A few Questions on MagicBands

[BrianJ844]

We are planning a trip to DL in late May this year (myself, wife and 4 year old daughter). And I am toying the idea of getting either; one MagicBand for say my wife, a set for the entire family, or just using the phones like we have done in years past (the three of us went in Nov 2022 and Dec 2023).

1. Is there any benefit for one person in your party to have a MagicBand? I thought I read somewhere that some on ride photos automatically link while on the ride if you have a MagicBand on and you might lose out on those photos otherwise? I might be making this up... Photopass photographers would be nice and quick at least. If we make it to one of the nighttime shows (kid will probably pass out before then ) then we would get to see the light effects as well. Any other benefits to have one band in the group?

2. Would it complicate it if one person in the party has a band and the others do not?

3. We are thinking of possibly doing a Disney World trip in 2026. We haven't been there since 2019 and I assume they do not provide MagicBand for free for staying on site anymore? Would the bands bought for DL work at Disney World a year later?

4. I am a bit disappointed in the designs offered in the Disney Story. I read that at the parks, there are far more. Is this true? If we want to splurge on bands, would it be best to wait until downtown Disney or in the parks itself to pick them up?

5. Does an apple watch effectively replace the band? Can it be easily used to tap into the park, rides, photopass photographers just as easy?

Thanks for any advice,
Brian

 

[BrianL]

We are planning a trip to DL in late May this year (myself, wife and 4 year old daughter). And I am toying the idea of getting either; one MagicBand for say my wife, a set for the entire family, or just using the phones like we have done in years past (the three of us went in Nov 2022 and Dec 2023).

1. Is there any benefit for one person in your party to have a MagicBand? I thought I read somewhere that some on ride photos automatically link while on the ride if you have a MagicBand on and you might lose out on those photos otherwise? I might be making this up... Photopass photographers would be nice and quick at least. If we make it to one of the nighttime shows (kid will probably pass out before then ) then we would get to see the light effects as well. Any other benefits to have one band in the group?

2. Would it complicate it if one person in the party has a band and the others do not?

3. We are thinking of possibly doing a Disney World trip in 2026. We haven't been there since 2019 and I assume they do not provide MagicBand for free for staying on site anymore? Would the bands bought for DL work at Disney World a year later?

4. I am a bit disappointed in the designs offered in the Disney Story. I read that at the parks, there are far more. Is this true? If we want to splurge on bands, would it be best to wait until downtown Disney or in the parks itself to pick them up?

5. Does an apple watch effectively replace the band? Can it be easily used to tap into the park, rides, photopass photographers just as easy?

Thanks for any advice,
Brian

I can answer some of these, but I am not sure on the first two.

3. WDW no longer offers a free MagicBand, but you do get the opportunity to purchase from a select set at a discount with a resort stay. Only MB+ work at DLR, and the one you buy for DLR will also work at WDW.

4. There are definitely more styles offered at the parks. I do feel like DLR doesn't have as many as WDW does as they are not as popular there, but there should be more than there are online.

5. I believe you can use an Apple Watch to basically supplant a MagicBand for in-park functions (note, later in this thread there is information that you cannot do this at DLR), however do note that at WDW it cannot be used as the key to your resort room. DLR doesn't use bands for their room keys, so it's not an issue there anyway.

 

[LKing]

There is no benefit for one person to have MB and not the others. When you enter the parks or tap into a LL attraction, you will need to pull up each person's ticket on your (or their) phone or use a MB. One person's MB can't tap in for all three people.

Ride photos auto link at WDW but not at Disneyland. You can use your phone for PhotoPass photographers. Taking a screen shot of your tickets and PhotoPass makes it a little easier/faster.

Disneyland will only accept Magic Band +. They will work at WDW as well.

If you are looking for a specific character and have time to shop in DTD the day before you enter the parks, it might be fun to purchase then. I wouldn't wait until you are in the parks because you'll likely want to go on attractions when you enter and not spend that time shopping.

I've never tried it but have heard that Apple watch works at WDW. It does not work at Disneyland.

 

[BrianJ844]

Cool, thank you both for the replies. The fact that there doesn't seem to be any real benefits and we can purchase ones for WDW at discount (probably the basic color designs but still) makes me see why people forgoes getting them at DL then. Thanks again for the help!

 

[WinterSolider]

More important than the band, when you're traveling in a group the most important thing is to make sure that every adult is using their own My Disney Experience account with everyone linked to everyone else via friends and family. It gets icky when one person tries to manage everyone else's profile using the "Managed By..." feature, unless they're children.

 

[MonocularVision]

1. Is there any benefit for one person in your party to have a MagicBand? I thought I read somewhere that some on ride photos automatically link while on the ride if you have a MagicBand on and you might lose out on those photos otherwise? I might be making this up... Photopass photographers would be nice and quick at least. If we make it to one of the nighttime shows (kid will probably pass out before then ) then we would get to see the light effects as well. Any other benefits to have one band in the group?

No automatic ride photo functionality at DL, only WDW. At DL, you will be typing in a code into the app after finding it on a big board of screens with photos.

PhotoPass photographers can scan Magic Bands which is mildly more convenient then having them scan a QR code from your phone.

That would be the main benefit of a single person having a MagicBand.

2. Would it complicate it if one person in the party has a band and the others do not?

Not really. That person could scan themselves in through LL and entrance gates but you can still check them in via app. It doesn’t really make things worse, you just won’t get the full benefit of keeping your phone put away in those moments.

3. We are thinking of possibly doing a Disney World trip in 2026. We haven't been there since 2019 and I assume they do not provide MagicBand for free for staying on site anymore? Would the bands bought for DL work at Disney World a year later?

