Planning to go to Disneyland and California Adventure in Anaheim, California, for the first time or after many years?
Being a California resident, I have been to Disneyland and California Adventure several times with my family. We visit every year and sometimes twice a year!
You must have come across the terms Genie, Genie Plus, Lightning Lanes, Individual Lightning Lanes, and Virtual queues. It can all be very confusing, especially if you are hearing about them for the first time. After reading this article, all of these Disney terms will become clear to you!
Genie Plus is a paid add-on service to your existing ticket. If you are wondering – if Disney Genie Plus is worth it at Disneyland or California Adventure, then it really depends on the number of days you are visiting the parks and the age group of kids and adults in your group.
We usually opt to buy the Disney Genie Plus service to maximize the number of rides we can do in our Disneyland itinerary.
Read on to find out more details, and you will be able to decide if Disney Genie Plus is worth it for your group.
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Is Genie Plus worth it at Disneyland? My Quick Answer
Without getting into all the important details, my quick answer to your question of whether Genie Plus is worth it at Disneyland would be, ‘It depends.’
Disney Genie Plus is worth it at Disneyland if –
- You have only one day in Disneyland and want to maximize your time. In this case, time is more important than money, and you would want to make sure you do not miss out on the top rides.
- If you have multiple days in Disneyland, I would recommend getting Genie Plus for the first day in each theme park and focusing on finishing the Genie Plus rides first on that day.
- On busy park days like on weekends and around the holidays, Genie Plus will really save you time and allow you to ride more attractions than without it.
- You plan to ride all or most attractions offered in Genie Plus. Most of the rides included in Genie Plus are thrill rides, so getting Genie Plus for toddlers or seniors might not be worth it.
- You hate standing in lines for hours (I do!). I would get Genie Plus just to avoid standing in ride wait lines for hours.
- You plan to take a lot of photos with characters at photo ops or want your ride photos. You get unlimited Dinsey Photopass downloads with Genie Plus, which is a great value in itself.
If this all sounds confusing, I recommend reading on to understand how Genie Plus works, which rides are included in Genie+, tips on how to use it efficiently to maximize rides, and when it is worth it (or not worth it) at both Disneyland and California Adventure.
What is Disney Genie Service?
Disney Genie Service is a complimentary tool that is part of the Disneyland Resort app on your phone. Once you make a theme park entrance reservation for your ticket, you can use the Disney Genie service to plan your daily itinerary and make dining reservations in advance.
Note that Disney Genie service is free and different from Disney Genie Plus service. Genie service is available to everyone and is mainly used for booking dining reservations and placing mobile food orders at the restaurants at California Adventure and Disneyland.
Genie Plus is a paid service, and you have to pay extra for that. More on Genie Plus is coming up below!
What is Disney Genie+ Service?
Genie Plus is a paid add-on service to your Disneyland tickets and replaces the previous Fast Pass system, which was free.
Genie Plus allows you to book a ride time window called Lighting Lane for some popular attractions so that you can avoid the long regular standby lines.
Please note that you do not need Genie + to use the regular standby lines for all rides. You can still go on all the rides by waiting in the regular stand-by lines.
If you purchase Genie Plus, then you have the option to use the fast lanes called Lightning lanes and reduce your wait time for rides.
While purchasing your Disneyland tickets, you have the option of adding Genie Plus service to your ticket. You can also add the Genie Plus service later on from the Disneyland app on your phone.
How much does Disney Genie Plus cost?
Genie Plus is currently offered starting at $30 per person per day. Prices vary by date. Some examples of the Genie plus cost for a group of 2 or 4:
- Group of 2, one day in Disneyland = $30 * 2 people= $60 Genie Plus cost per day
- Group of 2, one day in Disneyland and one day in California Adventure = ($30 * 2 people) * 2 days = $120 Genie Plus cost for two days.
- Group of 4, one day in Disneyland = $30 * 4 people = $120 Genie Plus cost per day
- Group of 4, one day in Disneyland and one day in California Adventure = ($30 * 4 people) * 2 days = $240 Genie Plus cost for two days.
