The Big Disney Genie+ Rule That EVERYONE Gets Wrong!

Ah, Disney Genie. We’ve covered the good, the messy, and the confusing when it comes to Disney’s new planning service & paid FastPass+ replacement system.

©Disney

We have uncovered a LOT of tips and tricks for this new service. There are a lot of rules to keep in mind when using Genie+, the paid FastPass+ replacement portion of this service. But there’s one rule in particular that a LOT of guests tend to get wrong. Misunderstanding this rule and not appreciating its full implications can cause a lot of headaches for you during your trip. So today we’re breaking down the BIG Disney Genie+ rule that everyone gets wrong so YOU can make sure you get it right!

A Quick Summary (A.K.A. What is Disney Genie??)

By now, many of you are likely very familiar with Disney Genie. But since this service is new to Disneyland Resort and Disney World, we wanted to make sure we gave a brief summary of the service as a recap. We previously worked on a post that explained Genie in 500 words or less. We’re resharing some of that below to give you the info you need.

Disney Genie is a FREE planning service built into the My Disney Experience App and Disneyland App. You will tell Disney Genie what you want to ride, what types of things you like, etc., and Disney Genie will create a personalized, flexible itinerary for you. With Genie, you’ll be able to see forecasted wait times, mobile order your food, chat with a virtual assistant, see walk-up waitlist availability, make restaurant reservations, adjust your plans, and more. Plans will continuously update to help you get the most out of your day. Essentially, Genie is designed to help you plan your day and optimize your plans.

©Disney

Disney Genie+ is a PAID FastPass-like service. It costs $15 per day per ticket at Disney World, and $20 per day per ticket at Disneyland. If you pay for this service, you’ll be able to see when the next available time is to use various rides’ Lightning Lanes (i.e. FastPass+ lanes). You will select the next available time to use the Lightning Lane for whatever ride you want, and when your time arrives, you can visit the ride and use the Lightning Lane (skipping the standby line).

Once you’re done with that ride, you can make another Genie+ Lightning Lane selection — 1 ride at a time, throughout the day (though there’s a special rule we’ll talk about in a second). Over 40 attractions are available through Genie+ at Disney World, over 15 attractions are available through Genie+ at Disneyland. NOT all attractions will be available through Genie+.

Lightning Lane

While most guests can purchase Genie+ in advance (though the situation is different for Annual Passholders), you cannot make a Genie+ Lightning Lane selection until the DAY OF your trip. At Disney World, guests can make their first Lightning Lane attraction selection at 7AM on the day of their visit. (This will be VERY important for our post on this special rule, so hold onto that thought for a moment.) At Disneyland, the first Genie+ Lightning Lane selection can be made once you’re in the park.

©Disney

Select, highly popular attractions (like Radiator Springs Racers in Disney California Adventure Park, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure at EPCOT) are NOT be listed on Genie+. That means that even if you pay for Genie+ you will NOT be able to select a time for/use the Lightning Lane at those attractions. Instead, if you want to use the Lightning Lane for those attractions, you’ll have to pay for the attractions INDIVIDUALLY. Guests are limited to buying 2 of these Individual Attraction Selections (pay-per-ride) per day.

Click here to see our FREE DFB printable to help you make sense of Disney Genie!

The Rule Everyone Gets Wrong

Okay, now that we’ve got a basic summary of Genie, let’s get into the rule that trips everyone up. By now, you’ve probably heard of the infamous 120-minute rule, but do you really know how it works? Let’s go over the basics: You can generally make 1 Genie+ selection at a time throughout the day. But after you’ve made your first one, when can you make your second one? That’s where the 120 rule comes in.

If you book your first Genie+ choice in the morning for later in the day, then you can make a second Genie+ Lightning Lane choice once 120 minutes have passed. But if you book before park opening time, this countdown starts at park opening time. This is the key here! We’ll come back to that for a second.

Basically, after you book your first Genie+ you can book a second Genie+ selection when:

  1. You have used the first one you booked;
  2. Your first return time window has ended (if you miss it); or
  3. 120 minutes have passed since you booked your last one (or 120 minutes after park opening, depending on the situation).

Lightning Lanes are the new FastPass lines

Guests cannot make their first Genie+ Lightning Lane selection until the DAY OF their trip. At Disney World, you can make your first Lightning Lane attraction selection at 7AM on the day of your visit. HELLO, EARLY WAKE UP CALL.

©Disney

So let’s say you wake up early (at 7AM) and make your first Genie+ selection for a ride at Hollywood Studios that doesn’t have a return time until 12:00PM (maybe something like Slinky Dog Dash). You won’t be able to use that first Genie+ selection until your designated 12PM return time, and your return time won’t end until later in the day. So are you stuck waiting until you ride the ride or that time passes before booking another one? NOPE! With the 120 minute rule, you can book another Genie+ selection sooner than that. But here’s where people get it wrong.

If the 120 minute rule only said that you could make a second Genie+ selection 120 minutes after you make your first selection, then in theory you’d be able to make that second selection at 9AM (2 hours after you made the initial selection at 7AM).

BUT remember: if you make that first Genie+ selection BEFORE the park opens, your 120 minute timer actually starts when the park OPENS. In this case, you booked the Genie+ selection at 7AM, but Hollywood Studios doesn’t open until 9AM. So you’ll be able to book that next Genie+ selection at…11AM (good job class)!

Keep Those Times Straight!

If you make that Genie+ selection once the park opens (a.k.a. you actually make the selection at 9AM, not before the park opens), the 120 minute rule would start from the moment you actually MAKE the selection. But, again, since you made the selection BEFORE the park opened, your timer starts once the park actually opens.

Let’s do another example! When Genie+ reservations open at 7AM, let’s say you book a Haunted Mansion Lightning Lane return time for 5PM.

Haunted Mansion

Then, at 11AM (two hours after Magic Kingdom opens for the day, we’ll assume it opened at 9AM that day), you could get ANOTHER Genie+ Lightning Lane for a ride like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Remember: this rule only applies to Disney Genie+ reservations at Disney World. Individual Attraction Selection (A.K.A. pay-per-ride) reservations are separate and you don’t have to use the 120-minute rule for those rides. Also, Genie+ rules in Disneyland Resort are a little different since you can’t make a Genie+ selection until you’re IN the park.

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

If you’re ever in doubt, you can check the Genie+ section in the My Disney Experience app and it will tell you if you’re too early to make that second selection. It will also advise you as to when you can make your next selection. The key here is to remember that if you make that first Genie+ selection before the park opens, the 120 rule starts counting after the park opens.

©Disney || The message you’ll get if you try to book too early

That’s how to use the TRUE 120-minute rule! Want to know more about Genie? Check out our links below:

We’re always keeping up with the latest Disney news, so stay tuned here for more!

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All About Disney Genie, Genie+, and Individual Attraction Selection

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Have you used Disney Genie in the parks? Let us know in the comments! 

The post The Big Disney Genie+ Rule That EVERYONE Gets Wrong! first appeared on the disney food blog.