FarmerBill
New Member
Are these bands a "nice to have", or actually needed? We are getting the Genie+ for the family (6 adults), so we plan on using the Genie app throughout the days.
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Are MagicBands Needed?
- Thread starter FarmerBill
- Start date
CaptainAmerica
Premium Member
I like them as a room key, especially because they're waterproof. I think that alone is worth $5.
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heatherhy01
Well-Known Member
We are going in June too and have decided to purchase the magic bands. For us, it is much more convenient than having to worry about the app when getting onto the ride itself. We have added genie+ too.
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John park hopper
Well-Known Member
If you have MB that are only a few years old they probably are still good to use
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Diamond Dot
Well-Known Member
They are no longer free (surprise, surprise) and are optional. I'm getting one because I do find them useful. It's saying I can order and pay for mine now and have it delivered to my resort even though it's 45 days to my trip, but, I did that in the past and they returned the parcel to the sender with my band in it after 9 days, so I'm waiting till a bit closer to order mine.
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You can certainly re-use old bands or get yourself a new 50th Anniversary one. They are coming out with updated bands sometime this year
Pam
Pam
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I’m not sure when you plan to travel, but you can order them from Disney online, then have them shipped to you. I’m not familiar if they ship to the UK though. Another thought is when you arrive, you can purchase them at the store at each resort, or make a quick trip to Disney Springs. The CM at Check-in can set them up for you. On another note, how long do the magic bands stay operational on average? I’ve bought a few of the limited edition ones over the last few years.
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Rob562
Well-Known Member
They do not ship Bands outside the U.S. since there is an always-on transmitter inside and it's an FCC thing.
As for lifespan, a MagicBand will continue to work indefinitely for all tap-to-use functions, since those are unpowered RFID chips. (I still have and use Bands from the first year they came out) The functions that will stop working when the battery dies (2-4 years) are auto-linking of ride photos and other "magical" surpises on displays in queues, etc.
-Rob
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nickys
Premium Member
I heard that from a friend. So no more personalised magic bands.
Your only option is to buy them when you get there. Which is fine except I liked having my name and date inscribed in them.
I can’t understand it. They didn’t ship them to us anyway so why not let us continue picking them up at the front desk? The money they’re saving from this is minimal and it’s another perk taken away - for international guests.
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nickys
Premium Member
I don’t know what the problem is exactly. We can fly with them so why not allow them to be posted internationally.
In fact there are various other things ShopDisney won’t post internationally, like souvenir metal luggage tags and anything that is engraved. Actually right now they won’t send anything to the U.K. citing the new tax laws. Despite the fact every other major organisation has managed to fill in the paperwork - NASA, Smithsonian etc.
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LittleMerman
Well-Known Member
I love MagicBands for hotel key, park tickets, and FP/Genie. It comes in handy and it's just fun to wear them around WDW!
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happymom25
Active Member
We did genie+ for a couple days in January with our kids and used our hard tickets to tap in. It was a pain to pull them out and put them away each time and make sure we all got the correct ones, so we are getting bands (or bringing some old ones) for our next trip.
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disneypearl
Well-Known Member
I love the convenience of a MagicBand. I’m disappointed that they’ve stopped giving them to resort guests but will continue to use them. Haven’t had to buy one yet but will when it comes to that. Do passholders get one free when they renew? I haven’t checked yet for that. I’m also curious when the new updated ones come out. That may be the first one I pay for.
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StarWarsGirl
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
You can get a grey one for free, but the colored ones and patterns are usually better discounts than the resort discounts. At least that's what I found when I ordered an AP band verses resort band.
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We’ve been AP holders for quite a few years. We used to choose the Freebie ones when we stayed on-site, but as time went by, we would order the limited edition ones. I know some of them can be pricey, but we’ll use them for several trips. I’m currently using a nighttime Disney MB. On our next trip I may look to see the new selections they are offering. I’m a Magic Band Nerd!
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StarWarsGirl
Well-Known Member
- In the Parks
- No
I got my first patterned one last year. Then when my AP renewed I got another one. I limit myself to one per year. I can see if you're artistic decorating it yourself, but I'm not.
I still like the MBs. My brother has a DAS, so we're using the lightning lanes because of him. Oh, and the other night when my flight was delayed and I was dragging luggage through the resort at 2:30 am, I was so grateful to just have the thing on my wrist to get the building door open and then the room door open.
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NelleBelle
Well-Known Member
Even though we're staying offsite this year, I'm still planning on using a MB for our tickets, Photopass, DAS, and I guess Genie+ if we actually decide to use it. It's so much easier to have everyone use their bands instead of whipping out their phones, searching for the correct media on their phone, making people behind you annoyed because you're taking "forever" at the tap point. We'll likely get new bands at DS or at the first park we visit to get new ones. Even though we have old ones, I don't trust that the batteries are good for the on-ride photos (and I want those from my kids' bands if they split up).
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SweetPea
Member
If you have an Apple Watch Series 3 or newer, you can set it up to work exactly like the Magic Band. We were just there and was able to use our watches for everything but unlock the room. Just make sure you tell the CM to set it up like Magic Band when using to charge things to the room. We did, however, have a few CM's want to argue with us that we couldn't do that. We assured them to just set it up like Magic Band and what do you know...it worked. Clearly they aren't training CM's very well as many did not know this...but that's a whole other subject.
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