There are no Genie Plus discounts for kids or seniors.
How does Disney Genie Plus work?
Popular rides have two paths at the entrance – Regular standby lanes and Lightning Lanes. Lightning Lanes are much faster than regular lines.
For some popular rides, regular standby lanes can have wait times of up to 2 hours, while with Lightning Lanes you can ride the attraction with only 10 to 20 minutes of wait time.
You need either Genie Plus or Individual Lightning Lane (ILL) purchases (more on ILL later) to use the faster Lightning Lane path.
Booking the Lightning Lane experience through Genie Plus
Once you purchase the Genie Plus service, you can go on the Disneyland app on your phone and book a Lightning Lane experience for an eligible ride. You do this by going to the Tip Board section of the Disney Genie Service app.
The app shows you the next available Lightning Lane window for all the rides that offer faster Lightning Lanes Disney Genie Plus, shown as LL Disney Genie + in the app screenshot above.
You can book the experience for your group by clicking on “Book Experience,” and it gives you a one-hour time window to redeem.
You can select which members of your group want to ride for that booking and confirm. You have now booked your first Lightning Lane Genie + experience! Till your booking time window, you can do other standby rides.
Note that you cannot book another Lightning Lane Genie Plus experience till 2 hours after your last booking or till you redeem your booking, whichever happens first. The app shows when you can book the next Genie Plus and makes it easy.
Redeeming the Lightning Lane experience through Genie Plus
Once your redemption time window arrives, you go to the Lightning Lane entrance of the ride and redeem your booking. You find the Redeem feature by going to the “My Day” section of the Disney Genie Service app.
There will be barcode readers at the Lightning Lane entrance, you will hold your phone under the barcode reader, and it will read the barcode for each member of your group. You can now enjoy the Lightning Lane and shorter wait times!
As soon as you redeem your Lightning Lane booking, you are eligible to book your next Lightning Lane experience. Do that while you are waiting in line.
Is Disney Genie Plus worth it at Disneyland?
The rides at Disneyland range from thrill rides to family-friendly rides, as well as several amazing brand-new rides.
Disneyland when compared to California Adventure, offers much more value for Genie Plus. Disneyland has 11 Lightning Lane rides, while California Adventure only offers 8 Lightning Lane rides.
Rides included in Genie Plus at Disneyland
- Autopia
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
- Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters
- Haunted Mansion
- Indiana Jones Adventure
- It’s a small world
- Matterhorn Bobsleds
- Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run
- Space Mountain
- Star Tours – The Adventure Continues
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway
- Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin
Most of the popular thrill rides like Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, Space Mountain, Matterhorn Bobsleds, and Indiana Jones Adventure offer Genie plus Lightning Lane. Genie + is also offered for classic popular attractions like Haunted Mansion and It’s a Small World.
Disney Genie Plus makes it possible to visit all of the above popular attractions in 1 day. On weekends and school break days, the standby lines are between 60 to 120 minutes for each ride, and you can only do at most 5-6 of the popular rides in a day using regular standby lanes.
Not to forget that there are a lot of other rides in Disneyland, like all the rides in Fantasyland (Except It’s a Small World) that will take at least another 2-4 hours of your day.
If you have only one day in Disneyland Park or you do not like waiting in lines for hours, the Disney Genie Plus is definitely worth it for Disneyland. Post-pandemic, the parks have been really crowded, and wait times have gone considerably up.
Be strategic about it. If you are planning to spend two days in Disneyland, take Genie Plus for one day and sit on all the rides that offer Genie Plus Lightning Lane attractions. Then the next day, go on all the other rides that offer only standby lanes.
Disney Genie Plus is worth it at Disneyland if –
- You have only one day in Disneyland and want to maximize your time.
- You plan to ride all or most attractions offered in Genie Plus.
- You hate standing in lines for hours (I do!).
- You plan to take a lot of photos with characters at photo ops or want your ride photos.
