A Complete Guide to Genie+ at Disneyland 2023

A Complete Guide to Genie+ at Disneyland 2023

star-wars-rise-of-the-resistance-boarding-group

A Complete Guide to Genie+ at Disneyland 2023

This is your complete guide to help answer the question, what is Genie Plus at Disneyland? The Disney Company has always been on the forefront of technology development ensuring that all of their guests have the most convenient, modern experience. We saw this first touch of this in 2013 when Disney released the MyMagic+ platform. This is the platform where all technology lives at the Disney Parks. From your MagicBands to the My Disney Experience App. As with everything, Disney continues to improve its practices, hence creating the new Disney Genie and Disney Genie+ programs. At both Walt Disney World in Orlando, and Disneyland in Anaheim.

So, if you’re wanting to learn what is the Disney Genie pass at Disneyland, keep reading!

We hope you find this post helpful, and if you are planning a trip to Disney be sure to check out our other FREE vacation planning tools. Our goal at The Park Prodigy has always been to help you save time on your next vacation and find the cheapest Disneyland tickets! So if you’re ready for the new details on the Disney Genie, let’s read on.

What is Disney Genie Plus 2023?

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The Genie+ Disneyland 2023 is a premium, pay to skip-the-line service. It is intended to allow guests to book passes to use the Lighting Lane at Disneyland. For a one time fee, guests will have access to book return times for the Lightning Lane entrance at certain attractions in the park. If you’re looking to cut down on waits significantly, this may be your best option. We will cover more pros and cons further along in this Disneyland Genie Plus Guide.

What is the Genie Pass at Disneyland 2023?

  • Disneyland Genie Plus is a paid for replacement service for the previous Disneyland FastPass system, MaxPass.

At the end of  2021, the Disney Genie Disneyland feature was officially launched in the My Disney Experience App. This marked the official retirement of the previous free FastPass system, Disney MaxPass. The feature’s are fairly similar in terms of guest experience. However the upside of the Genie Plus Disneyland 2023 is that PhotoPass is now included. That’s right! You will receive unlimited PhotoPass digital downloads with your purchase of Disney Genie Plus Disneyland.

Related Post: Complete Guide to Disney World Genie+

How to Use Disneyland Genie+

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The Genie Plus at Disneyland is like your Golden Ticket to skip longer lines. Once you purchase and begin to book your Disney Genie+ selections, you will be given a return time for that attraction. As soon as that return time window opens, your MagicBand+ or your park ticket becomes your pass to use the Lightning Lane entrance to the attraction you’ve chosen. Once you’re there, scan in with the attending Cast Member, and you’ll be allowed to enter the Lightning Lane.

Now that we know how to get Genie Plus Disneyland, you probably want to know how you can purchase it! The first thing you will want to make sure you have is the My Disney Experience app. This is where all of your Disney vacation needs can be planned, as well as, where the Disney Genie lives. You will also be required to have a valid park pass and park tickets before you will be allowed to start your Genie Disneyland purchase.

How to Buy Genie Plus Disneyland 2023

  • The day of your trip, open your My Disney Experience app and select “My Disney Genie Day”
  • Select the My Day tab and click to “Get Disney+ for Today”
  • Follow the prompts to make your purchase
  • Make sure to purchase the Disney Genie+ for every member of your party

Related Post: When Does Christmas Start at Disneyland?

What Attractions are Included With the Disneyland Disney Genie+ Program 2023?

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Purchasing the Disney Genie+ gives guests access to book the Lightning Lane for Disneyland Genie Plus. In the My Disney Experience app, you will have a personal skip-the-line service, waiting for you to book available attractions to have shorter waits. Whether you’re planning on staying in one park the whole day, or park hopping to the other, you will be able to use the Disney Genie+ service in any park you visit!

Let’s go over what does Genie Plus include Disneyland in terms of rides.

List of Genie Plus Rides Disneyland 2023

  • Autopia
  • Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
  • Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
  • Haunted Mansion
  • Indiana Jones Adventure
  • “it’s a small world”
  • Matterhorn Bobsleds
  • Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run
  • Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin
  • Space Mountain
  • Splash Mountain
  • Star Tours – The Adventures Continue

Genie Plus Rides California Adventure 2023

  • Goofy’s Sky School
  • Grizzly River Run
  • Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!
  • Incredicoaster
  • Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!
  • Soarin’ Over California
  • Toy Story Midway Mania!
  • WEB SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure

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Disney Lightning Lanes 2023 – Premium “a la carte” Charge for Individual Attractions

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Individual Lightning Lane selections are arguably, reserved for the most popular attractions in the parks. The attractions specifically for the Individual Genie Lightning Lane are not going to be included in your Disney Genie+ purchase. These are completely separate, a la carte style, with different prices for each ride. These prices will vary by day, and are in no way guaranteed to be one set price.

