***MyMagic+ & FastPass+ Official Information & FAQ Thread***

[BwoZoo22]

The MagicBand is not your admission ticket (now called "media"). It is not your Fastpass. It is not your room key. It is, however, a key to all of those.

Think of it this way. Your MDX profile is a wallet. In your wallet is contained your KTTW card (for getting in to your room, charging to your room, etc.), your credit card (for charging direct to credit card, when implemented), your park admission media, your dining credits, your name, and a few bits of other information. Your admission media is also further like an "inner wallet". Inside it are your park entitlements (number of days, park hopping, WPFM, etc.) and your Fastpass+ selections.

The MagicBand is like having remote access to that wallet. And you can have more than one remote key to the wallet. In fact, it is like a garage door opener. It has an ID, and it sends it out. But it is up to the garage door receiver to actually accept the ID, and do something with it.

Best analogy I've heard yet; I like this.

 

[doconeill]

Thanks for the input! We actually haven't purchased the UT tickets yet, but planned to in January. So, maybe we should just purchase through Disney. You're right...the $60 we would save wouldn't be worth all this hassle everyone is having. How does that work, though, since I have an AP? Don't we all have to have the same package since we're staying together in a 2 bedroom at BLT?

You can buy tickets independently from Disney, and not turn it into a package. If you are staying on DVC points, you can't make it a "package" in the same sense anyways.

 

[SRUAlmn]

You can buy tickets independently from Disney, and not turn it into a package. If you are staying on DVC points, you can't make it a "package" in the same sense anyways.

Duh Thank you!!! It's been a long day and I wasn't even thinking about just purchasing tickets separately! Sorry for the 'dumb' question

 

[Marblies]

Have you used any recently at DHS, seems that was the reported problem park???

Yes, several times on Saturday!

Thank you so much for your response, it make me feel a whole lot more relaxed for our upcoming trip. I don't think I've got the best FP+ times so I don't want to be stuck not having any access if the FP+ time don't end up working for us. Quick question. How the the FP/FP+ replacement time thing work? Did it only do it if you pulled a FP- for a ride you already have a FP+ for or did it just replace your time FP+? Thanks again for your help.

see below

Those systems are not connected and have no idea what one or the other is doing. You have to manually replace your FP+ times and they are subject to availability.

Right. I was holding a FP+ for Peter Pan for 4:10 and pulled one out of the FP- machine for 4:15. We didn't need to ride it twice the same day, so I went to the FP+ kiosk and switched the PP one for a different experience and time. I could have used both the FP+ and FP- for the same experience in the same hour if I wanted to. Which we did actually, at Space Mountain.

 

[HBGdancermom]

Just returned from Disney. Tested the bands(and LOVED them FWIW!) and used fp+. Our only complaint about the fp+ was with fantasmic. We got there at the exact return time and the fp+ line was actually longer than the standby line. That was not an issue. The issue was when both lines ended up in the same spot. There is no reserved spot for fp+(at least we didn't find one). We still got an awesome seat because attendance was so low, but if it wasn't I'm not sure what kind of seat we would've had. We were disappointed that we didn't use it for another ride or park. We also used it for MSEP and Wishes and that we thought was worth it. The wait was way better for the kids.

On a different note... On our last day(9/13) I was able to use fp+ at two different parks. Didn't think it was possible but figured I would try and sure enough! Had 3 fp+ scheduled for AK that morning and later that afternoon about 430 was in MK and it let me schedule 2 more!!!!! I am not sure if anyone else had this same experience but I wish I would have tried sooner!

It was our best trip to date!!

Thanks for your update. Glad they worked out well for you. Can't wait to try them out in Oct!!

 

[HBGdancermom]

Yes, they can work interchangeably, and easily so.

The MagicBand is not your admission ticket (now called "media"). It is not your Fastpass. It is not your room key. It is, however, a key to all of those.

Think of it this way. Your MDX profile is a wallet. In your wallet is contained your KTTW card (for getting in to your room, charging to your room, etc.), your credit card (for charging direct to credit card, when implemented), your park admission media, your dining credits, your name, and a few bits of other information. Your admission media is also further like an "inner wallet". Inside it are your park entitlements (number of days, park hopping, WPFM, etc.) and your Fastpass+ selections.

The MagicBand is like having remote access to that wallet. And you can have more than one remote key to the wallet. In fact, it is like a garage door opener. It has an ID, and it sends it out. But it is up to the garage door receiver to actually accept the ID, and do something with it.

NO testing is scheduled in November...yet. So you're not going to get support on it.

You don't need a MagicBand to get into the parks. They are designed for RFID admission cards as well and that is what people have been using for months.

