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Guide For Using Genie+ At Magic Kingdom

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Genie+ is here as a replacement for Disney World’s FastPass+ system. There are some big differences and some hacks to using Genie Plus that you may want to know! Here’s a guide for using Genie Plus at Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World.

pink and blue castle at disney world. blue skies. guide to genie plus at magic kingdom

Guide For Using Genie+ At Magic Kingdom

We used the new Genie+ system on our last trip.

Here’s a guide with some best practices, tips, and options for using Genie+ at Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World.

First, we’re answering some basic questions that you might have about using the Genie Plus service.

FAQs For Using Genie Plus

What Is Genie+ and how do we use it?

Start here. Check out this Disney Genie+ 101 to get the basic definitions and pricing for Genie+.

Can I buy Genie+ in advance?

Short answer: no. Not after June 8, 2022 anyway.

Until then, you may be able to add Genie+ in advance in some cases.

You can add Genie+ if you have a Disney World resort package with tickets and want to buy the service every day. This is something your travel agent can help you with should you decide to add the service for the length of stay until June 8, 2022.

If you only want to use the service for certain days, you’ll want to buy Genie before 7 am on the day you wish to use it.

If you are an annual passholder or have discounted tickets you cannot purchase in advance. You WILL be able to buy Genie each day you wish to use it.

disney world annual pass 50th annivesary

Can you choose return times with Genie+?

No. It’s just like FastPass of old- you get what you get!

Is there a grace period with Genie+?

Yes.

You can arrive 5 minutes early or up to 15 minutes late and still use the Lightning Lane (LL) selection you booked.

No need to ask a CM about it or point it out; just scan in and go!

What if there’s an ADR or previous ride conflict?

Genie will allow you to book overlapping plans, so keep this in mind when you accept your LL selection.

If you have a meal planned during the suggested LL time, we suggest waiting a few minutes or dragging the screen on your app to refresh the options. Hopefully, something that works better will be offered.

lightning lane for big thunder railroad

What Attractions Are Included As Genie+ Lightning Lanes At Magic Kingdom?

All of these attractions will be available for the Genie+ purchase starting at $15+ tax per person per day at Magic Kingdom. Variable pricing has been instituted by Disney, meaning each day may have a different price level for the service.

  • Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
  • Haunted Mansion
  • “it’s a small world”
  • Jungle Cruise
  • Mad Tea Party
  • Magic Carpets of Aladdin
  • Mickey’s PhilharMagic
  • Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
  • Dumbo the Flying Elephant
  • Pirates of the Caribbean
  • Goofy’s Barnstormer
  • Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor
  • Peter Pan’s Flight
  • The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
  • Tomorrowland Speedway
  • Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid
  • Splash Mountain
  • Space Mountain
genie plus guide for magic kingdom

Magic Kingdom is where you can really get the biggest bang for your Genie+ buck!

This park has the most Lightning Lane options for you to choose from and using Genie plus in the Magic Kingdom can really cut down on wait times.

We recommend purchasing Genie+ for this park if you are planning to go ala cart vs length of stay.

Guide For Using Genie+: Individual Lightning Lane Options In Magic Kingdom

Currently, one ride at every park costs an additional amount if you’d like to “skip the line” at Disney World.

In Magic Kingdom, the Individual Lightning Lane option is:

  • Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

You do NOT have to pay the Genie+ pricing in order to access these ILL (Individual Lightning Lane) purchases.

You can just pay for these rides alone, and simply do standby lines for the other rides in the park.

And unlike the Genie+ Lightning Lane selections, the Individual Lightning Lane selections DO allow you to choose a time window based on availability.

Prices for these attractions in Magic Kingdom start at $7 and can go up to $15, but we’ve only seen $11 at the time of this writing.

disney world 50th celebration train station

What’s The Best Practice For Using Genie+ In Magic Kingdom?

While each day will be different depending on crowd levels and when you plan to visit, there are some trends we see.

Here are a few suggestions as far as tips and best practices for Magic Kingdom Genie+ usage.

Resort Guests Should Use Early Magic Hours

We know, we know- groan! It’s so early!

But if you are staying onsite, taking advantage of the Early Magic Hours can be key to skipping lines and potentially saving money.

If a park shows an opening time of 9 am, resort guests are officially allowed in at 8:30 am.

But the secret here is that 8:30 is sometimes even earlier- so go ahead and plan to rope drop at 7:45 am. That means you want to be through the security line by 7:45 am.

This time is not guaranteed, but if you go ahead and line up to enter Fantasyland or Tomorrowland at this time, you will be well ahead of most guests.

room key at disney world resort hotel. guide to using genie plus at magic kingdom use early magic hours

At Magic Kingdom, if you choose to arrive early we suggest immediately getting in line for one of the Individual Lightning Lane options in order to save that added cost.

We’d head to Seven Dwarves first and when you get off this attraction head straight to Space Mountain.

You’ll likely be through both attractions before 9:00 am if you are the font of the Rope Drop lines.

What Lightning Lane Should You Choose First at 7 am: Guide For Using Genie+

If you are using Genie+, the two attractions that “book up” the quickest at Magic Kingdom will be Peter Pan and The Jungle Cruise.

Peter Pan has historically had a long standby line so this is not surprising.

90 minute standby line for Peter Pan at disney world. Genie plus guide at Magic Kingdom
Peter Pan was a 90-minute standby on November 3 at 11 am. We had a LL selection that allowed us to walk on and skip this line.

The Jungle Cruise popularity may be seasonal with Jingle Cruise currently running OR it may be in part due to the Jungle Cruise movie and well-timed dad jokes.

If either of these attractions is on your “must-do” list of Magic Kingdom, you will want to prioritize them for your Lightning Lane selections.

Guide To Magic Kingdom Genie+ Use: Hit That Refresh Button!

If you are not seeing the attraction or the time window you are looking for, go ahead and keep refreshing the app.

Drag your finger down on the screen and it will reset and show you additional options if they are available.

This seems to be the most overlooked tip when using Genie+.

Guests assume what Disney shows first is their final offer. Not true!

Other guests are looking at options at the same time and if they bounce off and choose a different attraction, the time they were looking at will go back into the pool of choices.

So go ahead and use Refresh while checking your LL selections in Genie+!

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