My Disney Experience, MagicBands, Disney Genie, and Lightning Lane Information
What is My Disney Experience?
My Disney Experience is the ultimate planning tool for your Walt Disney World vacation. This is where you can book Advance Dining Reservations, make Park Pass selections, use Mobile Order, find out theme park hours, look at the wait times for attractions, take advantage of online check-in, and so much more. My Disney Experience combines all of your vacation planning into one convenient location that's accessible from multiple electronic devices.
When planning a Walt Disney World vacation, you can use My Disney Experience on your computer, tablet, and your smartphone. With your preferred device, My Disney Experience allows you to share all the details you have coming up on your vacation with the friends and family members who are coming with you. As long as everyone in your party is connected to My Disney Experience, you’ll be able to make the vacation plans for them. When your party is all connected on My Disney Experience, the vacation plans can be shared amongst the group.
You can also customize your MagicBands using the My Disney Experience app. A MagicBand is a wearable device that you’ll use as your Resort hotel key, your park tickets (with valid park admission), and you can even charge purchases from merchandise and food locations. MagicBand+ is sold throughout the theme parks and resort shops as well as online at the Disney Store.
For the phone or tablet, you can get started by downloading the free app, and on the computer you can get started at www.startyourdisneyexperience.com.
You will be required to set up an online account in order to use My Disney Experience. It's important that you use an email address that you check frequently, especially if you have an upcoming Disney vacation planned. Disney also uses this app to communicate important information to guests.
Disney Genie launched within the My Disney Experience app on October 19, 2021. Disney Genie is, in actuality, a three-pronged digital service that is comprised of one complimentary service: Disney Genie (which includes Virtual Queue), plus two ticket add-on services: Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane. Keep reading to learn how each service works.My Disney Experience Details
When launching the My Disney Experience app, it’ll open up to a main screen of what's currently happening at Walt Disney World. You’ll find everything from theme park maps, attraction wait times and descriptions, character meet-and-greet locations, dining options, restroom locations, entertainment information, events, tours, PhotoPass cast members locations, guest services information, Resort hotel locations, recreation options, shopping, spa locations, and much more.
- Your Account – In this section, you’ll find your profile information including your name, date of birth, the MagicBands and any cards that are linked to your account, your account settings, your contact information, communication preferences, payment methods, and if applicable, your Annual Passholder or Disney Vacation Club information. This is also where you'll find your friends and family lists.
- Today’s Showtimes – Here you’ll find all the showtimes for entertainment such as fireworks, parades, and nighttime spectaculars.
- Park Hours & Information – The park information including the regular park hours, the Early Theme Park Entry, and which attractions and shows are under refurbishment.
- My Tickets – In the My Tickets section of the My Disney Experience App, you’ll find all the tickets that are attached to your account. Each ticket will include important information such as when it expires and which days that ticket is valid for.
- Buy Tickets – Buying park tickets is a fairly simple process on the My Disney Experience App. Step-by-step, you’ll select the number of days you’ll be vacationing, then the number of tickets, and finally the type of ticket (regular admission, Park Hopper, or Park Hopper Plus).
- Annual Pass Blockouts – Here in the Annual Pass Blockouts section of the app, Annual Passholders can find which days are unavailable depending on which type of annual pass they have.
- Linked Reservations – Here is where your linked dining and resort hotel reservations will be listed. Any plans that your linked friends and family have shared with you will also be viewable here.
- Reserve Dining – Reservations at some Disney restaurants are a must which makes this section of the app important. After selecting your group size along with when and where you are planning to dine, you’ll be shown a list of available reservations at restaurants across Walt Disney World property.
- Order Food – Use Disney's Mobile Order Service. to order food at the majority of your favorite Quick Service dining locations across Walt Disney World property. Utilizing Mobile Order will cut down on your wait time allowing you to skip the lines and instead heading to Mobile Order pick-up area.
TIP: Be sure to click on "I'm here" within the My Disney Experience app when you've arrived at the restaurant, but not before.
- Link Dining – If you or someone in your party has booked a dining reservation, but it isn’t showing up on your itinerary in the My Disney Experience app, you can link that reservation by using this tool. By simply plugging in your dining confirmation number and the last name on your reservation, it should automatically connect you to that reservation.
- Link Hotel – Similar to the Link Dining tool, the Link Hotel tool will allow you or someone in your party to link your My Disney Experience app to your party’s Resort hotel reservation. Again, simply plug in the confirmation number and the last name on the reservation and then it should link your hotel reservation directly to your My Disney Experience app.
- Buy Memory Maker – In order to enjoy your PhotoPass photos without a watermark, you’ll have to purchase Memory Maker which includes downloads of all the pictures and videos that were taken of you and your family. If your Memory Maker account is not connected to your My Disney Experience app, this is where you’ll link it.
- Get Walking Directions – If you don't know where everything is and how to get there from where you are, you can get directions from one attraction to another and so much more.
Learn more - Find Photographer – PhotoPass cast members can be found throughout Walt Disney World property, but if you have trouble finding someone, the “Find Photographer” tool will show you directly on a map where they are located.
