The holiday season is one of the most popular times to visit Disneyland Resort, but guests who have been there in the last few weeks may not be having the happiest of holidays. Disneyland is more expensive than ever, and that includes Genie+ which has been hitting new price peaks on a regular basis.
Genie+ Is More Expensive Than Ever At Disneyland Resort
The Genie+ service that allows guests to skip some lines was introduced at a $20 per ticket price point last year but that price recently jumped to a base price of $25 in October, at the same time that Disneyland tickets, food, and other experiences also saw price jumps. The $25 is only the price if you buy Genie+ when you buy your ticket. If you wait to buy it in the park, it can cost even more, and the Los Angeles Times reports that it’s been hitting $30 frequently in the last few weeks.
While there’s a lot we don’t know about how Disneyland determines this price point, it’s supposed to be dependent on demand, which is in turn related to the size of the crowd, so what seems clear is that during this very busy time of year, more people are buying Genie+ to skip lines, which is then driving up the price even higher.
Nobody really loves the Genie+ service, especially since the line skipping ability used to be a free option at Disneyland, and so paying for it now leaves a bad taste in the mouths of many. And yet, if you want to avoid spending all your time in the park standing in line, you’re going to need it, especially during the busy holiday season. It’s clear based on the numbers that Disney has released that a significant number of guests are buying Genie+, and if people weren’t paying the $30 price point we probably wouldn’t be seeing it happen more than once.
While Genie+ is technically optional, the fact is a lot of people are seeing it as necessary. At the end of the day, if the service does its job then most people will probably see it as money well spent. So perhaps for those visiting Disneyland now it will be a happy holiday, if a slightly poorer one.
At this point it appears that $30 is the most expensive that Genie+ has been at Disneyland Resort. However, there is no official cap on the price, so the thing could end up going higher at any time. There are even those in favor of seeing Genie+ get more expensive, as they believe that too many people actually use it, and thus it isn’t as valuable as it should be.
