We recently covered the basics of the complimentary Disney Genie service, answered some frequently asked questions and even took a deeper dive into the Disney Genie+ service. Let's take it even further and go through the step-by-step instructions on how to use the Disney Genie+ service on your next Walt Disney World vacation.
Disney Genie+ can be added to your theme park tickets in one of two ways: you can either add the service to your vacation package or you can purchase the service through the My Disney Experience app each day that you plan to use the service. If you have added Disney Genie+ to your vacation package, you can skip the section below on purchasing and scroll down to the "How to Make Your First Disney Genie+ Lightning Lane Selection" section.
How to Purchase Disney Genie+ through the My Disney Experience App
Step 1. Open the My Disney Experience app and login if it's the first time you're using the app or if the app hasn't saved your login information from previous uses.
Step 2. Next, go to My Day. Note that you can access My Day a few different ways. You can click on it from the home screen of the app where it says Today's Plans and then click on My Day over on the right hand side. You can also click on the + icon in the middle of the app and then select the bottom selection View My Genie Day and Tip Board. Or, you can click on the Menu icon (also known as the hamburger button or three horizontal lines) and then click on My Genie Day.
Step 3. Once on the My Day screen, scroll down to where it says Take Today to the Next Level and click on get Disney Genie+ for Today.
Step 4. The next screen will provide an overview of what is included in the Disney Genie+ service. If you want to continue with your purchase, click on Get Disney Genie+ Service.
Step 5. The Review Details page is where you can review the total price and edit Your Party. The price for the Disney Genie+ Service at Walt Disney World is $15 per guest plus tax. Tax will not be included on this page but will be calculated at checkout.
Your Party should default to everyone you have Plans with for that day but if you need to edit your selections, you can do so by clicking on Edit. You have the option to Select All or check/uncheck members of your Party. You can also select additional people from the Anyone Else Going? Section. You will also see individuals who are Not Eligible for the service below the Anyone Else Going Section.
Once you've confirmed Your Party, click Confirm Party or the back arrow in the top left to get back to the Review Details screen.
Click Continue to move on to the Order Summary.
Step 6. The Order Summary screen is broken down into 3 sections. Section 1 is where you can View Your Order Summary, see the full total of the Disney Genie+ with tax included, and see the Guest Info.
Section 2 is for Contact Info and where you can enter in your Email (to send confirmation to) and Phone (in case questions arise). The system should automatically fill in this information based on your Disney profile. It's worth noting that the system pulled an alternate phone number I haven't used in years and I can't even find where it's stored in my profile since my profile has my updated phone number. If you need to change your information, click Change located next to your email and/or phone number.
Section 3 is for Payment Info. You have the option to pay by Disney Gift Card, a Disney Rewards Redemption Card or Credit or Debit Card.
Once you've entered in all of your information in each section, click Next.
Step 7. The final step is to check the box stating "I have read and agree to the Terms & Conditions of my order" and then click on Purchase.
You'll see the "Hold on tight while we aim to complete your request" screen before you see the order confirmation.
How to Make Your First Disney Genie+ Lightning Lane Selection
Step 1. Open the My Disney Experience app. You'll want to login to the app before 7:00 AM. If you login right at 7:00 AM, you'll already be behind. I suggest logging in at least 5 minutes early to allow enough time for signing in and double checking all of your selections (theme park, Top Picks, etc.).
Step 2. Go to the Tip Board screen. Similar to the My Day screen mentioned above, there are a few ways to get to the Tip Board screen. You can click on the + icon in the middle of the screen and then select the View My Genie Day and Tip Board or click on the hamburger icon and then select Tip Board in the top left.
Step 3. Once on the Tip Board screen, the Park should default to whichever park you have Disney Park Pass reservations for but if for some reason it doesn't, click on Change Park to make an alternative selection. (It's worth noting that out of the 6 days I used the Tip Board on a recent trip, there was only 1 day where the system didn't default to my selected park.)
Step 4. Before 7:00 AM, the Tip Board screen will show the Standby Line wait time as Not Currently Available and will say "Make 1st selection starting at 7:00 AM" for Disney Genie+.
