For all you APers who want a Magic Band...

[durangojim]

Why not make a resort reservation at a Value, have them send the band and then cancel the reservation?
We had two reservations back to back in January and had to cancel one, but they still sent us the MBs. I'm only telling people who really really want the MB to do this, so don't flame me.

 

[donsullivan]

Why not make a resort reservation at a Value, have them send the band and then cancel the reservation?
We had two reservations back to back in January and had to cancel one, but they still sent us the MBs. I'm only telling people who really really want the MB to do this, so don't flame me.

What most passholders want is access to advance reservations for FP+ vs. the actual physical MB. Certainly, some want the band as well I guess but most just want the advance reservation. The challenge is that Disney has made issuance of the MB the trigger point for eligibility for FP+ advance reservation and they are currently (except for limited AP testers) only available as part of a resort stay.

Unfortunately, the scenario you've described has been confirmed many times will not provide access to advance reservation for FP+. You have to actually complete the stay and then you have full access to advance reservation for FP+. The moment you cancel the reservation, all of the privileges that came with it are revoked. While the band may have been shipped to you, it's your MDX profile that actually identifies your privileges, the band is just an access method to utilize those privileges. When the reservation is cancelled the FP+ reservation privilege is revoked at the same time and any FP+ reservations you have made are immediately cancelled.

 

[Rob562]

I can confirm what donsullivan said. I have friends with AP's who had to cancel their trip. Even though their Bands for the room-only reservation had shipped to them, they lost access to the FP+ system within a day or two of cancelling.

The Bands still show on their MDE profiles, though. So presumably when they *do* eventually get access those Bands they already have will work. (They could also conceivably work right now for using as park admission on their AP and for same-day FP+ usage at kiosks and ride entrances, but they haven't been to test that)

-Rob

 

[durangojim]

Interesting. We have premier passes and stayed at BC in January. We were able to make FPs for the dates of the reservation. When we came back home, we're still able to this day to make reservations on the MDE app on iOS for the next 60 days as well.

 

[JimboJones123]

Interesting. We have premier passes and stayed at BC in January. We were able to make FPs for the dates of the reservation. When we came back home, we're still able to this day to make reservations on the MDE app on iOS for the next 60 days as well.

That is because you completed your reservation.

 

[jlsHouston]

Well truly I am not bragging but I stayed on property back in November when MB's were testing at all the resorts. Since I split the stay between WL/BWV I got 2 boxes of bands. So I have had access to FP+ since booking that last trip. Now I am going again and doing a split stay again...so I now have bands in 4 different colors, pink, orange, red, and green...just need the blue and yellow. Wish they offered purple or lavender and black.
Anyways once I completed the stay in November I have been able to set FP+ for any date in 2014 I wanted whether I had a room reservation or not.

 

[wdwstateofmind]

Why not make a resort reservation at a Value, have them send the band and then cancel the reservation?
We had two reservations back to back in January and had to cancel one, but they still sent us the MBs. I'm only telling people who really really want the MB to do this, so don't flame me.

I know someone said it, but it's not about magic bands as much as access to FP+. Why should I have to stay a night to get access to FP+?

I've been really frustrated with the entire situation. The amount of money over time that we spend there well justifies us access; making me do same day reservations at the park makes me feel like they look at APs as the same as a guy who inpulsively walks up, pays and comes in. I'm sure they understand the value of AP holders (it's not the most affordable AP in the state and make up a sizeable portion of their income) as they market to them quite well, but I don't think they expected the scorn they are getting from what's going on. Whoever said they could wait a few months while we figured it out should transfered somewhere...

 

[Tom]

I know someone said it, but it's not about magic bands as much as access to FP+. Why should I have to stay a night to get access to FP+?

I've been really frustrated with the entire situation. The amount of money over time that we spend there well justifies us access; making me do same day reservations at the park makes me feel like they look at APs as the same as a guy who inpulsively walks up, pays and comes in. I'm sure they understand the value of AP holders (it's not the most affordable AP in the state and make up a sizeable portion of their income) as they market to them quite well, but I don't think they expected the scorn they are getting from what's going on. Whoever said they could wait a few months while we figured it out should transfered somewhere...

Yes, they seem to have their priorities out of order.

 

[donsullivan]

That is because you completed your reservation.

Exactly. I'm also a Premier Passholder and did a one night stay at Pop in January and now have full access to advance reservations for FP+ with all of the boundaries that have been described around here many times.

 

[MrPromey]

Yes, they seem to have their priorities out of order.

I've been really frustrated with the entire situation. The amount of money over time that we spend there well justifies us access; making me do same day reservations at the park makes me feel like they look at APs as the same as a guy who inpulsively walks up, pays and comes in. I'm sure they understand the value of AP holders (it's not the most affordable AP in the state and make up a sizeable portion of their income) as they market to them quite well, but I don't think they expected the scorn they are getting from what's going on. Whoever said they could wait a few months while we figured it out should transfered somewhere...

It's frustrating as the group that visits the parks most frequently, to see the system we have learned to use over the years so well replaced with something that requires us to wait in kiosk lines and to have more trouble getting into Fastpass lines because of clumps of confused people blocking entrances, etc. but taking Disney at their word that FP+ truly is in testing, I can understand why we would be the last group to go fully online with it.

We are the single group that will probably be the most taxing on the system. Let's face it, we were the ones that were probably most utilizing the old system and we are the ones that are most quickly looking to exploit holes in the new one - booking resort stays to get early access just shows the lengths we will go to and that isn't to say taht we are a devious group looking to break anything. It just makes sense; as the people with the most to gain from fully using the system and having the most access to play with the rules by being able to test things without potentially ruining a vacation (for most of us), we are going to be the ones who push it the hardest both in the way Disney intends as well as ways they haven't "caught" or realized yet.

I check every other day to see if I've yet been included in the test and it's frustrating to know the system is out there. Disney's done an amazing job of keeping us as a group super-informed of this great system we can't fully use (which just adds to the frustration) but if they really are testing it - and I can see how full-on live testing for real-world use is needed to actually get it up and running - it would make sense that we would get access to the full benefits last.

Still sucks, though. :/

 

[BernardandBianca]

What is especially frustrating is that I received one of the invites to participate in the test, then when I go online to make my reservations, the system says I am not eligible. I talked to customer service, and they said they can't understand why it has that status for me - my record shows that I'm an invited test guest, but she was unable to change the status. She then said she sent a error log over to IT (this was yesterday), and said I would be contacted as soon as the problem was fixed. Still waiting for that.

 

[JohnD]

Exactly. I'm also a Premier Passholder and did a one night stay at Pop in January and now have full access to advance reservations for FP+ with all of the boundaries that have been described around here many times.

Yes, that is true. I'm a FR Seasonal Pass holder and stayed at All-Star Sports over Veteran's Day weekend and now have advance FP+ access too. I live four hours away so a resort stay is pretty much required.

But I get the point of AP holders asking why they have to stay at a resort anyway to get advance FP+ access. One can only hope it's currently an inconvenience during MM+ roll out/testing and that the feature will be fully added when completely rolled out.