As I’m writing this article, I am actually sitting in my hotel room at the beautiful, newly renovated Polynesian Village Resort. That’s right, instead of having a Lapu Lapu at the Tambu Lounge, I just had to share some news with you fellow Disney Addicts about the My Disney Experience App.  Before I get into it, I should note that this is not our first time using the MDE App.  We visited Disney last year and found the app to be really useful.  But I must say, I was pleasantly surprised by the many updates Disney has made since then.  Here are some things you need to know about the My Disney Experience App:

The layout is streamlined and user-friendly.  All your plans are listed in chronological order for the entire duration of your vacation.  Although it still doesn’t include reservations for some special experiences like Pirates League or Bibiddi Bobiddi Boutique, it is pretty comprehensive and gives you the ability to make changes on the fly.  On the left hand side, you’ll see a menu of tools that allow you to see park hours, wait times, your fast pass selections, dining, photo pass, and specifics regarding your profile and reservations.  I used to prefer going on My Disney Experience on my desktop to make dining and/or fast pass changes, but with these recent updates, it feels like the app responds more quickly than previous versions.  There’s been several times when I’ve changed our fast pass selections while waiting in line without a problem whatsoever.

We probably all know 407-WDW-DINE by heart, but with the My Disney Experience App, we may not need to dial by phone as much.  That ‘Ohana breakfast reservation you see below?  Clicking on it will allow you to edit your dining party or cancel your reservation.  And if you click on the knife and fork icon, you can see the restaurant menu, price range, operating hours, and more.  You can also easily search restaurants near you and which restaurants have availability for same day or future bookings.

Planning fast passes is also much easier.  See that Anna & Elsa Meet and Greet on the same picture above?  You can easily update your FP+ to change the experience, time and/or guests attached to that FP+.

If a ride stops operating during your Fast Pass+ window, a new Fast Pass+ redemption will appear on your app.  Take our Seven Dwarfs Mine Train FP+ above, which was originally scheduled from 5:45 pm to 6:45 pm.  We got quite the Florida downpour during that time, so no outdoor rides were operational.  We instead saw this new notice on our app, and found that when we clicked on it, it provided us with alternate rides we could select (in this case, we got our pick of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, Splash Mountain, Barnstormer, Under the Sea – Journey of the Little Mermaid, or Haunted Mansion).  It also listed everyone on my friends and family list that had the same FP+ and how many entitlements had been used.

If you have already used all three fast passes, you can select a fourth FP+ at one of the kiosks inside the park.  You won’t be able to select the 4th FP+ on your app, however, once you make the selection at the kiosk, you can then make any further adjustments on your phone (i.e. if you later want to change the attraction or time).

The app knows where you are on property, so if you click on any of the icons on the top of the app (i.e. Attractions, Character, Dining) it will give you selections that are closest to you.  I made a beeline for the shopping icon, and the app immediately showed me a variety of stores near me.  Need to see where the store is on a map?  Just click on the shopping bag icon next to the store and voila!  And if it’s not shopping, chances are you’re going to need to locate where the restrooms, guest services, dining, or entertainment are in the parks – there are buttons for those as well right on the top of the app.

And best of all, Disney has now added PhotoPass to the app.  You can view your photos, magic shots, ride videos, and more through the app.  Here you can see 1 out of 10 shots we had taken in front of the Tree of Life at Animal Kingdom.  Just swipe your finger to the left and you’ll be able to see the rest of the pictures in the set.  If you click on the funnel icon, you’ll have the option to narrow down the pictures you are seeing by date or location, and it will give you the option to only see pictures that were added using your particular magic band, or to view all pictures attached to your friends and family.  If you happen to go to Enchanted Tales with Belle, they will likely give you a PhotoPass card – no worries there, because you can easily link it by clicking on the “Link Photos” button at the top.  And look, there’s a convenient “Find Photographers” button there to tell you where you can capture your next magic shot.

All in all, I will say that the MDE App has been a great tool that really helped us be more organized during our vacation and put a lot of information within easy reach.  Just make sure you have a battery pack for back-up power, after all there is a trade off for using this handy dandy app!

Hi there, I’m Myra and I’m a huge Disney nerd and addict!  I’m also an Independent Travel Agent at World of Magic Travel, the preferred agency of Chip and Co. and Disney Addicts.  I’m happy to help you plan your next vacation, including planning fast passes, dining reservations and other special experiences that will eventually make its way to your My Disney Experience App!  Visit my page or send me an email at [email protected] to get started!