MagicBand+ at Aulani - (April 2025)

[that1jeff]

After our second time to Aulani, I wanted to share our experience solely using our MagicBand+. As I had some questions concerning their capability, specifically in regards to online check-in (and not having to visit the front desk), and parking structure access. I specifically did not want to wait in line at the front desk for check-in like we did our first visit.

Prior to leaving for our trip, I confirmed that all MBs were either linked to my Disney account or my wife’s Disney account via the Walt Disney World website.

On the day of check-in, prior to our room being available, we decided we would leave the rental car at the self-park parking structure and walk across the street to the Monkeypod for some lunch. Upon arrival to the parking structure, my MB did not work to open the gate arm. So I simply took a ticket to get us inside (that I would eventually just throw away later). Once parked, we started walking over to Monkeypod and I got a text that our room was not yet ready. This was around 2:30PM. An hour later during lunch, around 3:30PM, got another text that our room was ready with the room #. Once we finished up at lunch, we went back to the car to grab our bags and went straight to our room. (We never visited the front desk our entire trip). Upon arrival to our room, my MB did indeed work for room access. Once we settled in for a few minutes, I tested everyone else’s MBs to make sure they all worked for room access as well, which they all did.

After a few hours of pool time, we decided to do our grocery run to Foodland and Costco later that evening. I tried tapping my MB to exit the parking structure, and again the arm would not open. I asked my sister to hand me her MB (which is also linked to my Disney account, not hers), and that one did work and the arm opened. When we came back from our grocery run, I tried my MB again, and on the first tap, it did not work. Tap’d again, still no luck. Tap’d a 3rd time, and finally the arm opened. After that, I solely used my MB to enter/exit the parking structure for the remainder of our stay, and it worked from that point on. But I made a mental note to myself that I may need to tap multiple times to get it to work at the parking structure. (Never had to tap multiple times from that point on though).

90% percent of our on resort purchases were made by tap’n our MBs. I can confirm they worked to make purchases at Ulu Cafe, Mom’s Snack Shack, Kālepa's Store, and even the Photo Services desk. Aulani website also saved our 4 digit pin from our previous visit, so we just reused that same pin. But I could’ve updated this pin if Iiked.

Some other interactive experiences that I can confirm worked with the MagicBand+...
-Light up turtle on the Menehune Adventure Trail. When you walk by the rock with the hidden fiber optic turtle, your MB should vibrate. Wave your MB and the turtle will light up.
-Light up rain drops in the main lobby. When you walk through the center of the lobby, your MB should vibrate. Wave your MB and sounds of rain drops will play and the floor will light up with little water ripples.
-On the lazy river, there are 2 concrete bridges with “1923” you float under. If you wave your MB just prior to entering under the bridge closest to the Ewa tower, the rock bowls on the wall to your right will shoot little streams of water.

And I’m also happy to report that on our first day, I finally got the MBs with an Aulani specific designs (that I was hoping they had available on our first visit, but sadly did not). Was staring at both Aulani designs in the store, not knowing which one to get. My wife knowing I had been waiting for this moment since our last trip, said, “Just get both!” I’m so glad I did, because the blue design was no longer available for the remainder of our stay. At least every time we checked the store each day.

Side note: Merch selections and designs in general this trip (April 2025) was significantly better than our first trip (Dec 2023).

Aloha!

 

[WinterSolider]

Are you entitled to any discounts (AP, DVC, CM) and if so, was the MagicBand sufficient to get those entitlements?

 

[Raya]

Were you using regular Magic Band+ bands, like the kind you buy or use at WDW? We're frequent WDW guests, but have never been to Aulani, didn't realize I could use my MB there!

 

[TikiRob]

Thanks for this update! I was wondering how well these worked and appreciate you sharing all the interactive features. This is the most exhaustive list I've found! I was debating a MB+ for my mom as she is going with us in June and we all already have them. Seems like a good Mother's Day gift.

