| PassPorter.com Feature Article Original article at: http://www.passporter.com/articles/disney-app-review-part2.html There's an App for That - Part 2: Walt Disney World Planning Adviceby Valerie Hofer, PassPorter Guest ContributorLast modified 08-28-2014 In my last article we looked at three popular Walt Disney World apps: My Disney Experience, Mouse Memo, and Weather Plus for Disney Parks. But if you thought the party stopped there, you were wrong. There are a lot more and today we'll look at three more Disney trip planning apps. These are all planning apps you may want to refer to when you are planning your trip or even refer to when changing plans while in the "Disney bubble." Disney World Magic Guide is a $4.99 comprehensive guidebook app you can download to your iPhone or iPad. There is no free version of this app. However, it does include a Downtown Disney map. Included in the app are maps, zoom-ins and zoom-outs for parks and parking lots, menus and park/event hours. I would note that, although it does list the hours for the water parks, it does not include maps for those parks. The menus include all the six parks, Downtown Disney and the resort restaurants. The dining section is comprehensive. It includes a description of the restaurant, complete menus, and an option to add it to your dining schedule. You can even designate a restaurant as a favorite for later use. You can even search in the menu section. So if you have a picky eater and need to find every restaurant that serves chicken nuggets, this is the app for you! The only downside reported is that the wait times tend to be inaccurate. My Disney Experience is still your best bet for wait time accuracy. Disney World Notecast is a $3.99 text-based e-reader application. There is no Wi-Fi needed, but there's also no wait time section, no maps, and no showtimes. It is the equivalent of downloading a book with lots of pictures. The book is only 300 pages, but contains over 750 photos. It does include a tour of 80 Hidden Mickeys, and it is available for all three Apple devices. It is useful as a resource, but does not provide any interaction with the user. If you have a favorite guidebook (and don’t we all), then I would probably save the money for something else. But if you are one of those people who wants to read every word ever written about Walt Disney World, then it's for you. Family Finder for Walt Disney World is a free app for your iPhone. If everyone in your group has an iPhone, they can download the app and you can track them within any of the 6 parks. There is no mention specifically of Downtown Disney, however you can track someone up to 8 miles from Walt Disney World. The app automatically updates your locations without anyone having to do anything. Each person is assigned a color and will appear on the map using that color. The app is designed to avoid draining your battery by updating every 2 minutes, as opposed to constant data streaming. You have a choice of satelite or map view. Personally, I found the map view much easier to use, but it’s up to your preference. You can also track which rides you’ve been on, but that’s not the main selling point of the app. That's it for this week. Next time we'll take a look at Disney World Maps for Free, Disney World Wait Times, Days to Go, and WDW Phone Numbers. About the Author: Valerie is both a professional quilter and attorney who loves visiting her happy place. She’s counting the days until her October 2014 trip. This article originally appeared in the PassPorter newsletter -- subscribe to our popular newsletter today for free at http://www.passporter.com/news.htm Updated 08-28-2014 Check for a more updated version at http://www.passporter.com/articles/disney-app-review-part2.html |