My MB Saga

[BWV Dreamin]

Not that it matters but understanding how thing are suppose to work may help.

First, the MB don't have anything on them but a key code. Everything is in computers somewhere.

The room door lock is sent a Wi-Fi signal to accept the key code that your band transmits. Room access is separate from park access.

There is a park access program on a computer somewhere that looks at your MDE account and it uses the key code on your MB. When you enter a park the scanner receives the code from your band, checks your admission ticket in your MDE account and allows access if it finds a valid ticket or pass.

There are other things that are also going on like matching your MB key code to your ADR's, tracking your location, matching you to photos taken on the rides, etc.

If your band is transmitting your key code correctly, the problem isn't your MB.

Bill

I just have to say your posts always give me good laugh! Thanks Bill......

 

[soniam]

Has anyone with these strange, inconsistent, recurring issues tried wearing an MB of someone in your party, whose MB appears to work, and the tried the MB on something they wasn't working?

I know this sounds strange, and no, I don't wear a tinfoil hat. I'm actually an electrical engineer. I had a friend in college that couldn't wear watches with batteries. The watches would just stop working. Any girlfriend that he had for a significant time would also start experiencing this. We theorized that it had something to do with his natural body electrical current, maybe it was stronger than others, or that he put off a bigger electromagnetic field than other people.

Trying someone else's band may help prove that it really isn't you

 

[Jennasis]

Ain't technology grand?

DH had a band that would occasionally not give him the green Mickey to enter a park. That was the extent of the hogwashery on our most recent trip...though I am fully prepared that the bands may crap out completely at any moment on subsequent trips.

 

[Micca]

Other than just general curiosity, I don't think we should be required to understand how the MBs work. That's not my job, and I'm on vacation. I understand that problems happen, but "it should work now" is an insufficient remark. Someone from bell services should have accompanied comm-op-2000 on his first return trip to the room, or at least have provided a number to call for assistance. At least the bell services CM could have schlepped their stuff back to the lobby until things could be worked out rather than leaving his DW stranded outside the room.

We've had a couple of trips using MBs and had zero problems, but clearly glitches are occurring and should be managed better.

 

[bianca]

@ Soniam ........ I think you're onto something. I am married to an electrical engineer and he is constantly surprised at my ability to stop electronics. My particular magic band issue could be just me. My MB always works for my DH. I don't wear watches, as I regularly stop them. I have even permanently disabled 2 of our prior microwaves. Those tap-to-turn-on lamps ...... Forget about it!

That being said, I did bring this to the attention of one CM that was working to fix my issues. He looked at me like I was wearing a tin foil hat and I haven't brought it up since. I just choose to believe that I am not the only person that deals with this.

 

[soniam]

@ Soniam ........ I think you're onto something. I am married to an electrical engineer and he is constantly surprised at my ability to stop electronics. My particular magic band issue could be just me. My MB always works for my DH. I don't wear watches, as I regularly stop them. I have even permanently disabled 2 of our prior microwaves. Those tap-to-turn-on lamps ...... Forget about it! That being said, I did bring this to the attention of one CM that was working to fix my issues. He looked at me like I was wearing a tin foil hat and I haven't brought it up since. I just choose to believe that I am not the only person that deals with this.

Maybe you should try getting a card key/KTTW as backup. I get the feeling these are not as susceptible as the MB. It sounds like you are not the only person with a magnetic personality out there

 

[aclov]

We went in Aug my DHs MB never worked. When we scheduled our FP rides we had lots of trouble and only one rep was working the kiosk. It was very frustrating and we lost a lot of time. Not a fan of the new system!

 

[soniam]

Someone posted in the resorts section about too many active MBs causing problems with room entry. If you are DVC or AP, then you may have active bands that you never took possession of (the grey ones at checkin). It's worth a look. The person in the thread had 15. Sorry I can't link to the thread from the app.

 

[cvjw]

OP, we were also at SSR this past week and had the same trouble with my husband's magic band. First, it would not open our villa door. Trip to front desk where they worked for 30 minutes, and tried to fix it, but could not guarantee that it was fixed. Supposedly, the only way to guarantee that the issue was fixed was to cancel and rebook our reservation. The supervisor did not want to go there.

