Hi Roxanne, welcome to planDisney!
You'll be visiting The Most Magical Place on Earth during
The World's Most Magical Celebration and the most wonderful time of year. To keep the superlatives going, prepare to see the largest holiday trees and the biggest smiles on your family's faces as they parade down a very festive Main Street, U.S.A.
When planning a Walt Disney World Resort vacation, it's important for all members of your planning party to connect as
Family and Friends in My Disney Experience. This allows you to view and make plans for each other. There are a couple of ways you can do this when entering a family member's name and age. Children under the age of 13 must have their My Disney Experience profiles managed by an adult, but each individual over the age of 13 may either create their own account ("Invite this Guest to Connect") or have their plans managed by another adult ("I want to manage all plans for this Guest"). With a large party of ten, I recommend at least one person in each household create their own My Disney Experience account. This allows multiple people to share the trip-planning responsibilities such as securing
theme park reservations and making dining reservations. On your park days, those with My Disney Experience accounts can also use the
My Disney Experience mobile app to purchase Disney Genie+ service, make Lightning Lane reservations, place Mobile Food and Beverage Orders, etc.
Once everyone appears on your
Family and Friends list, Roxanne, purchasing tickets for everyone in your party will be a breeze. When you're asked, "Who will use the tickets?" you'll be able to assign each ticket to a member of your Family and Friends list using a dropdown menu. The tickets will be automagically linked to everyone's My Disney Experience accounts. You'll also be able to specify how you would like to receive your tickets. Valid admission, a theme park reservation for each park day, and a
method of entry (MagicBand, Disney MagicMobile pass, or admission card) are currently required for theme park entry. If you'd like to be mailed admission cards before your trip, you must purchase your tickets
online because the U.S. Domestic Express shipping option does not appear for in-app ticket purchases. Otherwise, admission cards can be obtained at Guest Relations or ticket windows upon arrival. Be prepared to show your ticket confirmation email, the original credit card used for the purchase, and a valid government-issued photo ID.
Should your family wish to experience
Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party, kindly note that this requires a separate, special event ticket purchase. The party officially begins at 7:00 p.m. on select nights, though Guests may enter Magic Kingdom Park as early as 4:00 p.m. that day. If you are considering this event for your family, I would consider reducing the number of general theme park admission days by one since the party ticket gives you a full eight hours of holiday fun in Magic Kingdom.
I hope you find this information helpful, Roxanne. As additional trip-planning questions arise, please come back and see us at planDisney.
Choose magic,
Jennifer