Just back. Magic Bands, FP+ and more.

[peekinglemer]

Just back from an amazing 8 nights at POR with the family. Another great Disney vacation.

I know I had a lot of questions and concerns about Magic Bands and FP+ before I left so I thought I would pass along my views and experiences now that I have returned.

Magic Bands - I was really torn about being part of the testing after reading some of the stories on here about problems with the Magic Bands but we decided to go for it. I was able to order Magic Bands from MDE for my family of 3 and my parents who were traveling with us.

The first time we realized we may have a problem with our bands was at the airport using Magical Express. The bands scanned and worked great but my band scanned in 3 people and my mom's band scanned in 3 people (instead of 2). But we all got on the bus and to the resort.

Check in was a mess. The magic bands worked great for my family but my parents magic bands would not check them in. The problem was that they did not have a MDE account. They are older and did not want to bother with that so I just linked their tickets under MY MDE account. DO NOT DO THAT! Their reservation would not pull up because they were now linked to me. The front desk had to cancel out their whole reservation, toss their colored magic bands, reissue them gray bands and redo their whole reservation. It took forever. We had free dining so I took everyone to the food court and used my magic and get everyone dinner while we waited. They called us 45 minutes later when everything was sorted out.

We go to the room and MY Magic Band and my mom's Magic Band would not open our room doors. Everyone else could use their bands to open the door. Aug....back to the office my mom and I go. There were A LOT of people at the main desk with problems with the Magic Bands. One poor family was on day 3 and having issues getting into parks, getting into the room, and using their dining plan. Now I was starting to get worried. Zack helped us this time and he was great. He reset our bands, credited back all of my dining credits that I had used for dinner, and comped our rooms $$ back for the hassle. We did NOT asked to be compensated. We knew we signed up for the test and there could be issues. It was great of Zack to do that for us.

I was worried that our Magic Bands would not work to get us into the parks the next day so we brought our back-up room keys just in case. I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH. The family that kept having issues never had their actual rooms keys on them and if they did they could have just used the keys as back up. If you are using Magic Bands during the testing phase then KEEP YOUR ROOM KEYS ON YOU ALSO!!!!!

I am happy to report that the Magic Bands worked great after the first issue with check in. The only other time they would not scan was at Tony's for dinner. We just gave them our room keys and no issues.

I think, once Disney perfects these bands they will be great. We spent cash on this vacation but didn't want to bring money to the water parks and just scanning the magic bands for drinks and purchases was great. They are very comfortable and did not make us feel sweaty even in 85 degree heat.

The CM's at POR said they were only in week 2 of testing the bands at that resort and they are still trying to get all the kinks out. The CM's were all great but a lot of the food servers and staff at the shops made it very clear they did not like the bands.

I would give the Magic Bands an 8 out of 10. They were fun to use, and when they worked they were very nice to have. And they worked great every time for FP+. Which brings me to my next topic....fast pass plus.

FP+ - I had no desire to use FP+ AT ALL. The thought of scheduling out my day so far in advance was ridiculous. But I was curious to see how FP+ worked so on Friday night I made FP+ selections for my family AND my parents (we had our accounts linked so I was able to do this) for Animal Kingdom the next day.

After breakfast at Tusker House we headed to our first FP+ ride, the Safari. The Magic Bands worked great at the Fast Pass return line and on we went. It worked great. We toured the rest of that area and then headed to Everest for our next FP+ ride.

In the end we all really liked using FP+. Instead of going up to a ride, pulling a fast pass ticket, waiting for the return time and then going BACK to the ride, we could just walk up the attraction and get on. It was not hard to plan around your fast pass times at all. And, if you can't make a return time because you are doing something else then you can change your ride time OR even change what attraction you want to ride.

The only issues I really saw with FP+ was that Disney wifi was iffy. A lot of times I couldn't access the site. Another issue is that FP+ times run out fast. The parks were all very quiet the whole time we were there. We really didn't even need fast passes as most rides had a wait time of only 10 minutes. But twice when I tried to change a fp+ time it came up "No Available Times". If that is the case during a slow day in September then I can't imagine how it would work during a busy summer day.

The other great thing about FP+ is that you can make different selections for different members of your party. One day my parents took my son to Epcot and I made FP+ selections for them, while my husband and I went to Animal Kingdom and had different FP+ selections. No issues doing this at all.

Fast Pass Plus got an 8 -10 from me only because you couldn't not always access the Disney site and return times fill up fast.

If anyone has any questions let me know.

 

[quigs3]

Thank you for the information, especially about carrying your card as a back-up. We are going in a few weeks and have already received our bands. Although the concept seems good, we will only be there for 4 days, so we won't have time to deal with CMs when there are problems.
We will make sure to always have our cards with us!

