Since Genie+ changed free FastPass at Walt Disney World, we’ve acquired questions asking about comparisons between Lighting Lanes and Specific Move at Common Studios Florida & Islands of Journey. In brief, each line-skipping companies provide decrease wait occasions, however with totally different tradeoffs. This text covers Lighting Lane v. Specific Move: advantages & downsides, professionals & cons, so you’ll be able to decide if both or each are value shopping for.
Let’s begin with the fundamentals. Genie+ is a service at Walt Disney World which you can buy within the My Disney Expertise app that gives you precedence entry through the Lightning Lane at quite a lot of points of interest, like Area Mountain, Peter Pan’s Flight, Slinky Canine Sprint, Frozen Ever After, Tower of Terror, Remy’s Ratatouille Journey, and about 3-dozen different rides. In whole, Genie+ provides line-skipping entry to over 40 points of interest.
Genie+ is actually a digital model of paper FastPass, which was used previous to FastPass+ at Walt Disney World. Besides as a substitute of strolling across the park to acquire paper slips with day-of return occasions, you try this through your cellphone. Utilizing Genie Plus, you’ll be able to e-book next-available return occasions to the bodily Lightning Lane entrances at choose points of interest. There’s much more to it than that, as lined in our breakdown of the basics of Disney Genie.
Common’s Specific Move is a line-skipping possibility at common rides in Common Studios Florida or Islands of Journey that guarantees to chop wait occasions in half. You current the go at collaborating points of interest and enter a separate ‘quick lane’ (sound acquainted?) with a shorter wait time at every attraction.
Logistically, redeeming Specific Move is kind of much like getting into the bodily Lightning Lanes (or prior FastPass queues) at Walt Disney World. It’s what you do earlier than getting into every bodily queue that varies significantly between the Common Orlando and WDW choices.
Earlier than we get all the way down to brass tacks of the comparability, listed here are the eligible Specific Move points of interest in every park at Common Orlando Resort:
UNIVERSAL STUDIOS FLORIDA
- The Bourne Stuntacular
- Despicable Me Minion Mayhem
- E.T. Journey
- Quick & Livid – Supercharged
- Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts
- Hollywood Rip Experience Rockit
- Hogwarts Specific
- Kang & Kodos’ Twirl ‘n’ Hurl
- Males in Black Alien Assault
- Race By means of New York Starring Jimmy Fallon
- Revenge of the Mummy
- The Simpsons Experience
- Transformers: The Experience-3D
- Woody Woodpecker’s Nuthouse Coaster
ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE
- The Superb Adventures of Spider-Man
- Caro-Seuss-el
- Physician Doom’s Fearfall
- Dudley Do-Proper’s Ripsaw Falls
- Flight of the Hippogriff
- Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey
- The Excessive within the Sky Seuss Trolley Prepare Experience!
- Hogwarts Specific
- The Unbelievable Hulk Coaster
- Jurassic Park River Journey
- Poseidon’s Fury
- Cranium Island: Reign of Kong
- Storm Power Accelatron
These are the excessive profile points of interest with the longest wait occasions on common in every park, with two important exceptions. Each of the 2 latest and hottest curler coasters, Jurassic World VelociCoaster and Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorcycle Journey in Wizarding World of Harry Potter, aren’t eligible for Specific Move.
Specific Move is accessible as a ticket add-on or with choose lodge stays. You should purchase two types of Specific Move, common or limitless. The common model permits you to skip the road as soon as per eligible attraction in both park. Common Specific Limitless provides line-skipping privileges, because the identify suggests, a limiteless variety of occasions per attraction.
Limitless Specific Move is accessible on the Premier Inns, that are Common’s highest-tier resorts. Visitors who keep at Royal Pacific, Exhausting Rock Lodge, and Portofino Bay all obtain Limitless Specific Move included with their keep at no further cost (together with check-in and checkout days).
We hesitate to name Limitless Specific Move that comes with lodge stays “free” because it’s arguably priced into the nightly price. Nonetheless, we’ve had some stays that actually value lower than Specific Move would’ve when paying out of pocket, so maybe free is apt!
