A Disney Tech Primer About This Page:

[WillCAD]

A Disney Tech Primer

Disney has always been willing to try new technologies to improve Guest experience and make their own operations more efficient, and in 2013 they embarked on a new technological program that totally remade the Guest experience at Walt Disney World (WDW), starting almost from the time you make your reservation.

Disney's official name for this program is My Magic Plus, but it is more generally known among Guests as My Disney Experience (MDX), named for the web interface and the mobile app that are the Guest's main interface to the program. In fact, it is more than just one program - it's a revamp of several existing technologies, and a linking of those technologies via an integrated computer system. The Guest accesses these new and revamped programs in four ways:

1) Via the MyDisneyExperience.com web site
2) Via the MyDisneyExperience smartphone apps which access all the same functions as the web site
3) Via interactive kiosks scattered throughout WDW property, which access some of the same functions as the web site
4) Via RFID** media at the parks, namely MagicBands and new Key to the World (KTTW) cards

All of this technology seems a little daunting at first, but much like any new technology, once it becomes commonplace, we'll wonder how we ever got along without it.

** RFID Stands for Radio Frequency Identification, an electronic tagging system that uses small microchips to identify objects. These chips can be embedded inside cards, keyfobs, and wristbands, and there are even RFID chips available that can be embedded beneath your pet's skin to identify him and help bring him safely home if he is lost.

Lots of new Technology - How does it all fit together?

My Magic Plus integrates a number of existing and new technological programs at WDW, allowing the Guest to check and alter many aspects of their WDW stay remotely. The system replaces the old Key to the World card, which already integrated the room lock, park pass, dining plan, and room charging systems, and at the same time integrates several other systems that were not previously linked together. These systems include:

* WDW Resort reservations
* Disney's Magical Express
* WDW Resort room locks
* WDW Resort room charging
* WDW park passes (both Magic Your Way passes and Annual passes)
* FastPass+ (a new system replacing the legacy FastPass system)
* Disney Dining Plan
* Disney's PhotoPass
* Attraction photos
* WDW Resort Refillable mugs

Additionally, interactive features can be added to in-park attractions which will use MDX to customize the attraction experience and perhaps even save preferences. Thus far, only Test Track in Epcot has such a feature, but more attractions could easily be added in the future with this capability.

Getting Started with My Disney Experience - Creating Your Account

All of these systems are tied together by Disney's computer system. Guests access the systems by creating a free account on MyDisneyExperience.com. You don't need to have a WDW resort reservation to create a MDX account. Once you have created your account, you can link various features to it in preparation for your upcoming Walt Disney World vacation.

-> Create your Friends and Family list

When you click on the My Friends and Family menu option, you can add each member of your traveling party to your MDX account. If one of your party has their own MDX account, you will be given an option to email them an invitation, and they can link their account to yours. Once you have created a F&F list, you can access reservations, tickets, FastPass+ selections, and MagicBands for the entire party from your account.

-> Add your resort or package reservations

Next, link your WDW resort reservation to the account. Once you link your reservations to your account, the MDX site will allow you to do additional things like on-line check-in and customizing MagicBands.

-> Tickets

If you have purchased tickets from the Disney Store, DisneyShopping.com, or a ticket broker like Undercover Tourist, including Annual Passes, you can link them to the account. Tickets included with a WDW resort package will automatically be linked to your account when you link the package.

-> Arrange Your Dining

Most WDW restaurants allow you to make Advance Dining Reservations (ADRs) up to 180 days in advance of your check-in date. If you have already made ADRs by phone or by some other means, you can link them to your MDX account with the confirmation numbers. If you have not, you can make dining reservations directly from the MDXsite, and they will be linked to your account automatically. You can now use your MDX account to manage your ADRs, add new ones, look for duplicates, delete any which you don't need, or reschedule.

-> FastPass+

FastPass+ is a reservation system for rides, shows, and attractions at WDW. By selecting an attraction, and a one-hour time window in which you'd like to experience the attraction, you make an appointment for the attraction. The number of people who can make such a choice in any given hour is limited, which means that FastPass queues for any attraction are virtually guaranteed to never be longer 20 minutes.

In order to make your FastPass+ selections, you must first link a park pass and a WDW resort or package reservation to your MDX account. Once that is done, you will be able to make FP+ selections up to 60 days before your check-in date.

If you don't have a WDW resort or package reservation, but you are a WDW Annual Passholder, you can link your AP to your MDX account, and you will be able to make FP+ selections up to 30 days in advance, for up to 7 individual days within that period.

