Linking Annual Passes To Magicband

[wee-haggis]

Just purchased Annual Passes online. They have been linked to My Disney Experience. It says to pick up passes at Parks or Cust Relations. If I have set up and customized the MagicBands, would the passes not be linked to the Magicbands ready for me to pickup when I check into the Saratoga Springs hotel ?
Also, if I intend to use my Annual Passes next year, would I save a reuse the sam MagicBands or would they issue a new one ?

 

[plutolovr]

Tickets and passes are not linked to your MagicBands. They are linked to your My Disney Experience account. Any MagicBands that you already have, or new ones you receive, will be able to access your Annual Pass.

 

[wee-haggis]

So....at the time of check-in , my annual pass would be set up on my Magic band ? My second question was, can I re-used the same Magic band next year with the Annual Pass still associated with it ?

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

APs have to be activated by ticket booths or Guest Relations whether or not they're linked to a MDX account with RFID media (MagicBands or cards) already. It's hit or miss as to whether hotels can do it, and often they tell guests it's done when it's not.

 

[Mr. Drauer]

yes - you can. once a magic band is linked to your MDE, it stays active. you can get new magic bands with each new annual pass (they are free with the passes) and they all stay linked unless you physically deactivate them on your MDE.

 

[Brave teacher]

You still need to pick up your passes to be able to show proof of the pass for any discounts or benefits provided to you with the pass (discounts on meals, tours, free parking, etc.).

Yes and yes to your above questions.

 

[Jonny_Duck]

Tickets and passes are not linked to your MagicBands. They are linked to your My Disney Experience account. Any MagicBands that you already have, or new ones you receive, will be able to access your Annual Pass.

What happens if I have 3 tickets in MDE account? I bought my Aunt and Uncle's tickets for our trip starting tomorrow and don't wanna accidently use their 4 day tickets before they join our trip.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

When you buy a new AP ahead of time, you can't just walk into a park until you have had your AP activated. (You need to activate at a ticket booth or at a Guest Relations at the parks or Disney Springs - resorts don't do AP activation.) That will cause the clock to start running on your AP. If you bought it on June 15 but you don't activate it at WDW until September 23, your pass will be valid from September 23 through the next September 23. When you activate, they'll give you an AP card. You need to keep this with you, as you will need to present it to redeem AP discounts. Magic band scans don't count as proof you have an AP for this purpose.

Think of the magic band as a key to unlock your MDX account. There's nothing stored on the band. All it does is access the info from your account. If the AP is linked to your MDX account, any magic band registered to you on that account should be able to read it. That's why you can reuse old bands.

As for the PP's aunt and uncle, before using any of these tickets, you need to assign your aunt and uncle's tickets to them so the system does not think the tickets are yours. If they don't have an account, I believe you can add them to yours as family or friends. They will need magic bands or ticket cards assigned to them to enter the parks via the tapstyles.