Guest Test of Magic Bands (Official Notice)

[Planogirl]

They will need touch screens. I'm betting those might end up requiring more maintenance in general.

Still haven't heard anything about printing capability, but I think it's a good idea especially for those without smartphones or the uberplanning gene

If enough people are like me, they won't remember a FP from 3:55 to 4:55 at HM and another from 6:45 to 7:45 at Pirates. I'd need a way to keep track.

 

[WillAustin]

Same problem, more recently (end of May/beginning of June). First day seemed to work reasonably well, and not problems in the resorts, but atrocious and generally unusable the next two days. Worked better on mobile data (but on my dime).

I had some problems earlier this month with the in-parks WiFi. I did get a couple of post-trip surveys from WDW so I let them know.

 

[Jules54]

What do you guys think the chances are of them widening the test pool to include other resorts in July?

 

[Robo]

If enough people are like me, they won't remember a FP from 3:55 to 4:55 at HM and another from 6:45 to 7:45 at Pirates. I'd need a way to keep track.

I agree.

I just don't think they have PLANNED for this.
No indication of hard copy print-outs of FP times.

Maybe that will happen (likely will be needed,) but it might be just another
FIX, to FIX the previous FIX.

(They COULD offer cute little "note pad" sheets that you could WRITE on with your times.
I know that's old-fashioned in the extreme, but guests without smart-phones (etc) may be still be used to paper and pen/pencil.

 

[MickeyMinnieMom]

So I logged into the my Disney Exp app in my phone and it to a Splash Mtn FP+. It was great cause we already used one FP+ earlier in the day. So we used two FP+ on the same ride which is something I couldn't do when originally reserving them online.

My Disney Exp app works awesome in the parks and has been a great on the spot planning tool!

Very cool! Glad to hear the app is working great for you so far, too.

While we were taking THAT survey we were invited to take part in a focus group tomorrow afternoon for which we'll get a $100 Disney gift card! Sweet!!

They said they wanted the good, bad and ugly!! Lol! I'll let you know if I get more details out of the experience!

So glad you're taking every opportunity to give feedback -- that's the only way any company makes any offering better, right?!

Thanks again for your awesome updates -- SO GREAT to hear about ACTUAL experiences with the test... looking forward to more...

 

[ghtx]

If enough people are like me, they won't remember a FP from 3:55 to 4:55 at HM and another from 6:45 to 7:45 at Pirates. I'd need a way to keep track.

I agree.

I just don't think they have PLANNED for this.
No indication of hard copy print-outs of FP times.

Maybe that will happen (likely will be needed,) but it might be just another
FIX, to FIX the previous FIX.

(They COULD offer cute little "note pad" sheets that you could WRITE on with your times.
I know that's old-fashioned in the extreme, but guests without smart-phones (etc) may be still be used to paper and pen/pencil.

I was thinking about this problem too.

My guess is that they'd give you a text message shortly before your window opened. For that you'd just need a dumb phone, not a smart phone. If you don't even have a dumb phone, then you're out of luck. But who doesn't even have a dumb phone?

 

[ParrotBill]

The CM that the transaction was still processing so maybe there was just a glitch in the system when I scanned my band.

In the IT world, at low volumes in testing, compared to the expected real volumes, "still processing" is an indication of a flaw in the design. Probably a database resource lock. Not surprising since they are cross linking so much information. Did your husband scan first? If he did, maybe his scan accessed something in your records that locked it up for your scan. I hope they are making note of these things so they can see if there are problems hiding in the system!

 

[Pembo]

I was thinking about this problem too.

My guess is that they'd give you a text message shortly before your window opened. For that you'd just need a dumb phone, not a smart phone. If you don't even have a dumb phone, then you're out of luck. But who doesn't even have a dumb phone?

I have a dumb phone but do not have texting.
I hate this idea of FP+ and prescheduling my ride times.

 

[interstate70s]

Don't know if I missed it in this long thread, but there was another report from someone who was part of the test on wdwmagic. I can't link it on my phone but it's on the first page of the news and rumors forum. According to that tester they could not access regular fp and were limited to 3 per day.

