reality effects. With Disney Genie+, you get a special collection of Disney-themed lenses for use on your mobile device.

The lenses features some of your favourite Disney characters and park icons. To add the PhotoPass Lenses, purchase the Disney Genie+ service. It goes for $15 per ticket (at Disney World) and $20 per ticket (at Disneyland) on the day of your visit starting at 7.00am. Once you enter the theme park, launch your My Disney Experience app and tap the “More” menu. The menu icon should be at the bottom of your home screen.

Then tap on “Disney PhotoPass Lenses” and you’ll find an AR camera that gives you access to the Lenses. For the feature to work, you must allow access to your mobile device’s location and camera.

Another feature you’ll unlock is Audio Tales. Inspired by Imagineering field guides, this feature allows you to discover the theme parks in a cool way. It does so through behind-the-scenes insights and fun facts.

What is Individual Lightning Lane Attraction Selection?

The Individual Lightning Lane Attraction Selection is a paid service that allows you to bypass the standby queue. With this pay-per-ride service, you pay to schedule time at select rides and high-demand attractions. When your return time arrives, all you need to do is go through Lightning Lane and gain entry to the attraction.

By using this service, you skip the standby queue and avoid the long wait times common at popular attractions in the theme park. The Individual Lightning Lane Selections are usually available through the Disney Genie+ service.

What you need to know is that the attractions available through Genie+ are different to those available through Individual Lightning Lanes. Basically, Disney Genie+ has more than 40 rides in Disney World and 15 rides in Disneyland.

You can purchase Lightning Lane selections for multiple attractions not available through Genie+. Guests can purchase up to 2 experiences a day but one at a time. To purchase the Lightning Lane Attraction Selections, launch My Disney Experience app. Then from the main menu, select “Tip Board.” Finally, select an Individual Lightning Lane experience and follow the rest of the steps to complete your purchase.

Attractions with Lightning Lane entrances vary by date and are usually subject to closure and change. As such, they may not be available at all on the date of your visit or even when you make a selection.

What Lightning Lane Entrances Are Available Through Disney Genie+?

The following is a list of Lightning Lane Entrances available through Disney Genie+.

EPCOT

Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure*
Frozen Ever After
Journey into Imagination with Figment
Living with the Land
Mission: SPACE – Green

Animal Kingdom

Naʻvi River Journey
The Animation Experience at Conservation Station
Kali River Rapids
Kilimanjaro Safaris
It’s Tough to Be a Bug!
Finding Nemo: The Big Blue…and Beyond!

Magic Kingdom

The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
Tomorrowland Speedway
Haunted Mansion
“it’s a small world”
Jungle Cruise
Pirates of the Caribbean
Space Mountain
Splash Mountain
The Barnstormer
Mad Tea Party
Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Alien Swirling Saucers
Slinky Dog Dash
Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage
Disney Junior Play & Dance
Star Tours– The Adventures Continue
The Twilight Zone Tower of TerrorTM
Toy Story Mania!

How Do I Add Disney Genie+ to My Theme Park Tickets?

As of June 8th 2022, you can only purchase Disney Genie+ service one day at a time via the My Disney Experience mobile app. Simply launch your My Disney Experience mobile app and select “My Disney Genie Day.” Then select the “My Day” tab and tap “Get Disney Genie+ for today.”

If you arrive late at Disney World, check the Lightning Lane entrance availability to your favourite attraction. We recommend that you do this before you purchase the Disney Genie+ service.

Also, you don’t need to purchase Disney Genie+ service to make individual Lightning Lane entrance selections. But you can purchase individual Lightning Lane entries for attractions not offered through Genie+.

Until August 7th 2022, Lightning Lane entry selections for the following rides will be available on the Disney Genie+ service.

Frozen Ever After
Space Mountain
Mickey & Minnie Runaway Railway
Expedition Ever – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure

Note, that the attractions above will not be available as individual purchases.

Are Disney Genie and Genie+ Services Worth It?

The complimentary Disney Genie service is a must-have if planning on visiting Disney World and Disneyland. This feature maps and builds a personalized itinerary for you inspired by your top interests. To enhance your experience, all you need to do is upgrade to the Disney Genie+ service.

With Disney Genie+, you’ll still receive tailored recommendations, have a personalized itinerary and a custom tip board. In addition, Disney Genie+ gives you access to PhotoPass Lenses and Audio Tales. These cool features allow you to explore the magical theme parks. So, Disney Genie and Genie+ services are definitely worth it.