G+ LL reservations - does everyone in my group need to "tap in" at the ride

[cman]

I have a group of family members in MDE and I will be making the G+ LL reservations for a rides for everyone in my group.

When we get to the ride do they all need their phones with them or can I "tap in" for the group using my phone?

 

[EmilyGahr]

I have a group of family members in MDE and I will be making the G+ LL reservations for a rides for everyone in my group.

When we get to the ride do they all need their phones with them or can I "tap in" for the group using my phone?

Everyone will need their own individual magicband, ticket, or magic mobile.

 

[diskids2]

And don't make the same mistake I made last week - if someone is in your group with G+ and doesn't tap in or ride, then you can't get another G+ until the hour expires.

In other words, My husband said he wanted to ride Smugglers Run. We got the G+, then he didn't want to ride. So even though I was eligible as soon as I tapped in....I couldn't get him another G+ until the hour was over.

I hope I"m making sense.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

In that case maybe get the husband to tap in, but let the CMs know he doesn't actually want to ride but would like to see the queue...they will take care of that

 

[kcool]

You can also cancel an individual person. I didn’t want to ride space mountain and as soon as I saw I was the only name left in the list, I canceled my pass. I could have done it before that, but I didn’t want to accidentally screw their pass up.
I saw people trying to use their phone to scan each family member into a ride, took forever and really held the line up when 10 people were just standing there and you couldn’t get by to use the other side. I definitely recommend each family member handling their own band/card.

 

[twodogs]

And note that many rides have two tap points, one at the LL line entry and another near the merge point with the SB line (to prevent folks jumping into the LL after entering the SB line). So if someone does not want to ride and you are afraid to cancel one person (which I was, at times), the person needs to walk the entire LL line, tapping in at each point. Then just tell the CM you are not riding. Most, and likely all, rides have a "chicken exit" that you can use which puts you at/near the exit at the end of the ride for the riders.

If the person is not there to tap in, you can cancel the LL for just one person in the app. Then you will be free to book the next LL for all in the party since they have all checked in or cancelled. If you just let the LL expire for the non-riding person, that person can't book that ride again that day, even though they didn't ride it the first time. And you will have to wait longer to book your next LL than if you just tap in or cancel the LL.

 

[cman]

I'm thinking of just using the old way and getting magic bands. My group is 10 people ages 10-80 so using magic mobile may be an issue. Thanks for the responses.

 

[x93nelson13]

I'm thinking of just using the old way and getting magic bands. My group is 10 people ages 10-80 so using magic mobile may be an issue. Thanks for the responses.

I would agree with this sentiment. The cards are ok, but my kids would lose them. Or adults searching in pockets. Or whatever. The phone solution would be even worse. We used magic bands on the last trip as usual, and it was easy with a 6 year old and a forgetful wife. A large group like that? A no brainer IMO.

Also, as an added incentive, a lot (most? I am not sure) require you to tap AGAIN once you get inside. So two taps. Get the bands.

 

[HopperFan]

I'm thinking of just using the old way and getting magic bands. My group is 10 people ages 10-80 so using magic mobile may be an issue. Thanks for the responses.

Went on family trip; 2 of us used our MagicBands, 1 used his hard ticket and 3 used their phones or apple watches. MagicBands and Ticket tapped in flawlessly and fast. The others sometimes took a few tries and the time it took to pull it up. I think they would have all rather used MagicBands if they had them.

 

[princesswahooey]

I wish they hadn't started charging for magic bands. They honestly make everything run so much smoother. They were totally worth it for us. But on our recent trip it seems like I saw more people NOT using the magic bands than in the past. I'm sure it's because it's a way to save money, but it really should be included with the purchase of G+.

I can't tell you how many times on our recent trip that we were behind a group in the LL line where one person was trying to tap in a whole group of 6 or 7 people by using a phone. It really does slow things down and causes a traffic jam in LL. A group congregating around the tap point blocks other guests from being able to tap in on the other side.

The technology is just not fast enough on the phones. I saw so many frustrated people trying to scan in on their phones multiple times with errors and refreshing and trying again.

I totally understand people not wanting to fork out more money to buy the bands, especially with a large family. The free cards scan just as quickly as a magic band. Just one caveat there: I get that it's easier for a parent to hang onto all the cards so kids don't lose them, but it really helps to hand out the cards before you get in line so each person can tap in on their own and then collect the cards after the 2nd tap point. Otherwise, it creates the same back-up as the phone situation above.

Hopefully you can find a good solution for your group!