As a basic matter, all three of those accommodations are good and on par with Walt Disney World’s Deluxe Resorts. In addition they typically value lower than they’re Disney counterparts. In case your finances permits for it, we’d extremely advocate one in all Common’s Premier Inns if you would like the Limitless Specific Move perk or a superb location close to the parks or a cool luxury-caliber themed resort. In case you’d be staying at a pleasant lodge anyway, this trio is undoubtedly worthy of your consideration. See our evaluations for images, video, and complete ideas:
When included as a part of a Premier Lodge keep at Common Orlando, Limitless Specific Move completely trounces Genie+ at Walt Disney World. There isn’t a comparability. It wins fingers down in each class, together with value.
In case you aren’t doing a lodge keep, you’ll must pay for normal Specific Move or Limitless Specific Move out-of-pocket. This modifications the calculus significantly, because the out-of-pocket value of standard Specific Move begins at $79.99 per individual plus tax. Nonetheless, that could be very a lot the low-season beginning price. Most dates value extra, particularly weekends, holidays, and college breaks.
We’d estimate that the common value for the rest of this 12 months is $99.99. Wanting ahead to 2023, that seems to be the brand new beginning worth, with the common being $129.99 (subsequent summer time is at the moment even greater, with most dates costing $189.99 to $209.99). At present, peak season dates for normal Specific Move prime out at $249.99.
Then there’s Limitless Common Specific Move. For the rest of this 12 months, Limitless Specific Move ranges from $109.99 to $279.99. Wanting ahead to 2023, costs are even greater, with $149.99 showing to be the common and summer time dates largely beginning above $200 and approaching $250 many dates.
In brief, a household of 4 can anticipate to pay wherever from round $400 for the fundamental one-time use Specific Move to over $1,000 throughout peak season for Limitless Specific Move. To place that into perspective, we’ve routinely booked stays at Portofino Bay, Royal Pacific, or Exhausting Rock Lodge for beneath $300 per evening. (Granted, most of our stays are within the low season and with Annual Passholder reductions, however nonetheless. You may routinely e-book one of many 3 for $400 or much less!)
Turning again to the Genie+ service at Walt Disney World, which now makes use of date-based pricing versus its earlier flat-rate price. Whereas this new variable-pricing scheme remains to be in its infancy, Walt Disney World has indicated that Genie+ costs will vary from $15 to $22 plus tax for now. That’s merely instance pricing, and no particulars have been supplied in regards to the minimal or most over the course of the 12 months.
It’s protected to imagine that Genie+ pricing will kind of observe with date-based ticket pricing. That implies that this Thanksgiving and Christmas when day ticket costs max out at $159, the price of Genie+ ought to be round $23 or $24 on these days. “Ought to” is the function phrase–if there’s one fixed about Walt Disney World, it’s worth will increase.
Whereas the out-of-pocket value of Genie+ is considerably cheaper, it’s value noting that the hole probably closes when adjusted on a per attraction foundation. Whereas I’ve accomplished over a dozen points of interest in a single day with every, I’ve accomplished that quantity effortlessly with Specific Move. In case you aren’t savvy and don’t put effort into leveraging Genie Plus, that quantity may be 2-3 Lightning Lanes (which is the official quantity that Disney provides).
Not like Limitless Specific Move, there isn’t a included possibility for on-site visitors of all or choose Walt Disney World resorts. Anybody who desires it should pay for the Genie+ service. Moreover, it doesn’t cowl all headliner points of interest; Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, and Avatar Flight of Passage aren’t included in Genie Plus, however line-skipping for these may be bought on an a la carte foundation through Particular person Lightning Lanes.
Subsequent, there’s the problem of time-savings between the 2 line-skipping companies. That is additionally tough to check in an trustworthy and easy method. If we’re simply taking a look at how lengthy it takes from the time you enter the common ‘quick lane’ at every attraction on the respective resorts, it’s a detailed name.
I’m inclined to say that Lightning Lanes are barely sooner on common, however I additionally must admit that I’ve much more expertise with Disney’s system than I do Specific Move. I do have sufficient expertise with each to know that they are often extremely variable. In case you use one on a busy day or when there’s a whole lot of trip downtime, these ‘quick lanes’ can again up. In case you go to throughout the low season when occupancy or attendance is lighter, each may be veritable ‘walk-on’ passes. So it’s arduous to say, and I haven’t timed this comprehensively. However it doesn’t matter–all of that is irrelevant.