 

[WinterSolider]

Were you using regular Magic Band+ bands, like the kind you buy or use at WDW? We're frequent WDW guests, but have never been to Aulani, didn't realize I could use my MB there!

Yes, as long as you use the same email address for all of your Disney reservations, you can use a single (or multiple) MagicBand+ across Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Aulani, and Disney Cruise Line.

The most restrictive one is Disney Cruise Line, which requires you to re-link your band with each sailing and you can only use one band per sailing. But other than that, you can use any band that's assigned to you for any of those purposes.

 

[that1jeff]

Are you entitled to any discounts (AP, DVC, CM) and if so, was the MagicBand sufficient to get those entitlements?

I don't believe we are entitled to any discounts...
We are AP/Magic Key holders at Disneyland. But AP/MKs don't get a discount at Aulani I thought... or do they??? We were never asked about AP/MK discount.

Not entitled to DVC discounts. (We currently resale owners only).

We're not CMs.

They also asked us if we had a Disney Visa, which we also do not.

Were you using regular Magic Band+ bands, like the kind you buy or use at WDW? We're frequent WDW guests, but have never been to Aulani, didn't realize I could use my MB there!

Thanks for this update! I was wondering how well these worked and appreciate you sharing all the interactive features. This is the most exhaustive list I've found! I was debating a MB+ for my mom as she is going with us in June and we all already have them. Seems like a good Mother's Day gift.

MB+ at Aulani is a poster child for how MB+ should work at all Disney resorts. But it's particularly fantastic at Aulani since the MB+ is waterproof. So constantly jumping in and out of the pools, beach/ocean, showers, etc is no problem. Just leave it on. We never had to carry any wallet or another form of payment as long as we were on the resort. We just left all that in the room.

We rolled with only a MB and a cell phone in a waterproof pouch, and we were set!

I highly recommend MB+ for at least all the adults in your party. It's just so convenient. Kids (of a certain age) as well for all the interactive fun, but if you don't want them to have purchase ability, just don't share the 4 digit pin with them. lol.

Also make sure to buy some MB "keepers/protectors/little rubber loops" off Amazon before your trip. MBs easily pop off without these keepers. This is a MUST in my opinion.

Please also note that MB purchases are linked to whatever credit card you have on file for the room. You cannot have more than one credit cards assigned to different MBs. (Unless your party is booked in separate reservations/rooms). But you can have multiple MBs assigned to different people in your party as long as they are old enough to have their own Disney account. I believe 13 years or older. Again, all MBs will be linked to that single credit card you have on file for the room. And if you do this, when you get your PDF summary of all on resort purchases at the end of your stay, it will show you the total amount spent, what location on the resort the purchase was made and who made that purchase in your party. Listed for each day of your stay. Pretty cool.

 

[WinterSolider]

Please also note that MB purchases are linked to whatever credit card you have on file for the room. You cannot have more than one credit cards assigned to different MBs. (Unless your party is booked in separate reservations/rooms). But you can have multiple MBs assigned to different people in your party as long as they are old enough to have their own Disney account. I believe 13 years or older. Again, all MBs will be linked to that single credit card you have on file for the room. And if you do this, when you get your PDF summary of all on resort purchases at the end of your stay, it will show you the total amount spent, what location on the resort the purchase was made and who made that purchase in your party. Listed for each day of your stay. Pretty cool.

This is not quite right.

Your MagicBand links to your My Disney Experience profile, which in turn links to your room reservation, which in turn is associated with the credit card you have on file. MagicBands do not link directly to a credit card, and those extra in-between steps are very important for a number of reasons.

1. There is no credit card information stored on or linked to your MagicBand, so nobody is going to be able to get at your credit card information if your band is lost or stolen.
2. You can manually go pay down your room charge balance whenever you want, with however many different payment methods you want. If you're traveling with some Disney gift cards, for example, you can go apply those to your room folio whenever. If you're sharing a room with Grandma and Grandpa, and they want to pay off whatever charges they made to the room with their own credit card, they can do that at the front desk.
3. Kids can have MagicBands too, even if they're too young to have their own My Disney Experience account. You can give or restrict charging privileges at any age.

