How to Use MagicMobile at Disney World
MagicMobile service is now available for Walt Disney World guests in the My Disney Experience app, and can be added to your Android, iPhone, or Apple Watch digital wallet of users’ smart devices once enabled. This post offers a step by step walkthrough of how to enable MagicMobile and use it on your smartphone.
For starters, a quick recap for anyone who didn’t read the announcement about MagicMobile at Walt Disney World a few weeks ago. The service works just like a MagicBand with most features working by simply holding up your smart device near an access point. Per Walt Disney World, here are the ways to use a Disney MagicMobile pass:
- Enter theme parks (with linked valid theme park admission and park reservation)
- Connect Disney PhotoPass images to your account
- Gain access to the virtual queue for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance
- Coming soon – charge to your Disney Resort hotel folio during your stay
In addition, Disney MagicMobile features are compatible with Disability Access Service and redeemable at attraction entrance touch points. Next, what MagicMobile will not be doing, or rather, what it won’t replace…
MagicMobile is not killing MagicBands. (We’re bolding that because some Walt Disney World fans seemed to miss that when the news broke.) Both will coexist in blissful harmony, offering interchangeable alternatives to one another. If you don’t like MagicMobile for one reason or another, that’s fine. You can simply go about your life as normal, pretending it doesn’t exist. It won’t impact you one way or the other.
Disney MagicMobile and its features first rolled out to Apple devices, like iPhones and Apple Watches. The service works just like a MagicBand, with most features working by simply holding up your smart device near an access point after you’ve enabled and set-up MagicMobile.
April 27, 2021 Update: Disney MagicMobile is now available for Google Pay-enabled Android devices. The process works similarly to the steps below (with minor differences), and will prompt you to save your pass to Google Pay. Android devices use the near-field communication function of a phone, same as that for tap-and-pay technologies. Phones without NFC, or those without the latest version of My Disney Experience, won’t be able to use Magic Mobile.
Here’s how to set-up Disney MagicMobile via the My Disney Experience app…
To use MagicMobile, you’ll need My Disney Experience, your account properly set-up in the app, and a valid ticket media linked.
Once you have done that, click on the hamburger menu (the three horizontal lines in the far right lower corner) to bring up the menu, and click on “Disney MagicMobile Pass” as shown in the screenshot above.
You’ll then proceed through a quick authentication process, and be greeted with the above access screen.
This touts some of the features of the Disney MagicMobile service, namely theme park entry (with a valid ticket and Disney Park Pass reservation) and the ability to add Disney PhotoPass images to your account.
From there, you’ll select the accounts for which you’d like to create a Disney MagicMobile digital pass.
Your own account will be the automatically-selected default option. If there are any other accounts you manage, you’ll also see those as an option. Walt Disney World’s official recommendation is that everyone in your party who has their own My Disney Experience account and app creates and manages their own MagicMobile pass.
At this point, you can select a design for your MagicMobile pass.
There are exclusive options for Disney Vacation Club members and Annual Passholders, plus regular designs.
Each park has two designs.
Big Al and Figment are not among the options, which has caused widespread boycotts of the MagicMobile service and Walt Disney World as a whole. Tough but fair response, if you ask me. (I’m not going that route, instead opting to file countless petitions over the injustice.)
Rounding out the rest of the designs, including a couple food favorites. I still don’t quite understand the proliferation of snack designs around Walt Disney World. Don’t get me wrong, I love to eat, but I don’t need to broadcast that to the world. To each their own, though.
These visuals are fun, but what you choose ultimately doesn’t matter much. Unlike MagicBands, you and others won’t really be seeing this much or at all. You don’t need to pull anything up or have the screen displayed in order to use MagicMobile.
On that note, here’s an explanation of how Apple’s Express Passes work: “This pass works automatically without FaceID or your passcode. Just hold your iPhone or Apple Watch near a reader. Your pass may also be available when your iPhone needs to be recharged.”
We use (or rather, used to use) this a lot for getting around on public transportation. It’s far easier to tap your Apple Watch or iPhone (even if it’s dead!) when using the train or subway than to purchase individual paper tickets each time. You can even quickly add more money to your account via Apple Pay. Obviously, Walt Disney World doesn’t benefit from the Express Pass service in quite this same way or to this degree. (It’s a game-changer if you use public transportation extensively!)
Once you’re finished customizing your design and click the black “Add to Apple Wallet” button, you’ll see a standard Apple screen with how the Wallet system works.
Click the blue “Add” button here, and it’ll take a few seconds to process the request, giving you a checkmark once it’s complete.
From there, you can close out My Disney Experience and go to the Wallet app to verify the your MagicMobile Pass is there.
This is for purely illustrative purposes–you won’t need to open up Apple Wallet or anything at all to use MagicMobile. Just tap your phone or watch and go once Walt Disney World’s access point reads it and gives you the green light!
