MagicBands....Will you wear one?

Will you wear a MagicBand?

  • Yes

    Votes: 165 67.9%

  • No

    Votes: 78 32.1%
  • Total voters
    243
xdan0920

xdan0920

Think for yourselfer
Original Poster
About 2/3 of people voting to wear a "Magic Band".

I have to admit I am a little surprised at how many people want to wear that ugly rubber bracelet around. But it still leaves a third of the guests opting out of TDO's bracelets. Which is good I think. Maybe it will cause a rethink of the design of this thing, at the very least.
 
ElusiveWookiee

ElusiveWookiee

Member
I'm still confused (though will pass no judgement) on why people are so concerned with Disney tracking them on Disney property. If somebody comes into my house, I like to know where they are. I fully support Disney "tracking" me, if that promotes better traffic flow, guest management, and somehow gets offers sent to me to save me money in park stores that I frequent most often. Not digging my card out when I want a bottle of water, cut down on stuff I have to dig through my pockets to find....it all sounds great to me. Even better at the water parks. I wonder if they can program your locker key into it some day?

With the logical half of my post out of the way, here comes my personality quirk:

Do we know, for certain, whether the Magic Bands use a passive or active RF transmitter? The inclusion of the battery has me concerned, but I haven't been able to get a clear reading on whether that battery is powering a radio, or just protecting the data in volatile memory. I'm familiar with RFID chips that are actually powered by the reader, requiring close proximity for the chip to become "active." I don't carry a cell phone on my body. I don't have WiFi in my house. I try to avoid the bath of RF radiation in our society as much as possible. Readers posted around the park are one thing, since the power of radio frequencies degrades exponentially with distance; I don't think I want a 2.4gHz radio strapped to my body for a week-long stay, if it is transmitting under its own power.
 
danlb_2000

danlb_2000

Premium Member
ElusiveWookiee said:
I'm still confused (though will pass no judgement) on why people are so concerned with Disney tracking them on Disney property. If somebody comes into my house, I like to know where they are. I fully support Disney "tracking" me, if that promotes better traffic flow, guest management, and somehow gets offers sent to me to save me money in park stores that I frequent most often. Not digging my card out when I want a bottle of water, cut down on stuff I have to dig through my pockets to find....it all sounds great to me. Even better at the water parks. I wonder if they can program your locker key into it some day?

With the logical half of my post out of the way, here comes my personality quirk:

Do we know, for certain, whether the Magic Bands use a passive or active RF transmitter? The inclusion of the battery has me concerned, but I haven't been able to get a clear reading on whether that battery is powering a radio, or just protecting the data in volatile memory. I'm familiar with RFID chips that are actually powered by the reader, requiring close proximity for the chip to become "active." I don't carry a cell phone on my body. I don't have WiFi in my house. I try to avoid the bath of RF radiation in our society as much as possible. Readers posted around the park are one thing, since the power of radio frequencies degrades exponentially with distance; I don't think I want a 2.4gHz radio strapped to my body for a week-long stay, if it is transmitting under its own power.
Click to expand...

Here is what the FCC application says:

"The radio of the device, Model MB-R1G1, is a wrist worn arm band that transmits a 2.4 GHz signal to an indoor wireless infrastructure. The PCB assembly is potted in plastic and completely overmolded with thermal plastic polyurethane. The band has no on off switch and is powered with a non-replaceable coin cell. The PCB assembly also includes a passive UHF RFID tag radio and a passive HF RFID tag radio."

So it sounds like it does have an active RFID chip in it along with the passive.
 
ElusiveWookiee

ElusiveWookiee

Member
Setting my own irrational fear of radiation aside, the active radio brings up another question. If the button-cell is responsible for constant pulses from a 2.4gHz transmitter, which does not have an on/off switch, and the battery is nonreplaceable, then I wonder exactly how many times these CAN even be reused. If I vacation in June, bring the band home, and it sits in a suitcase sending a beacon for the next 12 months, will the button cell even still be alive for my next summer vacation?

