Magic Bands (MagicBands) have been a hot topic ever since they debuted, but many Disney newbies are left wondering how does the Disney Magic Band work? And do I need one? We are here to cut through the confusion and help you decide if a magic band is right for your Disney trip.
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What Is a Disney Magic Band and Why Do I Want One?
To put it simply, a Disney Magic Band (MagicBand) is your key to the kingdom. To answer the questions, “how does the Disney Magic Band work?” we’ll need to explain a few things about different park and restaurant systems.
To gain access into any Disney park, you will need theme park tickets. These tickets come in a variety of formats, including plastic cards. However, the most popular format is digital.
A digital ticket can be linked to your My Disney Experience account, and this is where the Magic Band comes in. Once the ticket is linked to My Disney Experience, it becomes active on any Magic Band you have purchased and linked to your acount.
If you have a magic band loaded with your park passes, all you need to do is tap your magic band to be admitted into the park. This system is much easier than digging through your bag for a plastic ticket or to find your phone to access your tickets. Instead, simply scan and go.
Magic Bands also make entering the parks with a large group much easier, especially for children. Each child is able to scan their own band, rather than waiting for mom or dad to hand them a ticket or find it on their phone for each child.
However, Disney Magic Bands hold much more information than just park tickets. Magic Bands are linked to everything you need to visit Disney World. This includes resort room reservations, dining reservations, Disney lightning lane passes, and even your credit card information for easier purchasing power.
Using a Disney Magic Band at Your Hotel, Restaurants and Around the Parks
One of the biggest convenience perks of the Magic Band (MagicBand) is how easy it becomes to access your hotel room. With a Disney Magic Band, simply tap it on the receiver on your room door to be granted quick access.
Disney Magic Bands also make it easier to take advantage of advanced dining reservations. All you have to do is have a cast member scan your Magic Band at dining establishments to check you in. You can even use your Magic Band to pay for your meal, as long as you have a credit card set up with your Disney World Resort for charging privileges.
If you are a Disney souvenir fanatic, your credit card can also be linked directly to your Magic band for quick and easy purchasing inside Disney stores. This system does require you to enter a pin to ensure you are the owner of that Magic Band.
Lastly, your Disney Magic Band can hold all of your Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Single Pass reservations. When you get to a ride, tap your band, and be granted access if it is in your return window.
How to Get a Disney Magic Band
Now that we have gone over how does the Disney Magic Band (MagicBand) work, lets discuss how to get one. Prior to 2021, Magic Bands were included with every Disney World vacation package or room reservation, for free, in a basic array of colors. You could also purchase additional limited edition Magic Bands inside various locations in the park, or buy charms to decorate yours.
In January 2021, Disney announced that Magic Bands were no longer offered with your resort stay, but would remain available for purchase. One of the most popular places to purchase MagicBands is inside certain stores scattered across the parks or at Disney Springs. However, you’ll save yourself some money if you order one ahead.
If you have a Disney World resort reservation, this is easy to do. Once you book your resort stay, simply purchase Magic Bands through My Disney Experience on the web. You’ll be offered the chance to pre-order upcoming designs, usually at a lower cost than you will find them inside the parks. MagicBands will be shipped to your home address about a month before your departure date.
If you don’t like anything from the selection provided, you can wait to place your order. The site is frequently updated with new designs. Just be sure to note the last day to order. After this date, your pre-order time period will come to an end, and you will have to wait until you arrive to purchase your bands.
Magic Bands can also be purchased online before your stay at Shop Disney.
Can I Use My Magic Bands from Previous Trips? How to Link or Activate a Magic Band
Any Magic Bands (MagicBands) you have used in the past can still be used for future visits. To use an old or even a newly purchased Magic Band, you will need to activate it. To activate your magic Bands, first, open up the My Disney Experience App or access it from the Disney World website. You will follow these same steps to link a new Magic Band to hotel reservations or theme park tickets.
Note: Be sure your tickets, and resort are already linked to your My Disney Experience Account. To learn more about this, click here.
In the app, click the three lines in the bottom right hand corner. Then scroll down, and click “My Profile,” and then click “Magic Bands and Cards.” Next, click “Link a Magic Band or card.” And then type in the ID number of the Magic Band. This number can be found on the back of the Magic Band, where your name is written.
If you forget this step, or have trouble with it, be sure to bring your Magic Band on your trip anyway. Cast Members at the front desk of your resort will be able to help you add your Magic Band to your account and link it to your room as well.