Unlimited Disney PhotoPass downloads with Genie Plus
Disney Genie Plus also offers unlimited PhotoPass downloads, which include photos taken by the photographers throughout the park at photo op places or character meet and greets. It also includes photos of you taken during rides.
Previously, each ride photo was $10 to $15 per picture. Seriously, just for the PhotoPass downloads alone, I think Disney Genie Plus is totally worth it. Use these Disney captions to share your favorite ride photos.
Is Genie Plus worth it at Disney California Adventure?
There are several amazing rides at Disney California Adventure, both thrill and family rides. Disney California Adventure is famous for Cars Land and the new Avengers Campus.
California Adventure only offers eight rides with Genie + Lightning Lane, thus providing lesser value for the Genie Plus cost compared to Disneyland, which offers 11 attractions with Genie + Lightning Lane.
Rides included in Genie Plus at California Adventure
- Web Slingers: Spiderman Adventure
- Goofy’s Sky School
- Grizzly River Run
- Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!
- Incredicoaster
- Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!
- Soarin’ Over California
- Toy Story Midway Mania!
- The Little Mermaid – Ariel’s Undersea Adventure
The most popular ride – Radiator Spring Racers, is not included in the Genie + service. To use the Lightning Lane for this most popular ride, you have to pay extra irrespective of whether you have Genie Plus or not.
Genie Plus at Disney California Adventure is worth it only if you plan to do all or at least most of the rides listed above and if you only have one day in California Adventure Park.
If you have very young kids in the group who might not sit in Incredicoaster or Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT! Then, you can choose not to buy Genie Plus for them.
The free PhotoPass downloads with Genie Plus also work at Disney California Adventure similarly to Disneyland.
To Summarize: Genie Plus is worth it at Disney California Adventure if –
- You have only one day in Disney California Adventure and want to maximize your time.
- You plan to ride all or most attractions offered in Genie Plus.
- You hate standing in lines for hours (I do!)
- You plan to take a lot of photos with characters at photo ops, or want your ride photos.
When is Disneyland Genie Plus not worth it?
There might be some situations in which purchasing Genie Plus might not be totally worth it. Remember, you can pick and choose who you want the Genie Plus for in your group. You do not need to buy it for everyone for all days.
Younger kids – If you have toddlers or kids under five, purchasing Genie Plus for them might not be worth it as most of the rides offered under Genie Plus are thrill rides which might not be for the youngest kids.
Seniors – Same for seniors in your group who are not going to sit on the thrill rides. Genie Plus for them might not be worth it.
If you or someone in your group are not planning to sit on most of the rides offered by Genie Plus, then buying Genie Plus for them is not worth it.
Multiple days in the park – If you are planning to spend more than one day in Disneyland and California Adventure, then buying Genie Plus for all days might not be worth it. Buy Genie Plus for one day in each park and ride the Genie Plus attractions that day. For the remaining days, ride the attractions that only offer standby lines.
Visiting in the off-season – If you are visiting the parks in the off-season when schools are in session or middle of the weekdays, like on a Wednesday, then the standby lines are not so bad, and buying Genie Plus might not be worth it, as you can still accomplish all the thrill rides using standby lanes.
What are Lightning Lanes, Individual Lighting Lanes, and Virtual Queues
What are Lightning Lanes?
Lightning Lanes are faster queues at each ride entrance, and you need to buy Genie Plus service to be able to use them. All the rides/attractions are listed above that offer Lightning Lane Genie plus service at both Disneyland and California Adventure.
Once you purchase Genie Plus, you can book the Lightning Lane experience for eligible attractions. You will be given a 1-hour window to return.
You can redeem your experience at the Lightning Lane entrance of the attraction anytime during your return window.
What are Individual Lighting Lanes?
The Lightning Lanes for a few of the most popular attractions are offered as a paid service irrespective of Genie Plus.
These a la carte paid lightning lanes are called Individual lightning lanes. Anyone can pay extra for these rides and get in the Lightning Lanes. This can come in handy if the standby lines are 2+ hours and you are short on time.
