With crowds looking like they could be on a comeback in 2024, the Disney Genie+ skip-the-line offering is sure to be popular. Disney World has previously said that changes are on the way for the service, but while we still have this implementation of Disney Genie+, we wanted to take an updated look at EPCOT Genie+ attraction priorities. In this article, we’ll talk about what attractions at EPCOT have Genie+, which attractions you should prioritize, and which attractions you really don’t need it for. Pull up a chair, get a cup of coffee, and let’s talk EPCOT Genie+ attraction priorities!
What Is Disney Genie+?
Before we jump into information directly related to EPCOT, we’ll start with a very brief overview of Disney Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lanes.
Disney Genie+ is a paid, skip-the-line service that allows quicker access to select attractions at the Walt Disney World theme parks. It replaced the free Disney FastPass+. It is optional and pricing varies by date and by park. For more on Disney Genie+ pricing in 2024, check out our earlier article.
Essentially, purchasing Disney Genie+ buys you access to the possibility of securing a Lightning Lane reservation. A Lightning Lane is the physical line that bypasses the standby line, and guests who have purchased Disney Genie+ can reserve a Lightning Lane return time for a specific attraction, if available.
Attractions can and do run out of Lightning Lane return windows, and purchasing Disney Genie+ does not guarantee access to any Lightning Lane. That’s why it’s so important to prioritize your Genie+ Lightning Lane selections.
In the screenshot, you can see the Tip Board in the My Disney Experience app. The Tip Board not only displays the current posted wait time for an attraction but also the current Genie+ available times for eligible attractions.
The Tip Board is also one of the locations where you can see what Genie+ attractions you have booked (highlighted in green in the screenshot), and the Lightning Lane return window when you can redeem your skip-the-line access.
To learn more about Genie+, check out our dedicated Disney Genie+ page.
EPCOT Genie+ Attraction List
Before we get into the nitty-gritty of ranking the EPCOT Genie+ attractions, let’s first take a look at which attractions have Lightning Lane access:
Lightning Lane Entrances Offered Through Disney Genie+ Service
Experiences offered (subject to change without notice*):
- Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival
- Frozen Ever After
- Journey into Imagination with Figment
- Living with the Land
- Mission: SPACE – Green or Orange
- Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure
- Soarin’ Around the World
- Spaceship Earth
- Test Track
- The Seas with Nemo & Friends
- Turtle Talk with Crush
In addition to the attractions and experiences offered through the Genie+ buffet-style service, there is one attraction available as Individual Lightning Lane selections. Individual Lightning Lane attractions are not part of the Genie+ service and are available à la carte for an additional purchase. Note that you do not need to purchase Disney Genie+ to purchase an Individual Lightning Lane.
Lightning Lane Entrances for Individual Purchase (Not Offered Through Disney Genie+ Service)
Experiences offered (subject to change without notice*):
- Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind
EPCOT Genie+ Attraction Priorities
To help you get the most out of your Disney Genie+ purchase, we’re going to rank the EPCOT Genie+ attractions from top to low priority. We will also offer general guidance on how quickly a particular attraction typically sells out for the day. Note that attraction priorities will generally rely on data from thrill-data, along with some of our own personal preferences. We’ll make it clear when our personal preferences have weighted an attraction heavily.
It’s also worth noting that this list is only of the attractions that are eligible through the Genie+ service. Attractions that are available as a la carte Individual Lightning Lane entrances are not included.
Top Priority Genie+ Attractions at EPCOT
These are the Genie+ Lightning Lane attractions that you want to secure as early in the day as possible. They’re very popular attractions that often sell out of Genie+ Lightning Lane inventory and have high standby wait times. We recommend making your first Genie+ Lightning Lane selection right at 7am and then making sure that you use the eligibility rules to your advantage throughout the day.
1. Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure | Like Slinky Dog Dash at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure is the clear favorite first pick for a day at EPCOT. Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure might not be as competitive as Slinky Dog Dash, but we still recommend waking up before 7am for the best possible chance of securing a good Lightning Lane return window.
While you have a chance of securing a Lightning Lane as “late” as 10am, you will likely only be left with return windows in the afternoon and evening. According to data, if you wait until 10am, it’s a coin flip whether or not Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure will even have a return time at all.
