My brother-in-law and his wife just got back - their take on things...

[Magpie]

They haven't been to Disney very many times before (they've spent more time at Universal and Sea World). This was their first real time staying onsite, other than a conference my BIL's wife had attended where she stayed at an All-Star which didn't leave her with the best impression of Disney accomodations.

They loved staying at Port Orleans! They told me that I have to book a dinner at the Animal Kingdom Lodge because it was amazing. And they talked at length about the various coasters they rode.

When I asked them about MagicBands and FP+, they said thought they worked perfectly and were very happy with them. They had no issues with rides or lines or cast members or anything else folks have been talking about on these boards. They commented on how satisfying it was to see the Mickey head spin and turn green.

The one complaint they did have, is one I haven't heard mentioned here before:

My BIL thought that the whole process to use the bands to pay for things was very clumsy and didn't work well. He said that when you use a credit card, you can just insert a chip and if it doesn't work, you swipe and sign. With their bands, they apparently had to wait and wait for the reader to read it, and then they would input their pin number, and then the cast member would have to go off, do something and then return... he said it took much longer than using a credit card and led to line ups at the cash. He felt sorry for the castmembers as it seemed like much more a hassle for them.

Also, they didn't realize there's a charging limit. And that when you hit that, you're cut off. They found that out the hard way!

But overall, he said it was an amazing trip, and they can't wait to go back.

 

[FiggieFan]

What restaurant in AKL? Sanaa or Boma, just wondering. I was thinking of trying Sanaa our next trip.

We recently got back and we loved magic bands. I do agree they are time consuming in restaurants, particularly if there is a bad connection via wi-fi. In Raglan Road, the waiter tried several times to read my band, but it would not process. He waited about 15-20 minutes and had to try again. It finally went through. I can imagine this is very frustrating for servers who are trying to take care of customers. He did say when it worked, it worked great. Overall our magic band experience was very positive and we liked them much better than the KTTW cards. I was very hesitant about the Magic Bands until I tried them, turned out to be a great experience.

 

[kittyab]

We used our MB's to charge with and had no problems. But we were there when they were testing it. I wonder... sense so many are using them now the system is just slow?

More users on the server, will make it slower?

 

[morethananyonex]

They haven't been to Disney very many times before (they've spent more time at Universal and Sea World). This was their first real time staying onsite, other than a conference my BIL's wife had attended where she stayed at an All-Star which didn't leave her with the best impression of Disney accomodations.

They loved staying at Port Orleans! They told me that I have to book a dinner at the Animal Kingdom Lodge because it was amazing. And they talked at length about the various coasters they rode.

When I asked them about MagicBands and FP+, they said thought they worked perfectly and were very happy with them. They had no issues with rides or lines or cast members or anything else folks have been talking about on these boards. They commented on how satisfying it was to see the Mickey head spin and turn green.

The one complaint they did have, is one I haven't heard mentioned here before:

My BIL thought that the whole process to use the bands to pay for things was very clumsy and didn't work well. He said that when you use a credit card, you can just insert a chip and if it doesn't work, you swipe and sign. With their bands, they apparently had to wait and wait for the reader to read it, and then they would input their pin number, and then the cast member would have to go off, do something and then return... he said it took much longer than using a credit card and led to line ups at the cash. He felt sorry for the castmembers as it seemed like much more a hassle for them.

Also, they didn't realize there's a charging limit. And that when you hit that, you're cut off. They found that out the hard way!

But overall, he said it was an amazing trip, and they can't wait to go back.

We didn't experience quite what your BIL did using the bands to pay, but I agree that is one of the "clumsiest" parts of MB usage. The readers at stores/QS restaurants are at an awkward angle and you have to twist your arm to get them, making it take longer to get a green Mickey. Once it goes green, we didn't experience CMs having to leave and do something, we just entered our pin and that was it.

We did hear many CMs comment on Mickey being stubborn at TS restaurants when they used portable readers that I believe worked on wifi. Our servers often had to wander away from the table to get a better signal so it could properly read our bands.

 

[MickeyChix]

Thank you for posting something positive!!!! I think when we go next February we won't have charging privileges set to the MagicBands and just whip out the plastic the old fashioned way!!!!

 

[morethananyonex]

Thank you for posting something positive!!!! I think when we go next February we won't have charging privileges set to the MagicBands and just whip out the plastic the old fashioned way!!!!

Says the one calling people stupid on another thread. Stay positive

 

[wdw4rfam]

Says the one calling people stupid on another thread. Stay positive

 

[Magpie]

What restaurant in AKL? Sanaa or Boma, just wondering. I was thinking of trying Sanaa our next trip.

We recently got back and we loved magic bands. I do agree they are time consuming in restaurants, particularly if there is a bad connection via wi-fi. In Raglan Road, the waiter tried several times to read my band, but it would not process. He waited about 15-20 minutes and had to try again. It finally went through. I can imagine this is very frustrating for servers who are trying to take care of customers. He did say when it worked, it worked great. Overall our magic band experience was very positive and we liked them much better than the KTTW cards. I was very hesitant about the Magic Bands until I tried them, turned out to be a great experience.

I'm not sure which restaurant it was... he said they could see the animals from their table. Does that help?

And yes, I think he was talking in particular about problems paying at restaurants. He mentioned connection problems.

Talking to my BIL really has me getting excited about my next Disney trip! (He rode Everest, and was absolutely convinced it had a loop. We were just arguing about it, with me saying no way, and him saying, "I felt the Gs!" Too funny!)

 

[Magpie]

I don't understand... why is this a trip report when stuff like "Here now, Magic Kingdom is packed," and "Like and dislike the changes," etc, are considered proper fodder for the Theme Park Attractions and Strategies board?

This seems to happen every time I try to post anything about my or my family's FP+ experience.