News Disney will be ending complimentary MagicBand distribution to Disney Resort hotel guests and moving to smart devices

PeoplemoverTTA

PeoplemoverTTA

Well-Known Member
I have been waiting for an Apple Watch app that would show me my fastpass times for ages. I hate having to drag my phone out to check FPs or dining times so I know where to be and when. Hopefully, some form of MDE will allow you to check stuff like that on your watch at a glance now.

I don’t want to stare at my phone all day while on vacation. And every time I take out my phone to check MDE, I am inevitably distracted by texts, etc. So a viable Apple Watch app would honestly make a major impact for me. Let’s hope this accompanies the change.
 
MickeyCB

MickeyCB

Well-Known Member
I've been a fan of MB's since day 1. We travel as light as possible to the parks and the bands help with that in so many ways.
I don't know how the phone will work, but if it does not "magically" read my phone while closed then you are looking at, digging the phone out of your pocket, (in my husbands case, pulling his phone out of the holster thing he insists on keeping it in), opening the phone, scrolling to the app, opening the app, scroll to the proper whatever....
Please tell me that's not how this will work. It takes my husband 5 minutes to dig out his car keys to open the car in the parking lot, we're going to be holding up a bunch of lines.
 
NelleBelle

NelleBelle

Well-Known Member
I can't tell from the article if MBs are being phased out and then will be no longer used, requiring phone/watch use (or KTTW) on Jan.1, 2021 or if you'll just have to buy them and still have the option of using them? It isn't much of an issue anymore for our family as both our boys have phones of their own and can use ApplePay to buy snacks, charge things back to the room, which was a huge benefit of the MB (and letting them get back into the room). Also, really enjoyed that MBs are waterproof and didn't have to take them off the whole trip. Now, my big concern is Disney getting themselves together with their app since that thing has pretty much been garbage as long as we've used it! If they are going to implement the phones to work like DLR, then we had no issue with photopass and ride pics (but then again, DLR doesn't implement MBs at all)!
 
lazyboy97o

lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
NelleBelle said:
I can't tell from the article if MBs are being phased out and then will be no longer used, requiring phone/watch use (or KTTW) on Jan.1, 2021 or if you'll just have to buy them and still have the option of using them? It isn't much of an issue anymore for our family as both our boys have phones of their own and can use ApplePay to buy snacks, charge things back to the room, which was a huge benefit of the MB (and letting them get back into the room). Also, really enjoyed that MBs are waterproof and didn't have to take them off the whole trip. Now, my big concern is Disney getting themselves together with their app since that thing has pretty much been garbage as long as we've used it! If they are going to implement the phones to work like DLR, then we had no issue with photopass and ride pics (but then again, DLR doesn't implement MBs at all)!
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Just the free ones with a hotel reservation are going away next year. You can still use ones you already have and buy new ones.
 
peter11435

peter11435

Well-Known Member
NelleBelle said:
I can't tell from the article if MBs are being phased out and then will be no longer used, requiring phone/watch use (or KTTW) on Jan.1, 2021 or if you'll just have to buy them and still have the option of using them? It isn't much of an issue anymore for our family as both our boys have phones of their own and can use ApplePay to buy snacks, charge things back to the room, which was a huge benefit of the MB (and letting them get back into the room). Also, really enjoyed that MBs are waterproof and didn't have to take them off the whole trip. Now, my big concern is Disney getting themselves together with their app since that thing has pretty much been garbage as long as we've used it! If they are going to implement the phones to work like DLR, then we had no issue with photopass and ride pics (but then again, DLR doesn't implement MBs at all)!
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They are not being phased out (yet). They are no longer being provided with hotel reservations. They will still be available for purchase and older magic bands will continue to function. Over the past year or two they have made and are making behind the scenes improvements that enable most magic band functionality to be used through guests cell phones. Some of this has already been activated such as hotel door locks but the majority has yet to be rolled out.
 
Amused to Death

Amused to Death

Well-Known Member
HansGruber said:
Now Disney has to become a tech support hub when guest's phones aren't working properly? Give me a break.
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You do realize Disney and everyone else these days has or is going to online menus for dining, right? I was just at Bartaco here in Orlando today, and I had to read a QR code at my table to see the menu and to place my order. (Any of you Disney menu swipers out there, hold onto them, they may never be back.)

MrHappy said:
Why does this thread seem like teaching your grandmother about the internet?
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Right?! :rolleyes:
 
Ldno

Ldno

Well-Known Member
Oh Hey welcome to the way Disneyland does things and I love it!!!
Maxpass plus photopass is life I always Hated magic bands.

