Why Disney Fans Think Genie+ Should Cost More

Walt Disney World and Disneyland have long set the theme Park standard for the world to follow. For decades, pristine Parks, immaculate restrooms, top-notch service, and delectable dining have been markers of the Disney experience. The Cast Members and commitment to characters carrying out their personas in the Parks have been impossible for competitors to match, and the magic has kept Guests returning for generations.

But even a seemingly perfect Park has pitfalls at some point—especially after COVID-19. The pandemic posed challenges to an interactive, engaging Disney experience that the Parks had never faced. Mitigating crowds became a primary concern, which led to the end of FastPass and the beginning of a new system: Genie+.

The FastPass was a welcome addition to Disney Parks in 1999, allowing Guests to beat the crowds to ride their favorite attractions. While it wasn’t a perfect system, many felt it improved the Guest experience with quicker access to Magic Kingdom favorites like the Haunted Mansion and Space Mountain. Today, Guests must make a global Disney trek to access the FastPass experience via Tokyo Disneyland and Tokyo DisneySea’s Priority Pass. Otherwise, the cumbersome Genie+ system is the only option for shorter line privileges.

Between Lightning Lane reservations, the Individual Lightning Lane, and a new virtual queue, Disney Guests have shared their wishes for a better version of Genie+ to arrive at the Parks.

Fans Express Their Thoughts on the Pass

Although many theme Parks have tried to emulate Disney’s caliber of service, few have come close—aside from Universal Studios. Disney’s next-door neighbor in Orlando, Universal Studios, is the only Park that has drawn comparisons to the Disney World Resort with its detailed theming and thrilling attractions.

Universal Orlando has its iteration of a line-skipping system called the Express Pass. Starting at $79.99 per person for one Park, Universal’s Express Pass isn’t cheap, but it offers Guests easy and seemingly unlimited access to their favorite rides. Universal Studios also offers a Universal Express Unlimited Pass for an even more expensive $109.99 starting price.

In contrast, Disney’s Genie+ addition has a starting cost of $15 per person daily. Both options at Universal Studios and Walt Disney World vary based on the time of Guests’ reservations, with holidays and peak times being pricier.

With a significant price difference, it would seem like Genie+ at Disney is the superior option, but it requires eagle eyes and tact to navigate. Disney Guests tend to eye their app for most of the Park day to snag a Lightning Lane reservation with Genie+, and one Disney Guest took to the people’s forum site, Reddit, to share their disappointment in it.

In a popular post, u/nileism shared their frustrations with Disney after a Universal Studios trip:

[deleted by user]
by indisneyparks

The popular “unpopular opinion” was met with plenty of support from fellow fans, pinpointing the underlying issue behind Genie+.

“When Everyone Is Special, No One Is.”

While Universal’s Express Pass outweighs Genie+ in cost, u/DarthSmiff shared why it’s worth it:

It’s better by a mile but the cost is much higher. I love Express pass. It’s a must have for me. Plus if you’re staying at one of the better resorts it’s already included!

Another Redditor, u/Peppeperoni, pointed out how Genie+ can detract from being present at Disney:

Popular and agreed – I love both parks so much – but when it comes to universal, I feel so much more relaxed in the parks and enjoy being only on my phone for the occasional photo here and there

Driving home the fundamental issue separating Genie+ and Universal Express Pass, u/tdjustin said:

The best thing that could happen to Genie+ is for it to cost more. Universal Express works better because it’s priced higher. By putting it at $200 a day, per person, they are pricing a large majority of their customers out of the program. But by doing that, the Standby lines are far easier to manage because you aren’t worried about mixing the correct portion of paid customers and free customers at the merge point. This keeps the overall satisfaction level higher for everyone. And yeah, if you are willing to drop $800 on a family of four, by all means, save yourself the 20 minutes in line. Genie+ sucks because it’s so cheap, a lot of people think “well I’m already in for $150, whats another $30 gonna do?”. But when everyone is special, no one is.

While the Redditors made their case for a Universal Express move for Disney, u/chunkycatt pointed out why Disney wouldn’t spring for a Genie+ price increase:

If Disney adopted Universal’s express pass system, everyone would riot. Look what happened when they announced Genie+ would be paid. Everyone completely lost their sh** and said Disney was just trying to nickel and dime you. If Disney increased it again to make it even more of a premium price and experience, then everyone would just complain and say Disney needs to be boycotted. Universal gets a lot more slack from the fans. They raise their prices and no one bats an eye.

Ultimately, Disney has been aware of the Genie+ gripes from Guests, vowing to improve the kinks in the system. In the meantime, it’s clear Disney fans will continue Expressing their preferences until the Park experience improves.