Magic bands and younger kids

[pelletier26]

Looking for new ideas for 6/7 year-olds and their magic bands. Should they wear them or are the lanyards better for them?

 

[bumbershoot]

Doesn’t matter. No one NEEDS magicbands. Do they want to wear them? If you’re staying off-site you likely have plastic cards so lanyards would work fine. If you’re staying onsite you’ll have to have the conversation about getting a keycard etc.

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

My 7 yo wore hers last year. I was initially concerned that she would have trouble keeping track of it, but she did a pretty good job. We took the removable outer edge off and it fit her wrist pretty well. Throughout the day, I'd periodically look down to make sure she still had it and she always did. The only time she lost it was in the lazy river at I think Blizzard Beach. She was rough housing a bit with her uncle in the water, and we realized right away when she had lost it. It had floated a bit upstream, but it took less than 5 mins to find it. The next time we go, I will probably just not have her wear it at the water parks as there's really no need for a kid to wear one there. For her, a lanyard wouldn't have worked as well as I can't ever get her to keep those around her neck and I'm not a huge fan of her wearing things around her neck on certain rides where they could potentially get caught on something. It all depends on the kid though.We didn't want to put her entitlements on a keycard as not all of her shorts have pockets and sometimes the adults spilt up with the kids so it would have been a pain trying to remember to pass off the keycard to whatever adult she was with so she could use her FPs.

The other option that I had considered was putting the puck on a keychain and attaching that to her belt loop. Unless your kid is pretty tall though or you get a retractable keychain, you might have to take the keychain off when they need to scan it for FPs as the scanners are a bit higher than a child's waist level. Also bear in mind that not all shorts have belt loops.

Overall, try not to worry too much. If you're staying on site, I know you can go to the front desk at your hotel and get a plain grey replacement magic band if you lose yours and they can swap everything over/ deactivate the old band. I'm not sure how that works if you're in the parks when it happens or if you're staying off site though.

 

[Helene_C]

My son wore his MB on his wrist at ages 5.5 and 8.5 with no issues. Didn’t come off or get lost.

 

[pelletier26]

Thanks. Grandkids are 5 and 7 now. Last visit was 2 years ago and we held on to their bands then. I think we're going to let them wear their bands this time. I agree with your opinion on lanyards and safety -so no lanyards.
5 days to go!

 

[Shsmith341]

My 4 year old was fine with it. I worried about it coming off though. For our next trip, I'm going to buy a secure clip from Amazon to make sure it doesn't come undone .

 

[Shsmith341]

They are called bitbelts .

 

[HopperFan]

We have the BitBelts on all our MBs.
They are not expensive and worth it.
I like the Glow in the Dark but there are a wide range of colors.
I like they are thin, fit snug and I can't feel them like the Disney sliders.

https://www.bitbelt.com/main.sc

 

[disneydreamer1980]

I let my kids wear their own MBs when they turn 8, before that age I hold onto them. I just like to know that they’re old and responsible enough to keep it on and not lose it, and to tell me if they do lose it. The lanyards would worry me, for safety issues.

 

[FrankieWinthrop]

My four year old has worn hers with no issues each trip this year. I second (or third or fourth) the bitbelts. You get a pack of like 10 for $5-$7 on Amazon. She enjoyed picking which color(s) she'd wear with her magic band. DH and I wear them on ours as well.

 

[Cajun23]

Our twins wore them at 3 and 4 with no issues or bitbelts. IF they took them off they were good about handing them to us so i guess we had a little luck on our side also.

 

[DizneyLizzy]

My 4 year old doesn’t wear his. I don’t even give him the option bc I’m afraid he’ll lose it.

I wear his and then let him scan it in for park entry and fast passes, then he gives it back to me and I wear it again.

He hates to have things on his wrist, so it’s not like he’s begging to wear his own band.

 

[jeepnjudy]

My DS5 and DS14 both wanted the lanyards as they are used to wearing them on the cruise and neither wear watches so they don't like having anything on their wrists. I guess it depends on what your children are most comfortable with.

 

[ChemMom]

My four year old wore hers the whole time without any issues. My two year old even insisted on wearing hers the whole time and had no issues. They thought it was fun!

 

[quoo]

My 3 year old really wants to wear his. Actually, he really wants to wear his now, just around the house. He's super excited. Is it really a problem if they lose them? Can't you just get replacement ones? (I assume for a small fee) They seem pretty secure, although I'm not letting him wear his until we get there.

 

[Jen309]

Last time we went, kids were 5, 6, and 9. All wore their (original style) bands, and none came close to losing them, nor did they try to take them off, etc.

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

My 3 year old really wants to wear his. Actually, he really wants to wear his now, just around the house. He's super excited. Is it really a problem if they lose them? Can't you just get replacement ones? (I assume for a small fee) They seem pretty secure, although I'm not letting him wear his until we get there.

If you're staying at a Disney resort, you can get a free replacement magic band at the front desk if you lose yours. In the past, it was just a basic grey one, but it was free. They can deactivate the old band and change everything over to the new one for you. I'm not sure if you can get the free replacements in the park though and imagine they would probably charge you for a new one if you were not a resort guest.

 

[quoo]

Thanks! That's great to know. I'm not planning on losing them, but it's good to know that if we take the risk of letting him wear it, it can be easily replaced.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

DD has worn a magic band since she was 3 (she's 6 now), we have never had an issue with it. She thinks it is cool and likes to wear it and scan it.

 

[Crystal824]

My three year old wore her band. While she did end up losing it at the hotel pool, we were able to get her a replacement at the front desk no problem. They eventually found the one she lost and returned it to her too.