MagicBand+ announced

[AEfx]

You mean you don't want to spend your day waving at golden statues?!?!

I think that's really the kicker here.

All this charging, pairing, updating, people reporting having to spend hours at guest services to get them to work, all for...that??!!

But let's be fair - you can also play a phone game at the Studios, which tries to digitally replicate something they were originally going to do with live performances but canned, so you can spend even more time staring down at your phone and less time looking around wondering why a "galactic hub" is so barren and lifeless.

I'm still waiting for 2/3 of the stuff that they originally promised that the ORIGINAL magic bands supposedly were going to do.

 

[mwidmer]

We ordered ours on 7-28 and the order still shows In Progress. We leave September 5th and have reservations starting September 9th at FW. Maybe they will be waiting for us when we check in. If not, we’re taking our other Magic Bands to use. We’re doing a split stay at FW and POFQ. I’m not hearing too many positive things about the new MB+. But I’ll stay optimistic.

I hope you received your bands before you left!

We ordered Magic Bands on August 13 for our trip mid-October. We still don't have ours and it has shown as "in progress" for a couple weeks now.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

I mean... right, there isn't. But I got them because they look neat and I'm going to Disney World, where I expect to drop money on plenty of stuff I don't need. I don't see a need for a deluxe resort when I'm only sleeping there and hoping to spend 90% of my waking hours in the parks, but they don't have a hard time selling those, either. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Having bought them, I have to say they were a complete waste of money.

At least when we stay at a deluxe we get a large hotel room, nicely appointed, fun pool, and (generally) close to at least 1 of the 4 WDW parks.

For us, the bands were just an aggravation that didn't work as advertised.

 

[dreday3]

Having bought them, I have to say they were a complete waste of money.

At least when we stay at a deluxe we get a large hotel room, nicely appointed, fun pool, and (generally) close to at least 1 of the 4 WDW parks.

For us, the bands were just an aggravation that didn't work as advertised.

I don't know.

Our Magic Band + is the same price as just a themed (not solid color) regular magic band on Shop-Disney, $34.99.
I wouldn't file it under a waste of money or extravagant.

 

[Raxel7851]

I hope you received your bands before you left
We ordered Magic Bands on August 13 for our trip mid-October. We still don't have ours and it has shown as "in progress" for a couple weeks now.

@mwidmer we did not receive them before we left. We received an email on September 2 that they were shipped. I emailed ShopDisney and they replied that they would forward 2 new MBs to FW so we can pick them up when we check in. The original MB+’s we ordered will be waiting for us when we return home and pick up our stopped mail. I’m assuming the ones at the resort will be MB+, but if they’re MB2, I’ll be ok with that. We did bring our 2 year old MBs with us.

 

[RSoxNo1]

You mean you don't want to spend your day waving at golden statues?!?!

My ego would only allow it if they were golden statues of me.

 

[Figments Friend]

Update on my experiment -

'Magical Moment' pin did not respond at all today when I brought a functioning one to MK.
None of the Attraction spots I knew set it off before no longer work.
I have been curious as to if this pin would still interact or do anything now since the light up feature is similar to the current MB+.
My theory was it might be fired off by a similar means remotely, triggered by received signals.

Okay, as far as my brand new Orange Bird MB+ band ....
None of the light up features responded today while in the Park.
I did not however stay for the fireworks ..( other plans...) so...
Part of my experiment was to see if the band light up feature would work / respond while in the Park WITHOUT 'pairing' it to the app or 'updating' it.
Was thinking the lights might be fired off via RFID sensors / signals similar to the 'Magical Moments' pins and not require 'pairing' / 'updating'.
Nope. Nothing.

As I have mentioned previously, I am one of the five people on the planet who do not own a smart phone, and the WDW app will not work on my tablet ( too 'outdated').
When I had a friend today try to 'pair' my band via the app on his own smartphone, we couldn't get it to do so.
So it's basically just like any other regular MB out there for me....

I still like the design, though.
And the experiment was fun to try out.
Glad I didn't pay full price.....these are not really worth the trouble.
Your mileage may likely vary.

-

 

[Mireille]

Having bought them, I have to say they were a complete waste of money.

At least when we stay at a deluxe we get a large hotel room, nicely appointed, fun pool, and (generally) close to at least 1 of the 4 WDW parks.

For us, the bands were just an aggravation that didn't work as advertised.

