Yesterday, Disney announced major changes with the new Disney Genie service, including Genie+ and Lightning Lane, paid options to replace the formerly free FastPass service.
Now that the dust has settled, fans are making their feelings clear. Of the three announcement videos, the reactions (quantified by likes vs. dislikes) are over 70% negative for two videos (the full overview and the digital overview). The third (the initial announcement) is close behind, at around 67% negative.
This is relatively unheard of as most Disney Parks videos have overwhelmingly positive reactions. For comparison, the reactions to the video highlighting the divisive changes to the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland are 95% positive.
What are your thoughts on the new Disney Genie service? Let us know in the comments below.
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Heres my opinion- I think it sounds awesome! However, people don’t want to pay extra for ANYTHING anymore becasue just going to Disney is $$$$$- BUT Disney World isn’t JUST a theme park anymore so if we want it to continue to grow and be amazing and keep it’s high standards, we gotta pay for that! It’s just how it works. If you want a cheap experience, go to six flags.
This mentality is what keeps companies like these charging more money.
High standards? Where?!
-They’ve built rides with low capacity that don’t run properly to begin with.
-Everyday a recently refurbed animatronic is breaking down.
-They haven’t been able to open anything on time in years.
-They can’t maintain the rides they already have.
But you know what, you’re right. At least they are painting everything for a magical 50th celebration. I forgot how much a bucket of paint costs.
Victoria, have been coming to WDW since opening days ,we used to come several times a year with five children and the pricing was in a range that was fair and balanced. You obviously have not checked the salaries of the LEGION of Disney executives who should be fairly compensated for what they do but I think you will be amazed at the millions plus bonus millions they EACH receive then see if you feel the same at price increases.
3) things.
1) universal does the same thing but way more money
2)Disneyland has been testing this (fast pass max) and it was nice over there.
3)sounds like more fast passes and less wait times for my family. So thank you for going to another park.
Have a magical day
Max pass included all FastPass attractions, so no, not really the same.
The “fast pass” system at Disneyland is one of the main things I dislike about Disneyland.
But they need to fill up the hotels at DW, so that is where Disney is different than Universal.
1 – Universal also includes FREE express passes for staying on site. Disney is not offering that option anymore
2 – California is overpriced anyway. And your version of “nice” doesn’t mesh with everyone else’s (no offense)
3 -Enjoy paying the bonuses for overpaid executives. Sorry but if you had been in the board meeting, you would realize this is just a cash grab.
Tell the people stranded on the 2 Monorails over the last few days & all those in the multiple Skyliner crashes about “Disney’s High Standards”. Prices have continued going up while the Guest experience has been degraded. I have always stayed on property because of the perks but all that is mostly gone now. I have been over 20 times and yet I am done. They will NOT be getting any more of my money. Certainly glad my son is now grown and we got to experience Disney when it WAS still magical.
Don’t forget about how almost every day a group has to be evacuated from a ride that broke down. Or lack of oversight where people are jumping out of rides to do something stupid.
What exactly is it if it’s not just a theme park? I’ve been here for the last 8 days and if it’s not just a theme park then I missed something.
Genie + is just another example of the contempt the Disney company appears to have for their loyal guests. My family has spent thousands of our hard earned money at the Disney parks. We did so gladly. As soon as our vacation fund was drained we began happily planning our next trip “home” so we could line Mickey’s pockets again!! The feeling of excitement on our first glimpse of Cinderella’s Castle, the joy the trips brought to us, was the thing I chased all through the dark frigid east coast winters. It was all worth it. From Making ADR’s and planning fast pass choices to looking at park maps and planning a route. That was our jam. My best memories with my husband and step kids are in the disney parks. We became a family in those parks. When i finally had my own little son i could not WAIT for him to be at Disney with his big brother and sister. I’m sitting here weeping like an idiot bc I’m so mad. After all we have been through since this covid nightmare began, it hurts to know that the Disney company was using that time to take away whatever magic was left and replace that magic with higher prices and less service. “Hey guests…we know that you are paying outrageously high prices to stay in our resorts and purchase insanely expensive tickets to our parks each day. But the hundreds you pay PER DAY isn’t enough to get you any actual perks. You now have to pay on top of the tickets you have already purchased if you don’t want to spend hours in line. And hey…YOU’RE WELCOME”. I can’t. I’m so furious. I’m heartbroken and I’m just done.
Good! Maybe, just maybe, they’ll rethink some of it.
Only if people don’t pay up
Left my dislike on the video. This new program is complete garbage. They are only trying to line their pocketbooks instead of actually listening to their fans on the bigger picture of things. It’s disgusting.
