Magic Bands - one family onsite, one offsite

[VMS]

Not sure if this is the place to post this question, but appreciate any help. We are headed to WDW in Feb and will be staying at the VWL. This is our first trip since they introduced Magic Bands. Another family we are traveling with has made reservations offsite. I was talking with a friend who went recently and was explaining the Magic Bands. She seemed to feel that this would be a problem touring the parks with the other family since we would have Magic Bands and they would not. Can anyone share any thoughts on this with me please? Thanks.

 

[kmb584]

Not sure if this is the place to post this question, but appreciate any help. We are headed to WDW in Feb and will be staying at the VWL. This is our first trip since they introduced Magic Bands. Another family we are traveling with has made reservations offsite. I was talking with a friend who went recently and was explaining the Magic Bands. She seemed to feel that this would be a problem touring the parks with the other family since we would have Magic Bands and they would not. Can anyone share any thoughts on this with me please? Thanks.

It won't be much of an issue. They'll be able to use their park tickets in the same way your family will use their MB, and the other family can purchase the bands in the parks if they so desire. Where I can see a slight issue is in the fact that you'll be able to book FP+ at 60 days out whereas the family staying offsite can't book until 30 days out. Some of your rides and/or time slots may not match.

 

[VMS]

Can they buy their magic bands ahead of time to book it 30 days out? How do they do that?

 

[CampbellzSoup]

Can they buy their magic bands ahead of time to book it 30 days out? How do they do that?

I guess they could buy theirs from the disney store although it does the same thing as a ticket

 

[joanchris]

You don't need magic bands to book 30 days out when staying off site. You need tickets, I got mine for our recent trip from undercovertourist, they were shipped to my house and I registered those tickets online to our my disney experience account. We wanted the convenience of magic bands (mostly for memory maker ease of use), so bought them when we arrived at the parks, and had them linked to our tickets.
The tickets do all the same things the bands do, the only exception that I'm aware of, is ride photos when using memory maker, the bands have longer range rfid chips that allow the system to automatically link your ride photos with you with no extra effort on your part.
The difference in your situation comes from the extra perks of staying on site vs off site, making your FP+ 60 days out vs their 30 with park tickets but not on site ressies.

 

[kmb584]

Can they buy their magic bands ahead of time to book it 30 days out? How do they do that?

They don't need MB to book FP+, but do need to have valid tickets linked to their MDE account.

 

[jerseygal]

We are staying on site..2 other families staying off site...

Be PREPARED! If you make your FP+ 60 days out, yours will probably BE VERY DIFFERENT than theirs! We were prepared for that; we were LUCKY ENOUGH to get Mine Train 60 days out, but it is VERY UNLIKELY that booking 30 days offsite you will get that! Some have said that that FP is like "gold"...very difficult to get!

We were prepared for that! Since there are 2 couples staying offsite and can book at 30 days out, hopefully, they will coordinate that themselves..
That is FINE! We will be together for Candlelight Processional Dinner and Show and Fantasmics Lunch and Show.. We also booked a Sleigh Ride through Ft.Wilderness together and we will tour some resorts together!

Beyond that, FP will be VERY DIFFERENT!
ENJOY YOUR TRIP!

 

[richmo]

MagicBands aren't the issue here at all. As was pointed out, the real issue is that the onsiters can book attractions 60 days out and the offsiters 30 days out, assuming they've purchased their tickets and set up MDE.

If you're planning on doing everything together, it would make the most sense to wait until the 30 day period and try to book all your FP's then. You may find that you're not going to get all the bookings and times that you may have been able to get at 60, but at least you can stick together.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Can they buy their magic bands ahead of time to book it 30 days out? How do they do that?

You do not need a magic band to book anything. All that they need is a park ticket linked to their MDX account(s). If they're offsite though you can do all your booking 60 days out and they have to wait until 30. So if you were intending to ride 7DMT together using fastpass, that may not happen. You may be able to match up everything else though unless you are after Anna and Elsa.

If they want magic bands they can purchase them at the park and I think the Disney store might even sell them online now.

They also do not need a magic band to access their FP or enter the parks, they can use their tickets for that. If you think it's going to be a point of contention with the other family, if you are close with them you can maybe buy them the bands and make a present of them.

 

[jerseygal]

You do not need a magic band to book anything. All that they need is a park ticket linked to their MDX account(s). If they're offsite though you can do all your booking 60 days out and they have to wait until 30. So if you were intending to ride 7DMT together using fastpass, that may not happen. You may be able to match up everything else though unless you are after Anna and Elsa.

If they want magic bands they can purchase them at the park and I think the Disney store might even sell them online now.

They also do not need a magic band to access their FP or enter the parks, they can use their tickets for that. If you think it's going to be a point of contention with the other family, if you are close with them you can maybe buy them the bands and make a present of them.

It depends on "how much togetherness" you are looking for!
I personally would never give up the on site benefit of making my FP 60 days out...It depends on "how much togetherness" you are looking for!
Plan some ADR's together...EVERYONE can book 180 days out, even if staying off site! Disney is "in business" to give on site guests preference!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

It has been somewhat said, but as onsite guests, in addition to the FP+ at 60 days, you also get access to Extra Magic Hours that they would not get.

