Disney to launch NextGen 'My Disney Experience' app for iPhone, iPad and Android

[ShookieJones]

I've been checking this out on and off since downloading it a few days ago. I'm going to wait to pass any real judgement on it until I can see how it works in the parks and fully integrated into the Next Gen enviornment.

I would love to have a page tied to my dining reservations. I don't know if that's in the works or even something that can be done without creating some kind of "security" issue... but it would be awesome.

However I will agree with others who have touted TouringPlans "Lines" app. It's really amazing and it does use
data from people in the park actually posting wait times to calcuate the times. I've used it last couple of years and it's always been super accurate and more often than not being more on accurate than posted wait times posted outside the rides themselves.

 

[Adam5897]

There are definitely issues with the app keeping you logged in, as well as refreshing the wait times. At around 5:45 yesterday it said the FP return time for Thunder Mountain was 5:05.

It's a step up from the previous WDW app, And im confused why it will take until 2013 to put wifi in the other 3 parks like they did in magic kingdom

 

[flynnibus]

It's a step up from the previous WDW app, And im confused why it will take until 2013 to put wifi in the other 3 parks like they did in magic kingdom

Well it is areas the size of a major campus with lots of unique constraints and challenges. 6 months is fast IMO

 

[WDWNooby]

Has anyone seen a time frame for the Android version of this? I tried to get it yesterday and it was not available, unless I was looking in the wrong place. I'd like to download it before our trip and play around with it. And to make sure my son the smartphone expert (ha) get's a chance to have it all figured out for ME

 

[wdwmagic]

Has anyone seen a time frame for the Android version of this? I tried to get it yesterday and it was not available, unless I was looking in the wrong place. I'd like to download it before our trip and play around with it. And to make sure my son the smartphone expert (ha) get's a chance to have it all figured out for ME

A couple of months for the Android version.

 

[asianway]

no point in third party apps anymore.. wait times tied to the flik system are 100% better than 'submitted times'

Game over for the life stylers?

 

[WDWBryan]

I noticed after exiting the app that a hollow arrow remains on the iPhone. So I looked up what that is and it's called geo-fencing. Basically it's true that they will be able to send you notifications when your phone enters a certain area. Since this annoys me I just turned location services for this app off since you don't really need it for anything else at the moment. You get the wait times anywhere.

 

[RSoxNo1]

no point in third party apps anymore.. wait times tied to the flik system are 100% better than 'submitted times'

Touringplans still has the optimized touring plans which will certainly help them out. I also don't see the refresh issues or issues with getting logged out on the new app. It's not perfect yet

 

[RSoxNo1]

Am I the only one that's getting logged out after a few hours of non-use? What about the ability to refresh the wait times, is there an easy way to do this because it seems that right now you can only get a single snapshot in time (and there's no "As of" time on the app).

To me, if these are just on me then no big deal (although I'd like to figure out why it's not working right), but if it's widespread then that's still a substantial problem.

Also, I saw that FP distribution for Soarin was 8:40-9:40 PM with Epcot closing at 9:00, is that new?

 

[WDWBryan]

The land and character spot have been open til 10pm since Test Track's closing

 

[RSoxNo1]

The land and character spot have been open til 10pm since Test Track's closing

Thanks for the info.

I'm also noticing that some attractions are reflecting FP return times that are less than 35 minutes out (some are even 20-30). Normally the shortest time out would be 36 minutes. I still think this thing needs some tweaking.

 

[Tom]

Am I the only one that's getting logged out after a few hours of non-use? What about the ability to refresh the wait times, is there an easy way to do this because it seems that right now you can only get a single snapshot in time (and there's no "As of" time on the app).

To me, if these are just on me then no big deal (although I'd like to figure out why it's not working right), but if it's widespread then that's still a substantial problem.

Also, I saw that FP distribution for Soarin was 8:40-9:40 PM with Epcot closing at 9:00, is that new?

Disney recently issued a document to certain groups of professionals that encouraged those with knowledge of the new app to NOT market it just yet. In their words:

"My Disney Experience - Walt Disney World, a new mobile application from Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Online, is now available as a beta version. This app will provide another way for [guests] to make the most of a Walt Disney World Resort stay and will feature Park Hours, attraction wait times, dining information, park maps and more. While this app is currently in the beta phase, additional enhancements will roll out over the coming months."

They went on to say:

"We encourage you to inform [guests] about this exciting new mobile application...and to use this information to respond to any questions they may have. However, we ask that you refrain from using this information in any marketing materials or other general communication until this beta test is over..."

So, these bugs that you're experiencing are probably being worked on as we speak. They haven't made a formal announcements (that I know of) and people are only finding out about it through sites like this, by seeing it in the iPhone market, or because they were targeted by Disney to trial it.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Disney recently issued a document to certain groups of professionals that encouraged those with knowledge of the new app to NOT market it just yet. In their words:

"My Disney Experience - Walt Disney World, a new mobile application from Walt Disney Parks and Resorts Online, is now available as a beta version. This app will provide another way for [guests] to make the most of a Walt Disney World Resort stay and will feature Park Hours, attraction wait times, dining information, park maps and more. While this app is currently in the beta phase, additional enhancements will roll out over the coming months."

