Disney Parks reveals FastPass will be replaced by Genie – a Disney apps feature that aids in trip planning and offers paid add-ons for line bypassing.
Disney Parks have announced a replacement for FastPass – a popular virtual system that allowed guests quicker access to attractions. After being shut down for a year during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the parks have undergone quite a few changes upon their re-opening. On the one hand, the pandemic allowed for unfettered construction and development, lending itself well to the Disney Parks expansion. On the other hand, the re-opening marked a change in many of the procedures and perks familiar to the guests.
One perk that was missing upon Disney’s re-opening was the popular FastPass system. Fastpass was a free virtual system that allowed guests to bypass long lines for various attraction and amenities. The system’s functions varied depending on which Park it was used for and also included paid variations such as MaxPass and FastPass+. The system allowed guests to skip to the front of the line for several attractions per day at a specific time, allowing guests to plan their day in advance and to make the most of their time. However, the FastPass was suspended following the Parks re-opening to follow safety and distancing procedures.
As reported by D23, Disney Parks has officially announced the end of the FastPass system and its replacement with Genie. D23 had an exclusive interview with Disney Parks Experiences and Products chairman, Josh D’Amaro, who filled guests in on just what Genie is. Genie will be incorporated into and live within the Disneyland and My Disney Experiences apps. It will be a more comprehensive and spontaneous system that will utilize one’s demographics and preferences to plan the day for them, rather than requiring the user to plan their own day. Within Genie is Genie+, a paid add-on that will replace FastPass, and will allow guests to pick one attraction at a time to gain fast access to through the “Lightning Lane.” Check out D’Armo’s statement below:
Genie lives on your phone; it’s an app that will live within the existing Disneyland and My Disney Experience apps this fall when it launches. And you are basically telling Genie what you are specifically interested in, whether you’re with young kids or a bunch of friends and you’re interested in kids attractions or princesses or superheroes. Genie is going to take all the input and tell you, “This is what you should do and how you can have the most fun possible in a Disney park.” That’s game changing. It takes all the pressure off you to create a spreadsheet and think, What do I do now? What do I do next? It’s all right there. Not only is it all right there, but if you decide that you’ve changed what you’re interested in or what you want to do when you’re there, Genie can get to work in the background to do that for you. That relieves pressure to make sure you’re maximizing your time. I think that changes everything. We are taking more than 60 years of experience and data and applying artificial intelligence on top of that. And now you’ve got a tool that is game changing. If you want to be even more flexible and have more convenience, there’s Genie+. The easiest way to think about this is MaxPass at Disneyland, which I think as the D23 fans know, was highly successful and highly adopted. You can think of Disney Genie+ as the next evolution of MaxPass across our parks. It’s super easy and convenient. And above and beyond that, there are some attractions that use the Lightning Lane queue—which you can purchase individually—which is the ultimate in flexibility.
Genie+ is an add-on for Genie that resembles MaxPass and FastPass and will cost guests $15 – $20 per ticket. There will also be a third add-on that allows guests to visit more than one attraction at a time using the Lightning Lane for additional costs that have not yet been specified. Genie certainly could be a useful tool in aiding guests in planning their trip based on their specific interests and desires. However, the replacement of the free FastPass system with a paid option, Genie+, will be disappointing to guests. Disney has already received some shade for the high price of their Star Wars hotel, and guests are likely to express similar dissatisfaction at the pricey Genie+ system.
While the price for Genie’s add-ons may be disappointing, it is not necessarily shocking. After its pandemic losses, it is not surprising that Disney would suspend the FastPass system. They were certainly losing out on potential profits considering that most amusement parks utilize line-skipping systems that come with a cost. Meanwhile, the free FastPass system did result in longer wait times as well as more cluttered lines due to the sheer number of guests who utilized it – something that may be avoided by the price of Genie+. Overall, Disney Parks Genie is a new and innovative system, and it remains to be seen how it measures up to FastPass. What is guaranteed is that all guests will enjoy the trip planning perks of Genie and will be free to choose how much they spend on the Genie+ add-on.
Source: screenrant.com