With the announcement of the new Disney Genie service and paid Disney Genie+ and Lightning Lane Individual Attraction Selection offerings, we thought it might be useful to break down the differences between the three. While Disney tried to keep the offering as simple as possible, and even reportedly removed some other aspects of the service over fears of overcomplicating things, there is still confusion over what is Disney Genie, Genie+, and Lightning Lane Individual Attraction Selections, and how they all work with each other.
To start, this graphic tweeted out by Scott Gustin is probably the easiest way to understand what each of the offerings are.
Disney Genie (FREE)
Disney Genie is the (free) companion that will essentially plan your day for you. This is a massive bit of technology that Disney is including complimentary within the My Disney Experience app. From personalized itineraries to a virtual assistant, virtual queues to forecasted wait times, the free Disney Genie offering is the piece of the puzzle that will draw you in.
Essentially, you can look at Disney Genie (standard) as being the information presentation layer of the three-pronged offering. Perhaps the biggest benefit that guests will see from this free offering is the personalized itineraries. Disney is taking over 60 years of theme park data and thousands of combinations to create what they hope will be a better guest experience.
Of course, some of the recommendations made within the app will lead you to a Lightning Lane Individual Attraction Selection purchase. Here’s what that means.
Individual Lightning Lane
Lightning Lane is, essentially, the new name for the FastPass queues. The majority of basic Lightning Lane offerings will be included in the Disney Genie+ offering explained below, but some of the most in-demand attractions will be only offered via a Lightning Lane Individual Attraction Selection purchase. Lightning Lane Individual Attraction Selections will be an a la carte offering that will offer expedited access to headliner attractions. Want to ride Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and avoid a 75 minute wait? Lightning Lane Individual Attraction Selection. Did you miss out on a Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind boarding group? Buy your way onto the ride with Lightning Lane Individual Attraction Selections.
Pricing for Individual Lightning Lane selections currently ranges from $7 to $15 per person. No re-rides are available.
Disney Genie+ (Paid, $15)
Not interested in paying per attraction? There is a combination option called Disney Genie+ that will cost $15 at launch. Disney Genie+ will include basic Lightning Lane access for over 40 attractions.
Disney has also included some additional features for Genie+ at Walt Disney World such as Disney parks-themed audio experiences and photo features to capture your memories—augmented reality lenses for those visiting Walt Disney World Resort.
Disney Genie+ does not include Disney PhotoPass downloads at Walt Disney World, but it does include PhotoPass downloads at Disneyland.
Finally, Disney has said that Annual Passholders will be able to purchase Disney Genie+ like anyone else, but they fell short of saying that there will be an annual option to add Disney Genie+ to an Annual Pass.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!