I'll see how it goes, but I paired mine to my phone without any issue as soon as I received it and updated it after charging it for about 15 minutes. Even if the advanced features, as meager as they are, don't work, it still works as a magic band. And it's I think $10 more than a MB2? So maybe it'll be a waste, but only of a couple bucks.
Whereas a difference of $200-$500/night for a room is considerable. I've paid for moderates before, but I'm going AoA this time because the theme is so Disney, the skyliner, and because I've made a point of staying at a different resort on each of my last 5 trips or so. I personally don't see the value in going Deluxe for me, even though if money was no object I'm sure I'd have a blast at a Deluxe! I've always wanted to stay at a monorail resort since I first saw the Contemporary when I was 12, but I can spend the thousands I save at a "value" resort on other stuff. If you find spending money on a Deluxe resort worth it, that's great!
All I'm saying is, if you don't want a MB at all, yeah, a MB+ isn't enough of an improvement to suddenly make it worth $45, but if, like me, you consider a MB a pre-souvenir for each trip (every 1-2 years), spending the extra $10 for a new toy that does a couple extra things isn't a big deal.

 

[dreday3]

I'll see how it goes, but I paired mine to my phone without any issue as soon as I received it and updated it after charging it for about 15 minutes. Even if the advanced features, as meager as they are, don't work, it still works as a magic band. And it's I think $10 more than a MB2? So maybe it'll be a waste, but only of a couple bucks.
Whereas a difference of $200-$500/night for a room is considerable. I've paid for moderates before, but I'm going AoA this time because the theme is so Disney, the skyliner, and because I've made a point of staying at a different resort on each of my last 5 trips or so. I personally don't see the value in going Deluxe for me, even though if money was no object I'm sure I'd have a blast at a Deluxe! I've always wanted to stay at a monorail resort since I first saw the Contemporary when I was 12, but I can spend the thousands I save at a "value" resort on other stuff. If you find spending money on a Deluxe resort worth it, that's great!
All I'm saying is, if you don't want a MB at all, yeah, a MB+ isn't enough of an improvement to suddenly make it worth $45, but if, like me, you consider a MB a pre-souvenir for each trip (every 1-2 years), spending the extra $10 for a new toy that does a couple extra things isn't a big deal.

That's exactly how we look at them - a pre-trip souvenir. It's tradition to get a new Magic Band for each trip ( we also go every 2 to 3 years). An extra $10 is nothing for a little something.

 

[pdude81]

Update on my experiment -

'Magical Moment' pin did not respond at all today when I brought a functioning one to MK.
None of the Attraction spots I knew set it off before no longer work.
I have been curious as to if this pin would still interact or do anything now since the light up feature is similar to the current MB+.
My theory was it might be fired off by a similar means remotely, triggered by received signals.

Okay, as far as my brand new Orange Bird MB+ band ....
None of the light up features responded today while in the Park.
I did not however stay for the fireworks ..( other plans...) so...
Part of my experiment was to see if the band light up feature would work / respond while in the Park WITHOUT 'pairing' it to the app or 'updating' it.
Was thinking the lights might be fired off via RFID sensors / signals similar to the 'Magical Moments' pins and not require 'pairing' / 'updating'.
Nope. Nothing.

As I have mentioned previously, I am one of the five people on the planet who do not own a smart phone, and the WDW app will not work on my tablet ( too 'outdated').
When I had a friend today try to 'pair' my band via the app on his own smartphone, we couldn't get it to do so.
So it's basically just like any other regular MB out there for me....

I still like the design, though.
And the experiment was fun to try out.
Glad I didn't pay full price.....these are not really worth the trouble.
Your mileage may likely vary

It's tricky because you bought an interactive device that you aren't pairing or updating. If you bought an Echo Show but didn't have wifi, I'm sure that would be disappointing.

As far as pairing with your friends phone, I think it wants you to be logged in as the person the band is attached to in order to pair it with MDE. For example, my son's account is controlled under my wife, so I needed to use her phone to pair to his device and could log in as him under play parks. I guess you could have used your MDE credentials in that person's app and then it would have updated and paired for you... at least until they logged you out. But if you don't plan on getting a phone for these trips, I think you're better off sticking with MB2.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

I'll see how it goes, but I paired mine to my phone without any issue as soon as I received it and updated it after charging it for about 15 minutes. Even if the advanced features, as meager as they are, don't work, it still works as a magic band. And it's I think $10 more than a MB2? So maybe it'll be a waste, but only of a couple bucks.
Whereas a difference of $200-$500/night for a room is considerable. I've paid for moderates before, but I'm going AoA this time because the theme is so Disney, the skyliner, and because I've made a point of staying at a different resort on each of my last 5 trips or so. I personally don't see the value in going Deluxe for me, even though if money was no object I'm sure I'd have a blast at a Deluxe! I've always wanted to stay at a monorail resort since I first saw the Contemporary when I was 12, but I can spend the thousands I save at a "value" resort on other stuff. If you find spending money on a Deluxe resort worth it, that's great!
All I'm saying is, if you don't want a MB at all, yeah, a MB+ isn't enough of an improvement to suddenly make it worth $45, but if, like me, you consider a MB a pre-souvenir for each trip (every 1-2 years), spending the extra $10 for a new toy that does a couple extra things isn't a big deal.