 

[doconeill]

Don't know if I missed it in this long thread, but there was another report from someone who was part of the test on wdwmagic. I can't link it on my phone but it's on the first page of the news and rumors forum. According to that tester they could not access regular fp and were limited to 3 per day.

They must have been mistaken, since we have people actually participating and giving us updates, and they can get regular Fastpasses.

 

[Planogirl]

I agree.

I just don't think they have PLANNED for this.
No indication of hard copy print-outs of FP times.

Maybe that will happen (likely will be needed,) but it might be just another
FIX, to FIX the previous FIX.

(They COULD offer cute little "note pad" sheets that you could WRITE on with your times.
I know that's old-fashioned in the extreme, but guests without smart-phones (etc) may be still be used to paper and pen/pencil.

I love the concept of using an ancient method to enhance a new super-advanced "set the world on fire" technology. Particularly when it comes to the difference in cost.

I was thinking about this problem too.

My guess is that they'd give you a text message shortly before your window opened. For that you'd just need a dumb phone, not a smart phone. If you don't even have a dumb phone, then you're out of luck. But who doesn't even have a dumb phone?

I have a dumb phone but I don't always like to cart it around with me. I like a vacation from the phone personally.

 

[WeRblam]

We tested the magic bands fom Thursday till yesterday. All went well for the most part. Issues with the handheld scanners for dining plan so had to use the card. The pool bars are not set up yet either. The best part about the fast passes is the ability to change them on the fly. We got a later start than expected and our fast pass time had come and gone. I went in and rescheduled for a different experience (by choice) and walked over or immediate access it will pop up a bunch of times and all you do is select which time works for you.

 

[doconeill]

We tested the magic bands fom Thursday till yesterday. All went well for the most part. Issues with the handheld scanners for dining plan so had to use the card. The pool bars are not set up yet either. The best part about the fast passes is the ability to change them on the fly. We got a later start than expected and our fast pass time had come and gone. I went in and rescheduled for a different experience (by choice) and walked over or immediate access it will pop up a bunch of times and all you do is select which time works for you.

This was at one of the kiosks? At the park or resort?

And this was after your initial selections had already expired, it still allowed you to select replacements?

 

[tfc3rid]

If enough people are like me, they won't remember a FP from 3:55 to 4:55 at HM and another from 6:45 to 7:45 at Pirates. I'd need a way to keep track.

Smartphone push notifications...

 

[doconeill]

Smartphone push notifications...

You may have missed part of that discussion. It was about people who don't have or choose not to carry smartphones in the parks.

 

[fflmaster]

whatsarahsaid,

If you were only allowed to do the 3 FP+ options and couldn't have used the KTTW card in addition, would you have been satisfied?

I am thinking I know my family uses way more then 3 FP per day.

 

[lugnut33]

Can individuals within a family hold different fastpass+?

Also, with only 3000 people being in the test group (per a previous post, I don't know how true it is) I'm sure it was easy to find FP+ replacements when needed. However, imagine trying to reschedule something during Christmas week when everybody has access to the system and people had already scheduled their FP+ experiences months in advance.

 

[WeRblam]

This was at one of the kiosks? At the park or resort?

And this was after your initial selections had already expired, it still allowed you to select replacements?

Yes it allowed me to select replacements after initial selection AND after it I ready expired! I did it via the iPhone app

 

[whatsarahsaid]

whatsarahsaid,

If you were only allowed to do the 3 FP+ options and couldn't have used the KTTW card in addition, would you have been satisfied?

I am thinking I know my family uses way more then 3 FP per day.

Probably not...the fact that we could use our existing FP+ AND use our KTTW to get same day FP is what allowed us to ride EE and SP multiple times!

 

[WeRblam]

Can individuals within a family hold different fastpass+?

Also, with only 3000 people being in the test group (per a previous post, I don't know how true it is) I'm sure it was easy to find FP+ replacements when needed. However, imagine trying to reschedule something during Christmas week when everybody has access to the system and people had already scheduled their FP+ experiences months in advance.

Yes that test was a smaller group your right it could vary when it's implemented across the board. The fast pass can be assigned to whoever you designate but it's 3 fast passes per individual