Hi Julie,
Welcome to planDisney! Thank you for dropping by with a great question!
The good news is that you do not need to purchase MagicBands and can certainly use your mobile phones. With
Disney MagicMobile service and valid
theme park admission, you can create digital park passes and then just use your phone to access those digital passes and scan in at the park entrance. On my last visit, I used my digital park pass through Disney MagicMobile service and it was quite efficient.
Having said that, my family still loves
MagicBands. We try to stay off of our phones while on vacation, so even though I appreciate the convenience of Disney MagicMobile service, I would prefer to leave my phone in my bag while in the parks. We also use our MagicBands to scan in with Disney
PhotoPass photographers and to link our
photos for select attractions.
Looking at your arrival date, I hope you made some
advanced dining reservations. If not, be sure to use
Mobile Food & Beverage Ordering and check the
Walk-up Dine Availability. On my most recent visit, I noticed that the Walk-up Dine Availability was limited, so I would recommend that you focus on securing advanced dining reservations
Julie, check out our
Top 10 Packing Tips and get started packing! Gather your crew, check out a few
matching shirts, and plan your park strategy. We are so excited to welcome you to the magic!
Magic and memories,
Donyell