Welcome to planDisney, Donna!
Thanks for stopping by with a question about your upcoming trip. It will be here before you know it! I’m always happy to chat with a fellow Ontarian about
Disney World, so let’s take a look.
It sounds like you’re well on your way to being ready for your first day at the theme parks! If you took advantage of the
Canadian Resident Ticket Offer and the tickets appear yellow in your My Disney Experience app, these will need to be activated by showing a piece of Government-issued photo ID at Guest Relations. If timing works, you could visit Disney Springs at least a day before your first day at the parks and activate your tickets at the
Disney Springs Welcome Center (Guest Relations) or the
Disney Springs Ticket Center.
Since you’re looking at purchasing
Lightning Lane Multi Passes, I would first reassign the tickets to the rest of your family members.
When you purchase the Passes, you can easily select which connected friends and family on your MyDisney account will be in your planning party and receive the passes. If you are staying onsite at a Disney Resort hotel, you can begin selecting Lightning Lane experiences for your length of stay up to 14 days (3 per day), 7 days in advance of your check-in day. If you are staying offsite, you can book your Lightning Lane experiences 3 days in advance (day by day). I recommend setting an alarm for 7 AM EST so you’re ready with your list of must-do selections!
Disney bands (known as MagicBands in the U.S.) are a fun accessory that serves several purposes. While, unfortunately, Canadians cannot pre-purchase Disney bands, they can be purchased at Resort merchandise locations as well as many stores at the theme parks and Disney Springs. Disney bands can make a Disney vacation easier by letting you tap your wrist to unlock your Disney Resort hotel room, breeze through theme park entrances, add
Disney PhotoPass photos to your account, and quickly pay for meals and souvenirs.
If you decide that you would rather not invest in a Disney band (they are rechargeable and can be reused for future vacations), you can manage your theme park tickets through a
MagicMobile Pass on your phone, or you can get a physical card from Guest Relations. If you have an Apple Watch, you can set up your MagicMobile Pass, put it in your Apple Wallet and then you can scan your ticket and tap into Lightning Lanes from your wrist.
Donna, I hope this information is helpful to your planning. Have a magical Disney vacation, and please let me know if you have any other questions. I'm happy to assist!
Happy planning,
Candace