Walt Disney World Tech News & Discussion- Magic Bands, Genie+, and more

[HandsomePete]

Genie+ featuring heavily in the earnings call earlier today. Take rate of 33% not a surprise, but 50% over the holidays is a bit misleading given how much reservations would have skewed toward on-site hotel guests with the near-total passholder blockouts.

Disney Genie Plus propels domestic parks to record quarter

High sales of Disney's skip-the-line products boosted the domestic parks to record revenue and operating income in the company's fiscal Q1.

www.travelweekly.com

As someone who is mildly annoyed but not overly bothered by G+, hopefully they'll get through this period of focusing on yield and shift investment back to domestic parks since the international sites have proven to be..... problematic.

 

[shiekra38]

Genie+ featuring heavily in the earnings call earlier today. Take rate of 33% not a surprise, but 50% over the holidays is a bit misleading given how much reservations would have skewed toward on-site hotel guests with the near-total passholder blockouts.

Disney Genie Plus propels domestic parks to record quarter

High sales of Disney's skip-the-line products boosted the domestic parks to record revenue and operating income in the company's fiscal Q1.

www.travelweekly.com

As someone who is mildly annoyed but not overly bothered by G+, hopefully they'll get through this period of focusing on yield and shift investment back to domestic parks since the international sites have proven to be..... problematic.

I like the articles saying "shareholders" (i.e. disgruntled Epcot fans that have 1 share of DIS on their Robinhood app) are going to vote out Chapek.

It's laughable that was even reported

All I can say is, good for them, if it leads to more investment in entertainment on D+ and more capital projects in the parks (lol no holding my breath) then these are very good numbers

I mean they're very good numbers regardless

 

[OrlandoGuy]

I like the articles saying "shareholders" (i.e. disgruntled Epcot fans that have 1 share of DIS on their Robinhood app) are going to vote out Chapek.

It's laughable that was even reported

All I can say is, good for them, if it leads to more investment in entertainment on D+ and more capital projects in the parks (lol no holding my breath) then these are very good numbers

I mean they're very good numbers regardless

Having bought a handful of DIS shares at $164 in November thinking it was a steal, only to have it hover between $140-$150 since then, no, it’s not just Epcot fans lol. I don’t think he’s getting ousted but I’m sure the guys with more skin in it than me are getting a little restless.

Granted, now the whole market is in a slide but it’s not like Disney is doing themselves any favors with the weird publicity around some of their talent, the disappointing box office returns/poor marketing for some of their film assets, the bungling of some of the Fox/Star Wars assets they spent billions on, etc. It also doesn’t help that what’s looking to be the anchor of your most tried and true franchise in Marvel isn’t even an IP you own.

Actually, the parks (and Disney+) are one of the few bright spots. But Chapek doesn’t have the charisma to talk around that or re-assure anybody.

 

[HandsomePete]

Having bought a handful of DIS shares at $164 in November thinking it was a steal, only to have it hover between $140-$150 since then, no, it’s not just Epcot fans lol. I don’t think he’s getting ousted but I’m sure the guys with more skin in it than me are getting a little restless.

Granted, now the whole market is in a slide but it’s not like Disney is doing themselves any favors with the weird publicity around some of their talent, the disappointing box office returns/poor marketing for some of their film assets, the bungling of some of the Fox/Star Wars assets they spent billions on, etc. It also doesn’t help that what’s looking to be the anchor of your most tried and true franchise in Marvel isn’t even an IP you own.

Actually, the parks (and Disney+) are one of the few bright spots. But Chapek doesn’t have the charisma to talk around that or re-assure anybody.

I mean, your stock going down 10% in the short term probably has more to do with the threat of interest rate hikes to ease inflation than Chapek.

Some of the other stuff, I think the fact that blame gets laid on Chapek speaks more to Iger seeing the writing on the wall and hitting the eject button at the exact right moment than Chapek's actual performance. Between the Infinity Sage ending, the third SW trilogy, and the live action reboots, the box office gravy train was going to slow down. Fox was destined to be a boondoggle. Is Chapek above average? No, but it's not like Kevin Meyer or the third option would have handled things much better, other than small things that don't really move the needle. I'd throw the Scarlett Johansson thing into the doesn't really move the needle category.

 

[OrlandoGuy]

I mean, your stock going down 10% in the short term probably has more to do with the threat of interest rate hikes to ease inflation than Chapek.

Some of the other stuff, I think the fact that blame gets laid on Chapek speaks more to Iger seeing the writing on the wall and hitting the eject button at the exact right moment than Chapek's actual performance. Between the Infinity Sage ending, the third SW trilogy, and the live action reboots, the box office gravy train was going to slow down. Fox was destined to be a boondoggle. Is Chapek above average? No, but it's not like Kevin Meyer or the third option would have handled things much better, other than small things that don't really move the needle. I'd throw the Scarlett Johansson thing into the doesn't really move the needle category.

