Comparison

Standby Skipper vs Magic Planning

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Standby Skipper

Enhance your Florida vacation by reducing phone usage. This app helps you spend more time enjoying attractions and less time swiping, with users reporting an 80% decrease in screen time.

Highlights
  • Reduce phone screen time
  • Enhance vacation enjoyment
  • Streamline park experience
Features
Read full description

Enjoy your Florida vacation -- stop sweating and swiping! Our users spend 80% less time on their phone while in the parks by using our app!

About

Magic Planning

This app simplifies group vacation planning, especially for Disney trips. It allows real-time collaboration on park days, dining reservations, and travel details, with timely notifications for important windows. It also includes features for tracking attractions, packing, and even playing games together.

Highlights
  • Group trip planning
  • Real-time collaboration
  • Dining reservation tracking
  • Lightning Lane alerts
  • Shared trip calendar
  • Packing list management
  • Trip and queue games
Features
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Planning a Disney World trip with your group has never been easier. Magic Planning keeps everyone on the same page — from park days and dining reservations to flights, tickets, and Lightning Lane purchases. Built for groups. Invite your travel party and plan together in real time. Chat with your group, share your location at the parks, and make sure nobody misses a reservation. Assign roles — owners, members, guests, viewers, travel agents, and kids — to keep the whole party organized. Child accounts include guardian attribution and age-appropriate safety settings so the whole family can participate safely. Friends & Family. Connect with fellow Disney fans using your unique friend code or QR code. Add friends to trips directly from your friends list, and optionally share a read-only trip summary so your group can stay in the loop — even those who aren't on the trip. Friend requests are push-notified the moment they arrive. Community Stories. Share your Disney trip experiences with the Magic Planning community. Write a trip story, add a cover photo, and inspire others planning their own adventure. All stories are reviewed for safety before going live. Never miss a window. Get push notifications the moment your dining reservation or Lightning Lane purchase window opens — down to the second. Magic Planning does the math so you don't have to. Everything in one place. • Organize park days with a shared trip calendar • Track dining reservations with countdown reminders • Add flights and open FlightAware with one tap • Manage park tickets and annual passes for every traveler • Log hotels, activities, and anything else your group has planned • Track your snacks and attractions, including for special park events • Browse Magic Planning merchandise in the in-app shop • Play queue games: Trivia, Timelines, and Word Search • Manage your packing list and wellness goals for each trip • And much more! Premium features unlock even more. • Day Planner: AI-powered park planning that builds an optimized itinerary for each day of your trip and helps you rethink on the fly when plans change. • World Traveller: Explore EPCOT's World Showcase pavilions, log your meals and drinks, attach photos, and challenge your friends to see who has explored more of the world. Complete with a cinematic photo slideshow with music. • Budget Tracking: Split trip expenses with your group, track who paid what, and settle up without the awkward conversations. Try it free for 48 hours. • Games: Play premium trip games — Park Hopper (navigate the parks and earn achievements) and Trip Magic (customizable scavenger hunts for your trip). All future games included with subscription! Premium is available as a 1-month or annual subscription. Individual features are also available as standalone purchases (budget now has a 48-hour trial!). No auto-renewal. Pay once for the period you need. Reminders that work for you. Choose exactly which notifications you want: dining windows, Lightning Lane alerts, reservation reminders, payment due dates, trip countdowns, friend requests, and more. Control everything from Settings. Magic Planning is an independent app and is not affiliated with or endorsed by The Walt Disney Company. https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Standby Skipper3 screens
Magic Planning4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Standby Skipper at none against Magic Planning's 6. Standby Skipper also leads on ratings volume (351 vs 1) and iOS requirement (13.4 vs 17.0). Magic Planning's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.5) and update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 3 months). On price, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Magic Planning sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Standby Skipper asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Magic Planning holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Standby Skipper has 351 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Standby Skipper ships an update every 3 months, Magic Planning every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on July 4, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 4 level
Standby Skipper versus Magic Planning: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStandby SkipperMagic Planning
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.5 (351 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews91.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings351 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS13.4 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size48 MB35 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperStandby Skipper LLCChris St Pierre

Customer experience

Standby Skipper

All ratings351 ratings
Positive88.3%
Neutral1.1%
Negative10.5%
Written reviews155 reviews
Positive91.0%
Neutral0.6%
Negative8.4%

Magic Planning

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Standby Skipper

Reported bugs

2 issues
  • Trouble with email verification
  • Inability to recognize park attendance

Requested features

3 requests
  • Option to book specific ride times
  • Integration with Disneyland
  • Ability to modify booked rides

Magic Planning

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Standby Skipper

No in-app purchases

6 purchases

Magic Planning

One-time6
  • Magic Planning Magic is Out There$1.99
  • Magic Planning Park Hopper$1.99
  • Magic Planning Budget$4.99
Show 3 more
  • Magic Planning World Traveller Game$4.99
  • Magic Planning One-Month$9.99
  • Magic Planning Annual$49.99

Questions

Is Standby Skipper free?
Standby Skipper is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Magic Planning free?
Magic Planning is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Standby Skipper or Magic Planning?
Magic Planning is rated higher. Standby Skipper averages 4.5 out of 5 from 351 ratings, while Magic Planning averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Standby Skipper or Magic Planning have ads?
Neither Standby Skipper nor Magic Planning shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Standby Skipper or Magic Planning?
Standby Skipper ships an update every 3 months, and Magic Planning every 2 weeks. Most recently, Standby Skipper was updated on July 4, 2026 and Magic Planning on September 17, 2026.

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