All of this works exactly the same as a room key would. You're not really making "MagicBand purchases," you're charging purchases to your room and the only part that's unique to the MagicBand is the wearable form factor.

 

[that1jeff]

This is not quite right.

Your MagicBand links to your My Disney Experience profile, which in turn links to your room reservation, which in turn is associated with the credit card you have on file. MagicBands do not link directly to a credit card, and those extra in-between steps are very important for a number of reasons.

1. There is no credit card information stored on or linked to your MagicBand, so nobody is going to be able to get at your credit card information if your band is lost or stolen.
2. You can manually go pay down your room charge balance whenever you want, with however many different payment methods you want. If you're traveling with some Disney gift cards, for example, you can go apply those to your room folio whenever. If you're sharing a room with Grandma and Grandpa, and they want to pay off whatever charges they made to the room with their own credit card, they can do that at the front desk.
3. Kids can have MagicBands too, even if they're too young to have their own My Disney Experience account. You can give or restrict charging privileges at any age.

All of this works exactly the same as a room key would. You're not really making "MagicBand purchases," you're charging purchases to your room and the only part that's unique to the MagicBand is the wearable form factor.

Yes! All good additional info/details and very important clarification/correction.

I did not know about #2. Good to know for the future. Thanks!

Concerning #3, ah yes. I forgot about "managed profiles" for those 12 years and younger. So if I gave my hypothetical 10 year old charging privileges, his/her name would still show up on the charges summary like everyone else. Is that correct?

 

[WinterSolider]

Concerning #3, ah yes. I forgot about "managed profiles" for those 12 years and younger. So if I gave my hypothetical 10 year old charging privileges, his/her name would still show up on the charges summary like everyone else. Is that correct?

Correct and I believe they'll have a unique PIN too.

 

[that1jeff]

Correct and I believe they'll have a unique PIN too.

Saaay Wuht!?

Nice! Another good detail to keep in mind for the future. Thanks!

 

[VGCgroupie]

Worked like a charm for us last August. Charged to room, opening doors. But we didn’t use it for parking I can’t recall how we got in and out. My favorite thing was the fact that they are waterproof. So great to not have carry cash, cards or room keys.

 

[AstroBlasters]

Worked like a charm for us last August. Charged to room, opening doors. But we didn’t use it for parking I can’t recall how we got in and out. My favorite thing was the fact that they are waterproof. So great to not have carry cash, cards or room keys.

Agreed…. get your act together DLR!

 

[WinterSolider]

My favorite thing was the fact that they are waterproof. So great to not have carry cash, cards or room keys.

Aulani, Cruise Line, and the WDW water parks are the best use case for the bands. Insanely convenient.

 

[Steelers0854]

Thank you very much for this! We were curious how this would work when we go early next year. Now we know to pack our MB+’s.

 

[WinterSolider]

Has anyone been recently who can confirm if they're still selling the same 2 Aulani-specific designs?

 

[that1jeff]

Has anyone been recently who can confirm if they're still selling the same 2 Aulani-specific designs?

Was there for 6 nights early last month (Dec 2025). I did not see the 2 Aulani-specific designs any day I was there.

I was wearing the blue Aulani MB I had bought on our trip prior (April 2025) and was tap'n to pay. The CM at the register saw it and said "Oh! You got one?" and pointed at my MB. I said, "Oh yea. But I bought it back in April when I was here last." He responded, "Oh ok. Yea, we haven't had the Aulani MBs in months!"

 

[WinterSolider]

Was there for 6 nights early last month (Dec 2025). I did not see the 2 Aulani-specific designs any day I was there.

I was wearing the blue Aulani MB I had bought on our trip prior (April 2025) and was tap'n to pay. The CM at the register saw it and said "Oh! You got one?" and pointed at my MB. I said, "Oh yea. But I bought it back in April when I was here last." He responded, "Oh ok. Yea, we haven't had the Aulani MBs in months!"