Yeah I’m not saying he’s the reason share prices are down, I’m saying he’s an easy fall guy and the way he’s handled a lot of things indicates he’s not exactly the PR-friendly frontman who can rally investors when times get tough.

I do agree he got handed a crummy situation. Iger managing to avoid COVID was big in and of itself, but you’re right that there was so much more stacked against him

 

[UniversalRBLX]

Chapek is doing what he was hired to do - cut costs and increase revenue after spending a boatload on Fox. All of the changes they've made to the parks should be expected, annoying, but fully expected.

 

[Ron101]

Is Genie+ a scam at WDW? Rides completely book out within minutes and then you can’t pick anymore good rides. People not staying on property can’t book anything reasonable. Seems like everyone gets at most 2 rides max if they’re lucky. The standby lines are unbearable since most people buy genie+ and the ratios are awful.

 

[SkiBum]

Is Genie+ a scam at WDW? Rides completely book out within minutes and then you can’t pick anymore good rides. People not staying on property can’t book anything reasonable. Seems like everyone gets at most 2 rides max if they’re lucky. The standby lines are unbearable since most people buy genie+ and the ratios are awful.

Depends on how you define "scam". The individual Lightning Lanes sell out very quickly, within minutes for some rides, and Genie+ availability is tricky at best. While there a week ago, I used it at Magic Kingdom and was able to do a little stacking as well as selecting my favorite rides (ex. Haunted Mansion, Pirates, etc). Of course, these rides have the capacity such that they never needed a FP/Genie representation but that's another old argument. Now, I don't like the fact that I can't select ride window times and the app itself is convoluted and difficult to figure out. However, I was able to use Genie+ and got about the same benefit out of it that I did out of FP+.

Having said that, I hate it. I hate the impact on lines and I hate having to use my phone so much when I want to unplug somewhat. Now, using it is optional, and thus I chose to enlist in it. It is almost depressing that the lines are conflated as they are. It doesn't help that the parks are exceptionally busy right now. I completely agree that the ratios are awful and, when added to the number of people at the park, creates a very frustrating day. It's been said before but Universal's Express Pass (Unlimited or not) does not destroy the lines like Genie+/FP+ has done. Since FP+ rolled out, I wondered how long before it became a pay-to-ride option since they had to justify the cost of MyMagic, particularly after they bragged on how much more customer spending would be created.

Just wait until Guardians opens at EPCOT and they charge $30/person (if not more) to ride it for the first year. I'm betting that they won't do virtual queuing or boarding groups when they can charge to ride it. I've been wrong before, though, many times.

 

[Nick]

I used Genie+ for Lightning Lane the other day for my first time. My review is most certainly an outlier from others as I was staying at Saratoga for a few days while meanwhile I live up the street. We actually used the first part of the day as a hotel/pool day, so we didn't get to the park until right before the second Festival of Fantasy around 2:30 and didn't have our first booking until around 3:00 (Little Mermaid), and eventually went on to do Buzz and Space with LL, especially since Space is no longer upcharge (along with the rest of Tomorrowland).

We then used it for Jungle Cruise, Aladdin, Pirates, Big Thunder, and it's a Small World, took a break and skipped the fireworks to eat at The Diamond Horseshoe, which is family style now and if it's open during your trip, I would definitely recommend. We then did Hall of Presidents and finished out the park during the extra hours for resort guests and did Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion, Carousel, Winnie The Pooh, and Seven Dwarves Mine Train.

As for if it was worth it, for me, and my situation, it was. We basically didn't get there until 3pm on a busy day and did everything in the park and always had planned to stay into the extra hours so we didn't have to pay extra for a short wait on SDMT (we walked on in about 5 minutes). For WDW hotel guests, I would say that you should take advantage of the early half hour and extended 2 hours and you may not need it at all. However, it was nice to just be able to show up late, stay late (park was open until 1am) and not have to wait in a significant line all day. Certainly worth $15, but I would never pay extra for the rides.

 

[shiekra38]

As for if it was worth it, for me, and my situation, it was.

Hate speech

 

[Nick]

Hate speech

To expand what I mean by this was it was worth it for me staying at a WDW hotel and having access to the early hours and the evening hours + having this be a staycation. As something to add while i'm staying at a WDW resort and basically role playing what a WDW vacation is like again instead of just visiting from time to time with my Annual Pass, it was worth trying once. I'd probably do it again for a day during a Disneyland vacation for a day or so. Certainly not something i'd choose to do every day of a vacation, but doing it once was nice.

