We just returned from our trip. We were off site guests and I too really debated before going if we should buy the magic bands. While at the parks, we decided to buy magic bands the first morning of our trip. For our family (2 adults, 4 kids), it was money well spent. The magic bands were super convenient to use. Instead of having to pass out the tickets at each ride we FP, the kids were able to use their bands. Also, our family split up a few times, and since Memory Maker was linked to our account, it was very easy to get ride photos. In fact starting our third park day, the ride pictures were automatically linked to our account without needing to have the bands scanned at the end of the ride.