2. Frozen Ever After | The next two rides have basically always been tied. Frozen Ever After and Test Track have very similar stats when it comes to average sell-out times and demand. The biggest variable between the two attractions is poor weather for Test Track. If you’re reading this and visiting during the summer, you might consider securing a Test Track Lightning Lane if there’s a chance that the ride could be closed due to afternoon storms.
That said, the data recently has given the edge to Frozen Ever After, so it receives the #2 spot on the list. Beyond the data, we’re going to keep Frozen Ever After at the #2 spot given that it is in World Showcase and you’ll (presumably) already be in this section of the park after riding Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure.
3. Test Track | Test Track gets the #3 spot, but it’s possible that you may not be able to select either this or Frozen Ever After on busy days at EPCOT. Even worse, Test Track will eventually close for a reimagining. It’s far too early to say if the next version of Test Track will permanently put it above Frozen Ever After, but we imagine there will be a bump in the rankings whenever the retheme is complete (likely sometime in 2025).
4. Soarin’ Around the World | Soarin’ Around the World is certainly less popular than the Over California version was, but it is still a good pick, maybe even combining it with a Living with the Land Genie+ Lightning Lane if there’s an immediate return time after you’re done with Soarin’.
Medium & Low Priority Genie+ Attractions at EPCOT
If we’re honest, you’re mostly purchasing Disney Genie+ for the attractions listed above. With the exception of Soarin’ Around the World, the top attractions will sell out during the day. We recommend employing a refresh/modify technique to try and get some of the rides above that you weren’t able to get in the morning, but if you’re unable, you can essentially select any of the rides below as it makes sense for your day in EPCOT.
5. Mission: SPACE | During the busiest times of the year, wait times for Mission: SPACE can get north of an hour, so it’s a solid pick if you’re visiting during those times. Other than that, it can usually be swapped for any of the rides below depending on your specific circumstances or plans for the day.
Note that you will book “Mission: SPACE” but you will only redeem the Lightning Lane at one of the two versions of the attraction – Green (less intense) or Orange (very intense). You will not have to specify which version you want to ride when you pick the Genie+ Lightning Lane. Instead, you’ll simply redeem at whichever version you wish to ride.
6. Journey into Imagination with Figment | Again, the order of these attractions doesn’t matter much, but with Figment now meeting with guests and Disney paying a little more attention to the Figment IP, we’ll pay a bit more attention to it too and place Journey into Imagination with Figment in position #6.
7. Spaceship Earth | Similar to Mission: SPACE, but to a lesser extent, Spaceship Earth can get a long line during the day. It’s the icon of the park, one of the most recognizable structures in Disney Parks history, and the first ride you encounter when entering EPCOT through the main entrance. All that adds up to wait times that can top 30 minutes or more, so a Genie+ Lightning Lane skipping a longer-than-acceptable line feels good. Skipping a 12-person line isn’t the same, but you might as well get your money’s worth.
8. Living with the Land | A slow-moving boat ride that mostly benefits from being in the same building as Soarin’, it can also get up to 30 minutes or more during the busiest times of the year. Again, it’s a pretty solid pick if you’ve just completed Soarin’ and want to knock out both attractions in the Land Pavilion.
9. The Seas with Nemo & Friends | An omni-mover ride like Haunted Mansion or Spaceship Earth, The Seas with Nemo & Friends will likely be an easy Genie+ Lightning Lane to secure like many of these bottom attractions. Essentially, if you get through the top four rides, you’ll be able to select the lower-tier attractions as needed.
The bottom two attractions are:
- Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival
- Turtle Talk with Crush
There you have it! When we purchase Disney Genie+ at EPCOT, this is the list that we utilize to plan our day out. You might have adjustments based on your personal preference, but this should be a useful guide to help prioritize certain attractions over others when you’re planning your visit to EPCOT.
Honestly, a day at EPCOT with Genie+ can be frustrating at times. The top attractions are very competitive, and it’s very possible that you won’t be able to get them all done during a day at the park. That said, keep in mind that you can modify Genie+ selections throughout the day, and you can use that to your advantage to keep an eye on periodic refills for EPCOT’s top attractions.
We’ve already posted an updated Genie+ priority list for Magic Kingdom, and we’ll post updated Genie+ priority lists for Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom shortly. As noted earlier, this article doesn’t take into account Individual Lightning Lanes or attractions that utilize a Virtual Queue.
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!