What Should We Expect from Disney Genie?
By the time you read this, Disney Genie will be available to the general public at Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
Executives believe that this virtual assistant (AI) will revolutionize how guests experience Disney theme parks. But are they overstating the case?
What should we expect from Disney Genie in the days and weeks to come?
Better Plans
Here’s the massive change stemming from Disney Genie.
Credit: Disney
Over the years, various sites have developed itineraries for theme park visits.
These sites suggest that they can provide the best possible plan for a Disney day. However, they’re exaggerating.
Yes, having a plan for the parks can help, but it’s not adaptable. You never know what will happen at Disney.
An attraction may suddenly close for maintenance, or you may develop a stomach ache.
Until now, any delay disrupted plans and ruined detailed itineraries.
Disney Genie will work differently. This is because programmers have plugged all the park brains into a single app. We call it big data.
From your perspective, it means that Disney Genie knows all about the various parks.
Your AI can and will construct high-quality itineraries on the fly. Should your plans change or something comes up, Disney Genie is adaptable.
Again, this software knows all about the various Disney theme parks. So, it can update with a new itinerary every bit as good as the last one.
Fewer Headaches with Meal Planning
“I dunno. Where do you want to eat?”
(Matt Stroshane, photographer)
Don’t lie to me and tell me that you never hear that. If anything, I’d wager that you’ve either said it or heard it during the past week.
At Disney theme parks, the paralysis of choice gets accentuated by the sheer volume of unfamiliar options.
Weirdly, Disney Genie will solve this problem for you, even though you may not even ask.
The AI knows whether or not you’ve eaten. It can tell by the locations you’ve visited and what you’ve purchased at the parks.
So, Disney Genie will recommend dining options to you at various intervals throughout the day, particularly when you ask for them.
At this point, you’ll learn which counter service and fine dining experiences are available.
This information will appear dynamically in real-time, a fancy way of saying that it’ll be up to date. For example, if any of your favorite places has a cancellation, the AI will say so.
Similarly, if you’re close to something that will save you some steps, Disney Genie will recommend that.
In short, you won’t have to ask anybody for dining recommendations. Instead, your AI will just spit out suggestions.
A Smarter Park Approach
I joke about this a lot, but it’s also not a joke. Some of the best workouts that I get happen at Disney theme parks, especially Disney’s Animal Kingdom.
Well, Disney has coded this new software to think about the other parts of a visit, especially fatigue.
Disney Genie will know how much you’ve walked during a given Disney trip. Its suggestions will take your physical exertion into account.
Photo: CanadianDisneyBlog.com
Interestingly, that doesn’t mean you’ll have less walking. This choice depends on you. Maybe you’re like me and want to crisscross the parks.
If so, you’ll teach your AI about this aspect of your park preferences. Then, during future visits, it’ll accommodate you.
Even that’s not set in stone, though. Should you suffer an injury or decide you like more relaxing trips, you can always say so.
Everything in Disney Genie is adaptable to provide the best possible experience each time.
Credit: Disney
Technical Glitches
Have you ever used a virtual assistant? When the programming goes awry, it’s usually a comically bad error.
I happen to love my Alexa, but some of the things it’s done over the years feel very Cyberdyne.
Lately, on Friday afternoons, my AI randomly announces that it’s the weekend. I cannot make it stop no matter how much I try.
Disney Genie shouldn’t come with anything that unsettling, but I make no promises.
Credit: Disney
The WiFi and cellular signals at Disney theme parks remain shaky and unreliable in the best of circumstances.
Now, we’ll depend on them to plan our itineraries. Spotty signals could lead to quirky results where the algorithm processes incomplete data.
In layperson’s terms, you shouldn’t fully trust the software at the start. Instead, use your own best judgment just in case something weird happens.
If Disney Genie tells you that the best path from Space Mountain to It’s a Small World takes you through Disney Springs, that’s probably wrong.
I’m using comedic examples here, but I also came up in tech. Horror stories about code happen thousands of times each day. There’s just no way to troubleshoot everything.
As such, you can and should expect a few hysterical and ridiculous stories to arise from the early days of Disney Genie.
This wouldn’t be a sign that Disney did anything wrong. It’s just math, really.
More Fun at the Parks
Disney park research suggests that guests are happiest when they experience nine different attractions during a visit.
By using Disney Genie, more guests than ever before should reach that threshold and likely surpass it.
I’m not factoring Disney Genie+ or Lightning Lane into this equation right now.
Instead, I’m merely discussing the significance of efficiency. That’s an unsexy term that sounds like it comes from a boardroom.
However, Disney Genie does the unsexy thing in a way that you’ll find insanely helpful.
Your AI will tell you the best time to visit an attraction. It’ll know when something is likely to have shorter or longer lines.
So, Disney Genie will create park plans that require you to stand in line less while doing more.
Ultimately, that’s the end-all, be-all of this new software. Disney has bet the farm that its product will maximize your enjoyment while minimizing aggravation.
Presuming this happens, you’ll have more fun at the parks because you’re checking more stuff off your list.
Credit: Disney
More importantly to Disney, you’re not standing in line as much. This extra free time provides you with more opportunities to shop, eat, and drink.
Presuming Disney Genie works as intended, the company stands to make a lot more money while you’re having a great time.
You understand why Disney is taking this gamble, right?
