Disney World Fast Pass V Fast Pass Plus
Disney's Paid Replacement for Free FastPass Debuts This Month at Disney World
The Disney Genie service will launch on Oct. 19.
Disney is retiring its popular — and free — FastPass in favor of a paid version allowing park-goers to skip lines for a daily fee.
Disney Genie will officially launch on Oct. 19 in the My Disney Experience app to help guests curate their perfect Disney World day with personalized tips (the service will debut at Disneyland Resort at a later date). As part of the new Disney Genie service, the line-skipping feature, named Genie+, will cost $15 per ticket per day at Walt Disney World Resort and $20 per ticket per day at Disneyland Resort, the company announced in August.
The service will allow theme park visitors to select one ride or attraction at a time and choose the next available time to use the new expedited Lightning Lane entrance. Selections can be made across multiple parks.
Disney World
Credit: Matt Stroshane/Walt Disney World Resort via Getty Images
Those visiting Disneyland will also receive unlimited Disney PhotoPass downloads with the Disney Genie+ pass, while those at Disney World will receive access to augmented reality lenses for photos.
For an extra fee, guests can pre-schedule a time to visit up to two high-demand attractions using the Lightning Lane entrance scheduled that day. Disney says the pricing for this feature will vary by date, attraction, and park, ranging from $7 to $15 per ride in an example on the Disney website. Rides available for individually-purchased Lightning Lane selections include: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Space Mountain, Frozen Ever After, Remy's Ratatouille Adventure, Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Avatar Flight of Passage, and Expedition Everest.
The parks will continue to offer standby queues as well as virtual queues at certain attractions.
"While the FASTPASS, FastPass and Disney MaxPass services will be retired, we're incredibly excited about the flexibility and choices Disney Genie service provides," the company wrote in its announcement. "You can choose from all of our new options, a mix of them or none at all, and continue to have a great experience no matter how you decide to plan your best Disney day."
The Disney Genie service will be built into the My Disney Experience and Disneyland apps and also includes several free features like the ability to create a personalized tip board, see current and forecasted future wait times for rides, and make dining reservations. The service also includes a virtual assistant so guests can ask questions from anywhere in the park.
The decision to move away from the free FastPass comes after Disneyland Paris replaced its own free service with a paid version earlier this year. In France, park goers can sign up for Premier Access and reserve space on popular rides for €8 to €15 each.
Alison Fox is a contributing writer for Travel + Leisure. When she's not in New York City, she likes to spend her time at the beach or exploring new destinations and hopes to visit every country in the world. Follow her adventures on Instagram.
Disney World Fast Pass V Fast Pass Plus
Source: https://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-news/disney-retiring-fastpass-new-genie-service