Guest Test of Magic Bands (Official Notice)

[jess1662]

I read that some people are printing off their FP+ choices just in case. For anyone who did this, what all did you print? Did anyone actually have to use the printouts?

 

[Bicfam]

Question: The MDE app has some answers to common questions. They stated that you can NOT get regular fast passes if you entered with MagicBands or non-paper tickets. Is it true you can NOT use the regular Fastpass kiosks? That would be a big bummer. We do not want to arrange our whole day now!!
Thanks to those who used MagicBands and can shed some light on this.

 

[GillianP1301]

Question: The MDE app has some answers to common questions. They stated that you can NOT get regular fast passes if you entered with MagicBands or non-paper tickets. Is it true you can NOT use the regular Fastpass kiosks? That would be a big bummer. We do not want to arrange our whole day now!!
Thanks to those who used MagicBands and can shed some light on this.

I've had multiple CMs on different calls tell me you can use both. That won't be the case once it goes live, but is the case for the testing period. Haven't used ours yet, so I can't confirm, but many on this board have confirmed simultaneous use of FP+ and regular FP.

 

[GillianP1301]

Question for those who have already gotten their bands... do you remember when the status on MDE changed from "act quickly, can ship at anytime" to actually shipped?

We check-in on Aug 26th and still showing the shipping anytime status and wondering if I should be concerned yet. I know it's going to resort and not my address, since I'm not in the US, but I still expected to see it as shipped by now.

 

[g-dad66]

Just an FYI, saw VERY little of MagicBands today at AK. Only saw two families with them, and one was at Everest apparently having an issue (but don't know if this was due to Everest being down for the first hour or so)

Interesting. Doesn't sound like there should be much impact on non-testers at this point.

Thanks for the report.

 

[doconeill]

Question: The MDE app has some answers to common questions. They stated that you can NOT get regular fast passes if you entered with MagicBands or non-paper tickets. Is it true you can NOT use the regular Fastpass kiosks? That would be a big bummer. We do not want to arrange our whole day now!!
Thanks to those who used MagicBands and can shed some light on this.

That sounds like the information from the Terms and Conditions, which has said in the past that if you got an RFID "device" (i.e. MagicBand or other RFID ticket media) that you couldn't use regular Fastpass. However, they changed that back in March, and they may not have updated it in the app.

I think the intent was that RFID devices would be strictly RFID, but due to testing changes and an apparent delay in the MagicBands, they issued "dual" media instead that still had the magnetic stripe.

 

[DznyCrzy11]

Question for those who have already gotten their bands... do you remember when the status on MDE changed from "act quickly, can ship at anytime" to actually shipped?

We check-in on Aug 26th and still showing the shipping anytime status and wondering if I should be concerned yet. I know it's going to resort and not my address, since I'm not in the US, but I still expected to see it as shipped by now.

I was notified by email Monday and also received a UPS delivery with the information on Monday. Monday night we customized our bands and this morning I got an email saying they were shipped UPS. My DH was home for lunch and said "the bands have arrived". So yes, it was very fast!!! Since yours is being shipped to the your resort they just have to make sure they will be there on your arrival day.


We are staying at the Poly from September 5 - September 9 so it seems like they are including other resorts in the testing now.

One thing I did notice, while I'm not all that anxious to get FP before we even get there, when I tried to schedule a FP time it would let me on my DH's but for mine it said I needed a valid park admission. I have a detailed confirmation letter with everything included in our package, even shows our room requests, that I am taking when we check in. We'll see how this all goes!!!

Sent from my Galaxy SII

 

[MomofTwinPrincesses]

For those who have used fast passes for Illumnations, parades or Wishes, what was the benefit? Were they great locations? Were seats provided? How early did you have to arrive? Was it crowded? I saw the option to book Illuminations but I thought from what I had read it was easy to find a decent spot to see it without a fast pass.

 

[delmar411]

For those who have used fast passes for Illumnations, parades or Wishes, what was the benefit? Were they great locations? Were seats provided? How early did you have to arrive? Was it crowded? I saw the option to book Illuminations but I thought from what I had read it was easy to find a decent spot to see it without a fast pass.

Illuminations is a waste of FP, F! Gives you center section seating, it has been hit or miss on crowds from what I've seen and read. For the parade arriving early is best, same with Wishes so you can pick your location. Neither of those locations offer seats, you sit on the ground. MSEP FP+ is worth doing once as is the WIshes.

 

[sswally]

Why is Illuminations a waste of FP+? I absolutely hate finding a spot an hour in advance just to watch it and was hoping FP+ was the answer.

 

[delmar411]

Why is Illuminations a waste of FP+? I absolutely hate finding a spot an hour in advance just to watch it and was hoping FP+ was the answer.