I really don't like the active radio. Since I can take it off each night, am I willing to wear it for a couple of 12 hour days, once a year? I'm not sure yet. I don't like the fact that Disney is making me consider health impacts (real or imagined) just by buying my ticket, though.
 
RandomPrincess

RandomPrincess

Keep Moving Forward
I would think it they have to last at least a year if they are going to use them for AP Holders too.

ElusiveWookiee said:
Setting my own irrational fear of radiation aside, the active radio brings up another question. If the button-cell is responsible for constant pulses from a 2.4gHz transmitter, which does not have an on/off switch, and the battery is nonreplaceable, then I wonder exactly how many times these CAN even be reused. If I vacation in June, bring the band home, and it sits in a suitcase sending a beacon for the next 12 months, will the button cell even still be alive for my next summer vacation?

I really don't like the active radio. Since I can take it off each night, am I willing to wear it for a couple of 12 hour days, once a year? I'm not sure yet. I don't like the fact that Disney is making me consider health impacts (real or imagined) just by buying my ticket, though.
Click to expand...
 
copcarguyp71

copcarguyp71

Well-Known Member
Monty said:
I wonder if it can be transported in aircraft if it transmits?
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33919423.jpg
 
TinkerBelle8878

TinkerBelle8878

Well-Known Member
Based on another thread, I think the one about Congress investigating it and one post has a picture of a red band, the bands are really hideous. That being said, all the add ons Disney is planning on selling won't change the thickness and bulkiness of how it looks. Or the really bad tan lines it will leave.

Then again with everything being what it is, hopefully by the time I plan to go back to WDW, these bracelets will be a thing of the past. (I don't have plans to go anytime in the near future until they justify their prices with better and better maintained attractions) At the very least maybe by then they'll be streamlined into something much thinner.
 
awoogala

awoogala

Well-Known Member
I'll happily take the card. No way i want to wear that thing. if I have to use it, it will go in a rfid blocking bag, until I have to pull it out. Which kind of makes it more of a hassle than the card.
 
awoogala

awoogala

Well-Known Member
flynnibus said:
What I find funny is people are opposed to bracelets.. but wear those stupid laynards in droves...

go figure.
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I don't like lanyards, but they don't set off my sensory issues as much, as long as they are long. the wrist thing- makes me want to scream. unless it is majorly loose, I will not be able to keep it on.
 
awoogala

awoogala

Well-Known Member
NormC said:
Good Lord! Paranoia the destroyer. If you cannot see the difference between tracking you on Disney's private property versus public non-Disney property your credibility is suspect. Tell me how they are going to track you off property? I suppose they could pay Universal and Seaworld to put a couple of readers at their gates.
Click to expand...
http://www.boston.com/business/tech...n-shut-down/IH5UM0d4FYU5Gf5GlFjWcL/story.html
One of the big pushes with nextgen is the "mydisney experience" app. The bracelet, the app, and the website work together. Want to change a fp after you have booked it? you'll need the app (or a computer, or possibly a kiosk/cm with an ipad) Most people will probably opt for the convenience of smartphone app.
once you are in the smart phone app, they could track you through that. There are plenty of smartphone tracking apps. (another reason i don't have one!)
It's not just the worry they will track you out of the park, more that they will track your phone, activity, etc.
 
lbrad

lbrad

Well-Known Member
docdebbi said:
i have no problem wearing it, i actually think it sounds convenient. my issue is getting fastpasses. assuming old fashion fastpasses - not just fastpass plus where you book ahead- are still available, we send one runner with all of our cards to get fastpasses for the group while the old folks (my parents are 82) and the ones with babies in strollers, slowly make their way somewhere else and the runner meets us there. would hate to lose this ability. i know we're not the only ones who use runners for this, i see it all the time
Click to expand...
My DH is our runner!!! He can't do the rides ... he loves getting our fastpasses, it gives him something to do
 

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