Questions from a WDW veteran

[FeliciaB23]

Hi!

Heading to DL and DCA (3 park days) this November and am wondering two things...

1. Every trip to WDW we have gotten the Memory Maker (or, have been hooked up with a friend who has an AP photopass) and found they had photographers everywhere! 4 parks, tons of rides, photographers at the resorts, for character meets - We definitely got our moneys worth. Is Photopass worth it in Disneyland...Or better yet - do they even have a daily, or weekly photo pass service? I can't seem to find a link to get what prices might be.

2. Are regular magic bands useless here? We love the convenience of using them at WDW to get into our room, into the park, on rides, etc. I read DL only uses MB+ and we don't have one of those, nor do we plan on buying one, and I read that hotel keys are distributed to get into the rooms. So, if magic bands aren't an option, how do we get into the parks? Do we have to use our phones or is there another way?

 

[Bad Pink Tink 2.0]

1. Every trip to WDW we have gotten the Memory Maker (or, have been hooked up with a friend who has an AP photopass) and found they had photographers everywhere! 4 parks, tons of rides, photographers at the resorts, for character meets - We definitely got our moneys worth. Is Photopass worth it in Disneyland...Or better yet - do they even have a daily, or weekly photo pass service? I can't seem to find a link to get what prices might be.

Yes Photopass is a thing at Disneyland. It can be bought on the day through the App. However at Disneyland it is included with Genie+

Yes it is worth it at Disneyland. I get Genie+ for all my park days so I make good use of of the Photopass option.
All of the photopass locations are listed in the App. Currently during Disney100 Celebration there are extra photo opportunities with Magic Shots in various locations. As well as the fixed locations like at The Castle or The Partners Statue or in Galaxys Edge, there are wandering photographers.

2. Are regular magic bands useless here?

Yes, sorry regualar magic bands are useless as Disneyland has the updated technology only

We love the convenience of using them at WDW to get into our room, into the park, on rides, etc. I read DL only uses MB+ and we don't have one of those, nor do we plan on buying one, and I read that hotel keys are distributed to get into the rooms.

Yes that is correct. If you are staying onsite you will get a regular room keycard

So, if magic bands aren't an option, how do we get into the parks? Do we have to use our phones or is there another way?

You can use the App on the phone or you may get a paper ticket. I used my magicband+ in June 2023 and I did not get the paper ticket. However I did see other people with a paper ticket. You will also use your phone for the Photopass code and to scan into Lightning Lanes.

 

[KareyS]

Great questions. Thanks for asking.

 

[aymiewilson]

I am just going to second the idea that you should use Genie+ every day of your trip! Also... add Park Hopper. You walk essentially the length of one city block across an esplanade (to the tunes of Disney music!) in order to get from one park to the other. And at Disneyland, you can park hop starting at 11 AM. Having Park Hopper and Genie+ makes touring those parks SO efficient.

 

[FeliciaB23]

Thanks for the responses! Another question - their version of MDE seems pretty different. Is there no way to link my Mom's account to mine? How do I make dining reservations for the two of us? She is eligible for DAS pass and will apply again before our upcoming trip - how would we link my account to hers in that case? WDW using MDE is seamless as we are linked.

Our hotel reservation is through DVC (rented points from a friend), and I just bought our park-hopper tickets through UC and linked both to my account. Does she need to sign in to her Disneyland account and link them there too?

 

[BrianL]

Thanks for the responses! Another question - their version of MDE seems pretty different. Is there no way to link my Mom's account to mine? How do I make dining reservations for the two of us? She is eligible for DAS pass and will apply again before our upcoming trip - how would we link my account to hers in that case? WDW using MDE is seamless as we are linked.

Our hotel reservation is through DVC (rented points from a friend), and I just bought our park-hopper tickets through UC and linked both to my account. Does she need to sign in to her Disneyland account and link them there too?

You can't link accounts, but you can load her ticket into your DL app to do things like make Genie+ selections. It can still be on her app too. At least, that is my understanding of it.

You don't need to name every guest for a dining reservation, though she may show up if you load her ticket.

