Magic Bands? Are these useful?

[queenofhartz]

I am feeling pretty overwhelmed with my Disneyland trip planning. I've looked into Magic Bands, and I'm wondering if these are worth it? I think you can use them to get into the parks and for Genie+? We are going for 3 days with park hopper and genie +. Is a Magic Band good to get? I've seen used ones for sale; can I buy these, or is it better to get brand new Magic Bands? Thank you! Sincerely, Don't know what I'm doing

 

[OlliePop27]

I am feeling pretty overwhelmed with my Disneyland trip planning. I've looked into Magic Bands, and I'm wondering if these are worth it? I think you can use them to get into the parks and for Genie+? We are going for 3 days with park hopper and genie +. Is a Magic Band good to get? I've seen used ones for sale; can I buy these, or is it better to get brand new Magic Bands? Thank you! Sincerely, Don't know what I'm doing

You will get a lot of varied answers on the usefulness of MagicBands and it is ultimately subjective. Many people don't find them worthwhile at Disneyland.

Personally, I find them to be amazing at Disneyland. As the person who manages everything for everyone and plans the entire trip, it makes it much easier for me. I book park reservations and associate a MagicBand to a ticket, and I book all Lightning Lanes. Instead of having to pull my phone out constantly, each person can scan their band for entry into the parks and to get onto Lightning Lane attractions. Part of our group can ride something with Lightning Lane and I don't need to go with them.

MagicBands are not necessary, and they are pretty expensive, but they can also be re-used on each trip and used at Disney World. I find it to be worthwhile and it makes my experience at Disneyland better, easier, and less stressful. You also don't need to charge them for just scanning into the parks and lightning lane.

 

[CamillaF]

The magic bans are attached to your MDB so if they have been used by another person they are useless for you. You can reuse them on every trip to Disneyland, Disney World and on some ships. However you don't need the bands. They can make it easier with Genie + but you can buy them there if you want. I have them and LOVE them. But I have twin 10 year olds and it makes it easier and magical for me. If it was just me and my husband I would most likely skip.

 

[CWTC]

We think they’re faster/easier than using the phones to get into the park and tap into rides. We just linked a few from WDW to our DL accounts and they worked great.

 

[Lisa24jks]

Usefuless is determined by what you get out of it. I have one mostly because I am a frequent visitor to the parks and MKholder, so it's worth it for me. But if this is a once in blue moon type visit, then it may not be. But, if you visit regularly or have plans to visit Walt Disney World, it could be very useful. (And it definitely does make a difference to not have to open the app every time you want to scan in to a ride or at the gates.)

At DLR, they only work for Genie+, gate entry and with photopass photographers, but if you're easily entertained like me, you'll get extra excited when they light up in different locations. LOL. They are much more functional at WDW.

So it's really a "mileage may vary" situation for everyone. Some people see no use, some people do. That said, I don't necessarily recommend buying used. I do think they can be reset even if someone else used them (don't quote me on it), but you have to make sure it's a Magic Band + and not an older version. Only the MB+ works at Disneyland. If you want to save money, you'd be better off checking sales on ShopDisney to see if they have any discounted bands available.

 

[Lumpy1106]

Pretty sure DL is like WDW (please correct if wrong), but you should be able to set up your My Disney Experience account on your phone and Smart Watch wallet. Works every bit as good as a Magic Band.

 

[Lisa24jks]

Pretty sure DL is like WDW (please correct if wrong), but you should be able to set up your My Disney Experience account on your phone and Smart Watch wallet. Works every bit as good as a Magic Band.

MagicMobile is only at WDW, not Disneyland.

 

[LKing]

Pretty sure DL is like WDW (please correct if wrong), but you should be able to set up your My Disney Experience account on your phone and Smart Watch wallet. Works every bit as good as a Magic Band.

Disneyland does not have Magic Mobile.

https://plandisney.disney.go.com/qu...nd-disneyland-parks-access-lightening-529950/

 

[DharmaLou]

I thiink they make things easier, but they are not a necessity.

 

[Lumpy1106]

MagicMobile is only at WDW, not Disneyland.

