Magic bands at DL?

[JenniferFolsomCa]

Are there magic bands that store fastpasses at DL? If so, how do you buy them? Plan on buying max pass and thought

Jenn

 

[pharmama]

Are there magic bands that store fastpasses at DL? If so, how do you buy them? Plan on buying max pass and thought

Jenn

No Magic Bands at DLR.

 

[SoCalDisneyFan2708]

No magic bands at Disneyland. You just use your ticket to redeem your fast pass / max pass selections.

It is interesting though that they have the circle that lights up on the FP redeeming posts. To me that suggests that they could potentially use magic bands at the DLR at some point in the future

 

[RemainSeatedPlease]

Are there magic bands that store fastpasses at DL? If so, how do you buy them? Plan on buying max pass and thought

Jenn

As has been said, there are no MagicBands. However, if you're getting MaxPass, you can load your tickets into the app so that you can use your phone to check in for FastPasses, rather than having to get your paper ticket out each time. An even better shortcut is to take a photo of the barcode for your ticket in the MaxPass app, then set that as your lock screen photo on your phone, so that you don't have to open up the app each time you want to use a FastPass.

 

[TikiTroll]

They won’t be using MagicBands at DLR any time soon, due to state laws about tracking devices. They’d have to completely revamp the system to make it comply in Anaheim, and I really don’t think they’ll do that.

For the curious, here’s the applicable state code.

 

[Michele King]

An even better shortcut is to take a photo of the barcode for your ticket in the MaxPass app, then set that as your lock screen photo on your phone, so that you don't have to open up the app each time you want to use a FastPass.

That is a great tip! I am going to have to try it.

Although magic bands are fun, I think using the app on the phone is a better way to do it. We all (or at least most of us) have our phones at hands reach all the time. It's easy to pull up your entire parties tickets on the phone and scan through them. I prefer it.

 

[StormyCA]

They won’t be using MagicBands at DLR any time soon, due to state laws about tracking devices. They’d have to completely revamp the system to make it comply in Anaheim, and I really don’t think they’ll do that.

For the curious, here’s the applicable state code.

Thank you for the link. It does refer to 'informed consent' though in section B. They'd just need verbiage explaining that movements will be tracked via MBs and that by purchase of MBs the person consents. And they'd need an alternate method of ticketing for those who don't want to be tracked. I don't think Disney would need to revamp too much I was told that the 'hardware' for MBs is pretty much there, it just isn't being used.

Disney tracked me all over WDW and it didn't bother me a bit. In fact, I liked hearing "Welcome Karen" at the AK turnstiles and DH & I being told 'Happy Anniversary' in MK even though we weren't wearing buttons. It was also nice not to have to worry about ride pics. Hey Presto.....they were already on MDE without my doing a thing!

FP+, NO!!! MB, emphatically YES!!!

 

[TikiTroll]

Thank you for the link. It does refer to 'informed consent' though in section B. They'd just need verbiage explaining that movements will be tracked via MBs and that by purchase of MBs the person consents. And they'd need an alternate method of ticketing for those who don't want to be tracked. I don't think Disney would need to revamp too much I was told that the 'hardware' for MBs is pretty much there, it just isn't being used.

Disney tracked me all over WDW and it didn't bother me a bit. In fact, I liked hearing "Welcome Karen" at the AK turnstiles and DH & I being told 'Happy Anniversary' in MK even though we weren't wearing buttons. It was also nice not to have to worry about ride pics. Hey Presto.....they were already on MDE without my doing a thing!

FP+, NO!!! MB, emphatically YES!!!

That's the problem, really. They would need to have a signed document from everyone who enters the park consenting to the tracking. If they opted to go with the Magic Band method they would want it to be 100%, like at WDW and allowing people to opt out would be problematic.

The other thing to think about is that Magic Bands started before the ubiquity of smart phones. Now that like 98% of all visitors have smart phones you can get pretty much all of the functionality of the magic bands through the Disneyland app, including FP and PP. Pretty much the only thing it doesn't offer is the ability to open your hotel room. SWGE has included the interactivity function with DisneyPlay so that your experience is more immersive, so you get pretty much all the benefits on your phone.

 

[TikiTroll]

That is a great tip! I am going to have to try it.

Although magic bands are fun, I think using the app on the phone is a better way to do it. We all (or at least most of us) have our phones at hands reach all the time. It's easy to pull up your entire parties tickets on the phone and scan through them. I prefer it.

Even better, if you have a smartwatch, is to make it your watch face! That way you don't have to pull out your phone at all, you just have them scan your watch.

 

[Pamela M]

Even better, if you have a smartwatch, is to make it your watch face! That way you don't have to pull out your phone at all, you just have them scan your watch.

How do you do that? I need to try that for my next trip? Is it as easy as making taking a pic then making it your watch face?

 

[TikiTroll]

How do you do that? I need to try that for my next trip? Is it as easy as making taking a pic then making it your watch face?

I have an Apple Watch. You can make a watch face from any photo on your phone with these steps:

1. Open Photos on iPhone
2. Find the photo you’d like to use for a new watch face
3. Tap the share button in the bottom left corner
4. Swipe from right to left if needed to find and tap Create Watch Face
5. Choose which type of face you’d like to create
6. Customize the new photo watch face
7. Tap Add toward the top of your screen
8. Your new face should show up on your Watch right away

I'm sure it can be done just as easily on a Samsung or other watch!

