5 Things You Must Do Before Leaving for Disney World
So you’re Disney day has finally arrived!
Before you head to the airport or hop in the car to drive to Disney World, remember to do these 5 things:
Got Your MagicBands or Tickets?
Have you opted to purchase MagicBands for your Disney World vacation? If so, remember to bring these with you!
MagicBands are your key to all things Disney located conveniently on your wrist. Guests of onsite Walt Disney World Resort Hotels can purchase discounted bands from their My Disney Experience accounts.
MagicBands at Dumbo
If you’d rather not buy new MagicBands because you have bands from a previous trip, you can bring those instead! Just remember to make sure they are linked correctly and showing as “active” in your My Disney Experience account.
Here’s a tip for those families flying into Orlando International Airport: pack your MagicBands in your carry-on luggage.
It’s tempting to wear your bands the moment you leave home, but accidents happen, and it would be less than magical to lose your bands before you even arrive at Disney.
Instead, don those MagicBands once your flight lands and you’re on your way to Disney’s Magical Express.
If you are not staying onsite at one of Disney’s Resort and you don’t have MagicBands, remember to bring your standalone plastic tickets with you.
Actually, even if you do have MagicBands, we recommend that offsite guests hang onto those hard copy tickets regardless.
If you’ve opted against shipping standalone tickets to your home address, you can pick up your plastic tickets from Will Call with your ID and credit card used to make the purchase.
Download the My Disney Experience App
Download this app right now if you’ve yet to do so! My Disney Experience will be your lifeline while in the parks.
You will use this app to view and manage your plans, make mobile orders for quick-service locations, view your PhotoPass pictures, try for a Rise of the Resistance Boarding Group, check on attraction wait times, and more!
Along with downloading the app, we highly recommend playing around with it!
If you’re new to My Disney Experience, you’ll want to spend time exploring the app and its many features. This will save you from frustration and stress while in the parks.
Pack Extra Outfits in Your Carry-On Bag
This may sound silly, but we always recommend packing an extra outfit or two for each member of your family in your carry-on bag.
Luggage delays happen; and although we hope this isn’t the case on your Disney vacation, you’ll be thankful that you’ve packed some back-up clothes.
Also, you’ll want to add a handful of face coverings to your carry-on, too!
Disney World
As of this writing, Disney requires masks for all guests ages 2 and older in all ride queues, indoor spaces, theaters, and on Disney transportation.
Masks are optional in outdoor spaces with the exception of outdoor ride queues.
Neck gaiters, open chin triangle bandanas, and masks with valves or mesh are not allowed.
Here’s a tip: bring disposable masks with you. You can easily toss and replace these in the hot months when you’re feeling extra sweaty already!
Don’t Forget Spending Money
Yep, you’re going to need cash on your Disney vacation, especially now that Dining Plans are unavailable as add-ons.
Disney encourages cashless transactions, so we recommend linking a credit card to your My Disney Experience profile for easy payments while in the park.
This option is only available to onsite guests. It allows visitors to use MagicBands, Key to the World Cards, or MagicMobile as payment instead of pulling out a credit card throughout your trip.
One money-saving tip is to pre-purchase Disney gift cards at retailers that offer incentives. Disney accepts these cards – hard copy or digital – at most of their locations.
You can even pay down your resort folio balance with Disney gift cards by stopping at the front desk!
Make Your Park Reservations!
This is possibly the most important thing to remember prior to your Disney World vacation. You must make park reservations in order to enter a theme park. Tickets alone no longer guarantee entry.
Read that again.
Then double-check and triple-check that you’ve made your Park Reservations via your My Disney Experience account.
We recommend screenshotting or printing a hard copy of your “My Plans” page to keep as a back-up just in case My Disney Experience acts glitchy during your stay.
Once you’re set with these five things, you can start counting down the minutes until you travel under that Walt Disney World sign and begin your magical vacation!