That makes a lot of sense. Thanks for explaining it in that way!

 

[conandrob240]

I like the wallet analogy too but I was under the impression that the MAGIC BAND was the wallet, that's why I am not quite convinced. I think you would only be able to have one # d Magic Band "hold" your room reservations, keys, tickets, cc info. If there is more than one MB, there is confusion about which one holds the ticket, the room access, etc. let's see how it goes in a few weeks and we'll know.

 

[bksomody]

I replaced missed FP+ times all last week. It was a bit complicated with the app. I first had to change the time of the current experience and then I could choose a different experience if I wanted. There was one time when the app was down and I couldn't change anything, but I just went to the FP+ kiosk and the CM helped me. Now with regular FP-if you miss the window that is it, no replacing.

So you where able to change a fp time after the time had passed? Did you have to change the times of all your fp's? (One more question)Was there still availability for popular attractions the day of? Thanks

 

[doconeill]

I like the wallet analogy too but I was under the impression that the MAGIC BAND was the wallet, that's why I am not quite convinced. I think you would only be able to have one # d Magic Band "hold" your room reservations, keys, tickets, cc info. If there is more than one MB, there is confusion about which one holds the ticket, the room access, etc. let's see how it goes in a few weeks and we'll know.

The magicbands "contain" nothing except a unique ID (each MagicBand has it's own ID - it actually has two or three). There is no personal information, no ticket information, etc. Everything is in the computer. The touchpoint reads the ID and communicates with the central computers to find out what you are entitled to. If it is a turnstile touchpoint, it asks if you have a valid park entry entitlement for that park, and what the biometric ID is (to match against the finger).

If the MB's ID does not match one of the IDs associated with your profile, none of that information is unlocked.

This is how the KTTW cards they are still giving also work interchangeably for all this.

 

[BwoZoo22]

I like the wallet analogy too but I was under the impression that the MAGIC BAND was the wallet, that's why I am not quite convinced. I think you would only be able to have one # d Magic Band "hold" your room reservations, keys, tickets, cc info. If there is more than one MB, there is confusion about which one holds the ticket, the room access, etc. let's see how it goes in a few weeks and we'll know.

Except there is no personal information on the MB, making it the key to all your information. There is a thread where someone read what was on a MB, and they explain how it works. Basically, no personal info, just the key allowing the DW system to access its servers to see your information.

 

[Kemorr]

I was just told this weekend by MDEx IT that if I linked multiple tickets to my name on MDEx that the only way to assure which ticket the MB would scan upon entry was to go to the resort front desk ('they "should" be able to') or any GR outside of the park entrance and have them "prioritize" the ticket I want used that day. IT said that it was something I 'should' be able to do in the future for myself, but that for now there was no way, short of having them do it for me, to be sure which ticket day would be read and used.

I was asking because I have one day left on my AP for the first day of my trip and was making sure if I added a 2nd ticket for my other 2 days that it wouldn't use that ticket first and then my AP day would be expired and unusable.

I remember reading your post about this and it was actually why i called Disney in the first place. The CM seemed adamant, though, that because the 1 day ticket is a park specific ticket that it will be used the first time we enter the specific park. So, my situation is a little different from yours because the AP can be used anywhere. She did then say that if we hopped on that one day, that it would use the 5 day ticket, not the park specific ticket. She didn't seem to know how it would "know" how to do that, just that it would due to it being a MK only ticket. Maybe i should call IT? Do you have a direct number for them?

 

[bjakmom]

I've been calling 1(407)-939-7765 and pick the prompt for tech support. Good luck! let us know what they tell you.

 

[Deb T.]

I read on here that there are FP+ kiosks in the parks where changes can be made to FP+'s already loaded onto MB's. Can anyone tell me where these kiosks are located in each park? TIA

 

[wn01aa]

I was wondering if someone who has gone to the parks in the last couple days and has MagicBands tried to pull regular FP's. I have seen reports that since the end of last week, the machines are no longer accepting KTTW cards if they were not used to enter the park and you used the MagicBand to enter the park, basically ending the "double dipping". I can see them doing this especially with the rollout of all resorts in October so that everyone is not getting 3 FP+ plus pulling regular FP's. Just wanted to confirm this. I like the FP+ idea and think they will make it 3 pre-booked and then you can add another each time one is used during the day (like current FP).

 

[BwoZoo22]

I read on here that there are FP+ kiosks in the parks where changes can be made to FP+'s already loaded onto MB's. Can anyone tell me where these kiosks are located in each park? TIA

The FP+ kiosks are in every park so those without a smartphone scared1 can still access the FP+.

