Old Magic Bands/Fastpass plus Loophole Closed?

[elmoandzoey]

The in park price is $12.99.

The Shop Disney Parks app (for iPhones) has the same pricing as the parks and solid color MBs are $12.99.

Thank you very much! I saw that price buy got so confused when I kept reading $19.99 for in park in several places. Guess they were referring to the special bands then. If it's same price, no need to order them ahead of time

 

[Bronte]

I have an old band from May 2014.
Will that still work ???

 

[hiroMYhero]

I have an old band from May 2014.
Will that still work ???

It will still work at FP tapstiles but if it is linked to the same MDE Profile/person/line where pre-booked FPs are linked, you can't use that MB for SDFPs.

 

[Bronte]

It will still work at FP tapstiles but if it is linked to the same MDE Profile/person/line where pre-booked FPs are linked, you can't use that MB for SDFPs.

They are someone elses magic bands from and an old trip just wondering if they would work for SDFPs even though it is reaching two years (when mb first came out I think I remember someone saying the chip only lasts up to 2 years)

 

[hiroMYhero]

They are someone elses magic bands from and an old trip just wondering if they would work for SDFPs even though it is reaching two years (when mb first came out I think I remember someone saying the chip only lasts up to 2 years)

The battery that is used by the device that reads the RFID is in the kiosk reader and the FP tapstile. You can use the MB without any problem.

 

[Robo]

They are someone elses magic bands from and an old trip just wondering if they would work for SDFPs even though it is reaching two years (when mb first came out I think I remember someone saying the chip only lasts up to 2 years)

It is not the CHIP that will "run down."
The chip is (for all practical purposes) good "forever."
But, there IS an internal battery in the MB, and that will eventually run down (2-3 yrs. give or take.)

However…

The battery that is used by the device that reads the RFID is in the kiosk reader and the FP tapstile. You can use the MB without any problem.

Agreed.

(And, just to pick the tiniest of nits:
It's not necessarily a "battery" in the tap styles that powers the MBs near-field RFID chip.
It is (in most cases) a power supply that runs from regular wall-current.)

 

[Mofang]

As I understand it, there are two wireless subsystems in the Magic Bands:

- a "NFC", or 'near field communication', tag. This is the one that's used at the Mickey-head readers, where you tap to activate it. This tag has no battery at all: it's powered by the reader, in exactly the same way that an electric toothbrush charges itself (inductive charging). That's the one used for fastpasses, park entry, and payment. It should work forever. (The reader can be powered by wall power - like the entry gates - or by a battery - like mobile payment kiosks at restaurants.)

- a 2.4ghz long range radio. This one uses a coin cell battery and is based on a Nordic Semiconductor chipset. It's proprietary, but uses the same frequency as Wi-Fi. Lots of other cheap wireless stuff uses this chipset because it's dirt cheap and pretty flexible - you'll find it in school attendance clickers, various toys, remote controls, etc. This is what's used for long range readers - like the new Story Maker displays in IASW that show your name, or for food delivery at Be our Guest. This will only last for a couple years before failing when the non-replaceable coin cell battery dies.

Hope that helps clear up a little of the confusion. tl;dr: Magic Bands should work forever for tapping at Mickey head readers throughout the parks, but the Story Maker/location features will eventually stop working.

(Source - http://www.eetimes.com/author.asp?section_id=69&doc_id=1320977 )

 

[Luisfba]

When doing this 'dual Magic Band'.. do you folks usually end up swapping what you are wearing as necessary, or end up wearing both? (if so, will it raise some eyebrows or create any issues?)

 

[ktate82]

What happens if you like a ticket to a phantom MB, make FP+, and then reassign the ticket to someone else? Does the FP+ reservations get canceled?

 

[Mickey Fliers]

I have read the thread and have a slightly different question. Can a resort stay be "un-linked" from MDE. We are doing a one night stay on DVC points followed by six points at a different resort on points. No park tickets have yet been linked to the MDE.

Thanks!

 

[hiroMYhero]

What happens if you like a ticket to a phantom MB, make FP+, and then reassign the ticket to someone else? Does the FP+ reservations get canceled?

