Disney Addresses “Too Many Magic Bands” Complaint

[sssaige]

Has anyone noticed the option to request not to receive a new magic band? I read a blog post about people complaining they has too many magic bands, so Disney went ahead and added an option to opt out.

Do you think this is a useful thing, or should people just stop complaining?

I think having too many magic bands is the best problem you could ever have.

Here is the blog post- http://iheartdreaming.com/disney-addresses-too-many-magic-bands-complaint/

 

[Andrew015]

Has anyone noticed the option to request not to receive a new magic band? I read a blog post about people complaining they has too many magic bands, so Disney went ahead and added an option to opt out.

Do you think this is a useful thing, or should people just stop complaining?

I think having too many magic bands is the best problem you could ever have.

Here is the blog post- http://iheartdreaming.com/disney-addresses-too-many-magic-bands-complaint/

Might I ask why someone wants to have a plethora of magic bands? I could see the desire to have 2-3 different colors to mix things up from trip to trip, but anything above and beyond that just seems like a waste to me. To me and my family, having the option to opt out of additional magic bands is one that will be exercised.

 

[JJZMgailey]

To me and my family, having the option to opt out of additional magic bands is one that will be exercised.

Same here. We have our AP MagicBands and then every time we stay at a Resort, we all got another. All 4 of us have all the colors now and they're taking up a lot of room in the drawer. Love them, but don't like to be wasteful.

 

[lfishe3]

I am actually really happy about this opt-out option. We are AP and DVC. So far we have over 10 magic bands between us. It was really nice to be able to opt-out for our trip in October. You can bring old magic bands to the resort and they will dispose of them properly. As of this point there is no recycling which i think is a shame.

 

[peg110]

I would think from a "Cost" perspective, it's better to have not only an "opt-out" system, but I would take it a step further and that it should be that you have to "opt-in" to get it. Obviously they want you to use it, but when going through the registration process, ask the question, "Do you already have a Magic Band?" and a follow-up could be "Do you want a new one?"

Why send a band when one doesn't need it. Again, from a cost perspective, save the cost of the device and postage (at a minimum).

For those who do want another one (whether they collect them or just cant find the old one) then let them request another one.

 

[Andrew015]

I would think from a "Cost" perspective, it's better to have not only an "opt-out" system, but I would take it a step further and that it should be that you have to "opt-in" to get it. Obviously they want you to use it, but when going through the registration process, ask the question, "Do you already have a Magic Band?" and a follow-up could be "Do you want a new one?"

Why send a band when one doesn't need it. Again, from a cost perspective, save the cost of the device and postage (at a minimum).

For those who do want another one (whether they collect them or just cant find the old one) then let them request another one.

In principle, I agree with you. However, I think we're quite a ways off from Disney taking this approach. The entire program is still in its infancy stages relatively speaking, and the bands are a vital component to the overall success of the system. The last thing Disney wants to do is create any sort of unintentional barrier that will cause potential complications for the end-user, especially considering that there is still some minor resistance to the whole concept.

I think 5-10 years down the road when everyone has them and they are universally accepted, this will be a likely approach taken by Disney. As of the present, the whole program is still new to many families, and they're not going to take the risk of having a family show up without bands, thus causing delays and frustration for new guests at check-in time. Especially considering that the cost of the bands are minimal (and already "baked in" to the overall price of the rooms for that matter). Don't get me wrong, if Disney can eliminate that minor expense and capture savings, they will. For the time being, I think they're taking the right approach, as this is a small step in the right direction. Down the line once the program is more mature, I wouldn't be shocked to see them take the more aggressive approach that you suggested.

 

[peg110]

Agreed.

I sometimes for get that there are those resistive of the technology. I for one, am not. I think it's ease of use (mostly) is great. makes it difficult to lose your key or even your tickets.

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Sending new ones is a straight waste...

And what good are "mix up" patterns and colors?

That means you have to go on their app and relink the tickets to the coded bands...

That's putting your fate at the hands of Disney's IT on multiple levels...

That's a no-no.

But my official stance is that it's a waste and I don't want/need for Disney to order more junk from china...

I wonder if they would have done something about this if they were made in Ocala?

Who am I kidding...we have labor laws...

 

[lockedoutlogic]

Agreed.

I sometimes for get that there are those resistive of the technology. I for one, am not. I think it's ease of use (mostly) is great. makes it difficult to lose your key or even your tickets.

...extremely easy to lose bandits though..

 

[CounselorX]

No one mentioned that the Magic Bands have a battery in them for long range reading (such as memory maker). This is why I will never opt out of receiving new Magic Bands. The batteries have an expected life of 2 years. I would just rather use a new Magic Band and not chance it.

 

[rteetz]

No one mentioned that the Magic Bands have a battery in them for long range reading (such as memory maker). This is why I will never opt out of receiving new Magic Bands. The batteries have an expected life of 2 years. I would just rather use a new Magic Band and not chance it.

Well this is more for those who travel to WDW more than once a year. If I'm an AP holder and go to WDW let's say 8-10 times a year why would I want 8-10 magic bands.

 

[moobar25]

Well this is more for those who travel to WDW more than once a year. If I'm an AP holder and go to WDW let's say 8-10 times a year why would I want 8-10 magic bands.

