Apple Watch as Magic Band

[MinnieMSue]

I had initially planned to use the watch but decided to just buy myself a plain band and my daughter a sparkly one to use. I will wear my watch and put the band in my bag after scanning into the park. The kid can use her band to scan photo pass etc. I do have a thing to connect the puck to my watch but am not particularly fond of it so u prob won’t do that

 

[tripplanner2]

Staying at the Dolphin this year because of the limited perks for onsite guests. We have always loved the Magic Band and we are looking to add Memory Maker to our reservation. I am hoping to use a smartwatch for purchases, tickets, and memory maker. Does anyone know of an inexpensive smartwatch that will work for these purposes?

 

[scrappinginontario]

Staying at the Dolphin this year because of the limited perks for onsite guests. We have always loved the Magic Band and we are looking to add Memory Maker to our reservation. I am hoping to use a smartwatch for purchases, tickets, and memory maker. Does anyone know of an inexpensive smartwatch that will work for these purposes?

Merged with a current thread on this topic. Lots of great information here.

 

[subtchr]

Staying at the Dolphin this year because of the limited perks for onsite guests. We have always loved the Magic Band and we are looking to add Memory Maker to our reservation. I am hoping to use a smartwatch for purchases, tickets, and memory maker. Does anyone know of an inexpensive smartwatch that will work for these purposes?

If by “purchases” you mean charging to a room account as you would use a MagicBand, you will not be able to do that, with a watch or anything else, when staying at the Swan.

But you can definitely use a smart watch enabled with Apple Pay or another digital payment method (I’m not familiar with what is available outside of
Apple, sorry).

You can also have a digital Disney gift card loaded in an Apple Wallet (and I think on Google Pay), and scan the QR code for that on a watch. That’s what I did almost exclusively last trip.

 

[scrappinginontario]

You can also have a digital Disney gift card loaded in an Apple Wallet (and I think on Google Pay), and scan the QR code for that on a watch. That’s what I did almost exclusively last trip.

This is a great tip! thanks!! Guessing that would work for table service dining also?

 

[shawthorne44]

I didn't know that was an option! I would be very careful, and super polite, because I'm sure CMs get a lot of grief. I like to eat "off hours," so it might be doable.

Thanks for the tip!

I tell people that my phone is 'a bit dim for security reasons'.
For example, my phone can't pull up a menu with a QR Code. It isn't as secure as I'd like, but more than most.

 

[subtchr]

This is a great tip! thanks!! Guessing that would work for table service dining also?

Yep! I used it for everything.

 

[The Mayor]

I still can’t add my pass to my wallet through my iPhone 11. I’ve updated to iOS 14.6 and my Apple Watch 3 to to Version 7.5 and I still get the same error message.

 

[creamypuffs]

Hi all - I keep reading about turning express mode on the Apple Watch. I already turned express mode on for my phone but I can't find express mode on the Apple Watch apple wallet. I managed to get the ticket over to the apple watch wallet. Any idea is the express mode something I still need to do on apple watch? Thanks!

 

[CarolynFH]

Hi all - I keep reading about turning express mode on the Apple Watch. I already turned express mode on for my phone but I can't find express mode on the Apple Watch apple wallet. I managed to get the ticket over to the apple watch wallet. Any idea is the express mode something I still need to do on apple watch? Thanks!

On my iPhone I open the Watch app and then the Wallet and Apple Pay app there. Under Other Cards I tap on my Disney Magic Mobile Pass to open the page showing the details like my name and a QR code. Scrolling down past the QR code brings me to the Express Mode toggle, which is toggled green. If you see that in the Watch app, you’re good!

 

[creamypuffs]

On my iPhone I open the Watch app and then the Wallet and Apple Pay app there. Under Other Cards I tap on my Disney Magic Mobile Pass to open the page showing the details like my name and a QR code. Scrolling down past the QR code brings me to the Express Mode toggle, which is toggled green. If you see that in the Watch app, you’re good!

OK perfect, yes I did that! I wasn't sure if I had to find Express Mode toggle on the Apple Watch. It sounds like only needed on iPhone. Thank you!

