For those planning a visit to Walt Disney World, in the lead-in to your visit, you’ll be getting pretty familiar with the My Disney Experience App. Accessed from your smartphone, the app services as a dashboard for all things to do with your Disney vacation. In the lead-in you can access your reservation, check out dining, FastPasses etc. A visit to the parks also unlocks a handful of wonderful functions like being able to see the Wait Times at each of the theme parks or manage your FastPasses on the go. Over the past year, Disney World has also unveiled a handful of pretty nifty additional features on My Disney Experience to enhance your vacation even more. Many of these are under-the-radar but we here at Disney Addicts love them and think they’re definitely worthy of mention. Here are 7 of our favorite lesser-known ways to use My Disney Experience to get the most out of your Disney vacation!
1. Track Your Dining Plan Credits – For those on the Disney Dining Plan, it’s important to know that Disney front-end loads your dining credits so all your dining credits are available starting on the first night of your stay. This means that guests need to keep a careful eye on how many credits you are using each day. Otherwise, by the time you reach the end of your stay, you may find you’re out of meal or snack credits and need to pay out of pocket. Now Disney makes it easy to keep track of your credits right from your mobile phone. Recent updates to My Disney Experience include the ability to track how many credits you have total, how many your party has already used and how many you have remaining.
2. Locate Characters – If meeting your favorite Disney characters is high on your priority list during your Disney vacation, then there’s no need to wander the park aimlessly in search of your Disney pals. My Disney Experience actually has a character tab in the interactive park maps function that will show you the characters available for meet and greets at each park, their location, and the hours that they are available. If you know you’d like to meet a character but aren’t sure what park they are at, you can also select characters from the drop-down menu for a full alphabetized list of all the characters you’ll find at Walt Disney World. Simply select the character you want to meet and you’ll be given a rundown of what park they’re at and even walking directions on how to get there!
3. Ability to Track Purchases – If you’re like me, the saddest moment of your Disney vacation is NOT taking the bus back to the airport but rather getting the bill containing the itemized list of all the expenses you charged to your MagicBand over the course of your vacation. However, guests are now able to keep better tabs on your spending habits using the My Disney Experience App. This feature allows guests to see the total charges you’ve made and how much you owe on your the account balance for your Walt Disney World resort which is where the MagicBand charges are added to.
4. Track Disney Resort Buses – There’s no longer any need to stand in line for ages waiting for the next Walt Disney World resort bus to turn up. Earlier this week, Disney launched a new bus time feature. With this new addition to My Disney Experience users will receive up-to-the-minute estimates on when the next bus will depart from your Disney resort hotel and when you can be expected to arrive at your destination of choice. This function of the app will update in real time to provide up-to-date estimates. The feature will include buses heading to Disney Springs, the four theme parks and two water parks. To use this helpful tool simply tap “See Bus Times” when viewing active Disney Resort hotel reservations using your account!
5. Order your Food Without Waiting in Line! – Disney’s Mobile Order service was officially unveiled last year with the opening of Pandora – The World of Avatar. Guests who plan on visiting select Walt Disney World quick service restaurants have the ability to order your food in advance using your smartphone. When you are ready to eat, you simply press a button to let the restaurant know and your food will be waiting for you at the designated pick up window. For more information on the mobile order service click here.
6. Online Check-In Service- Last year, Disney upgraded the My Disney Experience App to provide guests with the ability to check-in to their Walt Disney World Resort via your smartphone, thus avoiding the long lines that can occur at your resorts front desk on check-in day. The new feature allows guests to check in using the app up to 60 days in advance. On the day that you are due to check-in, you will receive a notification that your room is ready with your room number. If you had your MagicBands shipped to you before your vacation, this means that you can head straight to the room and enter using your MagicBand which also functions as your room key! Checking in to your Disney resort has never been easier.
7. Renew Your Annual Passes – Good news for Disney World’s Annual Passholders! The App allows passes that are reaching expiry to be renewed quickly and conveniently. You can use My Disney Experience to renew individual passes or for those with family passes, the lead guest also has the ability to renew for all members of your party. The app also allows you to change the type of pass you have.
The features in the list above are just a few recent examples of how Disney is using the My Disney Experience app to make the guest experience more convenient. Another notable enhancement currently in the works is the ability to use the app as your digital room key. This is currently being tested at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge Resort!
So what are you waiting for!? Be sure to download the latest version of the app, now available in the Apple Store for iOS devices and Google Play for Android devices!
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Find articles like this helpful? Then why not consider booking with an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner? As an agent with MickeyTravels, I’ll be on hand to help you with everything from finding your perfect package to sharing tips and tricks to help you get the most out of your time at Disneyland. Best of all, my services are absolutely FREE. Get in touch at 1.800.801.4025, via email at mroden@mickeytravels.com or follow along on Facebook.
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