If the fans are making themselves clear regarding the Genie videos, it is interesting defining changes to the Jungle Cruise as “divisive” when the positive reaction to the videos clearly indicate otherwise.
I wish it was still called FastPass or FastPass+. Saying “I got us all Genie for Big Thunder Mountain” doesn’t have that same ring to it as “I got us all FastPass+ for Big Thunder Mountain.” Oh well.
This is your only concern?
Honestly, this makes me not want to return, which is so sad, because I love Disney. But this kind of greed is ridiculous! Sorry, Disney.
Agree 100%. I’ll never forget how disgusted I was when I found out they were charging for premium viewing locations for the starwars parade during starwars weekends. My kids and I waited in our spot for an hour before the parade began to be sure we had a good spot. Only to be told we had to pay to stay there. Raw, kras greed!! That was the last year I bought annual passes…we were pass holders for years before then.
Certainly agree. We had been going to Disney since the 1970s and we became annual passholders when we moved to Florida in 2005. But over time, the employees’ attitudes suffered, Disney efficiency, went downhill, and when they started charging onsite hotel customers the privilege for parking every day in the hotel parking lots then it became obvious that they only wanted to squeeze every dollar they could, the customer experience be damned.
Very disappointed in Disney, especially after announcing profits for the quarter. They have taken away so many resort guest perks and now this. Fastpass + was working so well I just don’t get them milking guests for more. Especially the ones who are so faithful in supporting them! They are watering down the magic so much and making it all about the dollar! Walt would be so disappointed!
I’d hardly say that Fast Pass+ was working so well
I think the new Genie/Genie + is one more way Disney makes itself just another theme park. Little by little they are taking away all the magic and I feel like this might be one of their biggest blunders to date. People don’t go on vacation to have to stay glued to apps on their phones. We usually go to WDW 2-3 times a year but I canceled all that I’ve got booked – we will be taking our money to Universal Studios from now on. At least at Universal I don’t feel like everything I’m doing is being tracked on my phone or that my trip is being micromanaged by them. I want to book a vacation, go to whichever park I feel like going to that day with having to check and see if I can get in, and then have fun without having to constantly pull out my phone. Bye, Disney! I’ll see ya when Chapek (or whoever is making these ridiculous changes) goes away and it feels like Disney again.
I’m sure planning started long ago, but it seems since the new CEO took over suddenly EVERYTHING is priced through the roof. My adult daughter & I have done a mother daughter week every year for 12 years. Our final one is starting on 9/4. It’s final because I am so angry. We stay at Yacht Club every trip. So, room prices have gone up 150.00 from what rack rate was not very long ago, magical express is leaving, we had to purchase our magic bands, and now people will be paying to ride sooner???!!!!! Where is the line drawn on price increases, perks disappearing, and all of the magic being drained away with my money. My trips have always averaged 5k for 8 days including meals, events, souvenirs etc. Since Covid with short staffed everything, less tables in restaurants so less reservation availability, no fast passes and by the way, you get to pay another 20-30% for your trip (I get supply chain shortages and cost increases because of shipping costs but come on!!!!) why does anyone even have a desire to be abused in this manner!!!! It’s heartbreaking but MY MAGICAL DISNEY is gone!!!! They’ve made it ordinary and upsetting. I will wait for grandchildren to even entertain the thought of another trip. Would cancel this one if it wouldn’t break my daughter heart.
I don’t mind paying for the pass to stand in a shorter line. I’m older with bad knees and maxpass saved me (wish they had just kept that!) I DO have a problem with paying for Genie+ AND having to PAY ADDITIONAL money to ride certain rides. For crying out loud, the price of admission is high enough as it is without adding Genie+ AND having to PAY MORE to ride rides you’ve already paid admission for! The Disney dream is gone. If you aren’t a technical person, your Disney days are done. It’s so unbelievably sad what Chapek and his cronies are doing. Put Abigail in charge! She is the only one who understands and still believes in Walt’s dream. The rest of them are horrible people. :-(
This is solely to make up for lost finances due to Covid. Prices are going up on everything everywhere to make up for lost finances. Be prepared. No, I don’t agree with this but we’re going to have to get used to it, like it or not.
For the entertainment giant’s fiscal 2021 first quarter, which ran from October through December 2020, Disney saw revenue go from $20.9 billion in 2019 to $16.3 billion in the same period in 2020, as coronavirus shutdowns and consumer caution cut attendance at movie theaters and Disney theme parks, the company said …Feb 11, 2021 They made more money during COVID….
My exact thoughts. Most corporations are doing the same thing – making up for lost revenue. As if Americans haven’t been through enough.