Same thing for the Apple Watch.
Finally, some troubleshooting to help resolve common issues you might have with My Disney Experience or Apple Wallet:
- Update to the latest version of iOS and/or watchOS, as well as the My Disney Experience app.
- Force close all apps, including both My Disney Experience and Wallet.
- Make sure you have a passcode set on your device and review other security requirements if you’ve never used Apple Wallet.
- Make sure you’re using an eligible device.
- Sign in to iCloud with an Apple ID and review your account.
- If you still can’t add a MagicMobile to Wallet, check Apple Pay on the System Status page.
If that still doesn’t resolve your problem, feel free to inquire in the comments…but that’s just about everything I know in terms of Wallet and MDX troubleshooting. It could just be temporary hiccups with Disney IT–I’d never bet against that.
Not many Walt Disney World fans care about this, but we’re excited for it. For MagicBand diehards who don’t care, Walt Disney World once again reiterated that the popular plastic pieces will continue to be introduced in even more colors, designs, and limited-edition fan favorites into the future. (See New MagicBand Upgrade Options for a look at the 50+ styles already available—when in stock.)
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Have you set up MagicMobile on your iPhone or Apple Watch? Holding out/boycotting until a Big Al or Figment design is released? Have any issues or need help troubleshooting? What do you think of the service thus far? Will you use the new Disney MagicMobile, stick with MagicBands, or use both? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I’m EXTREMELY disappointed that Disney is leaving out Android users. Hellloooo, we’re people too! That said, I guess it’s MagicBand for me until they get their act together.
How would delete/take off a ticket in the magic mobile if I decide I don’t want to use it?
Thanks for the article! So I have my wife’s and daughters mobile tix now on my Apple Watch and Apple Wallet on the iPhone, can I just scan either at the gate for all of us to get in? Or would they each need to scan their own devices?
Thanks
Ordinarily I would say that the writing is on the wall for Magic Bands, regardless of what Disney is currently saying. This does seem like the far better technology once more people have smart watches and any kinks are worked out. Technology always advances whether people are ready for it or not etc.
However, in light of how much Disney probably brings in on limited edition Magicbands and such, I’m willing to believe they really are going nowhere. Seems like too good of a thing to give up.
Sorry if I’m just not understanding but can I use both MagicMobile and a Magic Band? And how would park entry work if I use MagicMobile for multiple people (since I’ll be going with young kids)?
Just an FYI:
Apple Express Passes such as this new one from Disney and others like transit passes will work with “dead” iPhones for about 5 hours or so. It isn’t an indefinite time period.
Also it won’t work if you turn your phone off….
I don’t know if Apple Watch works the same way with dead battery and Express Passes.
So if one has an Apple Watch, in theory it becomes your MagicBand?
Pretty much.
Has Disney created a 50 yr anniversary magic band?
So this is not compatible with Google pixels then?
Thanks for the update! I am looking forward to using my AppleWatch as my pass. One piece I haven’t seen covered yet is sharing of MagicMobile passes. I can understand wanting to share my kids’ passes with my husband for ease of entry but do I also want/need to share my own? (Or have him share his with me?) I’m not sure I understand what the benefits are.
With somewhat similar systems at Disneyland and Tokyo, we found it slightly easier for one person to scan all the ticket media for FastPass returns. So that’s one potential use case for sharing all passes. I can’t think of anything else, though.
Hoping the Android version will roll out soon! I tried it on my phone today but not yet!
For me, this sounds awesome. We’ve never really used magic bands and Not having to go through the process to get admission cards is really a big plus for me.
Odd Apple Watch side story: my wife went to Best Buy to have them figure out why her Fitbit wasn’t communicating to her iPhone and she came home with an Apple Watch. Now it seems that my lightsaber (from Savi’s) has a thing for the Apple Watch. We work from home at the dining room table and several times it had happened that when my wife gets up and walks into the next room, I hear the Light Saber activate and call out from upstairs.
Haha! See tweet from June 2019: https://twitter.com/Tom_Bricker/status/1143887113366179840
Ha. Yep a few months back it started that and determined the batteries were low as changing them seemed to resolve that. But this is different, more like electronic whale mating calls. That coupled with the R2-D2 like sounds coming from the washing machine downstairs, it’s quite the electronic managery here !
One night, fairly late, I was watching TV in our family room. My husband was out of town, and other than the cats, I was completely alone. I turned off the TV, and was sitting in dead silence, checking my phone for notifications before getting up to go to bed. Then out of that dead silence comes an eerie, metallic wailing sound. The cats scattered from the room, tails puffed out. My own neck hairs were standing, and the blood drained from my face. I was up and off the reclining sofa and under the covers of my bed in about 2 seconds flat.
Yep … it was dying batteries in a Savi lightsaber. I figured that out in the light of day.
