The "Last" Frontier: Get me out of this toxic relationship!
March 15, 2023
Laura Tracy, Owner & Travel Agent
Nickel and Dime? More like 50s and 100s.
What you should pay for and should skip...and why!
(organized by park)
(organized by park)
Please keep in mind that this advice is highly personalized to what we already recommend to our clients. For the best park experience (with the lowest crowd levels), we always recommend to our clients to arrive at least 30 minutes prior to park opening, take a mid-day break (if needed), and return in the evening. This may not work for all clients. Contact us or book your trip with us for in-depth, personalized recommendations!
Magic Kingdom
Lightning Lane Attraction Purchase: You can purchase either Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and/or Space Mountain. Our opinion is that these are not necessary if you follow our guidance for when to arrive in the park and what order to do the rides. If you feel that you do need to purchase either Seven Dwarfs Mine Train or Space Mountain, plan for about $10 or more for Seven Dwarfs and about $7-10 for Space Mountain (depending on crowd levels of course).
Note: On slower days, you could even wait and purchase these later in the day if you feel you need them, especially for Space Mountain.
Genie+: Not Necessary, but could make for a more agreeable park experience, especially if you are traveling during a high volume time. I will say that if you do decide to get Genie+ for your Magic Kingdom day, you really can maximize your time between Lightning Lane passes and Standby lines.
Note: On slower days, you could even wait and purchase these later in the day if you feel you need them, especially for Space Mountain.
Genie+: Not Necessary, but could make for a more agreeable park experience, especially if you are traveling during a high volume time. I will say that if you do decide to get Genie+ for your Magic Kingdom day, you really can maximize your time between Lightning Lane passes and Standby lines.
Rides available for Genie+ and the order we recommend them:
First
First
- Jungle River Cruise
- Peter Pan's Flight
- Splash Mountain
- Haunted Mansion
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
- Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
- Pirate's of the Caribbean
- Monsters Inc Laugh Floor
- 'it's a small world"
- Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid
- The Barnstormer
- Dumbo the Flying Elephant
- Mad Tea Party
- The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
- Tomorrowland Speedway
Contact us today to help plan your next Disney trip and we will share with you all of our practical insider tips for getting the most out of Genie, Genie+, and single Lightning Lane Attraction purchases!
Epcot
Lightning Lane Attraction Purchase: Options available for purchase are for Frozen Ever After and Ratatouille. Our opinion on this is a bit complicated. If you follow our general park arrival guidance, you could conceivably get on ONE ride before the lines get long. In the past, that recommendation has been to head to Frozen or Test Track and join the Ratatouille virtual queue. Our recommendation here depends on if you purchase Genie+, if you purchase Genie+, then you can use Genie+ for Test Track, head right to Frozen, and virtual queue Ratatouille. If not, you could head right to Test Track, purchase Lightning Lane for Frozen, and join the Ratatouille virtual queue. Both Ratatouille and Frozen are about the same pricing for individual Lightning Lane Access, but will vary based on crowd levels.
Note: On slower days, you could even wait and purchase these later in the day if you feel you need them, especially for Frozen (Ratatouille is currently selling out faster, as expected).
Genie+: Again, we see this as somewhat not necessary, but it really depends on your arrival time and your park plan, so contact us if you need some help with your plans!
Note: On slower days, you could even wait and purchase these later in the day if you feel you need them, especially for Frozen (Ratatouille is currently selling out faster, as expected).
Genie+: Again, we see this as somewhat not necessary, but it really depends on your arrival time and your park plan, so contact us if you need some help with your plans!
Rides available for Genie+ and the order we recommend them:
First
First
- Test Track
- Soarin'
- Spaceship Earth
- Mission Space
- The Seas with Nemo & Friends
- Living with the Land
- Turtle Talk With Crush
- Journey Into Imagination With Figment
- Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival
Contact us today to help plan your next Disney trip and we will share with you all of our practical insider tips for getting the most out of Genie, Genie+, and single Lightning Lane Attraction purchases!
