New technologies at Disney World are examples of how the magical world is evolving every day!
Nothing remains fixed inside this world. These changes span various domains, including shows, food, and new attractions. While these changes are easy and fun, others are a little more complicated.
Disney officials and operators often use these changes to do effective crowd management. Thus, even if these changes will enhance your overall experience in some ways, planning a Disney Trip will no longer be easy as it used to be.
Newer technologies and methods include virtual queues, Disney Park passes, reservations, and Genie+. All these might leave you wondering if you are smart enough to cope with this fast-paced, technology-driven world!
Advance Dining Reservations
Disney Planning is not easy. It gets trickier with the commencement of advance dining reservations.
It was initially offline before going online. Previously, reservations were open for 180 days before the upcoming trip. But, now, it is reduced to 60 days before reservations.
However, the guests staying at Disney World hotels can still use the 180 days window to make their reservations. Also, if you stay in those hotels, you can make all the reservations simultaneously.
Thus, Disney is, in a way pushing its guests to invest the most money in this vacation to get the most amenities.
Moreover, the popular and new restaurants are the hardest to get reservations. Most of the time, they are full. If you want a reservation in Space 220, you will have to be very planned to book your seats.
To do so, you will have to put a reminder on your calendar 60 days before your trip, at 5:45 AM. In this way, you will get the reservation in the desired restaurant. However, try to prioritize the most popular restaurant and make a list of the time and dates of reservations.
So, if you look carefully, the reservations are not that complicated. You will have to have a certain amount of clarity to plan them perfectly.
New technologies at Disney World
FastPasses allowed the visitors to skip standby lines because they could book these lanes free of charge. However, the system changed over time and is now a little more complicated.
Previously, it was offline, and the paper system was easier to access and understand. However, it has now changed into an online FastPass+ system.
With these online systems, you can book your FastPasses 60 days before your travel if you are staying at any of the Disney hotels. Others outside Disney hotels can only book the passes 30 days in advance.
However, when the system was offline, everything had to be booked on the day you visited. Moreover, you had to go to the specific ride to get a FastPass for it.
In 2021, another complicated technology was launched- Genie+. It needs a study session to understand its maneuverings completely.
Moreover, it is no longer free of cost. If you want to opt for this new service, you will have to pay $15 for it per day at Disney World to enter the Lightning Lanes. The Lightning Lanes are the new name for FastPass Lanes.
Genie+ has much more complicated systems, and you can buy them on the day of your visit, at 7 AM. Thus, if you want to buy Genie+ every day, you must wake up at 6:45 AM and make your reservations as fast as possible. Also, only one reservation is permissible per day.
Another feature named the Individual Lightning Lanes is a separate booking system. You can book Lightning Lanes for all the popular Disney rides. Only two bookings are allowed per day, and also you will have to pay an extra charge.
You will also have to figure out ways to maximize the utility of Genie+. This includes prioritizing the rides, reserving the Lightning Lane just after you scan the previous ones, etc.
Virtual Queues
This is another tricky part of the numerous technological innovations at Disney World. You can now book a virtual queue to board your desired ride.
Moreover, you will have to do this in advance. However, if you have not researched well and don’t have this information, you may not even ride a single ride with the virtual queue option.
Disney has introduced many rides that are equipped with virtual queues. So, you will have to fill that in your My Disney Experience App either at 7 AM or 1 PM on the day you visit.
There is heavy competition in this section, and the spots don’t need a minute to get filed up. So, you must set the alarm ahead and be steadfast in booking your queues. Currently, Guardians of the Galaxy in EPCOT has a virtual queue option.
Moreover, you can also book Individual Lightning Lane. Along with that, you will require to have a Park Reservation of EPCOT to get the virtual queue eligibility for the ride.
Disney Park Reservation System
This brings us to the next section- Disney Park Reservation System. To go to a Disney Park, a ticket is no longer sufficient. You will also need to have a Park Reservation for going there. If, by any chance, you don’t have this information, you might accidentally ruin your entire holiday!
Park reservations start very early. You can make your reservations for 2024. Thus, it is best to plan early and book the Park Pass as soon as possible. This is because park reservations get sold out fast, especially on weekends and holidays.
Final Thoughts
So, the Disney World trip is no longer spontaneous. You must seriously invest your time and energy to chalk out a Disney World trip successfully.
Gather all this information regarding new technologies at Disney World, prioritize your visits, and make reservations as early as possible. This is the only way to make it through the Disney World trip without fuss.
