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By Boffo97 (Dave Hines)
 - Gamma Quadrant
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Retired Moderator
#560072
So, one of the myriad ways in which I'm a huge nerd is I love visiting Disneyland. I'm pretty sure some of you also fall into this category, so I figured this news would be interesting.

The idea of Fastpass is being "retired". It's being replaced as part of Disney's new "service" called Genie. And there's a few levels to Genie.

On the basic Genie service, you'll be able to use your phone to remote order and get estimated wait times. There will also be a service where you can list the rides you want to go on and Genie will suggest an itinerary for your based on wait times and update that itinerary throughout the day.

Sounds good so far, right? Well, here's the bad news. With the basic Genie service, there is NO access to what used to be called Fastpass. The machines that gave out Fastpasses are being removed.

So how do you get Fastpass access, which are now being called "Lightning Lanes"? Through the Genie+ service.

Genie+ is a premium service that will cost $15 per day per person at Disney World and $20 per day per person at Disneyland. It seems to be the replacement for the MaxPass service. You'll be able to book Lightning Lane access on your phone for all but the High Demand and Virtual Boarding Queue rides. You'll also get special AR lenses for photo taking at WDW and unlimited PhotoPass downloads at Disneyland.

For High Demand/Virtual Queue rides, you will have to purchase those at additional cost, and there will be a limit of 2 per day per guest. Other than paying extra AFTER buying the premium service, your only options will be to either wait in line or use the Virtual Queue and THEN wait in line.

I've attached an infographic I found on Twitter to summarize this. And here's the link where they try to sell this as a great thing for guests: https://d23.com/wish-granted-disney-gen ... nd-resort/

Now, my last couple of trips, I used and really liked the MaxPass service. Booking my Fastpasses from anywhere in the Park was a lot better than going to the ride to book the Fastpass then coming back to the ride to use it. But it was a lot easier on me paying $15 a day (as it cost at Disneyland then) than it will be for a family of 4 paying $80 extra per day. And charging above and beyond the premium service for the high demand/virtual queue ride "Lightning Lane" access just smacks of greed to me.

How long before every FastPass (and that's just easier to say) costs money above and beyond the premium service?
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By Iron Prime (Dan Van Kampen)
 - Delta Quadrant
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Moderator
#560093
The whole thing is just weird and I think they will have a hard time spinning it. As you note: if you are single and/or wealthy it's no big deal. But for a lot of families it will be an extra $60-$80 per day - that's a lot to stomach when a Disney trip can already be quite expensive...

People will pay it though. This will continue until there is a noticeable effect on park attendance. I am hoping more and more attractions will make it onto the virtual queue system like Rise of the Resistance. That seems to work slick. If the population can be spread out enough that the Lightning Lane doesn't feel required I think it will be OK... Maybe.
:twocents:
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First Edition Rules Master
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#560094
Iron Prime wrote: Thu Aug 19, 2021 10:45 am that's a lot to stomach when a Disney trip can already be quite expensive...
Which is probably the point - the Disney marketeers have figured out that an extra hundred bucks isn't going to raise an eyebrow compared to the 5k "uber Star Wars" experience.

And where else are you going to go for your Mouse and Marvel fixes?
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By Iron Prime (Dan Van Kampen)
 - Delta Quadrant
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#560095
AllenGould wrote: Thu Aug 19, 2021 10:51 am
Iron Prime wrote: Thu Aug 19, 2021 10:45 am that's a lot to stomach when a Disney trip can already be quite expensive...
Which is probably the point - the Disney marketeers have figured out that an extra hundred bucks isn't going to raise an eyebrow compared to the 5k "uber Star Wars" experience.

And where else are you going to go for your Mouse and Marvel fixes?
Right?
I come from a big "Disney Family". But a tiny piece of me hopes that Star Wars and Marvel will continue stumbling for a little while to take and edge off of the death grip they have. :?

At the end of the day it's just entertainment. It's not food, shelter, etc. And no one is forcing me anyone to buy it.
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#560096
Iron Prime wrote: Thu Aug 19, 2021 10:55 am I come from a big "Disney Family". But a tiny piece of me hopes that Star Wars and Marvel will continue stumbling for a little while to take and edge off of the death grip they have. :?

At the end of the day it's just entertainment. It's not food, shelter, etc. And no one is forcing me anyone to buy it.
And I've actually surprised myself at how quickly MCU switched in our house from "new movie must see" to "eh". We haven't signed up for Disney+ yet (kid is a teen so no pressure on that front, and the fact that Disney is continuing to screw over authors doesn't give me any motivation to support The Mouse), and... life has continued. Plenty of other stuff out there. Watched my copy of Cloud Atlas that'd been sitting on the shelf for a while. Picked up a nice set of Astro City issues from the local comic shop.

I haven't even seen the last few Pixar movies. Times change. :)
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By Iron Prime (Dan Van Kampen)
 - Delta Quadrant
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Moderator
#560097
Almost the exact same at my house.
We still see the new MCU movies - but rather than excitement and opening night or weekend; we just wait till a Tuesday that works for us ($5 Tuesdays at the local theater). Missed the last 2 or 3 Pixars as well...

Kind of refreshing actually. 8)
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By Jesseon (Jesse Warburton)
 - Alpha Quadrant
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#560100
There was no fastpass when we went to Disney World in June, but we were able to finagle the system because one of our party was able to get a medical pass. As long as they were there the rest of us were able to use the fastpass as well. Made things pretty nice. :shifty: Wonder how that will be handled from now on because we are planning to go to Disneyland next October too.
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By Boffo97 (Dave Hines)
 - Gamma Quadrant
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Retired Moderator
#560101
From what I understand, one of the positives of this whole Genie thing is that disabled guests will be able to apply for the Disabled Access Services program ahead of time rather than having to go to City Hall (or the park's equivalent) upon arriving.

Last time I went with someone who was disabled, it was my late mother and back then, Disney took your word for it that you were disabled if you were on a wheelchair or scooter. But of course, people abused that and just rented a chair so that they could be a human Fastpass for the day.
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By T-Ricks (Rick Kinney)
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#560145
I'm going to swim upstream here and say I don't care if the new Lightning-Fast-Pass-Genie thing costs money. We never use Fast Pass at Disney World anyway. We can't; John works there and we get in the Parks for free. That means we don't have a ticket to assign a Fast Pass to, so we always have to wait in the standby line. It's the price we pay for saving the cost of a park ticket I guess.
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By SirDan (Dan Hamman)
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ibbles  Trek Masters Tribbles Champion 2023
#562721
I've been shelling out for 5 annual passes for years on the SoCal plan. It looks like most of that has been restored with the Key programs, but we haven't committed yet.

I think we'll be back there either later this year or early next year, but no one is keen to take the AP plunge yet. We just don't see ourselves going 5+ times a year in the current environment.

The MaxPass was worth our money - Genie may not be. Probably will be a day-of decision. But that's how they get you! You spend the dough for tickets in advance, and then day-of purchases don't seem as bad...

(Disney+ subscriber: Yes. The Star Wars and Marvel Series have all been fun. I even ponied up for advanced access to Black Widow. And we hit the theater for 10 Rings. I subscribe and unsubscribe to the CBS version when new shows are available. )
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