“In the third quarter of 2021, the Walt Disney Company reported a net profit of 923 million U.S. dollars”. Now imagine what their profits will be if people “got used to it”. People vote with their pockets, if no one or very few bout the upgrades then Disney would change their tune pretty fast, especially if the rides were going empty.
This isn’t due to COVID. They first announced Genie in 2019. They used COVID as an opportunity to take away things under the guise of the pandemic. This has been in the works for a while, it was just an opportune time to make the sweeping changes they wanted to at once. Lastly, all the people whining “I’m done”….you aren’t really, tho. You’ll continue to go. For the record, Disney doesn’t read these blogs…so your empty threats to stop going really are for naught. Especially since the mouse knows you’ll all continue to go.
Maybe they will, but I won’t. I’ve already stopped going. There’s no more magic there for me anymore.
Wrong, they have read it all. They say they have gotten 70% negative comments on this system. They are listening. But people need to follow through and not buy it and promote it at all.
I’m DONE!!!! I’ve thought the same thing myself about grumbling and still paying. They’ve gone a step too far.
I agree they have had this in the works for some time. COVID was just the opening they used to implement it. (Kind of sick to use a virus that has killed millions, but again that’s the mentality of Chapek)
Also, I keep seeing people use terms such as, ‘guests’ or ‘fans’. Those terms are no longer recognized by Disney. Those are past terms. People we are simply ‘customers’ now.
Chapek is strictly a money man. It’s his base. It’s what he knows. He is and never was a ‘Disney’ man. From an investment stand point he is the man you want in his position. He has no loyalty to Disney customers. He has no care or concern regarding the affordability of visitors. And he sees people visiting WDW for what they really are, customers buying a product. Chapek has his researchers diligently looking for areas in which he can replace free services or items and charge a fee for them. Fastpass isn’t the only perk he’s changing. Expect more surprises in the near future.
Quite literally the only way, THE ONLY WAY, this genie plus would possibly fail, would be due to a severe drop in park attendance and purchasing of genie plus. The likelihood of that happening is close to never.
So what do we do? First, stop thinking of ourselves as ‘Guests’ or ‘Fans’, but as ‘Customers’. I know that will be hard because before Chapek we were treated as a ‘Guest’ visiting a place for families to feel welcomed and wanted. Second, accept what WD has transformed into. An amusement park. Pay for play amusement park with hotels.
I know, I feel you all, it sucks. But WD Company will not adjust for its customers. It’s not Chapek’s way.
Who do you think made them any money in 2020 and 2021 ? The LOCALS and DVC members. Without those two groups they would be in a whole lot worse shape than they are now, so please don’t tell us how these two groups of people plus the great cast members should have to make up loses to hand out GIANT bonuses and more for the stock holders. Most of us are not executives or stock holders. The three groups above are the most loyal fans they have and spend the MOST money in the long term. Maybe the executives and stockholders could take a little LOSS because of the situation just like everybody else !
You don’t have to get used to it if you don’t like what they’ve done. Take your hard-earned money and go elsewhere to spend it. Somewhere you’re not being taken advantage of.
Yeah keep telling yourself that lie
I am surprised as many folks liked it, the entire program removes the previously included option for free fastpass and now states you can have it, but you need to pay extra.
Which really begs the question, if this was included as part of the ticket price, but is now removed, why has the price not gone down?
You are 100% right.
Exactly. And watch, ticket prices will continue to rise as will the cost of Genie +. Before long it will be as much, if not more than Universal
CEO makes it out like they are doing the park goers a favor. There is no favor we would be paying for that favor. This is just BS! There is no magic anymore unless yo pay for it.
Actually, they are doing us a favor. They are showing us their true colors, and we can choose to go elsewhere. Now that the magic is gone, I will be gone, too. I already am.
Happy 50th Walt your parks are nothing like you wanted them to be. Walt fan not a Disney fan anymore!
Disney already makes a pitiful effort to ensure guests get their money’s worth, now apparently you have to pay extra for that
GREAT! Maybe Disney will listen, but I doubt it. Listening is not their strong suit lately. It’s just about woke agendas and charging more and reducing perks.
Well considering Internet media likes aren’t currency currently driving Disney’s stock price, I’m pretty sure they will be just fine. After all… The gripes on the Internet about all the other changes they’ve ever made haven’t really gotten very far (at least Anaheim still has Mr Toad) Folks want to make an impact? You have the power . Stop being a consumer. But you see…Disney knows their customer base will pay up and then some.
They just keep upping the ante. I say enough is enough. No to these new “programs.” Leave Fast Pass alone.