As you get closer to 7:00 AM, keep an eye on the time and count down the seconds until 6:59:59 AM. When it's time, pull down on the app to refresh the screen. The app will Check Availability for Disney Genie+. If you refresh too early, no worries. Just keep refreshing until you see availability.
Genie+ Tip: First thing in the morning, I recommend only selecting your top attraction for your My Top Picks. The reason for this recommendation is that the My Top Picks are shown at the top of the Tip Board screen. Only selecting one attraction for your My Top Picks will reduce the need to scroll and will save you valuable seconds in making your selection.
Step 5. At 7:00 AM, you will see a change to the Disney Genie+ and should now see the option to Book Experience. Click Book Experience as fast as possible. The next screen will take a few seconds to load so try not to panic while you see the Loading screen.
Once the screen is loaded, you'll see the Review Details screen. The top of the screen will show you the attraction details, height requirements, theme park and date your Disney Genie+ Lightning Lane Selection is valid.
Below that you will see your redemption window. This is the time you can redeem your Disney Genie+ selection. You are given a one hour window to return to the Lightning Lane entrance of the selected attraction. If the displayed time doesn't work for your plans, the only option is to go back and try to make the selection again to see if a later time is available. It's very important to know that there is a risk of all LL availability being unavailable for the selected attraction by the time you go back, especially if it's one of the more popular attractions. Click the X button in the upper left hand corner at your own risk!
The Review Details screen will also show your Plans During This Time (click on the arrow icon to expand that section) and Your Party (click on Edit if anyone in Your Party will not be joining you for this LL selection).
When you are ready to confirm your select, click Continue.
Step 6. You should now see the Reservation Confirmed screen. This will be your indication that everything worked and your booking is now confirmed.
The screen will review the attraction information, your redemption window and Your Party.
You are now done! You have made your first Disney Genie+ selection of the day! You can click on View My Day to go back to the My Day screen. If you scroll down, you should now see your Disney Genie+ selection around the time of your redemption window. If for some reason you don't see your selection in your My Day, don't panic. You may just need to refresh your screen before your see it appear in My Day.
How to Purchase an Individual Lightning Lane Selection
There are some attractions at each of the theme parks that are not included in the Disney Genie+ Service and are only available by use of the Standby Line or by purchasing an Individual Lightning Lane. You can purchase individual selections for up to 2 different attractions per day. Pricing and availability varies by attraction. Be sure to check the My Disney Experience app on the day of your visit for current prices and attraction availability. The attractions that are available as Individual Lightning Lane Selections are:
Magic Kingdom Park
- 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
- Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain
Step 1. Open the My Disney Experience app and go to the Tip Board.
Step 2. Find one of the attractions that are available as an Individual Lightning Lane and click on the Individual Lightning Lane option. You should see the Window Starts at X:00 AM time and Purchase for $XX in blue text to the right.
Note that Guests staying at a Disney Resort Hotel and Other Select Hotels can make their first purchase starting at 7:00 AM on the day of their visit. All Other Guests can make their first purchase when the park opens.
Step 3. The next screen will be an overview of the Individual Purchase. It goes over the purpose of the Lightning Lane, how many purchases you can make, and how to redeem your selection when it's your turn to ride. Once you've read over the information, click Continue.
Step 4. Unlike the Disney Genie+ Service, the Individual Lightning Lane allows you to select a specific time for your return on the Select a Time screen. You can Search by Hour and then Choose Your Preferred Time.
Again, you'll be able to see Plans During This Time and Edit Your Party if needed.
Once you select the Preferred Time and confirm Your Party, click on the blue Continue button.
Step 5. The Review Details screen will show you your Individual Lightning Lane Purchase information at the top of the screen with the attraction information, valid date and number of guests with the pre-tax price.
You will also see the Redeem Between time listed and may see a message stating "Please note your time has changed" if the original time you selected is no longer available.
Below the redemption time you will find the Plans During This Time and Your Party again.
Click Continue if you want to confirm this selection or hit the back arrow in the upper left hand corner if you need to change your plans due to the redemption time not working with the rest of your plans.