What are the Lightning Lane at Disneyland 2023?

  • Disneyland – Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
  • Disney’s California Adventure – Radiator Springs Racers

You can check out the pricing for all of the Disneyland Lightening Lane attractions here.

Genie Plus vs Lightning Lane Disneyland

  • Disney Genie+ – A paid “skip the line” service which for one fee, per person per day,  you are allowed to book multiple attraction experience fast passes, very similar to the old fast pass system.
  • Individual Lightning Lane – A separate paid feature of the Disney Genie+ service. Which allows you to purchase a spot in the Lightning Lane for only one attraction that is not included on the Disney Genie+ attraction list.

It is important to know the difference between Lightning Lane vs Genie Plus Disneyland due to the similarities in them. The Disney Genie+ is the paid version of the Disney Genie. This is where you can book Lightning Lane reservations for a select number of rides. Individual Lightning Lane attractions are where you can book individual, separate popular attractions without having to purchase Disney Genie+. Disney Genie+ attractions are included in the price for Disney Genie+, where Individual Lightning Lanes Disneyland passes are for more popular attractions where guests pay a fee to ride only one individual attraction.

Related Post: Complete Guide to Disney’s Virtual Queue

Disneyland Genie Plus Tips For Your 2023 Disneyland Trip

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So, what are the best Disneyland Genie Plus Strategies for fully understanding how to use it? Here are the best ones we could come up with, since vacations can be stressful and these extra planning tools can be quite confusing.

Stack Your Genie+ Selections

A big Genie Plus Tips Disneyland of ours to make sure you aren’t missing any time, by stacking your Lightning Lanes AS soon as you possibly can. Even with all of the rules in place, if you strategically book your Lightning Lanes, you can easily stack them to make sure you’re set for the day. Stacking is when you consistently book Lightning Lanes as they come available, for later in the day, creating a stack of lightning lanes ready to go beforehand.

  • Make sure you book that first Lightning Lane RIGHT AWAY once you scan into the park. If you’re using your app to scan into the park, keep it open! Do not waste any time. We highly suggest looking for a very popular attraction that might get fully booked before you have a chance to get it.
  • As soon as the 120 min mark opens for booking again or you use your lightning lane – book your next lightning lane right away
  • We even suggest doing so in line right after you scan in your Lightning Lane so you don’t forget!

Refresh Your App Frequently

One of the greatest Disneyland Genie+ Strategy we can give you is to keep refreshing your app. Some guests using the Disney Genie+ Lightning Lane or individual Lightning Lanes get discouraged when they open their app and don’t see any attractions they want. One of the most important tips we can give you is to keep refreshing!

Sometimes it takes 5-10 minutes of refreshing the screen of Lightning Lane selections to get an attraction you want. That is because the Disney Genie is a live system that is constantly changing, so Lightning Lanes are opening up and getting booked all the time. The app can be glitchy and you might have to constantly refresh, but something should eventually populate for a new Lightning Lane selection.

Skip Using Genie+ Selections on Lower Wait Rides

Using the free Genie tool, you can check out wait times all day to see which attractions are more popular than others. This is important because if a wait is under 30 minutes, and there are other attractions with higher waits, we would recommend trying for those instead. While you’re waiting for higher wait attractions that you’ve gotten a Lightning Lane for, you can ride lower wait attractions while filling up the time between Lightning Lanes.

Related Post: Complete Guide to Character Dining Experiences

What Else is Included With Disney Genie+ Program?

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If you’re visiting from Walt Disney World or maybe you have used the old Disneyland MaxPass system. You may be wondering, is PhotoPass included with Genie Plus Disneyland? And thankfully, we can say yes! This might be the make or break decision for you and your family when considering purchasing this service on your next Disneyland vacation. You will receive unlimited Digital Downloads from PhotoPass photos with your Genie+ purchase!

Does Genie Plus Come With Photo Pass 2023?

  • Yes!

Related Post: Your Guide to Disney’s PhotoPass Service

How Does the Disneyland DAS Program Work with Disney Genie+ For Guests With Disabilities?

When using Disney Genie+ while also needing to use the Disney Disability Access Service (DAS), things might be in your favor monetarily. While you absolutely can purchase Genie Plus Disney Land, you may be better off just using your DAS pass. The Disability Access Program allows a guest with a disability that prevents them from standing in a normal queue to do so virtually. This virtual standby system allows you to select a return time for an attraction that is calculated based off of the current standby wait time for that ride. You also are able to add the members of your party to your DAS pass, this will prevent you from waiting separately from your party.

