Visitors to Walt Disney World will soon be able to book a seat for rides a week ahead of time — but the change only sparked anger among some of the theme park’s fans.
The House of Mouse announced on Tuesday that it will rename its “Genie+” feature — which allowed guests access to “Lightning Lanes” that bypass lines for shorter wait times — as “Lightning Lane Multi Pass.”
Beginning next month, the paid service will give park goers the option of booking as many as three attractions a week in advance at one of the four theme parks — Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom and EPCOT.
Under the Genie+ system that was introduced three years ago, guests are forced to log onto a site each morning to grab spots for rides, with many guests griping about getting up at the crack of 7 a.m. for the irksome ritual.
The change is designed to enable guests to “do more of their planning before theme park day,” Disney said in a statement. During the peak travel season, Disney guests can wait as long as 85 minutes for attractions.
The week-ahead reservations, however, will only be available to guests staying at a Disney Resort hotel. All other guests will be able to book three days in advance.
Disney World visitors paid an extra $15 per ride for “Genie+” while Disneyland guests paid $20. The prices of the revamped tiers vary depend on when guests book their trips to the theme park.
Visitors to the Magic Kingdom can choose from a group of rides and experiences that includes “Peter Pan’s Flight,” “Space Mountain,” “it’s a small world,” “The Magic Carpets of Aladdin,” “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “Dumbo the Flying Elephant” and “Mickey’s PhilharMagic” — among others.
EPCOT rides that can be booked in advance through the “Multi Pass” system include “Mission: SPACE” and “The Seas with Nemo & Friends.”
On social media, some Disney fans vented frustrations over the new plan. Some said it was confusing while others resented the fact that the tiered system excluded some of their favorite rides.
Disney visitors who opt for the Lightning Lane Single Pass — formerly known as the individual Lightning Lane entry — can purchase up to two selections per day in advance for in-demand attractions such as “Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind” and “TRON Lightcycle.”
“They don’t even let you pick the 3 you want…having ‘different tiers’ to pick from is trash,”” wrote one user on X.
Others noted that reserving rides in advance was once part of the forerunner of the “Genie+” system — the “FastPass,” which Disney once offered for free. Under the old “FastPass+” system, guests who stayed at Disney resorts were able to book rides 30 days in advance.
“Still charging for something that used to be free,” another X user wrote. An X user added: “So is it like how FastPass+ was but now you pay for it?”
Others said the revamped system will put annual pass holders at a disadvantage.
“This is really going to screw over passholders,” wrote one X user, who added that “there won’t be many spots left for APs … This sucks.”
Disney has made numerous tweaks to its parks in recent years in an effort to reduce crowding and goose revenue. Some include restrictions like reservation requirements that came as a result of the pandemic, although Disney lately has been loosening some of those rules.
Disney’s Magic Kingdom resort near Orlando, Florida, was the most visited theme park in the world in 2022, with more than 17 million guests.
A Disney spokesperson referred questions to the company’s blog post on the changes.
