The Updated Disney World App
It’s October 19, which means Disney Genie and Genie+ has rolled out on the Disney World app. If your app didn’t automatically update, head over to the app store and search for “Disney World” or “My Disney Experience” to find the app and update it.
What’s New?
When you open the app, your home screen will generally still look the same, with your PhotoPass, hotel plans, and park hours all on the home screen. Your plans will still show up, but they’ll look a little different. To see your plans, you’ll need to tap “My Day” and then choose the day you want to see.
From there, your park reservation, hotel stay, and dining will show up, along with suggestions for things to do. There are also many advertisements for the paid Genie+ system. For a video breakdown on Genie+, click here. I even got a popup advertising Genie+, and I had to click an “x” at the top of the screen to make it go away. You’ll have the option to go through and personalize it, letting the Genie know your favorite rides, restaurants, and experiences, so it can better personalize your day.
Tip Board
In addition to the “My Day” dashboard, there is also the “Tip Board”. This will show you wait times, show times, and the best feature, next available dining reservations, next available mobile order pickup windows, and table service walkup wait times! You can make dining reservations from this Tip Board. When you tap the “Make a reservation” it takes you to the dining reservations for that particular restaurant. From there you put in your party size, the time you want, and it shows all available reservations. This is a very neat feature, and a nice upgrade from the previous system. (You can still search all dining just like before, this version is just more convenient). All of these make finding food the easiest it’s ever been!
Genie+
If you choose to purchase Genie+, you can make your first selection at 7am eastern. If you choose to buy the individual attractions, resort guests may buy them starting at 7am, while everyone else has to wait until the park opens. As a passholder, it seemed that I could only purchase Genie+ on the day I want to use it. So I couldn’t buy it for my Thursday visit, since it’s Tuesday. I could purchase it for Tuesday (at 6:30am).
Final Thoughts
While it’s going to take some getting used to, the new Genie feature on the app might come in handy. I think the most valuable update is that it shows the next available dining for restaurants in the park, which makes the process of getting a last minute or day-of reservation much easier. I am not a fan of all of the advertisements for Genie+, but I am curious to see how the app updates throughout the park day to show me wait times and suggestions.
What are your thoughts on the app update, let me know in the comments!
