MagicBands have been around for awhile now. Frequent Disney travelers have a nice little chain of them by now, decorating their Christmas trees. Your neighbor down the street has one. But you? You’re a MagicBand Newbie.
“What are they? How can I get one? And what do I do with them?”
MagicBands are Disney’s way of simplifying your vacation and, for some, tempting you to spend a bit more money. They are incredibly easy to use. So comfortable, you forget you have one on.
How can you get one?
Book a Walt Disney World Vacation.
When you book your vacation, you will set up an account on the Disney site. Click onto the My Disney Experience tab so you can personalize your bands. Scroll down to the MagicBands, click and you’re ready to go. You can choose a name and a color for each band. Disney will send them to you approximately 3 weeks before your arrival. If you make your selections later, 6-10 days before arrival, Disney will have your bands ready for you when you check-in. After 6 days, they will assign a generic band to each member of your party. You don’t have to stay in a Disney resort to get a MagicBand. You can link your park tickets, FastPasses and Dining Reservations to a MagicBand that you purchase on your own, either at the park or at the online Disney Store.
Your MagicBand will open your resort room (if you’re staying at a Disney Resort), act as your park tickets, contain all of your FastPass information, collect all of your PhotoPass images and connect them to your account and allow you to charge merchandise and dining and snack purchases. Snack purchases are where our family can get into trouble. With two pre-teen boys, they eat. All. Of. The. Time. It’s so easy to say, “Sure, go grab a popcorn or a Mickey Bar or a turkey leg. Just use your MagicBand.” And poof! Our snack budget is gone. These bands can be dangerous to the spenders in your group, too. It’s easy to lose track of how much you’re spending, especially if you are sending any purchases to your resort and aren’t walking around with all of the evidence.
Just a little word to the wise: Snackers and impulse shoppers beware! Tuck those receipts into your pocket. When your pocket starts bulging, stop spending.
You never have to take off your MagicBand. They are waterproof and so comfortable you will forget you have it on. My husband loves the fact that we never have to remember the room key. As long as your band is on your wrist you can eat, sleep and play without ever pulling out your wallet or digging around in your pocket for cash. In case you remove your MagicBand and two of you in your party have the same color or design, simply peek on the underside of your band for the name and unique ID number printed inside.
You can decorate your MagicBand by purchasing Bandits or stickers found online or at the parks. Or, if you’re crafty, you can decorate them yourselves. For more ideas, click here for a great collection of ideas. Or do a search on Pinterest. Loads of ideas will pop up!
The bands come in two sizes. The first size fits most adult and bigger kid wrists. To keep it secure on a tinier guest, simply punch out the inner band from the outer band and voila! You have a pint-sized band for your child.
A personalized PIN will be assigned to all bands of your choosing. You choose the PIN and you can choose who in your party has charging privileges. If a MagicBand should be lost, simply go to Guest Relations at any park or the front desk of your resort and they will deactivate the lost band and issue a new one.
And for those who want to help save the planet, you can re-use your MagicBand for another trip. As long as your band is in working order, Disney will activate your current band with updated information. Just give them the ID code, located on the inside of the band.
If you have any other questions, I’m glad to help. No longer a MagicBand Newbie, I may have seen it all. Just post your questions below!
