Hi Jennifer, welcome to planDisney!
Your elf ears are showing as you work towards giving the gift of a magical Walt Disney World Resort vacation this Christmas. I've been the giver and recipient of quite a few magical surprises over the years and honestly can't tell you which experience I prefer. One of my favorite memories involves my kids unwrapping a Disney vacation countdown calendar. They opened the package upside down, which caused the countdown number cubes to fall out. Luckily, my quick-thinking husband distracted the kids by doing the Goofy dance while I put the cubes back in place. Christmas crisis averted and core memory secured!
While we're sharing secrets, I'll let you know that I recently booked a couple of
Enchanting Extras Collection experiences as gifts for my in-laws, with whom I am connected as
Family & Friends in My Disney Experience. When booking the
Seats and Sweets Magic Kingdom Park Fireworks Dessert Party, I linked the reservation to my parents, whose My Disney Experience account profiles I manage. After Christmas, I will click "Update Guests" next to the reservation on the
My Plans page of my My Disney Experience account to reassign the reservation to my in-laws. The same surprise strategy can be used when linking/reassigning
theme park tickets.
As a second surprise, a Cast Member helped me book a
Fantasmic! dining package. With their assistance, the reservation appears in my My Disney Experience account (not my in-laws' accounts) without any names attached. The Cast Member even shared that there is a way to prevent confirmed reservations from showing up at all in My Disney Experience. I was hesitant to select this option as I'm most comfortable seeing all of my plans in My Disney Experience, but I was interested to learn these "ninja reservations" exist. I'm confident a helpful Cast Member at the
My Disney Experience, MagicBand and MagicBand+ number can help you determine best practices for your surprise goals.
I hope your Disney surprise goes off without a hitch, Jennifer. Should it end up a little topsy-turvy like mine, lean into the moment. You are the real Disney magic!
Plan magic; planDisney.
Jennifer