Hi there, Kathy,
Thanks for bringing your question to planDisney today. I'm happy to help!
Whether you are visiting with extended family, a group of friends, or even as a solo traveler the
My Disney Experience App helps make planning your most magical visit a breeze. You can use it to make
advance dining reservations leading up to your trip and use it throughout your park days to schedule Lightning Lane return times via
Disney Genie+ Service. In order to streamline your reservation and Genie+ booking process you'll want to ensure all members of your travel party are linked on your Family & Friends list even if you all booked your resort rooms and tickets separately.
I
recently walked through this process with another guest, but the easiest way to connect everyone is by scanning or manually inputting each person's linking code. You'll find this by navigating to the feature menu (≡) in the My Disney Experience App, scrolling down to "My Profile" and then selecting "Show My Linking Code" from the bottom of the list. Your family members can add your linking code to their accounts, or you can input their linking codes into your account. To do this, toggle over to the "Family & Friends List" from the same section of the app and scroll down to "Add a Guest." Select the third option "Scan their linking code" and click the blue button at the bottom of the screen. This will open your phone's camera to scan their code if you are in the same place, but you'll also see the option to "Manually Enter a Code" on the next screen. Enter their unique 6-digit code there to connect your profiles. You'll need to do this for each ticketed guest in your travel party. Linking codes will expire in 30 minutes so be sure you are using a fresh code when you enter each guest.
Once everyone is connected on your
Family & Friends list you'll be able to make dining reservations together. I select my preferred party size for each reservation and then go back in to assign specific guests to the reservation using the "Update Party" link on that particular meal under the "Future Plans" section of the My Disney Experience App. You can handle reservations for your entire group or split up the work and still dine together. One thing I've discovered is not all venues will have a table for seven. You may need to book group dining as two smaller tables and then just let the Cast Member know you'd like to be seated together when you arrive to check in for the meal.
When it's time to purchase Disney Genie+ Service you can each purchase individually or complete a group purchase by selecting the appropriate members of your travel party before the checkout screen. You'll be able to make selections for Lightning Lanes together as long as you are all linked on the Family & Friends list, even if you've each purchased Genie+ separately. Each time you select an attraction you'll be prompted to confirm which members of your travel party are planning to experience it, so don't worry if you want to split your group's thrill-seekers and less adventurous riders for a particular experience. Be sure to check out the Genie+
how-to videos as you countdown to your trip.
I hope this was helpful Kathy. If I can answer any additional questions please come back and let me know.
Magic and memories,
Amy