Cruise lanyards and magic bands on Disney Wonder

[Sinru]

New to Disney cruising, but not new to cruising in general. Can anyone tell me if I should purchase lanyards precruise since this is our 1st Disney cruise? (I understand different colors denote previous Disney cruises.) I am also at a cross-roads on ordering Magic Bands precruise. Besides opening cabin doors and charging additional items to our account, is there any other reason to have them? We are a family of 11 and I'm trying to keep costs down. Thank you!

 

[CarolynFH]

MBs to us aren’t functional enough to warrant buying them, especially for a party of 11! You still need the key card for leaving and returning to the ship for excursions, and my understanding is that you need to remove the MB to charge things to your cabin.

Edited after consideration about lanyards - DCL provides lanyards as sort of a souvenir to the various Castaway Club members, but many guests wear different ones.

 

[NAB]

Yes you will need a lanyard , only silver up get one. I really don’t use mine. I always have pockets or my husband does when I dress up.

You will still have to have the card like the other poster said for when your off the ship and I.D at ports .

Don’t know much about the magic bands on the ship because never needed them .

 

[Girl of the South]

You can use any old lanyard with a “pocket” big enough for your KTTW card (the size of a credit card) if you think they’d help you keep track. The free ones are given starting on your 2nd cruise and are the color of your Castaway level ie gold, silver, etc. If you want a Disney one, they’d be cheaper on eBay than on the ship.

 

[ruadisneyfan2]

Do they still sell lanyards onboard? We bought a set on our first Disney cruise but that was back in 2007.
I would definitely not spend the money on MBs for a family of 11.

OP, you really don't need a lanyard but it's convenient for kids to know they definitely have their key on them and that it didn't get left behind in a wet bathing suit. If you have pants/dresses without pockets, it's easier than holding it in your hand.

 

[Girl of the South]

Here’s some on eBay. Buy one, get one, free shipping. (No, not my listing). You need to get some plastic pockets on Amazon or staples. I can share some that I bought but probably don’t have 11!

Disney lanyards on eBay

 

[shosh1530]

One other use for Magic Bands is scanning it when you get photos taken by the ship photographers. But honestly my KTTW card in my lanyard was just as convenient for that. I bought a MB for our recent cruise on the Fantasy but stopped wearing it by day 3 because I felt like the card was more useful.

We didn't use lanyards or MB on our very first cruise last summer. I didn't really have any trouble keeping track of our KTTW cards. But the lanyards made it a little more convenient.

I would only get MBs if you will also be doing more than one trip to WDW. I really enjoy using them there.

 

[Sinru]

MBs to us aren’t functional enough to warrant buying them, especially for a party of 11! You still need the key card for leaving and returning to the ship for excursions, and my understanding is that you need to remove the MB to charge things to your cabin.

Edited after consideration about lanyards - DCL provides lanyards as sort of a souvenir to the various Castaway Club members, but many guests wear different ones.

Thank you!

 

[TheRichFam]

I was significantly underwhelmed with the Magic Band experience on my last cruise. I would say that if cost cutting is a consideration, skipping them would be a good way to do it.

 

[erionm]

If you already have MagicBand+ (plus) from a trip to WDW, Disneyland or purchased retail, you can use those on-board DCL.

 

[Kit Jackson]

I wouldn't purchase MagicBand+ for that many people for the cruise. I would go with lanyards. I used one on my first cruise and I was glad I had it because it made keeping track of my card so much easier.

 

[Erica1016]

We received MB+ for a gift last Christmas and first used them on DCL in May. I agree that there's not much advantage, but I did quite enjoy not having my lanyard hanging around my neck and just wearing my band all the time so I didn't have to think about it as I left the room. It was also nice to be able to just have it on while riding the AquaDuck and while in the hot tub/pool.

All that being said, they're completely unneccesary. The key cards are just fine and I do recommend a lanyard. If someone doesn't like wearing it aroudn their neck, the clips with a retractable string are also very nice and not quite so unwieldy in the wind, etc.

 

[PAGA2003]

If you want to wear your KTTW card then you will need to purchase lanyards. We don't wear them which is a big reason I am pro MB+. I like just having that on my arm to walk around the ship and not have to worry about carrying anything else. Definitely not needed though (with one exception in my opinion) if you carry your card. The one exception to me is if you have children that are checking themselves in/out of Edge I think a MB+ is great for them. For my son I preferred him having that rather than worry about him losing his KTTW card.

 

[SleepyDeb]

I've never had a MB+ for cruise or WDW. I wouldn't personally buy a MB+, esp if looking to cut costs.

I use a lanyard, but my husband doesn't. He prefers to keep his key in his pocket. Just a matter of preference whether someone wants one or not. Maybe poll the adults to see who wants one and get them on ebay or a non-disney branded one. For any kids, I suggest either getting them all lanyards or none of the them to avoid the "Why do they get one and I don't" situation.

 

[MikeRx]

Despite having several MB+'s from other trips, we purchased a cruise line specific Band+ so we would have it when we go to DLR and WDW. Count it as a souvenir with limited use on board. It did come in handy to open the cabin door each time, no need to take out keys, also great for photo pass. But as a multi-functional item, it's not there yet on the ship. Still glad we got them as we resume our journeys to the DLR and beyond.

 

[auntlynne]

Unless your children will be going in/out of the room alone, not sure they need to carry their card on a daily basis. If they have that level of responsibility, then pockets or lanyards are sufficient.

If they are going to the kids’ clubs, I think they still issue them a wrist band? for access to that venue.

I used to wear lanyards. My favorites are a more narrow one. Castaway Club changed theirs and I didn’t notice as many people wearing them since the change to a wider ribbon with a heavy card holder. Or maybe they use MB, too.

I had several cruises where everyone in the cruise group (from here on Disboards) had special lanyards. Those were fun.

As a family, you could consider matching lanyards, like this. Multiple color options. Probably something similar at WalMart, Hobby Lobby, Michael’s. About $1 pp.



And will you do a family tee-shirt? You could coordinate short and lanyard.

Truly, I basically use my card to open the door and get in/off ship. I bought two drinks last cruise - and was wearing Magic Band, which had to be taken off and handed over for scanning.

Yeah, men usually have pockets. Often our women’s pockets aren’t a secure location, too small.

I started carrying a small, lightweight, fabric cross body bag to keep up with phone, reading glasses and room key. You could hold up the purse to the card reader on the door and it would unlock.

 

[Sinru]

Unless your children will be going in/out of the room alone, not sure they need to carry their card on a daily basis. If they have that level of responsibility, then pockets or lanyards are sufficient.

If they are going to the kids’ clubs, I think they still issue them a wrist band? for access to that venue.

I used to wear lanyards. My favorites are a more narrow one. Castaway Club changed theirs and I didn’t notice as many people wearing them since the change to a wider ribbon with a heavy card holder. Or maybe they use MB, too.

I had several cruises where everyone in the cruise group (from here on Disboards) had special lanyards. Those were fun.

As a family, you could consider matching lanyards, like this. Multiple color options. Probably something similar at WalMart, Hobby Lobby, Michael’s. About $1 pp.

View attachment 883961

And will you do a family tee-shirt? You could coordinate short and lanyard.

Truly, I basically use my card to open the door and get in/off ship. I bought two drinks last cruise - and was wearing Magic Band, which had to be taken off and handed over for scanning.

Yeah, men usually have pockets. Often our women’s pockets aren’t a secure location, too small.

I started carrying a small, lightweight, fabric cross body bag to keep up with phone, reading glasses and room key. You could hold up the purse to the card reader on the door and it would unlock.

Thank you for all the great info!