Genie Has Bumpy Launch at Disneyland Today
According to reports, many visitors to Disneyland Resort were in for a difficult ride today as Disney’s new Genie system experienced teething problems. As the OC Register reports, they system struggled with a myriad of technical issues that left guests frustrated at the new paid FastPass service. The technical difficulties apparently resulted in long lines at guest relations locations at both Disneyland and Disney California Adventure.
If you’ve been following along with MickeyBlog you’ll know that the Disney Genie service was designed by Disney as a new paid-for front-of-the-line system designed to replace FastPass and MaxPass. The system has already been in place at Walt Disney World since November 12th.
According to a Disney spokesperson, they are working hard to resolve “technology challenges” that made the first day of the new service less than a wish come true for guests. The tech problems resulted in Disney making the decision to pause Disney Genie and Individual Lightning Lane options.
According to the OC Register problems with the new Genie service started not long after the park opened this morning. Those trying to access the service reported getting error messages. In addition, the tip board which is part of Genie’s NEW itinerary planning service was not working. This would eventually impact the Disneyland app in general with guests reporting problems with reservations, dining and more.
Disneyland chalked up today’s problems to software issues. Those toughing out the long Guest Service Lines reported getting passes to use on rides and attractions or refunds for the paid components of the Genie experience.
For those unfamiliar, the Genie service which functions similarly to Disneyland’s previous MaxPass service costs $15 per person per day and allows guest to go to the front-of-the-line of select attractions one at a time. Then there is Disney’s a la care option or Individual Lightning Lanes which is reserved for the most popular attractions at both parks. Guests opting to go for front of the line access on these rides must pay individual prices per person per ride. For instance, as you can see from the image above, The cost to go to the front of the line of Rise of the Resistance this morning was $20 per person.
The other two Individual Lightning Lane options were Radiator Springs Racers at Disney California Adventure which costs $7 as well as WEB-SLINGERS: A Spider-Man Adventure which also was priced at $7.
Paid for FastPass options mean that when systems do go down due to technical issues, guests want to recoup on their purchases making it a complicated issue when Disney has to deal with large technical problems like those experienced today. However, it should be remembered that both Disney Genie and Individual Lightning Lanes are option services and guests still have the option of waiting in the stand-by lines for no additional charge.
Here’s to hoping that today’s Disney Genie problems get ironed out and that it is smooth sailing from here on out! This is a story that we will continue to follow closely here at MickeyBlog and we promise to keep you posted as we hear more!
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Source: OC Register