Giving extra - unlinked? - magic bands to family

[studiojmm]

This September, we are activating two annual passes and staying on site in two different resorts - with reservations separated by several days of doing non-Disney stuff. So, in theory, Disney will send us 6 new magic bands this fall.

I know we can decline any of these new bands but is it possible to assign any of them to my parents, who will be coming with us for a visit later in the year when we will be staying off site?

If I've already created profiles for them in MDE, can I assign them resort bands when even though they aren't coming with us for the onsite stay?

This isn't a huge deal either way. We'll be buying physical tickets for my parents and they can use those for fastpasses, of course. But if we can give them bands, I would. (I don't think I'd buy them).

Do old bands stop working at some point? Is there anything special about AP bands? Any reason not to decline the extras?

 

[FCDub]

The battery will continue to last for years and years for short-range purposes – tapping – for the long-range functions, like on-ride photos, have a limited lifespan.

 

[studiojmm]

The battery will continue to last for years and years for short-range purposes – tapping – for the long-range functions, like on-ride photos, have a limited lifespan.

That's a bit of a bummer. I just looked it up and Disney says 2 years. My daughter's Stitch band (purchased because she lost the resort band) is already 2 years old.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

The AP bands are supposed to come with a slider that says Annual Passholder (or something like that), but there was a note in my box that they aren't currently available. I had the same thought about reassigning one, but MDE indicates that you can't. The new ones will come already linked.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

That's a bit of a bummer. I just looked it up and Disney says 2 years. My daughter's Stitch band (purchased because she lost the resort band) is already 2 years old.

I think this would work - you could move the "puck" from the new one into her Stitch band, if they are the same model band. If you look on the back, there are tiny little screws.

 

[eliseisawkward]

I think this would work - you could move the "puck" from the new one into her Stitch band, if they are the same model band. If you look on the back, there are tiny little screws.

An eyeglasses repair kit works for this!!

 

[KateMW]

I unassigned my son's magic band that came already linked and switched it out for a Jingle Bell Jingle Bam one on the website. It was simple.

 

[dbb727]

Assuming you have room only reservations for your onsite stays and a max occupancy of 4, what about adding one parent to each of your upcoming reservations? Since you already have their accounts in MDE then the bands will be linked and can be engraved so there’s no confusion. If you don’t need duplicate bands for your family, then just decline all except the 4th person(parent) on the 2nd stay.

 

[studiojmm]

what about adding one parent to each of your upcoming reservations?

That is an interesting idea. It might work because only my daughter and I are traveling in September . Otherwise we would incur Disney’s $15 per person per night extra adult fee. It would be definitely cheaper to buy bands in that case.

 

[FCDub]

I unassigned my son's magic band that came already linked and switched it out for a Jingle Bell Jingle Bam one on the website. It was simple.

No need to unassign. You can have MANY bands assigned to one person. The all act interchangeably.

 

[cigar95]

That's a bit of a bummer. I just looked it up and Disney says 2 years. My daughter's Stitch band (purchased because she lost the resort band) is already 2 years old.

The short-range functions will last for a *long* time. And I've observed that the long range (active RFID) seem to last considerably longer than Disney promises they will. I have bands about six years old that still register in on-ride photos.

 

[Samantha Morgan]

No, you cannot assign your old magic bands to your parents. They are non transferable.

As for not declining them, I’ve seen people take them along on their trips and match the various colors to their outfits.

 

[DisneyWishes14]

You cannot re-assign MB's that are already linked to guest profiles to other guests. Your choices will be to purchase MB's for them or simply have them use the RFID cards.

 

[CAS239]

The AP bands are supposed to come with a slider that says Annual Passholder (or something like that), but there was a note in my box that they aren't currently available. I had the same thought about reassigning one, but MDE indicates that you can't. The new ones will come already linked.

Starting once the flower and garden kicks off, you can stop by mouse gears and pick up your AP slider with valid ID and proof of AP card. 1 slider per AP. If you can't make it during the F&G festival then after the event ends you can stop by a guest relations to pick it up

 

[studiojmm]

I think this would work - you could move the "puck" from the new one into her Stitch band, if they are the same model band. If you look on the back, there are tiny little screws.

I'm sure that would work, actually. The reason we own that band is that she lost the puck part from one of the keychain-style holders (Somewhere in Canada ).

 

[Marionnette]

I unassigned my son's magic band that came already linked and switched it out for a Jingle Bell Jingle Bam one on the website. It was simple.

Are you sure that you “unassigned” it and didn’t just deactivate your son’s MB?

 

[KateMW]

I might have @Marionnette

 

[vinotinto]

The short-range functions will last for a *long* time. And I've observed that the long range (active RFID) seem to last considerably longer than Disney promises they will. I have bands about six years old that still register in on-ride photos.

This has been my experience too. I decline MBs every other trip and bring all of them to each trip for fun, and the really old ones from years ago still pick up the long-range photos.