Is the cost to go to Disney World worth it? This is the question that tens of millions of people ask themself every year. For many, the answer is yes. However, Disney parks are seeing a decline in attendance. A lot of this is due to high and increasing prices. Well, prices are on the rise again with the announcement that Genie+ is increasing to $200 per person per day.
Disney is all about making money, even at the expense of a good guest experience. For example, Disney added the Mickey Mouse Tax to all purchases. One way Disney has exploited their customers is with Genie+ and Lightning Lane. Each day, tens of thousands of guests pay extra for what used to be free Fastpasses. However, we will likely see a decline in purchases with the news that Genie+ is now $200 per person per day.
The Broken Fastpass System at Disney
Genie+ and Lightning Lane were implemented after the COVID-19 park closures. Prior to that was Fastpass+. This is where all guests could book three Fastpasses for their day at the park, and additional ones once they used those. However, COVID gave Disney the perfect excuse to get rid of its free system and force guests to pay if they want to skip the lines. This isn’t atypical though. In fact, both Six Flags and Universal Studios use a paid system. It just came as a shock because it was free at Disney before.
Despite this being standard at other theme parks, the Disney Genie+ and Lightning Lane system is broken. In fact, if you want to watch a super interesting documentary on the Fastpass system, check out Defunctland’s video here. Anyways, Genie+ and Lightning Lane have not created a better queuing system at Disney World, it’s made it worse. The standby lines are just as long and the Genie+ lines are too, except now guests are paying for it. Sure, Disney wins, but their guests lose. What’s new!
How can Disney fix a system like this? It depends on what they want to fix. If they want to improve the guest experience, make the standby lines shorter, but the Fastpass line longer, they can go back to a free system. On the other hand, if they want to make standby lines move faster and have fewer people in the Fastpass line, they can drastically raise the prices. This is the route they have chosen to take.
Raising Genie+ Prices to $200 per person
It’s always breaking Disney news when the Genie+ prices hit an all-time high. First, it was $20 per person per day, then $25, all the way up to $30 per person per day during peak time. Despite the rise in price, demand stays steady. While this costs a family of four an extra $120 per day, they still justify it. These price increases aren’t scaring people off. Well, it has just been announced Genie+ will now cost $200 per day per person. This is a way to decrease the Fastpass lines. In turn, this will put more people in standby, but the overall wait times will be shorter.
Disney knows that very few people will shell out $200 per person per day for Genie+. That would be an extra $800 for a family of four in one day. However, they know this will help better manage the lines. Those willing to pay will get on all rides almost immediately, while those not paying will go in standby, but the lines will move faster on average. Financially, Disney only needs 10% of people who purchase Genie+ at $20 per person to break even. They think this is feasible.
There is one more benefit to the updated Genie+ program. Guests will be able to use it to get on the same ride multiple times in one day. This is a change from the current system where they limit you to each ride once. This makes the $200 far more valuable as it allows you to maximize your day at Disney if you have the money.
What do you think of Disney significantly raising the Genie+ prices to $200 per person per day? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Make Sure to Follow Us and Subscribe to our Emails!
To stay up to date on more very real Disney news like this totally made-up story, be sure to follow Mouse Trap News on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Please consider joining our email list below to get all of our stories sent directly to your inbox! Also, we now sell Mouse Trap Merch! You can order your’s here! It would be an honor to see you walking around Disney World in a Mouse Trap News shirt. Disney would love it too.
