Can someone please explain the new wristbands?

[Wizzard419]

It is a funny system since it really cements the aspect of tourists being cattle, they are tagged and trained to associate a shape/symbol with a behavior through a reward system.

[Cardinals314]

I wouldn't be surprised if eventually you can schedule out your entire vacation at Disney. It seems like a good majority of your trip is scheduled out already. Disney can just take an extra step and make more than 3 selections for fastpass+. Thankfully that isn't happening (for now)

[Wizzard419]

They would love that since they could more precisely schedule resources so that they don't end up paying for extra workers when they could have handled the same amount of people with less.

[Chernabog]

The technology is neat, I guess. It has obvious advantages but scheduling more then what park you will be at at where you will eat in advance is rough! Scheduling FP times two months out?? I like to have a plan for each day but there should be some ability to mix it up or go with the flow while you are there. It is still a vacation, not a business conference with a strict agenda.

[rusafee1183]

I guess I will just have to keep reading the boards until they work out all the kinks! I hope that they keep the old FP to an extent, because if you don't plan at home and want to grab a FP in the park and can't that would be really disappointing.

From what I was hearing, they expect to eventually phase them out - but I guess only time will tell.

[BuzzyFan]

At TED they were talking about a future feature of characters in rides/at meet and greets being able to address you by name. They might not be able to do it because the system uses a web-app and it strays dangerously close to the rules against identifying persons under 14 online. They might be able to get past it, depending on how the system handles child tickets.

Mind you, ET over at Universal has been doing this since that attraction opened. You're asked your name before you board, you're given a card, and you scan the card when you get on your bicycle (IIRC). ET addresses you by name at the end of the ride.

Edited to add (without posting a bunch of replies and spamming the thread):

There are claims right now that the paper fastpasses will be phased out once FP+ gets its footing.

To be clear, someone purchasing an annual pass now will be issued a wristband, and will not be issued a card? Do I understand that correctly?

[Wizzard419]

Yeah, and with the glory of the tech at the time the US version did not work very well, though the Japanese one supposedly did a fair job.

Paper passes can go, but the system can still work since the normal passes would be tied to the band and app, negating the need for printed media.

People who have APs already are getting their cards changed to bands apparently, so yes.

Not sure how they are going to handle the single day/non-resort guests though. It seems costly (even though the bands are relatively inexpensive) to give them out for anything outside of resort guests. Even using them on AP holders seems like a waste since a huge chunk of the functionality won't be used.

[BuzzyFan]

Even using them on AP holders seems like a waste since a huge chunk of the functionality won't be used.

I think the functionality might be used heavily by some AP holders, especially if they're really frequent visitors who might find it advantageous to pick their rides/attractions/whatever in advance before they make a brief visit. Certainly it might reassure them (?) that they're not making a wasted trip if they want to see something in particular. Usage probably also depends heavily on the individual user's crowd tolerance. (Not that I have any data regarding AP holder behavior; that said, I wouldn't mind a look-see at just how Disney's been crunching numbers on this.)

[Wizzard419]

What I was talking about was room keys, linked credit cards, etc. not just the admission.

[BuzzyFan]

What I was talking about was room keys, linked credit cards, etc. not just the admission.

AP holders could still do linked credit cards, couldn't they? If it's easier than pulling out their wallets and getting out their cards, then why not? I could even see crediting gift card balances to the band. Not so sure the expediency would be limited to people staying on-site, TBH. It might not be the wisest thing for them to do, but you could argue that someone staying on property wouldn't be wise to do the same thing, either. (Still pleasantly surprised no one's raised the Adam Savage/Tory Belleci RF testing story yet, by the way.)

Room keys are an interesting question. If someone with an AP band vacations on property, are they issued a new band, or do they use theirs? If everything stays on that single band, they could generate some very interesting aggregate datasets on AP holder behavior that might not be as reliable if they used a "new" record for each visit -- with no (or very few) misspellings/alternate addresses/alternate identifiers of any kind coming up as false other users, they'd have links to park visitation times and fastpass+, restaurant, hotel, and merchandising preferences. All kinds of things could stay on file on running records that would keep building so long as the user kept renewing the pass. I mean, there are datasets, and then there's the longitudinal stuff they could do painfully easily with AP holders' accounts (if they really wanted to).

[Wizzard419]

Probably the same reason that AP holders at DLR can't. The purpose of linking a card to your key isn't so much for your benefit but rather for Disney's because then they most likely will only end up paying a single swipe fee for everything since they can bill it as a lump sum as opposed to individual charges. With the individual it isn't that much, but when you spread it across millions of people each year, it does add up. It is also why some people always charge their purchases, regardless of total price, because stores can mark up prices to cover the cost of the swipe in the first place.

Odds are they would be issued new bands automatically, since it would be more work to have to transfer credentials to an existing band vs just giving them a new one. What they would do about having to carry 2 bands on their person is a different question. But at the same time, the issue may not be that great.

[Sharonofwindham]

Please, could you spell things out just once. All these letter groupings...I have no idea what this thing is replacing except for the park pass. Is it replacing the room key
I can understand getting rid of paper fastpass, but this thing seems too complicated, too high tech, and I don't want to have to be a tech geek just to go on a Disney vacation . I just want a VACATION
And can you imagine the stress on parents . "Here you go Sam, Sally & Sue, these are your magical wristbands...DON'T LOOSE THEM, or we will have to take out another mortgage just to finish our magical vacation.

[Cardinals314]

Please, could you spell things out just once. All these letter groupings...I have no idea what this thing is replacing except for the park pass. Is it replacing the room key
I can understand getting rid of paper fastpass, but this thing seems too complicated, too high tech, and I don't want to have to be a tech geek just to go on a Disney vacation . I just want a VACATION
And can you imagine the stress on parents . "Here you go Sam, Sally & Sue, these are your magical wristbands...DON'T LOOSE THEM, or we will have to take out another mortgage just to finish our magical vacation.

The MyMagic Bands will replace your park ticket, your room key, your fast pass, your meal plan ticket, your credit card, and your photo pass. Also, there is a new feature called Fastpass+. FASTPASS+ will, to some degree, replace or supplement paper FASTPASS tickets. FASTPASS+ will be obtained via the My Disney Experience app and will be stored on the MagicBand. Guests will be able to “redeem” their FASTPASS+ by swiping it against an RFID reader outside applicable attractions. When MyMagic+ launches to the general public, guests will be able to book 3 FASTPASS+ tickets in advance of their vacation (so, from home) at scheduled times.

[Wizzard419]

As there will be no physical fastpasses (and whatnot) issued, all information will be stored in an app that you can use your smartphone (Google Play or the Appstore) to be alerted of when passes are ready to use and other information. If you do not have a smartphone but do have a tablet or iPod touch you can use the in-park wifi (which will obviously work with your phones as well) for free, and if you have none of those there is a kiosk in the parks to give you information.

[Cardinals314]

I have a question now. I just read that guests utilizing FASTPASS+ will not be eligible for paper FASTPASSes. When the paper Fastpasses phase out, does that mean that we will only be limited to three fastpasses for the entire day? In my trip in March, I easily used more than three fastpasses per day.