Evaluating solely wait occasions upon returning to the strains could be disingenuous. When utilizing Specific Move, I can do all points of interest in any order I want, constructing my itinerary round what I wish to do, my current plans, and order of comfort. Since I’m at all times utilizing Limitless Specific Move (through lodge stays), I can repeat the joys rides I get pleasure from most, or simply loop E.T. Journey all dang day, as Spielberg meant. (Hours upon hours of E.T. Journey…discuss in regards to the final director’s reduce!)
Furthermore, I can do the parks with out ever stopping to screw with the Common Orlando app. That’s a ton of time I’m not losing, and it’s not straightforward to quantify all of that. In brief, even with the likelihood (however not certainty) that wait occasions are longer upon return with Specific Move (they’re undoubtedly much less predictable as a result of lack of scheduling), my view is that Common’s system saves significantly extra time total.
To that time and as intimated above, Genie+ is a system inside the My Disney Expertise app that requires making trip reservations all through the day. You can also make one trip reservation at a time–with the power to make a subsequent reservation instantly upon tapping right into a Lightning Lane at an attraction or pursuant to the 120 minute rule.
This would possibly sound easy sufficient, however it’s difficult in observe. That you must steadiness attraction recognition along with your previously-made plans along with your want or capability to backtrack to stroll so much, and extra. You additionally have to navigate a My Disney Expertise app that’s glitchy, unintuitive, and feels prefer it’s nonetheless being beta examined a couple of decade after it was launched.
In contrast, there isn’t a tech element to Specific Move. Whereas it’s considerably dearer out-of-pocket, it’s additionally completely frictionless.
You merely go as much as the attraction, scan your go, and use your Specific Move entitlement. There’s nothing to order or problem with in an app. It’s a very “dumb” system–and I imply that in one of the simplest ways potential. Specific Move entails zero expertise and display time. It’s fully hassle-free.
For first-timers, this would possibly come as a shock provided that we’ve devoted considerably extra textual content explaining the fundamentals of Specific Move than we’ve the Genie+ service at Walt Disney World. That’s as a result of it is a Disney weblog, and one which has devoted (actually) dozens of weblog posts within the final year-plus to addressing confusion, complaints, and questions on all issues Genie+ and Lightning Lanes.
In contrast, that is our first submit devoted to Specific Move. That isn’t on account of an absence of Common protection or curiosity. On the contrary, we’ve used Specific Move many occasions (albeit by no means paying for it out of pocket). Nonetheless, we’ve at all times simply talked about it in passing in different posts and planning guides for one cause. It’s easy.
Frankly, there was no have to over-explain Specific Move as a result of it’s intuitive and works precisely the way you’d anticipate. In the case of itineraries, we’ve repeatedly conceded that they aren’t actually mandatory with Specific Move (particularly when coupled with Early Park Admission for on-site accommodations).
In brief, if it looks as if the reasons are disproportionate for the respective line-skipping companies at Walt Disney World and Common Orlando, that’s as a result of the beginning factors differ. That is constructed atop voluminous sources about Genie+, whereas it’s foundational data about Specific Move plus the comparability.
The underside line is that Common’s Specific Move is simpler and extra environment friendly than Genie+ at Walt Disney World. Frankly, we expect Specific Move is considerably higher than Genie+ and Lightning Lanes.
That is very true in case you take away worth from the equation by getting Specific Move for ‘free’ by advantage of an on-site Premier Lodge keep. Then it’s really no contest. Univeral’s prime tier accommodations are sometimes cheaper than Walt Disney World’s and they embody the precious line-skipping service, which isn’t given out to Deluxe Resort visitors at Walt Disney World.
To that final level, let’s swap gears and provide some pointless (however probably enjoyable or attention-grabbing?) commentary. Beforehand, we’ve talked about that Walt Disney World couldn’t replicate every little thing folks love about Specific Move because the inputs differ between Common and Disney. Assuming, arguendo, that Walt Disney World did swap to a ‘dumb’ line-skipping service like Specific Move, it’s assured that modifications could be made out of necessity or economics.
