New Disney World Welcome Package Mailed to Guest Homes
I opened my mailbox today and was surprised to find a box from Disney. This was a new welcome mailer related to my upcoming vacation in January. For those of you keeping score, the box arrived on November 20, 2013,for a trip that starts January 9, 2014.
The sturdy presentation box is slightly larger than a VHS tape and contains a welcome brochure, as well as fun flash drive shaped like the MyMagic+ logo. The flash drive contains two two-minute long videos featuring Incredibles character Edna Mode. In video one, Edna describes MagicBands, and in video two she shows you how to use My Disney Experience. This welcome box appears to be an attempt to educate guests about the new technology being used in the parks and resorts. I’ve ordered a MagicBand for my trip, but I’m not expecting that to come for several more weeks, in its own super cool Incredibles themed box. In addition to spending gobs of money updating the in-park systems, they’re obviously spending even more gobs of money to get guests excited to use those systems.
Here’s a tour of what arrived:
So what do you think folks? Have you gotten one of these boxes sent to your home? What do you think? Did it make you more excited for your vacation? Did it enhance your understanding of MyMagic+? Let us know in the comments below.
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I have received booklet on our up and coming vacation. It will be at the end of Nov. First of Dec. So too soon for bands. I am trying to link 2 reservations I have made and I think I have already messed that up. I know it will be straightened out as soon as I call, was just hoping I could have done it on my own. Will let you know how the ” My Disney Experience” works out as far as setting up reservations for dining, tickets, bands and being to pay monthly till Oct. I have to say the help I get over the phone has been excelent. I do hope to be able to monitor this and let other family members going, to be able to follow the planning. I didnt get the computer flash drive but dont think it’s necessary from what I can tell so far.
As a DVC Member who makes and holds and cancels a bunch of reservations at a time, I’m wondering if there is any way to not get the mailing… I got 4 the other day for trips I had already cancelled…
Plus, if I’m surprising my family, I’d love for there to be an ‘opt out’ of receiving the paper mail as it ruins the surprise and is very environmentally unfriendly.
I’ve never heard of an opt out list. This would be a great idea for frequent visitors.
My husband booked a surprise trip for our anniversary last summer. He went to great lengths to have everything sent to his work email, cell phone, and office address to hide it. And then Disney called the house to confirm something – ruining the surprise. Oy.
How long post booking did you receive this? We booked about 3 weeks ago and are due to travel end of sept. Thanks!
I got the package about six weeks before my trip. MagicBands typically come about a month before travel. I don’t think you have any reason to worry yet.
I received our incredible mailer it came in a regular flat mail with no usb flash drive am I suppose to receive one with my package? I haven’t yet received my magic bands yet still have 54 days left till our trip in May.
I got the package without the flash drive before my most recent visit. Perhaps the drive was a test, but I haven’t heard of many guests receiving it in Feb/March.
Since I am a computer beginner I have no idea how and where to plug this flash drive in my portable computer. Can you help me. Thanks
Any USB port will do.
Just got the same package as well, but it came in a flat mailer and no flash drive. Everything else looks the same. I guess they figured you could go on the web and look at the video and they didn’t need to mail it.
Our trip is is late Aug and we just got this early this week. I LOVE IT. It’s basically just a confirmation package, but it does help a little to explain the MyMagic+ to anyone who isn’t aware that it’s been implemented. Plus that flash drive is SO cool and it did make me SO excited to start planning!! I’m also thinking that eventually it will contain more info. Our magnet also included more dates (since we received it 8 months out).
I received mine info box about 2 weeks ago – we’re not traveling until June of 14! Not expecting MagicBands until much closer to trip, though we have been able to customize them already. Brilliant way to keep anticipation high (as if it wasn’t already there!)
WoWWW!!! I received this package TODAY!!! My trip is not until November 15, 2014!
We have a trip planned for June 2014 and we received this package yesterday!
Wow. That’s interesting. Did you just book the trip recently? I’m wondering if it’s now a default gift-upon-booking thing. Thanks.
Got mine yesterday (12/12/13) for a trip starting in 4 months. I agree the flash drive is impressive as a promotional item. Onlne, I have customized magic bands for all of us. The package seems personalized enough to make it special with names and birthdates, etc. I am excited to put in my FP+ reservations.
My magic bands came in a similar Incredibles themed box. I was so excited to see it. I wish I had gotten the awesome looking flash drive with my welcome packet, but that was six months ago haha.
Wish they would have done this from the start. Would love to have the flash drive, just for the fun of it.
I like it. I love disney and go as often as possible. Any touch that they can do that builds up the excitement for the trip is very welcome. Especially for my son, he is going to love everything we get and just get more and more excited. Yes, Disney is expensive, but people need to just get over whining about the price. No one is forcing you to go. If you think it costs too much, dont go.
We check in on jan 6, 2014 and received our packages via Fedex last week. A lot of packaging, looked a little different than pictured here. Flash drive has 3.75 gig memory after the messages are erased. We have a split stay, AKL and Poly so received two packages. They also had us order two sets of bands.