If you don't have a WDW resort or package reservation, and you are not an Annual Passholder, you will be able to make FP+ selections up to 30 days in advance, after you have linked a valid WDW ticket to your MDX account.

In late 2013, FastPass+ replaced the older legacy FastPass system, which only allowed reservations for one attraction at a time, with no advance selection. Along with FastPass+'s new advance selection capability, however, come some new restrictions - each Guest is limited to 3 advance FP+ selections per day, and all 3 selections must be in the same park, even if you have a park-hopping ticket linked to your MDX account. Additionally, Disney is experimenting with a "tiered" approach to attractions; at Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios, the Guest can select one "headliner" attraction and 2 "minor" attractions.

After all of your advance FP+ selections have been used or their one-hour window has expired, you can make more selections, one at a time, using the in-park kiosks or the My Disney Experience mobile app. These additional FP+ selections are commonly called the "rotating fourth". A rotating fourth selection can be in a different park than your advance selections were, which is good news for those who like to park hop. The rotating fourth selection works just like the advance selections, giving you a one-hour window in which you can redeem it to experience the attraction, and if it is unused, it expires.

Once a rotating fourth FP+ selection has been used, or its time window has expired, you can make another selection. There is no limit to how many rotating fourth selections you can make, but you can only hold one at any given time.

-> PhotoPass

Disney's PhotoPass is a system of roving photographers on WDW property who will take your picture digitally. The pictures are stored on the PhotoPass computer system for 45 days after they are taken, and you can access them online through your PhotoPass account to order prints, digital downloads and other products.

The PhotoPass system is completely separate from the MDX system. However, there are links from MDX to take you to your PhotoPass account, where you can view, customize, and order your photos.

A separate primer on the PhotoPass system can be found here on the Passporter Boards.

-> WDW Resort room charging

Hotels have allowed guests to charge things to their rooms for decades, and Disney resorts are no exception. With the size and complexity of WDW, however, this becomes an extremely useful feature, since Disney allows resort Guests to use room charge to pay for anything bought from any Disney venue on WDW property - meals, souvenirs, ticket add-ons, golf rounds, tours... if you're buying it from a Disney-owned shop, store, restaurant, or cart, you can charge it to your WDW resort room.

In order to utilize this feature, the Guest must put a credit card on file; the credit card on file is used to pay for anything charged to the room. In the past, putting a credit card on file was done at time of check-in, but now, you can do it in advance, using your MDX account.

**Note: If you don't want to put a credit card on file in your MDX account, you also have the option of using cash, travelers checks, or Disney Gift Cards to establish a credit for room charging. However, this must be done at time of check-in. Perhaps in the future, MDX will be amended to allow Disney Gift Cards to be put on file, instead of a credit card.

If you use cash to establish your credit, any unspent remainder will be refunded to you in cash at time of checkout. However. if you use Disney Gift Cards to establish the credit, WDW resorts are unable to reload the unspent remainder onto the original Gift Card, or onto a new Gift Card, and so the unspent remainder would be forfeited at check out.

Since many Guests save for their WDW vacations by buying multiple Disney Gift Cards, or by buying one and loading cash onto it periodically, this can present a problem if the unepsnt remainder is more than the Guest is willing to part with. A simple solution to the problem is to put a credit card on file for room charging, but to pay the balance due, using Disney Gift Cards, before the credit card is charged. Credit cards are charged different points, depending on the WDW resort category; at the Value resorts, credit cards are charged when the balance reaches $500; at the Moderate resorts, credit cards are charged when the balance reaches $1,000; and at the Deluxe and above resorts, credit cards are charged when the balance reaches $1,500. You can check your current balance, get a printout of all charges, and pay any balance, by visiting the front desk of your WDW resort at any time.

Putting My Disney Experience on and wearing it - MagicBands

The most visible, most tangible, and most talked-about aspect of all of this new tech are undoubtedly MagicBands.

A MagicBand is a durable, rubberized wristband (it's actually made from a hypoallergenic material called thermal plastic polyurethane, or TPU). Inside this wristband is an RFID chip programmed with a unique serial number. This RFID chip performs exactly the same function as the magnetic strip on a credit or debit card, or the magnetic strips on older WDW park passes and room keys - it identifies that particular MagicBand to one of the many RFID readers now appearing throughout WDW property.

-> What is a MagicBand?

