My family is going to Disney World tomorrow for the first time since 2015. I bought our tickets and made park reservations. We’re staying off-property. Now I’m seeing that to get in, we need for each family member either 1) MagicMobile, 2) a MagicBand (which I don’t want to pay for), or 3) a plastic ticket card. I’m surprised because the tickets in the MDE app have barcodes, but it looks like those won’t get us through the gates.
Will MagicMobile avoid the need to go to the ticket booth?
Are there any other advantages of MagicMobile over a plastic ticket card? Is it worth the hassle? (By hassle, I mean creating accounts for everyone, installing the app for everyone, transferring tickets to everyone, etc.)
Pardon me if this has been answered elsewhere, and thanks in advance. This is my first post here and I hope it’s okay.
I know there’s a way you can use your phone to tap into the parks, but I’ve never done it, I’ve only heard ppl complain about it b/c it seems to take more time, but there is supposed to be a way you can do it. I know in MDE you can link your tickets under “Tickets and Passes” and there is a bar code for them there too. You will need magic mobile if you have an AP or are a DVC mbr (which I assume you’re not DVC since you are staying off property) b/c CMs won’t except a card for discounts anymore.
Yes, I think so.
You’ll need to do this for everyone in your party to make park reservations or if you intend to use G+ .
I’m still confused by all these new entry methods. If we use MagicMobile app can my entire family just use 1 account. Disney makes it seem this is the case.
If everyone in your group is on your MDE I don’t think they need accounts.
They will need a pin. Since we were not using room charge I simply assigned pins.
Disney Guest Services CMs have generally been awesome. We have to visit GS every trip anyway and in 7 trips I’ve only met one Grumpy. The rest have been Friendly, Helpful, Pleasant, Fun and Delightful.
Highly recommend going to GS in Disney Springs. It’s indoors, air conditioned.
You’ll get solid info on the best way to manage your entry media.
Btw, I got plastic cards for each of us since it’s a special celebration year. Maybe someone wants a souvenir.
You do NOT need a MDE account or even a phone for each member of your party. You can have MagicMobile passes for your entire party in one account. If you have two or more adults, you can share each other’s and all children’s passes among you so you could all tap in for your entire party.
if you have teenagers who will be on their own but don’t need a full account, you could just have them sign into your account.
I found MagicMobile a little finicky and vastly preferred MagicBands, but it was very helpful to have MagicMobile installed as a backup (like if a party member wasn’t around when we were getting a Rider Swap pass)
The plastic cards are probably easier and less of a hassle for most purposes. Swiping through the passes in your virtual wallet to scan each one is kind of annoying.
if you have old Magic bands, you can use those for tapping in. They may not work for rides that automatically detect you for linking photos, but neither would a plastic card.
I would probably spring for magic bands for everyone. I have an Apple Watch so magic mobile worked seamlessly for myself but I didn’t want to have to scan in for everyone. My kiddos like to be independent with scanning park tickets and LL so we just brought magic bands that we already had.
This is the key point. The cards are (a) free and (b) really nice souvenirs to have. And easy to use. Maybe get lanyards for everyone. But then you’re spending money. And may as well buy Magic Bands. Which are easy to use and make nice souvenirs.
I’m happy to have been so clear and helpful. You’re welcome.
You mean to tell me I didn’t have to remember which wrist had my band and which had my Apple Watch when I tapped in last month? I guess I’m going to have to go back soon and test this out!
We have several Magic Bands but they are at least 4 years old. I’m guessing from things I have read that they most likely won’t work any longer. Can we still buy the plain ones in the parks? I’ve been trying to add them via MDE, but there are only five options and I’m not thrilled with those. Would much rather have just a plain color.
Yes! I didn’t realize until the second to last day. We were scanning into BTMRR and I used my wrong wrist but it worked without opening the apple wallet. It was awesome!