Hollywood Studios
Lightning Lane Attraction Purchase: Options for Hollywood Studios are for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance and Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway. Now HERE is where the rubber meets the road for Lightning Lane single use passes! We will likely be recommending the attraction pass for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance for any client who is interested in that attraction. Even at it's lowest point the line wait is still in excess of 70 minutes and the Lightning Lane access tends to sell out pretty quickly. Meaning that there isn't time to see how the lines are looking before you decide. Plan on this one being pretty consistently at $15 per person.
As for Micky & Minnie's Runaway Railway, we are not sure this one is worth it. It will likely usually be $10 or under per person (based on crowd levels), and the line tends to be consistently long (especially mid-day), but there are still some early morning and end of day strategies that can work for this one, especially if you have Genie+ for the day.
Genie+: We see this as a definite perk for Hollywood Studios which pretty consistently has the most number of attractions with the longest lines. Even when we employ our early morning and end of day strategies, we are unable to hit every single one without avoiding at least 2-3 fairly long waits.
As for Micky & Minnie's Runaway Railway, we are not sure this one is worth it. It will likely usually be $10 or under per person (based on crowd levels), and the line tends to be consistently long (especially mid-day), but there are still some early morning and end of day strategies that can work for this one, especially if you have Genie+ for the day.
Genie+: We see this as a definite perk for Hollywood Studios which pretty consistently has the most number of attractions with the longest lines. Even when we employ our early morning and end of day strategies, we are unable to hit every single one without avoiding at least 2-3 fairly long waits.
Rides available for Genie+ and the order we recommend them:
First
First
- Slinky Dog Dash
- Rockin' Roller Coaster
- Millennium Falcon
- Toy Story Mania!
- Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (Pro-tip: we really like doing this one at night!)
- Alien Swirling Saucers
- Star Tours
- For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration
- Beauty & the Beast Live on Stage
- Disney Junior Play and Dance!
- Muppet Vision 3D
Animal Kingdom
Lightning Lane Attraction Purchase: Available attractions for Animal Kingdom are Avatar Flight of Passage and Expedition Everest, and we feel this one is more of a judgment call. We provide information to our clients on how to navigate the park without having to make the one-time pass purchases, but it could make for a less stressful park experience if you are willing to purchase the Lightning Lane access to Avatar Flight of Passage. The pricing of this one will correspond to the crowd level, but on certain days it could be only $9 or $11 and may be worth it. This one does not sell out as fast as the Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance one in Hollywood Studios, but it is possible that it could sell out late morning or mid-day depending on demand and crowd levels. We do not feel that Expedition Everest purchase (which could be as cheap as $7) is really worth it unless you are in the park during a very busy day.
Genie+: Same comments here as above, there is a strategy that works well for Animal Kingdom that can help you avoid making this purchase, but it could make for a less stressful day that does not require you to arrive quite so early.
Genie+: Same comments here as above, there is a strategy that works well for Animal Kingdom that can help you avoid making this purchase, but it could make for a less stressful day that does not require you to arrive quite so early.
Rides available for Genie+ and the order we recommend them:
First
First
- Kilimanjaro Safari
- Na'avi River Journey
- DinoSAUR
- Kali River Rapids
- A Celebration of Festival of the Lion King
- It's Tough to be a Bug
- The Animation Experience at Conservation Station
- Feathered Friends in Flight!
Contact us today to help plan your next Disney trip and we will share with you all of our practical insider tips for getting the most out of Genie, Genie+, and single Lightning Lane Attraction purchases!
If It's Free It's for Me Recommendations
So the news is not all bad when it comes to the add on pricing that Lightning Lane access adds to your trip, the other side of that coin is some of the wonderful free elements that are included with Disney Genie.
Note: The first two sections here are about the "Tip Board" which separates information between two tabs: "Experiences" and "Dining".
Note: The first two sections here are about the "Tip Board" which separates information between two tabs: "Experiences" and "Dining".
Tip Board: Experiences
Showing wait times and next available Lightning Lane times is not necessarily anything new, though both are reimagined and now SO much easier to read.
