Magic bands no longer free?

[dmband]

Personally, I liked free lol
$5 was fine
$10 and more is a not worth it IMO
I think Disney is also using this as a way to start getting people to use the app in the long run

 

[Darcy03231]

So what happens if you decide not to purchase a Magic Band and don't have a smart phone? Are you issued a room key card and some kind of "paper" tickets/fast passes?

 

[honeymo78]

So what happens if you decide not to purchase a Magic Band and don't have a smart phone? Are you issued a room key card and some kind of "paper" tickets/fast passes?

You can ask for a plastic card which is used in place of the Magic Band - opening your room, getting into the parks, charging back to your room, photopass, and fastpass (if/when it returns).

 

[luv2cheer92]

So what happens if you decide not to purchase a Magic Band and don't have a smart phone? Are you issued a room key card and some kind of "paper" tickets/fast passes?

Yes, the same thing they've been doing forever. You're always able to get a plastic card ticket.

 

[shawthorne44]

One idea for those grumpy about the cost. We plan on getting one MB for DD. That should cover ride photos for all of us, since we only care about photos with DD. Then we'll have the Keys cards to do everything else. So, no worries about being unable to get into the room because of dead phones.

 

[Peyton McLean]

If you have a smart watch (Apple or Android) you can have everything on there instead of a magic band. We paid $15 per magic band for mickey and minnie ones. I wish I knew about the smart watch option.

 

[kanerf]

The bands will last two to three years, so you only need to buy one that often.

 

[honeymo78]

If you have a smart watch (Apple or Android) you can have everything on there instead of a magic band. We paid $15 per magic band for mickey and minnie ones. I wish I knew about the smart watch option.

A smart watch doesn't yet allow you to open your room or charge back to the room - but those features are coming soon. I still have a Magic Band puck for those reasons.

 

[tripplanner2]

So I was reading yesterday that smartwatches are now working for payment. Does anyone have a good suggestion for an inexpensive smartwatch that will work? Otherwise, I am going to dig up old Magic Bands and only buy one new one. We are staying at Dolphin so it will not open the room but I would like it for tickets and Memory Maker. Still holding out hope for Fast Passes too.

 

[crazymomof4]

We are reusing old MB. I found some cool Disney "skins" for MB on Etsy. Have used them in the past and, when applied properly, they have held up to pool, heat, & being stored in the attic between trips. Way cheaper than a lot of the fancier ones Disney sells. Cute enough to garner compliments from other WDW guests!

 

[PalmettoPath]

Yes, that is correct as others have noted. If you have an old (recent model) one, it may still work. You can check if it's active in your account. We prefer MBs because it's so much more convenient. When I'm entering my room, for example, with hands full I don't want to have to fumble with my phone. So easy to use the band hands-free. So we're sticking with MBs but will be sure to keep track of them better now that there's no longer a free option (which is probably part of the change -- I can understand how wasteful it was to have people going through the free ones like crazy).

 

[sandieb]

Can you use your old ones from prior trips? We kept some of ours.

The magic bands are good for 1-2 years per the cast member when I made our reservations. I said I had a couple dozen from past years and had no way of knowing which were still usable. So we ended up paying $10 for each of us = $50.

 

[luv2cheer92]

The magic bands are good for 1-2 years per the cast member when I made our reservations. I said I had a couple dozen from past years and had no way of knowing which were still usable. So we ended up paying $10 for each of us = $50.

If you don't care too much about some of the ride photos, MBs will work forever.

 

[kittyab]

No thanks, we will use our old ones or the app on our phones.

 

[java]

You can check if it's active in your account.

How do I check?

 

[erionm]

How do I check?

Under "MagicBands and Cards" in MDE. Should still be marked as "Active" unless someone intentionally changed it to "Inactive" or "Lost".

 

[java]

Thank you!

 

[ffugitive]

If you don't care too much about some of the ride photos, MBs will work forever.

Does this include the original (narrower) bands? I have some from many years ago and they are still linked to my account - only really use for fastpass / entry, so would be great if they definitely still work for that (but don't want to find out they are dead when i get there).

 

[luv2cheer92]

Does this include the original (narrower) bands? I have some from many years ago and they are still linked to my account - only really use for fastpass / entry, so would be great if they definitely still work for that (but don't want to find out they are dead when i get there).

Yes, they should work.

 

[erionm]

Does this include the original (narrower) bands? I have some from many years ago and they are still linked to my account - only really use for fastpass / entry, so would be great if they definitely still work for that (but don't want to find out they are dead when i get there).

All MagicBands should continue to work forever for any function where you need to physically need to touch your MB to a reader. This includes park entry, room entry, room charging, FP+ return, manual photo linking, etc.