 

[creamypuffs]

One more question if anyone has experience - will using Apple Watch work for Genie+ and Virtual Queue?

 

[CarolynFH]

One more question if anyone has experience - will using Apple Watch work for Genie+ and Virtual Queue?

I don’t have experience with Genie+ LL or ILL$ yet, but it should work just like a MB. Both my husband’s and mine worked perfectly at the park entrances!

 

[Bmlors]

One more question if anyone has experience - will using Apple Watch work for Genie+ and Virtual Queue?

Yes, I used it for Genie+ entry and Remy last week. I used my watch for everything except unlocking my room (used my phone for that) — I never had to use my magic band (which I packed ‘just in case’).

One note — Express Mode on the watch was hit/miss. There were times where I had to activate the watch (just like using Apple Pay for those familiar with that).

 

[creamypuffs]

Yes, I used it for Genie+ entry and Remy last week. I used my watch for everything except unlocking my room (used my phone for that) — I never had to use my magic band (which I packed ‘just in case’).

One note — Express Mode on the watch was hit/miss. There were times where I had to activate the watch (just like using Apple Pay for those familiar with that).

THANK YOU THANK YOU! What a relief to know that.

Noted on the express mode! Don't mind having to turn it on.

 

[TheMick424]

Anyone have recent experience using MagicMobile with Express Mode enabled when you have multiple passes in your wallet (ie. mine and my kids)? According to the Apple website, if you have Express Mode enabled, it enables it for all the passes in your wallet. Does this cause issues when tapping in for entry or Lightning Lanes? How does it know which pass to choose if you have different park reservations, G+ or ILL$ in your party?

"When you add a MagicMobile Pass on your iPhone, you automatically add it to your paired Apple Watch, too.

Express Mode is turned on automatically, which allows you to use your MagicMobile Pass with just a tap. You don't have to open the Wallet app, or even wake or unlock your device. When you add multiple MagicMobile Passes to a device, Express Mode is turned on for all of them."

 

[Bmlors]

Anyone have recent experience using MagicMobile with Express Mode enabled when you have multiple passes in your wallet (ie. mine and my kids)?

My experience probably doesn't count as recent anymore (it was November), but per my note above my experience with Express mode was hit/miss. I originally had both my wife and my pass on the watch and that did not work well. Each time I had to select a specific pass to get it to work. So I then removed my wife's (she had her own, so I had no need for it on my watch) and then it mostly worked via Express. I still had a couple of times where I'd try to use it at a turnstile and it wouldn't light up, so after a second or two I'd just give up and double tap the watch button to explicitly activate the pass.

 

[sonnysmom]

i bought a puck holder that slides over the apple band from Amazon. Worked perfectly.

 

[CarolynFH]

i bought a puck holder that slides over the apple band from Amazon. Worked perfectly.View attachment 642382

I have one similar that came from Etsy. My watch functioned just fine as a MB in previous trips after MagicMobile was implemented but last week wouldn’t work at all. Fortunately I had brought last year’s MB puck in the watch band slider, so I just slipped it on and was good to go.

 

[RN_Mama_inFL]

Anyone have recent experience using MagicMobile with Express Mode enabled when you have multiple passes in your wallet (ie. mine and my kids)? According to the Apple website, if you have Express Mode enabled, it enables it for all the passes in your wallet. Does this cause issues when tapping in for entry or Lightning Lanes? How does it know which pass to choose if you have different park reservations, G+ or ILL$ in your party?

"When you add a MagicMobile Pass on your iPhone, you automatically add it to your paired Apple Watch, too.

Express Mode is turned on automatically, which allows you to use your MagicMobile Pass with just a tap. You don't have to open the Wallet app, or even wake or unlock your device. When you add multiple MagicMobile Passes to a device, Express Mode is turned on for all of them."

Yes we were just there last weekend. My husband and I used our Apple watches for park entry and LL tap ins. At first I had both my husband and my pass in my wallet. (I had also shared his to him). It worked fine for the first park entrance. But then I ended up having to remove his from my wallet because it wasn’t working at ride tap ins. So I think it’s best to only have your pass in your own wallet if possible.

ETA: My daughter still used her magic band