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If you feel at least a little bit confused while trying to use Genie+ at Walt Disney World, you are not alone. Despite several updates to the system, Guests still find navigating Disney Parks with Genie+ to be quite the endeavor as doing so strategically seems to require extensive background knowledge on attractions, shows, and not only the best times to use Genie+ but when you are actually able to book a Lightning Lane selection.
Disney Genie+ debuted last year as the paid alternative to FastPass+ at the Walt Disney World Resort, and while some features can be incredibly useful while touring the theme parks, others have left something to be desired.
In Disney’s latest update to the mobile service, using Genie+ day-to-day in the Parks should get a lot easier, especially for Guests who are less familiar with the system or with Walt Disney World.
Credit: Disney
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As of today, August 25, 2022, Guests looking to make their next Lightning Lane selection in the list of attractions within Genie+ will find some very useful information to help them plan their day.
In addition to showing Guests the next available time to make a Lightning Lane selection, the program within the My Disney Experience app has been updated with an additional “When You Can Book” option. Just as it sounds, this simple addition to Disney Genie+ outlines when a Guest is eligible to book their next Lightning Lane selection, without having to manually keep track of when you are able to do so based on your previous selection.
Theme park journalist Scott Gustin details the impact this small change could make on your next trip in this Twitter thread:
NEW: Genie+ at WDW added a “When you can book” banner at the top that shows your next available time to book a Lightning Lane.
The time will automatically display if you purchased Genie+ and will update throughout the day. Big improvement. pic.twitter.com/3XW0lrvB30
— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) August 25, 2022
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While this update doesn’t “fix” all of the reasons why so many Guests find the Genie+ confusing, it will certainly make a difference and save some headache in having to remember when you can start looking again for your next selection (this feature would have been useful even in the old days of FastPass+!)
The “When You Can Book Time” is accessible right in the Tip Board section of Disney Genie+. The Tip Board feature in itself is one of the most valuable parts of the new system as it offers insight into how you can best plan your day whether or not you have purchased the paid Genie+ or any individual Lightning Lane selections.
Credit: Disney
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This change is also the latest in a series of updates that Disney has made since it launched last October, so we will likely see continued edits to features in the app that should only make using the service easier as time goes on.
Disney Genie+ is available as an add-on to your theme park admission for $15 per person/per day, with individual Lightning Lane purchases for select attractions running an additional $8-18. The service can only be purchased the day of your visit to a Disney Park, and is based on availability.
We will continue to monitor changes to Genie+ here on DisneyTips, and will be back with additional updates as we have them.