A lot of you are kind of hesitant about i get it, but this is just saying that disney will not give them for free when you stay in the resorts and 5/10 guests don’t, while the majority of guests just buy them anyways. I always found it annoying to wear two wrist devices hence i got the lanyard but this just made my life a whole life easier, this just goes along more with their whole disney genie app anyways, you guys have no idea how the app tracks you already from the get go more than the rfid so at that point who cares... They know right when you get to the resort and track your movement either way so i am sure getting your photopass videos from rides will be easier.
 
tissandtully

tissandtully

Well-Known Member
wdwmagic said:
Apple is working on system to allow unlocking in the event of a dead battery
www.macrumors.com

Car Keys: A Feature That Lets You Unlock a Car With Your iPhone or Apple Watch

Apple's iPhones and Apple Watches have supported NFC for some time now, and now those NFC capabilities can be used to allow Apple users to lock,...
www.macrumors.com www.macrumors.com
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This is already implemented in the current iPhones and Apple watches for transit payment on subway systems. It works like the keyless cars do when your fob runs out of battery, you just have to make physical contact.
 
CJLove79

CJLove79

Active Member
I don't think Disney will ever totally stop selling Magicbands, they're too much of a cash cow for them. They may tweak the tech every once so often but not totally. Plus, they know how much a souvenir item Magicbands are & MOST Disney World fans like them, me included. Some even collect them like the pins. Things can always change of course but for me personally, I'm confident that Magicbands will be around for a long time. :)
 
A

aaronml

Well-Known Member
tissandtully said:
This is already implemented in the current iPhones and Apple watches for transit payment on subway systems. It works like the keyless cars do when your fob runs out of battery, you just have to make physical contact.
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Again..... this is BLE based just like the current Mobile Key solution. The NFC feature you are talking about isn’t supported for this.
 
A

aaronml

Well-Known Member
Giving this some more thought..... they definitely won’t be able to use BLE credentials for mobile payments, at least with their current payment terminals (made by Pax) since they literally don’t have BLE hardware.

For purchases (excluding Mobile Order) for the foreseeable future you will likely need to use a KTTW or MagicBand if you want to charge something to your room account.

FP+ should be the easiest to integrate, followed by ticketing/admission. Payments is definitely the hardest piece, though I suppose they could always resort to QR codes.
 
donsullivan

donsullivan

Premium Member
aaronml said:
Giving this some more thought..... they definitely won’t be able to use BLE credentials for mobile payments, at least with their current payment terminals (made by Pax) since they literally don’t have BLE hardware.

For purchases (excluding Mobile Order) for the foreseeable future you will likely need to use a KTTW or MagicBand if you want to charge something to your room account.

FP+ should be the easiest to integrate, followed by ticketing/admission. Payments is definitely the hardest piece, though I suppose they could always resort to QR codes.
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Their payment terminals already have the full infrastructure for RFID payments. I’ve used my AppleWatch and ApplePay (which uses rfid) for virtually every purchase transaction for 4+ years. If Apple exposes access to the RFID chip in this form, they could enable it for room charge as well on these same payment terminals.
 
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ClareLouise

New Member
The only problem with magic bands seems to be them falling off which should be easily fixable given humanities engineering capabilities! Yet there are a multitude of issues people can for-see with the proposed use of smartphones/watches. For me I can imagine one of my teenagers going to fill up a drink or similar and leaving their smartphone goodness knows where - Id be far more bothered about this than a lost magic band. My perspective is that along with all the other changes (some covid related, some not), Disney are chipping away at all the 'perks' associated with staying on property - (booking days at parks, no fast pass, paying for parking, zero chance of 'free' dining and so on). As a Brit who pays a fortune to fly a family of 4 over the Atlantic every other summer, then slums it at the All Stars, erosion to these benefits is becoming a real deal-breaker..... I'm thinking we'd have a more magical experience staying in a more upmarket I-drive accommodation.
 
Jon81uk

Jon81uk

Well-Known Member
Amused to Death said:
I, for one, have never liked the Tragic Bands. I've got my Annual Pass in my wallet, which they require any time I ask for a discount, anyway, and I just hold my entire (mini) wallet up to the touch points. Boom. Done. I'm not one for wanting integrated charging privileges either, because I use different credit cards for different purposes in order to get the most back in cash rewards.

I will happily tap my phone or watch. And, no, I'm not worried about breaking the glass on my watch.
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and even if you did want to charge to your room account you can do it with the plastic card instead of the band.
 

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