Pre-arrival price of plain bands is $10.60 with tax. The plus ones w/tax are $26.50.

Since I already had bands, I just would not have bothered buying any.

We've stayed at almost all the resorts, except the pure DVC ones, plus plenty of offsite stays. Hotel prices this year are absurd. This thread is about magicbands, not hotels, so I'll keep my hotel comments short. AoA has cute theming, we also love Gran Destino, but I do think the deluxe hotels provide some extras.

But my main point was that the loss of vacation time + the frustration +paying $26.50 for a product that did not work made them a complete waste.

Time is $.

 

[Figments Friend]

Are the 50th 'Golden Statues' also interacting with MB-2 bands?
Anyone else having them activate by just walking by?

I have been at the Parks now for the past two days and on more then one occasion when I have walked by with no one else around they activated.
Was not expecting this, as my understanding was this was a feature that only worked with the new MB+

-

 

[MagicHappens1971]

Are the 50th 'Golden Statues' also interacting with MB-2 bands?
Anyone else having them activate by just walking by?

I have been at the Parks now for the past two days and on more then one occasion when I have walked by with no one else around they activated.
Was not expecting this, as my understanding was this was a feature that only worked with the new MB+

-

It only works with MB+. You may not see people sometimes it can be a pretty discreet wave

 

[wdwmagic]

Disney's wearable MagicBand+ tech expected to be coming soon to Disney Cruise Line​

Disney's wearable MagicBand+ tech expected to be coming soon to Disney Cruise Line

The MagicBand+ platform is expected to move beyond the parks and onboard the Disney Cruise Ships.

www.wdwmagic.com

 

[Patcheslee]

Disney's wearable MagicBand+ tech expected to be coming soon to Disney Cruise Line​

Disney's wearable MagicBand+ tech expected to be coming soon to Disney Cruise Line

The MagicBand+ platform is expected to move beyond the parks and onboard the Disney Cruise Ships.

www.wdwmagic.com

I haven't done a cruise: would the same band be usable across all locations that have them? i.e. DL, WDW, and cruise?

 

[pdude81]

I haven't done a cruise: would the same band be usable across all locations that have them? i.e. DL, WDW, and cruise?

I hope so, but I'd expect each time you tried to register your existing band to a different wing of the company, that it tells you it's already been used. Hopefully I'm wrong and they just get it right this time.

 

[MickeyLuv'r]

That's exactly how we look at them - a pre-trip souvenir. It's tradition to get a new Magic Band for each trip ( we also go every 2 to 3 years). An extra $10 is nothing for a little something.

I disagree. It is not $10. The plain non + bands are $21.19 w/tax. The plain plus ones are $37.09 w/tax. With a resort stay they knock off $10, so $10.60 or $26.49 per band. For a family of 4, that =$106.

I have no desire to waste money on items that do not work as advertised.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I hope so, but I'd expect each time you tried to register your existing band to a different wing of the company, that it tells you it's already been used. Hopefully I'm wrong and they just get it right this time.

My MDX profile sees that I'm Castaway Club, DVC, Disney Visa, and Disney+.

My WDW MagicBands work at Aulani.

 

[dreday3]

I disagree. It is not $10. The plain non + bands are $21.19 w/tax. The plain plus ones are $37.09 w/tax. With a resort stay they knock off $10, so $10.60 or $26.49 per band. For a family of 4, that =$106.

I have no desire to waste money on items that do not work as advertised.

I'm not saying the band was $10. I'm saying it's $10 or so more than what we would have spent on "regular" magic bands. We paid $34.99 for ours.

In our opinion, an extra $10 or so pays for the the buzzes, beeps, lights, gold statues, whatever. And if it doesn't work for some reason, we lose $10. But I have confidence they will work just fine.

 

[aaronml]

My WDW MagicBands work at Aulani.

It still is crazy to me that MBs work at Aulani, but not officially. I honestly don’t know why….. seems like 95% of the work (if not 100%) was done to support then at Aulani, but they still aren’t “officially” supported.