Are Magic Bands still worth it?

Minnie1986

Minnie1986

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Hi All! It's been quite a while since I've been "home," and from what I understand, they no longer come free with resort stays. With that being said, I see that they are still available to purchase either on shopdisney, in the parks, etc. For those that have been there since this change, would you say that it's worth it to purchase magic bands?
 
CaptainAmerica

CaptainAmerica

Well-Known Member
If you're staying in a Disney resort, absolutely in my opinion. I just like the form factor of a waterproof bracelet for park entry, room charging, and unlocking the room. It's nice to be able to go to the pool with absolutely nothing in your hands or pockets. Plus, I just like the designs so they're fun as souvenirs.

If you have an old band, it'll continue to work so you can just bring that one if you don't want to buy a new one.
 
R

Raxel7851

Well-Known Member
Although we’ve purchased a couple of MB+, I’m still not overly excited about them. But having said that the MB+ or the older style MB are so convenient.
 
R

Raxel7851

Well-Known Member
Minnie1986 said:
So the MB+ isn't an absolute must?
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In my opinion it’s not an absolute must have. You can certainly have a great time just using an older version MB. It will get you into the parks, open your room door, charge things to your account, etc. If it’s an older unit, you may have trouble receiving your pictures from the attractions like HM and POC. We ran into that problem. Even though we recently purchased new MB+, we did that because we enjoyed the new design. You will need to charge the MB+ every day. We typically do ours at night.
 
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DisneyHead123

Well-Known Member
I think the “old” magic bands are pretty awesome. I’ve purposefully avoided the new ones because I’ve heard too many stories of technical issues and time spent at guest services trying to get the phone software to work. At this point they don’t do enough, in my opinion, to justify the extra hassle - the old bands are relatively cheap (relatively) and give you all the benefits you would typically want from a Magic Band (they won’t work at Journey of Water, presumably, but that’s a “whatever” to me.)
 
Minnie1986

Minnie1986

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
DisneyHead123 said:
I think the “old” magic bands are pretty awesome. I’ve purposefully avoided the new ones because I’ve heard too many stories of technical issues and time spent at guest services trying to get the phone software to work. At this point they don’t do enough, in my opinion, to justify the extra hassle - the old bands are relatively cheap (relatively) and give you all the benefits you would typically want from a Magic Band (they won’t work at Journey of Water, presumably, but that’s a “whatever” to me.)
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This is what I was hoping to hear. I still have quite a few of the old ones, and frankly, I still love them. Glad to hear that they will still work. Do they still sell the OG ones? I'd like to get one for my niece as well.
 
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Raxel7851

Well-Known Member
Minnie1986 said:
This is what I was hoping to hear. I still have quite a few of the old ones, and frankly, I still love them. Glad to hear that they will still work. Do they still sell the OG ones? I'd like to get one for my niece as well.
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If you go to Disney Springs I believe you’ll find the best selection there.
 
Weather_Lady

Weather_Lady

Well-Known Member
For purchase? Absolutely not worth it. Not when the four of us can upgrade our hotel room, or purchase a nice table service meal, or invest in a couple of souvenir sweatshirts or Loungefly bags, for the same money.

Using old MagicBands from the days when they were "free"? That's the bee's knees. My family of 4 will keep bringing our old MagicBands (the 2.0 versions we got for free 4-8 years ago, not the "+" versions) for as long as they're still functional and in one piece. To keep them looking personalized and fresh, we buy new MagicBand skins to put on them every now and then. So far, I think we've only had one of them start to break (the part of the band where you'd peel out a portion to make it child-sized, split at the perforation), out of the 12 MagicBands we have that are currently active. If and when the rest of them break down, we don't plan on buying the new ones: they're way too expensive for how infrequently we visit (once every 2-3 years).

If, after we're no longer using MagicBands, we find that whipping Key To The World cards out of our bags or pockets (or using our phones for park access) seems too inconvenient, we'll just put the cards on lanyards around our neck, like we do with our ticket media and hotel key cards at Universal.
 
