How does Genie Plus work? Walt Disney World’s Genie + is an app  that allows you to select lightning lane reservations for park attractions.

Unlike the previous fast pass system, Genie + is not included with your ticket. You will pay per day to use Genie + and book lightning lane reservations.

Additionally, select attractions will cost extra to book lightning lanes for.

For instance, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train must be purchased separately. I believe Tron will also be a separate lighting lane when it opens in April.

You can purchase Genie + through the My Disney app as early as 12am on the day of your visit.

Not to mention, you also can no longer add on Genie +  to your ticket in advance.

I propose downloading Genie + around 6am or earlier on the day of your visit.

You do not need Genie Plus in order to have a great day at Disney World. There are ways to maximize your park time without purchasing Genie plus, or knowing How Genie Plus works.

For example:

• Arrive early to benefit from Rope Drop
• Stay onsite for early entry or extra magic hours
• Stay until close, ride times can sometimes dip closer to closing time

Additionally, I shared some tips on how to keep kids entertained while you wait.

How does Genie Plus work on the day of your visit? In my opinion, it is vital that you are ready to book lighting lane at 7am.

Equally important, try to book the attraction that is most likely to book up – and also has a long wait.

For example, Peter Pan’s flight regularly has a wait time over 60 minutes or more. I like to maximize my park time by avoiding long lines.

I think Genie Plus is a great tool if you’d like to cute down on long waits for your favorite attractions.

These high priority attractions are the most likely to be booked up quickly.

• Peter Pan’s Flight
• Space Mountain
• Jungle Cruise

In contrast, I miss being able to book 3 FastPass reservations at once. However, with Genie + you can only book one lightning lane at a time.

Although this may be true, you can book your second lightning lane two hours after your first. Or, once you have tapped in for your lightning lane reservation.

You must wait two hours after the park opens to book your second lightning lane, regardless of when you booked your first reservation.

To exemplify, if you book a lighting lane at 7am and the park opens at 9am, you can book your second lightning lane at 11am

Alternatively, after you tapped into your first attraction.

I recommend the following medium priority lightning lane attractions:

• Thunder Mountain
• Haunted Mansion
• Winnie the Pooh
• Pirates of the Caribbean
• Tiana’s Bayou Adventure (coming 2024)

I hear many guests complain about waking up early on vacation to make lightning lane reservations. I totally understand!

How does Genie Plus work when you don’t want to wake up early?

To the contrary, you can absolutely book your lightning lanes later in the day. I tend to see certain attractions come available throughout the day.

I have friends that book low priority lightning lane reservations. Then they try to snag higher priority ones throughout the day.

For example, they may book It’s a Small World in the morning, tap in and then immediately hop on to book their next lightning lane.

In this case, they are booking low wait time rides that they can tap into faster.

Previously, I would use a similar strategy with the FastPass system on occasion.

I suggest these attractions for low priority lightning lane reservations:

• It’s a Small World
• Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin
• Dumbo the Flying Elephant
• Mad Tea Party
• The Barnstormer
• Magic Carpets of Aladdin
• Mickey’s Phillarmagic
• Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor
• Tomorrowland Speedway
• Little Mermaid
• Character Meet & Greets
• Parade Preferred viewing

I have friends that used Genie plus during the week of Thanksgiving. Notably, one of the busiest times at Walt Disney World.

To demonstrate, they were able to book two lightning lane reservations.

To compare, we visited Magic Kingdom during Spring Break. We waited an hour or more for It’s a Small World and couldn’t fit in very many attractions.

In Conclusion, you may not book the lightning lanes that you want but it can still reduce your wait times on busy days.