My Disney Experience, the official app for Walt Disney World, continues to evolve each year. This free planning app is essential for creating a successful Walt Disney World vacation. Although we appreciate all it can help us throughout our trip, navigating the app can sometimes be challenging.
To help you prepare for your Walt Disney World vacation, we have the ultimate guide to My Disney Experience. This guide will help you learn the key features that will make your Walt Disney World vacation magical.
Maps of the Walt Disney World Resort
The map feature is the first part of My Disney Experience that you will find helpful. It doesn’t matter where you are throughout Walt Disney World; you can find a map of the area.
Maps are found by choosing the location button on the main bar of the app. It will pull up your location in Walt Disney World or default to Magic Kingdom if you are at home checking it out.
We like seeing these maps from home as we figure out where everything is for our vacation, but navigating a Disney Park or a Disney Resort becomes especially beneficial.
The great thing about the map feature is that you can highlight specific options on your map by selecting them from a drop-down menu.
The default selection is wait times, but you can also choose options such as bathrooms (don’t laugh—this can be extremely helpful), entertainment, dining, and a few other options.
Take time before heading to Walt Disney World to look at some maps. Get familiar with the layouts of the Parks and your Walt Disney World Resort. This will help you find your way around easier when you arrive.
Wait Times
A prominent feature you will want to use throughout your trip is the wait times. Disney provides up-to-date estimated wait times in the app, giving guests valuable information on how to plan their day.
Knowing the wait times before you move around the Park helps you make more precise decisions. Like with the maps, wait times are found by choosing the location button. It will typically default to the Park you are in, but you can navigate between Parks.
You can also change from the map view to a list view. This option is located in the upper-right corner. This is a quick way to see which rides have the lowest wait times, as Disney organizes them in order.
Don’t randomly walk around the Parks without first knowing the wait times. Use the app to help you create a plan.
Mobile Ordering
Throughout the Walt Disney World Parks and Resorts, Guests can use mobile order at quick-service locations. This is a fantastic way to avoid long lines during mealtime.
Mobile ordering allows Guests to access the My Disney Experience app, select a dining location, such as Woody’s Lunch Box in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, choose an available time slot, and then place their food order.
Once they have selected a time, Guests can choose “Prepare My Order” in the app, and their food will be ready shortly.
Mobile ordering is available at multiple locations, which you can see in the app. The plus sign and the three lines on the app’s right give you access to the Mobile Order option.
The great thing about Mobile Ordering is that you can practice before arriving at Walt Disney World, allowing you to get the hang of it before you have a food meltdown in the middle of Magic Kingdom.
Disney Genie, Lightning Lane, and Individual Lightning Lanes
Disney Genie is a free planning tool in the My Disney Experience app. Guests can set up their favorite interests and priorities before their visit, and Disney Genie will provide the best suggestions for their Disney day.
Disney Genie allows Guests to provide information such as whether the group prefers thrill rides if they want to see princesses, height restrictions, and any disability access information you might have.
By putting this information into the system, Disney Genie creates a personalized itinerary in the “My Day” tab.
As part of Disney Genie, Guests can add Lightning Lanes and Individual Lightning Lanes. These are paid features available within My Disney Experience. Lightning Lane now has variable pricing that starts at $15 per day per person but may go higher during peak times.
By purchasing Lightning Lane, Guests can access shorter wait times for over 40 attractions throughout the four Disney Parks. Keep in mind that Lightning Lane is for the next available booking. Although you can now modify your selections, you can’t pre-select your return times in advance.
Individual Lightning Lanes work similarly to Lightning Lane but are for specific rides. These rides include Avatar Flight of Passage, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind. Guests can purchase these rides à la carte and select their return windows, offering more flexibility than Lightning Lane.
Final Tips
The My Disney Experience app has features that can help you navigate and plan your Walt Disney World vacation. From maps and wait times to mobile ordering and Lightning Lane, there are plenty of tools to make your trip more magical. Explore the app before your vacation so you’ll be ready to use it to its fullest potential.
Enjoy your magical adventure at Walt Disney World!