Disneyland offers Individual Lightning Lane for one ride currently priced at $15-$25 per person depending on the day:
- Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
Disney California Adventure offers Individual Lightning Lane for one ride, currently priced at $15-$25 per person, depending on the day:
- Radiator Springs Racers
What are Virtual Queues at Disneyland?
Wait, there’s more? Yes! Just one more thing to be aware of before you are all set with Genie and Genie Plus.
There is currently one attraction in Disney California Adventure, ‘World of Color’ that offers Virtual Queues. ‘World of Color’ is the night show at California Adventure, which is a spectacular water, light, and music experience and a must-see.
Virtual Queue is free and can be booked through the Genie service in the app. You do not need Genie Plus to book Virtual queues. Anyone with a theme park reservation can book it through the Disneyland app starting at 12 PM after entering the park.
If you have a Park Hopper ticket, you can also book it while you are in Disneyland Park.
World of Color occurs at 9 PM and 10:30 PM above the waters on Paradise Pier in California Adventure and gets very crowded. The frontline areas near the Pier are blocked for people who have reserved spots in Virtual Queue.
Every day around 12 PM, you can go into the app and request to Join Virtual Queue. You will be allotted one of the two showtimes – 1 (9 PM) and 2(10:30 PM).
This gets filled really fast! I had kept an alarm for 11:55 AM, submitted a request to join exactly at noon, and at 12:01 PM, I got allotted the second showtime. It was crazy! It got filled up in a minute! And this was on a Monday during a regular school week! Talk about crazy crowds everywhere since the reopening.
Disneyland Genie Plus tips and tricks
Below are some tried and tested tips to make the most out of Genie Plus in Disneyland and California Adventure.
Tip #1. Strategize your morning and do stand-by lines in the first hour of park opening.
If you are at the park at Disneyland rope drop time, that is right when the Disneyland park opens; the stand-by lines have really short wait times, like 5-10 minutes. Don’t block your Genie Plus window in that morning’s first hour. Use that time to quickly finish as many rides that do not offer Lightning Lane first.
Tip #2. Choose Genie Plus rides with the closest time window first.
An example to explain this – is if Pirates of the Caribbean has a time of 11 AM and Haunted Mansion has a return time of 10 AM, book Haunted Mansion first.
Then, as soon as you redeem Haunted Mansion, you can book Pirates of the Caribbean next. This way, you will be able to book more Genie Plus rides during the day.
The app shows when you can book the next Genie Plus ride so that you don’t have to do the math!
Tip #3. You can redeem Genie Plus before the allotted time windows
You can redeem your Genie plus Lightning Lane experience 5 minutes before your time window starts and up to 5 minutes after the window ends.
This is great because then you can enter early and book the next one immediately.
Tip #4. Buy Genie Plus only for people who will ride the thrill attractions.
You can pick and choose who you want the Genie Plus for in your group. You do not need to buy it for everyone in your group. For example, toddlers and very young kids might not sit on most of the thrill rides offered with Genie Plus.
Tip #5. You can choose which days to buy Genie Plus.
You do not need to buy it for everyone for all days. You can buy it for the day you are planning to do most rides that offer Lightning Lane experiences. Rest of the days, you can use the standby lines.
FAQs about Disneyland Genie Plus
My answers to frequently asked questions below will help you make the most of your Genie Plus pass at Disneyland and California Adventure.
Is Genie Plus worth it for toddlers?
Most of the rides offered by Genie Plus are thrill rides not suitable for toddlers and young kids, so it is not worth buying Genie Plus for kids under five.
You can still buy it for the older kids in your group and for the adults. When you book the Genie Plus Lightning Lane experience, it will only show the people who you have purchased Genie Plus for.
Tip: Get Genie Plus for at least one adult in your group so that you can get free PhotoPass downloads for everyone in your group. With younger kids, you will be taking a lot of photos with characters. If you have one Disney Genie Plus, you can link everyone’s photos to that and download them for free!
Is Genie Plus worth it for adults?
Genie Plus is totally worth it for adults who love thrill rides, who have only one day in the park, or for people like me who hate standing in lines for hours.