 

[Lucia_27]

I am going to add my experience to you post instead of starting yet another MB/FP+ thread.

We are at Bay Lake Towers, checking out today. We had a good experience with MB/FP+. Here are some observations:

- My parents met up with us after we arrived, and I was able to link their bands to ours and make FP reservations for all of us. They had their own MDE account so that's probably why it worked without a problem.

- We did not have an problems at check in. They got our bands set in no time (don't forget to bring them with you to check in). We were not on the dining plan.

- The only problem we had is that we could not get the MDE app to work to change FP times once we were at the park. We had FP for The Land in the morning but technically didn't use them because the standby line was nonexistent. Later in the day when I tried to change that FP for another (after we had used another FP) the MDE app kept giving me an error. Did the same when my mom tried it on her phone. We had 4 bars so it wasn't the wi-if. It's is a huge red flag to me. If the app can't handle a test group, what's gonna happen when everyone is using it.

- The other thing I see that worries me is that you have to choose 3 FPs. At Epcot we only wanted FPs for Soarin, but we had to choose 3. I ended up with one for Spaceshop Earth which shaved 3 minutes off our wait and one for The Land which was a waste. But, the app had automatically added Test Track - I manually changed it because I didn't want to keep a FP out of inventory that I knew we wouldn't use. Will everyone do this???! I wish the app would fill in an empty FP with something unpopular - I can see the FP inventory getting low for popular rides very quickly once this rolls out for everyone.

- And here I have to make a confession: I made FP selections for DHS that we didn't use. We decided on a pool day instead and didn't cancel our FPs. I wouldn't do this once the system is in full production. I think that will happen a lot, so another concern about the availability of popular FPs once this is live.

- I loved the fact that I didn't have to struggle with paper, or drag my tickets out whenever I wanted to charge something. But it was also really tempting to buy something because it was so easy to charge.

- The bands worked great to access the room, the rides, etc. we were very lucky we had no problems.

All in all we loved using the bands/FP+, BUT I am still concerned about how the system will scale once it has been fully rolled out.

 

[mytinyprincesses]

Thanx!! This information makes me feel better about our upcoming trip and magic bands!!! I've been stressed out that we had to pick all our attractions before we left for our trip. Now I feel better knowing that I have the ability to change and or wait to make our selections. And now I will be sure to bring our room keys with us everywhere just in case!

 

[FriendofPan91]

Just got back from a 5 day trip using our Magic Bands. I know there is a lot of debate about them but we had a fantastic time with them. They still have a few things to work out with them but that is why they are testing them.

BRING YOUR ROOM KEY OR CREDIT CARD WITH YOU! We didn't our first day and ended up being a little stuck in the park. We could go on all of our fast pass+ picks and use our meal plan points we just weren't able to purchase anything. I'm sure Disney will get that worked out immediately! I don't think they would like having people in their parks with no way of purchasing any merchandise.

All in all a fantastic trip and if you get the chance to be a part of the this testing - DO IT! Never want to go to Disney without them now.

 

[iwasdaisy]

Thanks for the update and information! Feeling nervous about all the choices and such for my Feb. trip.

 

[were45]

Thanks for this info. Great tip to always carry keys as backup.

 

[Mickey's Best Girl]

The check-in disaster has me concerned.

We are a party of 7, 3 separate res. My parents are not techy and my brother hasn't been to WDW since he was 12 so I have linked all res. under my MDE and done everything for the group.

I don't want our checkin to be a gong show. Maybe I'll make them each an MDE account and try to avoid that. But now I'm past the point of being able to customize our bands.

If the system doesn't recognize their reservations because they are linked in my MDE why the heck was it even possible for me to customize everyone's Magic Bands?? That really doesn't make sense to me.

We don't get our bands until arrival, no shipping to Canada, maybe I'll just leave everything as is.

It won't make or break our vacation, obviously. But my niece and nephew were helping me customize the bands for our family. It's their first trip to the World. They'll be a little bummed if they can't wear the bands they chose for themselves. Oh well. C'est la vie. I'll just get them a snazzy cover.

I'm hoping this was just a problem at POR as they are a newly added testing resort...????

 

[wiigirl]

Thanks for the info!

 

[PatMcDuck]

We just returned from 6 nights at Art of Animation. We had absolutely NO issues with the Magic Bands, not a single glitch. We had a simple reservation though, one room, 2 people. I linked one old pass for my son, and a new one that was a "Will Call" for me. We also had the FP+ and loved it. I played with the iPhone app often, moving up and back ride times, or changing attractions.

