​This week at Walt Disney World has been VERY busy with the announcement of the Disney Genie paid FastPass+ replacement service, the return of biometric fingerprint scanning to the theme parks, plus a brand new sneak peek at Disney Enchantment.

Programming note: Though we normally devote some time to Orlando-area parks outside Lake Buena Vista, there has been so much going on at Walt Disney World over the past seven days that we decided to forgo the “beyond” for just one week. You’ll hear about all the news from Universal Orlando Resort, Busch Gardens Tampa and SeaWorld Orlando in next week’s update!

1. Disney Genie pre-planning service announced 

Image: Disney

Disney Genie was officially announced this week as a free new service inside the My Disney Experience app that will help guests plan their day, giving guests realtime suggestions on what to experience and when to "dramatically" improve guest experience. 

2. Disney Genie+ announced as FastPass+ replacement

Alongside the Disney Genie announcement came the news that many guests have been dreading: Free FastPass is officially dead. Replacing it is a new paid program called Disney Genie+ that allows guests to get faster access to over 40 attractions via "Lightning Lanes" for $15 per guest, per day. In addition, guests can purchase Genie+ Lightning Lane access for individual popular attractions as well, which will include Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Seven Dwarves Mine Train and more. 

3. Remy's Ratatouille Adventure to use virtual queue system 

When it opens on October 1, 2021 Remy's Ratatouille Adventure will use the same virtual queue system that is currently being used by Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. And like that attraction, no standby lines will be available. However, guests that are unable to secure a spot in the virtual queue can pay to use the Lightning Lane individual attraction capability to experience this new attraction.