Hello there, Jennifer! Welcome to planDisney. I'm glad you've stopped by to ask your question.
Wow! 9 People at Walt Disney World is a lot. I bet you are going to make so many memories that will last a lifetime. That is going to be so much fun.
To get into the
Walt Disney World Theme Parks, Jennifer, you have a few different options. Yes, you can purchase a
MagicBand and link that to your MyDisneyExperience. I, however, agree with you. It's a lot of money for 9 people and honestly not really necessary anymore. You actually have two completely free options you can choose from. The first option is when you arrive at a Walt Disney World Theme Park, you are going to see some ticket booths outside of the gates where you enter. This is where people can exchange online vouchers or even purchase tickets. You can stop by one of these booths and get what is called a Keys To The World Card. The Cast Member helping you will link your tickets to these cards and then you can use them to scan into the Walt Disney World Theme Parks. The cards are actually really cute and have different images of the Fab 5 on them and the best part is they are completely free to you. The other option is even easier if you ask me. Do you have the MyDisneyExperience app downloaded to your smartphone device? If not I highly encourage you to do so. It's really great for navigating the theme parks, checking wait times for attractions and mobile ordering from quick-service dining locations. Once you have the app, go ahead and open it up and sign in if prompted. Then, you are going to open up the main menu by touching the three horizontal blue lines on the bottom right-hand corner of your screen. Once the main menu is open, scroll down until you see the option for "Disney MagicMobile" and select that. From there, you'll follow the prompts to add your Walt Disney World Theme Park tickets directly to your phone's wallet. When you arrive at the theme park, you'll just hold your phone up to the touchpoint and double click the side and it should read your ticket no problem. I've been using the
Disney MagicMobile the past few times I've visited and it's really convenient. If you are traveling with kids who may not have a phone or a MyDisneyExperience account of their own, you can add anyone's ticket onto your phone as long as you are connected with them via the friends and family list on your MyDisneyExperience account.
I hope this helps, Jennifer! If you have any other questions before your trip, please feel free to come back and
ask me. I'm happy to help. Have a great day!