Your PlanTheMagic countdown widget also has a job to do once you reach Walt Disney World. Before your vacation, it counts down the days on your home screen. When your trip starts, it becomes a daily guide, bringing your park plans and timed activities into view.
There’s still the fun of seeing the number get smaller before you leave, with a resort photo to make it feel a little closer. On vacation, the same space helps you check what you’ve planned for today. In the evening, it looks ahead to tomorrow.
We’ve also added weather forecasts and rain guidance, refreshed the app’s main screens, and made saved changes easier to review. Here’s a closer look, using an example six-day Polynesian Escape to show how the new features fit into a trip.
A countdown worth making room for
Add the Trip countdown widget to your Android home screen and your vacation gets its own little place beside the apps you use every day. You can follow one particular trip or choose Next trip, which automatically follows your next adventure.
The countdown shows how many days remain before your trip begins. Larger layouts also have room for more context, including your trip date and resort name. In our example, the resort-photo appearance brings Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort into the background.
Resort photo is the default appearance, but you can choose Light or Dark for a solid background instead. If you prefer a quieter home screen, those solid styles keep the number easy to spot.
We’d give the larger layout a little extra space if you want to keep using it throughout the vacation (the 4x2 size). That’s where the daily view has room to show you more.
When you arrive, your countdown becomes today’s guide
Once the trip begins, the countdown changes to Day X of Y. The larger widget adds the day’s AM and PM park plans, along with useful details from your timed itinerary.
In the example below, it’s day two of a six-day vacation. Magic Kingdom Park is planned for the morning and EPCOT for later. Breakfast at Kona Cafe is happening now, and lunch at Space 220 Restaurant is next.
The NOW and NEXT labels follow the times you’ve saved in PlanTheMagic. An activity with a start and end time can appear while it’s underway; the next future timed item appears with its time. Between activities, the widget can simply show what’s coming up next.
Tap the widget to open the relevant trip day and see the rest of your itinerary. The compact sizes keep the day count visible, while the larger layout gives you the fuller guide shown here.
An evening look at tomorrow
From 7 p.m., using your phone’s local time, the widget’s itinerary preview moves on to tomorrow, provided another day remains in the trip. It shows the next day’s parks and its first timed plan.
For our example vacation, tomorrow starts with breakfast at The Crystal Palace and a day at Magic Kingdom Park. It’s a useful prompt to check the morning before you settle in for the night. Tapping this preview opens tomorrow’s trip day.
Choose a size and add it to your home screen
There are four starting sizes: 2×1, 2×2, 4×1, and 4×2. The numbers describe how much of your Android home-screen grid the widget uses. The compact options suit a quick countdown check; the larger 4×2 option makes the daily parks and timed plans easier to read.
To add one from the app:
- Open your trip’s Trip settings and choose Add countdown widget.
- Select the trip you want it to follow, or choose Next trip.
- Choose Resort photo, Light, or Dark.
- Tap Add to Home screen and follow your phone’s placement prompt.
You can also touch and hold an empty part of the Android home screen, open Widgets, and find PlanTheMagic. This route lets you choose among the starting layouts. To change an existing widget’s choices, hold it and choose Configure where your launcher offers that option.
Weather that sits alongside your plans
Inside the planner, the new weather view separates the forecast into AM and PM, with temperatures and rain chances. Open the details for a closer look at the morning, afternoon, and evening, including rain guidance when it’s available.
Forecasts become available about seven days in advance. They come from the U.S. National Weather Service, and the app uses your temperature preference. It also makes clear when you’re looking at an earlier or saved forecast.
We’d check this while reviewing the next day’s itinerary. A wetter afternoon might be a reason to revisit the outdoor activities you’ve penciled in or make sure rain gear is ready. The weather information lives inside the planner, alongside the fuller trip details you can reach from the widget.
A refreshed app, with planning updates close by
The Home, Trips, and Dining screens have been refreshed, with clearer navigation and better support for larger text. The trip library is now called Trips, giving your vacations a straightforward place in the main navigation.
Dining brings Explore, Favorites, and Reservations together, so browsing restaurants and checking the meals you’re organizing are close at hand.
Planning notifications also help you keep track of tasks, reminders, and updates. Allow notifications when prompted if you’d like those updates to reach your phone.
Clearer choices when a saved plan has changed
If a change needs your attention, the review screen makes the comparison easier to follow. You can see what’s currently saved alongside the change you attempted, then choose how to resolve it.
Depending on the change, you can apply it, edit it before saving, or keep the saved plan. We’ve also improved trip loading, Must Eats loading, and subscription recovery to help you get back to planning when something needs another try.
Put your next trip on your home screen
Update or download PlanTheMagic on Google Play, open your trip settings, and add the countdown widget. Give the larger layout a try if you’d like it to become your daily guide once you arrive.
If you’re new to PlanTheMagic, you can explore the trip-planning features before getting started. A PlanTheMagic membership is required for planner access. PlanTheMagic is an independent planning tool and isn’t affiliated with The Walt Disney Company.
