Magic bands faded???

[qa4ever]

Last February my kids used their souvenir money to buy the plain magic bands, one bought red and one blue.

We are going back again and I took them out of a drawer where they sat the last year and they are all faded, almost dusty looking/feeling.

I rinsed them under water and when they are wet they look great but as soon as dried, they look faded again.

Is this normal and is there anything that can be done to make them look more vibrant again?

 

[Jennasis]

Armor All?

 

[texasroni75]

Funny you mention this - while getting ready for our trip last month, I took out our magic bands from our trip the year before to bring along. They were noticeably faded and "dried out" compared to our new ones, even though we only wore them for 7 days and they were stored since then. I assumed it was because we wore them swimming during our trip and maybe the chlorine did that - but now I'm thinking the material just isn't made to last. Like you mentioned, just washing them didn't help. DD ended up decorating the old ones with glitter nailpolish so they are "permanently" shiny again.

 

[Skywise]

I've noticed that with both my blue one I got almost 2 years ago and a red one I got a year ago. Kind of a "glazed" appearance.

Looks like a natural breakdown of the rubber/plastic.

 

[Hi Pluto]

What about surprising them with a new one? They have some really cute designs at disneystore.com. They're not cheap ($20 each), but might be worth a surprise.

Santa brought the pluto one for DS for our June trip (despite having a small collection of the regular ones from other trips).



~Cari~

 

[qa4ever]

Yeah, they only used them for 3 days last trip! And then they were stored in a drawer for a year. They shouldn't be breaking down already. While I'm sure they would love a new one. With the exchange rate, that will cost us like 30 dollars CAD each and that is a lot of money for something that my only last one trip again.

We always stay offsite, and was assuming this would last many trips.

 

[SnowChaser]

Then maybe it's worth a shot heading to a shop that sells them, explaining the situation and asking for a replacement.

Or writing to Disney and doing the same.

 

[larryz]

I think I'll hit mine with a UV protectant right now...

 

[tessiesevin]

Ours faded also. They look terrible. They are only a year old.

 

[BenandMorgsMom]

I also read that they have a "shelf life" also on the battery in them of several years, not indefinitely. We were in WDW for Christmas, we are going back next week and in a months time, Disney has now produced the bands more cheaply. They are actually lighter and thinner and they don't stay snapped shut like the old thicker ones. My daughter noticed the difference immediately. There is a thread on this topic. Disney wants people to have to repeat purchase. I decorated several for my kids and I sprayed them with shiny spray glaze. They have stayed nice and glossy.

 

[samsteele]

Armor All?

That sounds like a great idea. If it works for plastic in car interiors, why not?

 

[Neesy228]

I have a box full of them. As my DD was digging through them last week, I noticed the same thing. The undecorated ones look terrible, but the ones that have stickers/marker/nail polish look fine. You could always try a thin coat of clear nail polish. I'm curious about the armor all idea, so may try that on an old one.

 

[siskaren]

1. I also read that they have a "shelf life" also on the battery in them of several years, not indefinitely.

2. Disney wants people to have to repeat purchase.

1. The batteries aren't needed for most things though - they're pretty much only needed for ride photos and videos

2. Unless you're staying off property or want a specialty one, you don't have to buy them.

 

[TippeeCanoe]

I also read that they have a "shelf life" also on the battery in them of several years, not indefinitely. We were in WDW for Christmas, we are going back next week and in a months time, Disney has now produced the bands more cheaply. They are actually lighter and thinner and they don't stay snapped shut like the old thicker ones. My daughter noticed the difference immediately. There is a thread on this topic. Disney wants people to have to repeat purchase. I decorated several for my kids and I sprayed them with shiny spray glaze. They have stayed nice and glossy.

Onsite guests get them free. There is no need to repeat purchase.

 

[HelloMimi]

If they look fine when they're wet, a coat of clear nail polish might work the same way. If you're in the US, I'd suggest Wet n Wild's protective base coat as it can be purchased in any Target/Walgreens/CVS and is super cheap.

 

[lovethattink]

Mine are stored in a ziplock bag and still look fine. But most weren't used for swimming.

 

[Aaryana]

My pink band from 2014 and the MNSSHP one still look great. But I didn't swim in them or ride water rides.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

I wonder if there's a swimming connection. Ours from March look normal even though the kids take them out and play with them from time to time. We never went swimming with them (rained on our resort day).

 

[neile45]

Ours from November 14 look new also, no swimming with those on, either. Doesn't matter, we got new ones with our stay last week, but I still had to buy a Goofy one for me

 

[qa4ever]

Yes, we stay offsite, so had to purchase, and will be expensive to replace each trip!