 

[aymiewilson]

BrianL is right - you can link the your mom's ticket to your account and vice versa. That way you can share reservations together like DAS passes or Lightening Lanes. You should also see any PhotoPass photos she has loaded in the Photos section of the app (same with her viewing yours.)

To link your tickets, you'll first want to click that hamburger menu in the bottom right of your homescreen (3 horizontal lines stacked on top of each other.)



Step two is to select Tickets and Passes, top left.




Step 3 - at the top of that screen click on Link Tickets & Passes.
Next thing you'll see is a screen giving you 3 options and specific instructions on how to link via scanning the barcode with your phone camera, tapping your MagicBand+ or typing in the ID for your ticket. You can also link your Resort Reservation from here if you end up buying a package with hotel and tickets combined.

One pro tip that someone told me years ago is to use the screenshot of my ticket as my phone lock screen during my trip. You'll scan it for access to the parks and also for linking any photopass photos, and it saves you time to just be able to tap a button to turn your screen on vs having to unlock your phone, open the app, etc.

 

[achinforsomebacon]

One pro tip that someone told me years ago is to use the screenshot of my ticket as my phone lock screen during my trip. You'll scan it for access to the parks and also for linking any photopass photos, and it saves you time to just be able to tap a button to turn your screen on vs having to unlock your phone, open the app, etc.

This also works with an Apple Watch. Send the qr code to the phone and make it the face. One of the photopass photographers gave us that tip...on our last day!

 

[achinforsomebacon]

We're in a similar boat. Plenty of WDW trips but just got back from our first Disneyland trip. There's a weekly photopass for around $80. If you're only going 3 days, genie+ might be a better deal just for the pictures. If you're doing genie anyway then problem solved. We didn't feel the need for it and didn't have many long waits but not sure of the crowds when you'll be there.

Park hopper was great and highly recommend it. We did a lot of mornings in one park, back to room for lunch and then the other park in the evening. Sometimes even both parks in the evening. It's just so easy going between the parks.

As far as the tickets go, they'll try to force you to use your phone for everything. I'm not into that so I kindly explained that I didn't want to rely on having my phone or it being charged. They had to get a manager's approval to give us printed tickets, which is just ridiculous, but we got them. It's also a nice souvenir.

If you do go with the printed tickets, one tip is if you have time before your first park day, go to guest relations between the parks and get them printed. This way you don't have to waste time the morning of your first day.

 

[FunluvinJ23]

I’m currently at DL and the Magicbands are not as prevalent as WDW; however, it has been very convenient to tap into lightning lane attractions. If you do want to use your MB+, make sure you call DL IT before you go so they can link your band from WDW to DL.

 

[skellinton]

BrianL is right - you can link the your mom's ticket to your account and vice versa. That way you can share reservations together like DAS passes or Lightening Lanes. You should also see any PhotoPass photos she has loaded in the Photos section of the app (same with her viewing yours.)

To link your tickets, you'll first want to click that hamburger menu in the bottom right of your homescreen (3 horizontal lines stacked on top of each other.)

View attachment 787256

Step two is to select Tickets and Passes, top left.


View attachment 787255

Step 3 - at the top of that screen click on Link Tickets & Passes.View attachment 787257
Next thing you'll see is a screen giving you 3 options and specific instructions on how to link via scanning the barcode with your phone camera, tapping your MagicBand+ or typing in the ID for your ticket. You can also link your Resort Reservation from here if you end up buying a package with hotel and tickets combined.

One pro tip that someone told me years ago is to use the screenshot of my ticket as my phone lock screen during my trip. You'll scan it for access to the parks and also for linking any photopass photos, and it saves you time to just be able to tap a button to turn your screen on vs having to unlock your phone, open the app, etc.

I love that home screen advice! Thank you for sharing that.

 

[greg9x]

2. Are regular magic bands useless here? We love the convenience of using them at WDW to get into our room, into the park, on rides, etc. I read DL only uses MB+ and we don't have one of those, nor do we plan on buying one, and I read that hotel keys are distributed to get into the rooms. So, if magic bands aren't an option, how do we get into the parks? Do we have to use our phones or is there another way?

