Price increase on MagicBands for resort guests

[Dave006]

How long do the batteries usually last, and is there a way to tell if they currently have a charge?

Normally 2-3 years and the only way to know if the battery works is to see if you get a "on-ride" picture or video.

Only a handful of rides don't have a touchpoint at the ride exit were you preview you pictures and where you can tap to add the picture.

Dave

 

[crazymomof4]

Welp, that makes my decision easy. I was considering getting a new color at $5 for our Oct '21 trip. The doubling in price is the deal-breaker for me. I have so many collected over the years, several of which have pretty "skins" and decals on them that I bought from etsy. Ya, I'm just going to re-use them.

 

[niccikatie]

Oh wow! I’m so glad I checked out on Wednesday. My daughter would’ve been disappointed but there’s no way I would’ve paid $10 for a plain Magic Band when we already have a few.

 

[MassJester]

So, the old bands: if the battery is dead, can I still use it to open my door, pay for purchases, and have the photo people scan it?

 

[JoelB]

So, the old bands: if the battery is dead, can I still use it to open my door, pay for purchases, and have the photo people scan it?

Yes, old bands will still work for anything you have to tap.

 

[DizneyFamof4]

So, the old bands: if the battery is dead, can I still use it to open my door, pay for purchases, and have the photo people scan it?

Yes, old bands will still work for anything you have to tap.

No, once the battery dies the MB is useless.

 

[Dave006]

No, once the battery dies the MB is useless.

Sorry but this is completely wrong.

Once the battery dies in a MB after 2-3 years it continues to function just like a RF Credit card that you use at a touch terminal at retail stores. You touch the Mickey head to a Tapstile at the park entrance or a retail check-out touchpoint and the RF ID chip is read.

It will open your room door as long as the battery in your door's Disney touchpoint is still active. Yes even the resort room doors have batteries .

Note: RF ID chip credit cards don't have a battery but work everyday!

Dave

 

[scard192]

Ordered ours in February 2020 for our trip that has been postponed 3 times, now going April 2022. 2 DGDs got custom ones that they love, I hope the bands will work.

 

[DisneyRunner2009]

Shoot. Not bad at $5 for some unique colors, but $10 I may have to rethink. DH was planning to decline one.

 

[mmounsey]

I had purchased a cute minnie mb years ago...maybe in 2016 or even 2014, but when I tried using it for my room in 2017, it didn't work even though it was still "active." So I don't really trust the old ones anymore. Of course, it could've been on the shelf longer since it was in a store, but who knows.

Also, we chose our colors way before the deadline and price increase. I don't remember checking out and never saw a charge ( i need to double check, but I'm on my bank every week and it's a rarely used card), and we ended up with all grey bands...

we set up the mobile passes for our watches and I may even pick up cards as a backup this trip since I don't want to wear grey...going to try and jazz them up a bit though...

 

[DizneyFamof4]

Sorry but this is completely wrong.

Once the battery dies in a MB after 2-3 years it continues to function just like a RF Credit card that you use at a touch terminal at retail stores. You touch the Mickey head to a Tapstile at the park entrance or a retail check-out touchpoint and the RF ID chip is read.

It will open your room door as long as the battery in your door's Disney touchpoint is still active. Yes even the resort room doors have batteries .

Note: RF ID chip credit cards don't have a battery but work everyday!

Dave

Sorry, you are correct. My DH did not mention that it works on anything you can touch it too. I just remember it did not work for ride photos and we had problems with it when using for room charges. So we just put them in our "retired" MB bin.

 

[crazymomof4]

we set up the mobile passes for our watches and I may even pick up cards as a backup this trip since I don't want to wear grey...going to try and jazz them up a bit though...

I can 100% recommend the magic band skins and decals I purchased from a seller on etsy (not sure if we are allowed to give the individual store names? PM me if you wish). The first one I did was for our 2016 trip. Was delicate, Beauty & the Beast, scroll-work type decals. I actually expected that they'd curl up and peel in the course of the trip, from wearing it in the pool, in the heat, brushing up against things. Nope. Didn't curl or peel at all on the 2016 trip, nor on trips since, where I've worn it again. I just retrieved my old MB collection from storage in our attic and not only are more recently purchased "skins" still completely adhering to their bands and in perfect condition but even the scrolly decals on the one from 2016 are still completely perfect!

 

[Best Aunt]

I had purchased a cute minnie mb years ago...maybe in 2016 or even 2014, but when I tried using it for my room in 2017, it didn't work even though it was still "active." So I don't really trust the old ones anymore. Of course, it could've been on the shelf longer since it was in a store, but who knows.

Or it could have been something other than age. Many people have been unable to open the room door with brand new Magic Bands.

 

[jo-jo]

It seems awful quick to go from free MB to $5 to $10 in less than 6 months.

How many people go to disney each year??? So if 1/2 (accounting for repeat visitors) buy new bands, that's several million at least added to the till.

 

[Dave006]

I had purchased a cute minnie mb years ago...maybe in 2016 or even 2014, but when I tried using it for my room in 2017, it didn't work even though it was still "active."

Resort room door access is tied to a different DB that is local to the resort for performance reasons. A quick stop at the front desk would correct your older MB not working at your resort room door.

This issue even happens with new MBs that you even pick up at the front desk.

Dave

 

[Dave006]

It seems awful quick to go from free MB to $5 to $10 in less than 6 months.

How many people go to disney each year??? So if 1/2 (accounting for repeat visitors) buy new bands, that's several million at least added to the till.

Well to be honest they announced the $5 priceing for MBs for new reservations as of January 2021 on June 19th 2020 so it has almost been a year since the price was set. If you are a repeat customer there is no reason not to reuse your MB.

There is just so much waste with MBs, customizing, mailing, etc...

Dave

 

[jo-jo]

Well to be honest they announced the $5 priceing for MBs for new reservations as of January 2021 on June 19th 2020 so it has almost been a year since the price was set. If you are a repeat customer there is no reason not to reuse your MB.

There is just so much waste with MBs, customizing, mailing, etc...

Dave

I agree with the waste, Disney used to sent out bands for every resort stay no matter the length of stay. So staying at 3 resorts in two weeks, you got three bands and you couldn't decline. If you made 4 trips to disney in one year, you got a band each time. That's why everyone had 50 of them. They did get to the point of an option to decline the bands. Ap holders were getting one per year (that's done too) Can't disney do one per year for resort guests. Surely they know if you've been at disney once or ten times this year.

 

[JJoe]

I saw that the retail price of MagicBands went up yesterday, but just noticed that all of the available pre-arrival MagicBands for my upcoming resort stay are now more expensive as well. The solid colors are $10 instead of $5.

On the plus side, I had one party member's choice already saved – that person's band is still showing the $5 price. Each new choice for other guests is $10, however. If you have a trip soon and had any bands already selected for part of your group, you may want to see if the price is still locked i


I think they are getting rid of magic bans MDE APP works just as good

 

[Eastern]

"Starting later in 2021, we plan to unveil an innovative new offering as part of the My Disney Experience app that will bring features of a MagicBand to your smart devices."

Some people don't have smart phones but they can either buy a MB or get a plastic ticket at guest services.

 

[niccikatie]

I really don't think they'll get rid of MB entirely. They invested a lot in the r&d and I'm sure the markup on the purchased bands is CRAZY. I think they'll do away with any subsidization of bands as a part of the resort stay, though. Eventually, it'll just be something for collectors like pins are.