So it is completely up to your digression if you want to add the Genie+ service to your DAS ticket! We think that between the two, DAS is a more comfortable and reliable service for guests with a Disability.

When Can I make a Lightning Lane Selection at Disneyland 2023?

  • After you scan into the park
  • Once you have scanned into an existing LL reservation
  • At the 2 hour mark since making your last selection

You can book Lightning Lanes for Genie + either after you’ve used the first one you’ve booked OR it has been 120 minutes (2 hours) since you’ve booked your last Genie+ selection, whichever comes first.

Can One Person Make Disneyland Genie Plus Lightning Lane Selections for the Entire Group?

  • Yes! As long as each member of the group has also purchased the Disneyland Genie Plus Service

Once each member of your party has purchased Disney Genie Plus at Disneyland and their park ticket is linked to your app, you make make Lightning Lane selections for an entire group.

How Does Park Hopping Work with Disney Genie Plus at Disneyland/Disney California Adventure?

  • Disney Genie+ works with your Park Hopper ticket. You do not need to purchase Genie Plus Park Hopper Disneyland for each park.

If you have purchased a Park Hopper ticket for your Disneyland vacation or you have a Magic Key that enables you to park hop, you do not need to purchase Genie+ again. Genie Plus at Disneyland is attached to you ticket, not the park. The service will follow you and give you access to rides even at a park you aren’t in! So, Does Genie Plus Work for Both Parks? Yes! One example from our experience is that we started our day in Disneyland and made a LL selection after park hopping hours for California Adventure Genie Plus Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission Breakout! This option gives you more choices of Disney+ selections to use throughout your day in the parks.

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How Does Disneyland Genie Plus Compare to Disney World Genie Plus?

While Disney Genie, Disney Genie+, and Lightning Lane services were announced at the same time for both parks, their release date and some features are different. As we mentioned earlier, Disney Genie and Disneyland didn’t rollout until December of 2021. But that time, the services had already been in use for 2.5 months at Walt Disney World. This had guests asking, is Genie Plus available at Disneyland 2023? Thankfully it is, just slightly different. Among the rollout, some other notable changes come with the inclusion of PhotoPass downloads at Disneyland, and the amount of times you may ride a ride.

Differences in Genie+ Services from Disneyland vs Disney World 2023

Disneyland:

  • PhotoPass Downloads
  • Must wait to scan into the park to purchase Genie+
  • You also must be scanned into the park to make your first LL selection
  • Ability to ride the same ride more than once using the service

Walt Disney World:

  • Able to purchase at midnight the day of your visit
  • Can make your first selection at 7am
  • You may only use Genie+ to ride an attraction one time

Related Post: What is the Best Disney World Park?

Genie Plus Disneyland FAQ 2023

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Q: What Does Genie Plus do at Disneyland?

A: The Genie+ Disneyland 2023 is a premium, pay to skip-the-line service. It is intended to allow guests to book passes to use the Lighting Lane at Disneyland. For a one time fee, guests will have access to book return times for the Lightning Lane entrance at certain attractions in the park. If you’re looking to cut down on waits significantly, this may be your best option. We will cover more pros and cons further along in this Disneyland Genie Plus Guide.

Q: What Rides are Included in Genie Plus for Disneyland?

A: At Disneyland you can use Disney Genie+ on these rides: Autopia, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, Haunted Mansion, Indiana Jones Adventure, “it’s a small world”, Matterhorn Bobsleds, Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run, Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin, Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, Star Tours – The Adventures Continue.

Are You Ready to Plan Your Next Disneyland Trip?

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Our Disneyland Crowd Calendar is the best tool to help you get the most out of your time in the parks. We break down park crowds, park hours of operation, ticket prices, and average temperature. We also break down the best time to visit Disneyland based on specific times of the year and special events.

Don’t forget to check out our wonderful friends over at Theme Park Today, as well!

Kurt Gillman

Kurt Gillman is the Multi-Media Manager and one of the main content creators and editors for The Park Prodigy. Kurt has been a life long Disney and Universal fan. But after meeting his partner in 2016, the Orlando theme parks became a their go-to vacation spot. Often visiting multiple times a year! After moving to Los Angeles from New York City in 2019, Kurt quickly transitioned from a frequent Disney World guest to a Disneyland one! And now as a former Disneyland Cast Member, It’s safe to say he knows the ins and outs of the Disneyland Resort. If he isn’t found trying the newest treats in Disneyland, Kurt enjoys relaxing at home with his dog Sam and playing video games with friends in his free time.