I’ve heard rumors about Disney apps that tell you how to get where you want to be, when shows will be going on, when certain cast members will be available for pictures, etc.
Any of you have experience with any of these apps? We want to get the best one. It doesn’t have to be free. I don’t trust app ratings but I trust you guys. 
Get the one made by Disney, as they would be the ones with all of the accurate info.
Now why do you have to go throwing common sense into the mix? That was uncalled for.
:smack:
Thanks.
The app you want is MyDisneyExperience. It is a true marvel – it has accurate wait times, park maps, restaurants (including menus), attractions, character locations, park hours … everything. You can manage your reservations and FastPasses with it. If I weren’t already happily married, I would totally marry it.
Awesome. That’s the official Disney one that Omar was talking about. Sounds like you have a lot of experience with the app. How often do you go? This’ll be my third time and I’m so excited.
My last trip was in February for the Princess Half Marathon and my next will be in October for the Tower of Terror 10-Miler. Love me some Disney races! My first trip was in 1973; I still remember waking up and looking out the window of our room in the Polynesian and seeing Cinderella Castle all lit up and magical as can be. Since then, I’ve been there something like 30 times, most as an adult with my BFF, who is now as WDW-obsessed as I am.
When are you going? I am green with envy that you’ll get to ride the new Snow White roller coaster before I can!
I’m not going until November! This will be my third time. I first went in 2004, when I was 24 and most of my fiance’s family went (his brother and his family couldn’t make it). This time it will be all 15 of us and their parents are paying for the entire thing!! We’re staying at the Contemporary (that’s where we stayed in 2004 and his parents said they’ll never stay anywhere else since staying there). I’m just really looking forward to Epcot. It’s my favorite park and it seems like we never spend enough time there.
Awesome! I know what you mean about Epcot – there’s just so much to see, especially if you get into all the hidden corners of World Showcase. I heard that they’re going to be updating Soarin’ with new scenes from WDW.
I’m recommending My Disney Experience as well, even though it can be slow and has some annoying quirks. If you are patient, you can eventually get it to do what you want it to do. It not only gives you the wait times and that sort of thing, but you can also use it to book or change Fastpass+ reservations. There are no more Fastpass machines in front of each ride - you either book with the app, online, or at kiosk locations scattered around the parks. You can book three attractions, meet and greets, or shows for one park before you go, then add more one at a time at a kiosk, either at the same park or at a different one if you are park hopping. This has been an awesome change. I’m local and don’t necessarily plan to go to parks until a few hours beforehand. Now, instead of hoping there are fp’s available, I can book them before I get there.
As a side note - I volunteer for the Disney races that you run, shantih. I would love to run them, but can’t justify the cost, so at least I get to be a part of them somehow.
We also very much liked the one from the Unofficial Guide people. We used both that and the official Disney one.
Note that “the Unofficial Guide people” includes len, an occasional poster to these boards. Their app is called Lines. (Note: no endorsement is intended. I have no experience with it or any other smartphone Disney app, as my last Disney visit was before I had a smartphone.)
Thanks for that one too! I was wondering if they had made an app.
The Lines app is great too, though it requires a subscription for the best features. But it will let you set up a custom touring plan, then recalculate it on the fly while you’re in the Parks. Which frankly I found more enjoyable than a quarter of the rides.
Note that the Disney app can be linked directly to the MyDisneyExperience website as well–unless you like mobile interfaces, advance planning on a website is usually a little easier.
Also note if you’re going this November, you’re now well within the 6 month time for restaurant reservations. I’m going November 15th, went to make reservations nine or ten days ago, and several of the most popular ones were already full, with others beginning to only have odd times.
I’ve use Lines for both WDW and DL; it was my go-to app before I moved from SoCal to FL. I found it fast and easy to use, but it just wasn’t worth renewing after the MDE app came out. That’s for my needs anyway - wait times and booking fp+. I didn’t know there was such a thing as a touring plan until I got that app and really cannot ever imagine using one (having 3 fp’s is almost over planning to me), but I did use the crowd calendar and found it to be useful. I would go back to it if I could book fastpasses with it instead of the convoluted system My Disney Experience uses. You can’t pick specific times - the system offers 4 choices and you have to choose one of the 4; after that you can go back and make changes to select when you want, but it can be a pain. They need to offer up a choice at the beginning - do you want us to set the times up, or would you like to do everything yourself.
And I agree with dzeiger, doing things on the website is easier. Also, November 15 is when the Thanksgiving rush will be starting. The week before and after Thanksgiving can be really busy so booking restaurants and FP’s if you are going at that time, especially with a group of 15, should be done asap. Even if you miss the crowds, I would do it for a group of that size. You should all be able to link tickets using My Disney Experience if they have already been bought.