Read the NBFP section in ScrapYap's thread:
http://www.disboards.com/threads/maximize-fp-get-a-second-set-see-post-227-before-posting.3245463/

 

[Vidia2]

$12.95 online and free shipping. And for our party of 7 it is completely worth it. For some it's not. This sounds like a topic that will harken the old days of legacy FastPass when one could return after the posted time hence stacking FastPass tickets all day long. I got a chuckle out of the Disney store website stating a limit of 25 MagicBands per order. That would be a lot of time management. lol

Where are these online? I only see the more expensive graphic ones on Disney Store Online. They have the cheaper ones on the app but it says they are only available in the park.

Edit: Never mind. They do have two colors available for order on the app. Sorry!

 

[ckelly14]

We are heading to park in December then again in 2017. I have 2 MDE's, and I plan on buying tickets for both, using only one for admission. I will be making 60 day fast passes for the ones attached to our current Dolphin stay, and 30 days for the other. I assume that I can access on set through the app, and one through the website so I don't get them confused.

Any feedback if the fast pass+ reservations made with the "fast pass generator" tickets (not used for admission), can be manipulated on the app? Does this sound do-able?

 

[hiroMYhero]

We are heading to park in December then again in 2017. I have 2 MDE's, and I plan on buying tickets for both, using only one for admission. I will be making 60 day fast passes for the ones attached to our current Dolphin stay, and 30 days for the other. I assume that I can access on set through the app, and one through the website so I don't get them confused.

Any feedback if the fast pass+ reservations made with the "fast pass generator" tickets (not used for admission), can be manipulated on the app? Does this sound do-able?

Yes, app Modifying works.

If you link the 2 MDEs together, you can share the 60-day booking window.

 

[ckelly14]

Yes, app Modifying works.

If you link the 2 MDEs together, you can share the 60-day booking window.

When you say linking, do you mean using a friend request? Not sure why, but I had a number of issues with linking in the past. I assume that the names/birthdates/addresses on the accounts were somehow too similar. Somehow, magic bands switched profiles, IT tried to merge my accounts, etc. I ended up getting it all situated but will probably stick to the 30 day window.

 

[hiroMYhero]

When you say linking, do you mean using a friend request? Not sure why, but I had a number of issues with linking in the past. I assume that the names/birthdates/addresses on the accounts were somehow too similar. Somehow, magic bands switched profiles, IT tried to merge my accounts, etc. I ended up getting it all situated but will probably stick to the 30 day window.

If the names are too similar, then it's best not to link then they'll get merged.

If you do want the 60-day booking window for your FP generators, go in and Edit all the names so they are vastly different than the other MDE names, and then link.

In reality, the 30-day window is fine and less time-consuming than linking.

 

[mscann311]

If we have family members who are ap holders and going for part of our trip, could I actually book fp for them on the last day they are not in the park and borrow their magic bands just to use for extra fp (not park entry). They are already in my mde. But their bands would not get scanned for park entry on last day.

 

[ArielSRL]

15% off magic bands on the disney site today (excludes plain color ones though)....

 

[TexasErin]

I posted this on another thread and didn't get an answer, so I was hoping that I could get some help on this thread....

This is our first trip with FP+ (we have gone to DLR the past two years). We are staying onsite and should be getting our included MBs soon.

Sorry to be dense, but I was planning on just buying some more MBs at the parks and using those for SDFP. Do you have to create an MDE account? Instead of creating a second MDE, I was planning on just buying the MB and using the kiosk to pick our three SDFPs. I realize that we wouldn't be able to modify any of those SDFP+ if we don't create another MDE account or add phantoms to our current MDE account...but if I don't plan on modifying any, do they still need to be connected to an MDE account? Trying to figure out the easiest way to do it....If I do have to create another MDE account, would it be easier to do it before our trip? We will not have any tickets or reservations linked to our purchased MBs.

TIA,
Erin

 

[marciemi]

If we have family members who are ap holders and going for part of our trip, could I actually book fp for them on the last day they are not in the park and borrow their magic bands just to use for extra fp (not park entry). They are already in my mde. But their bands would not get scanned for park entry on last day.

Yes, this works. You can even carry their AP cards instead if you don't want to haul extra MB's around.