A day at Disneyland can be one of two things – magical or stressful. (and sometimes both) But it’s also another thing. EXPENSIVE. Which is why many families (including ours) choose NOT to spend even more money on purchasing Genie Plus. After our trip to Disneyland and showing what our day looked like, questions started flooding in. So in attempt to answer those questions and show you what our day at Disneyland without Genie Plus looked like, here’s our Disney Guide to Disneyland without Genie +
Contents
- 1 Is Genie Plus necessary for Disneyland?
- 2 How much is Disneyland’s Genie Plus?
- 3 Can you use Genie Plus for all the rides?
- 4 Is a Day at Disneyland without Genie Plus worth it?
- 5 A day at Disneyland without Genie Plus Itinerary
- 6 Pin it! Grab our Disneyland without Genie Plus Pin and save it for your next trip!
Is Genie Plus necessary for Disneyland?
This is a question we got asked a lot after our trip. And the answer is, NO. It’s not necessary. It can most definitely help you miss long lines along the way. But you can still enjoy the day AND not wait in long lines without Genie Plus. Scroll down to see how we did it.
How much is Disneyland’s Genie Plus?
Genie Plus is not included in your Disneyland ticket, and will cost you an additional $25 per person. Therefore, if you are a family of four, it will cost you an additional $100 for the day.
Can you use Genie Plus for all the rides?
It’s important to realize that NOT all rides accept Genie Plus. You cannot use Genie Plus for Star Wars Rise of the Resistance, Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway. and Radiator Springs Racers rides.
Is a Day at Disneyland without Genie Plus worth it?
Again, another highly requested question. And it’s a question we address in most all our Disney travel guides.
If money is not an issue for you, and you want to get as much in as you can in a day without waiting in long lines, then yes, it will be worth it for you. But if you’re visiting on a budget and don’t necessarily care about hitting all the rides, then it might not be. It’s a completely subjective answer.
A day at Disneyland without Genie Plus Itinerary
So let’s get right down to it. Here’s what our day at Disneyland without Genie Plus looked like:
Where we stayed at Disneyland
We stayed at Portofina Inn and Suites hotel right near Disneyland. It’s a much cheaper option than staying on the property and was only a 7-minute walk to the park. We grabbed a quick breakfast and coffee and headed to the park.
Disneyland Morning Itinerary
As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by characters. Minnie, Goofy, and Chip and Dale were at the entrance of Main Street. There was a long line for Goofy and Minnie, so we passed. But in return, Mia experienced the best moment when Chip ran up to her and started dancing. Such an EPIC beginning to our day.
After the adorable dance, we then headed straight down Main Street to the castle. Of course, we first took some castle pics. And then, we stopped in the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique to start our day out with a little extra magic and Mia’s FREE Pixie dust. It was one of Mia’s FAVORITE moments of the day!
PIXIE DUST TIP: Stop at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Botique inside the castle at Magic Kingdom Park and ask a cast member for Pixie Dust. All cast members have pixie wands and will sprinkle glitter pixie dust and a special song. Kids can make a wish – and best of all, it’s FREE!
After our little princess got her pixie dust, we hit up all the rides in Fantasyland around the castle with little to no waiting. Snow White had about a 15-minute wait time, Pinocchio was about 10 minutes, and the Carousel had no wait at all.
After those first three rides, we headed to see our first show of the day, Tangled, at the Royal Theater. The Royal Theater is located right next to the castle and is, in my opinion, the most underrated attraction at Disneyland. The shows are filled with witty humor for adults and cute humor for kids. They really make it worthwhile for both kids and parents. Plus, you get to sit down and rest your feet for a bit. We loved it so much, we even went back to see the Beauty and the Beast show in the afternoon. Yes, twice in one day!
Right after the show, Mia also saw her favorite Disney Princess, Aurora, leaving the Princess meet, so she was so happy to get a wave from her.
Next up, we made our way to New Orleans Square for the Pirates ride. This was one of our longest wait times at about 25 minutes, but it moves quite frequently, so it didn’t feel too long. I had also brought snacks so we broke them out during our wait. Don’t forget to bring snacks with you to the park! Saves so much money! During the ride, we got stuck for about 10 minutes, but Pirates is one of my daughter’s favorite rides, so the wait wasn’t too bad.
And once we got off the ride, we ran into Jack Sparrow, himself, which was fun!
We then hopped on the Jungle Cruise ride since it’s right next to Pirates because it’s always a fun one. Again, this line was about 20 minutes but the line constantly moves.
Indiana Jones is also located right in this area, but it’s a pretty long line. It happened to be down when we were there, so we decided to take the Frontier Train around the park to Tomorrowland.
FRONTIER TRAIN TIP: The train is a great way to save your feet while hopping from one land to another. Hop on and let it take you to your next destination instead of walking all the way across the park.
Once we exited the train, we decided on the Finding Nemo sub ride since we had never been on that one. And I’m so glad we did. We really loved this ride, and again, the wait time wasn’t too bad – about 20 minutes.
Disneyland Afternoon Itinerary
At this point, it was lunch time (1:30pm), so we ate pizza and pasta at Alien Pizza Planet before heading back to Main Street for the 3:30 parade.
After the parade, Yaron grabbed another coffee at Jolly Holiday Bakery Cafe while Mia and I watched our second show at the Royal Theater, Beauty and the Beast. (Remember when I said we saw two shows?)
After the show, we had to hit up Dumbo, which happened to be Mia’s very first ride at Disney World on our first Disney trip. This was honestly the longest line we waited in, and if it would have been up to me, I would have skipped it. But Mia was desperate to ride, so we waited in the 40-minute line. URGH.
DUMBO TIP: Disney World has two sets of Dumbo rides, which makes the lines almost non-existent. But Disneyland only has one, so if you’re adamant on riding it, check your My Experience app for wait times. They are always going up and down for Dumbo.
We spent the rest of the late afternoon at Toon Town while Mia played at the cool playground area, met Mickey, toured his house and rode Chip n dale’s rollercoaster.
Disneyland Evening Itinerary
At this point, it was early evening-ish, so we then trekked back over to Star Wars Galaxy Edge. There, we met Chewy, charged our phones inside Docking Bay Food and Cargo and grabbed another snack, rode the Millennium Falcon, and hit up the Ride of the Resistance before it closed for the night (which we all agreed was our absolute favorite experience!)
STAR WARS RIDES TIPS: At the beginning of our day, a cast member told us that the lines for Star Wars rides are the longest during the morning and day. His tip was to aim for late evening when lines start thinning out. It was one of the BEST TIPS! The line for the Millennium Falcon was only 15 minutes, and the Ride of the Resistance was only about 20 minutes. Both these rides can have wait times up to 2 hours, so these small waits were amazing!
Ending the Night at Disneyland
At this point, it was almost 9:30, so we grabbed a popcorn bucket and walked back to the castle for the firework finale. It was already crazy packed, and if I had known beforehand, I would have just stayed in Star Wars and watched the fireworks from there. I heard it’s a great place to watch from.
After the firework show, we were all pretty exhausted, so we called it a night.
Overall, without Genie Plus, we rode 12 rides, saw 3 shows, and met 7 characters. We arrived at 9 am and stayed until 10:30 pm. We used the My Disneyland app to check on ride wait times, and had the most wonderful day!
So, yes, you can have a FANTASTIC day at Disneyland WITHOUT Genie Plus!
Pin it! Grab our Disneyland without Genie Plus Pin and save it for your next trip!