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DisneyHead123

Well-Known Member
Minnie1986 said:
This is what I was hoping to hear. I still have quite a few of the old ones, and frankly, I still love them. Glad to hear that they will still work. Do they still sell the OG ones? I'd like to get one for my niece as well.
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They were available to order with a reservation on My Disney Experience a few months ago (at the discounted price you get with a reservation,) although it’s possible that could have changed.

I tend to be a total splurge-er, to the degree that my wallet can handle, when it comes to Disney. I’m easily sold on shiny new baubles. But even I take a pass on the new Magic Bands. A couple of my family members got them and kept trekking to guest services for tech support on their last trip (and it wasn’t like they were just clueless with technology, guest services had to delete the app and start all over again because they didn’t know what to do.) And for that hassle, they could make statues play a snippet of music. Not worth it yet, IMO, not until you can do way more with them and it works reliably.
 
Mireille

Mireille

Premium Member
Minnie1986 said:
So the MB+ isn't an absolute must?
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The "+" of "MB+" is not much, however... there are surprising little things that happen when you have it, such as when you get into the line at Haunted Mansion after the stretching room. I won't say what it is as not to spoil it for anyone that might plan to experience it. And there are light reactions at other rides that are "fun." It's inessential, you won't miss it if you don't have one and you DO have to charge them every night. However, in a trip that already costs in the thousands I think tossing in an extra $40 on my reservation for a new MB+ is kind of irresistible to me. I've got 2 now, 1 each from my last 2 trips. If you get one, I think you definitely will want to get the little locks or strap holders because my mom's came off multiple times and she ended up losing it. It seems like the straps are a bit more rigid, maybe, and come unclasped a little too easily.
 
CaptainAmerica

CaptainAmerica

Well-Known Member
Mireille said:
The "+" of "MB+" is not much, however... there are surprising little things that happen when you have it, such as when you get into the line at Haunted Mansion after the stretching room. I won't say what it is as not to spoil it for anyone that might plan to experience it. And there are light reactions at other rides that are "fun." It's inessential, you won't miss it if you don't have one and you DO have to charge them every night. However, in a trip that already costs in the thousands I think tossing in an extra $40 on my reservation for a new MB+ is kind of irresistible to me. I've got 2 now, 1 each from my last 2 trips. If you get one, I think you definitely will want to get the little locks or strap holders because my mom's came off multiple times and she ended up losing it. It seems like the straps are a bit more rigid, maybe, and come unclasped a little too easily.
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Exactly. I'm pretty simple and "it buzzes and blinks and I think that's fun" is as much of a reason as I need.
 
cslafferty

cslafferty

Well-Known Member
Since MB+ is rechargeable, does anyone know if the battery would last longer than the 2 years that the old MB lasted? We go every other year, and I wasn’t going to get the MB+, but if they last longer, it would be worth the extra $ if we don’t have to buy new ones each time.
 
networkpro

networkpro

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
Yes
cslafferty said:
Since MB+ is rechargeable, does anyone know if the battery would last longer than the 2 years that the old MB lasted? We go every other year, and I wasn’t going to get the MB+, but if they last longer, it would be worth the extra $ if we don’t have to buy new ones each time.
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Two different RFID responders in magic bands: the short range one is passive and is powered by induction (think tapstyles) the second is long range (think on ride photos) and requires power that usually will discharge to an unusable state in two years

The long range one in mb+ is what interacts with the statues, fireworks, and ride effects.
 
cslafferty

cslafferty

Well-Known Member
networkpro said:
Two different RFID responders in magic bands: the short range one is passive and is powered by induction (think tapstyles) the second is long range (think on ride photos) and requires power that usually will discharge to an unusable state in two years

The long range one in mb+ is what interacts with the statues, fireworks, and ride effects.
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Right. Is the long range one in mb+ the rechargeable one, and wouldn’t that make it last longer that 2 years?
 
JaxFLBear

JaxFLBear

Well-Known Member
cslafferty said:
Right. Is the long range one in mb+ the rechargeable one, and wouldn’t that make it last longer that 2 years?
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Yes, the long range one uses the rechargeable battery. You can power off a MB+ by pressing the button on the back of the band for 6 seconds. Disney does recommend fully charging the battery in a MB+ at least once every 6 months.
 

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