A few nights later, same scene, but husband was there, and it did it again. I got to see him react just like I did. The batteries have been replaced.
Thanks again for an entertaining and informative article. 🙂
On a related note, we will staying in two (hopefully connecting) rooms with our teen in the 2nd room. Is there a way to use my phone and a magicBand so that I can open both rooms? The only method I’ve seen described requires 2 magicBands/room card.
We’ve had a room with two doors but never two separate rooms, so I’m not sure. Hopefully someone else can help! 🙂
If you add your name to both reservations your magic band will be able to open both rooms. Or at least that was my experience in 2018 (my parents were staying elsewhere on property but joining us in our 1 bedroom DVC villa for the last night, so their names were on the reservation. They were able to use their magicband to unlock both rooms)
Thanks Anna! I’ll try that 🙂
I so agree with PegP & Laura so even when Android version comes out I will stick with Magic Band and Samsung Pay App. I don’t wear a smartwatch. The smartwatches are as yet to big for petite women, and I don’t need one for any other reason….the men’s are great for them with the larger size giving space for the tech.
The inconvenience of digging out my phone is not worth it unless making a purchase that is not billed to my room. Samsung Pay also has a better track record than Apple Pay and Google Pay because it works with lower grade swipe machines. I noticed that some of the smaller vendors at Epcot were able to take Samsung Pay even when they said it wouldn’t work. That has been my experience no matter where I travel.
Give the small Galaxy watch a try. It comes in a 40mm dial size. I have one, and tiny wrists – not quite 6 in around – and it isn’t too big.
You had me at Big Al…
I’ll stick with the Magic Bands. As many problems I have with the Disney app and the Disney web site, I don’t think I’d care to trust another Disney IT program to run smoothly. When demand is high, both the app & the web site run slowly, lock up, give false search results (like saying there’s no ADRs available for any Disney restaurant on property), etc. Have no desire to get to the park then be denied entrance because the app is malfunctioning
i agree. i was never a diehard “SAVE THE BANDS!” person, but for the sake of sheer convenience, when i literally just have to tap and go, and not have to dig out my phone and select something on various windows, i’ll take the band 10 out of 10 times. and the poor wifi and disney IT history is it’s own problem, plus phone battery using yet another app. sticking with what works.
Once you have MagicMobile on your phone, it’s simply a conduit for whatever access you have–it’s using the exact same backend IT infrastructure as a MagicBand, so it’ll work (or not) the same way.
Sort of like a flight boarding pass. You can use a paper or digital one, but if the airline’s computer network or scanner is down, neither are going to work.
I would rather use a magicband than pull out my phone, but for my wife ( a smartwatch user) this would be appealing.
but the bands don’t require wifi, correct? an app would require wifi, i assume. so poor in-park wifi capability could be a factor in the app not working, yes? so if the app or the wifi goes down, bands will still work because of the chip in them, correct?
It doesn’t require an app, WiFi, or even a screen to use. It literally works even if your phone is dead. 🙂
sorry, i’m totally confused now, how could an app work if your phone is dead? wouldn’t that require hardware, not software?
Laura, NFC (near field communications) chips on phones are functionally RFID. They use the same technology and have both active and passive scanning. For the longer distance RFID for ride photos, I would bet the signal is bootstrapping the Bluetooth connection like Apple Airdrop and Android Beam do. My Disney Experience already uses Bluetooth for the Galaxy’s Edge Datapad.
Very important info you left out. Where do we go to sign the petition? And what if you just want to sign for Big Al but not Figment? Are there separate petitions?
Oddly enough, all 37 petitions encompass both Big Al and Figment. Some also include Sonny Eclipse, Lagoona Gator, Progress Dad, and Lieutenant Bek.
Will AP and DVC discounts be automatically applied when making eligible purchases? That might convince me to use it once it opens to those of us who do not live a fruit based life ;P
That remains to be seen, but I certainly hope so!
Thank you. This is the best and most thorough explanation I have seen on how the new MagicMobile works.
You’re welcome!
Ok I am getting an error when I click on Add To Apple Wallet. “Please try again something went wrong adding a pass”. I wonder if there is something I need to do on the Apple wallet side in order for it to accept it?
I’m having the same issue. I guess I’m glad I’m not the only one!
I figured out my issue – I did not have Apple Cash or Apple Pay set up for the Wallet. I had to add Apple Cash, then it worked. Not sure I like having to do that.
ok actually was easier than the Apple Cash – I needed to add a Passcode to the phone, which I have never had.
Glad you got it figured out, thanks for reporting back!
Good suggestion, but it didn’t work for me with the passcode. If getting it to work involves turning on Apple Cash, then no thanks for me.
I wonder if, at some point, we will also have the option to link a credit card or gift card to use for payment like the magic band does…
That’s what would make it worthwhile for me. Until then, a physical park ticket is no big deal (used once per day to get in), and PhotoPass isn’t something I use.