You are correct they are no longer free. Yes, you can use the MagicBand+ bands you get for DL at WDW.

4. I am a bit disappointed in the designs offered in the Disney Story. I read that at the parks, there are far more. Is this true? If we want to splurge on bands, would it be best to wait until downtown Disney or in the parks itself to pick them up?

I recently looked online and was super disappointed in the selection as well. The World of Disney store in Downtown Disney definitely has more options.

5. Does an apple watch effectively replace the band? Can it be easily used to tap into the park, rides, photopass photographers just as easy?

The Apple Watch functionality doesn’t work at all at Disneyland, only WDW.

 

[BrianL]

Cool, thank you both for the replies. The fact that there doesn't seem to be any real benefits and we can purchase ones for WDW at discount (probably the basic color designs but still) makes me see why people forgoes getting them at DL then. Thanks again for the help!

They do usually have several different designs besides the solid colors, but they are somewhat limited. They change all the time though. They will not have the full selection that you might find at the parks -especially WDW where they have a TON of them.

 

[Wedgeout]

The magicband+ is managed in the MDE for updates and colors, etc. It gets linked to your Disneyland app to use there. It’s pretty much a novelty items for this park. If managing others, phone will work best. I use a magicband+ at DLR. It has some convenience with scanning in, Lightning lanes & photopass photographers. Might get just one for yourself and let the family see what it does. There are some activation spots around the parks. (For example in DCA, at the Big Al carving, at the rapids area, he will sing for you with a wave of the band).

 

[LuvOrlando]

I was able to use our old free WDW bands from 2016 for our WDW trip in 2023, no issues at all but there was backup in either our app or room key... I don't remember the backup exactly just that there was some kind of backup. The app was able to find us from our old trip and sync it no problem and when I was looking fora trip to DL it didn't seem to matter.

 

[twoolle]

Does Disneyland give the option of hard plastic tickets at all?

 

[MonocularVision]

Does Disneyland give the option of hard plastic tickets at all?

No.

 

[Wedgeout]

Does Disneyland give the option of hard plastic tickets at all?

Not the plastic. Can get a paper one but why really unless no smart phone. You can though get a cool plastic Autopia driver license now for $10.

 

[brightlined]

Disneyland is pretty much all app (and MB+) at this point. There are conflicting reports as to whether you can still get paper tickets at Guest Services if you need them.

For the WDW folks: Disneyland is still using barcodes rather than RFID cards for admission. The MyMagic+ upgrade at WDW ten years ago was too expensive and not practical for the small number of resort (hotel) guests at DLR. DLR used a workaround to get MB+ working - it attaches to a ticket, not a person. (At Disneyland, you can theoretically borrow someone else's MB+, use it there, then give it back - it doesn't permanently attach like at WDW.)

 

[Kit Jackson]

Cool, thank you both for the replies. The fact that there doesn't seem to be any real benefits and we can purchase ones for WDW at discount (probably the basic color designs but still) makes me see why people forgoes getting them at DL then. Thanks again for the help!

In addition, as others have hinted at, MagicBands have significantly less functionality at Disneyland as opposed to WDW. MagicBands let you into the parks, scan into rides, and PhotoPass photographers can scan it to link photos, it lights up at shows, and you can scan it for some treasure hunt type activities. I think that's pretty much it. Disneyland is more of a locals park with far fewer people staying at the resort, which is another reason why MagicBand is not as popular/common at Disneyland as opposed to WDW.

 

[ahintz]

We just went to Disneyland with our 5-year-old (me, my wife, and our son) and used MagicBands for the first time. It actually ended up working very well - it made it easy getting into the park as the cast member was able to just scan in each of our magic bands, rather than me having to pull up the tickets and swipe on my phone. We had lightning lane, and our son loved scanning in his magic band at the LL kiosks. For PhotoPass, I just had the photographer scan my magic band so I didn't have to pull up the app on my phone. Having been to the parks several times the last few years with our son and using my phone for those trips, I found the magic bands a nice quality-of-life improvement. Definitely not necessary, but I was pleasantly surprised by how well it worked with our son and how much we enjoyed having them for this trip.

 

[twoolle]

Not the plastic. Can get a paper one but why really unless no smart phone. You can though get a cool plastic Autopia driver license now for $10.

I do have 5 kids and 4 of them do not have phones. There might be some rides that the middles do together (10-15 in age) that parents sit out. So I'm trying to find best solution. Plus having one person scan for 5 to 7 people on one phone can be really annoying. So much easier at WDW when they all had their own MB's.

 

[LKing]

So that there is no confusion, Disneyland only accepts Magic Band +. If you have an old MB that is not MB+, it will not work at Disneyland.
My Disney Experience (MDE) is what is used at WDW. Disneyland doesn't refer to their app as MDE.
Regarding physical tickets, Plan Disney answered this question in February and in March. https://plandisney.disney.go.com/qu...icket-request-physical-ticket-eticket-604029/ and https://plandisney.disney.go.com/question/physical-ticket-everything-based-scanning-phone-606802/

 

[Wedgeout]

I do have 5 kids and 4 of them do not have phones. There might be some rides that the middles do together (10-15 in age) that parents sit out. So I'm trying to find best solution. Plus having one person scan for 5 to 7 people on one phone can be really annoying. So much easier at WDW when they all had their own MB's.

The guest services outside between the two park gates should be able to get you those small paper cards.

 

[SL6827]

So bands used at WDW will work at DL?

 

[BrianL]

So bands used at WDW will work at DL?

Yes, as long as they are MagicBand+ - an original MB or 2.0 version will not work at DLR at all.