Magic Bands?

[bb-8]

I went all the way through the ordering process for my tickets for April, just to see how long the process took, since we are buying tickets tomorrow morning before my DBF goes to work. However, I didn't see anything about magic bands in the ordering process. So, I have a couple of questions.

1. Since we are staying off site, do we get magic bands? I was under the impression that the whole show is pretty much run on the cute little bracelets.

2. Do we get to pick our colors? Or do they just send random ones?

If they do send the magic bands, I just want to know to be looking for them. If it's something we get at the park when we get there, then I wanted to know what to look for as well. This is my first trip, and I'm nervously excited.

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[BattyKoda]

Unless something has changed recently you get a RFID-enabled card if you are staying off site, which acts like a magic band. If you want a magic band you would have to buy one, sorry.

 

[Enorto1]

Only onsite guessed get "free" magic bands. You don't technically need them as the RFID-enabled card will work for your fastpasses and your entrance into the park.

Did you look at tickets on the disney site or undercovertourist.com they have really good prices on ticket packages.

 

[bb-8]

That's fine! I was just confused because I thought the magic bands WERE the new ticket system.

 

[BrianL]

That's fine! I was just confused because I thought the magic bands WERE the new ticket system.

No, Magic Bands are just one way of linking to your My Disney Experience account. The account is where you manage tickets, Fast Passes, etc. and the band simply provides a number to the systems in the park to access that information.

The card will work exactly the same for most applications, except for the long range functions that the Magic Bands have. These are for things like automatically uploading ride photos to photopass. If you have a card you can tap at the monitors at the end of the ride to store your photo (you can choose to purchase later - or if you have Memory Maker you've already bought it). The exceptions to this are Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Frozen Ever After, both of which only provide photos if you were wearing a Magic Band as there are no monitors at the end of those rides.

If you have Memory Maker then I highly recommend buying a Magic Band for at least one person in your party to make sure on-ride photos are not missed.

 

[richmo]

Above is correct. You will not be receiving Magic Bands for free, since you're staying offsite.

When you purchase your tickets online (I'm assuming thru Disney), pick the mail option, not e-mail. They'll send you a plastic card, which you can use upon arrival and that's all you need. Whether you buy the tickets thru Disney or not, be sure to link them to your My Disney Experience account.

If you want Magic Bands, there's a couple options. The easiest is to wait until arrival, use your card to get in the park and you'll find that many gift shops sell magic bands. You can check out the colors, special ones, etc. When you pay for it, they'll link your card to the band. (What they're really doing is using your card to link to your MDE account, which will then link to the band). Then you can use the card or the band as you wish (except for the very few exceptions already noted above).

You can also order a Magic Band thru the Shop Disney app. I don't know if they can link it for you also...if not, you may have to visit Guest Relations onsite, which is much more time consuming than buying one in the gift shop. Also, for a single band they hit you with a $7 shipping fee, which is pretty steep for a $13 item.

It would be nice if they sold Magic Bands in Disney Stores around the country, but they don't...I checked recently.