Also, if you are onsite, but don't have car, your ability to move from place to place will be limited to WDW transportation and walking. In some cases, you might have to do a transfer, which can be VERY slow.

So if you plan a breakfast at Boma- you would have to take two modes of transportation to get there- min most cases two buses. Your offsite guests would hop in a car and drive. If your guests are far offsite- they might get stuck in rush hour traffic on I-4. If they are close, like the Marriott World Center- their commute time would be much shorter than yours.

In a number of cases, the logistics of transportation are often a bit unpredictable. A good set of cell phones can help. It is also wise to factor in some flexibility. You would be wise to meet up in the parks, rather than waiting for each other outside the gates each day. that way, whichever part shows up first can be doing something: short-wait attractions, shopping, Mains St characters, the MK magic card game- while waiting for the rest of your group to arrive.

Or as others have suggested, it may be easiest to meet for meals (lunch plus some post lunch time is a good plan) , rather than trying to stay together all day every day.

Also, going in large groups- it pays to have everyone a little on the same page. Come up with a rough, but flexible plan for meals and touring, so you don't spend time discussing every decision throughout the day. Flexibility is key.

 

[bumbershoot]

We are staying on site..2 other families staying off site...

Be PREPARED! If you make your FP+ 60 days out, yours will probably BE VERY DIFFERENT than theirs! We were prepared for that; we were LUCKY ENOUGH to get Mine Train 60 days out, but it is VERY UNLIKELY that booking 30 days offsite you will get that! Some have said that that FP is like "gold"...very difficult to get!

On the other hand, I got Mine Train about 2 hours before ride-time the other week. Could not touch it before that. But, same day, it popped up.

 

[VMS]

Thanks for all these responses and clarifying a lot of things for me. It is my daughter and myself going and her best friend and her mother offsite. The girls have planned to do this trip for years (they are seniors in HS now). So the plan was for them TO do everything pretty much together. I think this is going to be an issue and not sure what to do about it.

 

[nugov2]

Thanks for all these responses and clarifying a lot of things for me. It is my daughter and myself going and her best friend and her mother offsite. The girls have planned to do this trip for years (they are seniors in HS now). So the plan was for them TO do everything pretty much together. I think this is going to be an issue and not sure what to do about it.

Book a campsite for your friends. They pay for and check in(online) for their campsite and the one day will give them MB and FP booking 60 days out, but after their check out day it becomes a rolling 60 so they can only book one day at a time after check out day. It will make it more likely to get the rides you want together though and will only cost them an additional $60 dollars. They get their MB for that cost though too so it really isn't much extra to get the advanced booking. I would much rather pay for a room I will use, but not sleep at to be able to book together.

 

[patty57]

Book a campsite for your friends. They pay for and check in(online) for their campsite and the one day will give them MB and FP booking 60 days out, but after their check out day it becomes a rolling 60 so they can only book one day at a time after check out day. It will make it more likely to get the rides you want together though and will only cost them an additional $60 dollars. They get their MB for that cost though too so it really isn't much extra to get the advanced booking. I would much rather pay for a room I will use, but not sleep at to be able to book together.

Is this still the case? I thought I read something about this maybe changing to only booking FP+ for the day of check in and check out...only two days of FP+.

 

[nugov2]

Is this still the case? I thought I read something about this maybe changing to only booking FP+ for the day of check in and check out...only two days of FP+.

It is still the case, I don't see any consistent reports anywhere that it has changed. The main information thread on throwaway rooms still confirms this is the policy that WDW is implementing.

 

[andyman8]

By the way, for those who are staying offsite but still want MBs in advance, they can now be purchased online on DisneyStore.com. Just look under Disney Parks Product. They have all the colors and cost $12.95 plus tax and shipping. Pricey yes but just wanted to let people know.

 

[mpgrandpa]

Book a campsite for your friends. They pay for and check in(online) for their campsite and the one day will give them MB and FP booking 60 days out, but after their check out day it becomes a rolling 60 so they can only book one day at a time after check out day. It will make it more likely to get the rides you want together though and will only cost them an additional $60 dollars. They get their MB for that cost though too so it really isn't much extra to get the advanced booking. I would much rather pay for a room I will use, but not sleep at to be able to book together.

That's what we did and it worked great! And by booking Ft. Wilderness, you get the magic bands at no charge. We just booked the first day and then stayed at the off-site hotel the rest of the time.

 

[mslhb]

We had this situation over the summer and had no issues. We linked our MDE accounts so I could book their FP or vice versa. Only issue was the 60 days out vs. 30. My daughter and I were the on-site guests and she REALLY wanted Elsa so I booked that one at 60 days. Everything else I just waited to 30 days and booked us all together. Got everything we wanted including the mine train. Now the FP booking in general takes some time to learn to maneuver. I always initially pick whatever the most extreme time option they give me. Then one by one I move them to the attractions and times I want. To actually use the tickets/FP we simply used our Magic Bands and they used the cards they got in the mail.. no problem.