They went on to say:

"We encourage you to inform [guests] about this exciting new mobile application...and to use this information to respond to any questions they may have. However, we ask that you refrain from using this information in any marketing materials or other general communication until this beta test is over..."

So, these bugs that you're experiencing are probably being worked on as we speak. They haven't made a formal announcements (that I know of) and people are only finding out about it through sites like this, by seeing it in the iPhone market, or because they were targeted by Disney to trial it.

I guarantee that if they want true and honest feedback they would be monitoring this thread. I'm just trying to figure out if others are having the same issues, or if it's a setting I haven't identified.

The intent of this app is a substantial improvement of what they've released previously but changes still need to be made.

 

[Tom]

I guarantee that if they want true and honest feedback they would be monitoring this thread. I'm just trying to figure out if others are having the same issues, or if it's a setting I haven't identified.

The intent of this app is a substantial improvement of what they've released previously but changes still need to be made.

I agree. I haven't downloaded it, since I have a Droid, but I wonder if there's a "Submit Feedback" or "Report Error" feature running on it now?

 

[RSoxNo1]

I'm not sure if this is worth a separate thread, but I think a log of bugs and desired/expected enhancements should probably be tracked.

Bugs

• Wait Times do not automatically refresh
• Login option does not keep someone logged in (I've been logged out after 1 hour and 28 minutes)

Desired/Expected Enhancements

• Ability to view reservations for meals linked to your login ID
• Refresh Wait Times button
• Time Stamp for Wait Times as of a certain point

Next Gen enhancements

• Ability to Scan park tickets into the App
• Ability to schedule Fastpass+ reservations via App
• Ability to order Quick Service food via App

Steve, if you're comfortable with a new thread to track this I don't mind updating the first post with user suggestions.

 

[pumpkin7]

well as long as i can use my phone on wifi alone, then great. if not, i'm not ramping up a very expensive phone bill because i'm from the UK. just to upload a few pictures on facebook during our honeymoon ended up costing me £120 so there's no way i'm using it to book fast passes. i hope this is why they installed wifi because it would leave a lot of non - usa people very disappointed.

and i can't help but think that this whole fastpass plus thing is going to confuse and alienate a lot of people. at least with the paper ones it's just as easy as go to the booth, scan your ticket, bobs your uncle, you've got a fastpass ticket. just seems like they are trying to fix something that isn't broken.... unlike splash mountain!!! lol

 

[flynnibus]

I'm not sure if this is worth a separate thread, but I think a log of bugs and desired/expected enhancements should probably be tracked.

Haven't you noticed yet you are the only one going on and on about this? It's a free app - submit your feedback, write a review, whatever.. but step outside for a second and take a look at the traction of the angle. Zero.. It's a free cell phone app, people aren't really all that deeply interested in where it's flawed or not. 'What is it?' 'Does it work for me?' is pretty much the extent of most people's tolerance.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Haven't you noticed yet you are the only one going on and on about this? It's a free app - submit your feedback, write a review, whatever.. but step outside for a second and take a look at the traction of the angle. Zero.. It's a free cell phone app, people aren't really all that deeply interested in where it's flawed or not. 'What is it?' 'Does it work for me?' is pretty much the extent of most people's tolerance.

If this is the app that's going to be a driver for next gen, I'm not impressed yet. To me, it's inexcuseable that Disney is still losing out to TouringPlans.com for the best app to navigate the park.

 

[Scar]

Just got back from WDW and the app was "ok". Biggest issue we had was trying to check park hours for future days. It seemed to "cache" the hours and then not bother updating them. Specifically what happened:

* On Monday, checked park hours for Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday (trying to see what was EMH).
* On Tuesday, checked park hours for Wednesday/Thursday/Friday. Wednesday showed the Tuesday hours, Thursday showed Wednesday hours, etc.

The hours seemed to "cache" and didn't update based on the day but the number of days forward. Very odd.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Just got back from WDW and the app was "ok". Biggest issue we had was trying to check park hours for future days. It seemed to "cache" the hours and then not bother updating them. Specifically what happened:

* On Monday, checked park hours for Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday (trying to see what was EMH).
* On Tuesday, checked park hours for Wednesday/Thursday/Friday. Wednesday showed the Tuesday hours, Thursday showed Wednesday hours, etc.

The hours seemed to "cache" and didn't update based on the day but the number of days forward. Very odd.

The good thing is, this is hopefully a Beta Test period, and hopefully they're monitoring threads like this for these issues.

What's also odd, is that I've been seeing adds for Mobile Magic on TV, but not My Disney Experience.