Please explain all of these cards to me!

[tchrrx]

So far I've heard about Key to the World cards, room keys, Fast Pass cards, Dining Plan cards, tickets, and more! My question is...are these cards all the same thing or will I need to keep up with several of them? Also, can I just throw them in my backpack or will I need to have easy access to them? (Obviously I'll need my tickets upon entrance & my room key at the resort, but what else?) If I do need them frequently, how should I carry them? In a badge holder, wallet, or what? There is just way too much to think about!

 

[psiprez]

I keep them all in a separate card holder. I have a plastic business card holder that works great.

I keep the room key, everyone's park passes and fast passes, my ID and a credit card in it, and carry it in my pocket for easy access.

Too much trouble to dig it all out of my messenger bag every five minutes.

 

[pedro2112]

So far I've heard about Key to the World cards, room keys, Fast Pass cards, Dining Plan cards, tickets, and more! My question is...are these cards all the same thing or will I need to keep up with several of them? Also, can I just throw them in my backpack or will I need to have easy access to them? (Obviously I'll need my tickets upon entrance & my room key at the resort, but what else?) If I do need them frequently, how should I carry them? In a badge holder, wallet, or what? There is just way too much to think about!

If you are on the dining plan, that means you ordered a package, which translates to everything (room key, themepark admission, dining vouchers, room charging, etc..) will be on one card called the Key to the World Card. Normally, you can only obtain one fast pass at a time, so other than your KTTW Card, you only have to keep track of one paper fast pass.

 

[WillCAD]

Yeah, it sounds like a lot to keep track of, but as Pedro mentioned, many of these things are actually combined on the same card.

Key to the World Card (KTTW): A Walt Disney World or Disney Cruise line room key. KTTW cards can have park passes coded on to them, and can also be enabled for charging purchases to your room account (this must be done at check-in), and can have your dining plan coded onto them as well.

FastPass slip: A small slip of paper (about 1.5"x1.5") printed by the FastPass machines. These slips are like reciepts; they have the ride name and your return time printed on them.

Magic Your Way ticket: A basic Walt DIsney World park pass. Credit-card size, with a magnetic strip, these passes come in both hard plastic and soft Tyvec (often called paper, though they are not). MYW passes bought outside WDW can sometimes be coded onto your KTTW card so that you wil only have to carry the one card.

Disney Dining Experience (DDE) card: DDE is a membership program available to Florida residents and WDW Annual Passholders. Requiring a yearly fee, the DDE entitles the bearer to a 20% discount at most WDW restaurants. DDE cards cannot be coded onto KTTW cards, unlike the Disney Dining Plan, which is an optional part of a WDW vacation package.

Edited to add (thanks for reminding me, Rob!)
Photopass Card: Photopass is a new electronic system Disney photographers use to give you access to your photos. Each Photopass photographer takes shots with a digital camera, then swipes a Photopass card through a device connected to the camera and gives the card to you. Later, you use the serial number on the card to view all of your pics online or at several places around WDW to decide which pics you want to buy - you can even buy your pics after you get home.

NOTE:
MYW Park Passes and KTTW cards have magnetic strips on them, but the cards themselves do not actually store ANY information other than the serial number of the card. All of the relevant info (how long you're staying at a resort, how many days of park pass you have left, etc.) is stored on the WDW computer system, just like your bank balance is stored on the bank's computer, not on your ATM card.

This means that when you are issued a KTTW card, if you lose it, you can get a new one issued to you at the resort and have the lost one cancelled out of the system; all you need to do is show your ID. Of course, this makes it a good idea to carry your ID with you at all times when in the parks!

This can also be done with MYW park passes (at ticket windows or Guest Relations windows at one of the 4 theme parks or at Downtown Disney), but in order to do it, you need to have the passes serial numbers. The best way to do this is to make a photocoppy of the pass before you leave home and keep it in your room safe while at WDW.

TIP: Carry your various cards in one of these 97-cent lanyards from WalMart for easy access and protection from rain and water rides:

 

[petchie]

Yeah, it sounds like a lot to keep track of, but as Pedro mentioned, many of these things are actually combined on the same card.

Key to the World Card (KTTW): A Walt Disney World or Disney Cruise line room key. KTTW cards can have park passes coded on to them, and can also be enabled for charging purchases to your room account (this must be done at check-in), and can have your dining plan coded onto them as well.

FastPass slip: A small slip of paper (about 1.5"x1.5") printed by the FastPass machines. These slips are like reciepts; they have the ride name and your return time printed on them.

Magic Your Way ticket: A basic Walt DIsney World park pass. Credit-card size, with a magnetic strip, these passes come in both hard plastic and soft Tyvec (often called paper, though they are not). MYW passes bought outside WDW can sometimes be coded onto your KTTW card so that you wil only have to carry the one card.

Disney Dining Experience (DDE) card: DDE is a membership program available to Florida residents and WDW Annual Passholders. Requiring a yearly fee, the DDE entitles the bearer to a 20% discount at most WDW restaurants. DDE cards cannot be coded onto KTTW cards, unlike the Disney Dining Plan, which is an optional part of a WDW vacation package.

NOTE:
MYW Park Passes and KTTW cards have magnetic strips on them, but the cards themselves do not actually store ANY information other than the serial number of the card. All of the relevant info (how long you're staying at a resort, how many days of park pass you have left, etc.) is stored on the WDW computer system, just like your bank balance is stored on the bank's computer, not on your ATM card.

This means that when you are issued a KTTW card, if you lose it, you can get a new one issued to you at the resort and have the lost one cancelled out of the system; all you need to do is show your ID. Of course, this makes it a good idea to carry your ID with you at all times when in the parks!

This can also be done with MYW park passes (at ticket windows or Guest Relations windows at one of the 4 theme parks or at Downtown Disney), but in order to do it, you need to have the passes serial numbers. The best way to do this is to make a photocoppy of the pass before you leave home and keep it in your room safe while at WDW.

TIP: Carry your various cards in one of these 97-cent lanyards from WalMart for easy access and protection from rain and water rides:

Great Post!!!!!!!

 

[tchrrx]

Thank you for the wonderful explanation! I think I've finally got this figured out now. Thanks also for the picture. Guess I'll have to pick some lanyards up too. Where in the store are they located? Thanks!

 

[WillCAD]

They're in the jewelry aisle, with the wallets and wallet windows.

 

[RobInBigKC]

Don't forget your Photopass card!

-- Rob