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  Walt Disney World

  Smart phone apps can assistance families navigate Walt Disney World.

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  Walt Disney World

  Millions of families revisit Walt Disney World any year.

If we go

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ORLANDO It’s no tip that a lot of families devise their trips to Walt Disney World months — infrequently years — in advance. Mine isn’t one of them.

We’re a go-with-a-flow domicile when it comes to transport — an proceed that today’s record supports.

So, when we was invited to attend a amicable media discussion during Walt Disney World dual months before a discussion date, there was no need to panic since there’s got to be an app for that, right?

Of march there is, several in fact. But would they unequivocally assistance us smartly scheme a approach in and around a 25,000-acre examination that consists of 4 thesis parks and dual H2O parks?

With minimal planning, my father and we with a 12-year-old, 8-year-old and 2-year-old in draw took a family’s initial outing to Disney World armed with technology: an iPad, an iPhone, a laptop, a Droid and lots of apps.

First up, we used a new DFW Airport app to lane moody information and a go-to family calendar app, Cozi, to check off all of a make-up lists.

At a hotel, we configured a apps on a inscription and laptop since infrequently a easier to set adult and reconnoitre yourself with a new app on a bigger screen.

In-between discussion seminars during Disney World, we took a 2-year-old to Magic Kingdom to try a new Fantasyland while my father took a comparison kids to Epcot.

With dual opposite apps, one by Disney and a other by Undercover Tourist, we took off with my toddler with a two-hour time frame. we used a GPS-enabled maps on both apps to check wait times and reason my breath. By regulating a apps, we were means to go on 3 rides, get a break and see one show.

Now, that’s Disney magic.

Here’s a discerning beam to a apps we used:

Before a trip

DFW Airport

What it does: The mobile app allows travelers to check moody information during Dallas-Fort Worth Airport adult to 12 hours in advance, perspective parking accessibility and see what shops, restaurants and services are accessible nearby a gate.

Pros: The app is elementary to use and a “within 5 mins of my gate” is a discerning approach to find restaurants, energy charging stations, mailing services, luggage carts etc.

Cons: It’s blank an critical category: restrooms. It would also be good to find out if there are any family restrooms or baby changing stations. A workaround is to go to a “others’ difficulty and daub on “Travelers Aid,” that is dictated to uncover a guest services desk, though a map also shows locations of restrooms. Also, we was incompetent to find a “Children’s Play Areas” underneath categories. With some effort, a play areas are listed in a “within 5 minutes” difficulty by scrolling down.

Good to know: If you’re regulating a Valet, we can make a reservation on a app before we arrive during a airport

Free, accessible for iOS, Android and BlackBerry

Cozi

What it does: This is a go-to family app and web site for centralizing and pity calendars, to-do lists and selling lists. The whole family can entrance a information on opposite inclination and get sent reminders around content or e-mail.

Pros: For travel, it can be used for make-up lists, dispersing moody information and pity designed activities during a trip. You can also sync a app with your Microsoft Outlook calendar, import and Internet calendar and trade a read-only perspective one of your family calendars.

Cons: The ascent to a “gold” chronicle is a bit pricey (a new special was $29.99 per year for a upgrade) though might be value it if you’d like a dish formulation duty or hatred saying a advertisements.

Good to know: You an entrance a app from any mobile browser by going to m.cozi.com.

Free, , accessible for iOS, Android and BlackBerry

During a trip

My Disney Experience

What it does: Disney’s central app provides maps of a parks, real-time wait times for rides and FASTPASS lapse times. If you’re staying during a Disney resort, we can entrance your hotel reservation and perspective and share your itineraries with family and friends.

Pros: There’s an contentment of map information that allows we to wizz in on attractions and services. The latest refurbish has done navigation faster, addressing a common censure in past user reviews. The best underline is “Here and Now,” a GPS-enabled map that displays a attractions, restaurants and services nearest you. This takes a theory work out of last that float we should go on. For example, we were means to fast establish possibly we should go on Stitch’s Great Escape, a 20-minute wait, or go a FASTPASS track with an accessible time that was 10 mins away. We went with Buzz Lightyear and we were on a float in about 8 minutes. We tested a app’s timing again in Fantasyland where Peter Pan’s Flight’s unchanging line wait time showed 20 mins and a app showed 10 minutes. We waited 11 minutes. For allege planning, strike a try symbol where we can peruse a opposite parks and filter for tallness requirements, “slow rides” and even for tweens.

Cons: Accessing examination reservations and itineraries was still a bit delayed and we need to constantly submit your password.

Good to know: You can also perspective menus and book dining reservations true from a app.

Free, accessible for iOS and Android

Disney World Wait Times, Dining and Maps Free by UndercoverTourist.com

What it does: A renouned choice to a Disney app, that has identical functions to a Disney chronicle — park hours, dining menus and maps. The app also allows users to rate rides and record wait times.

Pros: The ‘Traffic Light System’ (red signifies a longest wait times, immature a shortest) for last wait times works good on a GPS-enabled map, that fast shows a red, yellow and immature froth around you. The “admit one” underline let’s we take a pic of your ticket. If we remove it, uncover a numbers during a bottom right your sheet during guest services and they can entrance a information to get we behind into a parks.

Cons: The planner territory was not discerning and we couldn’t simply devise out an itinerary. You won’t be means to make dining reservations on a app.

Good to know: A Universal Orlando chronicle is also available

Free, accessible for iOS, Android, BlackBerry and Windows phone

After your trip

Disney Memories

What it does: If you’re into scrapbooks, you’ll adore this app, that allows we to adorn new photos or ones already in your intelligent phone library with Disney themes, characters and filters.

Pros: Missed a impression revisit while we were during Disney World? That’s OK. With this central Disney app, we can still “pose” with Mickey by dropping in an existent image. You can also get crazy with stickers and borders. You can simply share your flashy photos around text, email, Facebook or Twitter.

Cons: The “Disney Time Photo of a Day” is OK, though what would be unequivocally cold is if a app authorised entrance to a Photo Pass cinema that we purchased.

Good to know: Are we a genuine Disney fanatic? The alarm time underline allows we to set audio and video greetings from Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy and Minnie Mouse.

Free, accessible in a App store or Google Play

Story by Disney

What it does: Disney Interactive has come adult with an discerning approach to share life’s moments in a storybook format.

Pros: The easy-to-use app will automatically arrange photos and videos on your iPhone camera hurl formed on a time and location. You can possibly build and revise your story from there or emanate a new story. The stories can be personalized with captions, pages of text, and themes and layouts. You can share your story around e-mail or Facebook. You can also hide a story in a blog or web site. The FAQs is intensely useful and a stories

Cons: There are a singular series of themes accessible including usually one Disney theme. If needed, use a Disney Memories app to piquancy adult your photos, afterwards supplement them to your stories. The app, that was launched in May, is usually accessible on iOS inclination and we can usually use photos and videos on your iPhone camera roll. However, if we upload photos and videos to your camera roll, we will be means to use those in your stories.

Good to know: Every story we share is saved in a app and corroborated adult in iCloud. Future updates might concede we to post directly to Twitter or Pinterest, however, we can work around this by posting a thumbnail and accessing a couple to your story that will impute behind to Story.us

Free, accessible in a App store

Maricar Estrella is a editor of Mom2MomDFW.com Follow her on Twitter: @maricare

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