Say goodbye to free Disney FastPasses in October

One of the few free perks of a trip to a Disney park were free FastPasses to popular rides. But starting this fall, that free perk will be going away.

Don’t want to wait an hour for Space Mountain? For the past 20 years, Disney parks have let guests skip the line with a FastPass for a specific time, at no extra cost. But taking a cue from regional park operators Six Flags and Cedar Fair, Disney will soon start charging for line skipping.

The parks have just announced a new Genie program, where a basic, free Genie pass helps you schedule your day, but it will cost you an additional $15 a day for a Genie Plus pass for avoiding lines. More fees for the most popular rides, but that is not the only extra fee. Disney says super popular attractions, like Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge, will require an additional fee for line skipping.

Disney has not released specifics, but this savings site says a line skipping pass for a hot ride could cost as much as $5 to $20, per rider. Many longtime fans are not happy. The San Francisco Chronicle’s SFGate quotes one guest saying “we can’t afford to use this service. Disney world is only for the wealthy now.” Another says “why are they calling this new pass Genie? It should be called Scrooge McDuck.”

Some loyal guests say paying extra to skip the line is fine at a regional park where admission is just $50 a day, but not at the “most magical place on earth,” where a single day ticket can cost as much as $150. And you can’t beat the program change.

Don’t try to rush to Disney in the next few weeks, to try to secure free Fast Passes before the Genie program begins. The Fast Pass program ended during the pandemic last year, and never returned when the parks reopened.

As always don’t waste your money.

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WBRC