The jury is still out for me. I know other parks charge for those front of the line perks. I’m mostly okay with that. What they are planning reminds me of the old FastPasses, when you’d hustle to a kiosk and get that little paper slip. Once you’d use one you could get another. That was a level playing ground for both day and resort guests, which isn’t the case with Genie. And that added “surcharge” for the headliner attractions – uh, no. I’ll spring for $15, but I think I’ve reached my limit. If Genie functioned like the original FastPasses in a digital format, I might feel better. I guess if the Powers That Be can keep ratcheting up costs, and people keep coming and paying, there’s no incentive to do anything differently. I’ll keep going as long as we’re able to, but dang. We’re going next month (we’re DVC folks since 2001) but in putting together a budget I had to swallow hard. Meal costs. I MEAN. I don’t want to have to sell a kidney to keep going.
disney has changed so much , its food, its parks, the experience, every thing that made it worth wanting to go no matter the cost, its all being ruined in the name of Covid and the fleecing of guests that want to be at disney. In the long run people will continue to go to places like pigeon forge, Tn and other places that don’t cost 3 , 4 ,5 hundred dollars a person a day. since covid we have not been on rides we use to love cause of no fast passes and long lines. Disney is confusing any more. so many new rules , programs , ect. everything since they built shanghi Disney in 2015 has resulted in higher costs and less quality. its disappointing.
It seems this Genie has made much of the magic disappear.
you silly people. cheapact and d minus amaro could care less what you think. you are to just shut up and pay. if you have not gotten that message yet with all the diminished magic, then i feel sorry for you.
Terrible decisions by Disney. So pay to get into the park and then you want me to pay to ride the rides. Crazy, no plans to return anytime soon after going 19 times the last 17 years. Looking into new adventures.
Take care Disney, it was a great ride while it lasted
No more magical express, charge for parking at resorts, etc etc etc
And you have to walk from and to the parking lot. I cannot walk well but do not want to rely on canes and wheel chairs either. 😢Ridiculous they can run the monorails which are enclosed but no trams that are open air. Oh yeah and the magical express is no more now too.
Over 80% now. Keep those Dislikes coming people
Finally, the Disney fans are united.
Of all the ways Disney can make a buck, I have to say that I am most disappointed in this one. As a DVC member, this should be an expense that we should not have to incur and should be a built in perk. They really should be ashamed of themselves as DVC members make up for the majority of the guest over the last year during COVID and are a huge source of revenue for them under normal circumstances. Disney is constantly showing DVC members year after year that it just doesn’t value us and takes us for granted. To expect a family of four to spend an additional $60 to $80 dollars a day is unrealistic especially when most DVC members come much more than a week every year as they are also annual pass holders. I hope enough of us complain loud enough that someone hears us because this time Disney really pushed the envelope too far in my opinion! Funny thing is I just went to Disney Parks Blog to post there as well and Disney has disabled the ability to post comments because they have been getting blasted all morning. Not a surprise on either accounts as they want to keep the polished turd looking as shiny as possible and try to sell it as a great thing for Disney guests.
So, part of me wonders if they hadn’t come out with the “extra night magic hours” for ONLY deluxe resorts if this might have had a better response… That and now this is easily perceived as the “money grubbing executives” trying to fill their already gold parachute pockets with more money. I found that utterly appalling and it made me really angry.
Let me preface this with, I am going to the parks 7 days in October, it will be my 500th trip, a true die-hard Disney fan and am assuming this will be in play when I am there.
The money aside, which I will address in a minute, my biggest issue with this is that this will now turn my normal luxurious vacation into a “forced to get up at the crack of dawn every day miserable person”. No more sleeping in, having made my 3 favorite fast passes, my lunch, dinner and desert party reservations all in advance with plenty of shopping and show time in between. Not my idea of a relaxing vacation.
If this is what it will now be then instead of doing 7 days (8 hotel days), I’ll just do 4 and get up every day at 6:45 am to buy my two Lightening Lane rides and reserve the first pass, while rope dropping and sprinting through all that can be done in that first 2 hours, grabbing a few free single passes as they are available. If you can afford the 15.00 per day and then the, let’s say, 15.00 each for 2 bought “fast passes” and you rope drop, then if you don’t mind the crack of dawn, you’ll be OK.
I am very savvy having been as much as I have and also used Maxx Pass at Disneyland so I know that by 2 or 3 the regular Genie passes you can get one at a time will be gone for the day. (Maybe sooner as that seemed to be the trend for Disneyland in off season months…) I can make an educated guess that the 2 you can purchase will be gone by, I’d bet, 10am.