Step 6. The Order Summary screen will show your total with tax, Guest Info with attraction, valid date and guest's names. At the very top of the screen you'll notice it says "Items held for 10 minutes". This will give you some time to review the information, make sure everything is correct and enter in your payment information.
Review or Change the information in the Contact Info section and then enter in your Payment Info.
Step 8. The app will take a second to refresh and then you should see a "Thank You. Your Order Is Confirmed" message appear with your Confirmation Number. You should also receive a confirmation email sent to the email address you entered in the Contact Info section on the Order Summary screen.
Just like with the Disney Genie+ you should see your Individual Lightning Lane selection appear on your My Day screen and the attraction should also say Purchased with a check mark next to it on the Tip Board screen.
How to Redeem a Lightning Lane Selection
Step 1. Pay attention to your redemption window. You are given one hour to redeem your Disney Genie+ or Individual Lightning Lane selection. Do not be early or late! Arrive within the one hour window.
Some Cast Members may give you some wiggle room and allow you to check-in a few minutes early or late but don't risk it! The keyword there is "may"... they may give you some wiggle room but that means they also may not. Stick to the one hour redemption window and everyone will be happy.
Step 2. Within the Redeem Between time, make your way to the select attraction.
Step 3. Go to the Lightning Lane entrance of the attraction and scan your MagicBand or MagicMobile Pass on your smartphone or Apple Watch (similar to how you scanned your device when you entered the theme park). If the Mickey light turns green, you are good to go. If the light turns blue, try again or ask a Cast Member for assistance determining what is wrong. It may be that you arrived too early/late or that you're at the wrong attraction.
Step 4. Some attractions have two Mickey checkpoints so you may need to scan your MagicBand or MagicMobile Pass again.
Step 5. Enjoy the attraction!
When to Make Another Lightning Lane Selection
You can make another Disney Genie+ selection after you have used your first Disney Genie+ LL selection OR 120 minutes after you made your previous LL selection. So, although you can only make one Lightning Lane selection at a time, that doesn't mean you can't have more than one Lightning Lane selection in your account. Confused? Let's quickly try to break down what is known as the 120 minute rule.
For this explanation, let's assume that at 9:00 AM, you make a Disney Genie+ Lightning Lane selection for Peter Pan's Flight but the redemption window isn't until 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM. The earliest you would be able to redeem this selection is 2:00 PM. Since the start of your redemption window is more than 120 minutes away, you will be able to make another Disney Genie+ LL selection before you redeem your Peter Pan's Flight selection at 2:00 PM. With the 120 minute rule, you'll be able to make another selection at 11:00 AM. If your next selection's redemption window is more than 120 minutes away, you would be able to make yet another selection at 1:00 PM before you've used any of your Disney Genie+ LL selections.
Clarification: The 120 minute rule only applies after official park opening so it gets extra confusing when trying to determine when you can make your next selection if you are a Disney Resort Guest and made your first selection at 7:00 AM. Remember, you can always check what time you can make another selection by trying to make a selection. If you try too early, your will see a message stating that "It's too soon for this Guest to make another Disney Genie+ Lightning Lane selection. They'll be eligible starting at X:XX PM." Once you see that message, you'll know what time you can try again.
If you are making another selection after you have redeemed a Disney Genie+ LL selection, note that some attractions have two Mickey checkpoints in the Lightning Lane. If you try to make another LL selection after you've scanned your MagicBand or MagicMobile Pass and it's not working, it's most likely because there is another checkpoint coming up. Try again after you've scanned a second time and it should now work.
How to Change Your Lightning Lane Selection
Let's face it... sometimes your plans change. Currently, there is no way to modify an existing Lightning Lane selection (other than changing Your Party) but you can cancel and rebook selections as needed.
Step 1. Find the Disney Genie+ Lightning Lane selection on the My Day screen in the My Disney Experience app.
Step 2. Click on the three dots (also known as the ellipsis icon) in the right hand corner of your Disney Genie+ selection.
I hope this step by step guide helps you better understand how to use the Disney Genie+ Service. With a little practice (and patience) it can be a really helpful tool to save you time waiting in line!
For more information on the Disney Genie+ Service, make sure to read our Disney Genie, Genie+ and Lightning Lane FAQ for answers to all your frequently asked questions.
