Hi PapaLarry! Welcome to planDisney. The ins and outs of
My Disney Experience can be a bit confusing, so it is a smart idea to seek advice from people who have been there, done that!
Different families set up their My Disney Experience accounts differently depending on what works best for them -- there is no one right way to do it. I'll give you some general information and advice, and then if you have additional questions or need clarification about something, you are most welcome to
write back, OK?
First, if anyone in your travel party already has their own My Disney Experience account, then I think you should definitely list their email. It is not a good idea to have more than one profile created for the same person -- things can get messy and confusing. Providing the email address they have associated with their account will send them an invitation to connect. Once they accept, you will still see them on your
Family & Friends List. You'll be able to add them to any reservations or plans that you make, and they will be able to view those plans in their account as well.
Now for anyone who does not already have their own My Disney Experience account or a profile created under someone else's account, if they are all members of your same household or if you think it is unlikely they will ever travel to Walt Disney World Resort without you, it should be fine for you to create profiles for them under your account. Otherwise, I would recommend each household create its own account(s).
I'll use my account as an example. My husband and children do not have their own accounts. I created profiles for them in my account, since I am the main vacation planner in the family. They log in to my account on their mobile devices to do things like check wait times and entertainment schedules in the parks, reserve
Lightning Lane attractions, or place
Mobile Food and Beverage Orders. Now that my eldest son is an adult living on his own, he created his own My Disney Experience account. I was able to select "Update" next to the profile I originally created for him, and enter the email associated with his account. This allowed his two profiles to merge and any plans I made for him migrated to his new account. I can still make reservations and plans for him, and I can assign any tickets I have purchased for him to his profile. I cannot make changes to his profile, activate or deactivate his
MagicBands, or make ticket changes or upgrades after assigning him a ticket -- he needs to do those things through his account. Best of all, now when he places a mobile food order, it is charged to his credit card instead of mine. When I planned a trip with my sister and her family, she created a My Disney Experience account for herself and created profiles for her husband and children. We connected our accounts through Family & Friends and were able to easily plan together. My sister and I could each make and view plans for the whole group.
I hope this information is helpful to you! If you would like to send a little additional information about your travel party and the plans you are making, I'll be happy to give you my recommendations and advice.
Anne Marie