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Play Disney Parks App Makes Waiting in Lines Fun

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PLAY DISNEY PARKS App Brings New Experiences to the Parks!

Waiting in line for Disney Park attractions can get kind of boring, right? That’s the main reason Disney created the Play Disney Parks mobile app!

The Play Disney Parks mobile app is an interactive experience allowing you to play games, learn about attractions, listen to Disney music, and play Disney trivia.

And when you’re logged into your Disney account, you can earn, collect, and share different achievements from certain attractions.

PLAY DISNEY PARKS App Brings New Experiences to the Parks!

The cool thing about the Play Disney Parks app is that you can enjoy it from home, too! But the real magic happens when you use it at the Parks.

How to navigate the Play Disney Parks app

When you first download the Play Disney Parks app, you’ll be asked to:

  • enable your Bluetooth
  • give the app Location access
  • enable notifications.

In order to get the full experience of the app while you’re at a Disney Park, you will need to enable your Bluetooth and Location access. Notification aren’t entirely necessary, unless you want the app to tell you when you’re approaching a new experience.

PLAY DISNEY PARKS App Brings New Experiences to the Parks!

PLAY DISNEY PARKS App Brings New Experiences to the Parks!

Next you’ll be asked to select a destination. Right now the app is available for Walt Disney World Resort and Disneyland Resort. For this tutorial, I selected Disneyland.

PLAY DISNEY PARKS App Brings New Experiences to the Parks!

From there, you’ll be asked to select which Park you want to explore.

PLAY DISNEY PARKS App Brings New Experiences to the Parks!

Soon you’ll see a colorful animated map of the Park. There are white dots to indicate special activities.

PLAY DISNEY PARKS App Brings New Experiences to the Parks!

But before we explore, let’s set up your account! Tap the blue Mickey in the top left corner and you’ll see the screen below:

PLAY DISNEY PARKS App Brings New Experiences to the Parks!

If you already have a Disney account (chances are, you do), simply sign in using your email and password. If not, you’ll be prompted to create a new account.

Tap the pencil icon next to “Player 1” to enter your Player Tag (your user name) and select your Player Pic. You cannot upload your own pic, but there is a wide selection of Disney character images to choose from!

PLAY DISNEY PARKS App Brings New Experiences to the Parks!

Now let’s go back to the Map screen and explore a little!

The first thing I did was tap on the little question mark dot next to the Partners statue. This brought up some Disney trivia!

PLAY DISNEY PARKS App Brings New Experiences to the Parks!

There were 10 questions here; I did not go through all of them but the first ones were pretty easy. The fun thing about the trivia is, you can play from anywhere! You can play from home or kids can play during the car ride or while you’re waiting in line.

PLAY DISNEY PARKS App Brings New Experiences to the Parks!

PLAY DISNEY PARKS App Brings New Experiences to the Parks!

PLAY DISNEY PARKS App Brings New Experiences to the Parks!

Next I tapped on the Star icon next to Matterhorn Mountain. This brought up an “Attraction Achievement” challenge. This is geo-specific and you have to actually go on the attraction in order to earn the reward!

PLAY DISNEY PARKS App Brings New Experiences to the Parks!

 

 

But the Play Disney Parks app becomes really magical when you’re IN the Parks!

First of all, the app knows where you are, so it will automatically pull up the appropriate Park map.

I wanted to test out the Attraction Achievements so I rode Matterhorn Mountain at Disneyland. Sure enough, about a minute after I got off the ride a little pop-up indicated I unlocked the Matterhorn achievement – “Matterhorn Mountaineer.” Pretty cool!

PLAY DISNEY PARKS App Brings New Experiences to the Parks!

PLAY DISNEY PARKS App Brings New Experiences to the Parks!

Next I walked by Peter Pan’s Flight. I didn’t want to wait in the 45 minute line, but as soon as I got close the attraction’s icon turned colors and it activated a game. This game needed at least two players, and since I was solo I will have to test it another time.

PLAY DISNEY PARKS App Brings New Experiences to the Parks!

Be aware that for some games you need to be on Disney’s WiFi which is incredibly spotty at Disneyland. I trust as the game develops the bugs will get worked out!

You may also want to bring a battery pack or invest in a fuel rod. Using this app all day can drain your battery fast.


I think the Play Disney Parks app is a fun idea! It’s a great way to pass time while waiting in lines and it’s ideal for bringing the magic of Disney Parks to your home or office.

PLAY DISNEY PARKS App Brings New Experiences to the Parks!

About Mindy

Mindy Marzec is a life-long Disney fan who grew up in Los Angeles. She started This Fairy Tale Life to share Disneyland travel tips for adults. When not at Disneyland, you can find Mindy at home snuggling with her cats and re-watching Thor: Ragnarok for the billionth time.