Welcome to planDisney, Clifford.
Planning a trip to
Walt Disney World can leave your head spinning, right? From MagicBands to Disney Genie+, it can be confusing. We get it! This is why
planDisney exists. We're here to help fellow Guests with their questions and to share our collective experience and knowledge. So you've come to the right place.
Let's start with your MagicBands. I'm a big fan of the convenience of using MagicBands. These handy devices allow you to:
- Unlock your Disney Resort hotel room door.
- Enter both Theme and Water Parks (with valid admission, of course).
- Connect any Disney PhotoPass images to your account.
- Charge delicious food and special souvenir purchases to your Disney Resort hotel room (this is only available during your hotel stay)
Once you link both your
ticket(s) and your
MagicBand to your
My Disney Experience account, the ticket and MagicBand are automatically linked. MagicBands are nontransferable, therefore, you'll want to make sure you assign each MagicBand to the correct member on your
Family and Friends list.
Assuming your tickets are linked to your My Disney Experience account, you should be able to see whether you've upgraded them to Disney Genie+. If not, you can purchase Disney Genie+ on a day-to-day basis using the My Disney Experience App. On the day of your visit, just open up the app, click on the three lines at the bottom right corner of your screen, and then select "My Genie Day." There should be an option that says "Get Disney Genie+ for Today." Select it and you'll find a list of all the people in your party (these will be the people you've added via My Friends & Family). Select the members of your party that will use this service and then make your purchase.
By purchasing
Disney Genie+ you upgrade your park ticket to include "phenomenal cosmic powers." These powers enable you to select Lightning Lane entrances at over 40 attractions throughout the Theme Parks. These entrances allow you to skip the regular standby lines and get on the attractions quicker. Starting at 7:00 a.m. on the day of your visit, you'll be able to make your first Lightning Lane selection. Once you enjoy that attraction, or two hours after making your selection (whatever comes sooner), you can then make another Lightning Lane selection. You can keep doing that throughout the day until there are no more Lightning Lane selections available. When the time comes, you can enter the Lightning Lane entrance by scanning your MagicBand (or your Disney MagicMobile pass on the app).
I hope that's clarifying, Clifford. If you have any follow-up questions, please don't hesitate to
reach out again.
I'm sure you'll have a great time. See ya real soon!
Mike