Following the bottoming out of the slow season for this summer/fall at Walt Disney World, we’re taking a new look at the Disney Genie+ skip-the-line service. As part of our ongoing updates over the coming weeks, we will take a fresh look at the Disney Genie+ attraction priority list and then we’ll head into the parks to put our plan into action – taking you along every step of the way. The first step is updating our priority list, and there is a significant shift to the list using the latest data from thrill-data.com.

We’re going to use a lot of data from thrill-data.com, starting with the average price for Disney Genie+ at Hollywood Studios. Since the per-park pricing was introduced, the range of Disney Genie+ pricing at Hollywood Studios is $20 to $26, with a 104-day average of $21.75.

Here’s how we would prioritize your Lightning Lane attraction selections:

This should be a no-brainer. Slinky Dog Dash is, by far, the most popular Disney Genie+ attraction at Hollywood Studios. Typically, the ride will effectively sell out by noon at the latest but can be gone before the park opens. There will be periodic availability through the early afternoon, but it’s best to get as early of a return time as possible to get started on the right foot. The standby line builds early and quickly, so there isn’t much reprieve from long lines on a typical day.

Next up is a classic…Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster! The attraction received a refresh earlier this year following a multi-month refurbishment. While there was no change to the attraction storyline, there was a lot of TLC on the attraction including refreshed blacklight paint on the sets in the ride. Honestly, it looks awesome and crews did a great job.

In terms of the data, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster is typically the second-quickest to sell out, which is what earns it the number 2 spot on our list. Like many of the top five attractions, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster can average an hour wait or longer, which means skipping the line here will save you some significant time.

If you aren’t rope-dropping Sunset Blvd as part of a strategy to take advantage of lower waits in the first hour of park operations, strongly consider keeping Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster near the top of your list.

Another popular Lightning Lane is for Tower of Terror. Also located on Sunset Blvd, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror are heavy hitters that remain quite popular in a headliner-heavy theme park. Even with new additions like Runaway Railway and Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, decades-old attractions like Tower of Terror remain very popular and worth it for a Genie+ Lightning Lane selection.

Next on your list should be Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway. You can actually swap this with Smugglers Run as you wish, but data shows that Runaway Railway typically sells out sooner than Smugglers Run. We noticed that was the case on our recent visit as well. So far in 2023, Smugglers Run has a slightly longer average wait time, but with no single rider option at Runaway Railway, we’ll give Railway the nod for the #4 spot.

Next up is Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run. This ride has a single-rider option, which might work for some families, but the second-newest attraction in Hollywood Studios can still demand hour-plus waits. A Genie+ Lightning Lane for Smugglers Run can feel especially valuable if you just waited 90+ minutes in the Rise of the Resistance standby line. Between Rise of the Resistance, excellent food options, and some entertainment/characters, Galaxy’s Edge can demand a decent chunk of your day. Skipping the line at Falcon will be much appreciated.

We’ll head back over to Toy Story Land for Toy Story Mania. Toy Story Mania availability not only generally lasts longer into the day, but the ride itself has a higher capacity to churn through guests than many attractions at Hollywood Studios. There are also opportunities to ride this with a lower wait such as first thing in the morning when most guests are preoccupied with Slinky Dog Dash.

7. Alien Swirling Saucers

Staying in Toy Story Land, we’ll head over to Alien Swirling Saucers. This is a lower priority for us given how low the wait times get at the end of the evening.

8. Star Tours

The bottom two attractions are not even really necessary to grab a Lightning Lane return time for. We’ll put Star Tours above MuppetVision 3D simply because the Star Tours line has the potential to get much longer than MuppetVision 3D.

Genie+ Shows at Hollywood Studios

In addition to the attractions listed above, there are a number of shows and even a meet & greet that are included with Disney Genie+ at Hollywood Studios.

Generally, you will not need Genie+ for any of the shows if you don’t want to use it. During the vast majority of the year, you’ll be able to walk up to a show 15-30 minutes before it starts and get a decent seat. However, during the busiest times of the year, it might be worth considering a Genie+ Lightning Lane reservation for a show if it’s a must-do during your day at Hollywood Studios.

While shows might not be a huge part of your Genie+ plan for Hollywood Studios, they should be sprinkled into your day at the park. We find it especially useful to watch a show or two while waiting for a Lightning Lane return time as a way to get off our feet, get out of the heat, and slow down the day a bit.

Is Genie+ Worth It at Hollywood Studios?

Out of all four Walt Disney World theme parks, we think purchasing Genie+ for a day at Hollywood Studios makes the most sense. We’ll cover a recent visit to Hollywood Studios using Genie+ shortly, but yes, we think Genie+ is worth it at Hollywood Studios to create a far more enjoyable day at the park.

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