Hi Tricia,
Welcome to planDisney!
How exciting to plan a trip to the Walt Disney World Resort! Having just returned from a trip, I would advise that you use both the
My Disney Experience Mobile App and
MagicBands. Although you do not have to purchase MagicBands, we find them useful. We like using them for park entry and making purchases. Although, I did use
Disney MagicMobile service for park entry during my most recent visit, my phone kept making me log into my account repeatedly, so it was easier to use my MagicBand.
We used the mobile app for
Mobile Dine Check-in (with our advanced dining reservations),
Mobile Food & Beverage Ordering, and to check
Mobile Dine Walk-up Availability. Those are features that you could not access with only a MagicBand. If your kids have MagicBands and know the PIN, they could potentially use those MagicBands to charge purchases to your Walt Disney World Resort hotel room account.
While visiting the theme parks, I was able to use Disney MagicMobile service one day for park entry and then used my MagicBand that afternoon as I was
park hopping. I also love to use the mobile app to review and modify plans. If your group is planning to split up, someone in each group needs access to the mobile app so they can check your My Disney Experience account to make sure they know when you have advanced
dining reservations and they can review your
Disney Park Pass system reservations for each day.
Keep your eye on the
operational updates since policies and procedures could change. Since you have some time before your visit, be sure to check the
dining and theme park updates. And yes, you can have
multiple users on one account. I manage plans for my husband and both of our girls. If you want your family to have access to your My Disney Experience account, you will need to share those account details with them. While in the parks and resorts, if you have questions, a Cast Member can assist!
Tricia, we are so excited to welcome you to the magic!
Magic and memories,
Donyell