Gifted with a Annual Pass! A few questions....

[Brian Tormey]

So on another thread in this forum I talked about booking my first solo trip to Disney for Sept 29th-October 4th.

Downloaded the MDE and set up some reservations(Mickey's Not So Scary as well!) and instead of doing 4 days in MK, I will be splitting my time with Epcot.

I booked an Illuminations Dessert Package for the 3rd. I have heard mixed reviews but I went ahead and spoiled myself with a little treat. Never saw the fireworks before, so looking fwd to them.

But to the matter at hand. I was very fortunate enough to be gifted an annual pass and received my certificate in the mail to go pick up the annual pass in person. The annual pass is linked to my MDE already as well as my Resort vacation for late September.

I am also fortunate enough to be going to Disney Springs in late June and back to Orlando for two weeks in late August(to which I will visit several of the parks!!).

Question 1: Will I be able to get a Magic Band when I get my Annual Pass?

Question 2: Will the Magic Band I get for my upcoming Disney trip interfere with the Magic Band I get for my annual pass?

I am pretty sure for the vets in here these are borderline annoying questions, and I am even more certain that the answer to these questions lie somewhere on these boards, I just haven't come across them yet.

Thanks in advance for any assistance and for your patience!

 

[BigAlsGal]

I have an annual pass and I have probably received over 15 magic bands. All of them work every time. For example on our last trip my kids magic bands wouldn't work to open the room so I gave them a couple of my old ones to use on the door instead of taking the time to go get them fixed.

One day my daughter couldn't find her magic band so I dug in my pin bag and found one of her old bands and she used it to get in the park that day. All magic bands assigned to you will work.

 

[Brian Tormey]

Oh wow, that is actually kind of awesome. I know some people don't like the Magic Bands but they seem kind of cool, even though I haven't used any yet. So then a Magic Band I order from a Disney Store or buy at a Disney Park can also be linked up to my account? Sweet. I'm loving the Chip and Dale one lol! Thanks for your timely response!

 

[BigAlsGal]

Oh wow, that is actually kind of awesome. I know some people don't like the Magic Bands but they seem kind of cool, even though I haven't used any yet. So then a Magic Band I order from a Disney Store or buy at a Disney Park can also be linked up to my account? Sweet. I'm loving the Chip and Dale one lol! Thanks for your timely response!

Keep in mind even though they all work the battery life is about 2 years.

 

[Stefecatzz]

I have no experience with going to get the AP & MB physically but would assume when you go for your pass, you'd get a MB.

All MB's are interchangeable as long as they are all linked to your MDE. You can link one you buy at a Disney store to your MDE by entering the # on the inside of the band.

 

[Brian Tormey]

I have no experience with going to get the AP & MB physically but would assume when you go for your pass, you'd get a MB.

All MB's are interchangeable as long as they are all linked to your MDE. You can link one you buy at a Disney store to your MDE by entering the # on the inside of the band.

Thank you so much!

 

[BigAlsGal]

I have no experience with going to get the AP & MB physically but would assume when you go for your pass, you'd get a MB.

All MB's are interchangeable as long as they are all linked to your MDE. You can link one you buy at a Disney store to your MDE by entering the # on the inside of the band.

Just to clarify you don't get a magic band when you pick up your annual pass. You actually get a plastic card like the old KTTW cards. You have to go to your MDE and it gives you the option to get a pass holder magic band with a special slide that says "pass holder". But any bands you get from a planned resort stay will link your AP.

 

[Brian Tormey]

Just to clarify you don't get a magic band when you pick up your annual pass. You actually get a plastic card like the old KTTW cards. You have to go to your MDE and it gives you the option to get a pass holder magic band with a special slide that says "pass holder". But any bands you get from a planned resort stay will link your AP.

Ok gotcha, this is some info I needed as well. Thank you

 

[BigAlsGal]

Ok gotcha, this is some info I needed as well. Thank you

Lol. Here's more. Always carry your plastic AP card and your ID with you. It is the only way to take advantage of discounts and perks from restaurants and on merchandise . The magic band will not work for those things.

 

[Brian Tormey]

This is awesome, also stuff I didn't know. I was also interested in the Tables of Wonder program. I may do that as well to combine savings when possible.

 

[BigAlsGal]

This is awesome, also stuff I didn't know. I was also interested in the Tables of Wonder program. I may do that as well to combine savings when possible.

You can't combine savings. It's either one or the other. We just got a tables in wonderland for the first time. For my family of 5 we recouped our losses that trip. ($150).

 

[Brian Tormey]

Ah ok, thanks for that. Still will get it, seems like good savings.

 

[kwdw]

Once you activate your Annual Pass - THEN you become eligible to get the free MB that goes with it - and it takes about two weeks to get it after you pick the color on MDE. Now - you might get the free MB for the September resort visit before your August trip - so you may be able to use that band in August. If not - you can buy a MB for the AP in August - or just use the card they give you until you arrive for the resort stay. Me - I doubt I'll ever PAY for a MB - though I must admit I almost bought a custom Star Wars one this past year. I managed to convince myself not to waste the money just before submitting the custom build!!!

The MB I got with my AP didn't work on my resort room doors for any of my five resort stays this past year - and I'm not really sure why. It SHOULD have just like another poster said - but I never bothered to get that fixed since I could use the band sent to me for that stay. I may have done something wrong in MDE.

If you are going to buy Tables in Wonderland - be sure to run some numbers on the number of times you plan to visit and the meals you might buy. For me - it always makes sense to get TiW because I'm also always booking a long family trip in the years I get an AP with some expensive character meals and other larger group meals - so I get my money's worth out of it. But - if it was just me on my solo trips - I'm not sure it would benefit me because I don't tend to select higher priced meals/restaurants or order alcohol or valet park. And a couple restaurants I like to visit don't accept it! So - do the math first. It can be a really nice savings if you are going enough to use it - but otherwise - it may just be an added expense.

MNSSHP is awesome! Good choice. Be sure to follow the threads on the main forum about how to maximize getting things done for that if you have never attended before. I find it tough to get everything in! The viewing location for Illuminations for that EPCOT dessert party is nice. Desserts are so-so - some quite tasty others meh - but it is nice to feel special once in a while. I did the Dessert Party for the Osbourne lights last year as a solo and I was really glad I did it.

 

[Dashzap]

In theory, each Magic Band is just a pointer back to your My Disney Experience account.

 

[Radnerbell53]

I have a bunch of MB but when i got my annual pass one i got a purple... As for the card I still keep my card and ID on me when i am there just in-case. As a Disneyland Annual pass holder it is just a habit. I can't wait to see about a cool new star wars bands that are coming out this week..

 

[Accident]

I stopped counting how many bands I have.. it's no biggy to have dozens of them. You need an id with you either way and looking you up on your band just takes time out of your day for discounts so I recommend just carrying the card with you also. It's rare but there are times the system isn't working great and they can't look you up to verify your an AP holder but can see the card and the name on the back to compare to your id.