I was wondering if someone who has gone to the parks in the last couple days and has MagicBands tried to pull regular FP's. I have seen reports that since the end of last week, the machines are no longer accepting KTTW cards if they were not used to enter the park and you used the MagicBand to enter the park, basically ending the "double dipping". I can see them doing this especially with the rollout of all resorts in October so that everyone is not getting 3 FP+ plus pulling regular FP's. Just wanted to confirm this. I like the FP+ idea and think they will make it 3 pre-booked and then you can add another each time one is used during the day (like current FP).

People are still posting about using the cards and the FP+, and I have even seen posts today about guests getting more than 3 FP+ once they have used their first 3, in multiple parks. You just need to find the thread current guests are posting on. Can't remember exactly which one...

 

[wn01aa]

The FP+ kiosks are in every park so those without a smartphone scared1 can still access the FP+.



People are still posting about using the cards and the FP+, and I have even seen posts today about guests getting more than 3 FP+ once they have used their first 3, in multiple parks. You just need to find the thread current guests are posting on. Can't remember exactly which one...

I wonder if with all the new resorts added coming up if they are switching to another version of FP+ where you can prebook 3 and then get more FP+ during the actual day as you use them up, and no longer let you pull from the old FP machines.

 

[sazzlynn]

Yes, several times on Saturday!



see below



Right. I was holding a FP+ for Peter Pan for 4:10 and pulled one out of the FP- machine for 4:15. We didn't need to ride it twice the same day, so I went to the FP+ kiosk and switched the PP one for a different experience and time. I could have used both the FP+ and FP- for the same experience in the same hour if I wanted to. Which we did actually, at Space Mountain.

Thank you for your response, b/c you've really put my mind and ease!

 

[BwoZoo22]

I wonder if with all the new resorts added coming up if they are switching to another version of FP+ where you can prebook 3 and then get more FP+ during the actual day as you use them up, and no longer let you pull from the old FP machines.

That would make a lot of sense. Rather than running from ride to ride to pull the paper FP, the new system allows you to pick 3 at one time, but as many as you can fit in a day, as long as you use the ones you reserve. I can see how this would be a huge improvement over the old system. And that is the point right, for Disney to provide a noticeable improvement to the old system. Great suggestion!

 

[andrewilley]

I wonder if with all the new resorts added coming up if they are switching to another version of FP+ where you can prebook 3 and then get more FP+ during the actual day as you use them up, and no longer let you pull from the old FP machines.

That would be a great solution. I really wish they had rolled this whole thing out in a more staged way:

1) Magic Bands for resort guest first, acting just like KttW cards.
2) FastPass+ for IN PARK USE ONLY (i.e. switching the current FastPass system to allow all guests with regular cards or bands to use multiple in-park terminals, and later smartphones, on the day in exactly the same way regular FastPasses work but with wider ways to access it)
3) Once all that is working fine, start to bring in pre-booking for FP+ at a 30 day window (which personally I think is more than enough!)

Better still IMHO, skip step 3 altogether and just make a better on-the-day booking system, but hey.

Andre

 

[Simba77]

Yeah, I am not convinced that that is true. That would imply that if I get 3 diff magic bands, they work interchangeably as one band? If they all have diff #s inside them, how is it possible that they'd be interchangeable? Three diff bands would open my room door, for example?

We'll see. I anticipate wasting hours of my vacation resolving this. And, to add to the joy, we have three diff room reservations so I may have to fix this three times

BTW, if multiple bands do turn out to be interchangeable, it would be awesome. I could have one in every color and switch off!

This is a common misconception about what MagicBands actually are and what they do.

MagicBands are not linked to ticket entitlements, reservations, or dining entitlements. MagicBands do one thing and one thing only: identify you as "you" to the Disney computer system when you scan it at a Mickey RFID reader. It doesn't matter what the number on the band is. Multiple numbers can all still identify you as you, as long as that MagicBand is linked to your MDE account.

Tickets, reservations, dining info, credit cards... all those things are attached to your account. Your account is what possesses all your information. Even if you have 20 different MagicBands with 20 different numbers, they can all "point" to you. So when you scan your band at a reader, the band tells the reader to access your account on the Disney computer system in order to discover what entitlements you have. As long as a MagicBand is attached to your MDE account, and your room reservation is attached to that same MDE account, then that band can act as your room key (theoretically - there can always be issues with the system, of course).

This is why you can possess theoretically unlimited MagicBands (and KTTW cards), all of which are simply aliases for you (your account on MDE).

ETA: doconeill explains it nicely here: http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=49582490#post49582490