Disney World Makes HUGE Change to Genie+ Service

It’s a new service that has divided Disney Guests.

Disney Genie and Lightning Lane are new digital services introduced at Walt Disney World and Disneyland that replaced the beloved free FastPass system for skipping lines.

Amid much confusion, errors, and a costly price, Disney Genie+ has been met with lukewarm reviews. And now, Disney has changed how Guests can purchase the line-skipping offering.

Back on October 19, 2021, Disney Genie officially launched on the My Disney Experience app at Walt Disney World, along with Disney Genie+ and Lightning Lane access, the new paid iteration of what was previously the FastPass service.

Recently, Disney Parks seemed to lower Guests’ expectations about its Disney Genie service with a change to the small print of the service, warning Guests that they’ll probably only get “2 to 3 attractions or experiences per day using the Lightning Lane entrance if the first selection is made early in the day.” A strange push message on the My Disney Experience app also warned Guests to double-check if they really wanted to utilize Disney Genie and Lightning Lane.

Now, a huge change is coming to how Guests purchase Genie. Disney today, May 18, revealed that starting June 8, Guests will be able to make Disney vacation plans for 2023 as Walt Disney World Resort will open bookings for theme park tickets, Disney Resort hotel stays, and packages.

With the launch of 2023 bookings came the news that Disney Parks is making a huge adjustment to how Guests purchase Disney Genie+ service. Disney Parks Blog revealed that:

Starting June 8, Disney Genie+ will only be offered for purchase through the My Disney Experience app on the day of your visit – we will no longer offer the option to purchase this service pre-arrival as a ticket add-on for dates remaining in 2022 and in 2023.

This means that whether you have an Annual Pass, multi-ticket, or single-day Park ticket, you may only purchase Disney Genie+ service on the day of your visit via the app, one day at a time, subject to availability. According to Disney, this adjustment will help manage the demand for Disney Genie+ at Walt Disney World.

Disney also repeats the odd statement that it “expects that, on average, Guests who purchase Disney Genie+ service will continue to enter 2-3 attractions or experiences each day using the Lightning Lane entrance when the first selection is made early in the day.”

Guests who have already purchased a ticket that includes Disney Genie+ service for dates later in 2022 will be able to use the service during their visit.

Furthermore, this update is also only happening at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and will not affect Guests at Disneyland Resort, as the services vary at each theme park Resort.