I agree with you!
I am extremely happy that the opt-out option is there. We have at least 15bands each and the last two stays it caused nothing but problems. January and June trips we spent many hours at the front desk because things weren't working. We couldn't get into the rooms, parks or the pool (BLT). The final word was that too many MB screw up the system. We received some compensation for all the wasted time- but I'd rather not spend my vacation in the hotel lobby.
My advice to others is: deactivate any MB you're not using and opt-out of getting multiple MB. Our next trip is a split but we're only getting a set for the first resort.

 

[AtlantaDisneyDreamer]

I like the IDEA of having lots of colorful bands to match every outfit, but they really do get too complicated to keep up with. We have so many now that it is easy to confuse them- I have a pink, a green, a blue, and an orange, DD(8) has two pinks, a blue, and a green, DD(3) has a pink and two greens, DH has a gray and a blue, Mom has two reds, a yellow, and green. What if I accidentally pick up my daughter's pink one? I did that once and was very angry that I could not charge anything in the shops to the band- then realized that I was wearing my daughter's band with no charging privileges. If the bands get confused, we could end up with a ticketing mess on our hands, too, since two of us have APs and three of us don't (I know the names are on the inside, but it easy to just grab the color you think you have and go).

I prefer for each person to have one Magic Band and for each of them to be different colors. No need for new ones every time.

 

[CounselorX]

If you have extra magic bands and you don't want them... They're not there to haunt you for the rest of your life. You can deactivate them in MDE and throw them away.

 

[jpalumbo]

That's what I say Counselor X. Why don't you just throw them away. You get brand new ones every time you go to Disney.

 

[peg110]

...extremely easy to lose bandits though..

(did you mean "Bands" instead of "Bandits"?) No more so than losing a "Card" in my opinion.

Well this is more for those who travel to WDW more than once a year. If I'm an AP holder and go to WDW let's say 8-10 times a year why would I want 8-10 magic bands.

Don't the AP holders just get ONE band? I don't know as I am not currently an AP holder, but I thought they got one MB (Per) and some kind of charm that goes on it (or something like that). If I were an AP holder, I don't think I'd want multiple bands in the same year if I were going that frequently.

All of this being said, I hate the thought of "Throwing" these away every time as suggested. It just seems very wasteful. I am thinking, that if there IS a battery in the devices (for the Active RFID), then it should be designed to be removed easily (by an adult) to be replaced so that you don't have to have a new one each time.

Also, short of those who are going very frequently (probably a lot of Florida residents), why would you take ALL of those bands with you if you don't need them? I would think when you get your new bands, that you pack only them to take with you. When we got our "FIRST" ever MBs we took them out of the box only to check them out. Then they went back in until we left for our trip. We then packed them for travel.

Don't get me wrong, I can see a better way to handle this, but as Andrew015 suggested above, I am sure once WDW figures out all the bugs they will start to streamline this process as well to maximize the profits, because while the MBs probably don't cost a lot, I am certain, it's a cost savings that could be had on the bottom line.

 

[Disneychick75]

I'm a DVC member and planning a trip with my SIL and cousin. When I first began making reservations, I had a cash reservation for 2 nights, then points for 2 nights, and cash again for 3 nights. We were going to have 3 bands each for 1 trip! So I had to make sure we all had different colors for each day and put nicknames on them to keep them straight because, as you know, the bands also serve as room keys. Thank goodness my wait list came through and we're down to 1 band each. Point is, I can see people wanting new bands for each trip but when guests start having multiple bands at the same resort for 1 trip , it gets nuts.

 

[peg110]

I'm a DVC member and planning a trip with my SIL and cousin. When I first began making reservations, I had a cash reservation for 2 nights, then points for 2 nights, and cash again for 3 nights. We were going to have 3 bands each for 1 trip! So I had to make sure we all had different colors for each day and put nicknames on them to keep them straight because, as you know, the bands also serve as room keys. Thank goodness my wait list came through and we're down to 1 band each. Point is, I can see people wanting new bands for each trip but when guests start having multiple bands at the same resort for 1 trip , it gets nuts.

Yeah, I can see how that gets nuts. I have never done a trip like that. We have always gone and stayed at one location for the duration of the trip. We aren't DVC, nor are we AP holders (at least not yet). We go and stay upwards of 10 days at one location and enjoy our trip, so we didn't have any issues like that. I would not want to deal with that though.

 

[Disneychick75]

Yeah, I can see how that gets nuts. I have never done a trip like that. We have always gone and stayed at one location for the duration of the trip. We aren't DVC, nor are we AP holders (at least not yet). We go and stay upwards of 10 days at one location and enjoy our trip, so we didn't have any issues like that. I would not want to deal with that though.

We are staying at one location, the Beach Club Villas. It's just the way DVC is set up. Even though we're staying in 1 place, we had 3 different reservation numbers for the same resort: 1 for cash, 1 for points, and then another for cash. 3 reservations equaled 3 mbs each.

 

[kamik86]

My husband and I only have gone once since magic bands started and still we have 2 bands each. We did a stay with half conceirge level and half in a normal room.... so we got two sets of bands mailed to us.

This is one of the things where it is good for Disney to provide the option to opt out because its really a benefit to them all around. Now some guests that don't want to deal with extras are happier, Those that still want more can just ignore the box, and have lost absolutely nothing, and Disney saves a bit of money.... admittedly not much it probably costs them a dollar per band given the bulk they must buy and a dollar per order of bands shipped... but as more and more people opt out that could add up.