There are a lot of “regulars” who spend a great deal of money on the hotels, sit down food and special events, but we’re spoiled with those 3, made in advance, fast passes. I can tell you, I did the math and if I pay the 15.00 Genie charge per day, buy 2 Lightening Lane passes a day (even if they were 15.00 each) but have 3 less days of hotel, I’ll save a bundle and Disney will be out not only 3 days of hotel money from me (generally 1500.00+ there), there’s easily another $1000.00+ they will be out on the food, additional shopping and special events I would have spent. I’ll take that money and go have a relaxing, sleep-in till 9, breakfast on my balcony, overlooking an ocean with a friend, giggling about how with our “girl logic” this relaxing trip was actually free. And Disney will turn into a once a year event for me.
I feel especially bad for the people who can’t afford the 15.00 extra per day not to mention paying per ride. I work like a dog and am blessed to make a small fortune but there so many people who work like a dog and don’t make enough to afford this. Many people save for years to even get to come just once.
This trip for me will certainly be interesting. I haven’t wait in a line for more than 30 minutes in about 10 years and I’m not starting now.
(Disney, if you’re reading this, you do realize that my ‘500th trip” means I am used to going (pre-covid) about 7-8 times a year, right? I’m sure your math is good after counting all that money of yours to realize this is a loss of 20k a year from me. Let’s hope you don’t have too many others that feel like I do, or too many revolting from the charges in general, or hauling in their bologna sandwiches instead of eating at Cosmic Rays.)
Excellent post. I’ve been just six or seven times over the 50 years since Christmas 1971, not your 500 (you might give Silver Dollar City in Branson a try, or any of the Six Flags Parks which are vastly under-rated and good fun; Dollywood, Universal, Kings Island, Cedar Point also worth the time and expense). I am sure Walt Disney would not approve of the per-person costs they now charge, nor some of the frankly sloppy reinventions and deletions of classic attractions, Fantasyland in particular. EPCOT is still a mess (Animal Kingdom not much better), with perhaps 6 or 7 things truly worth doing, despite years of reimagination attempts. Their re-doing the perfectly fine Viking ride in Norway, as one more example of making a nothing out of something. The Tokyo parks seem to have risen above much of this, and the staff at SDC in Branson should be the example for all parks and resorts when it comes to treating guests with care and appreciation, and sincerity. It is not an act by players, it is how they live. Anyway, to the point: Disney should add a third park in the USA, between the ski zones of south-eastern Colorado [Springs] and northwest Missouri (they do ski there), with inside slopes and machine snow if need be, in a Goofy In The Outdoors design that celebrates physical recreation and not just sitting in a plastic chair watching cartoons roll by. They can call it Winter-Summerland USA or such, and take off with flumes, trails, zip lines, gondolas, skiing, summer toboggans, kayaks, sailing, Fort Wilderness XL as RVing explodes, and more. This would disperse the domestic travel a bit, help to thin out some of the excess in Cali and Florida, and reduce expense to their flyover state customers. I think they’ve missed the boat from the outset by not sticking to Walt’s original EPCOT plan, never mind Celebration, along with numbly drawing in the delightful DisneyQuest. No clue what the thinking was on the Hawaii resort. If their ships turn a profit in the next 5 years that will be magic indeed. They have the talent and resources. The question is, do they actually care? Maximizing the Florida tract is all well and good, but as many have stated here and elsewhere they have burned much of their goodwill, and alot of it won’t come back. Hopefully they can right the woke ship before the shareholders decide to move on to a more welcoming and promising entity. Take care.
Its adding to the list of changes they’re making that are pricing out the regular family and catering to the ones with the most money.
Catering to ones who can already afford the extra costs for 2 premium rides in each park. I always stay deluxe and can well afford to do Genie+. But I won’t. I’m outraged on behalf of every single family that scrimps and saves and does without to provide their family a magical unforgettable experience only to be punished and in essence be told by Disney they aren’t good enough or wealthy enough so you can’t play with us. I will NOT be back unless something drastic changes. The line is drawn in the sand on ALL of the perks being snatched away as price increases are happening at an extraordinary rate. Seems to me if you are at a Disney property, value gets a night of extra time, moderate gets a night, deluxe gets a night. Disney wants to make everything equal and inclusive with all the ride changes etc yet they’re still putting people in their place. Definitely NOT magical. Walt is turning in his grave.
What a shame. First the nighttime parades. Then extra magic hours, magical express, airline checkin at the resorts, and now, fastpass. We used to come every year, but no more. Glad we got to take our grandkids while there was still some magic left. Just another amusement park now.
Not interested in going to WDW with Genie. I’ll spend my time & money elsewhere for now.
This is because hard core, woke Disney fans, now feel entitled to have the Disney experience that they think they deserve.
I bet this comment will be moderated (not the first time), but I hope that it’s not for the sake of free discussion on the matter.
