Ask any Disney planner and they’ll tell you the trip starts long before you reach the gates. It starts at the kitchen table with a phone, a dining reservation window, and, for a surprising number of us, a very serious decision about which cartoon face represents us in the My Disney Experience app. That small choice just got a lot more interesting.Credit: Inside The MagicThe latest app update has added several new profile characters and sorted them into categories, so scrolling for your favorite is easier than it’s ever been. Here’s the full list of what’s new, plus a look at the much bigger overhaul Disney has in store for the app.A Profile Picture With PersonalityCredit: My Disney Experience App / edited by Inside the MagicThe character you pick in My Disney Experience is more than a cute add-on. It’s a quick way to show off your Disney personality while you book dining, secure Lightning Lanes, and handle online check-in. Over the years, Disney has kept growing the collection, and today guests can choose from dozens of options spanning Disney films, the Star Wars franchise, and the Marvel Universe.Now there’s a fresh batch to pick from, and the characters are neatly divided into categories for the first time.Theme Park Scope shared a video of all the selections on X stating, “NEW in My Disney Experience! Disney has updated the profile character selection in the app, giving guests a refreshed lineup of Disney favorites to choose from! The options are now organized into categories like Disney Princesses, Disney Villains, Mickey & Friends, Modern Favorites and more.Who are you picking for your profile?”NEW in My Disney Experience! Disney has updated the profile character selection in the app, giving guests a refreshed lineup of Disney favorites to choose from! The options are now organized into categories like Disney Princesses, Disney Villains, Mickey & Friends, Modern Favorites and more.Who are you picking for your profile?— Theme Park Scope (@tpscopeofficial) October 5, 2026Meet the New FacesIn the “Disney Favorites” category, you’ll find Oswald and Launchpad sitting alongside Judy Hopps, Nick Wilde, Simba, and Genie. They’re joined by Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, Hercules, and Meg, among others.There’s also a brand new collection of Disney villains. Scar, Ursula, Jafar, and Maleficent are all available now, which is great news if your vacation style leans a little more mischievous.Familiar groups like “Mickey & Friends” and “Disney Princesses” are still around. The “Paranormal Pals” category is worth a look too, especially with Halloween close. The Hitchhiking Ghosts and Jack Skellington are both waiting there.Pixar and Star Wars have plenty of representation, and the “Modern Favorites” category rounds things out with Orange Bird, Hei Hei, and Pua. With so many choices, the real challenge is settling on just one.The Bigger Story: A Full App Makeover Is ComingCredit: DisneyProfile characters are the fun part of this update, but Disney has much larger plans for the app and the Walt Disney World website. Executives have described a ground-up overhaul that includes a full visual redesign, a new itinerary checklist, group planning tools, and an AI-powered search engine.The motivation is easy to understand. The app has long been criticized for confusing menus and unreliable search. Disney says small changes have already helped. Unifying daily schedules into a single “My Plans” flow improved ease of use by 8%, and tweaking the dining reservation interface boosted guest satisfaction by 5%.Why Search Is the HeadlinerThe current “Ask a Question” feature is known for inaccurate results. Disney executives even demonstrated a real example during a media panel. Search for “Chicken tenders in Magic Kingdom,” and the app returns Chicken Guy! as the top result, even though that restaurant is at Disney Springs, nowhere near a hungry family in Fantasyland.The new AI search is meant to fix that by producing a clear summary at the top of the screen using information from the Walt Disney World website. In a demo, a search for “ride in space” produced a clean summary of Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind, Space Mountain, Mission: SPACE, and Star Tours, with a direct path to book a Lightning Lane or check standby waits.Checklists, Trip Parties, and a Smarter Home ScreenThe redesign includes a home screen that adapts to where you are in your trip. Before you leave, it will highlight countdowns, hotel check-in tasks, and packing advice. Once you arrive, it will shift into an in-park companion that surfaces wait times and virtual queue return windows.A new Trip Checklist will outline upcoming tasks and deadlines, such as when your 60-day dining window opens. Trip Party should make group planning easier, acting as a shared digital folder where everyone can view and adjust park schedules and Lightning Lane selections. Disney is also adding native Spanish-language support.Not Everything Is Smooth YetThe rollout has already hit a bump. A notice titled “AI Overview” was mistakenly published on the Walt Disney World website, as reported by BlogMickey. It claimed the feature was in a “Cast Preview” phase and limited to “most food and beverage questions,” but insider reports say it was posted in error and the real search results weren’t yet AI powered.There are bigger worries as well. Disney hasn’t shared which language models it’s using, and AI tools can confidently give wrong answers. In a high stakes vacation, a mistaken dining location or Lightning Lane time could derail a day. Real time changes, like a thunderstorm shutting down an attraction, could also challenge the system.Your Move: Pick a Face, Then Plan CarefullyDisney hasn’t announced a launch date, but executives say the rollout will happen over the coming months. Until then, treat any AI answers cautiously and confirm important details on official pages, especially for dining and Lightning Lane times.For now, you can start with the easy part. Open the app and pick your new character. Did you go with a villain, a ghost, or a classic favorite? Tell us in the comments which profile character you chose, and whether you’re excited or a little nervous about the AI search.The post Disney Makes Permanent Park-Wide Character Change, Villains Included appeared first on Inside the Magic.