WDW with no Smart Phone

[Mrs. Ciz]

I will be at WDW in April. I don't have a smart phone, tablet, or any other hand held device. (Yes, I'm still living in the Dark Ages!) Will I be negatively impacted?

How will making extra FP+ be affected? I was last in WDW during April 2015. At that time, I was able to make additional FP+ selections in the parks at FP+ kiosks after I'd used my 3 prescheduled FP+s.

Thanks for the info Disers!

 

[BrianL]

You'll be fine, but you'll have to use the kiosks to make additional FP+ or change anything. It's not the most convenient way to do it, but it's an option.

 

[Best Aunt]

Everyone with a device can look at an app to see what the wait times are for all attractions. If they see that something has a short wait, they can walk over to it. You won't have that knowledge.

 

[lovethattink]

It won't be as convenient. It will take you longer to get a 4th FP or make changes since you'll need to go to a kiosk for that. But a mobile device isn't necessary.

 

[Elle23]

Honestly, our experience would not have been the same without my smart phone. It was perfect for booking fast passes (without having to hunt down a kiosk), checking wait times and menus, cancelling/ making ADRs, finding restrooms, checking weather, etc.

I am amazed anyone can get by without one these days (and I am not a tech junkie in the least!)

 

[Cinderella94]

Honestly, our experience would not have been the same without my smart phone. It was perfect for booking fast passes (without having to hunt down a kiosk), checking wait times and menus, cancelling/ making ADRs, finding restrooms, checking weather, etc.

I am amazed anyone can get by without one these days (and I am not a tech junkie in the least!)

This!!

 

[mikedoyleblogger]

Everyone else will have far more strategic, immediate, and convenient information than you will regarding wait times, sudden closures, available dining. You won't receive alerts if a sudden closure affects one of your Fastpasses. You won't be able to review your Fastpass selections at will at all, unless you're standing in front of one of the limited number of kiosks. You won't be able to plan anything on the fly, or in park two while you're in park one. You can do it, but you'll be experiencing WDW from five years ago while everyone around you is experiencing WDW of 2017. The whole "you can do it if you want to" thing does not mean you'll have an equal, or even a slightly lesser experience. It just means WDW can't make you buy a smart phone. But make no mistake, the New Tech system (MDE, FP+, MBs) is aimed squarely at smart phones. You will be negatively impacted.

If you can afford WDW, you can afford upgrading your phone. You should.

 

[mrzrich]

If getting a new phone is not an option, consider getting an iPod touch. You will be a slave to Disney's free wifi, but its better than nothing.

 

[freewill]

Yes, having a smart phone really seems to almost be a requirement at WDW these days, so not having it will negatively affect you in terms of drawing the maximum value from your vacation time; you won't be able to zig and zag efficiently based on the latest information. But on the flip side, you may experience less neck pain, eye strain and random bodily contact with everyone else in the parks because you won't have your gaze tied to your device. You may see actual things and events in the physical world that others miss while they're hunting pokemon, ADRs and additional fastpasses on their phones.

Personally, I would love to go back and experience the WDW of X years ago rather than have to experience the WDW of today through and with a smartphone -- but I rely on the smartphone now for our trips. I'm just conflicted about it, obviously. YMMV.

 

[melanielll]

What about buying a burner phone? Use it for the trip, and then you've got it around in case you want to commit a crime (I watch too many crime shows - every criminal has a burner phone).

 

[Klayfish]

I'm not a modern, hip, tech, whatever guy. I had a flip phone until about 2.5 years ago, and even now barely use my smartphones' capabilities... I have never sent a text message...ever...I don't do any of the popular social media like Facebook, etc... My smartphone is the one that I got free when I signed up with my service provider a few years ago. I would never pay more than $25 for a phone.

Having said that, I wouldn't want to be at WDW these days without the phone. Like others said, MDE (or the Lines app) lets you check wait times from anywhere at anytime. You won't be able to do that without a smartphone. You'll need to go to a kiosk to get another FP+. There aren't as many as there once were, and the ones that are there are often crowded. For those reasons alone, I'd want to have a smartphone. WDW has created their system on the presumption that you have a smartphone. You'll still be able to get by without one, but it just will be more difficult.

 

[Elle23]

Honestly, I think Disney has done a great job incorporating technology into the whole experience. The Magic bands and use of the MDE app just made for a seamless and efficient trip. It made a great vacation even better.

 

[lovethattink]

My mil borrowed her dgs' phone for the week when she came to visit us. Would something like that be an option?

Even Disney's checkout system puts your bill on an email rather than on your door. Without email access you won't be able to check your bill til you get home or go to the front desk for a printout.

 

[Meriweather]

you'll be fine.
I have only recently upgraded to a smart phone, but still don't use it for anything in the parks.

