Our NEW Favorite Things About the Disney World App

Disney4me · November 16, 2023

You can prepare all you’d like for your Disney World vacation before it starts, but keeping up with what’s going on during it is just as important.

Magic Kingdom

Using Disney World’s My Disney Experience App is perfect for that. It can give you real-time updates on wait times, ride closures, and so much more, which is why we recommend everyone in your party (or at least one person) has it downloaded and connected to your Disney account before your trip begins. Here are our favorite NEW features on the app we need to make sure you know about!

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Dining Reservation Change

Updated versions of the Disney World app now feature the NEW and IMPROVED dining reservations system, which allows you to see ANY reservation available for that entire day or search by times (morning — before 12PM, afternoon — 12PM-4PM, or evening — after 4PM).

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Be Our Guest Restaurant

Previously, you had to select by breakfast, brunch, lunch, or dinner OR could select by hour time slots, and they didn’t always match up, so some reservations slipped through the cracks. Now that it’s been changed, you can ensure you’re seeing all the reservations available for that day. You can also sort the restaurants by a whole bunch of helpful categories to narrow your search.

Genie+ Is Easier

We’ll take any changes to help make Genie+, Disney’s paid skip-the-line service, easier. Things are always changing with this system, and we love that now Disney has added a toggle option at the top of the Tip Board section of the app that you can turn on or off. If you leave it off, you’ll be able to see ALL rides within that park on the Tip Board — ones that use Genie+, ones that use Individual Lightning Lane, and ones that don’t use either.

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There It Is!

However, you can turn the toggle on and it’ll show you what rides are included with Genie+ (excluding those that are not included or only use Individual Lightning Lanes). This limits the amount of scrolling you have to do and makes it easier for families who aren’t super familiar with the newer system yet.

The Hidden Mobile Order Feature

Mobile Order is a way to pre-order and pre-pay for your food at Quick Service (fast food) restaurants in Disney World. You can make all your dining selections and requests ahead of time, and then just pick it up from the restaurant. That’s not the. new feature though — the new feature is the Photo Galleries where you can see pictures of the restaurant and some of the menu items there!

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See the blue rings? ©Disney

Not all of the restaurants have these. To find one, look for the little circle with an image and blue ring around it next to the name of the restaurant when placing your Mobile Order!

Easier Way To Find Family and Friends

If you’re traveling with a large party of friends or family, you’ll want to make sure you’re all connected to the Family & Friends list in the app. Now, Disney has made it easier to find them! Just search for someone by their name, phone number, and email address, and as long as they have chosen to make themselves searchable (click “Allow” when asked if you’d like to allow others to find you), they’ll pull up in the app!

©Disney

There’s even now a “Guests You May Know” feature that will show you recommendations of those who have shared their Family and Friends list with someone you know. This is a much easier way to make sure you’re all connected for Virtual Queues, dining reservations, and more.