What's so great about this new functionality is that you can click on the attraction and view estimated volume so that you can plan your day around the crowds. We have concerns about how this information can then impact the movement of crowds, but at the start, this is a great perk. These estimates will also update as the day presses on. The rest of the attraction information (such as height requirements and Lightning Lane availability displays as well).
What's so great about this new functionality is that you can click on the attraction and view estimated volume so that you can plan your day around the crowds. We have concerns about how this information can then impact the movement of crowds, but at the start, this is a great perk. These estimates will also update as the day presses on. The rest of the attraction information (such as height requirements and Lightning Lane availability displays as well).
Tip Board: Dining
Through the 'Tip Board' you can now use Disney Genie to place Mobile Dining orders, make dining reservations, or join a walk-up list for certain 'hard to get' dining locations. While this is not much of a change for mobile order or dining reservation capability, how they display these options is significantly improved!
Mobile Dining Pro-tip: Start placing your order about 20-30 minutes before you want to arrive to pick up your food (possibly more on busy days or during busy lunch/dinner hours) to ensure that you can eat when you want.
Our favorite aspect of the dining reservation change: So hard to choose!
First, the app now displays if there are any dining reservations available for that establishment on that day. Meaning you don't have to search random times over and over until you are sure nothing is available. You can click on "Make a Reservation" and see what is available for that particular restaurant without scrolling incessantly.
Add to that, Genie will now allow you to add yourself to a 'walk-up' list for a restaurant that has sold out reservations! It's such a wonderful way to manage the flow of customers and ensure that your dining locations don't have empty tables, and guests don't feel disappointed that they can't dine at their favorite locations.
Note: You can also still search dining availability and walk up to a podium the old school way! Also keep in mind that the availability could vary by party size, meaning that a party of 2 will have different availability for both reservations and the walk-up list than a party of 10.
Walk-up Pro-tip: The walk-up list definitely sells out! You have to be nearby the restaurant to join the walk-up list, so when you get to the park, if there is a list you want to join, we recommend heading over there and getting added so as to not miss out when the walk-up list closes.
Mobile Dining Pro-tip: Start placing your order about 20-30 minutes before you want to arrive to pick up your food (possibly more on busy days or during busy lunch/dinner hours) to ensure that you can eat when you want.
Our favorite aspect of the dining reservation change: So hard to choose!
First, the app now displays if there are any dining reservations available for that establishment on that day. Meaning you don't have to search random times over and over until you are sure nothing is available. You can click on "Make a Reservation" and see what is available for that particular restaurant without scrolling incessantly.
Add to that, Genie will now allow you to add yourself to a 'walk-up' list for a restaurant that has sold out reservations! It's such a wonderful way to manage the flow of customers and ensure that your dining locations don't have empty tables, and guests don't feel disappointed that they can't dine at their favorite locations.
Note: You can also still search dining availability and walk up to a podium the old school way! Also keep in mind that the availability could vary by party size, meaning that a party of 2 will have different availability for both reservations and the walk-up list than a party of 10.
Walk-up Pro-tip: The walk-up list definitely sells out! You have to be nearby the restaurant to join the walk-up list, so when you get to the park, if there is a list you want to join, we recommend heading over there and getting added so as to not miss out when the walk-up list closes.
My Day: We're Reserving Judgment
We are reserving judgment on "My Day" for now until we have enough data for drawing some conclusions about how well that functionality makes recommendations.
We do like that you can chat with a cast member via that part of the dashboard, but keep in mind that those chats are not likely with an 'in-park' cast member and is more likely a call center type of situation, so guest services in the park is still your best resource for something urgent or park related.
We do like that you can chat with a cast member via that part of the dashboard, but keep in mind that those chats are not likely with an 'in-park' cast member and is more likely a call center type of situation, so guest services in the park is still your best resource for something urgent or park related.
Contact us today to help plan your next Disney trip and we will share with you all of our practical insider tips for getting the most out of Genie, Genie+, and single Lightning Lane Attraction purchases!