MagicBands WILL become a thing...

[Buried20KLeague]

All these conveniences crack me up. As if reaching into our pockets has become a chore.

I would like this post 1000x if I were allowed.

 

[JenniferS]

All of the "inconveniences" you mention above are absolutely minimal and minor at BEST. Not having to collect everyone's tickets when you go through the turnstiles???? TOTALLY worth $1.5 billion.

I NEVER said it was worth $1.5 billion.
The reality, however, is that bands are coming.
And - given a choice between wearing the band, or continuing to use the RFID card - I will use the band.
FOR ME, the inconveniences of the cards outweigh the inconveniences of the bands. I don't sweat. I'm not concerned with a potential tan line. And I like pink.
Worth $1.5 billion? Probably not; but I will withhold final judgement until it is fully rolled out, fully implemented, and actually experienced by me and my family.

 

[G00fyDad]

Parents already load up like they are trekking across The Gobi Desert. It's as if they are afraid of dying of dehydration and starvation if they go more than 10 ft. without their own bottled water and apple slices. Some of the strollers got to weigh 200 lb. and the backpacks at least 70 lb.
I "carry" my wallet and the digital camera, the wife carries the cell phone. I'm at WDW not a backcountry camping trip.

What does that have to do with my comment? I was making a joke about the number of Jibbits on the child's bracelet.

 

[ToTBellHop]

I NEVER said it was worth $1.5 billion.
The reality, however, is that bands are coming.
And - given a choice between wearing the band, or continuing to use the RFID card - I will use the band.
FOR ME, the inconveniences of the cards outweigh the inconveniences of the bands. I don't sweat. I'm not concerned with a potential tan line. And I like pink.
Worth $1.5 billion? Probably not; but I will withhold final judgement until it is fully rolled out, fully implemented, and actually experienced by me and my family.

Agreed. I don't think this little band will cause anyone to have heat stroke who wouldn't have already. We all know you have to train for Disney in July/August as you would train for a marathon.

 

[G00fyDad]

Yes. What remains to be seen (or explained--though they may never explain it) is how many FPs will be left day-of for those opting out of MM+. One would assume that they would have enough FPs reserved for MM+ that guests booking resort stays will have lots of options for premium FPs (and not just FPs for Spaceship Earth or the Nemo pre-show ride). I'm sure at least part of the drive for nextgen is creating a perceived additional value to staying on property.

OMG. Let me see if I can say it plainer. The card or the band will not opt you in or out of MM+. You can still sit at your PC (Mac if you prefer ) and make your FP+'s months out. Regardless of card or bracelet. Just because you don't take a bracelet that does not mean you cannot use the MM+ options. It just means that nothing will be tailored to you on attractions and such since it will not have a battery powered active RFID transmitter to automatically active the personalized options on attractions the moment you enter the car. It will still have the Passive RFID that you can use with the MM+ options like FP+.

 

[disneyeater]

They won't. Disney would not have gone through the expense of the MagicBands and their functionality if you could just opt out and get the same benefits from a park ticket. There certainly will be added benefits of the MagicBand that a small number of people (almost all of whom are on this site and very vocal) will knowingly miss out on.

I feel like we are confusing concepts. Nothing I have seen implies that using a RFID card vs. wrist band constitutes "opting-out" of MM+. I think opting-out refers refusing to share your information, not the medium in which you share it.

 

[ToTBellHop]

OMG. Let me see if I can say it plainer. The card or the band will not opt you in or out of MM+. You can still sit at your PC (Mac if you prefer ) and make your FP+'s months out. Regardless of card or bracelet. Just because you don't take a bracelet that does not mean you cannot use the MM+ options. It just means that nothing will be tailored to you on attractions and such since it will not have a battery powered active RFID transmitter to automatically active the personalized options on attractions the moment you enter the car. It will still have the Passive RFID that you can use with the MM+ options like FP+.

Ah...consider me enlightened. But I still need the bracelet if I want the girl playing Pete in the MSEP to say "Happy birthday, Kyle!"

In my defense, this has been VERY poorly explained by Disney for something that will completely change how we visit the parks.

 

[disneyeater]

If the person finds keeping the card in the bag to be an inconvenience. It's not the introduction of the MagicBand that inherently solves this inconvenience.

Dude, what are you talking about? The magicband absolutely solves this inconvenience by allowing the person to keep their card on their wrist, so to speak.

Is it the only solution? No. Does it solve the problem in this case? Yes.

I don't understand why you keep arguing that this wristband will not help the person who doesn't want to dig through their purse.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

^^ No, you still have to stop, put your card on a Mickey circle thing and do a fingerprint. I think it's a smidge quicker, but won't make lines much shorter.

Actually, yes you do have to do the fingerprint thing, but not faster is simply not true at all. We exchanged our PAPs this past week for the new RFID cards (will be the same with the bands), and the CMs said tap the card, then immediately place your finger on the reader. Worked like a champ at all the parks, and was a LOT faster than the normal readers! The lines for the old readers were backed up with 50-60 people in each line, and the new readers had ZERO waiting every time we went there - even first thing in the morning. It really is that much faster in real use.

 

[G00fyDad]

Ah...consider me enlightened. But I still need the bracelet if I want the girl playing Pete in the MSEP to say "Happy birthday, Kyle!"

In my defense, this has been VERY poorly explained by Disney for something that will completely change how we visit the parks.

Exactly.

 

[ToTBellHop]

Dude, what are you talking about? The magicband absolutely solves this inconvenience by allowing the person to keep their card on their wrist, so to speak.

