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- Disney announced on Wednesday that starting in the fall, guests can pay to skip the lines at some park attractions.
- The service will cost $15 a day at Walt Disney World Resort and $20 at Disneyland Resort.
- The service will not cover some of its more popular rides, like the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom Park.
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Disney Parks announced on Wednesday that for a fee, visitors will be able to skip the lines this fall at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, and Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California.
It's part of Disney's new virtual navigation system, Disney Genie – a free app that helps visitors plan itineraries, make reservations at restaurants, and order food in the parks.
In order to skip the lines, visitors will need to sign up for Disney Genie +, the company said in a press release. The service costs $15 a day at Walt Disney World Resort and $20 a day at Disneyland Resort. The service will allow visitors to choose the next available time to arrive at rides, thereby shortening waiting times, the company said.
The company said it will retire the FastPass and FastPass +, a free queuing system for park visitors, as well as MaxPass, which charged visitors $20 a day to skip lines.
The genie will not work with some of the parks' more popular rides, such as the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at Magic Kingdom Park and Radiator Springs Racers at Disney California Adventure park, per the press release. Those who want to skip the line at these attractions will have to pay an additional fee, per the release.
The press release did not specify what other rides are covered by the paid service. Disney did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment for this story.
The latest announcement from Disney adds to the already expensive trip to the parks. A standard day ticket at Disney World starts at $109 and can go up to $159, which means a family of four could easily spend more than $400 in one day at the parks.
The move has drawn backlash from some Twitter users, with some saying it's confusing, and others saying it's Disney's attempt to rake in more revenue.
-Brayden (@SirBrayden) August 19, 2021
-Buzz Bradley (@DisneyOnParade) August 19, 2021
But Disney is not the only theme park hoping to cash in on saved time at the parks. Universal Studios in Orlando charges visitors an eye-watering $69.99 for its "Universal Express pass," where visitors can jump on an express line once for each ride and attraction at the park.
