Hello, Nicole! It's a pleasure to meet you here at planDisney. As a "BoyMom" of teens, your trip with your adult son to the Most Magical Place on Earth is my dream come true. Walt Disney World Resort is perfect for every age, and I love the thought of spending days there with my boys when they are adults.
Most likely, if you purchased theme park tickets for this trip, they are date-based and do not require
theme park reservations. You can quickly check on the
My Disney Experience app by opening the main menu (the "≡" at the bottom of the screen), selecting "My Tickets & Passes," and locating your ticket at the top. Under the barcode, the app will say when the tickets are valid. If it's a few days in January, you should be all set with your date-based tickets.
You have a few
options for accessing the magic at Walt Disney World. I absolutely love my MagicBand+, but if you are not staying in a
Disney Resorts Collection hotel or planning to spend more than two days at the theme parks,
Disney MagicMobile may be a good choice. With this, you can use your cell phone to create a digital card in your wallet, which you can use to access your tickets and Lightning Lanes if you purchase a
Lightning Lane Multi Pass or Lightning Lane Single Pass.
You can also stop by
Guest Relations at the front of any theme park and get a physical Key to the World Card. Like MagicMobile, scanning this card at the gate will allow you to access your tickets and any Lightning Lane entries.
Since you are heading to Walt Disney World the second weekend in January, I would like to tell you about
Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend. There will be a few
road closures for the half marathon on Saturday and the
marathon on Sunday. You can check out the maps and times to get a sense of the impact, but there will be a lot of public safety officers and Cast Members on-site to help with any detours. It should not have a significant effect, but knowing ahead will hopefully prevent surprises. It is a fun time to be at the theme parks with people celebrating their well-deserved athletic accomplishments! You may even see my friend
Melissa and me donning our race shirts and medals at the parks or carb-loading at
Tony's Town Square Restaurant over an early dinner. With the early, early (and I mean EARLY) morning running events, I think you will find the theme park crowds a bit lighter than usual during the morning and late evening hours.
Nicole, I hope your mother-and-son trip is sprinkled with Pixie Dust and sparkling with magic! Please speed back by
planDisney with any other questions.
Thinking of the Happiest Things!
Jana