How is expecting a decent experience, that one has paid for, being entitled? Do you go to a car lot and spend $75,000 on a 10 year old used car with no engine and 4 bald tires? No. You would spend that $75,000 on the latest suped up model of whatever it is you are looking to buy. Now what if the car salesman started taking out things like air conditioning, power steering, automatic everything, the sunroof, etc. BUT still expected you to pay %75,000. You going to do it?
I don’t like it either, but I know that I don’t matter.
Dear Disney Guest Communications,
I just wanted to send a quick message that you are really on a razor’s edge here. The annual pass experience is growing less and less worthwhile. If a goal of Disney is to drive people away from plans because our “yields” are lower than ticketed guests, then keep up the good work.
We are local DVC/AP card holders and have never before felt like we were valued less than we do right now. The implication that every time I show up at a gate there is the expectation that I either pay to play or be happy about having to wait in extended queue’s is very much not appreciated. I will not be paying to upgrade to a service that is inferior to the prior product which was included free, regardless of how many ridiculous marketing videos are released claiming it’s an amazing product. Your sleazy sales tactics do not go unnoticed nor is it any less clear that the decisions you’ve made “due to covid” have been nothing more than cover for a drastic lowering of the bar for your offerings.
You haven’t announced official details on how you are addressing annual passes yet outside of the exciting news that we can add on the new service every time we have the pleasure of visiting the parks. You still have some time. My response to the official details will depend entirely upon your decision but based off of your recent quest for improved “yields”, let’s just say my expectations are not high.
Stop treating your guests like 2nd class citizens or I’ll be looking to sell my DVC and will not consider renewing my AP when the time comes. I believe you’ve also underestimated the greatly increased animosity that ALL of your annual passholders and non-genietrified [sic] guests, are going to feel EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. a person walks past them in your “lightning lanes” while they stand / sit in standby queues.
Welcome to the new Disney. The angriest place on earth.
I think I liked the old motto better. Do better.
Respectfully,
Me
We are 5 year annual pass holders – and based on what we see happen we’ll decide what to do when this one expires in May 2021. Not optimistic- this is going to be a hard sell. Passes are too much as it is and we spend enough on food and drinks when we visit.
I think these are the concerns.
Greed has taken over once again! I’m a die hard Disney fan that has tried to embrace the many changes but my pockets are running out of money. Many other theme parks are much more affordable. The reason to go to Disney was to immerse yourself in the magic. The resorts no longer offer the free benefits of staying on property and now we have to pay to ride the best rides after tickets for entry continue to skyrocket.. Enough is enough. Very disappointing that the board has decided to make it a place only for the wealthy!
Too bad data hasn’t been collected from the Instagram feedback because it probably is 90% of persons do not like the paid options replacing what was once free.
There is a wall safe in every Disney World resort room. Guess what? I use it for our passports, iPad and cell phones. We do not take our phones into the parks as we are on vacation and want to unwind. Perhaps we are the minority, but to now insist that we use our phones, and our data plans, to book basically every popular ride the day of, pay extra for the honor and prvilege, get up early for that privilege, carry our phones around all day and charge them throughout the day, is beyond insanity. I know the parks were crowded, but now this extra time and energy to get a ‘better park experience’ is so stupid that is deflies logic. Good luck Disney.
Is it a coincidence that on the very day Disney executives are explaining why a paid FastPass system is in response to guest demand, Pinocchio is announced as a member of the Fab 50?
It sucks! Stop taking everything away that we love at Disney! Stop charging extra for everything that we used to get for free. also, bring back late hours that we used to get for free! 30 min early is not even worth getting up for!
Is it really that “divisive” if the reaction is 95% positive? Sounds like there are the vocal minority pining for the racist past. But shocker that an announcement that permanently removes a park freebie with a paid replacement.
Hate to be the one to point this out, but the reaction is NOT 95% positive. Not sure what numbers you are looking at but over 16k dislikes and 1k likes is not positive.
I wish we could back to the beginning of Disney World. Paid your entrance, received a book of tickets for rides and off you went. If you ran out of tickets you could buy more at any of the many places that sold tickets. Nobody was privileged because they had the money to pay for Fastpass or now Genie. Disney of today is far from the original vision of founder. Its all about the money. Common folks are now being locked out of park by the prices at Disney.😡
I’m disappointed that we are having to go to a “paid” service for enjoying the rides. I would rather they just increase the ticket price and keep the rides “free”. I like the idea of going to a “queue” for the rides but not a paid service. I go to Disney at least twice a year and the increased cost could eliminate one visit a year which would actually result in Disney getting less money from me yearly.
Dumb, just dumb. Pay extra to stay at the resort, pay extra to get to the resort, now pay extra for a worse version of fastpass. 5 day parks pass with Genie+ would be $300 extra for my family of 4 to get on a handful of rides faster. So much for trying to go on a budget.
