Tips for Using the My Disney Experience App at Disney

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Did you know that the My Disney Experience App is one of the most VALUABLE things you can have for your vacation? It’s free and you can carry it with you wherever you go.

Crowds of people walking around, not paying attention to where they’re going, all staring at their cell phones.

Sounds like what nightmares are made of, right?

Not really. I mean, I typically hate when people are on their cell phones and they bump into you because they aren’t paying attention. But at Disney I like to give people the benefit of the doubt (most of the time) because they’re probably looking at the My Disney Experience app.

Or Instagrming. I am definitely guilty of that one. Especially when it comes to Disney food. #foodgram

I am 100% a Type A personality. I like to plan ahead and have everything organized before we leave for a trip. Chris, not so much. He’s more spontaneous and likes to just go and figure out what he wants to do later.

Sometimes that works well at Disney and other times it doesn’t. And if you want to get a Fastpass for Flight of Passage in Pandora, the go-with-the-flow attitude won’t help you at all.

Want to get on the rides in Pandora without waiting in long lines? Check out these tips to help you do that!

Using the My Disney Experience App will help you plan out your day so that you’re making the most of your time at the parks AND getting to do all the things you want to do!

Six Tips for Using the My Disney Experience App

+ Make an account in advance

Download the app on your iPhone or Android device and sign in using the login credentials you signed up with here.

You should have made a MDE (my Disney experience) account when booking your vacation (if you did it online). If you did not you can make one after you book it.

All you need is your resort reservation and park ticket numbers to start making reservations!

+ Link up your family and friends in MDE

When you sign in to your My Disney Experience account you can add friends and family that you’re heading to the parks with. In order to all get the same Fastpasses and dinning reservations you need to do this!

Once you link up friends and family you cannot unlink them. Well, you can but it’s a pain in the butt and I’ve never tried it.

Obvi, with all the “people” I have linked to my account. 😂

+ Make Fastpass and Dinning Reservations from your phone!

You can make dinning reservations 180 days in advance and Fastpasses 60 days in advance (if staying on property) and 30 days in advance (if you’re staying off property).

I love that you can make these reservations on the go if you have to! Especially if you need to book another Fastpass while you’re standing in line for a ride.

+ Get Ahead with Online Check-In

If you’re staying on property you have the option to check in to your resort online (and now on the app!). I love this because if you’re getting to Disney early you can request a room for the time you arrive.

You can also set it up so you get a text message (or a message on the app) that’ll tell you when your room is ready. We love using this option because we like to go play at the park until it’s time to offload our stuff in our room!

+ View your Photopass Photos

If you have an annual pass OR bought the Memory Maker for your vacation you can view your photos on the My Disney Experience App and online.

Your magic band is scanned after taking photos with the Photopass Photographers and your photos usually show up in about an hour (usually less).

+ Buy Merchandise

Okay, so technically you need the Shop Disney Parks App for this but you can get to it through the My Disney Experience App.

Confused? Don’t be.

Just make sure you download the shop app on your phone before heading to the parks!

You can scan an items barcode that you want to buy at the parks and have them sent to your home if you don’t want to carry extra things with you. We loooove this perk!

The My Disney Experience App is my absolute favorite thing to carry with me when we’re at Disney. It makes Chris’s Type B personality easy to manage and my Type A side super happy.

We also carry around an external charger to keep our phones happy and alive all day so we can change our plans if need-be. Chris loves this one and we’ve never had it die on us in the parks! The little thing is a trooper and can hold up with our all-day adventures.