Time is Money – Saving Time at Disney with iPhone Apps

When it comes to Walt Disney World, time is money.  If you’ve shelled out the $106.50 for a one-day Park Hopper, like I did, you have to make every second count.

So this past weekend, I turned to some iPhone applications made specifically for Disney.

 

These three apps are free and highly rated, both in the media and in the iPhone App Store.  Here’s how they breakdown:

 

 

 

Undercover Tourist

In the App Store, Undercover Tourist claims to be named “Best App for Taking on Walt Disney World” by Fox News.  I beg to differ.  In Animal Kingdom, we checked Undercover Tourist for the wait time for Dinosaur.

 

 

But when we got to the ride, we found something different.

A five minute difference!  That's five minutes I could have been
riding Everest for a fourth time!

 

We found that to be the same case with all of the other rides we looked at… Undercover Tourist was rarely correct, and sometimes off by as much as 15 minutes.  Luckily, users can update the wait times, which we did to try and make it easier for any other guests using this app.

Pro: You can make a schedule through Undercover Tourist of the parades you want to see at Disney and schedule alerts; app tells you if rides are down

Con: Wait times aren’t accurate

 

 

 

Disney Mobile Magic

 

This app was a lot more accurate when it came to wait times.  When we got to Epcot, we looked at Disney Mobile Magic to see what the wait was at Soarin’ before we wasted our time walking over there.

 

When we looked at the main screen, we saw that was correct.

 

There was no way I was waiting 55 minutes, and to be honest, Soarin’ kind of freaks me out, so we opted to press on.  Thank you, Disney Mobile Magic.

However, when we were at Magic Kingdom, Disney Mobile Magic doesn’t clearly say a ride is down.

Haunted Mansion was down, which I
didn't know until I hoofed it all the way
over there from Space Mountain

AND it won’t even give you wait times if you’re not in the park.

 

Had it given accurate wait times for Magic Kingdom when I was in Epcot, maybe I wouldn’t have taken three hours out of my drinking schedule to go over there.

 

Pro: Accurate wait times
Con: Does not indicate if rides are down; does not give accurate times if you aren’t inside the park

 

 

 

 

My Disney Experience

Just like Disney Mobile Magic, the wait times posted on My Disney Experience were accurate.  Also, you can view rides on this app by wait times.  That means you can look for "no waits" or even see where to avoid "long waits."

 

This was one of my favorite features because then I could just immediately go to the ride where I would wait the least amount of time (I am no fan of waiting in lines).

Unlike Disney Mobile Magic, I can also access wait times from anywhere, not just inside the Disney park.

Still, I did not feel this app was very clear about rides being closed.

 

What does “temporarily unavailable” mean?  The time is unavailable or the ride?  Since I was already at Magic Kingdom, it really didn’t matter, because not one, not two, but three rides were closed.  Ugh.

Pro: Can view rides in terms of “wait times” and “location”; can access from anywhere

Con: Not very clear about rides down; you have to sign up to use the app

In conclusion, I thought the best app was My Disney Experience.  Strangely enough, this app was also rated the lowest, but it gets my props for being the best!

Total Cost: Free for all apps!

Best Deal: My Disney Experience

Would you use an app to save time at Disney?