 

[shiekra38]

To expand what I mean by this was it was worth it for me staying at a WDW hotel and having access to the early hours and the evening hours + having this be a staycation. As something to add while i'm staying at a WDW resort and basically role playing what a WDW vacation is like again instead of just visiting from time to time with my Annual Pass, it was worth trying once. I'd probably do it again for a day during a Disneyland vacation for a day or so. Certainly not something i'd choose to do every day of a vacation, but doing it once was nice.

From what I hear people are using it and find it useful...much to us AP's dismay

I for one don't hate having the option of using it once or twice for a major ride

 

[Ron101]

It seems MK is the easier park to book stuff with because there’s so many rides. Hollywood studios probably the worst park for availability.

 

[Nick]

It seems MK is the easier park to book stuff with because there’s so many rides. Hollywood studios probably the worst park for availability.

Yeah, I think based on options of things to do, the only other park I can possibly recommend to use this at would be Epcot. I think we spent all of 4 hours at DAK and did all of the rides (with Primeval demoed and EE under refurb, there wasn't much to do), ate lunch, both major trails, and things like It's Tough To Be A Bug, Kite Tails, etc.

At DHS, it's a bit different since the, but there's at the very least more shows and more rides in that park, but the lines for most of the rides are extremely long so I guess I can see how a vacationing family would use one there, especially if it's a once in a lifetime trip.

 

[belloq87]

I'm curious what Disney is seeing in terms of guest feedback to prompt this:

Disney World Attempts to Lower Guest Expectations of Genie+ Paid Skip-the-Line Service

Walt Disney World news, photos, and reviews! We provide you with daily news from the Walt Disney World theme parks and beyond

blogmickey.com

Whatever the case, it seems clear the system is not functioning anywhere close to optimally (certainly as far as the guest experience goes).

 

[Ron101]

I'm curious what Disney is seeing in terms of guest feedback to prompt this:

Disney World Attempts to Lower Guest Expectations of Genie+ Paid Skip-the-Line Service

Walt Disney World news, photos, and reviews! We provide you with daily news from the Walt Disney World theme parks and beyond

blogmickey.com

Whatever the case, it seems clear the system is not functioning anywhere close to optimally (certainly as far as the guest experience goes).

Yet they keep it in place and offer no signs of fixes or removal of the program.

 

[Nick]

I'm curious what Disney is seeing in terms of guest feedback to prompt this:

Disney World Attempts to Lower Guest Expectations of Genie+ Paid Skip-the-Line Service

Walt Disney World news, photos, and reviews! We provide you with daily news from the Walt Disney World theme parks and beyond

blogmickey.com

Whatever the case, it seems clear the system is not functioning anywhere close to optimally (certainly as far as the guest experience goes).

Well we know that many guests are are stupid while on vacation an I wouldn't be surprised if most aren't reading what the product they are buying is. They probably think it's on par with Universal Express where you can just pick any ride and you'll have no issue or no upcharage then they find out that's not the case at all.

 

[SkiBum]

Well we know that many guests are are stupid while on vacation an I wouldn't be surprised if most aren't reading what the product they are buying is. They probably think it's on par with Universal Express where you can just pick any ride and you'll have no issue or no upcharage then they find out that's not the case at all.

Or, in keeping in line with your being in "stupid mode" (the guest, not you specifically), they will either not read it or think that they are smart enough to do better.

 

[Mad Dog]

The general public primarily aren't hard core theme park fans who spend a good proportion of their life monitoring fan sites. Someone going on a vacation shouldn't be expected to immerse themselves in every little detail of the nuances of that trip. It's up to the corporation running these theme parks to keep it simple, and easily understandable, so the average family can have an enjoyable vacation, in return for the big bucks they are spending. Disney's over complicated, and often confusing agenda, is the problem, not 'stupid guests', which is a term that shouldn't even be used.....Genie plus is so complicated that even some theme park bloggers have problems understanding, and explaining, it's usage.

 

[MrBlonde]

The general public primarily aren't hard core theme park fans who spend a good proportion of their life monitoring fan sites. Someone going on a vacation shouldn't be expected to immerse themselves in every little detail of the nuances of that trip. It's up to the corporation running these theme parks to keep it simple, and easily understandable, so the average family can have an enjoyable vacation, in return for the big bucks they are spending. Disney's over complicated, and often confusing agenda, is the problem, not 'stupid guests', which is a term that shouldn't even be used.....Genie plus is so complicated that even some theme park bloggers have problems understanding, and explaining, it's usage.

In my head I only assumed this was only going to be paid FastPass and expect the same amount of mileage out of it. Disney creates demand, limits capacity, and then sells you ways to cutting through it's own created mess. Why reward the behavior?

HHN's express-simple each house once. UO Express-simple permeant access to Express lane.

Disney only came blame themselves, but they chose the parameters to make this work. But they don't care. They just want less consumers who pay more.