Using Magic Bands and FastPass+ for a Split Stay (Offsite then Onsite)

[dploew]

My wife, 2.5 year old son, and his babysitter will be heading down in January. We are first staying off-property for 5 nights and then spending our last 2 nights on-property. Our Magic Bands should be arriving soon and I've already linked our tickets. I'm looking for advice on a few fronts.

1) Will our Magic Bands work when we visit the parks BEFORE the on-site part of our trip begins? When I have called, I received 2 different answers. I know that we cannot book FastPass+ ahead of time until my on-site arrival date.
2) If so, does it matter if we do or do not? For example, if I go to the Magic Kingdom and then Epcot in one day, I assume I will use the OLD FastPass system, but would using a Magic Band put me in FastPass+ land where I cannot get a FastPass at multiple parks?
3) As I'm sure many of you know, planning with a 2.5 year old in tow is not always the easiest thing. Since our reservation is room-only, would it make sense to NOT link the tickets? Although we'd lose the ability to book ahead, we'd probably get more bang for our buck...especially considering the crowds should be light once the on-site portion of the trip begins (Wednesday after MLK day). We each (my wife and I) have 2 non-expiring hoppers (7 days remaining on a 10 day and an unused 10 day) and maybe it makes sense to link one (and maybe reserve ahead one day), but use the other (old FastPass system) for the second day.

Any thoughts from folks who have mastered FastPass+?

 

[dreamfinder]

1) No idea
2) It's not so much the MB that puts you in limbo. That just points back to your account. If you have RFID enabled ticket media with magnetic stripes, then you can use those pretty much interchangeably with the MBs. However, unless your existing tickets have the NextGen logo on them (Little circle w/Mickey head in it) indicating RFID tickets I don't believe you will even be able to link the tickets until you stop at guest services and have them converted to RFID media.
3) No real reason not to link them. Linking the tickets just says that dploew has this MB, and owns this ticket. If the turnstiles see either that MB or that ticket, it deducts a day from your remaining total. So if you are unable to use the MBs prior to your reservation, you can still use the tickets to get into the park.

 

[JohnD]

1) Regarding booking FP+ ahead of time, that's not true. You already indicated that you're staying at a WDW resort in the 2nd half of your trip and I assume that ADR is already linked to your account. As long as you have tickets linked also, you have a 60 day window from today to book FP+. The tickets don't have specific beginning and end dates. If you're going in January, you're already within the 60 day window, so you should be able to book FP+ BEFORE your actual stay at the WDW resort. (My family and I are going in April. We can book FP+ anytime within a 60 day window from today. Not that would do us any good. We won't be there yet. But our 60 day window to also include our stay in April begins in early February).
2) As long as legacy FP is available in a park, you can use it at any time, within the constraints set up (i.e. you can't have more than one legacy FP in the same hour, etc.). You're not cut out because you have FP+. You already know that you can only use FP+ in only one park on one day.
3) I see no reason not to link them.

 

[dploew]

1) Regarding booking FP+ ahead of time, that's not true. You already indicated that you're staying at a WDW resort in the 2nd half of your trip and I assume that ADR is already linked to your account. As long as you have tickets linked also, you have a 60 day window from today to book FP+. The tickets don't have specific beginning and end dates. If you're going in January, you're already within the 60 day window, so you should be able to book FP+ BEFORE your actual stay at the WDW resort. (My family and I are going in April. We can book FP+ anytime within a 60 day window from today. Not that would do us any good. We won't be there yet. But our 60 day window to also include our stay in April begins in early February).
2) As long as legacy FP is available in a park, you can use it at any time, within the constraints set up (i.e. you can't have more than one legacy FP in the same hour, etc.). You're not cut out because you have FP+. You already know that you can only use FP+ in only one park on one day.
3) I see no reason not to link them.

It's definitely not letting me book FP+ before the resort reservation begins. I called and tried to adjust that, but was told since FP+ is for resort guests only, I had to wait. I have a dining reservation for 2 days before the resort stay begins, but even then, no FP+. I can make them for weeks after our trip is over, but not before the resort stay begins.

I really appreciate the response because the part I didn't realize was that you can use BOTH legacy FP and FP+ at the same time. I thought once you were on FP+, legacy FP went away for you, even if it was still available for off-site guests.

 

[JohnD]

I stand corrected. You're right about #1. I logged in as my Dad (I created his account) and, sure enough, he's "not eligible for MyMagic+". Both he and my Mom have 3-day FR non-park hopper tix. It appears they won't be eligible until 60 days from check-in with only being able to make FP+ choices from check-in forward. I'm an AP holder, so am eligible immediately. Apologies for the inaccurate information.

 

[Rob562]

A few things to clear up.

-Even if the tickets are pre-RFID, they should still be able to be linked both via the app and the website. Just look for options that are for "additional ticket types" or "for ticket purchased before October 2011".

-Since you'll have them in-hand, the Bands *should* work for your park entry before your Disney resort checkin date. But they won't work for FP+, unless you're going to AK and make in-park same-day FP+ reservations, or if they roll out FP+ to more guests or at more parks before the time of your trip. But if you want to "double-dip" and get paper FP at the parks that still have them, you'll need to have your paper/plastic park ticket with you to use in the machine.


-Rob

 

[dploew]

Thanks. I have linked the tickets and it is so much better to actually be able to see how much time is left on non-expiring tickets.