Because you can stop and watch illuminations from most anyplace. Just walk up as it is starting. Plus the section is behind one of the store, not middle center and the managers were letting ppl into the area after it started (not FP+ holders) because they were hovering around by the store doors but I wouldn't have stood where I did if I knew he was going to do that so it was annoying and distracting. Might as well go hover by the store doors and look pitiful instead of burning a FP on it.

 

[ALD85]

MDE is letting me customize magic bands but its only giving me gray as an option...I know people have been choosing colors????

 

[utkscvol1]

We check in in 8 days- if we were to swap to animal kingdom- would we still get to test magic bands since we are so close to arrival?

 

[grubens]

I would love to hear from anyone who has done this about the experience, especially about where you sit and how early you had to get in line to enter. We have the dinner package booked, but am now wondering if we are just better off using a FP+ for this.

 

[utkscvol1]

Ok here's my dilemma. We are booked at french quarter beginning august 30. my girls really want the magic bands so I have been reading on numerous threads people that have done these "ghost" reservations and just wondering the scenerio and how it has all worked.

We have annual passes. If I book a ressie at pop for just august 30 and we go there and "check in" under my husband, then leave and go to our actual resort of french quarter and check in under me, will we be able to access the feature of the magic bands until september 8 when we check out of french quarter even though our ressie at pop ends 8-31- seeing how the bands are linked to our annual passes that we will be using in the parks. I hope that is a little clearer.

I'm also wondering if at a week out if it's gonna be possible to do the magic bands even with a ressie at a testing resort.
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[lazer]

Ok here's my dilemma. We are booked at french quarter beginning august 30. my girls really want the magic bands so I have been reading on numerous threads people that have done these "ghost" reservations and just wondering the scenerio and how it has all worked.

We have annual passes. If I book a ressie at pop for just august 30 and we go there and "check in" under my husband, then leave and go to our actual resort of french quarter and check in under me, will we be able to access the feature of the magic bands until september 8 when we check out of french quarter even though our ressie at pop ends 8-31- seeing how the bands are linked to our annual passes that we will be using in the parks. I hope that is a little clearer.

I'm also wondering if at a week out if it's gonna be possible to do the magic bands even with a ressie at a testing resort.
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Might be wrong, but I thought the testing at Pop started in September? You wouldn't get MBs because it would be August during your reservation.

 

[grubens]

Might be wrong, but I thought the testing at Pop started in September? You wouldn't get MBs because it would be August during your reservation.

We have an August 31 one night room-only reservation at Pop (we will in fact be sleeping there that night) and are doing MB test.

 

[lazer]

We have an August 31 one night room-only reservation at Pop (we will in fact be sleeping there that night) and are doing MB test.

glad I was wrong.

 

[TMEF23]

We just finished a 6 night stay at CR and tested the magic bands. We never had a problem getting into parks, paying for food/snacks, or our room. It was nice not needing to carry a wallet around or worry about paper passes. We did not try to double dip, but we did try to change some of our fastpass selections at the last minute and most of the time it worked out. However, I feel the app is more of the problem since it takes so long to go through and make changes. Let me know if you have any questions.

 

[RUSTYGATOR]

I would love to hear from anyone who has done this about the experience, especially about where you sit and how early you had to get in line to enter. We have the dinner package booked, but am now wondering if we are just better off using a FP+ for this.

As I've heard you can only book the parades and special viewing (Fantasmic, Illuminations) on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It seemed to be the case since we couldn't book the weekdays.

This is from out stay 8/7-8/16.

Fantasmic: was seated in the section next to the dining package people. One section off of direct center - same great views and they didn't allow the section to fill in with late comers until the last 10 minutes.

Illuminations was on the outside of the right gift shop in a roped off area. Right next to the handicap seating. They had wifi issued with getting the readers to work. We got in line about 20 minutes before out reservation because often with the stage shows we were given a time and arrived to find the locations already seated. We barely got a front seating spot because they started admitted people for the other side too. Seating never filled in to be more than two people deep and they kept the area roped off the entire time. Good viewing location.

Main Street Electrical Parade. The viewing area was in front of the castle in the round island. We were first in line and they again had reader problems. This are too started admitting people for another area. They kept the are roped off until they shut down the street and they promised to kept people from cutting in. Several times they escorted people from the area without bands. The location was great, the side and back ropes were kept up and Alice from Alice in Wonderland actually interacted with my daughter.

I have young kids so we never did much of the regular fastpasses. Our KTTW worked for regular FP and our original KTTW from earlier in the stay also work too. *hint* Shows were worth *NOT* (updated typo that added not) using the FP+ because you ended up bypassing a short line. Things that don't offer regular FP were nice like the mansion and Tomorrowland Speedway/It's a Small World when the lines were long.

You can change you FP+ times on the fly, but the earliest you can book is what current FP are being issued. So ones that are FP+ only you could often get on immediately.