1. I think the Magic Bands are here to stay, and I am a fan of the concept. It was ultra-convenient to be able to have my room key, my charge card, my park passes, my meal plan/snack credits and my FastPasses all in one place. Everyone in our group unanimously agreed that this took a huge weight off of the constant pocket/purse searching that we usually do on our trips for all of the media that we have to keep track of. It was, on a small scale, one of those inventions where you don’t know how you survived before it came along, like a microwave oven, or a smartphone. If they add the photopass to the bands, then life will be pretty slick on a WDW vacation.
The official company word on who will receive the bands 'for free' is annual passholders, resort guests, and photo package purchasers. Therefore, I believe that is pretty much a certainty that the bands/RFID cards will assume the photopass cards purpose.
5. Other thoughts: This is certainly a way of making FastPasses available first to those who are staying on Disney Property for their Vacation.
Sure, they could skew the FP pool in any way that they desired to give priority to any group of guests (ie AP holders, resort guests, spendy resort guests, concierge guests, et al). That being said, they don't seem to be giving resort guests any priority in prebooking FPs over off-site guests. Off-site guests will still be able to prebook FPs 60 days out and access the FP return lines with their RFID-enabled tickets (or MagicBands, if they chose to upgrade to them).
I have also noticed, that as an Annual Passholder, I am able to STILL assign myself FastPasses for any day in the near future, and that some experiences have been added to the list of choices that were not included during our stay. Assuming this is not just a glitch in the system, this should calm the minds of those who have purchased an AP or who might be considering not purchasing one because of this. As long as you link your AP to the MyMagic+ system, you should be able to take advantage of the FastPass+ too.
There has been some talk that AP holders would be limited to prebooking FPs to something like twenty days at a time. As far as a I know, the company hasn't given guidance as to whether this restriction is true.
6. Other thoughts 2: We were told that there are no plans on phasing out the regular FastPasses in the foreseeable future. This is good for those who wish to race to the rides the old-fashioned way. The MagicBands are currently an “opt-in” option.
I'm thinking that it really depends on how you define 'foreseeable future'. My money is that once FP+ is up and running, the old paper FP kiosks will be shut down. There is simply no good reason to have both systems up and running at the same time. It would merely cause confusion and angst.
However, the FastPass+ system will definitely put a damper on the number of regular fastpasses available to the general public (look for Soarin’ to fill up by 11am). It’s Disney’s own special way of sticking it to the one or two day park guest for sure.
I think that it would certainly be a carrot to help people choose FP+, but I don't see it as a move against those who just visit the parks for a few days, since they could simply opt in to FP+.
7. Other thoughts 3: The one thing I see as being an obstacle to the “all bands, no cards” goal is at the security gates of the resorts. To deter the MK parking issue at the contemporary, the guards were asking for room keys at the gate of the resort even though we had bands. This is understandable, but it was a problem for us because we got in the habit of not having a room key readily available. It wasn’t a big deal because we knew (and were told) we might need them for back-up, but when things get up and running, it might be an issue with guests who begin to feel that they don’t need a printed card and don’t have them on them. My guess is that the guards will be asking for a driver’s license and have some sort of device for scanning bands to verify name and the resort check-in status of the guest(s).
Doesn't the Contemporary have two gates; one that is manned by security and one that simply raises when you swipe your card? It seems that they would simply put an RFID reader at the swipe gate. If you are staying at the Contemporary, the gate opens. If not, then you would have to talk to the security guard for access.
8. Other thoughts 4: This new system will let Disney know who shows up for their FP’s and who does not. I could envision Disney giving those who actually show up for their experiences a reward (like an extra fastpass or two) and (maybe) “scolding” those who do not. No more “let’s get a Fastpass just in case. . ."
According to the T&C, there are three limits regarding FPs. There is a limit that can be preselected, a limit to the number that can be held at a time, and a daily limit. Per the T&C, if you no-show a FP window, that FP would still count toward your daily limit.
?