In brief, we are saying to Walt Disney World followers: watch out what you want for.
Some Walt Disney World followers say that they’d fortunately pay $80 to $120 for line-skipping like Specific Move. Nonetheless, there isn’t a assure that Disney’s equal could be priced at this stage. As ought to be clear by now from the infinite parade of worth will increase, Walt Disney World has pricing energy. Its demographics are additionally totally different.
Whereas followers often blame each other for tolerating paying extra and getting much less at Walt Disney World, that is more likely attributable to first-timers and people taking rite-of-passage journeys. These free-spending visitors pull out all the stops for concern of lacking out, and nearly definitely go to Walt Disney World at disproportionate ranges as in comparison with Common. I’d be prepared to guess that per visitor spending is significantly greater at Disney than Common.
In brief, neither of those companies set their worth factors as a courtesy to visitors. They each cost what the market will bear. With that in thoughts, Common’s pricing for Specific Move is what you see for varied dates. That doesn’t imply Walt Disney World’s pricing could be equivalent. (Aspect notice: get pleasure from this whereas it lasts, Common diehards–your on-site accommodations doubtless gained’t be this low-cost for for much longer!)
Then there are the requires Walt Disney World to incorporate limitless Lightning Lane entry with on-site stays. Once more, the circumstances differ dramatically. In whole, there are slightly below 7,000 lodge rooms at Common Orlando Resort.
In contrast, there are roughly 40,000 rooms at Walt Disney World, which incorporates all the Disney-owned and operated properties plus the Disney Springs Resort Space, Bonnet Creek, Swan & Dolphin, Shades of Inexperienced. These third celebration accommodations are included as a result of they’re technically on-site and, extra importantly, have contractual offers with Disney to supply sure visitor perks and facilities.
Nonetheless, for the sake of the included Limitless Specific Move or theoretical included Lightning Lane, we are able to slim that down to only the Deluxe Resorts at Walt Disney World or Premier Inns at Common Orlando. In that case, Common Orlando has beneath 2,500 eligible rooms. To place that into perspective, that’s fewer rooms than Disney’s Yacht & Seashore Membership Resorts alone.
In whole, Walt Disney World has roughly 13,000 rooms which are sometimes eligible for Deluxe Resort-caliber perks. Nonetheless, Walt Disney World additionally has 4 theme parks as in comparison with Common Orlando’s two parks, so we must always in all probability reduce that quantity in half for a extra correct comparability. During which case, we find yourself with 6,500 v. 2,500. (I’m going to purposefully exclude Volcano Bay as I doubt it provides meaningfully to capability or crowd-absorption and would simply muddy the comparability.)
That’s nonetheless not apples to apples as a result of we’re not evaluating the theoretical or precise capability. Sadly, this isn’t one thing I’m able to doing. Merely counting eligible points of interest isn’t sufficient right here–it’s important to know the capability of every, the diploma to which they’re using line-skipping, and extra.
There’s an excessive amount of that’s merely unknowable or would require guessing. For instance, I do know the theoretical hourly trip capability of Jungle Cruise, however I don’t know its common Lightning Lane to standby ratio, nor do I do know its precise operational hourly trip capability proper now. (I’ve heard it’s not good!) I additionally don’t know what proportion of visitors are literally utilizing “filler” Lightning Lanes like these for Magnificence and the Beast: Dwell on Stage.
Lastly, I don’t know the nuances of Common Orlando’s lodge enterprise as in comparison with Walt Disney World. What’s the occupancy price of the highest tier accommodations at every? What in regards to the common variety of visitors per occupied room? My guess is that Disney has greater numbers on each fronts however I’ve no clue to what diploma. (Disney Trip Membership skews the previous whereas household demographics skew the latter.)
Past these “identified unknowns,” there are in all probability variables I don’t even know…that I don’t know. I can’t let you know what these are, since I don’t know what they’re. [Insert drunk face emoji]
All of that is to say that it’s possible that Walt Disney World couldn’t merely “carry” the thought of Specific Move from Common Orlando. The variables are totally different and the unintended penalties would doubtless trigger the system to interrupt in new and other ways. (And Genie+ has already damaged lots within the final 12 months!)