- Link Photos – In order to link your photos, you’ll need to have your MagicBand scanned by the PhotoPass photographer.
- Shop Online – In case you missed buying something while visiting the Disney theme parks, you can visit this page and order the items you may have forgotten. This will send you directly to the Disney Store website.
MagicBands
MagicBands can be a fun way to interact with the My Disney Experience app as they are available in all sorts of designs, but they are not required. A MagicBand is a wristband with an embedded RFID chip that park guests can wear – if they choose – which links to their theme park tickets, resort room keys, dining reservations, PhotoPass photographs, payment option and much more. Guests will touch their bands to they contactless touchpoints that are located throughout the theme parks and resorts on turnstiles, cash registers and Lightning Lane scanners. The MagicBands are available in many different colors and designs that can include favorite Disney characters, theme parks, and more. MagicBands are able to be customized with snap-on charms, fabric covers, a watch face, and so much more.
The MagicBand+ is the current version available for sale at Walt Disney World. This version lights up, vibrates, and interacts based on where a guest is in the theme parks and what that guest is doing at the time. Guests using MagicBand+ also have access to “play like a bounty hunter” throughout Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. The MagicBands also illuminate and “complement the magic in the skies” during ECPOT and Magic Kingdom fireworks spectaculars.
Disney Resort hotel guests as well as new and renewing Walt Disney World Annual Passholders can purchase at a discounted, pre-arrival price. The complimentary Disney MagicMobile service that extends MagicBand features, such as park entry, to smart devices is also available.
Disney Genie
The park day optimizer allows guests to input information regarding their must-do attractions for that day, their must-do dining experiences (whether it be signature/fine dining, character dining, quick service, or table service), as well as any “Enchanting Extras,” like building a lightsaber at Savi’s Handbuilt Lightsabers in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, that they’d like to do. Guests can also input what they are most interested in, such as Disney princesses or villains or fireworks, etc. Disney Genie then prepares an optimized plan for their day and, using data collected over the course of years coupled with realtime attraction wait times, will suggest that they arrive at certain attractions at specific times. When calculating your personalized itinerary, Disney Genie takes into account the guest’s desires, as well as any previously scheduled dining reservations, and proximity. Genie doesn’t want you to have to walk clear across the park for one attraction only to come all the way back for the next; it’s going to try to save you steps.
Disney Genie also takes current wait times into account. It knows how many guests it’s sending to a certain attraction at a certain time, and if there’s a potential overload, it’ll suggest a different time with a lower wait for you to head to the attraction. Disney Genie also knows if an attraction is down due to weather conditions, and will reorganize your itinerary accordingly. Guests can switch out and move around suggested attractions at any time. Disney Genie and its personalized itineraries are completely flexible. Guests get to be in control.
If a guest is wearing a MagicBand+ or has bluetooth enabled on their smartphone and rides an attraction that’s on the itinerary for later in the day, Genie will know that the attraction has already been ridden, and take it off of the list for later.
Guests who are planning to park hop that day can also input that information into Disney Genie, along with the park that they’re planning to hop to, the attractions and experiences that they’d like to enjoy, and the time that they plan to park hop. Disney Genie then configures (or reconfigures) your itinerary.
Also included in the complimentary portion of Disney Genie is a tip board and forecasted wait times. Guests can look at a certain attractions for the course of the day and see, based on data gathered, which times might offer lower waits. A virtual assistant function is available in the complimentary portion of the digital service which allows guests to chat with a cast member. Have a question? Drop it in the virtual assistant and get an answer right away.
My Disney Experience’s Mobile Order function can also be found in the complimentary portion of Disney Genie, as well as a restaurant tip board which allows guests to look at available dining reservations and book them, to join a dining location’s walk up waitlist (if available), or check in for their reservation. If an attraction also has a Virtual Queue associated with it, you’ll find the spot to join that queue in the complimentary portion of Disney Genie as well.
Disney Genie was created with the goal of optimizing guests’ time and maximizing guests’ fun. Disney Genie is here to help walk guests through the process of navigating a park day.
Disney Genie+
Disney Genie+ is available for a per day, per guest price (currently ranging from $15-$39) that varies based on the date of your visit, and includes three additional options to what is already included in the complementary service. If you’ve heard the term “paid FastPass,” this, boiled down to its simplest form, is it. Essentially, a guest who purchases Genie+ is paying for the ability to be able to use Lightning Lanes (former FastPass queues) at attractions that have them in (listed below – subject to change at any time without notice) order to ride those attractions one time.
Article: Learn From My Disney Genie+ Errors
A guest using Genie+ can input their must-do attractions for a day, and Genie+ will allow that guest access to the Lightning Lanes at those attractions, one at a time. Guests are given the next available time to enjoy an attraction, and have an hour in which to ride that attraction. Only one selection can be held at a time, with the exception being when a guest’s next selection time window is more than 120 minutes away. In that case, Disney Genie+ will allow a second selection to be held.
