Reimagining Genie+

Project Description

This redesign of Genie+ aims to enhance the visitor experience by restructuring service functionality, improving the digital user interface, and better integrating the service within the physical park space, transforming the guest experience for Disneyland Resort's infamously unpopular "skip-the-line" service.

Problem

Since its launch in October 2021, Disneyland Resort's Genie+ has faced widespread dislike from both first-time visitors and regular park-goers. The service, intended to enhance the visitor experience by allowing guests to skip regular queues for select attractions, has been criticized for its complex interface, inefficient booking system, and overall inability to meet guests' needs. Key issues include long waits for return times to be called, increased phone dependency, and a confusing user experience on the Disneyland app, leading to frustration and dissatisfaction among park guests.

Insights

During the 16-week redesign project, several key insights emerged from my user research and testing. Interviews with park guests at Disneyland revealed that the long waits for return times and the need for constant phone usage are major pain points, often leading to one person in the group becoming the designated "planner." Besides the interviews, I followed two test subjects around Disneyland where they interacted with the current structure of Genie+, which highlighted the inefficiency of the booking process, with return times not being held or updated live, and an overly text-heavy interface complicating navigation. Lastly, after sending out a mass online survey for park visitors, I discovered that the ability to book multiple rides simultaneously would drastically increase the popularity of the service for 30 out of the 39 surveyees. These insights drove my redesign focus on improving the overall user experience by addressing these specific issues.

Solutions

Due to the service's multi-world functionality, my redesign solution encompasses three fundamental areas of improvement: restructuring service functionality, enhancing the digital user interface, and seamlessly integrating the service within the physical park space. For the first portion of my solution, which delves into the structure of how the service works, I implemented a new booking structure that allows guests to book 2 experiences at once instead of 1. This implementation encourages guests to use one of their reservations for one of the more popular rides and use their second reservation in the meantime while they wait for the first ride, diminishing the feeling guests get from not using Genie+ to its fullest capabilities. The second part of my redesign prioritizes enhancing the digital user interface. The new UI supports the implementation of a 6-minute timer by incorporating an onboarding screen at the start of the booking process, reducing guest stress. Additional enhancements include a sticky timer for constant visibility, alternative sorting methods for attractions, and a revamped home page emphasizing the two-attraction booking structure. Lastly, to improve how Genie+ interacts with the physical space of the parks, my solution implements a better check-in process for guests when their return times are called at their booked attractions. Instead of having to open up their phone and search for their return time QR codes in the app, guests can simply add their tickets to their mobile device's wallets and tap their phones to the Genie+ scanners at the front of the attraction. This holistic approach to redesigning Genie+ solves several of the pain points found in my research and ensures that guests feel confident that Genie+ is a beneficial add-on to their trip.