My only complaint would be the iffy WiFi. Problems at Animal Kingdom and Epcot. We had to move around to find a signal. I also screwed up and linked my MNSSHP tickets, do not do that, even though it looks like you can do it on the site. Had to go to guest relations to fix it.

We never once used our room keys. Loved the bands for access to the pool and laundry room at Art of A, and for the meal plan.

 

[foreUT]

Thanks for all the great tips. I have the invitation, but did not know how it would work with an old ticket (haven't been for 7 or 8 years, but still have days left on several old tickets) and a will call for my husband (he is eligible for the FL resident seasonal pass.) We will only be there two days at BWV in late Oct, Tu and Wed, and planned on MNSSHP on Tu (res at CP at 5) and a day at AK and evening at Epcot on Wed. The FP+ option would be great for us, if we are not too late to get those. We had until next week to complete the form.

 

[debandbill]

Just returned from a short stay at AofA with an almost flawless MagicBand experience. The second park we visited would not recognize our fingerprints but that was remedied by a cast member standing near the turnstiles with a tablet...Viola..no more issues. Room key, charging, fastpass+ all worked well.

My biggest complaint.....MDE on my phone and I don't think it was the wireless as I was showing full bars. I think the App gets bogged down and that is very frustrating when you are checking something that is time sensitive. It just churns and churns forever...grrr. Disney....please tweak the MDE App and you will have an almost perfect product! The ability to change your FastPass+ times and check wait times on other rides is wonderful. No more walking to the venue twice.

 

[jimim]

the checkin thing has me thinking too, but im my case my parents are pretty much just my kids. lol i did their reservation with my dvc points and it's linked to my account, so in other words it's my reservation with just their names on it, but again they are pretty much family members in my account. their tickets are also linked to me just like my kids season passes, so i'm thinking I shouldn't have a problem? right?

 

[TXTink]

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to tell us about your experiences. This is all so new, it helps knowing a few things to expect and tips on how to avoid as many problems as we can. Sounds like the way you link MDE's is a biggie, as well as knowing to bring room key and credit card... At least at first, till you know if things are working.

Thanks again!

 

[tkbbmom]

We are going in Nov. and have customized our bands and have the FP+ scheduled.

I have a question though -- for our stay at POR we have two rooms reserved the reservations are both in my name w/ one room showing my dd and I and the other my dh and two of our sons. Should I have set up an MDE for dh too?

 

[jimim]

We are going in Nov. and have customized our bands and have the FP+ scheduled. I have a question though -- for our stay at POR we have two rooms reserved the reservations are both in my name w/ one room showing my dd and I and the other my dh and two of our sons. Should I have set up an MDE for dh too?

thats pretty much the senerio I have but it's my parents names. I don't see why it would be a big deal. But maybe it is. I think how we have it is much simpler and would be easier on the system. You would think with multiple accounts and things linked all over the place that's when things would get messy and mixed up.

Sent from my iPhone using DISBoards

 

[peekinglemer]

The check-in disaster has me concerned.

We are a party of 7, 3 separate res. My parents are not techy and my brother hasn't been to WDW since he was 12 so I have linked all res. under my MDE and done everything for the group.

I don't want our checkin to be a gong show. Maybe I'll make them each an MDE account and try to avoid that. But now I'm past the point of being able to customize our bands.

If the system doesn't recognize their reservations because they are linked in my MDE why the heck was it even possible for me to customize everyone's Magic Bands?? That really doesn't make sense to me.

We don't get our bands until arrival, no shipping to Canada, maybe I'll just leave everything as is.

It won't make or break our vacation, obviously. But my niece and nephew were helping me customize the bands for our family. It's their first trip to the World. They'll be a little bummed if they can't wear the bands they chose for themselves. Oh well. C'est la vie. I'll just get them a snazzy cover.

I'm hoping this was just a problem at POR as they are a newly added testing resort...????

This sounds EXACTLY like the scenario we had with my folks. For us, once I liked them to my MDE they were unable to go online and do their own MDE because they were already linked to another reservation....mine! I called tech support from home when I thought there may be a problem and they said it was a glitch and they were working on it but there was nothing they could do at the time. They said they would have to take care of it at the resort. I hope you don't have the same issues that we had but I'm afraid it may be a possibility so be prepared. You may want to call Disney ahead of time and see if they can do something about it before hand.

 

[peekinglemer]

We are going in Nov. and have customized our bands and have the FP+ scheduled.

I have a question though -- for our stay at POR we have two rooms reserved the reservations are both in my name w/ one room showing my dd and I and the other my dh and two of our sons. Should I have set up an MDE for dh too?

I think in this case you are going to be fine. My mom had a totally separate reservation from mine and in your case, both reservations are under your name.