People don’t mind paying more when they perceive greater value in a good or a service. But Lately, Disney has been REMOVING VALUE:
A lot of people and businesses suffered (and are suffering) during the pandemic, not just Disney. Chapek seems to be leading an effort for Disney to recover its losses all at once.
That might please the shareholders, but it will drive away guests.
This is great!!! I love the option. You want to have them increase everyones tickets by $15 a day and include it??? Let us go to the park with an option. If you want it pay for it. If you don’t than don’t pay for it. It is completely your choice. The worst thing about Disney is all the people there. The crowds are ridiculous. Let thin them out a little. I would rather go once every three years and have a much better time than go ever year and have it full of people complaining.
Newsflash. Ticket prices will STILL increase.
When we go to Disney we have a phone off policy as a family. We spend so much time during the year strapped to devices. That is the last thing we want on Holidays. We used to prebook fast pass, print our plans and go. Especially when we finally get to travel after two years of online learning. – never mind the additional cost for a family of 4 or up. Not reasonable at all
It’s ridiculous! Disney is pricing families out – end of story. We are DVC members and just on general principles we’re thinking about selling. What they are doing is gouging.
I have always loved WDW. But this upcoming visit will be our last. Disney has become too money hungry and doesn’t care about people. I cannot get a refund on my tickets or I wouldn’t be going this time. This is the last penny they will get out of me and I have spent many thousands of dollars there!!
As someone else said, Chapek runs the parks, not like an entertainment experience, but as a mall with rides. No respect for the magic that was once Disney.
The main thing to me is the change in staying on Disney property. There is zero incentive to stay on site any more Why would anyone pay 2x,3x,5x+ the amount vs staying offsite when there is no longer a benefit?
I can just imagine the new Disney Icon !!!!
A picture of Mickey Mouse holding a guest upside down by the feet to shake the last penny from his pocket …. I real shake down
For me the big deal over recent times is the almost complete erosion of perks for those staying on site. I love staying on site but price-wise these resorts do not represent good value any more and are below par compared to other local offerings. With no DDP thrown in, no magical express, no magic bands, a parking charge, and now with Genie there are no real ‘in-park benefits’ to staying on site (but hey you can get up at 7.00 to get 1/2 hour head start to pay for your lightening lane!!!). Really the ONLY thing worth having are the evening EMH if you can afford to go deluxe. Coming from the UK we have bossed the 14 day ticket in the past – assuming we can one day come again it’ll be queuing for us!
I’ve been visiting WDW since the 1970s, got married in the wedding pavilion and have visited multiple times a year, you can say I’m a Disney fan for sure. Trips used to be a full week staying at a Disney resort to enjoy the full immersion and escapism, often at the Polynesian, our resort of choice. For around the past 15 years or so, the amenities and benefits of staying on property were at first being chipped away at little by little and now its like taking a wrecking ball to the benefits, while prices skyrocketed. So year after year our time at Disney has dwindled less and less. The price has always been elevated, but in recent years, even pre-covid, the prices were going nuts, while quality and service have gone way downhill. For a long time we’d pay the premium because nostalgia and memories can really make you open your pocketbook. But with the prices where they are now, it’s not financially worth it to stay on property. It’s a better experience and less costly to rent a house for the week and a rental car. But with costs rising across the board at Disney, our time spent has gone from a full week on property, to one to two days at Disney, staying off property and visiting other Florida attractions. While Universal resorts don’t seem to hold the same cache as Disney resorts to many, I’ve got to say our experiences there have been better than Disney in recent years, even at the more value level resorts. The price range for the Polynesian resort in 2021 for a standard view ( parking lot view) room is between $618 to $1,053 per night for the room alone, not including the $25.00 day parking fee. I’m sorry Disney- for prices like that, Orange Bird better fly into our room and spoon feed our family Dole Whip every morning.
“…Orange Bird better fly into our room and spoon feed our family Dole Whip every morning.” Beauty!
The more I have visited WDW the more I like the Disneyland layout: You have your pick of at least 3 dozen good to excellent and economical off-site non-Disney hotels within a 20 minute walk to the parks, so no parking fee aside from anything the hotel charges and in Anaheim most don’t, a bunch of good cheap places within walking distance to eat and take a break — and along with Downtown Disney you’re not having to drive or bus it between venues. How much better would Florida be with something similar? Hugely. Universal Orlando has some off-site hotels similarly located, i.e. within a 20 or 30 minute walk to City Walk and park entry. more of those do have parking fees for hotel guests, but still basically cheaper than the venue, and you’re saving gas, hassle. There are more opportunities than just whatever they come up with in Burbank.