If you are looking to activate a Magic Band from a previous trip, simply open the Disney World website, hover over My Disney Experience, and select “My Magic Bands and Cards.” You will then be shown a list of all Magic bands ever issued to you and members of your party that were linked to your existing My Disney Experience account. You can choose to leave them activated, deactivate them or reactivate them according to your choice.
What Is MagicBand+?
MagicBand+ is a whole new iteration of MagicBand offering interactive functionality. These all new Magic Bands will do all of the things the current Magic Bands do, plus much more.
The biggest benefit of the new Magic Bands is the interactivity. The new bands will vibrate, flash, light up, change colors, and be able to recognize gestures. These features are activated by proximity to certain features in the parks, such as the Fab 50 Character Collection and the nighttime spectaculars in Magic Kingdom and EPCOT.
They can also be used to play as a virtual bounty hunter in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. More functions could be added in the future. If you want to be kept in the loop, you can always visit the MagicBand+ page of Disney’s website.
What is the Cost of a Magic Band?
What does a Disney World Magic Band’s cost? The answer to that is not simple. Magic Bands vary greatly in price based on the one you choose. Magic bands come in simple plain colors at the lowest end of the price point, to special options that come with the designer price point.
The solid colored MagicBand+ now costs around $25 preordered. MagicBand+ in other designs start at $35 preorder. When purchasing in the parks or at Disney Springs, expect to see a wide range of prices.
Additionally, there are designer Magic Bands from Dooney and Bourke. These MagicBands can run as high as $200. Before digging that deep into your wallet, you might want to know something about MagicBands. They can be harder to fit on smaller adult wrists.
While MagicBands can be customized to a child’s wrist, this is often too small for some adults, while the adult size is too big. I have had the MagicBand fasteners come loose before. While I was never able to recover the band, guest services was able to deactivate it for me so no one else could use it. I would have definitely felt the loss more keenly had I spent the money on a designer band.
If you’re looking to save money, you may even come across a regular MagicBand (not MagicBand+) from time to time. When you can preorder these, you may be able to pick up a band for less than $20.
The best advice we can give for finding deals on MagicBands is to keep watching the My Disney Experience website, if you are a Disney resort guest. If you’re staying offsite, keep checking Shop Disney online for discounted bands. We have also seen MagicBands listed on sites like Ebay, Walmart and Poshmark. While you can certainly purchase bands here, you may find it harder to get support from Disney guest services if the band turns out to be fraudulent.
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Now that Disney Magic Mobile Is Here, Are Magic Bands Obsolete?
How does the Disney Magic Band work compared to Magic Mobile (MagicMobile)? Disney describes their Magic Mobile as “a convenient and another contactless way to access MagicBand features, like theme park entry, through the power of eligible iPhones, Apple Watch or Google Pay enabled Android phones. Guests will be able to create a Disney MagicMobile pass through the My Disney Experience app and add it to their smart device’s digital wallet.”
Essentially, Disney Magic Mobile turns your phone into your Magic Band. To use this service, you will have to set it up in the My Disney Experience App. Once it is activated, you will simply hold your phone up to any location where a Magic Band is used.
This system does have its downsides. The Magic Bands reportedly scan faster and work more often on the first scan.
The benefits of Magic Bands do outweigh the cost. First off, Magic Bands allow you to display your Disney fashion sense with an array of fun and exclusive designs.
Magic Bands are also the choice of families, as many younger members of a family do not have smartphones. Magic Bands do not require you to dig through your bag to find your phone, and scan faster than the Magic Mobile system.
It is worth noting that those with an apple watch can utilize the Magic Mobile service on their watch, which combines the benefits of Magic Mobile and the Magic Band system.
Now that MagicBand+ and MagicMobile Are Here, Can I Still Use a Regular Magic Band at Disney Parks?
Yes! Regular Magic Bands can still be used for all of their intended purposes inside the Disney World parks, resorts, and restaurants. We recently took a trip to the house of mouse, and while the Magic Bands were no longer included in the cost of our resort stay, we were able to utilize older Magic Bands from previous trips.
We find that all MagicBands provide a much easier solution than tapping a card or using MagicMobile. It may not seem to be a hassle to pull out your phone and access an app, or find your pass card, but during peak and rushed times, the Magic Bands are much more efficient.
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