Maybe you don’t discover the comparability and breakdown above to be persuasive. Perhaps you’re satisfied that Walt Disney World might do free Specific Move for Deluxe Resort visitors with a number of tweaks. In that case, contemplate this: Genie+ is actually Walt Disney World’s try and port the beloved MaxPass from Disneyland with minor tweaks.
Suffice to say, so much broke within the course of. Not solely that, however there have been myriad unintended penalties and outcomes that weren’t forecast by Walt Disney World’s inner groups engaged on Genie+ and Lightning Lanes. (It’s nearly unbelievable in gentle of how Disney has tried to throttle demand since launch, however the authentic plan known as for a Genie+ Annual Move add-on to debut just a few months after launch.)
I’m not pretending to know the way all of this could shake out, and I’m cognizant of the truth that a few of these variables are at odds with each other. The salient level of all this rambling, I suppose, is that there isn’t a “easy” answer during which Disney can or will copy and paste Specific Move to Walt Disney World.
All of this theoretical evaluation is solely tutorial, anyway. It presupposes that Walt Disney World has an urge for food to incorporate Lightning Lane entry in Deluxe Resort stays and, let me guarantee you, that’s completely not the case. You in all probability didn’t want any such assurances, because it’s patently apparent from the way in which Walt Disney World has been chopping on-site perks moderately than including them.
I don’t know why Common first opted to supply Limitless Specific Move to its Premier Inns. (My shot-in-the-dark guess is a take care of Loews to get that hotelier on board.) Regardless, the one cause to begin providing ‘free’ line-skipping now could be to entice folks to remain on-site and improve lodge occupancy charges.
Walt Disney World doesn’t have this downside. Even a number of years in the past when occupancy numbers weren’t as sturdy, Disney didn’t provide a limiteless “golden” FastPass. As an alternative, they tried to entice folks to e-book Membership Stage stays by promoting further FastPass+ reservations.
Finally, I might see Walt Disney World providing “free” Genie+ down the highway to visitors of sure resorts if there’s an financial downturn and bookings droop, however because the service at the moment exists and never a limiteless model of it. Even then, it will in all probability be a substitute for Free Eating or some superior previous promotion. I might additionally see Disney persevering with to tweak Genie+ to make the system extra intuitive whereas attempting to attenuate (however not completely obviate) complaints about display time.
Nonetheless, I can’t see Walt Disney World switching to a ‘dumb’ (once more, in a great way) system like Specific Move. Regardless of being completely abysmal at it, Disney fancies itself as a tech firm. It has an excessive amount of of an obsession with crowd administration, logistics, and visitor information–despite the fact that it doesn’t know learn how to totally leverage this data. (Equally, our canine likes to chew on the distant however doesn’t know learn how to use the TV.)
Something is feasible at Walt Disney World within the long-term, particularly if visitor satisfaction–and extra importantly, habits and visitation traits–takes sufficient of successful and administration is compelled to do one thing. However for now, these are the line-skipping programs in place at Common Orlando and Walt Disney World, and we’d anticipate them to stay considerably the identical for the subsequent few years.
When you have questions in regards to the fundamentals of utilizing–or not utilizing–the paid FastPass service, see our Guide to Genie+ at Walt Disney World & Lightning Lane FAQ for all the foundational need-to-know data. This complete system is complicated and convoluted, so that you might need a query or two-dozen. That solutions all the most typical ones we’ve been receiving from readers.
Planning a Walt Disney World journey? Find out about accommodations on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews web page. For the place to eat, learn our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save cash on tickets or decide which sort to purchase, learn our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets submit. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips submit takes a singular have a look at intelligent gadgets to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will assist. For complete recommendation, one of the best place to begin is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for every little thing you must know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Do you like Common’s Specific Move or Genie+ and Lightning Lanes at Walt Disney World? Want WDW included Lightning Lane entry with Deluxe Resort stays? Do you like paying for these line-skipping companies or just sticking to standby? Different ideas to share? Do you agree or disagree with my comparability? Any questions we will help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even whenever you disagree with us–is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas under within the feedback!
