Tag: My Disney Experience

WDW to Start Allowing Purchasing of MagicBands Without Linking to a Ticket

MagicBands

Walt Disney World will be allowing the purchase of MagicBands without being linked to an existing ticket starting tomorrow.

Currently MagicBands have to be linked to a My Disney Experience account with valid ticket media at the time of purchase.  Starting on August 19th, MagicBands will be able to be purchased as stand-alone items at the parks, Downtown Disney, Disney’s Art of Animation Resort, Disney’s Contemporary Resort, Disney’s Pop Century Resort and Disney’s Port Orleans Resort. It is expected that more locations will be added later.

Only regular solid color bands will be included within the new policy. The MagicBands with a printed image will continue to be required to be linked to ticket media at the time of purchase.

This change will now make it possible for guests to buy MagicBands to be given as gifts, or for future trips that have not yet been booked. Before you go out and buy huge stockpiles of MagicBands, be aware there is a purchase limit of 5 per SKU.

My Disney Experience Bringing Improvements to Dining Reservations for iOS Users and Website

my-disney-experience-app

Starting August 13th, the ‘My Disney Experience’ website and iOS apps will begin offering an improved dining reservation service.

Guests will now be able to make same day dining reservations 20 minutes out. This improves on the current system by a couple of hours.

Initially, the update will only be available to iOS users on iPhone, iPad and iPods. The My Disney Experience website will also offer the new functionality. The improved functionality is expected to arrive on the Android platform later in the year.

My Disney Experience App on iOS Updated

my-disney-experience-app

The iOS version of the My Disney Experience app has just been updated to version 2.2 and is now available via the Apple App Store. The update is available for both iPhone, iPod and iPad.

Improvements include:

  • Significantly improved the app’s launch time and overall performance
  • Included refresh capabilities to auto-update restaurants, shows, attractions and FastPass+ experiences
  • Fixed bugs affecting Character Dining search results
  • Corrected the camera orientation and font sizes for iPad
  • Enabled scrolling on the FastPass+ landing screen for devices with 3.5″ display

Walt Disney World to Test Mobile Phone Charging Lockers at the Magic Kingdom

iphone-battery-charging-animation1

From our friends at WDWMAGIC.com –

Beginning April 25th the Magic Kingdom will begin testing mobile phone charging lockers for use by guests.

The secure lockers will be located inside Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe and the Tomorrowland Light and Power Company.  These lockers will be available to guests free of charge.

In order to use the charger, guests will need to swipe a credit credit card.  This will act as an ID for the locker.  The locker door will open and inside there will be a number of charger cables.  The phone gets hooked up to the appropriate cable and the guest closes the door.  When the charge is completed the door will glow green.  In order to open the locker the same credit card will need to be used.

With the increased use of My Disney Experience and the reliance of guests using their smartphones for part of the park experience seems to be driving Disney to help guests keep “powered up”.

Disney Plans to Increase Number of FastPass+ Entitlements Per Day and Include Park Hopping

FastPass+

Tom Staggs, Chairman Walt Disney Parks and Resorts said in a blog post –

“When we first shared a glimpse into our plans to take the Disney guest experience to the next level, we had just begun to unveil MyMagic+ at the Walt Disney World Resort. Our goal from the beginning has been to enhance the guest experience and make it even more immersive, seamless and personal than ever before.

Now, nearly 3.5 million guests have participated in testing, and the vast majority are telling us that MyMagic+ has made their trip even better. This is a big step forward in the evolution of our guest experience, and what we’re seeing in early returns is fantastic.

Guests are telling us that they really like being able to arrange the day the way they want to, with the flexibility to make changes on the go. They also are particularly excited about their experience with the MagicBand. They love the convenience, and we have received a lot of photos from guests showing the fun ways they are wearing them even before they arrive on property or after they return home.

As expected, most of our guests think that securing times to ride our attractions is one of the best ways to maximize the fun of a Walt Disney World Resort vacation. We’ve heard from a number of guests that they would like the opportunity to add additional FastPass+ entitlements during their visit, in addition to the three they can plan in advance. So, we’re working on providing them with the ability to add and enjoy additional entitlements on the day of their visit. Once they’ve used the three they’ve booked, we’ll enable them to select another at kiosks in the parks. And once they’ve used the fourth, they can select another, and so on. We also heard that other guests liked the fact that with the FastPass+ service they could use FASTPASS when they park hopped. So we’re working on a service enhancement to add that feature to FastPass+ as well.

One of the best aspects of MyMagic+ has always been that our guests can relax and better enjoy their time with us, all the while knowing that the attraction they want to ride, or the moment they want to experience, will be there, waiting for them.

And isn’t that what a vacation is all about? The more we can have everyone that goes to our parks feel like a VIP, the happier we’ll be with the experience we’re giving them. And that’s exactly what we’re striving for with MyMagic+.”

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