Walt Disney World in Florida is rolling out a new, interactive system that promises to revolutionize the way guests tour and explore Disney Parks and Resorts. It’s called My Magic+, and chances are, if you’ve visited Disney in the past year or so, you’ve used it already.
My Magic+ has three key elements: My Disney Experience, the account that manages all of your information, filled in by you online or on the smartphone app; FastPass+, the new system for reserving times for attractions and other experiences ahead of time; and MagicBands, the wearable RFID device which can act as resort room key, theme park admission, and more.
My Disney Experience
My Disney Experience (mydisneyexperience.com) is the hub of My Magic+: an account available to every guest entering the park, where they can migrate all of their reservations and planning into one place. If you already have park tickets or even Annual Passes, you can link them to My Disney Experience to access all the My Magi+ enhancements. You might already use My Disney Experience, but for those who haven't, here is an explanation.
When you make dining or resort reservations via the Disney website, you’re asked to start a Disney account. This will be your My Disney Experience account.
My Disney Experience is going to ask you for information not just about yourself, but also the rest of your party: the Friends & Family. Every time you add a reservation, you’ll be prompted to include which members of your Friends & Family are joining you. That’s because Disney wants to be able to customize your experience. When you walk into Kona Cafe for your twelve thirty lunch reservation, the Cast Member at the podium will almost certainly greet you by name, and if there’s a birthday or anniversary in the party, the Cast Member will already be aware and prepared for the celebration.
And, down the road, special interactive features at attractions or character meet and greets could mean that Mickey Mouse himself greets your child by name, or wishes you a happy birthday.
My Disney Experience starts at home, but gets really useful when you take it on the road: the free smartphone app, when integrated with your account, will hold all of your reservations, but it also includes park hours, up-to-date wait times for attractions, and helpful resort information such as dining availability at every hotel and park across the property.
But My Disney Experience is only the tip of the iceberg with My Magic+. The next big piece of this interactive puzzle is FastPass+.
FastPass+
Disney’s FASTPASS has been a part of the theme parks for many years now: it’s a way for guests to bypass long lines at popular attractions by getting a reservation to come back and ride it later. Instead of standing in line for an hour, you get a voucher stating that if you come back in an hour, there will be a spot for you closer to the front -- as if the voucher was doing the wait for you.
Successfully navigating the parks while using FASTPASS attractions in order to minimize wait times has become common for frequent guests. But you have to be at the attraction to physically get the FASTPASS voucher, and you can only hold one FASTPASS at a time. FastPass+ aims to change that.
When FastPass+ becomes available, guests will be encouraged to make reservations for a variety of experiences -- attractions, meet and greets, entertainment, even reserved parade and firework viewing areas -- before their trip. It’s a way to lock in attractions or shows that your party absolutely wants to experience, without having to worry about getting there early to obtain a FASTPASS or spot in line.
To use FastPass+, guests with a resort reservation and a theme park admission option linked up on their My Disney Experience account will be able to go online, choose an attraction, choose a time of day to experience the attraction, and simply show up at the attraction’s FastPass+ entrance within the appointed time window, without having to walk up to the attraction and take out a voucher for a time later in the day.
This could change the way guests tour the parks in many ways. Consider this scenario: you know you’re going to be at the Magic Kingdom in the morning but have dining reservations at Epcot in the evening. You could make FastPass+ reservations, pending availability, to Soarin’, Test Track, and an IllumiNations viewing area -- without having to visit the park early enough to obtain FastPasses for later in the day.
FastPass+ is currently in testing, with various resorts participating at different time periods. The thing to remember about FastPass+ is that it’s only available to guests staying at Walt Disney World Resort hotels. FASTPASS for select attractions will remain in use for day guests and for guests who don’t wish to participate in FastPass+.
MagicBands
MagicBands are the physical part of My Disney Experience. Currently, most Disney Resort hotel guests use a Key to the World card -- that’s a plastic, RFID-enabled key card that does duty as a room key, park ticket, room charge, and even PhotoPass. The MagicBand, currently in testing, simplifies the one-card approach by skipping a card (which can easily be lost, dropped, or forgotten) and allowing a guest to wear a customizable rubber band on their arm.
MagicBands, which have the trademark Mickey Mouse head logo stamped front and center, are the result of Disney’s efforts to simultaneously reduce waits and customize vacations for guests. Guests who have tested MagicBands and FastPass+ report being greeted by name after their MagicBand is touched to the RFID reader in the FastPass+ queue, a touch of traditional Disney hospitality made possible through technology. The RFID technology also works as a touch-to-pay interface with merchandise and dining, resort room key, and everything else the Key to the World card is currently enabled to do.
MagicBands, once widely available, can be selected ahead of your Disney stay -- currently, in testing, guests are invited to choose colors for everyone in their party, and they’ll arrive in a box labeled with each guest’s name -- or added to your stay at the front desk of the Disney resort when you check in. To speed the process, of course, everything will be available from home. As long as your entire party (the “Friends & Family” in the My Disney Experience site) are linked into your main account, you’ll be able to choose and sync dining, FastPass+ reservations, and add your room key and room charges functionality with ease
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