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NEWS: Big Improvements Coming to My Disney Experience App

According to several sources, Disney is about to update it’s My Disney Experience App with a huge navigation update. Details below!





 

The app will work a lot like Google Maps. You will be able to select an attraction from the map, hit ‘Get Directions,’ and then choose a ‘From’ location, which can be your current position from GPS, or another attraction or location. The app will also give you directions throughout the entire Disney World property beyond the parks attractions, shops and restaurants. Outside of the parks it will use the various transportation options that available: bus, monorail and water transportation. It apparently will also give an estimated of time required.

These updates will continue to make the My Disney Experience App even more useful and more needed than ever to fully enjoy your time at Disney World. The navigation features will be especially useful for first time guests. No official word on the exact day the update will be pushed out.

RELATED ARTICLE: 10 Things You Need to Know About My Disney Experience & App

by Ryan Miller

Whether you are already in the parks at Walt Disney World or you are just in the planning stages for your visit, the My Disney Experience App and website is full of information to help you along your way. While the website is ideal for planning your vacation, the app has real-time information for when you are in the parks. Using the two in tandem can make for a seamless planning process, making the most of your trip to the most magical place on Earth. To help you get acquainted with My Disney Experience, here’s a list of things you need to know.





 

10 – Itinerary

On both the app and website, any plans that you make, tickets you purchase, reservations and more will show up for you to refer back to at any stage in the process. You can browse through the resorts available on Disney property and when you book your stay, your confirmation number and details about your visit will be readily available. Your ticket information (including park hopper or water parks and more package) will also show up here.

9 – Dining

One of the best features of My Disney Experience is the in-depth information about each of the restaurants at Walt Disney World. Descriptions of each restaurant and pictures of the décor will give you an instant feel of what the atmosphere in the restaurant will be like. In addition, the menus are available for you to peruse to see whether each restaurant will have dishes that appeal to you. Having all of this information makes the planning process fun, weighing the options of each restaurant against the preferences in your group.

180 days prior to your first day of your visit, the dining reservations open up and allow you to book for each day of your trip (up to 10 days).  So guests staying for more days have a better shot at getting the highly sought-after reservations since they have earlier access to the days being booked. At 6am est. on both the website and app, you can begin to book reservations at restaurants and the hot ticket restaurants book up quickly, so be as diligent as you can.

8 – Park Hours

To help you plan which park to visit each day of your vacation, the hours for the parks can be found on both the app and website. Since the park hours change depending on the time of year, you can specify which days your vacation will land on. For guests staying at the resorts, the Extra Magic Hours will also come into play in your decisions because an extra hour or more in the parks can be very tempting since the crowds are significantly lighter.





 

7 – Events/Tours

For returning guests who are looking for new and unique experiences, checking out the events and tours available can add that little extra magic to your trip. From information about the Flower and Garden Festival at Epcot, to the Keys to The Kingdom Tour at the Magic Kingdom, each event has detailed information about what to expect from each experience.

6 – MagicBands

MagicBands are your key to everything in Walt Disney World. They act as your resort room key, your park tickets, they hold your dining plan information and you can link them to your room to make additional purchases in the parks. You can customize your MagicBands online by choosing the colors and adding the names of the guests in your party. For guests living in the U.S., your MagicBands will be couriered to you before you depart and for guests outside of the U.S., your MagicBands will be available when you check in to your resort.

5 – FastPass+

Guests staying at Disney Resorts can make their FastPass+ selections 60 days prior to arriving. Each guest gets 3 selections and can choose from a number of attractions and character meet and greets at each park. On the My Disney Experience website and app, you can make your selections for each day and make as many changes to them as you’d like, even while you’re in the parks (depending on availability).  Guests who are not staying on property have access to the FastPass+ selections 30 days prior to their arrival. Read the 9 Things You Need to Know about Fastpass+, the top 6 myths about FastPass+, and the top 6 objections to FastPass+ and how to deal with them for everything you need to know about this service.





 

4 – Maps 

Since each park and resort has complementary Wi-Fi, accessing information through the My Disney Experience App won’t use up any of your cellular data. This comes in handy when you’re accessing the maps of each park. Whether you’re looking to pinpoint the exact location of your restaurant, find where the shops are or even try to find the nearest restroom, the app will provide a map showing the location of everything in the parks.

3 – Characters and Entertainment

While there are showtime guides available, the app holds all of the information you need for events in the park as well as where each character is available for a meet and greet. If you need a reminder of the Festival of Fantasy start time in the Magic Kingdom or you need to know where you can meet Cinderella for a photo-op, the app is an invaluable resource that keeps you from having to visit guest services everytime you need information.

2 – PhotoPass

Whether you purchase the Memory Maker package or not, any photo taken by the PhotoPass Photographers in the park will be linked to your My Disney Experience Account through your MagicBand. Just a short time later, you can access your photos in both the app and on the website to browse and purchase if you’d like. When your day in the park is done and you’re back at the resort for the evening, looking through the photos from the day can also be a really fun way to remember all of the magical things you experienced.

1 – Wait Times

By far, the best feature of the My Disney Experience App to use in the parks is the list of wait times. When you’re in the park and trying to plan which attraction you’d like to visit next, within seconds you can see the wait times that are real-time and give you a quick glance at what is busy and what isn’t. Keep an eye on the times during the day to make sure you ride all of the attractions on your must-do list without walking from one side of the park to the other, only to discover a long wait time.  It’s convenient, accurate and allows you to be spontaneous during the day.

Using My Disney Experience either on the website or your mobile device can be a huge time saver when it comes to planning your vacation, while leaving room to be flexible. With new features consistently being developed, who knows what My Disney Experience will offer in the years to come. In the meantime, it’s an incredibly versatile tool to help you get the most out of your experience in Walt Disney World.





 

Cindy E. Nykamp

After friends and family made them their go-to people for Walt Disney World advice, Cindy and Chad launched DisneyLists.com in August 2015 to share their knowledge and love of Disney. Cindy wears many hats for DisneyLists.com. As a content creator, she has written over six hundred articles providing news, tips, planning, and more, for trips to Walt Disney World, Disneyland, and Disney Cruise Line to our followers. She directs a team of authors to bring our fans up-to-date information so that they can have the best Disney vacation experience. Cindy manages DisneyLists.com's Instagram account, sharing photos and videos to bring some Disney magic into our followers' feeds. She is also our chief photographer and has her photos featured on the official Walt Disney World Instagram account. Finally, Cindy regularly represents DisneyLists.com at Disney media events. While attending these events, she gets an insider's view of all the new things that have come to Disney Parks and Disney Cruise Line and passes this information and tips to our followers.
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