Bummer - well, thanks for the correction. IMHO, I don't like the MBs because it's too easy to lose them. They pop off pretty easily. I lost one when I was either removing or putting my backpack on when we went to Philharmagic. Just caught the band on the backpack and did not even notice until we went to get on the next attraction. So, while they are pretty neat, I find the entry ticket works just as good and it's far easier to stick it back in your pocket where you won't lose it.

 

[wabbott]

We like them. They seem to cut down on the amount of phone usage, which is a good thing.

 

[Lisa24jks]

Bummer - well, thanks for the correction. IMHO, I don't like the MBs because it's too easy to lose them. They pop off pretty easily. I lost one when I was either removing or putting my backpack on when we went to Philharmagic. Just caught the band on the backpack and did not even notice until we went to get on the next attraction. So, while they are pretty neat, I find the entry ticket works just as good and it's far easier to stick it back in your pocket where you won't lose it.

I bought the band holders on Amazon for mine, since they were pretty cheap and it's worked great so far. And since it came with a bunch in the pack, I've handed off several of them to others.

But as with any of these things, it's all up to what works for each person individually.

 

[OlliePop27]

My 4 year old also loves how the bands light up when exiting certain rides. It's kind of a silly thing, and many people won't care, but to him it makes the experience even more magical.

 

[Lisa24jks]

My 4 year old also loves how the bands light up when exiting certain rides. It's kind of a silly thing, and many people won't care, but to him it makes the experience even more magical.

I am secretly 4 years old, because SAME.

 

[crystal1313]

I am feeling pretty overwhelmed with my Disneyland trip planning. I've looked into Magic Bands, and I'm wondering if these are worth it? I think you can use them to get into the parks and for Genie+? We are going for 3 days with park hopper and genie +. Is a Magic Band good to get? I've seen used ones for sale; can I buy these, or is it better to get brand new Magic Bands? Thank you! Sincerely, Don't know what I'm doing

Only magicband+ work at Disneyland. I think that’s what you are asking, but want to make sure you know that!

We loved using our magic bands at Disneyland. Makes scanning into lightning lanes a bit easier. But they are absolutely not necessary. Originally we were not going to buy them, but we had a WDW trip in 2023 as well, so we splurged. Make sure to get the band holders ahead of time (amazon) so you don’t lose a magic band. Have a fun trip!

 

[Porsche4]

We are definitely going to buy them for our December trip this year. On our last trip my daughter was in charge of booking LL's and had our tickets installed on her phone. She was pretty sick of having to pull her phone out and get into the App every time we wanted to scan into a ride so it is a no brainer for us. Also we have 7 day passes so it will be worth it for us.

 

[Tinkaboo]

They are such timesavers when scanning into rides…you aren’t holding up the line dinking around with a phone. I would never go back to the old way. There are so many cool designs to pick from…they have replaced my Loungefly bag obsession! At least Magic Bands are cheaper!

And yes, the BitBelts on Amazon work amazingly well…I also use on my Apple Watch.

 

[CastAStone]

I don’t know if I found them $50 useful but they certainly were easier than using a phone as others have noted.

ShopDisney usually has clearance ones. They’re gone now, but last week they had ones for about $23.

Used ones will be fine for Disneyland but if they’ve been associated with a WDW ticket they can never be unlinked from that ticket holder *for WDW*. So if you think you might ever use them at WDW, don’t buy used ones.

 

[kittyklawz]

They do not have as much functionality as they do in WDW but I think they will in the future hopefully. We did end up getting them for our trip and we found them very helpful because we had a party of 6, genie+ and DAS. Depending on your party size and if you all can figure out using the phone app to scan in I don't think you NEED them but if you have the extra money and like convenience they are nice to have to scan in. You can use them to scan into the park and for LL as well as to scan for photo pass which is included in genie+ if you get that.

 

[pyratgrrl]

I used Magic Band+ at Disneyland for the first time in October 2023, and I enjoyed the convenience of using them versus my phone. I really hate having to use my phone so much at Disneyland, so for me, it was great to be able to scan into the park, scan into Genie+ rides, and for the PhotoPass photographers to be able to scan.