Another MagicBand question

[BenB]

So we're heading down there in June, not staying on property so we got regular card tickets. Does anyone know if those can be traded in for the MagicBands if we want to, once we arrive?

Mine is an Annual Pass redemption. Are those on MagicBands or still cards? (My concern is if I get a band, my 4 and 2 year old will want one too.)

[Amy]

I know they have started sending out AP holders their magic bands. Not sure about what happens if you have a AP redemption. It might be worth calling them so you know for sure.

[DisneyYorkie]

My understanding from the emails I've been receiving (I'm an AP holder) is that they are for AP holders only. BenB, I don't know if your kids are boys or girls; girls might want their own (I love accessorizing mine LOL), boys probably couldn't care less!

[theBIGyowski]

I'd give Disney a call just so they can give you a clear answer. I would assume they would give you a MB for your AP once you get on property to activate it. I am assuming that you would be able to use My Disney Experience to link your park ticket cards to your profile there...and perhaps get MBs for everyone, but I am not sure. I know at some point Disney plans on having everyone wear a MB that wants one...because if nothing else it opens up more retail opportunities for them via the accessories. I'd call to make sure though.

[MmeLeota]

I can't fully answer your question, however I can lend you this information:
When we upgraded our 4-day park hopper passes to APs a few weeks ago, they loaded them directly on to our current magic bands. (I believe this was before they started sending out the bands to AP holders.) I would imagine that you would receive a MB when you activate your AP.
As far as the kids go, does your 4 year old have an AP as well? If so, he/she would likely have a band as well...they do adjust for smaller wrists. As far as the 2 year old, probably not.

Like mentioned above, it's probably best to call Disney directly to find out.

If you can link your tickets to the My Experience account beforehand that will be very beneficial to you too. If possible, try to book/change all of your FPs through the app rather than at the kiosks. Even if you have to wait until the passes are activated, the app worked so much better than having to wait in horrendous lines at the kiosks...albeit the app ran a little slow on my phone.

[DisneyYorkie]

I second MmeLeota....you want to make sure you have the My Disney Experience app and that you link your tickets/MB to your account. The MDE app is awesome for making your FP selections (although my understanding is that you can't use FP+ through the app unless you are an AP holder or are staying on Disney property). We have been using FP+ for several weeks now....works like a charm!

[theBIGyowski]

So I just saw this pop up on my FB news feed:

http://www.chipandco.com/big-mymagic-ne ... ts-188233/

Basically...Disney is going to start offering MBs to offsite guests...but will charge them for it. That makes sense as they don't mind giving it to you for free if you are paying to stay onsite. The article doesn't say what the cost will be...but I wonder how many guests will be willing to pay for the MBs. I assume those that want to have FP+ 30 days ahead of time will.

[Wizzard419]

It looks like the difference between the media they would normally be issued and the bands is just the physical shape since both are still RF cards.

[Amy]

So I just saw this pop up on my FB news feed:

http://www.chipandco.com/big-mymagic-ne ... ts-188233/

Basically...Disney is going to start offering MBs to offsite guests...but will charge them for it. That makes sense as they don't mind giving it to you for free if you are paying to stay onsite. The article doesn't say what the cost will be...but I wonder how many guests will be willing to pay for the MBs. I assume those that want to have FP+ 30 days ahead of time will.

I wonder how much the MBs will cost too. If it is the same as having the ticket with the RFID, I wouldn't pay extra myself...but then I also probably wouldn't stay off property any time soon either. So many advantages to staying on property

[Wizzard419]

Considering the bands have an entire market of merch tied to them, they probably will keep the purchase price low just for the possibility of selling more things. The only thing I would even consider paying extra for would be the option of binding the privs to whatever RFID enabled item I wanted so that I could just tie it to my car's key (or similar item) and not have to carry more things.

[BenB]

Thanks for all the good answers. I don't care enough to call about it; I was just curious and we'll find out when we get there. If they're passing them out for APs now, I'll probably get one when I activate mine. The rest of my family just gets tickets (we get one AP for parking and discounts... plus sometimes I like to sneak back there again if I can!). DisneyYorkie, the kids are both boys and are actually 4 & 3 (my typo). They'll be OK but they like to imitate me... and they might be disappointed if they don't get a band like Daddy. Who knows, that might be enough to work some Disney magic from the customer service cast. Or, I wonder how much they'll cost to buy. We already got our tickets in the mail so that might not be an option.

There have been so many changes in the last two years that I feel like a novice again.

[Wizzard419]

It is sort of hard to tell actually, while the bands are out of wider beta, they are not fully rolled out yet. I would guess that by summer they would be fully live, but if you called Disney about it they would not be able to give a solid answer because those workers are simply not told.

[theBIGyowski]

It is sort of hard to tell actually, while the bands are out of wider beta, they are not fully rolled out yet. I would guess that by summer they would be fully live, but if you called Disney about it they would not be able to give a solid answer because those workers are simply not told.

As of right now...there is no difference between the MBs and the current park tickets as they both 100% rely on the RFID chip embedded in them. So it's safe to say that as it pertains to park entry and FP+...the new technology is completely rolled out. The only part that was phased in was the resorts as they had to convert all of the door locks to RFID.

At least that's how I understand it.

[Wizzard419]

But aren't they still removing old FP machines from the parks?

Pretty much, now that they have the RF enabled media they could turn it on but the system may struggle (mobile apps are famous for going down in these scenarios). Though I would imagine people are nonplussed about having their fastpass experience limited by people who made reservations 3 months out while they couldn't do it until the day they bought the tickets (or possibly the day they are in the parks)

[mjmcsl4me]

I'm wondering since the old FP machines are removed (I'm guessing all are removed), do people not staying on property with MagicBands or those having an annual pass with the MagicBands just have to wait in the regular line?