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!
Hate the magic noble app .. having a hard time putting my info in the app, like the credit cards and gift cards and have purchased the photopass to my app ..l I have reservations for November 3rd through the 10th at WDW Resort made hard copies of my plans just in case if it does not work like the mobile ordering app … hope to get help in the parks …
Sorry for the duplicate post. Also, it was supposed to be as a reply to Angela’s comment on March 31st.
Angela, I have the same question. Also, the MagicBands would “unlock magical surprises…throughout Walt Disney World” using the long-range bluetooth feature of the MagicBand. I wonder if MagicMobile with either the phone or Apple Watch will do the same.
Tom, any info on these areas? I haven’t found an answer on the internet yet.
Angela, I have the same question. Also, the MagicBands would “unlock magical surprises…throughout Walt Disney World” using the long-range bluetooth feature of the MagicBand. I wonder if MagicMobile with either the phone or Apple Watch will do the same.
Tom, any info on these areas? I haven’t found an answer on the internet yet.L
Tom,
I know this is all great for young/middle aged folks, but how do you order Quick Service meals if you don’t have a Smart Phone or a Smart Watch, like a majority of Seniors do NOT have? We feel we are being left out in the dark more and more. What are our options? Thank you for all of your helpful hints–I still use email but only have it available on my PC, so I am grateful that you have not gone to some other format. Princess Darlene
Forgot the most important part though for Apple users. Drop your device into a storm drain and go get an Android device, with Samsung or Sony being the best.
I can’t wait to see how glitchy and screwed up this new fiasco is! Any bets on the super-crash period length? I have zero interest in using my phone as a key or ticket, etc. Charging to the room is one thing I might consider, but really what’s the point when you need to pull out your AP card for the discount, which is in the same pocket with your driver license and credit card anyway…
Thank you for this article! You’ve explained so much of how this works that I had no idea about. I will not be at Disney anytime soon, however, I have learned more about how it will work when we go back (hopefully) and apple wallet in general. I think it’s amazing how your phone/ watch doesn’t need to be on to work for the scanners to detect you. Didn’t know all that was in our devices. I guess keeping everything up to date software wise will be important when visiting. Thanks again!
We have a box filled with every basic color Magic Band ever issued. Here’s the setup procedure. Strap it on your wrist. Thanks, now I have some clouds I need to go yell at.
So happy to hear this works with Apple Watch – otherwise I’d have little interest. My clothes don’t always have pockets, so the thought of digging out my phone each time seems tedious, especially because I’ll likely be carrying either my toddler or baby much of the time. I need the one tap wrist!
Have a trip planned for later this week and plan on using magicmobile. I have park only tickets. I have a package booked for June. Will magicmobile get confused by this? Don’t wanna get turned away at the get to get a physical ticket?
So a question on eligibility to use mobile magic… I have an AP that has not expired yet, but no resort or park reservation before it expires. I also have an AP Voucher AND a reservation (both resort and park) for use later this year. I do not see the option for mobile magic within the MDE App. Is the deciding factor the resort/park reservation? Just wondering.
Now that I have country bears, figment, orange bird, and mr toad magic band, I’ll stick with these as long possible
I have double and triple checked that I have everything right with security, etc, but every time I click the ADD button it just says “there was an error padding pass to wallet.”
I’m so frustrated!!! Any ideas?
I had the same issue. I contacted Disney and they sent a note with things to try. The thing that worked (that I haven’t seen documented anywhere) is that you ned to have Two-factor Authentication enabled. Once I turned that on, I was able to add it to my Wallet.
Here are the instructions I received from Disney.
To create a new Disney MagicMobile pass, you must have valid theme park admission or a Resort hotel reservation linked to your Disney account. Please note that Disney MagicMobile features are currently only available on Apple devices. (Support for other devices is coming soon and launching in phases throughout the year.)
First thing, make sure you meet the minimum device requirements to use Disney MagicMobile features in the My Disney Experience app:
iPhone: iOS 14.4 or later
Apple Watch: WatchOS 7.3 or later
My Disney Experience app version 6.13 or later (with Bluetooth technology enabled).
Next, make sure that you’ve set up Apple Wallet:
If you have never used Apple Wallet before, please head to the Wallet app on your device to set up Apple Pay and the ability to add cards to your wallet. Launch Wallet, and tap the (+) to get started. See Set up Apple Pay – Apple Support for additional details.
Turn on two-factor authentication for your Apple ID. Go to Settings > [your name] > Password & Security and tap “Turn On Two-Factor Authentication.” See Two-factor authentication for Apple ID – Apple Support for more details.
Once you’ve done that, head back to the My Disney Experience app to create your Disney MagicMobile pass.
Between setting this up–which I managed just fine, but have so many questions–trying to get a vaccine appointment over and over online when a time slot appears and is taken within a millisecond, and the anticipation of my soon-to-be attempts to get a boarding pass for RotR, I’ve come to the realization that this dependency on technology has reached a ridiculous and infuriating level for me. I want my heavy subway tokens back in my wallet.
Do you know if we have to use either the magic bands or magic mobile or if we can have both set up? Didn’t know if it would cause an issue to use both?
You can use them interchangeably. Just like both a check and a debit card pull from the same account. 🙂
Tom – specific question related to this on which I’m hoping you can update this post soon: once you use it, can you describe using MagicMobile vs. MDX for entering the virtual queue for Rise of the Resistance? Will they be the same exact thing in the app and we won’t notice a difference or is one going to be more efficient/easier to use? Or is it just talking about using it to enter the physical queue upon return once a boarding group is called?
While I’m in the continued use of the MagicBand camp, I’m definitely curious about some logistics for this with kids. Will it scan all 3 passes at once if I’ve got the 2 kids on there, or will it require stopping and selecting each one – similar to boarding passes in Apple Wallet? Also, it states you can add other MDX accounts you manage (i.e., kids), but what about that they can only be managed by one of us? Parents aren’t always together, so I’m curious how that would work. This definitely seems more helpful for Apple Watch users than as much for using a phone (there’s already too much to be done on the phone and we realize we spend too much time looking down at wait times, booking FastPasses, etc.). I’m just not personally interested in getting an Apple Watch – I’m not anti-tech or anti-Apple since I know have a MacBook, iPhone, iPad, Airpods, and who knows what else I’m forgetting (also sitting here using a monitor with my laptop as a second screen). I just like a nice, old-fashioned watch – heck, my big purchase last year on that front (40th birthday) was getting the Citizens Partners Statue watch. Go figure.
How does it use your Apple Watch/phone to get ride photos? The magic bands have RFID chips that they recognize. Does my phone/watch automatically know it’s on a ride, and send a signal? I’m ignorant on this matter.
“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.” The copious amounts of food photography, booth reviews, and snack strolls on this blog say otherwise, Tom 😛