 

[Pamela M]

That's the problem, really. They would need to have a signed document from everyone who enters the park consenting to the tracking. If they opted to go with the Magic Band method they would want it to be 100%, like at WDW and allowing people to opt out would be problematic.

The other thing to think about is that Magic Bands started before the ubiquity of smart phones. Now that like 98% of all visitors have smart phones you can get pretty much all of the functionality of the magic bands through the Disneyland app, including FP and PP. Pretty much the only thing it doesn't offer is the ability to open your hotel room. SWGE has included the interactivity function with DisneyPlay so that your experience is more immersive, so you get pretty much all the benefits on your phone.

I think the fastpass ques would be faster if we used magic bands vs our phones. There is always a bottle neck checking in. I've found that phone

I have an Apple Watch. You can make a watch face from any photo on your phone with these steps:

1. Open Photos on iPhone
2. Find the photo you’d like to use for a new watch face
3. Tap the share button in the bottom left corner
4. Swipe from right to left if needed to find and tap Create Watch Face
5. Choose which type of face you’d like to create
6. Customize the new photo watch face
7. Tap Add toward the top of your screen
8. Your new face should show up on your Watch right away

I'm sure it can be done just as easily on a Samsung or other watch!

thanks I have an Apple watch as well. I just haven't used the photo feature. Heading to DL in a couple of weeks I'm going to test it.

 

[TikiTroll]

I think the fastpass ques would be faster if we used magic bands vs our phones. There is always a bottle neck checking in. I've found that phone

thanks I have an Apple watch as well. I just haven't used the photo feature. Heading to DL in a couple of weeks I'm going to test it.

Just take a screen shot of the PP QR code. It's possible you'll need to crop the photo before hand to make it work, but I heard of this trick from someone who got it directly from a PhotoPass photographer, so I'm assuming it works well!

 

[Gaugersaurus]

I have an Apple Watch. You can make a watch face from any photo on your phone with these steps:

1. Open Photos on iPhone
2. Find the photo you’d like to use for a new watch face
3. Tap the share button in the bottom left corner
4. Swipe from right to left if needed to find and tap Create Watch Face
5. Choose which type of face you’d like to create
6. Customize the new photo watch face
7. Tap Add toward the top of your screen
8. Your new face should show up on your Watch right away

I'm sure it can be done just as easily on a Samsung or other watch!

Making it your watch face wouldn't work any more as most of the FP scan points are now enclosed and it would be next to impossible to get your hand deep enough in to scan. It will still work for photopass/park entry though.

 

[B-rad]

I'm sure Disney would love to be using the bands at DLR, but there are technological constraints that get overlooked in discussions like these. *pushes up my nerd glasses* Magicbands have RFID chips in them. In WDW, where the acreage of the parks is significantly larger and it is more isolated from the surrounding Orlando area, there's more room for this invisible radio traffic. In a place like DLR, where people are condensed and it's essentially a walled garden in Anaheim, there would be too much congestion to make Magicbands work reliably--not just for PoS terminals and turnstiles, but ride photos and other invisible marketing tools they use for tracking guest experiences.

Like most people, I find them to be convenient, but I think the physical tickets and smartphones serve the same purpose. Heck, I'd argue that the physical ticket media is the absolute easiest. When my wife and I tried using our phones to scan at FP returns it always took too much effort to line up the barcode. No issues with tickets.

My 2 cents...

 

[RemainSeatedPlease]

Pretty much the only thing it doesn't offer is the ability to open your hotel room.

And they could add this feature to the app if they wanted to. I've stayed at hotels that offered room keys through your smartphone before, just hold the QR code up to the hotel room door and you're in.

 

[TikiTroll]

And they could add this feature to the app if they wanted to. I've stayed at hotels that offered room keys through your smartphone before, just hold the QR code up to the hotel room door and you're in.

NFC would be even easier.

 

[DisSurfer878]

That's the problem, really. They would need to have a signed document from everyone who enters the park consenting to the tracking. If they opted to go with the Magic Band method they would want it to be 100%, like at WDW and allowing people to opt out would be problematic.

The other thing to think about is that Magic Bands started before the ubiquity of smart phones. Now that like 98% of all visitors have smart phones you can get pretty much all of the functionality of the magic bands through the Disneyland app, including FP and PP. Pretty much the only thing it doesn't offer is the ability to open your hotel room. SWGE has included the interactivity function with DisneyPlay so that your experience is more immersive, so you get pretty much all the benefits on your phone.

It's also worth noting, the technology to use your smart phone as your room key exists and is used in plenty of other US hotels. So they could easily do that on smart phones too and eliminate the last grandstand between the app and magicbands

 

[JenniferFolsomCa]

Thanks!

 

[SteveH]

Having just come back from DL, and getting away from the could magic bands be implemented side. The biggest reason I wish it was at least an option is that it would speed up the lines. After being in the DLR for 5 days what drove me crazy was how utterly clueless many people were on how to:
(A) Enter the line on time and not before.
(B) Have your entire party with you, so you don't clog the line waiting for half the group to catch up
(C) Have your Disneyland app opened up and the FP window loaded and ready to go.

In this way Magic Bands would only be help with the last item, but that one item seemed to be the biggest reason people were bunched up at the scanning stations. We tried to help others to have the app ready and then slip your phone in an then just swipe without pulling the phone out at all, but so many people would do it one an a time, pulling the phone out for each person in the group.

The CMs really acted like they didn't care anymore, they were frustrated but honestly I think they had just have given up really caring, at last the vast majority.