MagicBand+ announced

[HauntedPirate]

“Our mission will never be finished, as long as we keep coming up with new and inventive ways of separating people from their money” - Walt Disney Bob Chapek

And posts in several FB groups are proving that to be 100% correct.

 

[Queen of the WDW Scene]

I wear a smart watch, and motion sickness device that's watch like. The sickness device needs to fall in the same place my watch does, so I can't wear them together (plus it has electrodes, and I'm not sure I trust them being on the same wrist). Instead of wearing 3 watch like things, I've used some form of "Magic Band Buddies" for a while. I have a bunch from a company on Etsy (and FB, and their own site) called BDI. They're 2 piece 3D printed holders, the puck slides between the 2 pieces (and is exposed on the one side) and the pieces are held together by a ring. These are more rigid 3D printing and unfortunately after years of use/banging on things, one of the figment horns fell off, but otherwise I think my family ones are all still good (the horns had a thin part to them). I also bought a few from another company (with out looking Cory (maybe) Allen Designs or something) and I really liked those. They were a more pliable 3D print, and only 1 piece, but they haven't been online for a while. IIRC they went on vacation and the shop never came back online... Both of those "buddies" I'd just clip on my backpack/purse on a badge reel and grab it when needed. In addition to those, I also go one of the puck holders that can slide on a watch band. Given the limited need for them my past trip, this was my go to. I also keep that one in my wallet, JIC I ever have some impromptu trip I don't need to dig into my parks box to find another one....

I do also have one of the puck holders that slide onto your watch.
I like it but also just want to try something else out. I've never had a problem with magic bands falling off like I hear about so often but this past time for some reason the one I got did pop out of the holes on several occasions so I was constantly checking it

 

[Dutch Inn '76]

I


I get times are different & there are supply chain issues across all industries but again this is something Im sure must have been in the works & we are looking at it being at least 3 months away from being available to purchase?

My daughter's mellophone for marching band sat on a barge in the ocean for *three months* because there was no-one to unload it. The supply chain is totally screwed up right now.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Will it keep time? Have a watch face? Might make it a little more functional outside the parks.

What? No. The front of the thing isn't a screen.

 

[SoFloMagic]

This isn't an "expensive piece of tech," it's an LED strip on the same semi-hardened rubber as before. I think people are over-thinking how "advanced" this is, which is while I'm not at pessimistic on the price point as others.

+haptic so it'll need a motor inside. It's gonna take some power.

 

[Dutch Inn '76]

Objectively, everything at WDW is a massive waste of money. We all have the luxury of being able to waste massive amounts of money to purchase happiness.

Right?? Basic food and shelter is not a waste of money. I guess everything else is.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

+haptic so it'll need a motor inside. It's gonna take some power.

Right right. But I think people are looking at it like the face is a touch screen or something.

 

[aaronml]

We have no idea how much they'll cost.

My semi-educated guess would be around twice as much as current MBs.

New additions that will increase cost of manufacturing alone:
- LEDs
- Vibration Motor
- BLE Modem / Controller (needed for a lot of the new long range functionality they are doing with this…. the previous UHF RFID isn’t viable for these types of use cases)
- Rechargeable Battery / Charging mechanism (especially will drive up price since these will presumably be waterproof like current MBs, which complicates wired charging. Fully wireless charging is even more expensive if they go that route)

Additionally there’s a decent amount of software engineering that would need to be done to support all of this, in terms of firmware, system integration, etc.

 

[THECARISMINE]

I can see these going for $69.99, would be nice if less but doubtful. That is already to much but anything more would be insane following the removal of Fastpass and making all the necessary features available on everyone's phone (and/or iWatches). Obviously this is my opinion but even with that said there is very little user difference between these and what Pal Mickey archaically tried to offer some years back. My assumption is that these things won't have a speaker but they will still link to Genie+ in some battery draining notification way on top of their endless area pinging. It's a fun toy that could potentially keep you at least marginally engaged with your physical surroundings while on vacations that now forcibly lock you to a screen for 50% of your day. The market is there and even with their simple gimmick identity, I could see myself having a dead one in a drawer within a few years time... not entirely sure about anytime soon though. Meh.

 

[Doberge]

What was the lifespan of the most recent magic band, considering no battery change? I'm curious because, in theory, these new ones could last multiple years with a rechargeable battery before needing replacement.

It also feels like chasing for magic bands was a step toward this. There's no way Disney would have given these out free so they've spent a year conditioning hotel guests to paying. Further, many will see it as a marginal cost upgrade from old style to new style and that upgrade cost is perceived as less when already expecting /used to paying for a $15-30 band.

 

[seascape]

I wish Disney would allow the new band to be used as a payment method accepted everywhere just like Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.

 

[SoFloMagic]

Interesting that they call out searching for things in galaxys edge, as that was rumored as something regular magic bands could do. So now they'll turn it on but behind a pay wall and letting a band light up instead of paying cast to entertain.

All in all, it looks like fun and is optional and harmless to anyone who doesn't wanna do it as regular bands, cards, and apple wallet are all still available.

 

[DisneyWall-E]

What? No. The front of the thing isn't a screen.

Thank you for clarifying that for me. I thought it was some sort of screen. So it's just a partners statue silhouette. Good to know.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

So it's just a partners statue silhouette.

On that particular one, yeah. The center will be different with each design.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

What was the lifespan of the most recent magic band, considering no battery change? I'm curious because, in theory, these new ones could last multiple years with a rechargeable battery before needing replacement.

It also feels like chasing for magic bands was a step toward this. There's no way Disney would have given these out free so they've spent a year conditioning hotel guests to paying. Further, many will see it as a marginal cost upgrade from old style to new style and that upgrade cost is perceived as less when already expecting /used to paying for a $15-30 band.

All current and former magic bands will work for the foreseeable future for park entry, room access, and merchandise purchases that link back to your room (if staying on-site). Might even work for the future Genie+ as well, but we don't know that for sure. None of those require a battery.

For the on ride photos and such, the current bands last about 2-3 years, as those require the battery to work.

 

[aliceismad]

I have a ton of MB's but there's no point in using them anymore now that there's no FP. The only thing I can use it for is tapping into the park. I'd rather just pull out my AP card and be done with it.

As far as these go, I'll probably buy one as long as it's rechargeable.

Will there not also be tapping involved for LL and IA$ whatever they're calling it? (Of course that's assuming you would purchase one or the other)

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I have a ton of MB's but there's no point in using them anymore now that there's no FP. The only thing I can use it for is tapping into the park. I'd rather just pull out my AP card and be done with it.

Do you stay on property? I've always valued a MagicBand at the resorts more than in the parks. I like going to the pool with absolutely nothing... no phone, no wallet, no room key, just my band and my Crocs.

 

[disneygeek90]

Do you stay on property? I've always valued a MagicBand at the resorts more than in the parks. I like going to the pool with absolutely nothing... no phone, no wallet, no room key, just my band and my Crocs.

No I live about 15 mins away, so I don't get much use out of charging or resort capabilities unfortunately. I would love to link it with Apple Pay if that was an option.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

No I live about 15 mins away, so I don't get much use out of charging or resort capabilities unfortunately. I would love to link it with Apple Pay if that was an option.

Isn't that what MagicMobile is?

On Android, MagicMobile sits inside Google Pay.

 

[disneygeek90]

Isn't that what MagicMobile is?

On Android, MagicMobile sits inside Google Pay.

Sort of. As far as I know it's only good for park entrance and resort charging. I guess you could use your apple pay via your apple watch, but then that defeats the purpose of the magicband.