Fast Passes, Magic Bands oh my......guide me please!

[Terisa]

This will be our second trip to WDW and first experience with Magic Bands and fast passes. We are staying offsite and Ive tried to research as much as possible about FP but still have questions. What is the cost of the Magic bands? Do they fit everyone? My husband has a large wrist. We are staying the week of Dec 17th -23rd....I know busy time! I have not purchased tickets yet as I'm unsure if we want to go to all the parks as we are interested in Universal as well. Traveling with 3 teenagers, ages 13,14,14, so there is a lot of the "smaller" stuff we can skip. No character meals etc. Help....!!

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

If staying offsite you don't HAVE to get Magic Bands, but if you do want to buy them you can purchase at the Disney Store for 12.99 each. They are adjustable from very small to very large. Once you buy the Magic Bands you can link them to your MDE account.

 

[mjmgsssp]

Magic bands are provided free of charge to guests staying on property. Since you'restaying off property, you will be given an admission ticket. Magic bands can be purchased in the gift shops, starting around $12.95 for a solid color.

Once you have tickets linked to your MDE account, you will be able to pre-book up to 3 fastpasses per person for a single park at 30 days prior to arrival.

 

[CAS239]

MBs start at $12.95 for the plain colors and go up in price depending on designs and limited editions. They fit all wrist sizes.

Also, you don't need magic bands but their nice to have so you don't have to search for cards

 

[JohnneeO]

Forgetting about MB's, you will need to purchase (Undercover Tourist is a good source for discounted tickets) and link WDW tickets to your MDE account prior to 30 days prior to your arrival, in order to make FP+ reservations beginning 30 prior to your arrival. In fact, after you purchase and link your tickets, you can always make FP+ reservations 30 days out from the current day, up to 3 per day, and up to the number of days on your ticket. (Of course, any FP+ reservations you make for dates other than the dates you will be at WDW will be of no use to you.)

Whether you ultimately decide to purchase, link, and use MB's during your stay (or not) will not affect the timing of when you can make FP+'s. So you can decide about MB's independently of planning your park time.

 

[richmo]

The post above sums it up well.
What to do now: Airline tickets, keep an eye on car rental reservations, accommodations and set up your MDE accounts (also download the app for your phone(s)), if you haven't already. For your car rental and accommodations, check often and don't do a prepay for either. Also, you can use your MDE account to make dining reservations. What has changed since you last went is that you have to tie a credit card to your reservations and there's a penalty if you don't show up.
30 days out: Using your MDE account, make your FP choices as described above. You'll need to do that for each day you're going (not all days at once). Its going to get busy towards the end of your trip, so don't forget.

The Magic bands will be up to you once you arrive. I suspect they'll be big enough for your DH. There's a couple subtle differences, but think of Magic Bands and tickets as equivalent.