Currently testing My Magic Plus/Fastpasses at BLT

[Hitched2BellesCastle]

Did your little one (15 months) get a band?
If yes, was it comfortable?

Yes he got a band but I'm not really sure why. He doesn't need room access, charging privileges or fast passes or park entry. The bands are very comfortable and they rip apart for the real little kids so they fit better. Gotta get moving so we can make our fastpass for EPCOT!

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[LSchrow]

thanks so much for posting your experiences!

question tho: the wristband looks so bulky. i have really small, bony wrists and the bands seem uncomfortable. are they flexible? are they annoying in the heat?
how easy/hard are they to get off/on?

thanks again!

 

[jwilks56]

Okay I have a silly question. What is PAP? Thanks for the info. Loving it and hoping its ready or I am a tester in December.

 

[SFlaDisneyfans]

Okay I have a silly question. What is PAP? Thanks for the info. Loving it and hoping its ready or I am a tester in December.

Premium Annual Pass I am guessing.

 

[Hitched2BellesCastle]

thanks so much for posting your experiences!

question tho: the wristband looks so bulky. i have really small, bony wrists and the bands seem uncomfortable. are they flexible? are they annoying in the heat?
how easy/hard are they to get off/on?

thanks again!

They are not bulky at all. They are very flexible and I sleep with mine on. The only rigid part is where the RFID/battery area is. I barely notice that its there. Today was very hot and we were in EPCOT. The wrist band wasn't an issue. They are easy to get on and off and I'd be surprised if you had a hard time finding a size that wasn't perfect. My 15 month old DS band fits him great.

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[Hitched2BellesCastle]

Well today we had one small issue with how the bands work for fast passes. We were 10 minutes late for a fastpass today and instead of it saying we were late it went green which means "go on in". In the earlier posts we explained that we were given compensation for our issues. That compensation was 2 additional fast passes per day per person. Well because we were late they used one of our two anytime passes. This is not their fault, as we were in fact late. It's just odd that there was no warning etc. On a side note, everyone out there who use multiple accounts and link reservations...changes have taken place. It is no longer a seamless process as it once was. Today we were forced to check in and out of our room. We were not switching resorts nor even our room. This wouldn't even be worth mentioning except for how it works with the MB's. We had to set up charging privileges and PIN numbers again, and we had to get new room keys for everyone. It's not a huge deal but it took almost an hour to get everything set up again. We were told our magic bands wouldn't be negatively affected and everything should be seamlessly transferred over. Ah you gotta love technology! Except when we returned to our room tonight, nobodies bands would work on the door. I'm sure a couple more minutes at the front desk in the morning will rectify this. Luckily we had a room key so no big deal.

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[Belle's Castle]

Premium Annual Pass I am guessing.

That is correct! I did not know the official abbreviation so I made it up

DH is doing tonight's update! I am toooo long winded and at times ramble...hehehe. I think it is part of my charm!

However, I will agree that the bands are super comfrontable and not at all annoying in the heat. We are still unable to double-dip on fastpasses so I am not sure how others are.

I do wish there was some way the bands indicated DVC Member because I keep forgetting to ask for the discount!

 

[thegib95]

I want magic bands so bad for our upcoming December trip...,
Member Services seems to all think its almost certain, I sure hope so!

 

[CarolMN]

Yes he got a band but I'm not really sure why. He doesn't need room access, charging privileges or fast passes or park entry. The bands are very comfortable and they rip apart for the real little kids so they fit better. Gotta get moving so we can make our fastpass for EPCOT!

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I can think of two reasons, lol.

1. If all the other kids have one - well, I know how that would go in my family, even at 15 months, lol.

2. If he should get separated from you, it should be easier to find you and let you know he is safe and where to come get him.

Thanks for sharing all of your experiences! Those of us who come later are grateful. (I never like to be the first to implement anything at work - there are always bugs, some of which turned out to be a BIG PAIN).

 

[kdegour23]

We have been selected to test the MagicBands for our upcoming stay at CR 8/6-8/13. We have customized them, received them, and made our FP+ selections. I have to agree, they are VERY comfortable (and I typically hate having something on my wrist). We peeled the band down to the smaller size for my DD8, and she does not want to take hers off! Thanks so much for taking the time to share your experiences with the bands. It helps to know a little more of what we should expect (good AND bad)!

Kaley
(and DH and DD8 )

 

[Leitadala]

Thanks for the updates! And thanks for testing them - I'm sure the hassle you are dealing with is going to help them work out the kinks for the rest of us to use them in the future. Hope you are having a great time (when the MBs aren't causing trouble)!

 

[LSchrow]

2. If he should get separated from you, it should be easier to find you and let you know he is safe and where to come get him.

that's a really good point (whether or not it was in their original plan, it's a great side benefit)

 

[SFlaDisneyfans]

that's a really good point (whether or not it was in their original plan, it's a great side benefit)

That makes me think that there is a lot to the band tech that they can take advantage of. For instance GPS tracking for lost children or even GPS tracking for family members who get separated. Just have party members approve tracking in MDE and they can show up on a smartphone. I wonder if the Mouse has looked at GPS inserts for the bands for a future upgrade.

 

[Hitched2BellesCastle]

That makes me think that there is a lot to the band tech that they can take advantage of. For instance GPS tracking for lost children or even GPS tracking for family members who get separated. Just have party members approve tracking in MDE and they can show up on a smartphone. I wonder if the Mouse has looked at GPS inserts for the bands for a future upgrade.

There isn't a GPS in the device so the only way they can track it is by point of use. For example, if you purchased something or if you just checked into a ride. Additionally people are very hesitant already about what info they are gathering etc. I'm not one of those people. I have two small kids and would be grateful if they did have GPS in them. I just don't think it will happen because of the added cost.

