What is Disney Genie?

Introduced at the 2019 D 23, Disney Genie is the next generation Walt Disney World mobile app. Originally it was set to launch in late 2020, but we all know 2020 didn't go as planned for anyone.

What Does It Mean to Be the "Next Generation Mobile App"?

Walt Disney World currently offers a mobile application called My Disney Experience. While some can argue that My Disney Experience is not necessary, it is pretty difficult to navigate Walt Disney World these days without it. My Disney Experience currently serves as a hub for:

• A list of all of your existing Advanced Dining Reservations and Tickets

• A connection to your Magic Band (sends this information to your Magic Band)

• A map of the parks, including a locator to show where you are, and what the wait times for rides are

• A place where you can make additional Fastpass reservations after your first three are up

• A place where you can make additional dining reservations

• A place where you can mobile order from select Quick Service restaurants and prepay so you only need to pick up your food

• A park schedule

• And at some resorts, a room key (you can use the app, as well as your magic band, to unlock the door)

MyDisneyExperience can also be accessed from a regular computer, which is what most people do to first set up their account and link their initial resort reservations and park tickets. After that, it could be used on a computer but you would lose a lot of the "on the fly" functionality that the mobile app offers, so we still see this as primarily a mobile app.

MyDisneyExperience also works very closely with your Magic Band. The Magic Band used to be included with a resort reservation but as of the beginning of 2021, it must be purchased. The magic band is a waterproof device with a radio frequency (RF) chip that allows you to do several cool things:

• Enter the park without getting out tickets

• Pay for things (if you have linked a credit card)

• Use your Fastpasses

• Unlock your Disney resort room door

• Link Photopass photos to your account

• Automagically link ride photos to your account, if you have Memory Maker

• Allow rides to automatically recognize you (which leads to some personalized effects)

This is all pretty cool.... so why is there now a charge for Magic Bands?

The fact that there is now a charge for Magic Bands, even for resort guests, leaves some to speculate that they are being phased out, which might or might not be true. Whether they'll be phased out altogether is yet to be seen. One must imagine that Disney makes some money on the sale of Magic Bands and all of the Magic Band accessories, including wraps, decals, special edition Magic Bands, and Magic Band holders.

Some speculate that the Magic Band might not be necessary when Disney releases Disney Genie, but a lot of details remain unknown.

Here's what we know about Disney Genie so far...

Based on the information Disney has released at D23 and in press releases, we know that Disney Genie will be a mobile app. There is no mention of a Magic Band component. The expectation is that most guests entering Walt Disney World have a smartphone that will carry this app. For guests who don't, there is always the physical ticket option.

You can expect the Disney Genie to do most things MyDisneyExperience does. In fact, one could see Disney Genie as being a component of and not a replacement to MyDisneyExperience, though we're not sure which will be the case.

According to the announcement at the 2019 D23 Expo, the Disney Genie will...

• Suggest itineraries based on your interest

• Allow you to plug in things you want to do and formulate an optimal touring plan

• Make your Fastpass and dining reservations for you

Basically, it sounds like an app that is meant to take the meticulous planning work out of a Disney vacation. This could certainly make a Walt Disney World vacation less intimidating to first time visitors because let's be honest, it has gotten a little bit out of hand to plan your dining 6 months ahead and your rides 2 months ahead. One (selfish) downside is it could also take the edge away from those who DO do the legwork of planning to beat crowds and maximize experiences. And we wonder what this might do to sites we currently rely onto optimize our plans and estimate crowds, like touringplans.com. It is yet to be seen if Disney's algorithm can top those that have already been doing doing this same thing for years.

Let's see the video from D23:

Keep in mind, an important change since this video is that 2020 has come and gone and there is still no Disney Genie and no revised date. But we know it's on the radar, because we heard more about it in November of 2020. Here's a video we think covers the details pretty well:

So based on the preview, we can expect:

• Customized itineraries based on your interests

• Ability to swap experiences out and into your customized and optimized plan

• Skip the multiple steps it takes to make a ride reservation (the screenshot here shows Rise of the Resistance which uses a unique "boarding pass" reservation system. We wonder if the Genie will secure your boarding pass if it knows you are interested?)

• Allow one family member to make plans and hold plans for the entire family (not really different than MyDisneyExperience)

We also believe the Disney Genie may actually allow your smartphone to use radio frequency in order to serve in the place of your Magic Band, but again, this is not confirmed. We are of this opinion, though, because the Magic Band seems to be being phased out since it was once free and now has an upcharge.... though to be honest, the upcharge could just be Disney needing to make money.

Needless to say, we look forward to the Genie! One clear advantage, if Disney does it right, is to control the spread of crowds so that you don't have a dead EPCOT and a booming Magic Kingdom like can happen some days now.

This is also possibly a disadvantage to planners who pride themselves in beating the crowds and being in the right place at the right time. If Disney is using technology to recommend everyone be in the right place at the right time, there will be no more right places... they'll all be average places. We don't know yet how we feel about that.

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What do you think of the Disney Genie information that's been released so far? Are you excited for the ease of planning a Disney vacation? Are you nervous you'll lose your competitive edge or do you think we are overreacting and the competitive edge can never be lost? Tell us in the comments or over on our Facebook page where you can follow us to see new posts each week. Until next time...