Walt Disney World has had its share of technical hiccups and outages over the past few years, when individual MyMagic+ features stopped responding or went offline temporarily, resulting in a few inconveniences for guests, but nothing too major. However, yesterday, Disney suffered a massive technical outage related to the Magic Kingdom's admissions system, which resulted in guests who were using admission tickets without an accompanying MagicBand (or RFID card) to be denied admission for approximately two hours while the system was not functioning. 

During this extended outage, guests had to wait outside the gates of the Magic Kingdom, and as lines swelled, guests were then kept at the Transportation and Ticket Center as Cast Members scrambled to keep the chaos as organized as possible. And while Disney did offer guests stuck outside in the 90+ degree weather complimentary water bottles, tempers still flared as guests tried to stick it out while the issue was being resolved. 

Though this type of large-scale outage is fairly rare, this isn't the first time this has happened, and with this type of technical issue on the rise, it is probably a good idea for guests to take some minor precautions during their vacation to prepare for this type of outage in the future. 

1. Be prepared with different types of admission

Image: Disney

Though we'd guess that the majority of guests use either MagicBands or RFID cards to enter Walt Disney World theme parks, if you are using printed out tickets or barcodes, it may be worth the extra effort to get a MagicBand (which is free with an annual pass or hotel stay, or $13 if purchased separately) or an RFID card, which is free and can be picked up at guest relations. Not only will getting a MagicBand of RFID card at the start of your vacation circumvent any delays if this issue strikes again, but it will also make it easier for you to use the FastPass+ reservation system as well!