Time limits with booking Disney’s Genie+ and Lightning Lane selections

We are still trying to navigate the specifics of how the new Genie+ and Lightning Lane features will work once they debut next week. There will be limitations to when and how often you can book your Genie+ selections. Here is what we know so far.

Disney Genie

Genie rolls out next week, and there is still so much to unpack as Disney releases a little information at a time and we try to piece it all together.

We are about to experience an entire new way of park touring with Disney Genie. There is a free version, Genie, that helps you plan your day by analyzing wait times, optimizing your wants and needs, and so much more.

A paid version, Genie+, will cost $15/person/day at Disney World and $20/person/day at Disneyland. It will essentially allow you to cut the line for almost every attraction in the theme parks.

And finally, an a la carte option, Individual Lightning Lane Selections, will be available for those headliner rides.

That is the short and sweet version. You can find the full version and get all your questions answered in this guide.

Booking those selections

You will be able to grab your first Genie+ selection at 7:00 am on the day of their your visit. You will have to wait 120 minutes before you can make your next Genie+ selection. Ok, but how does this work when you book your first selection at 7:00 am (or before park opening)? Will you have to wait 120 minutes after you made your selection or after park opening?

Can you make a selection at 7:00 and then again at 9:00 am? What about parks that open later in the morning, like Epcot? could you have multiple selections before the park even opens for the day?

While we have not seen this in practice yet, the 120 minute waiting period begins at park opening. This means you can make your first selection at 7:00 am but then you must wait 120 minutes after the park opens to make your next selection.

The 120 minute waiting period begins at park opening, not when you made your selection.

Disneyland’s MAXPASS had a similar 90 minute restriction, but FastPass+ did not.

Even if your first selection is later in the day, you can still make a subsequent selection for another time as long as it’s 120 minutes after the park opens.

More restrictions

It is also worth noting that if your first Genie+ selection is within the first 120 minutes of park opening, you cannot book your next selection until after you have redeemed the first one. If you choose not to redeem your first selection, you will have to wait until it expires to book another.

If you want to take full advantage of Genie+ to get early morning return times, you will likely have to wake up at 7:00 am to make those selections. There is no telling which attractions will book up quickly.

You may be waiting hours to redeem your first selection. The early bird gets the worm, right?

Pirate tip: make those Genie+ selections as early in the day as you can!

A note about Individual Lightning Lane Selections (ILLS)

The above information and scenarios only pertain to Genie+ selections, which are part of the $15/$20 fee. The Individual Lightning Lane Selections, better known as ILLS or the a la carte option, will have their own return times.

The two features will not affect one another.

Thankfully Kenny will be in the parks next week putting all of this into practice and working on strategies. We eagerly wait to hear his thoughts!

What do you think of these restrictions? Will you be waking up early every morning to make these selections? Let us know in the comments below and on Facebook.

Source: @ScottGustin on Twitter