Late last year, Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort released a new digital service by name of Disney Genie+ and it soon became Disney’s biggest object of controversy. According to Disney, the purpose of this service is to help park guests navigate their trips through personalized features within their Disney Genie app. Itinerary features, foodie experiences and information on general attractions can all be found on the app in efforts to enhance the Disney experience.
“Our complimentary Disney Genie service creates your best Disney day inspired by your top interests,” according to the Disneyland Resort website.
Many park guests have had issues surrounding the Disney Genie features, including those that require additional costs for access. Guests have also expressed their difficulty to schedule and book reservations for various attractions due to software glitches and other technological discrepancies within the app itself.
The app has been released with the accompaniment of Disney Genie+, the paid service that guests can purchase for a list of benefits that you would not otherwise have access to.
Prior to the creation of Disney Genie+, the park had the MaxPass system in place, which was used for the same purpose, easier park navigation. However, the FastPass feature that allowed guests multiple opportunities for shorter wait times with the cost of $20 per day, has now been replaced by the Lightning Lane feature with the new system.
Although both systems are equal in price to obtain, there are some features within the newer service that have been removed. Instead of the original 22 rides available with the MaxPass, Genie+ is only applicable to approximately 15.
Rides with larger popularity, such as “Rise of Resistance” and “Radiator Springs Racers,” are now individually priced with the purchase of Lightning Lanes per attraction and date. Amongst this, guests have also noticed that the cost of this service differs depending on the date of reservation and various other factors.
It is almost guaranteed that Disney will continue to change their park’s premium services over time. For avid park-goers, it is not necessarily clear whether this new system is much more affordable than the original. Amongst these concerns, Genie+ excludes a substantial portion of the park’s consumers who are not as comfortable using the app’s technology.
Only time will tell how Disney chooses to handle these issues, but until then, park guests will have to become well-versed in the new system known as Disney Genie+ to enjoy the park how Disney has now designed it to be consumed.
