Magic Bands?

[ClaraOswald]

Okay...I know this isn't really a DVC question but I just love all the help I've gotten on this section of the forum so I wanted to ask...

Do we want Magic Bands for our trip in January? We haven't been to WDW since 2012 so never used them before. Not sure if we'll do Genie+ but we will likely have DAS, if that makes a difference.

At Disneyland, I always used my phone to scan in for DAS returns using barcodes. And I could have mine, my son's, and my husband's all on my phone so I'd just scan us all in. My husband thinks if we each had a magic band it would be quicker. Thoughts on this?

I went to the disney store online and I just see Magic Band+ for sale. Is a regular magic band no longer a thing? (And DANG...some of these are kind of expensive!) There's one for Disneyland Magic Key holders that my husband actually likes a lot but we aren't Magic Key holders so does that mean he can't purchase/use that one?

So...do we want them or not? I'll also add that we have no clue when we'll make it back to WDW again to use them. But we will be back at Disneyland next summer. I assume they are used the same way there, for the most part.

Sorry for all the questions!

 

[Genie+]

I like the ease of Magicbands but wouldn’t recommend MB+ because it is clunky and uncomfortable (and much easier to fall off and lose). Even though MBs are not necessary my family still prefers to use them. Kind of habit I guess.

 

[ClaraOswald]

Hmm...clunky worries me a bit since our son is super thin with small wrists. Makes me wonder if he'd wear it or not.

 

[ClaraOswald]

As far as it falling off, I saw a youtube video where a guy had a little clip type thing to keep his on. I'm guessing we'd want to get those if we get the magic bands.

 

[Sandisw]

Even though I have my Apple Watch for my ticket and things, I do also wear my MB to enter the room since it doesn’t work with the watch to do that.

And, then I’d need to get a KTTW card anyway or take out my phone. So, I enjoy having it!!

 

[DonMacGregor]

A couple of things. First, you can still get regular Magic Bands both on ShopDisney and as pre-order with your hotel reservation. Second, the range of prices for Magic Band + puts quite a few only a couple of bucks higher than the Magic Band 2.0. Third, I don’t know why people keep saying the Magic Band + is big, or clunky, or whatever. Here are the two side-by-side. Magic Band + on the left, and Magic Band 2.0 on the right:



The Magic Band + is the exact same width as a Magic band 2.0, and is only a couple of millimeters thicker. The bands are the exact same size, and the material is identical. Oh, and even if you forget to charge the MB+, it will still work just like a MB 2.0.

ETA: The MB+ DOES weigh about 10g more.

 

[DonMacGregor]

As to people with smaller wrists, many of the Magic Bands have a perforated wristband that you can basically tear the end off to make it short enough for even the smallest wrists:

 

[DonMacGregor]

Pre-arrival pricing currently: Plain MB+ run $24.99, with themed bands starting at $34.99 (but can definitely run much higher for limited editions, commemorative, etc.). Themed MB 2.0 run $24.99, and plain MB 2.0 are only $9.99.

 

[Genie+]

Third, I don’t know why people keep saying the Magic Band + is big, or clunky, or whatever.

We had done about 10 trips with regular magic bands. I never lost any of them. Could wear them for days straight and still be comfortable.

MB+ I lost in the first hour of use at the park (bye bye $45). DH felt bad and bought me another. It fell off again and but I caught it and stopped wearing it. But even beyond that issue, within 30 minutes of wearing it was leaving indents on my skin. In the FL heat it was quickly leaving sweaty indents, which regular MBs never did.

I do have a very small wrist. What happens is the larger rigid top of MB+ is wider than the top of my wrist, which leaves it sticking out about 1/2 inch each side and actually making it dig hard into my skin unlike old MBs.

 

[LadybugsMum]

I prefer MBs as I don't want to have to pull my phone out for opening the room door or for scanning in. We haven't had any issues with the MB+ falling off.

 

[DonMacGregor]

I do have a very small wrist. What happens is the larger rigid top of MB+ is wider than the top of my wrist, which leaves it sticking out about 1/2 inch each side and actually making it dig hard into my skin unlike old MBs.

We've never had a single MB+ fall off of anyone's wrist, including my 5'-4" DW. I probably have 2 dozen MB's and at least a dozen MB+, wife probably about the same. I lost a MB 2.0 once on Soarin', and my wrist is definitely not small.