It did open the villa door after that, but it wiped out his annual pass somehow. It never did allow him into a park - I had to carry around his actual annual pass to allow him into a park.

First time with major magic band glitches, and we have used them on at least six prior trips.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

This exact thing happened to us on the trip we're on now also at SSR. I can say that the service was AMAZING though, and they gave us paper FPs to use at MK because of the inconvenience. Um, I'll wait in line for 30 minutes for broken MBs all day long to get more of those

They eventually got the MBs to work to open the room doors for us, but we are using an older set of MBs for our APs. It's so weird, but our passes aren't on the set of MBs that get us into the room even though I put the res. into the same MDE account and ordered the customized bands through that acct. ?? Well, at least they work to let us into the room I guess.

 

[LoveBWVVBR]

Someone posted in the resorts section about too many active MBs causing problems with room entry. If you are DVC or AP, then you may have active bands that you never took possession of (the grey ones at checkin). It's worth a look. The person in the thread had 15. Sorry I can't link to the thread from the app.

We think that this is what happened to us also.


This isn't our first trip with MB glitches (one one trip, our YDD's band NEVER worked and they could not get it fixed). However, this was the biggest issue at check-in with getting them to open the door.

 

[Sammie]

So sorry you had issues. Our trip was so smooth, our bands worked great every time we used them. I even bought the new Holiday one and it worked great too.

As to multiple bands, I always deactivate the ones I am not using.

 

[poison ivy]

We just got back from a 6 day trip - and had the exact same issues with our bands. I brought 3 older ones from home and declined all the gray sets they offered us at check-in since we have so many already.

All FP"s worked great the entire trip on all bands.

But my band kept failing at every park gate (thankfully I had my AP on me)
My son's band worked great for 2 days and then failed at the gates on the 3rd and last day. (thankfully he had his 4 day DVC promo pass on him)

On our 4th day a cm at EPCOT's main entrance gates asked to look at them, stating she had seen this problem before and suspected the bands were somehow cancelled in the system. Using a service station set up right at the entrance she went in and immediately reactivated them. No visit to Guest Services Required!!

and both mine and my son's bands kept failing to let us into our rooms at the VGF - which after wasting over an HOUR at VGF to try to check in - They finally just let us into the room manually and continued working on our bands for another 1/2 hr later that night.

I kept asking for a plastic key but that seemed to fall on deaf ears as they gave no reply and just kept busily working with tech support, cancelling and rebooking our reservation and rescanning the bands over and over again. they'd no sooner get 1 to work - the other one wouldn't and vice versa.
Then we'd try them at the doors and we couldn't get in. Fortunately we only had a short walk back and forth during this process. I can't even imagine being at SSR or OKW

I knew this had nothing to do with the cm's so I just patiently sat there but we wound up rushing to AK that afternoon to use a few FP's.

My husband's band had no problems the entire trip.

Our problems continued when we switched resorts to the AKV concierge. My son's band worked the room but not the concierge elevator or the dining plan / my band worked only for the dining plan and nothing else and my husbands worked great. I just told concierge to forget about trying to fix it at this point but she still kept wrestling with the system for close to an hr. after I repeatedly asked to let it go!

It's too much of a waste of time at check-in!
I lost over an hour at VGF and close to another hr. at AKV because they keep trying to work on these bands even after you insist they drop it. I would have lost even more time at the gates had I not had my AP.

Thankfully the FP's worked for us as well or I can't imagine the amount of time that would consume.

 

[ILoveMyDVC]

I should of possible prefaced my PP, with:
1. I know how MBs are suppose to work. I know that nothing is store on the MB except for the number.
2. I have had multiple previous stays with MBs not working properly.
3. The one thing that did work FPs, I was prepared for, I had a printout of FPs due to previous issues with FPs.
4. I expected more from Disney and have complained multiple times about MBs.
5. Having spent my career in data processing since 77; I know about DBs, wifi, hardware, software, and any other parts of the systems.
6. Every since they started the MBs 9 trips total, I have encountered some type of issue with them.
7. After every issue I have sent an e-mail to member satisfaction and all I every get back is a general letter.

Issues with the site every single time - called last week - CM said it was caught in a loop for the next 3 hours...

"Powered by HP" Are you really surprised?