Is it the only solution? No. Does it solve the problem in this case? Yes.

I don't understand why you keep arguing that this wristband will not help the person who doesn't want to dig through their purse.

If only we could get a MagicBand on Kim Jong Un...

 

[lebeau]

I'm not imposing anything. I'm not suggesting a ban on purses. I'm pointing out that where cards or Bands are kept is a personal choice. If you're using a lanyard, then the RFID card offers much of the same conveniences as the Band, as you could tap the lanyard without removing the card. And you don't have to deal with the larger physical size if you are one who could become annoyed with wearing the Band.

How dare you, sir! How dare you.

 

[openendedsky]

Why wouldn't the card still be able to be used? You get your FP+'s then go to the attraction and scan your card. Simple.

ACK. That's not what I meant to say. My apologies. In my head, at least I was thinking that FP would work, but I wasn't sure about Meet and Greets.

 

[Buried20KLeague]

I NEVER said it was worth $1.5 billion.
The reality, however, is that bands are coming.
And - given a choice between wearing the band, or continuing to use the RFID card - I will use the band.
FOR ME, the inconveniences of the cards outweigh the inconveniences of the bands. I don't sweat. I'm not concerned with a potential tan line. And I like pink.
Worth $1.5 billion? Probably not; but I will withhold final judgement until it is fully rolled out, fully implemented, and actually experienced by me and my family.

I agree that the bands are coming... At literally any and all costs. They're too far in and it's too big to allow to fail.

But my point in my reply to your post is that nearly all of the "issues" that this NextGen "fixes" are hardly issues at all. Virtually any and all issues this "solves" could have been fixed with small tweaks and updates to the existing system.

Of course, that wouldn't have increased profits to the same degree.

NextGen is the equivalent of killing a fly with a sledgehammer.

 

[Todd L]

So when do you actually receive the band?? Do they come in the Mail before or is it something you pick up at the resort upon check in?? I understand peoples concerns but I think this is a pretty cool use of technology.

 

[openendedsky]

Actually, yes you do have to do the fingerprint thing, but not faster is simply not true at all. We exchanged our PAPs this past week for the new RFID cards (will be the same with the bands), and the CMs said tap the card, then immediately place your finger on the reader. Worked like a champ at all the parks, and was a LOT faster than the normal readers! The lines for the old readers were backed up with 50-60 people in each line, and the new readers had ZERO waiting every time we went there - even first thing in the morning. It really is that much faster in real use.

It really is nice to be able to bypass the regular paper ticket line.

 

[ParentsOf4]

No. The KttW card will function almost the same as the MB. FP's will still be able to be obtained/used with the card regardless of FP or FP+

It's already been rumored that some Meet & Greet experiences will be limited to MagicBands only. I believe more "MagicBand only" experiences will follow.

If the new RFID-enabled KTTW card had the exact same capability as a MagicBand, then there would be no need for separate technology. Currently it appears (I'm still trying to confirm this) the KTTW card contains a single High Frequency (HF) tag (maximum range typically about 3 feet) while a MagicBand additionally includes an Ultra High Frequency (UHF) RFID tag (ranges up to 100 feet are possible although I suspect Disney will use one with a shorter range, perhaps 30 feet or less) and a battery powered 2.4 GHz transmitter (range greater than 100 feet).

It seems logical to conclude Disney intends to use the UHF tag and transmitter for different applications than the HF tag, otherwise why include them. With the exception of the previously mentioned "MagicBand only" Meet & Greet, it's unknown what these additional applications might be.

Since the RFID-enabled KTTW card already is in use, it is known these could be used for very short-range transactions. For example:

• Entry into theme parks
• As room keys
• For touch-to-pay transactions
• MyPhoto+
• Redemption of FastPass+ selections (not confirmed)

I recently stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge with an RFID-enabled card and noticed resort automobile gates opening while I was 40-to-80 feet away. Normally I would have thought it was the guard opening the gate. It still might have been. However, it seemed to happen when I removed my resort parking sheet from my window and even when I used the "talk to the guard" lane (sorry I don't know the official name). In other words, I drove in using the lane closest to the guardhouse to speak with the guard and the automatic gate next to me opened even though no other car or bus was coming. It could have been a misunderstanding from the guard, him thinking I intended to use that lane but, as already noted, I had removed my car's parking pass from the windscreen. I still don't think the KTTW card contains a UHF tag but I need to confirm this.

What's obvious (to me at least ) is that MagicBands could be used to automatically raise gates at resorts for registered guests.

 

[G00fyDad]

So when do you actually receive the band?? Do they come in the Mail before or is it something you pick up at the resort upon check in?? I understand peoples concerns but I think this is a pretty cool use of technology.

This is exactly what I want to know.

 

[openendedsky]

If the person finds keeping the card in the bag to be an inconvenience. It's not the introduction of the MagicBand that inherently solves this inconvenience.

But it will save people time from having to look in their purse/bags/etc, and hold up the line. And please don't say "it's an inconvenience you inflict upon yourself". I get that you can have your ticket out early. I usually did as well, but it's the process. And a lot of times people can't just not bring their bags.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Dude, what are you talking about? The magicband absolutely solves this inconvenience by allowing the person to keep their card on their wrist, so to speak.

Is it the only solution? No. Does it solve the problem in this case? Yes.

I don't understand why you keep arguing that this wristband will not help the person who doesn't want to dig through their purse.

Why dont you read? I never denied the potential convenience of the MagicBand. I take issue with the assumption of a correlation. It's not a choice of keeping a card in a bag or the MagicBand.