Don't think of the MagicBand itself as being anything special. A MagicBand is nothing more than an alternative form of ticket/identity media, just like the old Key to the World cards and plastic or Tyvek park passes were. But instead of swiping a card with a magnetic strip through a slot, you now tap your MagicBand onto a reader device. In a slick piece of product branding, Disney has made sure that every MagicBand reader you encounter is either shaped like an illuminated Mickey Mouse head (most of which light up green to indicate when your MagicBand has been successfully read), or has a Mickey Head embossed on it. This also helps the Guest to use the MagicBand - each MagicBand also has a Mickey head embossed on it, and to use them, one simply has to line up the Mickey head on the MagicBand with the Mickey head on the reader.

MagicBands are the primary way to access all of the features of your My Disney Experience account when you're at WDW. WDW resort packages include free MagicBands for each member of your party. Once you have completed the Online Check-in process, you will be able to click the Customize MagicBands option on MyDisneyExperience, and choose colors for each member of your party's MagicBands. The MagicBands also have your name printed on the inside, and you can choose how you want your name to appear, up to nine letters, numbers, and spaces.



-> How do I get a MagicBand?

• If you are staying at a WDW resort: You have until 30 days prior to arrival to sign into your MDX account and customize your MagicBands. At the 30 day mark, your MagicBands will automatically be mailed to you at home. Disney does not mail MagicBands internationally, however; if you are visiting from outside the United States, you can still customize your MagicBands, and they will be waiting for you at your WDW resort when you check in. It's just that simple.
• If you are a WDW Passholder: Passholders may simply sign into their MDX accounts and select the link to customize their complimentary MagicBands. Along with their MagicBand, each Passholder will recieve a discount card to show at those locationos which grant Passholder discounts, and a Passholder-exclusive Magic Slider.
• If you are not staying at a WDW resort: MagicBands are available for purchase at several gift shops in each of the four theme parks and Downtown Disney for $12.95, in all of the same colors available to WDW resort Guests. Specialty MagicBands can be found in a few other shops in the parks. Currently, there are no shops in the resorts selling MagicBands. Each MagicBand must be linked to a valid WDW ticket at time of sale, and Disney Cast Members will also link it to your My Disney Experience account if you have one. WDW Passholders and Disney Vacation Club members are entitled to a 10% discount on MagicBand purchases.

-> How do MagicBands work?

Each MagicBand has a totally unique serial number. Your MagicBands are linked to your MyDisneyExperience account, and can be used to access anything else that is associated with the account - your Disney's Magical Express reservation, your dining ADRs, your FastPass+ selections, your park passes, your WDW resort room's door lock, your Disney Dining Plan credits, and even the "charge to room" feature - it's all associated with your MDX account, and it can all be accessed with your MagicBand.

Thus, when you get off the plane at MCO, you tap your MagicBand on a reader to board the Disney's Magical Express bus. When you arrive at WDW, you can go straight to a park, and simply tap your MagicBand on a reader to enter the park, because your park passes are already associated with your MDX account. When one of your FastPass+ return times approaches, tap your MagicBand on a reader to get into the FastPass queue of the attraction. When you go to a restaurant for lunch, tap your MagicBand on a reader to access your Disney Dining Plan credits. When you buy a souvenir, you tap your MagicBand on a reader to charge the item to your room (if you have enabled room charging and linked a payment source).

-> What if I lose my MagicBand?

For added security, any time you make a purchase with your MagicBand, or use one of your Disney Dining Plan credits, you will be asked to input a 4-digit Personal Identification Number (PIN); this prevents any nefarious persons from using your MagicBand if you happen to lose it. You get to choose you own PIN; it's done in your My Disney Experience account, naturally, and should be done well in advance of your arrival.

Likewise, when you enter a WDW theme park or water park, you tap your MagicBand on the reader, and place your finger on a biometric scanner; the fingerprint ensures that only you can use your MagicBand to enter a park and use one of your ticket entitlements.

If you lose one of your MagicBands, don't panic! It can be deactivated and replaced, just like a lost ATM or credit card, because none of this stuff is "on" the MagicBand itself; all of your info, park passes, and reservations are in the WDW computer system, linked to your MDX account. The MagicBand is simply a form of ID that you use to access your MDX account, and everything associated with it. Complimentary replacement MagicBands will be plain gray, though; you only get the pretty colors when you customize your MagicBands in advance, or if you buy one from a shop in the parks.

-> What if I am not a Guest at a WDW resort?

