7 Must-Have Apps For Any Disney World Vacation
With four theme parks, two water parks, shopping areas, and global cuisine, Disney World delivers the ultimate vacation to guests of all ages.
Visitors cram as much as possible into their Disney trips and often use several apps to help manage and organize their days.
Parkgoers can download seven (7) useful mobile apps that enhance any Disney vacation. The best and most important is the My Disney Experience App, followed by Play Disney Parks, Disney+, shopDisney, and Radio Disney. Non-Disney apps that tend to come in handy are rideshare and weather apps.
This article highlights each of these apps and discusses how they add to any Disney World vacation.
5 Best Apps For Disney World
1) My Disney Experience App
The free My Disney Experience App is the best mobile platform to organize any Disney World vacation.
Guests can store their park passes, view wait times, create itineraries, get directions, add Genie+, and keep track of all their daily reservations – all in one convenient place!
Genie Service
In the My Disney Experience App, users can access the Genie Service, a valuable tool to help get the most out of each day at the parks.
Basic Genie offers complimentary features like itinerary building and custom recommendations, and guests looking to skip the lines at certain rides can upgrade to Genie+ for a fee.
With Genie+, visitors can use Lightning Lanes at participating attractions, making it easier to do more at the parks without waiting in long lines.
The My Disney App also allows parkgoers to purchase Lightning Lane entrances at eligible rides not included with Genie+.
Making Reservations
Making Advanced Dining Reservations or booking Character Dining Experiences is quick and easy in the My Disney Experience App.
Star Wars fans can also make reservations for activities, including building droids at the Droid Depot and building lightsabers at Savi’s Workshop at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge in Hollywood Studios.
Both dining and activity reservations require guests to arrive on time, and once bookings have been made, the app helps parkgoers plan custom itineraries around them.
If visitors need to cancel a reservation, they can use the app, but they must review the cancellation policies to avoid penalty fees.
Since some restaurants and experiences fill up quickly, it’s best to download the app before visiting the park and making reservations well in advance.
2) Play Disney Parks
When visiting the parks, guests do a lot of waiting – they stand in lines for rides, food, shows, and even bathrooms.
The Play Disney Parks App offers guests an excellent distraction while they’re waiting around.
They can read stories about the theme parks, play Disney trivia games, and earn awards by completing tasks in the parks.
Players can also discover secret achievements that earn them access to fun rewards.
One of these hidden tasks is locating commemorative pins exclusive to guests who use the Play Disney Parks app.
Once a player unlocks the Disney pin in the app, they can show a Cast Member to purchase it.
Play at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge
When visitors travel to Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, the Play Disney Parks App transforms their smartphone into a Batuu Datapad.
With this Datapad, guests first choose a side in the intergalactic conflict, and whether First Order or Resistance, players then complete tasks to help their side gain control.
The Datapad allows parkgoers to hack into droids, overhear secret transmissions, translate Star Wars language(s), and scan cargo.
Players earn credits by completing tasks for Outpost Residents – which they can use to accumulate rewards like star maps and ship schematics.
Some visitors may also be lucky enough to acquire a skimmer to take credits from wall panels.
Some players may encounter Stormtroopers during their attempts to aid the Resistance at Outpost Control.
Winners of the conflict earn credits for their efforts.
3) shopDisney
Many guests visiting Disney World purchase clothing or souvenirs to commemorate their magical vacation – and the shopDisney App gives them the freedom to find whatever they want.
Some visitors use the app to buy their merch ahead of time, so they can create picture-perfect moments when they’re (finally) at the parks.
Occasionally, while wandering the shops at the parks, guests want the perfect keepsake or a shirt in a specific size but can’t find them.
The shopDisney App often has exactly what parkgoers are looking for, sometimes even at a lower price!
Visitors can also scout the items they like, purchase them through the app, and then have them shipped home rather than carrying them through the parks.
4) Disney+
There are plenty of things to do at Disney World, but when long waits for rides, attractions, activities, or food get annoying, it might be time to find alternative entertainment.
The Disney+ App can be the perfect way to distract guests of any age with Disney-related movies and television shows.
App users can download Disney+ content and watch what they want anytime, with or without a wi-fi connection.
5) Radio Disney
The free Radio Disney App streams popular music all the time, keeping visitors in the mood for Disney magic and adventure.
Radio Disney provides the perfect soundtrack for a day at the parks by playing big names and new artists within pop and country music.
Users can also stream music videos with the Radio Disney App and enjoy Pop Up Radio Stations during the holidays.
During the Radio Disney Music Awards, app users can watch performances and vote for their favorite artists.
Other Useful Apps
Rideshare apps like Lyft and Uber give visitors several easy and convenient transportation options to get to and from Disney World.
The Lyft app offers a unique Disney-themed vehicle called Minnie Vans, which are painted in the iconic Minnie Mouse polka dots and give visitors a fun way to get to and from select locations within the Disney property, including any hotel or resort.
Visitors using regular car services with Uber or Lyft can arrange a pickup or drop off at the front entrance of EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, or Animal Kingdom.
Guests visiting Magic Kingdom have to arrange their rides from the Transportation and Ticket Center, as there is no road access to the front gates.
Rideshare apps offer different prices throughout the day, depending on demand.
During peak times, surge pricing goes into effect, which can substantially drive up costs.
Weather Apps
The weather in Florida can be challenging for visitors to Disney World.
Six months of the year (May to September), it rains almost every day with occasional severe thunderstorms and high winds.
On other days, parkgoers can experience extremely hot and humid weather without a single cloud in the sky.
Guests planning a trip to Disney World should download a weather app so they know roughly what to expect on the day(s) of their visit.
Knowing the weather in advance can help visitors choose which day to go to a specific park or what to pack to keep themselves comfortable.
Conclusion
Walt Disney World guests can use multiple mobile apps to make their park experience epic.
The free My Disney Experience App is a must-have for park guests so they can access their digital park passes, make reservations, access Genie Services, and keep track of their daily schedule.
Other free apps that make visiting Disney World easier and more efficient include Play Disney Parks, Disney+, shopDisney, Radio Disney, rideshare apps, and weather service apps.
Parkgoers can use these mobile platforms to access fun activities, fill downtime, purchase souvenirs, plan daily activities, and travel between parks and hotels.
