How are the MagicBands?

[The Magical Genie 123]

For the people that have recently been to the World and have had the MagicBands, how are they? Are they uncomfortable? How do they feel and how does it work? I really am not looking forward to wearing these Bands, but what to you guys think about them?

 

[Hakunamatata]

I've heard they cause profuse sweating about the wrist and forearm on some people.

 

[disney4life2008]

It looks like material that is made of like a sportswatch. So I would assume if one can wear a sportswatch - one can do a magic band.

 

[stevehousse]

The first day we wore ours it did make my wrist sweaty, but after that first day I didn't experience that again during our stay...I will add that our MBs worked great and we never had a problem with them...

 

[MRGEFF]

We were at WDW last month. We used our Magic Bands for everything. We loved it ! They were comfortable & convenient to wear & easy to use. We had temperatures in the high 70s & low 80s while at the World. I got the green & my wife the pink. We tapped them to get on the Magical Express bus. We handed them to the CM at the Yacht & she put our room info on them. We tapped the bands to pay for our meals, to get into our room, to get into the parks, to buy souvenirs, to use our Fastpass + s that we entered before we left home, etc. We enjoyed using them very much. We are going back to WDW in April & just picked out our colors today for this trip. We even had a CM change one of our Fastpass + reservations to a different attraction while at EPCOT last month. Looking forward to using Magic Bands again next year.

 

[The Magical Genie 123]

We were at WDW last month. We used our Magic Bands for everything. We loved it ! They were comfortable & convenient to wear & easy to use. We had temperatures in the high 70s & low 80s while at the World. I got the green & my wife the pink. We tapped them to get on the Magical Express bus. We handed them to the CM at the Yacht & she put our room info on them. We tapped the bands to pay for our meals, to get into our room, to get into the parks, to buy souvenirs, to use our Fastpass + s that we entered before we left home, etc. We enjoyed using them very much. We are going back to WDW in April & just picked out our colors today for this trip. We even had a CM change one of our Fastpass + reservations to a different attraction while at EPCOT last month. Looking forward to using Magic Bands again next year.

What colors are there to choose from?

 

[GoofGoof]

We used the magic bands last week (11/16 - 11/23). They worked pretty well with a few exceptions. Zero issues with getting into my room. Had at least one guy in our party who hit the buffet a little too hard at Chef Mickeys and had to do the dash from the elevator back to our room. He got into the room with time to spare and no mess to clean up. Gold star for the band for that one

One day out of 7 my band came up with a blue Mickey head (green means good, blue means there was a problem) at the entrance to EPCOT. They just asked me to move forward to a CM who scanned my band with a handheld and said I was good to go. It may have actually been my finger sweating that cause the problem. It was hot that morning.

FP worked no problem in every case except for 1 reservation which I changed the night before and it didn't show up when we got to the ride. The CM took care of us anyway which was a nice gesture. That worked out to a 96% success rate for FP+ which exceeded my expectations going in.

We had no issues with the bands at cash registers except for the first day when I couldn't get the pin to work. It worked every meal and snack after that and we charged a bunch of stuff with it. I know people get worked up saying it's no easier than swiping a credit card but it actually is because you only need 1 hand (helps when holding on to a kid with the other hand or holding 4 Mickey Ice Cream bars) and you don't have to fumble with your wallet. I didn't think I would like the charging feature as much as I did. I really don't think I spent any more or less because I was charging with it, but who knows.

As far as feel, they are pretty light and I really didn't notice it on my wrist. I didn't noticeably sweat from wearing one, but I guess people are all different. I am a naturally sweaty person too. The kids were hit or miss with them. Our 3 year old wore his for a total of a few hours the whole trip. The 6 year old would have slept with his on if we let him.

One tip for future visitors. If you are using DME make sure your magic bands are packed right near the top of your carry-on bag. We packed the DME paperwork right on top for ease of access at the airport and the guy wanted us to use the bands. I dug mine out and we used them at the bus check-in. It just caught me by surprise since I didn't plan on needing them until after we got checked in and were heading for a park.

 

[GoofGoof]

What colors are there to choose from?

Green, red, blue, orange, yellow, pink and grey. Grey is what you get if you don't customize and wait until you get there to get a band.

 

[RonAnnArbor]

I've posted a long topic on three separate visits with the MB -- I will personally never use them and carried it in my cargo pants pocket --- you have the option to use your KTTW card instead, you do NOT have to wear a wrist band if you do not want to -- but eventually, the RFID card will work exactly the same as the magic band, so it really doesn't matter which you use. I hate wearing anything on my wrist. I don't wear watches either. I tried it for about an hour, sweated immediately, and took it off.

 

[reptar77]

I really like mine. We have had 100% success rate. I like that we don't have to dig out our room keys for room charges. I did find the band a little sweaty at first but I purchased a band cover and that solved the problem.

 

[Dole Whip Happy Hour]

Has anyone tried wearing their watch with the band on the same arm?

I am very use to wearing my watch on one arm, and not wearing anything on the other.

 

[GoofGoof]

Has anyone tried wearing their watch with the band on the same arm?

I am very use to wearing my watch on one arm, and not wearing anything on the other.

Makes it kinda hard to scan the band if the watch gets in the way. The Mickey head on the band has to physically touch the scanner not just get close to it. I guess it depends on how high you wear the watch or the band. I tried it with the watch first, but it didn't work too well. I switched to my right hand and it worked better for me.

 

[GoofGoof]

Ditto, and DON'T wear them while trying to do TSA screening: wait to put them on after touchdown in Orlando.

We had a guy on out flight down who was wearing his when we boarded the flight. I don't know if he wore it through security, but he had it on when he arrived at the gate. I was thinking he must just be really excited about the bands. Turns out he had the last laugh as I was digging through my carry-on bag trying to find mine to get on the bus.

 

[Hooguru]

It's been two days since I removed the band and it feels like the band is still there on my wrist!

Tip: if you find it awkward to move your arm/wrist to align the band's magic spot to the receiver affixed to the counter at a cash register, at many (but not all) locations you can grab the receiver with your other hand, detach it from its base, and align the two as you please.

 

[G00fyDad]

For the people that have recently been to the World and have had the MagicBands, how are they? Are they uncomfortable? How do they feel and how does it work? I really am not looking forward to wearing these Bands, but what to you guys think about them?

They were absolutely amazing for us. No issues whatsoever. No sweating or rash, and this is from someone that cannot even wear a watch because of sweat and rashes. The MB worked perfectly.

 

[Texas84]

No one in our party of 5 complained last month. Now go run a Disney race with one of those plastic wristbands that require a knife to remove. Not much fun.

 

[MOXOMUMD]

No one in our party of 5 complained last month. Now go run a Disney race with one of those plastic wristbands that require a knife to remove. Not much fun.

Like the MNSSHP or MVMCP wristbands

 

[PhilliesFan1980]

I had my reservations about the Magic Band and FP+ concept going into it, but 4 days into the trip I'm a believer in the future potential. Convenience of purchasing items, park tickets, FP, room key, and PhotoPass all with the bands is great. They have a Pirates of the Caribbean treasure map hunt that is integrated with the bands and is very cool. Bands are comfortable, no complaints.