JoeyAnyc
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Aug 20, 2008
- Messages
- 292
Hey gang, I wanted to give a quick little report on my experience from my trip. There has been a lot of talk about the Magic Bands and FP+. I was nervous about the trip after reading the reviews. I'm happy to say that our trip was a success!
My trip was from Thursday, Dec 5 - Monday, Dec 9th. Although people were reporting that the crowds were very busy that week, I have to say that I didn't find anything over crowded at all. This is my 9th trip in a row - always being the first week of December. It was busy, but not crowded. Nothing that discouraged me from going again during this specific time.
We stayed at the Yacht Club. I did register online for the Magic Bands and did my FP choices two nights before my arrival. Upon arrival, the CM took our Magic Bands and checked the numbers on the back of them to make sure they were correctly attached to our account. Then the bands were scanned on the Mickey terminal, and we entered a PIN # to use during our trip so we can charge everything to the room using the bands. We were ALSO given the typical Key cards with the magnetic strip on the back. She said we may need them because not all restaurants are equipped with the scanners yet...OR incase any CM has a problem scanning out bands. We have cards for back up. She told us when we get to our room, we should both use the bands to open the door and make sure both bands are activated correctly - which they were.
Park Entry - You scan your band and then your finger. During our entire stay, only once did DH's band not read. A CM was over within 15 seconds, and he reset the scan and fingerprint. That was on day 1. The rest of the trip was perfect. I personally didn't think the process took up any more time than using Key cards. I've had and seen Key cards not work nor scan. Once everyone is use to the bands, I don't think one would notice. My only suggestion would be that they increase the sensitivity of the scanners to pick up the bands a bit easier. You have to really match up the Mickey on your band to the Mickey on the scanner. My guess is they will improve the scanners by my next visit.
CM Scanners - Aside from a couple scanners, everywhere we went our bands scanned easily. However, a few scanners recognized the SKU number of the bands but didn't link the account. The CM had to take the scanners to registers and finish the transaction. Overall, the bands really made the process easy. Knowing they are still in the testing phase, I went in expecting delays. Luckily I can say we weren't incovenienced at all. It was nice not having to pull out our wallets everywhere. Great feature
Fast Pass - Once I got into the parks and managed around our pre-scheduled FP choices, I have to say that the system really worked out well. In the past, only being able to FP 1 ride at a time was a bummers. So it is nice to be able to FP 3 rides in advance. In between the FP, we were able to ride other rides. In no way did we feel limited. My only hope is that they will change the 1 park per day rule. We have always done one park the first part of the day, and a second park for the evening. Hopefully there will be enough feedback to warrant a change in that rule. The CM at the Yacht Club - I asked her if we can also use our Key cards to do Fast Pass. She told me that she "heard" that once you use up the FP+ that are already scheduled for, you will be able to use the Key cards for the remainder of the day. I was not able to test that, being that by the time that my scheduled FP's were over, all FP on rides were already distributed for the day. So I never had a chance to test it. Nor did I try using my Key card during the day to see if I can add more to what I had.
Final Thoughts:
DH & I really love the Magic Bands. They added a lot of convenience to the trip, that you wouldn't think of. As for pre-planning everything, I look at it this way...We get the park hours before 180 ADRs. So we are already planning out the days by picking the 2 parks per day, along with the ADRs. Picking the FP+ for those days is easy being that we already have our Park/ADRs in place. IMO, we have much more control over FP times and can tailor them to work around OUR schedule. In the past, you had to take what ever FP time the machines kicked out to you. After testing all of this out, I have to say that I was quite surprised at how wonderful this system turned out to be. I imagine it will only get better when the testing is complete and they make their adjustments. Some feel differently about the bands and FP+. But for us, being the planners that we are, this was right up our alley. It really comes down to what type of planner you are and how you like to do your trip. I love it and can't wait to get back. Great Job with the Magic Bands!
Random note: For Magic Hours, the CM at each ride asked how many in your party, then would only scan one of the bands to make sure you belong there
My trip was from Thursday, Dec 5 - Monday, Dec 9th. Although people were reporting that the crowds were very busy that week, I have to say that I didn't find anything over crowded at all. This is my 9th trip in a row - always being the first week of December. It was busy, but not crowded. Nothing that discouraged me from going again during this specific time.
We stayed at the Yacht Club. I did register online for the Magic Bands and did my FP choices two nights before my arrival. Upon arrival, the CM took our Magic Bands and checked the numbers on the back of them to make sure they were correctly attached to our account. Then the bands were scanned on the Mickey terminal, and we entered a PIN # to use during our trip so we can charge everything to the room using the bands. We were ALSO given the typical Key cards with the magnetic strip on the back. She said we may need them because not all restaurants are equipped with the scanners yet...OR incase any CM has a problem scanning out bands. We have cards for back up. She told us when we get to our room, we should both use the bands to open the door and make sure both bands are activated correctly - which they were.
Park Entry - You scan your band and then your finger. During our entire stay, only once did DH's band not read. A CM was over within 15 seconds, and he reset the scan and fingerprint. That was on day 1. The rest of the trip was perfect. I personally didn't think the process took up any more time than using Key cards. I've had and seen Key cards not work nor scan. Once everyone is use to the bands, I don't think one would notice. My only suggestion would be that they increase the sensitivity of the scanners to pick up the bands a bit easier. You have to really match up the Mickey on your band to the Mickey on the scanner. My guess is they will improve the scanners by my next visit.
CM Scanners - Aside from a couple scanners, everywhere we went our bands scanned easily. However, a few scanners recognized the SKU number of the bands but didn't link the account. The CM had to take the scanners to registers and finish the transaction. Overall, the bands really made the process easy. Knowing they are still in the testing phase, I went in expecting delays. Luckily I can say we weren't incovenienced at all. It was nice not having to pull out our wallets everywhere. Great feature
Fast Pass - Once I got into the parks and managed around our pre-scheduled FP choices, I have to say that the system really worked out well. In the past, only being able to FP 1 ride at a time was a bummers. So it is nice to be able to FP 3 rides in advance. In between the FP, we were able to ride other rides. In no way did we feel limited. My only hope is that they will change the 1 park per day rule. We have always done one park the first part of the day, and a second park for the evening. Hopefully there will be enough feedback to warrant a change in that rule. The CM at the Yacht Club - I asked her if we can also use our Key cards to do Fast Pass. She told me that she "heard" that once you use up the FP+ that are already scheduled for, you will be able to use the Key cards for the remainder of the day. I was not able to test that, being that by the time that my scheduled FP's were over, all FP on rides were already distributed for the day. So I never had a chance to test it. Nor did I try using my Key card during the day to see if I can add more to what I had.
Final Thoughts:
DH & I really love the Magic Bands. They added a lot of convenience to the trip, that you wouldn't think of. As for pre-planning everything, I look at it this way...We get the park hours before 180 ADRs. So we are already planning out the days by picking the 2 parks per day, along with the ADRs. Picking the FP+ for those days is easy being that we already have our Park/ADRs in place. IMO, we have much more control over FP times and can tailor them to work around OUR schedule. In the past, you had to take what ever FP time the machines kicked out to you. After testing all of this out, I have to say that I was quite surprised at how wonderful this system turned out to be. I imagine it will only get better when the testing is complete and they make their adjustments. Some feel differently about the bands and FP+. But for us, being the planners that we are, this was right up our alley. It really comes down to what type of planner you are and how you like to do your trip. I love it and can't wait to get back. Great Job with the Magic Bands!
Random note: For Magic Hours, the CM at each ride asked how many in your party, then would only scan one of the bands to make sure you belong there