Dagger to my heart.

 

[that1jeff]

While we're talking MBs, another convenient feature we learned about during our Dec 2025 trip was that…

Different credit cards can be assigned to different party member's MBs even though everyone is under the SAME room booking/reservation.
(As long as said party members have their own My Disney Experience accounts).

We shared a 2 Bedroom Villa with some family friends. I had thought if they made purchases on their MBs that they would have to physically go down to the front desk and “pay down” their charges manually with their own credit card prior to our last day. (Otherwise my credit card would be charged for their MB purchases at check-out). I asked the front desk for clarification on this process. They informed me that our friends do not have to do that (although it is an option). The easier/better option would be that they can simply come down to the front desk and assign their own credit card to their MBs. Simple!

So check-out day comes, I get our receipt via email with only our MB charges. (Our friends’ purchases did not show up on our receipt). And they got their own receipt to their email with only their MB charges.

Very nice and much simpler than “paying down” their charges manually at the front desk.

 

[WinterSolider]

While we're talking MBs, another convenient feature we learned about during our Dec 2025 trip was that…

Different credit cards can be assigned to different party member's MBs even though everyone is under the SAME room booking/reservation.
(As long as said party members have their own My Disney Experience accounts).

We shared a 2 Bedroom Villa with some family friends. I had thought if they made purchases on their MBs that they would have to physically go down to the front desk and “pay down” their charges manually with their own credit card prior to our last day. (Otherwise my credit card would be charged for their MB purchases at check-out). I asked the front desk for clarification on this process. They informed me that our friends do not have to do that (although it is an option). The easier/better option would be that they can simply come down to the front desk and assign their own credit card to their MBs. Simple!

So check-out day comes, I get our receipt via email with only our MB charges. (Our friends’ purchases did not show up on our receipt). And they got their own receipt to their email with only their MB charges.

Very nice and much simpler than “paying down” their charges manually at the front desk.

Two things.

1. You should be able to do this even with a plastic room key. Your My Disney Experience account just sees everything as a piece of admission media, doesn't matter if it's a MB+, MB2, MB1, park ticket, room key from Beach Club, room key from Aulani, etc. Any piece of ticket media that points back to a user's MDX profile can be configured this way. You could bring an old expired Park Hopper ticket from 2014 and it should work. You're not linking the BAND to the credit card, you're linking the band to the user's profile, and anything else that also links to the user's profile should work too.
2. This is an area of Disney IT that I would not personally trust. Everything SHOULD work exactly as you laid out, and I'm glad it worked for you, but it's prone to failure and doesn't always behave like it should. I would recommend that people still keep receipts if they're sharing a room with another group who is responsible for their own purchases.

ETA: #1 works in reverse too. Take your Aulani room key with you to Walt Disney World next time. As long as you have admissions privileges on your account, you should be able to use the card to enter the park.

 

[that1jeff]

Two things.

1. You should be able to do this even with a plastic room key. Your My Disney Experience account just sees everything as a piece of admission media, doesn't matter if it's a MB+, MB2, MB1, park ticket, room key from Beach Club, room key from Aulani, etc. Any piece of ticket media that points back to a user's MDX profile can be configured this way. You could bring an old expired Park Hopper ticket from 2014 and it should work. You're not linking the BAND to the credit card, you're linking the band to the user's profile, and anything else that also links to the user's profile should work too.
2. This is an area of Disney IT that I would not personally trust. Everything SHOULD work exactly as you laid out, and I'm glad it worked for you, but it's prone to failure and doesn't always behave like it should. I would recommend that people still keep receipts if they're sharing a room with another group who is responsible for their own purchases.

ETA: #1 works in reverse too. Take your Aulani room key with you to Walt Disney World next time. As long as you have admissions privileges on your account, you should be able to use the card to enter the park.

1. Yes. CM confirmed a plastic room key would work as well.

2. Hmm ok. Will definitely keep that in mind. Always a good idea to have back up documentation.