MagicBands are available for purchase at several gift shops in the four theme parks and Downtown Disney for $12.95, in all of the same colors available to WDW resort Guests. Each MagicBand must be linked to a valid WDW ticket at time of sale, and Disney Cast Members will also link it to your My Disney Experience account if you have one. WDW Passholders and Disney Vacation Club members are entitled to a 10% discount on MagicBand purchases.

MagicBands for off-site Guests can be linked to valid WDW tickets, for use at the park gates, and can be linked to your MDX account, for use with FastPass selections. However, off-site Guests cannot, at present, link any form of payment to their MagicBands, so they have no purchasing ability.

-> They look a little cheesy, like a child's toy. How secure are they?

MagicBands are extremely durable and very secure. They're also waterproof and shockproof; you can wear them safely while swimming in your resort pool, while taking the plunge from Summit Plummet, while golfing, horseback riding, or screaming your way through Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. They're easily adjustable, and even have a tear-off section that makes them small enough for small children's wrists. For added security, there are also decorative sliders available which hold the band closed.

-> What if my MagicBand breaks or stops working?

Quite simply, go to Guest Relations if you're at one of the parks or Downtown Disney, or to the front desk if you're at a WDW resort. They'll either fix it, replace it, or refer you to someone else who can help.

But there are also quite a few roving Disney Cast Members to be found, mostly around the park entrances and FastPass+ kiosks, who are armed with iPads which can read MagicBands.

-> Can I... you know, PLUS the MagicBand somehow?

When you arrive at WDW, you will find a number of accessories available in the gift shops to customize the look of your MagicBands, including slipcovers (called Coverbands) and dangling charms. You can PLUS it to your heart's content.

It is also becoming popular to personalize MagicBands with some sort of artwork or paint. Various schemes have been seen, including the use of colored nail polishes and clearcoats, paint markers from the local crafts store, Sharpie markers, and even temporary tatoos, painted over with clearcoat to protect from peeling..

Jennifer Marx has written a couple of excellent blog posts about plussing your MagicBands:

Bling out your MagicBand

Make a CoverBand for your MagicBand

-> This stuff is so confusing! How does _____ work?

This primer is intended to be an overview of the new tech and how it interacts with itself and the Guest. However, it is merely a summary; to get more in-depth answers, simply post your question on the Disney Tech board, and the Passporter Boards' membership will immediately chime in with their experience and knowledge. Never fear to ask any question, even if it seems very basic; such questions are the bread and butter of a fan-based community like the Passporter Boards.

Simply put, by asking a question, you give someone the opportunity to 'pay it forward' to you. Once you've gotten your answer, then you have the opportunity to pay it forward when the next person asks that question. With that process, the Passporter Boards become more than just a place to find answers, they become a place where everyone can share knowledge and experience, and make new friends along the way. And that it how communities are formed.

[lauriep]

WOW! What a lot of work, Will. Thanks so much for putting all the information in one place and organized so that it's really helpful.

[All Ears]

Thanks so much for putting this together! LOVE it!

[LegoMom]

Great compilation of info!!! Thanks for taking the time to put up that post!

.

[debic]

Very nice sticky. Thanks for putting all that info together in one easy to read and understand format.

[Pris]

Great job Will!! Thanks!!

[roaminggnome]

Thanks for the information. WOW--that was a lot of work putting it all together.

[shazza]

Will, Thanks so Much for this!!! It has most of the info I've been searching for the past week, and now it's all easy to find. Great job.

[manticorjenn]

Thanks for the information. I now have an easy way to explain all of this to my parents when I suprise them next December with their 50th Anniversary trip!

[chezp]

Great work Will!

[Haleyboo99]

Wow, you put a lot of work into this! Thanks for all the info!!

[dolphin041599]

Lots of great info. Thanks!

[Disney Franatic]

Thanks so much, Will! You did a fantastic job of putting all the Magic Bands info together. You've answered all my questions in one great article. °o°

[EastYorkDisneyFan]

Just one question why is the term MDX being used instead of MDE for My Disney Experience? I haven't seen anyone else using MDX and I think if just one board used it people could get confused.

[Familygoboston]

Super article! For those of us who plan our days months in advance with "ahem" a spreadsheet, this is terrific! Last trip we downloaded our spread sheet to our phone and then used a lines app to manage waits etc. And the Disney app to check ADRs. Now it should be seamless, all the planning can be done ahead, saving even more on backtracking! I've been on the globe 1/2 a century, but I am good with all this technology- it's made Disney easier than ever to "manage"