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:

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!

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