We returned this past weekend after a nice 10 day WDW visit. We were lucky enough to get in on the latest round of Magicband and FP+ testing. Here are some of my impressions, though overall I loves the Magicbands and FP+.
Magicbands were super easy to set-up and worked with our APs. We also had people who had no tickets and a mix of old no expire tickets. Linking through the website or apps was nothing. Those who didn't have tickets were able to purchase at the resort and have the ticket put right on the band. One thing we were told if you have old no expire or multiple tickets for one person, on link one, then use the remaining time then link the other. Sometimes the system doesn't know which to take days off of.
THe Magicband work pretty flawlessly for the room, park and purchases. Though the system is a tad slow at times, you have to hold the band and wait for it to read. I use RFID cards for work to access doors and they work instantly. It's not he case with Disney. Also sometimes the room doors require a few times. From talking to CM friends this is due to issues with the door locks and not all locks have the same thickness of plastic which can have an impact on the RFID reader in the door.
Purchases were simple, tap the band enter the PIN and done. Only had one time the machine didn't work and we ended up getting our snacks for free, not a bad perk. If you are poolside or at a restaurant they have mobile scanners that work the same, tap the bad enter your pin and done.
Speaking of the pools, this is one of the best parts of the band. No longer do I need to worry about someone stealing my credit card, room key, ID when I'm in the pool. I got it all on my wrist. Same goes entering parks, no need to carry extra cards in my wallet.
FP+ is amazing. The best part is being able to plan our day before we leave. No longer do we need to run around the park to get a FP then do whatever to kill time. Now we know where and when we have to be at a ride before entering the park and can plan the day accordingly. The app worked very well and it scheduled FP+ times around any dinning reservations.
Other cool things are the new interactives that they are adding. Like the Pirates scavenger hunt in MK. You go to the little booth, you tap your band you get a map and you are off. If you are in MK do this at least once. The different interactive stations are really good and surprised us. It's so much more then a silly kiosk. We came across cannons that we set off, blow dart guns, explosions, again not cheap and not chessey.
As I said overall the MagicBand and FP+ were great. They worked really well without any major issues. Besides the occasional not reading, the only other issue is the turnstile layout. Having them front to back was a silly design. If someone with a wheelchair, scooter, stroller get's hung up on the front turnstile you kinda block the behind turnstile and it gets a bit messy. Also it's a bit weird security wise at times, as guards at the resort wouldn't even scan the band when entering and would just let you through.
Magicbands were super easy to set-up and worked with our APs. We also had people who had no tickets and a mix of old no expire tickets. Linking through the website or apps was nothing. Those who didn't have tickets were able to purchase at the resort and have the ticket put right on the band. One thing we were told if you have old no expire or multiple tickets for one person, on link one, then use the remaining time then link the other. Sometimes the system doesn't know which to take days off of.
THe Magicband work pretty flawlessly for the room, park and purchases. Though the system is a tad slow at times, you have to hold the band and wait for it to read. I use RFID cards for work to access doors and they work instantly. It's not he case with Disney. Also sometimes the room doors require a few times. From talking to CM friends this is due to issues with the door locks and not all locks have the same thickness of plastic which can have an impact on the RFID reader in the door.
Purchases were simple, tap the band enter the PIN and done. Only had one time the machine didn't work and we ended up getting our snacks for free, not a bad perk. If you are poolside or at a restaurant they have mobile scanners that work the same, tap the bad enter your pin and done.
Speaking of the pools, this is one of the best parts of the band. No longer do I need to worry about someone stealing my credit card, room key, ID when I'm in the pool. I got it all on my wrist. Same goes entering parks, no need to carry extra cards in my wallet.
FP+ is amazing. The best part is being able to plan our day before we leave. No longer do we need to run around the park to get a FP then do whatever to kill time. Now we know where and when we have to be at a ride before entering the park and can plan the day accordingly. The app worked very well and it scheduled FP+ times around any dinning reservations.
Other cool things are the new interactives that they are adding. Like the Pirates scavenger hunt in MK. You go to the little booth, you tap your band you get a map and you are off. If you are in MK do this at least once. The different interactive stations are really good and surprised us. It's so much more then a silly kiosk. We came across cannons that we set off, blow dart guns, explosions, again not cheap and not chessey.
As I said overall the MagicBand and FP+ were great. They worked really well without any major issues. Besides the occasional not reading, the only other issue is the turnstile layout. Having them front to back was a silly design. If someone with a wheelchair, scooter, stroller get's hung up on the front turnstile you kinda block the behind turnstile and it gets a bit messy. Also it's a bit weird security wise at times, as guards at the resort wouldn't even scan the band when entering and would just let you through.