Can a Magic Band be used without being scanned at entry?

[quest4dl]

Yes it works. It does not have to be activated at the gate. FP+ has nothing to do with actual park entry if you schedule them online.

It has worked this way since the very first time we used them in July and has continued to work this way every day since.

HTH!

Well that would be a silver-lining to fastpass plus. Since I've always found DH's park ticket to be a bit of a waste (joins us for about 2-3 hours and a meal before retreating back to the resort) if we can make use of his FP+ it would seem we are getting some use out of it!

 

[jco_direwolf]

First off I can confirm as of mid-january, FP+ if you used it to get into a park or not if you had reservations you could use the FP+'s. I used my Brother's band (he had to go back to tampa) for several FP+.

I can also tell you I've spoken to CM friend who is IT. He told me that "All the validation rules are disabled currently." So things like ticket must be used at gate before allowing you to use FP+ or to pick up SotMK cards. Disabled for now.

They will be turning them, but it's a guest experience thing now. People already get grumpy when MB don't work but they think they should. Adding those rules will make people more grumpy, I guess Disney is the pull the bandage off a little at a time and not a rip it off quickly type. (a little pain over a longer time, or a lot of pain for a moment.)

 

[ArwenMarie]

I believe everyone, that the bands work for FP even w/o park entry..

But how does that affect the ticket? If you can only make FP pre bookings with a valid ticket, does the ticket day go off your account too even if the person didn't use it to enter the park?

Or have people only done this with APs?

 

[mydisneykids]

Thanks for the firsthand stories.
Hopefully that will still be working when we go!!!

 

[jco_direwolf]

I believe everyone, that the bands work for FP even w/o park entry.. But how does that affect the ticket? If you can only make FP pre bookings with a valid ticket, does the ticket day go off your account too even if the person didn't use it to enter the park? Or have people only done this with APs?

As long as it has valid park media on it you can make the FP+. It be MYW or an AP.

 

[mlaw]

But if a family member stays, for instance, back at the resort to swim, and you take their magic band for the FP+, how would they get into their room? You would have their "room key". Right?

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Interesting. If this works, you could buy extra tickets, link them, reserve the additional FP+ and use the FP+ without ever using the tickets for park entrance. They would still be valid for future trips.

 

[JanaDee]

Interesting. If this works, you could buy extra tickets, link them, reserve the additional FP+ and use the FP+ without ever using the tickets for park entrance. They would still be valid for future trips.

Good point. But I don't expect the loophole to stay open for long.

 

[quest4dl]

But if a family member stays, for instance, back at the resort to swim, and you take their magic band for the FP+, how would they get into their room? You would have their "room key". Right?

Right - I'm the OP and we have an 'extra' magic band until my older DS joins us at the end of his high school trip. I wonder if they are issuing room keys, though, for people who don't want to wear a band.

 

[mydisneykids]

But if a family member stays, for instance, back at the resort to swim, and you take their magic band for the FP+, how would they get into their room? You would have their "room key". Right?

We have the benefit of having gone for a short stay in November and are getting another set of Magic Bands for our upcoming stay. My DH will keep one with them to use to go to the pool and swim and I can take the other to use.
I can see this not lasting too long, just hope it will work when we go. I am having a hard enough time adjusting to a new way of tourning, this may help ease the transition a bit for me.

 

[JanaDee]

We have the benefit of having gone for a short stay in November and are getting another set of Magic Bands for our upcoming stay. My DH will keep one with them to use to go to the pool and swim and I can take the other to use.
I can see this not lasting too long, just hope it will work when we go. I am having a hard enough time adjusting to a new way of tourning, this may help ease the transition a bit for me.

I've been thinking about this (yes, I have nothing better taking up brain space today ) and aren't tickets only linked to one set of bands, not all of them?

So only one set of bands should work for room tickets and room keys, right?

 

[Robo]

I've been thinking about this (yes, I have nothing better taking up brain space today ) and aren't tickets only linked to one set of bands, not all of them?

So only one set of bands should work for room tickets and room keys, right?

Nope.

All bands that are linked to an individual guest have the same access to that guest's MDE account info.

(The resort DOOR may or may not work for all of the bands at once, but the ticket info
and FP+ reservations should work interchangeably between all bands issued in the name of a single guest.)

 

[JanaDee]

Nope.

All bands that are linked to an individual guest have the same access to that guest's MDE account info.

