As we continue to keep an eye on the Disney Genie+ paid skip-the-line offering at Walt Disney World, we wanted to take a fresh look at availability refill drops. In this article, we’ll cover what Disney Genie+ availability refill drops are, what attractions typically have refills throughout the day, and what time the Genie+ refill drops happen. If you’ve found this article, chances are that you already have a basic to advanced knowledge of the Genie+ system. If you don’t, here are a few articles we recommend to start with:
- How to Purchase Disney Genie+
- When Can You Make Disney Genie+ Attraction Selections?
- How to Purchase Individual Lightning Lane Attractions
What is a Disney Genie+ Availability Refill Drop?
We all know how Disney Genie+ functions on the surface – there is a daily inventory that is bookable starting at 7am. From there, it will naturally dwindle down until the inventory disappears. It would stand to reason that when the inventory is gone, there’s nothing left. However, the operational reality of the parks is that there will be ebbs and flows of crowds. Perhaps there are cancellations, maybe Disney knows that there’s less interest in an attraction as the day wears on, but most likely they build in a buffer for downtime.
If an attraction experiences downtime, guests with a Disney Genie+ reservation will be given a “multiple experiences” pass. There are limitations on which attractions the pass can be used for, but there are two ways the pass can be used:
- The pass is used for the attraction that was experiencing downtime
- The pass is used on a qualifying attraction other than the attraction originally experiencing downtime
Either of those outcomes will put an unexpected strain on an attraction. But what if the strain isn’t unexpected? Disney has tons of data – including data about average downtime per attraction. To that end, Disney regularly holds back Lightning Lane inventory to either allow for unexpected downtime or to distribute throughout the day if an attraction is operating normally.
Thanks to data from thrill-data.com, we can visualize those “availability drops” when Disney releases new Genie+ Lightning Lane times throughout the day. Note that there could be a few-minute swing on either side of the times we note below, we recommend at least 5-10 minutes of refreshing for the best chance at success. Here’s a look at what we found!
Magic Kingdom
Splash Mountain
New Genie+ distribution times (estimated): 10:45am, 1:15pm, 3:45pm
Speaking of attractions prone to downtime, Splash Mountain has a couple of different times when new Genie+ times are made available.
Before we get in too deep, let’s take a moment to learn the graph and we’ll explain our thinking when it comes to whether or not a Genie+ Lightning Lane refill has happened. The graph below covers the last month of Lightning Lane availability. It not only shows if there is availability (color vs grey), but it also shows how far out the next available window is. The lighter in color, the earlier in the day the return window is. What we’re looking for is a smooth green to red graph. Whenever there is an anomaly, it piques our interest. Furthermore, scattered anomalies are not a trend, we want to see consistency. In the graph below, the vertical lines that are a lighter color than the blocks around them indicate a Genie+ Lightning Lane refill. Anytime we see those long, vertical lines that are consistent across the month, we can reasonably call that a refill time. Ok, with that bit of background knowledge, we’ll continue to look for attractions with those trends and we’ll piece together the various Genie+ Lightning Lane refill times across all four Walt Disney World theme parks.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
New Genie+ distribution times (estimated): 10:45am, 1:15pm, 3:45pm
EPCOT
Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
New Genie+ distribution times (estimated): 2:45pm, 4:45pm, 6:45pm
Test Track
New Genie+ distribution times (estimated): 2:45pm, 4:45pm
Frozen Ever After
New Genie+ distribution times (estimated): 2:45pm, 4:45pm, 6:45pm
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Toy Story Mania
New Genie+ distribution times (estimated): 10:45am, 1:15pm, 3:45pm
Tower of Terror
New Genie+ distribution times (estimated): 10:45am, 1:15pm, 3:45pm
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Expedition Everest
New Genie+ distribution times (estimated): 10:15am
Kilimanjaro Safaris
New Genie+ distribution times (estimated): 10:15am
Kali River Rapids
New Genie+ distribution times (estimated): 10:15am, 3:15pm
For more on Disney Genie, Disney Genie+, and Individual Lightning Lane attraction selections, check out our articles below!
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!
