Genie+ - do we still need park reservations?

[YorkshireRose]

Sorry if this has been asked and answered, but does anyone know if we'll still need to reserve a park when Genie+ is up and running?

I'm trying to look at the positives with Genie and if reserving a park when capacity is back up to 100% (at Christmas) and using Genie to get on the rides we want is what we have to do, then so be it.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not happy about the extra cost, it means we spend less on other things and it feels some of the magic has gone, but the thought of not going, it's certainly heart ruling head!

[loldis]

Yes. Reservations are going nowhere.

[YorkshireRose]

Originally Posted by loldis

Yes. Reservations are going nowhere.

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So in theory, if you book the least busy park on a particular day (based on previous crowd level data), you just might have a chance of riding the things you want. The 'headline' rides are always going to be busy, but across a 14 day period, if you are flexible on which 'order' you do the parks, you surely must have a chance of doing the headliners?

I get that Disney's target market are US holiday makers who spend 4-5 days max in the parks, so we Brits might have to re-think our approach, but to take full advantage of booking the least busy park, it won't work if you have to reserve a park months in advance to guarantee entry? Think I've talked myself out of being positive about Genie!

[loldis]

The old crowd data isn't going to be too accurate unfortunately, as crowd patterns were skewed by Extra Magic Hours. And a lot of crowd calendars were default set to recommend avoiding a park on EMH day and going the day after. With EMH being replaced by early entry, there won't be as defined a pattern for which park on what day.

But you don't have to reserve months in advance, unless you're trying to go to MK on Christmas Day for example. When I looked this morning, every park was available to book today. Crowds are very low at the moment as a lot of people cancelled due to Florida's Covid rates but still. I've rarely seen it book up more than about a week out since they increased the capacity a few months ago.

PS - Brit that only does 4-5 park days here

[dan223]

Yep the genie doesn’t make any difference to the park reservations, they are currently required until 2023, quite likely to be extended, but as capacity seems to be normal now you don’t have to worry as much unless your visiting on a major holiday. Obviously if capacity gets limited again then that’s a different situation. Personally I hope Disney will just require reservations for certain peak months and/or peak holidays. I know a lot of people say it helps Disney manage the parks but as things return to a more normal they should already have decent data on how many people they are expecting.

[YorkshireRose]

Originally Posted by loldis

The old crowd data isn't going to be too accurate unfortunately, as crowd patterns were skewed by Extra Magic Hours. And a lot of crowd calendars were default set to recommend avoiding a park on EMH day and going the day after. With EMH being replaced by early entry, there won't be as defined a pattern for which park on what day.

But you don't have to reserve months in advance, unless you're trying to go to MK on Christmas Day for example. When I looked this morning, every park was available to book today. Crowds are very low at the moment as a lot of people cancelled due to Florida's Covid rates but still. I've rarely seen it book up more than about a week out since they increased the capacity a few months ago.

PS - Brit that only does 4-5 park days here

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No I wouldn't want to do MK on Christmas Day - well I hope you're right about not having to reserve parks right up until a week or so beforehand, though I'm not sure I'm brave enough to take the risk of not reserving until we leave the UK! THAT is a planners worst nightmare! Oh lord I need to lay down in a darkened room after even considering that!

Last time we went at Christmas and New Year, booking fastpasses at the 30 day point gave me reassurance and actually worked well for us. There's so many unknown's this time around, which adds to the stress. It's meant to be a holiday...

[loldis]

Yeah, I already have my December 2022 reservations made. I like planning.

Over peak periods like Christmas and New Year, I wouldn't leave it until a week out. But most of the year, it should be perfectly fine to do so.

[YorkshireRose]

Originally Posted by dan223

Yep the genie doesn’t make any difference to the park reservations, they are currently required until 2023, quite likely to be extended, but as capacity seems to be normal now you don’t have to worry as much unless your visiting on a major holiday. Obviously if capacity gets limited again then that’s a different situation. Personally I hope Disney will just require reservations for certain peak months and/or peak holidays. I know a lot of people say it helps Disney manage the parks but as things return to a more normal they should already have decent data on how many people they are expecting.

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My fear is that when restriction are finally lifted, my guess is November at the very earliest, there'll then be a massive surge to reserve parks and once you're at that point all you can do is hope...

[loldis]

Originally Posted by YorkshireRose

My fear is that when restriction are finally lifted, my guess is November at the very earliest, there'll then be a massive surge to reserve parks and once you're at that point all you can do is hope...

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The countries affected by the proclamations make up single digit percentages of visitors to Disney World, maybe 3-4% at the most. Those being lifted will have no significant impact to the crowds which have always been about 90% domestic guests.

[YorkshireRose]

Originally Posted by loldis

The countries affected by the proclamations make up single digit percentages of visitors to Disney World, maybe 3-4% at the most. Those being lifted will have no significant impact to the crowds which have always been about 90% domestic guests.

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I hear what you're saying, just means I need to give my head a wobble and pay the balance on theme tickets so that I can reserve the parks. Deep down, covid or not, I know its going to be busy at Christmas