Up to 50 percent of Walt Disney World park guests are upgrading to Disney Genie+ according to Bob Chapek

Feb 09, 2022 in "Disney Genie"

Posted: Wednesday February 9, 2022 4:23pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

In an interview with CNBC this evening, Disney CEO Bob Chapek commented again on the roll-out of Disney Genie+ at Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort.

Disney Genie overview

According to Chapek, between a third and a half of guests are upgrading to Genie+. This appears to be an increase in early reports when he commented at the last earnings call in November that about one third of guests were opting for Genie+.

During the later earnings call, Chapek said "In the quarter, more than a third of domestic park guests purchased either Genie+, Lightning Lane, or both. That number rose to more than 50% during the holiday period. While demand was strong throughout the quarter at both domestic sites our reservation system enabled us to strategically manage attendance. In fact, their stellar performance was achieved at lower attendance levels than 2019. As we return to a more normalized environment we look forward to more fully capitalizing on the extraordinary demand for our parks along with realized benefits that took shape this quarter."

In today's Walt Disney Company Q1 2022 earning report, Genie+ and Lighting Lane purchases were specifically mentioned as a contributor to the increase in average per capita revenue.

First Lightning Lane guests at Magic Kingdom October 19 2021

Disney Genie+ is an option within the Disney Genie service that makes the former FastPass line available at select attractions, now called Lightning Lane. At Walt Disney World, the introductory pricing is $15 per ticket per day. Certain headline attractions are not part of Genie+, and Lightning Lane access at those attractions requires an Individual Attraction purchase which varies in prices.

Learn more about Disney Genie from our recent articles, including a Disney Genie FAQ, and Genie discussion on the WDWMAGIC Forums.

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Dranth2 hours ago

Sure, technically they could have done anything but getting FP+ usage to drop to the current levels of LL would have required a massive reduction making it essentially useless without massive changes to how it worked (number of selections, re-rides, additional selections post using three, etc.). I would say it was both. FP+ was a problem that had to be fixed. It needed to change so that it wasn't eating so much capacity. Charging for a skip the line service is one way to accomplish that goal. That it also created a new revenue stream just made it the obvious best choice from a business point of view.

Purduevian1 day ago

I mean obviously Standby and Rope drop are options. However, the quantity/frequency that I am able to get on attractions will get worse if they move to a LLPP/Standby only system.

Disstevefan12 days ago

I have also see posts here saying families were able to get on attractions without having to purchase LLMP so there are ways.

Purduevian2 days ago

I sure hope not... I don't have the money for LLPP and I can typically do everything I want to do in a day with LLMP. And before someone comes in to tell me that the standby lines would be so short if they got rid of all the skip the lines I would still be able to do everything I wanted with a minimal wait... My "worst" trip to Disney was in October 2021 right before G+ launched and there was no skip the line (still had a great time, just not as good of a time). If the options were LLPP or standby online, I would visit a lot less.

Disgruntled Walt2 days ago

For sure. They've basically looked at all aspects of their parks and resorts and said, "Why aren't we profiting from _____?" Then they made it so they are.

nickys2 days ago

Hang on, is this why you think they introduced G+ rather than free FP+? That there were too many people using it that they decided it didn’t work. I think they simply decided this was a way to get some new revenue. Paid versions were already in place at DLP and at least one of Tokyo and Shanghai (possibly both) before WDW. When it was first rumoured the discussion included variations of all existing options. So they saw good sales in the other parks and wanted the revenue.

Jrb19792 days ago

I personally think they need to get rid of LLMP and just have the Premier Pass. Keep that limited.

Purduevian2 days ago

How would reducing the number of passes help the people buying LLMP? Wouldn't that just make rides sell out faster, causing people to get less lightning lanes per day, thus devaluing the upcharge? Disney for sure wants people to feel like LLMP is worth it so they buy it next time/tell their friends they should buy it.