When do MagicBands ship?

[mickey916]

I just purchased discounted magic bands for our May trip. When I upgraded to an AP the CM told me if I ordered them now we would definitely receive them in time for our offsite April trip. I just got my confirmation email after paying for four bands and it says we'll receive them 10 business days prior to our May trip (which would put it ten days prior to our arrival at Contemporary)...do they really wait that long to mail them?

 

[CynBeth]

We are not AP holders so not sure if it is different but ordered magic bands on 9/12 and received them on 9/23 for our November trip.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Many people were reporting in the summer that their bands were arriving the week before their trip and often just days before their trip.

 

[ShannyMcB]

I ordered mine in the spring for our August trip. Received them a couple weeks after I ordered them, at least 2 months before our trip.

 

[bethbuchall]

I ordered a MagicBand for our early November trip on September 12. It shipped on September 15 and arrived September 21. I don’t remember if the email had any wording about when it would arrive, but it mentioned something about “complimentary MagicBands” which it wasn’t, so I wonder if they just haven’t updated their emails.

 

[mickey916]

I ordered a MagicBand for our early November trip on September 12. It shipped on September 15 and arrived September 21. I don’t remember if the email had any wording about when it would arrive, but it mentioned something about “complimentary MagicBands” which it wasn’t, so I wonder if they just haven’t updated their emails.

I was wondering that too as the email definitely seemed outdated...

 

[Disney loving Iowan]

Yeah I just ordered one for our February trip and got it within 10 days.

 

[Familyof14]

"I just purchased discounted magic bands for our May trip."

Where can I find these Magic Bands at a discount and is it too late to order for a trip that starts 10/10? We are staying onsite at AKL.

Also, I have an old Magic Band from a trip 5 years ago, Will it still work?

 

[revdon64]

We ordered them a couple weeks ago for our March 2022 trip. They're sitting on my desk right next to the computer as I type this.

 

[Disney loving Iowan]

"I just purchased discounted magic bands for our May trip."

Where can I find these Magic Bands at a discount and is it too late to order for a trip that starts 10/10? We are staying onsite at AKL.

Also, I have an old Magic Band from a trip 5 years ago, Will it still work?

I got mine through MDE. Not sure if that is the same place OP got theirs but they will have discounted ones on there.

 

[mickey916]

I got mine through MDE. Not sure if that is the same place OP got theirs but they will have discounted ones on there.

Yes I got them through My Magic Bands on MDE. They list "special Pre-Order Price" and "comparable value". Three of ours were $20 and one was $25 with comparable values of $34.99 and $39.99.

 

[mickey916]

"I just purchased discounted magic bands for our May trip."

Where can I find these Magic Bands at a discount and is it too late to order for a trip that starts 10/10? We are staying onsite at AKL.

Also, I have an old Magic Band from a trip 5 years ago, Will it still work?

I don't think it's too late to order them. You will just have to pick them up at the resort. An old Magic Band will should still work as well.

 

[Familyof14]

Thank you! Now off to figure out what MDE is. Other questions. Will we be able to use the bands in two weeks to get reservations on rides like we did with Fast Pass? I use an app on my phone to schedule things, correct? Do I need to pay anything else for these bands to work?

 

[twincruisers]

"I just purchased discounted magic bands for our May trip."

Where can I find these Magic Bands at a discount and is it too late to order for a trip that starts 10/10? We are staying onsite at AKL.

Also, I have an old Magic Band from a trip 5 years ago, Will it still work?

I would say it's not too late, but it may be a little tight for shipping. It might make more sense to have them sent to AKL for you to pickup when you arrive.

As others have mentioned, the old magic band will work, just maybe not the long-distance features like saying "Goodbye Familyof14" on it's a small world.

MDE = My Disney Experience (the website and app for WDW)

 

[mickey916]

Thank you! Now off to figure out what MDE is. Other questions. Will we be able to use the bands in two weeks to get reservations on rides like we did with Fast Pass? I use an app on my phone to schedule things, correct? Do I need to pay anything else for these bands to work?

You're definitely going to want to download the MDE (My Disney Experience) app for your smart phone. It is through that you will mobile order food, check in for meals, see wait times for rides, see maps etc. There is also a new service coming out called Genie as part of MDE that will have other trip planning info and then Genie+ which is what you're referring to to get "fastPasses" (now called lightning lane). Genie+ costs $15 per person per day and you'll be able to reserve times to use the Lightning Lane. Right now though there's no known date for them to start making Genie+ and Lightning Lane available so it may or may not be something you can use in two weeks. Not to complicate the issue but there's also going to be two rides in each park that you can buy Lightning Lane access with a per ride charge a la carte. It's all new so there's still a lot of questions, etc. about the new system and how it will work in reality.

 

[VFL]

Yeah I just ordered one for our February trip and got it within 10 days.

Same here. Just ordered last week for February trip and have already gotten notice they have shipped

 

[Familyof14]

mickey916 - Thank you for that information. I do have the app on my phone, but my daughter needs to add my name to the reservation before I can do anything on it.

So there really doesn't sound like a need to even have the Magic Bands if they cannot be used to check into a ride (we are certainly not paying an extra $15 a day per person for that service!) Or am I missing something? What else can they be used for?

BTE - I understand that the discounted MB can be purchased for $5 pre-order. Is this correct?

 

[mickey916]

mickey916 - Thank you for that information. I do have the app on my phone, but my daughter needs to add my name to the reservation before I can do anything on it.

So there really doesn't sound like a need to even have the Magic Bands if they cannot be used to check into a ride (we are certainly not paying an extra $15 a day per person for that service!) Or am I missing something? What else can they be used for?

BTE - I understand that the discounted MB can be purchased for $5 pre-order. Is this correct?

It doesn't appear there are any $5 MB. Mine cost $20 or $25 but we got special ones. The plain colored ones are $10. If you use Photopass I believe you can use the Magic Band for that as well as entry to the park. But you can always use your ticket or phone for that.
Edited to add: Also you can use the MB to charge back to your room if staying on property.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Great news that they've started shipping them much quicker after ordering! It was stressful for people seeing their MBs had shipped and not sure they were going to arrive in time for their trip. Glad they've changed this!

 

[mickey916]

Great news that they've started shipping them much quicker after ordering! It was stressful for people seeing their MBs had shipped and not sure they were going to arrive in time for their trip. Glad they've changed this!

Me too (hopefully)...I'll update when I receive mine.