So if someone has three different sets of bands from three different trips, all three sets of those bands have all the ticket and credit card info and ability to open the room door?

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Good point. But I don't expect the loophole to stay open for long.

It depends on why the systems are not currently "linked". Some technical issues are not easily overcome.

Disney knew that it was important to link these two systems before, so this was almost certainly something that they planned to implement from the outset, but that plan is being held up by something, and I suspect that the "something" is technical in nature.

 

[Robo]

So if someone has three different sets of bands from three different trips, all three sets of those bands have all the ticket and credit card info and ability to open the room door?

The charging and/or resort door may or may not work across all bands.
But, the ticket info
and FP+ reservations should work interchangeably between all bands issued in the name of a single guest.

 

[SleepDoctor]

My DH will go into the parks on a limited basis and definitely not go on many rides. I'd like to be able to use his FP+ reservations. I know this is possible if he has entered the parks with us but what if we just take his magic band in? It can't be scanned at entry because he won't be with us all the time. Does this mean the FP+ reservations are not 'activated'? He may join us later in the day in which case we would exit with his band so he could enter.

You need to be cautious about doing this. There are a couple of "redundancy" systems to prevent people from rushing the entry points without having their MagicBands scanned (and tickets decremented).

There is a secondary screening point that does not require any guest interaction that could decrement a ticket for the day. (Take a look at the receivers over your head as you enter the MK and walk through the train stations)

Also if you try to use that band at a FP+ kiosk, and the system see's the band but no admission used, by initiating the FP+ an admission for the day could be decremented.

 

[jco_direwolf]

It depends on why the systems are not currently "linked". Some technical issues are not easily overcome.

Disney knew that it was important to link these two systems before, so this was almost certainly something that they planned to implement from the outset, but that plan is being held up by something, and I suspect that the "something" is technical in nature.

I've been told the link is there checking and the result of the check is being ignored. They are debugging other things right now, and Disney doesn't feel they can handle the extra CM load dealing with this issue. And big picture, how many extra FP+ do you really think this loophole will generate?

You have to have Valid Admission in two different people's name, plus magicbands plus them on the reservation which means if they aren't a junior, then you are paying the upcharge for more adults in the room. It's a lot of work for 3 extra FP+

 

[BuckeyeBama]

I've been told the link is there checking and the result of the check is being ignored. They are debugging other things right now, and Disney doesn't feel they can handle the extra CM load dealing with this issue.

Thanks - makes sense

And big picture, how many extra FP+ do you really think this loophole will generate?

You have to have Valid Admission in two different people's name, plus magicbands plus them on the reservation which means if they aren't a junior, then you are paying the upcharge for more adults in the room. It's a lot of work for 3 extra FP+

If we could do this today without "using" the second ticket, who wouldn't want to do it. Setting it up would take far less time than standing on those stand-by lines. Not much extra work at all when time saved over an entire vacation is taken into consideration.

 

[jco_direwolf]

The charging and/or resort door may or may not work across all bands.
But, the ticket info
and FP+ reservations should work interchangeably between all bands issued in the name of a single guest.

In my experience, the doors and charging barely work. I have a ton of bands (more than 30 for my family of 3.) And the last trip (marathon weekend) my SO had to carry 2 bands. One had her AP associated correctly with it (from a previous trip) and one worked the door.

She tried the first day to get the old band to open the door (by going to GS/Check-in) the messed with the bands, didn't work didn't feel like trying again.

In Nov EVERY NIGHT (yes I mean every night) I had to take some sub-set of our 3 bands to the front desk to get them re-added to the door.

 

[JanaDee]

You need to be cautious about doing this. There are a couple of "redundancy" systems to prevent people from rushing the entry points without having their MagicBands scanned (and tickets decremented).

There is a secondary screening point that does not require any guest interaction that could decrement a ticket for the day. (Take a look at the receivers over your head as you enter the MK and walk through the train stations)

Also if you try to use that band at a FP+ kiosk, and the system see's the band but no admission used, by initiating the FP+ an admission for the day could be decremented.

This is a great example of why I find the whole MB thing so irritating/invasive/insert own word here. It seems sneaky and underhanded.

Yes, I concede some people are trying to beat the system, but others may have legitimate reasons for carrying a MB of someone that is not with them. But they will be punished with losing a ticket day because of it? That does not sit well with me.