Magic Bands

[gonitts]

Need some opinions. We are coming in May, staying offsite and have 6 day passes. No hoppers or add ons, just one park a day. Do most people order the magic bands and how much are they? What other options are there. Last time we were at Disney in 2015 we just used cards as I remember.

 

[Skippyboo]

The magic band is probably not going to be that useful since you are offsite so they aren’t used to open rooms, parking gates or charging stuff to your room. You can use your phone to get into the parks. If you want a magic band you can buy one there and add it to your MDE account. I believe they are 20-30 dollars. If you were onsite, you could purchase a slightly discounted magic band.

 

[JeannieNM]

Hi I also have some questions about Magic Bands. What is the advantage? We will be there for 3 days with Park Hoppers, DAS, Genie+, 4 of us who will be together sometimes and apart others. Not staying on premises (Four Seasons). What are the pros and cons on Magic Bands? Where can we buy them in advance?

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Hi I also have some questions about Magic Bands. What is the advantage? We will be there for 3 days with Park Hoppers, DAS, Genie+, 4 of us who will be together sometimes and apart others. Not staying on premises (Four Seasons). What are the pros and cons on Magic Bands? Where can we buy them in advance?

Staying off site, there isn't much benefit unless you just personally like the form factor. Staying on site, I like them because they're waterproof. I can go to the pool with absolutely nothing. No wallet, no room key, no phone, just my band and my bathing suit. It's much more valuable as a wearable room key than as a wearable park ticket, since you're going to have your phone and wallet with you in the parks anyways.

 

[JeannieNM]

Thank you for the clarification. It seems like it would save digging out the phone and could be a fun thing. (I have an old phone with a short lived battery). If I can use them at DLR where we have season passes it would be worth while but I doubt that is the case.

 

[erionm]

Thank you for the clarification. It seems like it would save digging out the phone and could be a fun thing. (I have an old phone with a short lived battery). If I can use them at DLR where we have season passes it would be worth while but I doubt that is the case.

Disney will be releasing a next generation MagicBand called MagicBand+ sometime this year at both WDW & DLR. No indication if one MagicBand+ will work at both WDW & DLR.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Disney will be releasing a next generation MagicBand called MagicBand+ sometime this year at both WDW & DLR. No indication if one MagicBand+ will work at both WDW & DLR.

WDW MagicBands already work at Aulani, and Aulani rides a lot of Disneyland IT infrastructure. I think it's (very) safe to assume that once MagicBands are "turned on" at Disneyland, they'll be usable across both sites.

 

[JeannieNM]

Thank you. I will wait and see what happens with MagicBand+. We will not be at DW until the end of July. We will be in and out of DLR between now and then so we can enquire there.

 

[dizneegirl]

Last time we were at Disney in 2015 we just used cards as I remember.

You can still get and use the hard cards. We pick ours up at a ticket counter on our way in to our first park.

 

[gonitts]

dizneegirl, that sounds like a good idea. Is there any place at Disney Springs to pick them up the night before since we may be there the night we fly in?

 

[erionm]

Is there any place at Disney Springs to pick them up the night before since we may be there the night we fly in?

Located in Town Center near the Disney Springs Welcome Center, D-Luxe Burger and Blaze Fast-Fire’d Pizza, the Disney Ticket Center is fully equipped to provide Guest assistance with the following:

• Theme park ticket sales, upgrades and will calls (including special events)
• Annual pass sales and renewals
• Military salute ticket sales and upgrades

Hours:

• Sunday to Thursday from 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM
• Friday and Saturday from 10:00 AM to 10:30 PM

https://www.disneysprings.com/guest-services/

 

[TiggerBouncy]

Hi I also have some questions about Magic Bands. What is the advantage? We will be there for 3 days with Park Hoppers, DAS, Genie+, 4 of us who will be together sometimes and apart others. Not staying on premises (Four Seasons). What are the pros and cons on Magic Bands? Where can we buy them in advance?

Con - cost. only cost.
Pro - they make a nice souvenir from your trip. You can buy some that fit your personality. I have a few different ones that I like and swap out frequently. You can use them instead of pulling out your phone. Since you are staying offsite, they really only have your park admission and any Genie+ or ILL that you might get.

When staying on site, they also serve as a credit card for any purchases (food and gifts) and your room key as well.

 

[CNYMickeyFan]

Just returned from WDW trip last week and used our MBs from a previous trip. The bands worked great. I watched many guests using cards too and the cards seemed to work great. I did try the option of scanning everyone's passes from my phone and found it to be a pain. Scan, swipe to the next pass, scan, swipe to the next, etc.

 

[McFlea]

I think I know the answer, but can you use any magic band from a previous trip, as long as it shows active in MDE?

 

[Skippyboo]

I think I know the answer, but can you use any magic band from a previous trip, as long as it shows active in MDE?

Yes you can use an old magic band.

 

[erionm]

I think I know the answer, but can you use any magic band from a previous trip, as long as it shows active in MDE?

If the MagicBand is more than a couple of years old, the automatic linking of ride photos may no longer function. Any function where you need to touch the MB to a reader (park entry, etc.) will work for virtually forever.

 

[Meglen]

I think I know the answer, but can you use any magic band from a previous trip, as long as it shows active in MDE?

just be aware that after a few years the knowing where you are function dies. So they work for tapping into things but not on ride photos and such.