Expired Magic Bands...Can they be re-activated?

[jamnmom]

The Magic Bands that I currently have do not have any active passes on them (APs expired in November 2014). We will not be returning to the parks until November 2015. There are 2 of us traveling. ONE of us will be needing another AP; while the other will only need an 8 day pass. We will be staying OFF site. My questions are: Can I pre purchase our tix and then link them to the bands that we already have through MDE? Is there a difference in how this needs to be done for each kind of pass (AP and 8 day pass)? TIA!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Magic bands can be reused on the same MDE account. Without any action on our part other than linking APs to the same account, my daughter used her MB from a prior trip many months prior without issue. (The rest of ours are still packed from a move otherwise we would have done the same.)

 

[jamnmom]

Thank you for your input. I had read somewhere that the bands, themselves, don't last forever and 'die' out (so can't be used anymore) after a few years. If that's the case, then our bands won't work anymore. When we first got them, they were loaded with APs and we used them on 3 separate visits. I'm just concerned that I won't be able to link any new passes to the bands, themselves and we won't be able to use them when we get to the parks in November.

 

[CinderElsa]

Thank you for your input. I had read somewhere that the bands, themselves, don't last forever and 'die' out (so can't be used anymore) after a few years. If that's the case, then our bands won't work anymore. When we first got them, they were loaded with APs and we used them on 3 separate visits. I'm just concerned that I won't be able to link any new passes to the bands, themselves and we won't be able to use them when we get to the parks in November.

They don't "die" any more than a credit card "dies." The long-range functionality will eventually stop working (automatic linking of ride photos & things of that nature), but the bands honestly haven't been around long enough for even that to be a concern. The rest of the functions (park/room entry, charging capabilities, etc) will work indefinitely.

Also, the bands themselves hold no data. They serve as a link to your MDE account and that's it. Your passes were never "loaded onto the bands."

 

[POOHsie]

The way I understand it, the MagicBands "die" in terms of battery power. There are two things MagicBands do. They receive info from your MDE account when called upon for park gates, dining credits, door unlock, etc. Those functions are RFID and don't need MagicBand battery power. It'll will continue to work for years. The other MagicBand function, tracking guests thru the parks, rides and shops, does use a battery in your MagicBand in order to operate, and that battery will expire in approx 3 years. So your MagicBand will function for necessary uses for ages to come. Who cares if it doesn't track guests after 3 years. I don't.

 

[Yellowstonetim]

All the Magic Band contais are two chips. Both chips contain only a specific unique identifying number. The main passive chip is read by the Mickey heads. The way the MB works is that Walt Disney has that number associated with your account. The battery is for the longer range scanners as POOHsie said. It transmits the same number. You can have a number of Magic Bands associated with your account and just use the ones you wish at the time you check in or set things up. I'll bet that after several years, when the battery runs out, they will invalidate the bands and give you new ones. We reused ours last trip without any trouble.

 

[POOHsie]

All the Magic Band contais are two chips. Both chips contain only a specific unique identifying number. The main passive chip is read by the Mickey heads. The way the MB works is that Walt Disney has that number associated with your account. The battery is for the longer range scanners as POOHsie said. It transmits the same number. You can have a number of Magic Bands associated with your account and just use the ones you wish at the time you check in or set things up. I'll bet that after several years, when the battery runs out, they will invalidate the bands and give you new ones. We reused ours last trip without any trouble.

You explained it better -- thanks. I agree that when the battery life is expected to expire, Disney Staff will invalidate your old MagicBands, if you try to use them. They will want to keep tracking their guests for marketing purposes.

 

[Puffy2]

I wonder if these bands can be used to find lost children in the parks (or adults).

 

[jamnmom]

Thanks everyone! All of this is what I'd always thought; but when I read that they "die" after 2 years (which mine will be 2 before we return in November), it raised some concerns for me. Since we're not staying onsite, I thought that I would then need to buy new bands in a store somewhere and we wouldn't be able to personalize them (as our current ones are). I just really want to keep the ones that we have; link our new tix (AP and 8 day) and use them as we always have.

 

[erionm]

I agree that when the battery life is expected to expire, Disney Staff will invalidate your old MagicBands, if you try to use them. They will want to keep tracking their guests for marketing purposes.

here is nothing to suggest that Disney will deactivate MagicBands when the battery has died. A MagicBand with a dead battery for the long range transmitter is no different than an RFID Card. Off-site guests (and international guests with an AP) are issued their tickets on RFID Cards (MagicBands are an optional purchase).