“My Disney Experience”, Magic Bands and FastPass+

Jump to: Website/App | FastPass+ | Magic Bands | Dining Reservations | Online Checkin

FastPass+ replaced with paid Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane services

Disney’s FastPass+ service never returned after the resort reopened post-COVID. Instead, from 19 October 2021 Disney launched a new paid service called Genie+ which provides app-based booking for the next available slot at one attraction a time, available to resort hotel guests starting from 7am on the day your visit. This service costs $15 plus tax per person per day.

Two headliner attractions at each park are not included in the basic system, and you will need to pay again individually for one-off ‘Individual Lightning Lane’ quick access to rides such as Rise of the Resistance, Flight of Passage or the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. Prices for these individual rides vary from $7 per person to $15.

Magic Bands are still available to purchase, but they are not provided as a complimentary item for hotel guests. You can use the tap feature on most smart phones in their place if you wish though.

During 2013/2014, Walt Disney World has gradually been rolling out an extensive, resort-wide, upgrade of their guest-accessible technology which goes under the overall banner of “MyMagic+”. There are many other Disney-related websites which cover this in great detail, but this page should at least give Port Orleans guests a brief overview of what this new system provides and how to use it. This is by no means a complete guide though!

The whole system is linked together via a website and mobile app which allow guests to plan and manage their visits, and for which the free wi-fi internet that is now provided in all of the Disney parks and hotels is proving very useful (especially for international travellers who do not want to use expensive roaming data accounts).

“My Disney Experience“ website and mobile app

The My Disney Experience website, or the My Disney Experience app which can be downloaded for Apple or Android mobile devices, is the main tool which guests can use to manage all of the new features that MyMagic+ provides. You can also access some features ‘on-the-day’ using terminals located within the parks.

Before you start using My Disney Experience, you will need to create a Disney online account for each member of your party. If any of you already have usernames on any of the main Disney websites, you should use those. Is it perfectly possible for everyone to make their own plans independently, but it makes much more sense for one person to act as the group organiser, so you need to make sure that everyone else has given permission for that person to access their plans via the Family and Friends menu.

Once everything is set up, you can link any existing hotel reservations, your pre-ordered tickets, and any dining reservations (ADRs) onto your account, and then manage them online or via the app on your mobile device. You can also make new bookings, reserve restaurant and FastPass times in advance, plan your daily itineraries, customise your Magic Bands, perform online checkins for the hotel, etc. You can even access your PhotoPass pictures after your trip.

In short, it’s the central hub that lets you access and plan your whole vacation experience, so take some time to explore and understand it fully as it is fundamental to pretty-much everything else that follows.

If you encounter any difficulties with the app or website you can call Disney’s technical support helpdesk for My Disney Experience, Magic Bands and FastPass+ on (407) 939-4357 (USA), 0800 16 90 749 (UK) or 1800 812 677 (IE).

FastPass+

As of January 2014, “FastPass+” has completely replaced the old paper-ticket Fast Pass system which was used to reserve a timed one-hour slot for many of the most popular rides and attractions at Walt Disney World, thus avoiding a lot of queuing. The old machines are no longer available, you can now only use the new system.

The main differences are currently as follows, and at least one of them is a major advantage over the old system. The rest, well time will tell...

Magic Bands

Red Magic Band

Magic Bands have now replaced the old plastic Key to the World keycards which were used for guest room access, theme park admission, charging privileges, etc. These new customisable coloured rubber bracelets contain a tiny ‘RFID’ chip which when tapped against Mickey-shaped sensors anywhere around Walt Disney World uniquely identify the guest and thus provide access to a wide variety of services.

New features are being added all the time, but the following are the main functions of Magic Bands:

If you might have trouble using a Magic Band for any reason, you can request a duplicate credit card sized “Key to the World” card from the Front Desk, which will perform the exact same functions. It too contains an RFID chip.

Note: no personal information (name, address, credit card details, etc) are stored on the band itself. It only contains a reference code number, which Disney’s computer systems use to retrieve any necessary information from their secure master database. In short, there are no privacy concerns — beyond that of Disney knowing (and no doubt logging) where you are and what you are doing on their property, but that applied to the old key cards too.

Advanced Dining Reservations

From 180 days prior to your arrival date you can start to make Advanced Dining Reservations via the Disney website (or by phone) for table-service meals at the Disney theme park, hotel and Disney Springs area restaurants. As an on-site hotel guest, you get the advantage of being able to book for the entire first ten days of your stay at the same time, effectively giving you an extra 10-day window over off-site guests — which is great for the restaurants which tend to sell out quickly.

The system will link your bookings to your My Disney Experience account, allowing you to view, modify and cancel whenever you wish, and you can indicate which of your Friends and Family group will be present for the meal. Note: cancellations are free up to one day before the reservation date, but if you cancel on the day (or you just don’t show up) then your credit card will be charged a $10 per person fee. Please check the cancellation windows for any reservations which require full payment at the time of booking (such as dinner shows) as the terms may vary.

Online Checkin

Up to 60 days before arrival, you can provide checkin information for your whole party in advance, including contact details and your expected checkin and checkout times. You can also assign a payment card at this point, complete with a different PIN number for each member of your party.

There are some Special Request tick-boxes you can select during the process, but to be honest they are somewhat limited at present so you might be better off getting any requests added to your original booking in advance (see the Making Special Room Requests page).

When you arrive at the resort, in most cases your room will already have been allocated for you — often even if your arrival is before the official 3pm checkin time — and a welcome pack (including your Magic Bands if they have not been posted to you in advance) will be waiting at a quick-pickup location located in the resort lobby.

If by any chance you are not happy with the room location that you’ve been allocated in advance, you can always ask a Front Desk cast member to check again to see what other rooms might have become available in the meantime, or you could offer to wait for another room to be cleaned and be made ready if you want. Your Magic Band can then be quickly reprogrammed for your new room.

There is now an additional “Direct to Room” arrival facility provided for any guests who have completed the full online checkin process and who have also received their Magic Bands in advance (so predominantly North American guests at present). This allows the resort to communicate your room number to you directly by email or text message shortly before your arrival time (assuming that a room is ready of course). You can then go straight to your assigned room without ever needing to visit the Front Desk, and your Magic Bands will be fully activated and ready for use. A generic Welcome Pack of resort information will be waiting for you in the room.

The Direct to Room facility won’t suit all guests of course. If it’s your first time staying at Port Orleans then I’d strongly suggest you call at the Front Desk first — if for no other reason than to be given useful information about the resort and detailed instructions on how to find your room. And even if you have been issued with a room number in advance it can still be altered, so should you have any concerns you are welcome to talk to a Front Desk Cast Member and check in the old fashioned way if you prefer.