Although Magic Bands have been in use for over 2 years, many less frequent visitors have not used them yet and have a lot of questions! Here, we will try to answer the most basic ones for you.
What is a Magic Band?
It is an all-in-one device that contains an RFID chip. The Magic Band takes the place of the former Key to the World card, but with many more options. It lets you manage all your vacation choices made with My Disney Experience. Here are the things you can use it for:
Your hotel room key
Your park entrance tickets
Your dining reservations
Your Fastpass+ selections
Your Photopass and Memory Maker photos
Charging purchases to your hotel room
Parking lot access for resort guests
Your special event tickets (MNSSHP, MVMCP)
How much does a Magic Band cost?
Annual passholders and guests staying at a Disney resort will receive a Magic Band free of charge. Other guests may choose to purchase a Magic Band at Disneystore.com or various locations throughout the Walt Disney World resort. Standard Magic Bands currently cost $12.95. Frequently, special design and limited edition Magic Bands will also be available for sale to anyone who wishes to purchase them. Open edition bands currently cost about $19.95 and limited edition bands currently cost about $24.95. See some examples below:
Can I customize Magic Bands?
Yes. When you make your reservations online, you will be able to customize the bands through My Disney Experience. Currently, bands come in seven colors as shown in the photo at the top of this article. You can also customize them with a name or nickname up to nine characters. You do NOT need to use your actual name for this. If you and the hubby want to be "Mickey and Minnie", you can be! You MUST customize them within the allotted time frame. Check your My Disney Experience to see how much time you have. If you do not customize them within the time frame, you will receive plain gray bands. You can also purchase decorative adornments called Magic Bandits wherever bands are sold. See some examples below. They come in a wide variety of character designs and currently cost between $6.95 and $8.95. You can also find a variety of Magic Sliders for about $12.95. Many crafty guests have discussed decorating their bands with magic markers, temporary tattoos and other adornments that do not affect the operation of the bands. Please do your research before adding any of these things to your bands and understand that you do so at your own risk.
Do I HAVE to use a Magic Band?
No. If you prefer not to use a Magic Band, you can request a card ticket at your Disney resort hotel. Magic Bands can be detected by short-range and long-range readers located throughout the resort. The cards can not be detected by long-range readers. If you have any concerns about the privacy of the data collection on Magic Bands, you can read Disney's policies on this HERE.
Using the Magic Band:
Most of the time, you just need to touch your Magic Band against a sensor called a touchpoint and your information will be retrieved. You will also need to enter a unique PIN code to use the band to make purchases and you will need to provide biometric or photo ID to enter parks. This ensures that no one can use your bands should you lose them. The bands do not have on/off switches and are always operational. If you do lose your band, you can deactivate it on your My Disney Experience so no one can access your tickets or other entitlements.
The bands are waterproof. Therefore, you do not have to worry about removing them for showers, swimming or on any of Disney's water rides.
They are made of a soft, rubber material. However, you can remove them once inside the park if you choose. Just keep them somewhere accessible because you will need them to access Fastpass or dining reservations.
The bands come in one size, but they do have a removable section to better fit smaller wrists.
Can I have more than one Magic Band?
Yes! You will receive a new Magic Band with each new stay at a Disney Resort, plus there are the bands that can be purchased that we mentioned above. As long as you link all these bands to your My Disney Experience account, they will all be active. However, they will only work with your current reservations and entitlements and will not give you any extras (such as more FP+ selections). All your bands will contain the same information and can be changed with your mood or your outfit throughout your whole trip!
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