Does Genie Plus Sell Out at Disneyland? EACH TIME & How to Avoid
Disneyland Genie Plus is the paid FastPass replacement that is currently offered at the Disneyland Resort. The paid Genie Plus Disneyland service does not usually sell out though it has happened.
Recently the Genie Plus service sold out during the busy fall break period at Disneyland that brings many families on multi-day vacations to town. The Genie Plus service also just sold out previously during the busy Spring Break period. This lines up as these periods bring a large amount of vacationing visitors focused on riding attractions to the parks.
Read on to see why we are glad that Disneyland paused sales of Genie Plus and how this improves guest experience.
Below we break down the dynamics that led to the Disneyland Genie Plus service selling out and how you can avoid the service selling out during your Disneyland trip. Disney also shared a quote on their motivation to pause sales.
Does Disneyland Genie Plus Sell Out?
Typically Disneyland Genie Plus does not sell out at the theme parks but on rare days when the attendance mix at the theme parks leans heavily towards vacationing guests the service may sell out.
The Genie Plus service which you can read more about in Disneyland Genie Plus guide here is the way to reserve attraction return times from your smartphone. Then, at the specific time the return time grants you access to a shorter line to enter the attraction. Disney attempts to limit sales of the service to ensure that guests have a satisfactory experience.
Disneyland Genie Plus is available for purchase before your visit for the entire length of your ticket or as an add-on on the day of your visit. The service has not sold out for purchase in advance of a day at the parks but it may sell out as an option to add on to your tickets the day of your visit.
Disneyland Discount Tickets – Adding On Genie Plus
The best place to purchase Disneyland tickets is from our travel partner. Get Away Today is a Disney-approved travel reseller that provides additional discounts on tickets exclusively for Mickey Visit readers and you are able to add on the Disney Genie Plus service so avoid missing out on the service due to a sell-out. They also have a focus on customer service where they make sure that each client engagement receives a 10/10 rating.
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Get Away Today tickets are sent electronically so you can immediately take their vouchers to make park reservations. They also offer a layaway option.
When has Disneyland Genie Plus Sold Out?
Disneyland Genie+ just sold out on October 14, 2023. Recently the service base cost was increased to start at $30 per day. The Disneyland ticket prices were also increased. Genie Plus has recently been selling for $35 per person per day when you buy at the parks rather than in advance.
This period in the final two weeks of October at Disneyland is now one of the busiest times of year at the parks! As we warn in our guide to Disneyland in October in our guide to the crowded dates to avoid at Disneyland, these final two weeks have tons of families in town that have kids with school off for fall breaks. This changes the park dynamic to drive
Previously the Disneyland Genie Plus service also sold out on October 7, 2023; April 4, 2023; December 27, 2022; December 28, 2022; and December 29, 2022. In all cases, the service went on sale in the morning and then sales were paused part way through the day. In other words, the pre-sales for the service are still not taking up the full Genie Plus capacity though news of the service selling out may shift even more people to adding the service to their tickets in advance.
Genie Plus has also recently sold out at Walt Disney World. See all details. The sell outs there are more of a worry because guests in Walt Disney World in Florida don’t have the option to pre-purchase Genie+ and have to buy it on every day of their vacation.
We reached out to the resort for comment on the pause and a Disneyland Resort Official shared with us that “there is high Guest demand for Disney Genie+ service at this time, and stop-sales are an effort to manage the volume of Guest utilization to help provide a good experience for those who have already purchased Disney Genie+.”
Here’s Why a Genie Plus Sell-Out is a Good Thing
Photo Credit: Mickey Visit.
The guests on vacation typically visit the theme parks in a style that is different than the Magic Key Holders that visit the parks more often. The vacationing guests are more likely to be focused on riding the most amount of attractions possible and maximizing their days. This is largely what we focus on helping guests with through our Disneyland morning strategy, Disney California Adventure morning strategy, and strategy for Disneyland Genie Plus and Lightning Lanes.
Typically there is a nice balance of guests at Disneyland between the more local guests and the vacationing guests. The locals are more relaxed and focused on their key objectives for the day like finding a new merchandise item or enjoying a certain holiday attraction while the day/vacation visitors are focused on more intense touring to experience everything throughout the day. Both touring styles are great and having a mix of the two styles of touring creates an atmosphere that is completely different than Walt Disney World. During this period when the Annual Pass members are blocked out, the balance shifts and more park guests are focused on executing a jam-packed day with the most amount of attractions possible.
This focus on riding attractions led the new Disney Genie Plus service to sell out at Disneyland for the very first time. Disney always states in their language that the service may or not may not be available for purchase on the day of your arrival at the theme parks.
The above sell-out did not occur until midway into the morning so if you were following our Disneyland touring advice to arrive before park opening then you would not have been impacted by this sell-out.
Though the Genie Plus at Disneyland selling out would be frustrating if you were in the parks and trying to purchase, it is good that Disney chooses to pause sales of the service in order to preserve the experience for guests that have already purchased. I am pleased to see that they are preserving the value of the Genie Plus service by preventing the sale of additional Genie Plus access for the day.
How to Avoid Disneyland Genie Plus Selling Out
Remember, you have the option to purchase Disney Genie Plus in advance for your tickets for the entire length of your stay if you want to avoid the passes selling out.
In addition to avoiding the possibility of passes selling out, we recommend adding Genie Plus on for the length of your stay if you are focused on attractions as there is some added hassle to purchasing the service each day of your trip.
To purchase the service you have to have your head down in your phone as you are arriving walking into the theme parks. Typically it takes me the length of walking down Main Street in Disneyland to have the purchase completed and the service working. I like to avoid unnecessary phone time at Disneyland as much as possible (we already use to use Disneyland Mobile Order, the Disneyland App, and the Genie Plus service a lot). Our travel partner offers the Disneyland Genie Plus pass as an add-on with their discount Disneyland tickets so that you don’t have to purchase them when you arrive at the parks.
How to Know if Disney Genie Plus is Sold Out?
If Disney Genie Plus is sold out, you will see it clearly stated in the app that “purchase of Disney Genie+ is no longer offered for today.” The message will be populated on both the “Tip Board” page and “My Day” page. The typical call to action to purchase the service on the home page of the Disney app may also not be populated.
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