Disney pushed out a new notification on the Disneyland app warning guests about purchasing Genie+. The notification asks guests to check Lightning Lane availability before buying Genie+, reminding that refunds are not available.
Below is a screenshot of the notification that appears when you open the Disneyland app.
Here’s the warning sent to Disneyland app users:
“Pardon The Inconvenience. We strongly encourage you to check today’s Lightning Lane availability and other park details before purchasing Disney Genie+ service, as purchase of Disney Genie+ service is nonrefundable. We apologize for any inconvenience.”
Disney is trying to prepare guests for poor Lightning Lane availability during crowded times. Easter weekend promises large crowds, which means Lightning Lane passes may be difficult to book. The notification may be an attempt at helping curb the number of angry guests visiting Guest Services.
This notification raises a lot of questions. First, it’s obvious there must be a high level of dissatisfaction in Genie+ if Disney is proactively warning guests about purchasing it. How often have we seen Disney warning guests about buying something?
Beyond that, Genie+ has worked better at Disneyland than Walt Disney World for a variety of reasons. So, why hasn’t Walt Disney World rolled out a similar notification? Lightning Lanes at Walt Disney World – specifically at Disney’s Hollywood Studios – book up extremely quickly, and yet this type of notification hasn’t been sent out. We’d fully expect this type of message in the Walt Disney World app before seeing it in Disneyland’s.
This also begs the question why Disney doesn’t limit Genie+ purchases once a certain capacity is hit. There’s some easy math Disney could run to determine what percentage of guests can purchase Genie+ before the experience becomes miserable for everyone. Of course, that comes at the cost of potential revenue.
Finally, we can’t help but remember a time when Disney stood behind products and services guests could feel confident purchasing. Now, as the notification proves, the pressure on Genie+ delivering a good experience sits squarely on the guest researching Lightning Lanes before buying it, which feels completely backwards. The Genie+ system has been criticized repeatedly since its debut, and this latest warning supports those complaints.