MAGIC KINGDOM | DISNEY'S HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS |
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad | Alien Swirling Saucers |
Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin | Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage |
Dumbo the Flying Elephant | Disney Junior Play and Dance! |
Haunted Mansion | Frozen Sing-Along Celebration |
"it's a small world" | Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular! |
Jungle Cruise | Meet Olaf at Celebrity Spotlight |
Mad Tea Party | Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway |
Magic Carpets of Aladdin | Millennium Falcon: Smuggler's Run |
Meet Ariel at Her Grotto | Muppet*Vision 3D |
Meet Cinderella and a Visiting Princess at Princess Fairytale Hall | Rock 'n' Roller Coaster |
Meet Mickey Mouse at Town Square Theater | Slinky Dog Dash |
Meet Princess Tiana and a Visiting Princess at Princess Fairytale Hall | Star Tours® – The Adventures Continue |
Mickey's PhilharMagic | The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror™ |
Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor | Toy Story Mania |
Peter Pan's Flight | |
Pirates of the Caribbean | |
Space Mountain | |
The Barnstormer | |
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh | |
Tomorrowland Speedway | |
Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid |
EPCOT | ANIMAL KINGDOM |
Disney and Pixar Short Film Festival | Animation Experience at Conservation Station |
Frozen Ever After | DINOSAUR |
Journey into Imagination with Figment | Expedition Everest |
Living with the Land | Feathered Friends in Flight! |
Mission Space – Green & Orange | Festival of the Lion King |
Remy's Ratatouille Adventure | Finding Nemo: The Big Blue... and Beyond! |
Soarin' Over California | It's Tough to be a Bug! |
Spaceship Earth | Kali River Rapids |
Test Track | Kilimanjaro Safaris |
The Seas with Nemo & Friends | Meet Favorite Disney Pals at Adventure Outpost |
Turtle Talk with Crush | Na'vi River Journey |
With the purchase of Genie+, guests are granted access to 20 augmented reality lenses starring some of our favorite Disney characters. And lastly, Disney Genie+ will offer guests “Audio Tales” that will show on their itinerary. If Genie+ knows you’ll be near Cinderella Castle with a few minutes to spare until your next available attraction time, it may recommend that you stop by and take a look at the castle mosaics. Hit the “Listen Now” button, and you’ll hear behind-the-scenes Imagineering details about those mosaics.
Individual Lightning Lane
The last of the three prongs of Disney Genie is Individual Lightning Lane. Essentially, this gives guests the option to make an à la carte reservation for up to two of the most popular attractions in a theme park, one at a time. Guests don’t have to purchase Disney Genie+ in order to be able to purchase Individual Lightning Lane selections. Each of the attractions in this category will have a certain price attached to it depending on the attraction and the day. Guests visiting during the holidays will likely experience higher attraction prices than they will be on a random Tuesday in March.
Guests can choose to modify a Lightning Lane selection without having to cancel and rebook their selection by quickly searching for and selecting other available attractions or arrival windows.
Article: What Happens When a Ride Closes During Your Lightning Lane?
MAGIC KINGDOM | DISNEY'S HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS |
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train | Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance |
EPCOT | DISNEY'S ANIMAL KINGDOM |
Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind | Avatar Flight of Passage |
Also important to note is that a park’s up to two Individual Lightning Lane attractions are not accessible via Genie+. If you’d like to have Lightning Lane access to Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance in addition to the other Lightning Lane attractions in the park, you need to purchase a Rise of the Resistance Individual Lighting Lane selection for each guest who wishes to ride, on top of Genie+. If your only goal for the day is to ride Rise, then you’d just purchase it without Genie+ and wait in standby lines for the rest of the day.
Guests staying at a Disney resort can purchase their first Individual Lightning Lane attraction selection starting at 7am day-of, and park day guests can do so when the park officially opens for the day. Disney Genie+ can be purchased in-app as either a one-day service on the day of use, or as a ticket add-on option for your length of stay. Guests may only ride a maximum of 2 different Individual Lightning Lane attractions each day.
Related: Is an Individual Lightning Lane Refund Possible When an Attraction Breaks Down?
It’s also important to note that either a standby line or Virtual Queue will be offered at each attraction. Guests who would rather not purchase Genie+ or Individual Lighting Lane selections will still have access to the attractions they’d like to ride.
- Pool Temporarily Closed at Disney's Port Orleans French Quarter
- New Limited-Time DOLE Whip Pineapple Ginger Mint Float
- New Cast Member Costumes Teased at Halfway to Halloween
- Don't You Dare Pack Disney Cruise Prohibited Items
- The New 2024 Disney PRIDE Collection is Arriving May 13th
- New Disney Merch: Star Wars, Munchlings, Dooney & Loungefly
- Disney Halloween 2024 - Walt Disney World, Disneyland, DCL
- Disney Parks Teases 2024 Halfway to Halloween Celebration!
- New Disney Recipe: Grapefruit Cake with Cream Cheese Icing
- Do You Know What Happens Behind the Scenes in Disney Parks?
- New Disney Recipe: Mom's Traditional Meatloaf
- Watch Cora's Make-A-Wish Disney Elephant Dream Come True
- New D23-Exclusive The Phantom Menace 25th Anniversary Pin
- Four Out of This World Star Wars Recipes for May the 4th!
- Star Wars Pros: Take Our May the 4th Questionnaire Now!
- View More...