Hey, howdy, hey, Cheryl!
Welcome to our posse of Panelists here at planDisney! We're glad to have you! I'm so excited to see that you'll be moseying over to Disney World here in just a few months. The beginning of June is one of my favorite times to visit -- just remember to pack your sunscreen for the mornings and your umbrella for the afternoons!
We've definitely moved out of the wild, wild, west of paper tickets, Cheryl, and there are so many options now! Do I use a
MagicBand+? Or do I use my Apple Watch? OR do I just use my smartphone?! I'll give you the breakdown below, friend!
Let’s start off with your Apple Watch: Because you can store your theme park ticket in your digital wallet, you can use an Apple Watch to scan into the Disney Parks, Lightning Lane entrances, and you can scan for Disney Photopass photos. You can easily set this up on your Apple Watch by using
MagicMobile Service. Log in to the
My Disney Experience Mobile App, make sure your ticket is linked to your My Disney Experience account, click on the "☰" icon in the bottom corner of the menu, then scroll down and select “Set Up MagicMobile Entry” and follow the directions from there. You'll get to pick your card's design and then you will save it to your digital wallet. It will be accessible to your Apple Watch from there.
While I do love using an Apple Watch at the theme parks (especially to keep track of ALL of the steps I'm taking), there are some features that the MagicBand+ has that the Apple Watch does not; especially if you’re staying at a Disney Hotel. Currently, you cannot use your Apple Watch to open up your hotel door or make purchases to add to your hotel folio like a MagicBand+ can. (You can, however, use your smartphone to enter your hotel room through the My Disney Experience App.)
MagicBands can also have innovative, interactive effects around Disney World, Cheryl. The lights and haptics from the MagicBand+ are always super exciting and fun when in the theme parks. (Do note, though, that you will need to have a charge on your MagicBand+ to experience the lights and haptics. Extra Note: Your MagicBand+ does not have to have a charge to be able to scan you into the parks, Lighting Lane entrances, or for
Photopass scanning opportunities.)
I've sported the Apple Watch on one wrist and the MagicBand+ on the other wrist many times, Cheryl -- the choice is up to you, and there's not a wrong answer! YEEHAW!
If you have any additional questions before your trip, we hope to hear from you again at planDisney.
Happy trails,
Allyn