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[Belle's Castle]

DH doing they update on today, but it was a great day!!!

The cast members here at BLT are amazing! They have been so helpful with getting the fastpasses scheduled and all the room problems fixed. I really think some of our drama was related to a linked reservation using our points and my parents and then a lot of people not having correct information. With this new system (may not be new, we just have not linked reservations in 2 years) of having to check-in and check-out at the same resort it takes A LOT time.

The drama with the magic bands/fastpasses was First we were told we would test the until the 7th and then the 2nd, then just till July 27, and today back to the 2nd. Second: the technology just did not want to work once we got PAP. Some of it was the weak wiFi signal, some was no service in certain building, and some was programming. I am hopeful that the relation Disney now has with ATnT that wifi will significantly improve.

 

[Hitched2BellesCastle]

Well day 6 is in the books. I loved ordering a couple of cocktails at the pool bar without having to deal with a card or wallet. Never had to worry about my wallet stuffed in a shoe or bag either. We had some issues this morning with our bands due to the linked reservation. Everything was supposed to carry over but that didn't happen. It took another hour or so to straighten things out. I've said it before but I'll say it again, this is a learning process for Disney too and the customer service has been great. The front desk staff, especially Aubrey and the front desk manager Mike have been great. I'm hesitant to say what they have done for us because I feel it's been exceptional and don't want to plant a seed for others expectations. I will say it was not monetary because I explicitly requested that it not be. We agreed to do this test knowing there could be issues. Now, something we thought was really cool happened today as well. We were on the monorail to Magic Kingdom this afternoon and I got an email from MDE. The weather was bad and they shut down Splash Mountain. We had this ride along with Thunder Mountain booked for 5-6 and 6-7. The email stated there was inclement weather and offered several other attractions that we could visit from then to when the park closed. This is pretty significant because we didn't need to go into the app and try to find an available ride time for something else. Also, we weren't limited to a time. The same thing happened with Thunder Mountain because the ride had broken down. The difference being, they specifically stated to go to haunted mansion at anytime. Ultimately we wound up riding Splash at a later time after the weather passed. I saw it mentioned in another thread, but I'll add it here too. Doing a half day in the park with 3 fastpass+ is really cool. We knocked out Peter Pan and Space Mountain in no time at all and the standby lines were ridiculous.

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[erionm]

I am hopeful that the relation Disney now has with ATnT that wifi will significantly improve.

AT&T will add some of their own wifi hotspots, but the agreement only is for cellular services.

 

[bcrook]

Well day 6 is in the books. I loved ordering a couple of cocktails at the pool bar without having to deal with a card or wallet. Never had to worry about my wallet stuffed in a shoe or bag either. We had some issues this morning with our bands due to the linked reservation. Everything was supposed to carry over but that didn't happen. It took another hour or so to straighten things out. I've said it before but I'll say it again, this is a learning process for Disney too and the customer service has been great. The front desk staff, especially Aubrey and the front desk manager Mike have been great. I'm hesitant to say what they have done for us because I feel it's been exceptional and don't want to plant a seed for others expectations. I will say it was not monetary because I explicitly requested that it not be. We agreed to do this test knowing there could be issues. Now, something we thought was really cool happened today as well. We were on the monorail to Magic Kingdom this afternoon and I got an email from MDE. The weather was bad and they shut down Splash Mountain. We had this ride along with Thunder Mountain booked for 5-6 and 6-7. The email stated there was inclement weather and offered several other attractions that we could visit from then to when the park closed. This is pretty significant because we didn't need to go into the app and try to find an available ride time for something else. Also, we weren't limited to a time. The same thing happened with Thunder Mountain because the ride had broken down. The difference being, they specifically stated to go to haunted mansion at anytime. Ultimately we wound up riding Splash at a later time after the weather passed. I saw it mentioned in another thread, but I'll add it here too. Doing a half day in the park with 3 fastpass+ is really cool. We knocked out Peter Pan and Space Mountain in no time at all and the standby lines were ridiculous.

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The dynamics in this rain out situation will change when 60,000 people are using FP+ in the park. But this does give some new insight into how the text/email will work.

I expect lots of offers, tips, updates, and bonuses.

 

[Hitched2BellesCastle]

The dynamics in this rain out situation will change when 60,000 people are using FP+ in the park. But this does give some new insight into how the text/email will work.

I expect lots of offers, tips, updates, and bonuses.

I agree. I spoke with some of the cast members about the possibility of constant 2 hour standby lines. The analytics they have gathered indicate that about 50% of the guests use fastpass on any given day. They say that even when guests get a fastpass, a lot don't ever hand them in. I find this unbelievable but they have had years to gather all this info. I guess we wait and see.

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[thegib95]

I agree. I spoke with some of the cast members about the possibility of constant 2 hour standby lines. The analytics they have gathered indicate that about 50% of the guests use fastpass on any given day. They say that even when guests get a fastpass, a lot don't ever hand them in. I find this unbelievable but they have had years to gather all this info. I guess we wait and see.

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I can speak for us that we use probably about 50% of the Standard Paper FP's that we pull, either we don't make it back in time, or we leave the park before that time, or someone wasn't feeling too well after lunch and TOT combo, so FP RnRC isn't on their mind any more.... whatever....

Usually we try to find someone to hand those FP's to, however there are times they just go with us, and become a souvenir or a piece in the scrapbook.

When it came to doing the FP+ test last year on the RFID Cards, we used almost all of the ones we had to test, we did two days of the test one day we used all three we were given, and the other only one, as our ADR at LTT ran way way long and we missed Dumbo at the assigned time, and then the reserved seating section for Wishes was so so so over crowded that we just watched from main street. However we really liked out spot the FP+ gave us for MSEP.