I’m super organized. I had our recent Disney trip planned to a T. I was up getting our genie reservations at 7am, I’d booked all the best character dining. I was on my phone booking new passes every 2 hours.

Even still, dh was so over it. The crowds were out of control (we went M-Th during the lowest week of the year) and we often waited in line 45-90 per ride. My 2 year old lost her mind at having to wait in lines like this. My biggest beef is with child swap. Dh would go with one kid while I waited with the other two and then I would go with the other kid while he waited with the toddler. Doing this took foreeeeeever. You used to be able to walk on (rightly so, we already waited once!) but now the wait was 20 min each time.

I don’t think I can ever convince my easy going husband to go back to Disney. We’ve been 2x a year for years. It’s just straight up miserable now. Dh thinks they’ve allowed too many people in for the rides that they have.

Oh yeah and not one character was walking around. You either pay $$$ for character dining, wait in long lines to meet them or wave while a parade goes by.

We do Disney cruises instead - amazing and so relaxing

I am not a big disney fan, but don't a lot of vacations involve planning? I spent more time researching my trip to Alaska than I did researching disney (and I spent plenty of time reading up on Genie+ strategies). Unless you are just going to chill on the beach for a week, vacations take planning and often some things have to be arranged in advance.

Next up, Advanced Super Genie++, with integrated Fast Pass, Quick Pass, and Quantum Pass.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’ve been pre and post Covid. It’s definitely not easy but it’s also learn-able without paying an influencer for a class I think. Definitely think Disney needs to rethink genie plus re: being on the phone that much.

What like paper fast pass? Of course future line skipping options will be tech based. I don’t want to go back to collecting paper fastpasses in person!

New poster here
I like the system they had between the paper fast passes and the Genie; where you can pre-book 3 fast passes and use them by scanning your magic band or plastic card ticket. It was so nice to be able to book them 2 months in advance, rather than having to wake up at 7 am every morning of vacation

They are getting ready to introduce advance Genie+. The problem is that will give the advantage to power users which is the supposed reason the got rid of Genie+ to being with.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We’ve been pre and post Covid. It’s definitely not easy but it’s also learn-able without paying an influencer for a class I think. Definitely think Disney needs to rethink genie plus re: being on the phone that much.

What like paper fast pass? Of course future line skipping options will be tech based. I don’t want to go back to collecting paper fastpasses in person!

New poster here
I like the system they had between the paper fast passes and the Genie; where you can pre-book 3 fast passes and use them by scanning your magic band or plastic card ticket. It was so nice to be able to book them 2 months in advance, rather than having to wake up at 7 am every morning of vacation

Anonymous wrote:We’ve been pre and post Covid. It’s definitely not easy but it’s also learn-able without paying an influencer for a class I think. Definitely think Disney needs to rethink genie plus re: being on the phone that much.

What like paper fast pass? Of course future line skipping options will be tech based. I don’t want to go back to collecting paper fastpasses in person!

We’ve been pre and post Covid. It’s definitely not easy but it’s also learn-able without paying an influencer for a class I think. Definitely think Disney needs to rethink genie plus re: being on the phone that much.

We went back in about 2013 when kids were younger. Everybody had a fun time, but can see ever returning.

It’s really not that hard. Yeah you need the nuts and bolts of each iterative line skipping system, but the overarching parts are the same. We go every couple years and have a great time. Fly on miles, stay offsite. It’s really no more expensive than any other trip. We’re going to AZ for spring break and it will cost just as much.

I read that with interest. As a European, I've been to EuroDisney many times (and Tokyo Disney once), and it's far simpler. I had no idea the US parks were so complex! It hardly seems enjoyable...

We will never go. I am not shelling out thousands of dollars to stand in line and have a stressful vacation trying to maximize our thousands.

I first went in 2006, and I thought then it was an absolute chore to research and plan.

Those devotee websites stressed me out, too: people planning out every meal months and months in advance and raving about truly average food.

Fearful of reading how much worse it has become.

Interesting article, thanks for sharing. I had started planning a Disney trip pre pandemic but the FB Disney tips group had me all stressed out. I am waiting until my DD is a little older because I only plan on doing it once and I want to make sure she really remembers it.

Reading this made me glad that we went before things got so crazy. Took the kids in 2015 when they were 4 and 10 years old. Once was more than enough.

https://wapo.st/3vTUyY5