It's official: No more free rides to the front of the Disney ride lines...
Disney regulars have been predicting the "inevitable" monetization of Disney's FastPass system for years, and with the 2019 announcement that Disney was developing a new product called Genie many thought this must be the death knell of free FastPass. Then Disney suspended FastPass altogether due to social distancing considerations, and it seemed certain that when it returned it would no longer be free. This was confirmed on August 18 when Disney announced the permanent retirement of the FastPass and MaxPass programs at Disneyland, and the FastPass+ program at Disney World. Three new products, debuting this fall, were announced to take their place: Disney Genie, Genie+, and Lightning Lane.
Disney Genie is purely a "plan your day" feature that will be integrated into the existing park apps, whereas Genie+ and Lightning Lane are virtual queue systems. Lightning Lane will be taking over the former FastPass queues, and likewise promises a short wait to ride at a reserved time. Genie+, a per person per day add-on, works similarly to Disneyland's retired MaxPass and will allow users to make one Lightning Lane reservation at a time for included attractions. Most rides that formerly offered FastPass access will offer their Lightning Lane reservations through Genie+, but two rides in each park will not be included and will instead offer a-la-carte Lightning Lane with pricing per person, per ride, and dependent on demand.
The general impact of these programs is impossible to know right now due to details that aren't yet available such as the percentage of ride capacity that will be devoted to paid access. Social media is aflutter with claims that the parks will now be unmanageable for anyone who can't afford to buy their way to the front of the line, but depending on Disney's operational choices the standby waits may actually be friendlier than they were in the FastPass era. We'll just have to wait and see. While you're waiting, the full announcement complete with a 15-minute(!) explainer video can be found HERE
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