Is it better to buy Genie Plus in advance?
For the Disneyland Resort in California, you can buy Genie Plus when you buy your Disneyland Tickets.
If you are visiting on the weekend or major holidays, like Christmas or Halloween at Disneyland, when the park is going to be crowded, or if you only have one day in the park, I highly recommend buying Genie Plus in advance when you buy your ticket, as they can get sold out for very crowded days.
What rides are included in Genie Plus at Disneyland?
12 attractions are included in Genie Plus at Disneyland – Autopia, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, Haunted Mansion, Indiana Jones Adventure, It’s a Small World, Matterhorn Bobsleds, Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run, Space Mountain, Star Tours – The Adventure Continues, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, and Roger Rabbit’s Car Toon Spin.
You can also download unlimited PhotoPass pictures, which include photos taken by photographers throughout the parks and even ride photos.
What rides are included in Genie Plus at California Adventure?
Nine attractions are included in Genie Plus at California Adventure – Web Slingers: Spiderman Adventure, Goofy’s Sky School, Grizzly River Run, Guardians of the Galaxy – Mission: BREAKOUT!, Incredicoaster, Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue!, Soarin’ Over California, Toy Story Midway Mania!, and The Little Mermaid – Ariel’s Undersea Adventure.
You can also download unlimited PhotoPass pictures with Genie Plus, just like at Disneyland.
What is the difference between Lightning Lane and Genie Plus?
Lightning Lane is the faster ride queue and is at the entrance right next to the Standby lanes. Genie Plus is a paid add-on service to your ticket that allows you to use the Lightning Lanes, so you do not have to wait in the long standby lines.
Where to stay for Disneyland
Staying within walking distance of the Disneyland theme parks will save you at least 30 minutes to an hour in the morning as you do not have to worry about parking and then taking the tram to the park gates.
Disney Paradise Pier Hotel is part of Disneyland Resorts and offers all the amenities that you would expect from a Disneyland Resort. The hotel has a children’s pool with a waterslide, and you can see Disneyland fireworks from the hotel rooftop! Disneyland Park is only a 10-minute walk, and Downtown Disney is only 5 minutes for shopping and restaurants.
Disneyland Hotel is another Disneyland Resort hotel and is a 10-minute walk from Disneyland Park and Downtown Disney.
Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel and Spa is a luxury Disneyland Resort hotel right next to California Adventure Park. Guests of this hotel can walk out the door and be inside California Adventure Park!
Fairfield by Marriott Anaheim Resort is an excellent brand-name hotel with a pool and just a 5-minute walk from Disneyland Park! We stayed here most recently and loved it!
Best Western Plus Park Place Inn is the closest you can get to Disneyland. It is literally right across the street from the park and has a great hot breakfast and a pool.
➡ Check rates and availability for your stay at Disneyland, Anaheim
In Conclusion: Is Genie Plus worth it at Disneyland and California Adventure?
So, Is Disneyland Genie Plus worth it? Absolutely, if you have less time and if you must ride all the top attractions!
We spent one day in Disneyland and one day in California Adventure, and everyone in my group was able to ride all the attractions offered by Genie+ Disneyland.
That would not have been possible without Genie Plus as the lines were crazy long with 60-90-minute wait times for the popular rides.
Disney Genie Plus is so worth it and a great add-on to maximize your time in the park. Buy it for your first day in each park and have fun!
➡ Going to Los Angeles? Check out these top excursions in LA to add to your Disneyland trip:
- Full-Day Iconic Sights of LA, Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Beaches and More – Highly rated tour to cover top LA sights and not worry about parking!
- Warner Bros. Studio Tour Hollywood – Guided small group tour
- The Official Hollywood Sign Walking Tour in Los Angeles – 2.5-hour walking tour to see the iconic Hollywood Sign up close!
- Hollywood Sightseeing and Celebrity Homes Tour by Open Air Bus – See Hollywood Walk of Fame, Hollywood Sign, celebrity homes, and more.
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