I use the fast pass kiosks

 

[FastPasser]

I can assure you that based on the number of questions guests ask, many of them either don't have a smartphone or can't find the answer to their questions on the phone. You'll be just fine. There are two things that you should have even if you do have a smartphone, a park map and a times guide. You'd be amazed at how many people don't bother to get them or get just the map, which by itself is not enough. Yes, having a smartphone will come in handy in certain situations, but it's not essential to have one in order to enjoy the parks.

Oh, I don't bring any sort of phone whenever I'm a guest at the parks.

 

[lynzi2004]

I think you will be just fine. We went last April and barely used ours. Wait times/lines apps didn't mean much to me because I already had a plan in my head when I walked in the park. For instance, I knew that we were going to Fantasyland, then to Frontierland, etc and what times our FP was. If we were just getting off Splash, it wouldn't have mattered if Space only had a 15 min. wait, we weren't trucking it all the way across the park. Once our 3 FPs were used up, I knew exactly where a kiosk was and we would go make another one. I might have changed one or 2 on my phone, but we don't have alot of data on ours and I found it easier to walk up to a kiosk than to dig my phone out of a bag. We seldom had more than a couple minutes wait at a kiosk.

Any dining reservations have to be cancelled 24 hrs prior, so changing a reservation on a fly wasn't exactly an issue bc I didn't want to be charged a fee and did everything on my laptop the night before in our room.

I guess if you have only depended on a phone in the parks, not having one would feel strange. BUT, if you've not dealt with one in the parks before, then I don't think you will notice a difference. Make sure you study easyWDW's plans, Kenny the Pirate, Touring Plans, whatever and have an exact plan for the day. They've studied crowd calendars, wait times, etc far more than any of us have.

***If you know where your going, when your going, and how your going to get there, you will be FAR more prepared than anyone who walks up to the gate with a smart phone!

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

Everyone else will have far more strategic, immediate, and convenient information than you will regarding wait times, sudden closures, available dining. You won't receive alerts if a sudden closure affects one of your Fastpasses. You won't be able to review your Fastpass selections at will at all, unless you're standing in front of one of the limited number of kiosks. You won't be able to plan anything on the fly, or in park two while you're in park one. You can do it, but you'll be experiencing WDW from five years ago while everyone around you is experiencing WDW of 2017. The whole "you can do it if you want to" thing does not mean you'll have an equal, or even a slightly lesser experience. It just means WDW can't make you buy a smart phone. But make no mistake, the New Tech system (MDE, FP+, MBs) is aimed squarely at smart phones. You will be negatively impacted.

If you can afford WDW, you can afford upgrading your phone. You should.

Overdramatic much?
Not everyone wants to be tethered to a mobile device. It might not have anything to do with not being able to afford one, as you so rudely implied.

 

[ShirikiUtundu]

Honestly, I think Disney has done a great job incorporating technology into the whole experience. The Magic bands and use of the MDE app just made for a seamless and efficient trip. It made a great vacation even better.

Seriously cannot stop laughing at this! Disney can hardly be lauded for their IT savvy. IF it works it's fine...not perfect and not even great. But when it doesn't it's a huge mess.

 

[Anthony1971]

as others have said.. while we do have smartphones we rarely use them in the park. Personally we have gone enough times to know where everything is and what sections of the park to go to at different times of the day that will have the shortest wait times... and no smart phone can give you that info...
If you truly feel you will be at a disadvantage go to Walmart or target or the like look for the clearance smart phones form Virgin mobile, boost mobile, straight talk or any one that offers a month to month plane -- phone should be easily around 30.00 sometimes less and they work great.. buy it sign up a week before you go plane should be between 30-35 for the month return form vacation cancel the plan... or you can simply borrow a friends old smartphone the WIFI at Disney works very well and in fact the only time you will have an issue is on the bus and in some areas it works well even on the bus.

 

[Pmlocke]

WOW. It never ceases to amaze me how far into our lives technology has crippled us. How can I possibly have a good time if I'm not constantly looking at my phone? How will I ever know what I am supposed to do next without my phone? Why should I look up and enjoy the scenery-I can see pictures on my phone. Oops, sorry I walked into you, I was texting, reading messages, looking for my next fast pass. I am probably one of the few remaing persons on this planet that does not own a cell phone or any form of electronic communications device. Guess what, my wife and I travel down to WDW every year and have the time of our lives. We are constantly amazed at how many people have their faces in their phone and are not experiancing what is around them. How many time do I hear, "will you put that down and look at this". I have now purposely allowed people to walk into me. It gives me a chance to say, if you had your face out of that thing you'd have seen where you were going. Here is a suggestion. Take one day. No plans other than where you will be dining as it is nearly impossible to get a seat at a good restaurant without ressies and just enjoy the day. Take the time to look around and really experiance the parks. Again, take your time, enjoy.