Will Disney Genie+ make Disneyland wait times shorter or longer?

Die-hard Mouseheads complaining about the death of Disneyland’s free FastPass system and the rise of the new paid Genie+ replacement have one thing to rejoice about — potentially shorter attraction wait times.

The new Disney Genie service will debut this fall as a replacement for the retiring FastPass and MaxPass line-cutting options. Disneyland will replace the free FastPass system with a paid Lightning Lane option and begin charging for premium front-of-the-line access on some individual attractions.

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More than 15 attractions at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure will be part of the $20 Genie+ service on the Disneyland mobile app. Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain and Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run will be included in Genie+ — with other attractions to be announced at a later date.

Attraction wait times depend on a host of variables including time of year, theme park capacity, attraction availability, attendance mix and guest behavior, according to Disneyland officials. Just like the former FastPass system, Disneyland and Disney California Adventure attraction inventory will be set aside for both Lightning Lanes and standby queues.

“We’re incredibly excited about the flexibility and choices Disney Genie complimentary service provides to make planning easier, maximize park time and help guests make the most of their visits,” according to Disneyland officials. “We believe this new service will enhance the overall park experience for all of our guests.”

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Most but not all theme park experts expect the new paid Genie+ line-cutting system and Lightning Lane queues will improve attraction wait times for all visitors at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure.

The end of free FastPasses could conceivably shorten Lightning Lane wait times and make attraction standby queues move faster, according to Martin Lewison, a theme park expert at Farmingdale State College in New York.

“Taking away free FastPass should reduce overall demand for rides by reducing the number of guests who wait in the virtual queue,” Lewison said via email. “Of those who once took advantage of free FastPass, some will spring for Genie+, some will settle by joining the standby queue and some will opt to avoid the queue altogether. The question then becomes: By how much?”

Leisure Business Advisors managing director John Gerner expects fewer Disneyland visitors will use the FastPass replacement system once they need to pay for the convenience.

“It’s likely that many visitors won’t feel the extra convenience is worth the price, so they’ll use the normal queue lines instead,” Gerner said via email.

Dennis Speigel, an industry expert with International Theme Park Services, expects Genie+ will smooth out wait times — the theme park industry’s single greatest nemesis.

“Nobody likes to wait or stand in line — not you, not me,” Speigel wrote on the ITPS blog. “This new Genie program offers even more flexibility through a program called ‘Lightning Lane Entrance’ that will save guests additional line time.”

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But not all theme park experts believe Genie+ will dramatically shorten wait times at Disneyland and DCA.

Former Disney executive Duncan Dickson doesn’t expect the end of Disneyland’s free FastPass system will substantially shorten wait times for Lightning Lanes or standby queues.

“The guest mix at Disneyland is so much different than other parks,” the retired University of Central Florida assistant professor of theme park and attraction management said by phone. “The majority of the guests that come to Disneyland are annual passholders. You probably won’t see much of a difference at Disneyland because they are much more savvy guests. They’ve been there so often and know how to work the systems.”

MiceChat hopes the new paid Genie+ system won’t be as commonly used as the former free FastPass and $20 MaxPass systems.

“If fewer people pay for Genie+ than used FastPass/MaxPass, lines could be better than in the past,” according to MiceChat. “But at $20 per person/per day, it’s a pretty good bet that there will be plenty of Genie+ users every day.”

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The “broken” FastPass system often made standby wait times long, according to SyFy Wire theme park reporter Carlye Wisel.

“This shift towards Disney Genie+ and à la cart options was the right choice for the parks going forward,” Wisel wrote on SyFy Wire. “By limiting the number of guests who receive expedited entry, the standby lines can, hypothetically, move more quickly, particularly when in-app software is nudging you towards locations that currently have shorter lines.”

The former front-of-the-line system created longer wait times for everyone not using FastPass, according to Orange County Register theme park columnist Robert Niles.

“As a paid system, Disney Genie+ should attract fewer users than the free FastPass, allowing Disney to better manage standby lines,” Niles wrote in a Register column.