Yeah, only MB+ work at DL/CA, I got them because used to MB at Disney world. But they are only useful for entering the parks and Lightening Lane entries. They light up in some queues/areas, but nothing super spectacular. Probably 3% of people used them that I saw.

Other people were scanning their phones or paper tickets for park entry.

 

[FeliciaB23]

BrianL is right - you can link the your mom's ticket to your account and vice versa. That way you can share reservations together like DAS passes or Lightening Lanes. You should also see any PhotoPass photos she has loaded in the Photos section of the app (same with her viewing yours.)

One pro tip that someone told me years ago is to use the screenshot of my ticket as my phone lock screen during my trip. You'll scan it for access to the parks and also for linking any photopass photos, and it saves you time to just be able to tap a button to turn your screen on vs having to unlock your phone, open the app, etc.

Thank you for this explanation! I linked both our DVC reservation + our tickets to both of our accounts. Additionally, will definitely keep this screenshot trick in mind!

We're in a similar boat. Plenty of WDW trips but just got back from our first Disneyland trip. There's a weekly photopass for around $80. If you're only going 3 days, genie+ might be a better deal just for the pictures. If you're doing genie anyway then problem solved. We didn't feel the need for it and didn't have many long waits but not sure of the crowds when you'll be there.

Park hopper was great and highly recommend it. We did a lot of mornings in one park, back to room for lunch and then the other park in the evening. Sometimes even both parks in the evening. It's just so easy going between the parks.

As far as the tickets go, they'll try to force you to use your phone for everything. I'm not into that so I kindly explained that I didn't want to rely on having my phone or it being charged. They had to get a manager's approval to give us printed tickets, which is just ridiculous, but we got them. It's also a nice souvenir.

If you do go with the printed tickets, one tip is if you have time before your first park day, go to guest relations between the parks and get them printed. This way you don't have to waste time the morning of your first day.

We got PH tickets from UT and they provided us with tickets we would print + the ability to add them to our account. We linked to account and printed on computer paper as a backup just in case. Do you know if DL guest relations will give us real tickets? versus printed at home? lol. Silly but figured might be worth a try to get them as a souvenir?

 

[OlliePop27]

Happy to hear you have PH. A must at DL in my opinion. I also highly recommend Genie+. It works far better at DL than WDW. You can exchange your tickets with UT to get the Genie+ option prepaid instead of buying it daily. Another superior offering at DL - not having to buy Genie+ each morning.

I'm a big fan of Magicband+ at DL. Helpful even just for entrance and LL. Our little kids like how they light up on some rides too. The same Magicband+ can be used on your future WDW trips.

 

[achinforsomebacon]

Thank you for this explanation! I linked both our DVC reservation + our tickets to both of our accounts. Additionally, will definitely keep this screenshot trick in mind!


We got PH tickets from UT and they provided us with tickets we would print + the ability to add them to our account. We linked to account and printed on computer paper as a backup just in case. Do you know if DL guest relations will give us real tickets? versus printed at home? lol. Silly but figured might be worth a try to get them as a souvenir?

They should give you the real tickets. We had everything linked to the app on one of our phones and they pushed for using that but finally printed the tickets after some resistance from me. They just needed to scan each one from the phone to print them. The app and paper tickets will all still work.

I just feel like there are a lot more issues that could arise with relying solely on the phone vs having an actual ticket. Technology is great until it doesn't work.

 

[OlliePop27]

They should give you the real tickets. We had everything linked to the app on one of our phones and they pushed for using that but finally printed the tickets after some resistance from me. They just needed to scan each one from the phone to print them. The app and paper tickets will all still work.

I just feel like there are a lot more issues that could arise with relying solely on the phone vs having an actual ticket. Technology is great until it doesn't work.

I was concerned earlier this year about relying only on technology, but actually ended up liking it better and not having to worry about the paper tickets getting lost in my wallet. We used Magicband+ - easy peasy! Made it even easier with a 3 year old having his own too and he enjoyed the lights on the Magicband+.