 

[NVDISFamily]

Here are the two kiddos having a blast with Goofy when we were closing out the park for little girls b-day a few weeks ago. She has no issues with her MB+ and she has a very slender build. We did learn to train them to do a wrist check as we leave places and to not fidget around with them and so far we have had a few close calls but it was always due to user error and not due to the design of the product. They aren't 100% required, but they do enhance the experience (at both WDW and DL).

 

[AstroBlasters]

MB+ are a great way to go to the park without the stress of constantly having to pull out your phone. Go with the MB+ as they also work at Disneyland.

Get a pack of these clips for under $10 and you will be all set:

https://www.googleadservices.com/pa...pp2owouCAxVnFTQIHYwtCboQwg8oAHoECAIQDw&adurl=

 

[ClaraOswald]

Thanks, everyone! I think we're going to give them a try!

 

[ClaraOswald]

So...I see a pre-order one with the discount that I like and one for my son. My husband might like one from shopdisney more. If that's the case, can I just pre-order mine and my son's through MDE and then order my husband's on shopdisney and just pair it to his ticket when it arrives?

 

[zavandor]

I love to wear a MB at Disneyworld. I know I have everything I need (payment card, room key, tickets) with me. I can go to the pool leaving my phone back in the room and I can still stop by the shop to buy some zebra domes.

However, MD+ is not really that much of an upgrade. You can play a couple of treasure hunts, one to "collect" all the characters statues (you wave at them and they activate some sound effects and record in the app) and one in Galaxy Edge, to hunt baddies and collect bounties.
They also light up in certain attractions (the Haunted Mansion effect is cool) and for the night shows, which is mostly distracting.
It's not really a needed upgrade. The standard bands are just fine.

 

[DonMacGregor]

So...I see a pre-order one with the discount that I like and one for my son. My husband might like one from shopdisney more. If that's the case, can I just pre-order mine and my son's through MDE and then order my husband's on shopdisney and just pair it to his ticket when it arrives?

Yes

 

[drusba]

To find Magic Bands that are not plus, do the following on your MyDisneyExperience.com account on your computer. Go to MDE and sign in. Once on the site, and assuming you already have your room reservation, park tickets, and your family members are in your Family and Friends section and are already designated for the trip, open "My Disney Experience" in the top right and click on My Magic Bands and Cards. It should show the persons for the upcoming trip. Click on Get Started, and when that opens, select the person for whom you want to purchase a Magic Band.

You should then see a handful of Magic Band+ on that page next to which on the right is an arrow you can click on to go to another page to see five more. You need to click on that arrow many times until you start to see Magic Bands that are not + and are way cheaper than the ones that are + (obviously Disney decided to put huge numbers of + bands before you can see any regular ones, to make you think that is all there is).

We have and use Magic Bands and also have DAS. For us, it is much easier to have Magic Bands than to try to operate throughout the day using the iPhone, including because sometimes part of group is going on something while the part is going something else. I abhor the Magic Band+, including because you have to charge them every night, they add nothing of real value to the regular bands (except to Disney's bottom line due to the cost), and they have a serious problem of sometimes coming apart from your wrist without you noticing it and it is lost; that risk is much lower with the ordinary Magic Bands.

 

[erionm]

You should then see a handful of Magic Band+ on that page next to which on the right is an arrow you can click on to go to another page to see five more. You need to click on that arrow many times until you start to see Magic Bands that are not + and are way cheaper than the ones that are + (obviously Disney decided to put huge numbers of + bands before you can see any regular ones, to make you think that is all there is).

Below that initial display of MagicBands is a button to switch to "Grid View" which will display all available and you use the scroll wheel on your mouse or the browsers scroll bars.

 

[ClaraOswald]

I'm excited to give these a try in January. We decided to go with MB+ so we can use them during our Disneyland trip next June (unless we absolutely hate them, I guess.) I picked the Orange Bird one for myself and I picked MMRR for my son since he LOVED it on our last DLR trip and he often watches the video of it on youtube. My husband went with the Haunted Mansion one that was on sale at shopdisney so it ended up costing the same as the ones I pre-ordered.

Since I pre-ordered mine and my son's on the site, they are already attached to our tickets, right? We don't need to do anything else except charge them?

My husband's...we'll need to link it to his ticket once it arrives. Is that it?