“Genie”, the new Disney Parks app will help you avoid the lines, but you will have to pay

New York (CNN Business) – Millions of visitors flock to the disney theme parks every year, and most of them probably hate waiting 90 minutes to get on “Peter Pan’s Flight.” So now Disney is launching a new service that will help park goers streamline their visits and reduce wait times.
Debuting this fall at Disneyland, California, and Disney World, Florida, “Genie” is a new digital service that will “maximize your time in the park so you can have more fun,” according to the company.

“From specific attractions, dining experiences and entertainment, to general interests such as Disney princesses, villains, Pixar, Star Wars, thrill rides and more, just tell Disney Genie what you want to do and they will take care of the planning. by you”, Disney said in a blog on Wednesday.

Disney Parks President Josh D’Amaro told CNN Business this week that the company listened to visitors who want the theme park experience to be simpler, more direct and tailored “for them.”

“You tell Genie what specifically interests you, be it an attraction, a meal, a character, and Genie will take care of telling you how to make the most of your day,” said D’Amaro.

The free service will be integrated into established Disney parks apps along with a paid version called “Disney Genie +” that allows guests to access “Lightning Lane” for US $ 15 at Disney World and US $ 20 at Disneyland.

“Lightning Lane” is basically a paid version of a benefit that used to be free for visitors: Disney’s FastPass, which allowed visitors to book attraction times in advance to avoid long waits. The FastPass system at Walt Disney World was discontinued during the pandemic and permanently replaced with “Lightning Lane.” On the day of their visit, visitors can use the paid app to select available times for more than 15 attractions at Disneyland and more than 40 attractions at Disney World (including classics like “Haunted Mansion” and new attractions like “Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run “), as well as reducing wait times when visiting multiple parks.

In addition to shorter lines, “Genie +” will also offer themed audio experiences around Disney parks, augmented reality glasses for Disney World guests, and unlimited “PhotoPass” downloads for Disneyland visitors, providing photos. professionals to visitors.

D’Amaro noted that the app is really about offering flexibility to consumers.

You can walk into our parks and if you’re not interested in using Genie, you don’t have to, “he said.” You still have waiting lanes, you still have virtual queues at some of our attractions. You can continue enjoying the park however you want. “

The “Genie” app is Disney’s latest initiative to invest in technology that connects the digital world with the physical parks themselves. The company had previously announced new attractions and immersive hotels and focused on technology, as well as a partnership with Snap.

In addition to improving the visitor experience, the new “Genie” app is also a good deal: the less time a visitor spends in line, the more time they have to buy food, drinks and products. The Disney Parks unit raised $ 4.3 billion in the third quarter, compared to US $ 1,100 million in the same quarter of the previous year.

D’Amaro added that the service is “an ongoing evolution to ensure that we make the public’s experience better every time they visit us.”

“We have 60 years of experience in theme parks. So we know exactly how people behave, how attractions behave. We know exactly how to optimize a day,” he said. “So with the advancement of technology, we are able to take all that information and all that data that our industrial engineers have and serve it in a very convenient way for our visitors.”