The Disneyland Genie+ Manipulation

 A conversation I overheard in the Blue Bayou restaurant bathroom last September:

An older lady, with daughters who just left, was talking to a stall. "We're here for the day, but we're not doing any rides. Couldn't figure out Genie +." A second lady comes out, "Yeah, I couldn't figure out Genie + either." The first lady, referring to the app, "We finally got it open, but I didn't have my glasses on, so instead of selecting Splash Mountain I hit Space Mountain. Well, I'm not doing that! I'll be dizzy for a week!"

In the last year I've been to Disneyland quite a few times and got to experience the park before and after the introduction of Genie+. I was there the week the program rolled out, though rather haphazardly. Admittedly I never used the program once during any of the visits, though tempted a couple times just to see how well it works. Instead my experience is that of countless hours in the standby lines, and witnessing the constant manipulation Genie+.

Soarin' over the World/California in DCA is the worst. If you're in the standby line with a promised wait time of 30 or so minutes and one of two theaters go down, that line's wait time immediately jumps to 120 minutes. I've experienced this twice. The first time was the first day of Soarin' over California for the Food and Wine festival. The line was so short! Going right to the door entering the building, though the listed time was 115 minutes before shortly jumping to 120. What happens is Lightening Lane, which the previous Fastpass lines were called, get priority. It felt like 150 to 200 people would pass before 4 to 6 standby people would be allowed through to the theater ride. It's demoralizing. Dehumanizing. And I vowed in that moment to never buy Genie+. The line for the Standby was momentarily shut down to prevent people from entering, creating a pay to play atmosphere, and this is after the exuberant cost of the entrance fee. I was mad, really mad, and even mad instagrammed the experience, which I later deleted out of reckless guilt. But still! It was a horrible experience. When the second theater opened again all returned to normal. It was still horrible. (Can't believe I waited twice, though, but it was out of sure frustration, stubbornness, and a need to see what happens). 

One of the frustrating things is witnessing the manipulation of standby wait times. One time Big Thunder Mountain Railroad had a 30 minutes standby wait time, which turned out to be less then 10 minutes. I went on Indiana Jones after reopening due to technical stuff, listed wait time was 45 minutes. I got on in less then 15.  Rise of the Resistance is usually slightly inflated as well. The key for this ride is to watch the movement of the line outside, and then see how long the standby line is. There are times the listed wait time would be 70 minutes, and I'd be on the ride in 45-55 minutes. Didn't happen all the time, but it happened a few. 

There was a trip where my Mom and I were tempted to try out Genie+, and then we listed the rides we wanted to do that day: Mark Train, the Train, Rise of the Resistance, Pirates, Jungle Cruise... we realized the rides we wanted to do weren't included on the base Genie+, and the rides that are in the program we already did when the lines were good.

So I have no feedback on how the program itself works, only that I didn't want to figure it out, didn't want to stare at my phone all day, and wanted to be spontaneous. I hate being tied down. But one thing's for certain, Genie+ has ruined things. I don't like looking at wait times and wonder if the leadership is trying to manipulate me into purchasing a product. Knowing them I am being manipulated. It leaves a gross feeling. I got to experience the parks before the implementation of Genie+, and they were awesome. Without the two merging lines, the regular line would flow so smoothly, alleviating standing still for too long. Those were the good days. Unfortunately Genie+ is creating a great monetary increase, record profits despite the reservation system, so thanks to that the program is here to stay. 

It's not fun feeling like a numbered chattel instead of a valued costumer. Disney is ridiculously expensive. 

Sarah

P.S.  I've been sick this last week. Feeling a lot better. Not quite 100%, but it's so nice to be improving and out of danger. Only lost my smell for 3 hours instead of the typical 2-4 days. That was an improvement. Also, went through hot and chill without having a fever which was weird, and my sister-in-law, along with her friend, experienced the same thing. So whatever thing is going around here has some interesting symptoms.