I think the idea of the genie service, the free one, makes some sense. But, this further devalues staying on property at Disney world. No magical express, no magic bands, no fast passes, less magic hours unless you are rich, as well as the requirement to make park reservations, and parking fees. Meanwhile, admission is just as high.
On top of that, having the Genie plus service not include all the rides is incredibly petty. They could solve for everybody picking rise by stipulating that you can only use genie plus for one of those rides a day.
I don’t know how easy it is going to be for most families to spend 50 or 60 bucks to get on ratatouille if the virtual queue has failed them again.
Thanks WDW news, I posted on the Disney blog our feelings about how this is just another negative experience for guests staying on property. The loss of so many things and now this additional cost. Disney didn’t post my comments. Living in Australia the cost to us to just get the front gate of WDW is $8,000 just in airfares , we have visited every 2 to 3 years, we buy the merchandise do the cruise etc. Whats the thanks from Disney take more away and charge more. They are really pushing us away. Is this a Epic mistake or a Epic future? Thanks Tome and the Team!!!
Ultimately, Disney will pivot only if their bottom line is hurt. “Vote” with your dollars.
I’ll be doing that. My anger far outweighs my desire to go at this point.
I think Disney is killing the magic and am appalled that they have stopped to the level of lesser theme parks.
If it works the same way as Universal’s Express Pass, then I’m all in. That’s the best $100 ever spent at an amusement park. No waiting in line – it’s glorious. Far prefer to pay the extra $ on Day 1 to bang out ride-after-ride-after-ride without having to wait VS. going 2 days in a row to the same park to continue to get minimal action.Day 2 (and going forward) just hang at the hotel pool, do downtown Disney, or go back to one of the parks just to walk around & shop and not bother with wasting time with the rides.
This is ridiculous. You have lost your greedy minds!
DVC member since 1993.
Paying more & more, getting less & less.
What happened to the electrical parade, free car parking in hotels , magical express from airport
I think the best days of Disney are behind us.
Disney has been striking out a lot in the last few weeks. $6k for a 2day (day and a half w/check in and check out times) for their Star Wars experience (from what I hear, that doesn’t include the immersive experience that they promised; costumes etc). Charging for the light show and the Genie+. They are making Disney properties the happiest places on Earth for the rich. Forget mid-middle class.
I am finally going to WDW & staying on the grounds for the first time, mind you paying a lot to stay on the grounds & now I have to pay to get on some rides sooner! Not happy to have to pay additional $ for it! Disney resort guests should automatically get free lightning line access!
They are a bunch of thieves. Disgusted with Disney not giving rhem another dime!
Here is why it’s a mistake and different than all other amusement park fast entries – Disney world relies on repeat customers who stay at the park hotels and they sell far more in accessories than any other park. You want the kiddied buying Disney toys, movies etc…. An unhappy Disney customer might avoid the rest of Disney.
Walt will be turning in his grave, “for the Masses” if they can afford it, the perks for staying Property have all but disappeared, “free Parking”, “DDP” and now this
I’m heartbroken. Planned a once in a lifetime trip for my 3 kids, 2 grands and my husband for May 2020. Canceled due to COVID, rescheduled for December 2021. Canceled that trip too as I don’t want to miss out on the TOTAL EXPERIENCE. Rescheduled again for May, 2022. Now Disney has introduced their replacement for the Fast Pass system at $15 per day, per person on top of admission, food cost, beverage cost, charging for parking and discontinued Magical Express? Nothing like a kick in the gut while your down. I know it’s optional but I don’t want to have to stand in line for 2-3 hours for a ride. This is pure greed, Disney. I truly would cancel the whole trip by my 6 & 7 year old grandchildren are so eager to go. I wish I never told them. I could take the $15,000 dollars and go rent a beach house and have an amazing time. This move by Disney disgusts me.
The only thing that I don’t like is that I have to wake up at 7:00 am on my vacations to be able to get a fastpass. To me having my days organized ahead of time was much much better. As far as the pay, what can we do about it. Everywhere else they charge you, at Six Flags is like paying twice your entrance ticket.
Besides the obvious – having to pay for Genie + and Lightning Lane – I’m honestly appalled that to participate in Lightning Lane – aka have the best shot at riding the most popular attractions – I will be forced to wake up before 7am each day of my vacation!? Am I the only one who felt stress and anxiety of having to do it for one attraction (ROTR)? That was bad enough! Guess they were testing to see how many people were willing to do just that and we “passed” that test with flying colors! Now we will have to do it every day for every park because they all have attractions that are in high demand, especially after October 1st, when the parks will likely be back at full capacity!