How to Successfully do Disney WITHOUT Genie + - Upright and Caffeinated (2024)

If you are heading to Walt Disney World and have never been (or have not been in a while) you might be wondering about Genie + and if you really need it. I’m going to tell you how we go to Disney twice a year and NEVER purchase Genie +. We still do all of the rides we want without spending extra on Genie +. Read on to learn how to successfully do Disney without Genie +.

If you are new to Disney it can be a bit overwhelming. There’s tons to plan and different parks to visit. I would highly recommend using a travel agent if this is your first time. If you are a planner and want to do it yourself- it is totally doable, but you need to do some research first. Here is a great post on all of my favorite Disney resources!

First of all, let’s jump into what IS Genie +?

Genie + is a paid add-on service that you can purchase in addition to your theme park entry tickets at Walt Disney World Resorts Theme Parks. Genie + is purchased through the MyDisneyExperience app and is good for one day (and one park). It allows the purchaser to jump the line for certain rides. Genie + fluctuates in price and by park and would need to be purchased for everyone in your travel party if you all want to jump the lines together. Jumping the line with Genie + is called a “Lightning Lane”. You can also purchase individual Lightning Lanes for certain rides WITHOUT purchasing Genie +.

#1 Take advantage of Early Entry or Extended Evening Hours.

This is a BIG benefit to staying on Disney property. When we visited just last week, we were able to enter all the parks (at least) 30 minutes before they opened to the public. Early Entry is available to guests staying at Disney Resorts. You’d be surprised as to how much you can get in with Early Entry. If you are going to Early Entry, plan to get there about 30 minutes BEFORE Early Entry. *Pro Tip- Although Disney says it is 30 minutes before the park opens to the public, last week we got into Hollywood Studios more than 45 minutes early. Here’s a picture of us walking into the Slinky Dog Dash queue at 8:12. We rode Slinky TWICE and then rode Toy Story Mania all BEFORE the park opened at 9am!

Extended Evening Hours is another perk that is available to Deluxe Resort guests on certain nights. When the park closes at 9pm to the public, Deluxe Resort guests can stay until 11pm. The parks and nights of Extended Evenings Hours vary through the year, so make sure to check the MyDisneyExperience app. You can accomplish so much in those extra hours with little to no waits for rides. *Pro Tip- If you are attending Extended Evenings Hours at Magic Kingdom or EPCOT, you can join the Virtual Queue for Tron or Guardians of the Galaxy (respectively) at 6pm.

If you are concerned that staying on property is too expensive, Genie + is an average of $20 per person per day. For our family of 4, to purchase Genie + for each day of our 6-day trip, we would spend $480. Put that $480 towards the room costs and don’t bother purchasing Genie +.

#2 Rope drop!

Rope drop means being at the park when it opens and by that I really mean 30 minutes BEFORE it opens. The parks actually allow entry about 30 minutes before opening, but then all guests are usually held in a line within the park before you can actually get on the rides. Right when the park opens is a GREAT time to get some rides in with little to no wait. Our favorite strategy is to rope drop and stay at the parks until lunch-time then head to the resort for the hottest (and busiest) part of the day. You can also head to Disney Springs for a nice sit-down lunch!

#3 Go on the busy rides during fireworks or parades.

This is also a fun little trick and works well if you are visiting the parks for a few days. Go on the rides which usually have long lines (like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train) during the fireworks or parade. Many guests will be set up on Main Street in Magic Kingdom to catch the fireworks which means the lines for the rides will be shorter. Take advantage of this situation. If you are visiting the parks multiple days and want to see the fireworks, pick one day to see the show and another to go on rides.

#4 There is NO NEED for Genie + at Animal Kingdom.

If you are set on purchasing Genie + for your park days, save yourself some money and don’t purchase it for the day you are visiting Animal Kingdom. There are so few rides at Animal Kingdom that it is not worth it. The two rides with the longest lines are the two in Pandora; Avatar Flight of Passage and Na’vi River Journey See Tip #2 and go early to ride these rides with lower wait times.

PIN IT

#5 Go to a Party!

Disney offers two major parties: Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. This year, there’s a new holiday party at Disney’s Hollywood Studios- Jollywood Nights. The parties require a separate ticket and occur on certain nights from August through December. Parties are a great way to experience the parks with smaller crowds. We attended the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party last week and walked onto almost every ride. We rode Seven Dwarfs Mine Train three times (twice without a wait at all).

Here’s the thing with Genie +, you are not guaranteed to get a Lightning Lane to the most popular rides. In fact, Lightning Lanes for those popular rides (like Rise of the Resistance) are snatched up quickly. This means you might be paying for Genie + to ride rides (like Big Thunder Mountain) which don’t have long lines to begin with.

Finally, I’ll address Individual Lightning Lanes. We have used Individual Lightning Lanes (ILL) in previous trips. You can purchase an ILL for select rides at each park. Here’s the list of ILL rides for each park.

Magic Kingdom- Tron and Seve Dwarfs Mine Train

Animal Kingdom- Avatar Flight of Passage

Hollywood Studios- Rise of the Resistance

EPCOT- Guardians of the Galaxy

The ILLs will cost about $15 per person per ride. The GOOD thing about ILLs is that you can pick the time you want to ride (these do fill up fast, so make sure you do this right at 7am on the day you are going). The ILL will allow you to enter the ride through the Lightning Lane entrance and skip the line, saving a big chunk of time.

Hope this helps you decide if Genie + is right for you. Have questions? Leave them in the comments!