This seems cool, but like all Disney promotion, it’s SO MUCH FLUFF!!
That’s why the unofficial guide and all sorts of blogs, websites, and other books are out there.
Disney treats everyone like a herd of people to be manipulated into more spending, more “equal” line waiting, conformed orderly (inconvenient) parking (cars, strollers, everything)…
That’s all this is: Marketing material. Plus some confirmation information.
When you stay at a normal business hotel: you get a simple confirmation email to print out. Then you’ll have simple and light 1 page documentation.
I’d like the thumb drive to erase it and use it for my personal use.
Maybe this is why 17 million people chose WDW as a vacation destination last year instead of a “normal business hotel.”
Just a thought.
Unfortunately I didn’t get any mail 🙁 We are also going for vacation to Disney World Coming January 2014.
It looks fantastic! Shame international guests are not extended the same privileges!
Still happy to live “down under”!
For my upcoming Dec 5 trip, I have my MagicBand (second one–I was there in October, and decided to get a second color) in hand and FP+ selections made. No box with a cute flashdrive, though I did get an invitation letter inviting me to order a MagicBand last week, a good while after the MagicBand itself got here. The first invitation had come in email, and I had followed up promptly.
This is a bit disappointing! On our latest family trip to Disney World back in late September early October our family’s vacation welcome package was a joke compared to this! We spent a lot of money on our 16 day Disney excursion and could have at least gotten a cool flash drive!!
I want one of the flash drives. They look pretty cool.
We have a visit planned for mid-February, about ~85 days out. Room is booked, but haven’t gotten around to buying park passes until this week. Will we get into the system in time to book FastPass+ reservations at the 60-day mark?
Our vacation is September 2014. No box yet, LOL!
But seriously, folks, this is pretty cool. We have our DVC villa booked, but that’s as much as we have done. We did register with My Disney Experience, though, so I’m hoping we’ll get one of these. My understanding is that we won’t get our Magic Bands until we’ve added theme park tickets, and even then, not until closer to our trip.
Looks very cool!
We start our vacation December 4, and have already received our MagicBands.
Probably not enough time for them to send us this great package!
Very cool, though!
Our family vacation to Disney World is from January 4-11. We haven’t received a box or our bands yet 🙁
I didn’t get my bands for this trip yet. Bands haven’t been coming until about a month before the trip start date, so I wouldn’t worry about that quite yet.
Have you set up your online Disney account and linked your reservation to your My Disney Experience? You are within the window to do your online check-in and customize your bands.
Our vacation starts December 15. We received our magic bands but no box as you described above. Are only some people getting them? We’re staying at the Contemporary–perhaps it depends on your lodging?
I have seen online that other guests are receiving the box, but I haven’t been able to fully suss out the delivery criteria. It could be by resort, by booking date, or something else entirely. I imagine it’s a test of some sort – to see if they get less confusion or fewer complaints from a better educated guest pool, perhaps?
We were chosen to be beta testers for the magic bands for our trip coming up the first week of Jan, 2014. We set up our fast passes and it was a little bit frustrating with times and ride limitations. We have not received the cute box yet, but I think it is a nice touch. A Disney trip can be very expensive and I think they should acknowledge it in some way. Like buying a luxury car, if you are staying a week on-site, then you do deserve some special treatment.
That’s the whole point of the program Jennie. Disney wants to give people an incentive to book early. Right now, the average person books a trip 23 days ahead. By pushing that back, Disney can plan staffing ahead of time by knowing what hotels will have a high number of reservations, and which attractions have a high number of fastpasses. People staying off site and last minute bookings are left to scramble for what’s left.
As for ticket prices, like any other company, Disney charges what they can get away with. Promotional items are pennies compared to the added cost they give Disney in return.
I got my box yesterday, along with my MagicBands. I have to say, I loved the flash drive, but the rest of it seemed a bit redundant. There is already an Edna tutorial on the website (I don’t know if it’s the same, as I haven’t watched!), and this slick packaging seems a bit overboard. There were some guests I spoke with a while back who were upset about the increase in price at the Magic Kingdom over the other theme parks – I wonder if those people will blame the new promotional material for the extra few bucks they’ll be putting out to go to their favorite theme park?
I agree that it seems somewhat redundant, particularly since the only new-ish information is the video, which is available online to everyone for free.
Perhaps this is an attempt to better educate the public about MyMagic+, but it seems like there might be more cost-effective ways to do this. (I do kinda dig the flash drive though.)
I’m glad to see this. However, our vacation was frustrating because we didn’t buy passes til we were there. Then it is a scramble for Fast Passes. My parents weren’t with us when they went to a park so we were not in sync. They had gotten their tickets the next morning. Makes it hard on multi family groups. I don’t understand why one person is in charge on the bands. This program needs all the help it can get.
I wonder if guests coming from the UK will eventually get these ( I doubt it)