Guest Test of Magic Bands (Official Notice)

[patrickpiteo]

I think you are right. A great deal of info is published, several tests have been done, and Disney is saying later in the year, so they have set themselves a hard limit. I don't think they would wait for the Holidays, so I am guessing September through October for at least the beginning of a rollout. Everything would also be dependent on testing going smoothly. If a major problem arises, it could table the whole plan.

My gut says you could be right on sept - oct for at least some sort of start..

 

[Yellowstonetim]

Any hope for the bands to be live in December? A couple of us have AP but we are a techy group and would love to do this!

I think there is a very good chance you will have Magic Bands in December. As already mentioned, info has been published, tests are underway, and they have stated it will be rolled out later this year. I don't think later this year means between Christmas and New Years, or Thanksgiving week, either would be crazy. My guess would be early enough to work out bugs and/or do a tiered roll out prior to Thanksgiving.

If your trip gets closer and they have not gone live, send an email to Disney and let them know you are interested in participating in testing. No guarantees, but you never know; they might want some positive willing testers. I arrive in September, and I am going to contact them, just in case.

 

[surferdave]

Their tests better include extremely heavy WIFI demand.

 

[Joan1]

The Lines app says Yacht club check ins are getting Magic Bands right now. Just an FYI.

What is the lines app?

 

[Yellowstonetim]

What is the lines app?

Touring Plans dot com has an app called the "Lines" app that gives current wait times for the rides. It is very useful. My son the Disney/computer geek has the app. In the app is a chat and this information was posted on the live chat portion of the app. No other confirmation at this time, but we should know soon.

 

[mom2rtk]

Their tests better include extremely heavy WIFI demand.

Not if they want favorable outcomes.

 

[patrickpiteo]

Not if they want favorable outcomes.

We have no idea what they are doing behind the scenes as in beefing up their wifi infrastructure.

 

[doconeill]

We have no idea what they are doing behind the scenes as in beefing up their wifi infrastructure.

I've seen some indication that they are working on the wireless infrastructure, although I think it was geared towards some mobile data and not wi-fi - but if they are still using the same infrastructure they were supposedly using a number of years ago, it handles everything.

I'm sure they realize that the wi-fi is currently a fail.

 

[Sue M]

Touring Plans dot com has an app called the "Lines" app that gives current wait times for the rides. It is very useful. My son the Disney/computer geek has the app. In the app is a chat and this information was posted on the live chat portion of the app. No other confirmation at this time, but we should know soon.

We check into YC on Aug 20. I wonder if they will still be doing the Magic Bands by our dates

 

[patrickpiteo]

We check into YC on Aug 20. I wonder if they will still be doing the Magic Bands by our dates

It's anyone's guess .. Just plan as it won't be till you see that Disney announces otherwise.. Unless you want to test and tell them so.

 

[Robo]

The tests have yet to include enough guests to "stress test" the system on just about any level.

The closest thing to that is the RFID entrance gates.
Sometimes A-OK. Sometimes problematic.



.

 

[andrewilley]

I'm sure they realize that the wi-fi is currently a fail.

My feeling is that it's more of a backend data throughput issue. When I was last there (President's Week) I mostly could find a fairly decent signal, but there just wasn't enough data capacity available.

Of course the MagicBand system could be rolled out independently of the rest of the FastPass booking side of things, as in basic terms it's just a different container for the same RFID chips that are in the current Key to the World cards. Did the recent testing include the option for guests to pre-select band colours & names via the My Disney Experience site by the way?

Andre

 

[n2mm]

Not sure where to put this, but yesterday I was on the MDE account and saw that I had 7 cards associated with me and when I clicked on them, they say to click to activate them. 3 were for me and 1 was for several different family members, but not all (my DH and 1 granddaughter were not on the list). There was also a section asking me to link my AP to my upcoming reservation. Although my AP is affiliated with my profile account along with my DVC membership. I logged into my DH's account and he has 4 cards waiting to be activated....I do have 3 reservations on my upcoming reservations (2 for October - continuing and 1 for January). I'm not sure if I'm suppose to do anything with this information. I'm a little over 90 days away from my next trip.

 

[Robo]

Not sure where to put this, but yesterday I was on the MDE account and saw that I had 7 cards associated with me and when I clicked on them, they say to click to activate them. 3 were for me and 1 was for several different family members, but not all (my DH and 1 granddaughter were not on the list). There was also a section asking me to link my AP to my upcoming reservation. Although my AP is affiliated with my profile account along with my DVC membership. I logged into my DH's account and he has 4 cards waiting to be activated....I do have 3 reservations on my upcoming reservations (2 for October - continuing and 1 for January). I'm not sure if I'm suppose to do anything with this information. I'm a little over 90 days away from my next trip.

Your best bet at this point is to simply stop interacting with important reservation info on the unreliable MDE.

Just stay tuned to the DISboards.
As soon as MDE problems are corrected and/or FP+ and other aspects become active,
you'll see a dozen (or more) threads pop up extolling the new information.

As for now, I'd leave MDE reservation info alone.

 

[racinjunkie]

Did the recent testing include the option for guests to pre-select band colours & names via the My Disney Experience site by the way?

Andre

Yes, our member who participated in the test and was soooo kind as to post her experiences actually posted a pic of the magic bands when they arrived. She had chosen her color and to have her name on it.

 

[whatsarahsaid]

Hey everyone...so I finally got my post trip survey as a MagicBand tester. Just wanted to pop in and let everyone know I will definitely be communicating some of the concerns that have been expressed here on the Dis if given the opportunity to.

 

[sunset7132]

Hey everyone...so I finally got my post trip survey as a MagicBand tester. Just wanted to pop in and let everyone know I will definitely be communicating some of the concerns that have been expressed here on the Dis if given the opportunity to.

Can't wait to hear details . We are going in nov and praying for magic bands and refrigerators lol

 

[whatsarahsaid]

Well...I'm feeling a bit bummed about the survey. While it DID ask me a few questions basically asking if I felt three FP+ was enough (I said no each time)...it only gave me the option to select one out of a limited number of responses and never allowed me to write any comments or concerns about my experience. It was all multiple choice. So, while I feel I was able to indicate that three FP+ was not enough...I don't feel like I was able to explain why. Kind of frustrated about that.

 

[preemiemama]

That's because they are already touting it as a success- it is making people spend more money...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-0...tml?cmpid=yhoo

Thank you, whatsarahsaid, for your updates during all of this- and for trying to get our voices heard.

 

[mom2rtk]

http://www.wdwinfo.com/news/General_Disney_News/Disney_s_MagicBands_increasing_guest_spending.htm?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+disney-updates+%28Disney+Updates+-+wdwinfo.com%29

So Tom Staggs says guests are enjoying interacting with the technology so much they are indeed spending more. Maybe that's because when they have to "TAP" the dang thing 5 times per transaction, it's actually charging them each time!