 

[patrickpiteo]

Just back from an amazing 8 nights at POR with the family. Another great Disney vacation. I know I had a lot of questions and concerns about Magic Bands and FP+ before I left so I thought I would pass along my views and experiences now that I have returned. Magic Bands - I was really torn about being part of the testing after reading some of the stories on here about problems with the Magic Bands but we decided to go for it. I was able to order Magic Bands from MDE for my family of 3 and my parents who were traveling with us. The first time we realized we may have a problem with our bands was at the airport using Magical Express. The bands scanned and worked great but my band scanned in 3 people and my mom's band scanned in 3 people (instead of 2). But we all got on the bus and to the resort. Check in was a mess. The magic bands worked great for my family but my parents magic bands would not check them in. The problem was that they did not have a MDE account. They are older and did not want to bother with that so I just linked their tickets under MY MDE account. DO NOT DO THAT! Their reservation would not pull up because they were now linked to me. The front desk had to cancel out their whole reservation, toss their colored magic bands, reissue them gray bands and redo their whole reservation. It took forever. We had free dining so I took everyone to the food court and used my magic and get everyone dinner while we waited. They called us 45 minutes later when everything was sorted out. We go to the room and MY Magic Band and my mom's Magic Band would not open our room doors. Everyone else could use their bands to open the door. Aug....back to the office my mom and I go. There were A LOT of people at the main desk with problems with the Magic Bands. One poor family was on day 3 and having issues getting into parks, getting into the room, and using their dining plan. Now I was starting to get worried. Zack helped us this time and he was great. He reset our bands, credited back all of my dining credits that I had used for dinner, and comped our rooms $$ back for the hassle. We did NOT asked to be compensated. We knew we signed up for the test and there could be issues. It was great of Zack to do that for us. I was worried that our Magic Bands would not work to get us into the parks the next day so we brought our back-up room keys just in case. I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH. The family that kept having issues never had their actual rooms keys on them and if they did they could have just used the keys as back up. If you are using Magic Bands during the testing phase then KEEP YOUR ROOM KEYS ON YOU ALSO!!!!! I am happy to report that the Magic Bands worked great after the first issue with check in. The only other time they would not scan was at Tony's for dinner. We just gave them our room keys and no issues. I think, once Disney perfects these bands they will be great. We spent cash on this vacation but didn't want to bring money to the water parks and just scanning the magic bands for drinks and purchases was great. They are very comfortable and did not make us feel sweaty even in 85 degree heat. The CM's at POR said they were only in week 2 of testing the bands at that resort and they are still trying to get all the kinks out. The CM's were all great but a lot of the food servers and staff at the shops made it very clear they did not like the bands. I would give the Magic Bands an 8 out of 10. They were fun to use, and when they worked they were very nice to have. And they worked great every time for FP+. Which brings me to my next topic....fast pass plus. FP+ - I had no desire to use FP+ AT ALL. The thought of scheduling out my day so far in advance was ridiculous. But I was curious to see how FP+ worked so on Friday night I made FP+ selections for my family AND my parents (we had our accounts linked so I was able to do this) for Animal Kingdom the next day. After breakfast at Tusker House we headed to our first FP+ ride, the Safari. The Magic Bands worked great at the Fast Pass return line and on we went. It worked great. We toured the rest of that area and then headed to Everest for our next FP+ ride. In the end we all really liked using FP+. Instead of going up to a ride, pulling a fast pass ticket, waiting for the return time and then going BACK to the ride, we could just walk up the attraction and get on. It was not hard to plan around your fast pass times at all. And, if you can't make a return time because you are doing something else then you can change your ride time OR even change what attraction you want to ride. The only issues I really saw with FP+ was that Disney wifi was iffy. A lot of times I couldn't access the site. Another issue is that FP+ times run out fast. The parks were all very quiet the whole time we were there. We really didn't even need fast passes as most rides had a wait time of only 10 minutes. But twice when I tried to change a fp+ time it came up "No Available Times". If that is the case during a slow day in September then I can't imagine how it would work during a busy summer day. The other great thing about FP+ is that you can make different selections for different members of your party. One day my parents took my son to Epcot and I made FP+ selections for them, while my husband and I went to Animal Kingdom and had different FP+ selections. No issues doing this at all. Fast Pass Plus got an 8 -10 from me only because you couldn't not always access the Disney site and return times fill up fast. If anyone has any questions let me know.

Did you pull any paper FP while you were there?

 

[peekinglemer]

We did get some paper fast passes while we were in the parks. They worked for everyone's card but mine! (Go figure). My card kept coming up "card not used to enter the park for the day". The CM's at ALL the fast pass locations were great though. All three times we did this they simple opened up the machine and grabbed a paper fast pass for me. No questions asked.