How do YOU get in the parks?

[tigger2002]

How do you get in the parks these days? We have old Magicbands but I don't see them on MDE. Last year we just used magicbands for eveything.
Do YOU use Magicbands, phone, watch, or something else? Apple Watch seemed to be inconsistent the last time we tried it.
We leave in about two weeks.

 

[Titanium]

Annual Passholder card when not in a blackout period. We bought 3 day tickets this past Christmas in conjunction with a POR stay so that time we used our room key card which had been loaded with our tickets.

 

[danceintherain]

We'll be using old magic bands. I'll probably take the pucks out and put them on watch bands for DH and I. I've been considering buying a new MagicBand for just me, but I don't know if I'll be riding enough in order to make the extra features worth it.

 

[scrappinginontario]

MagicBands from previous trips.

 

[StageTek]

How do you get in the parks these days?

Magic Bands.

 

[kathy884]

Old school here -- I have Disney send me the little credit card looking tickets and use those to go in instead of having my tickets on my phone. Please note that I on trips to Orlando usually am just doing one to three days at a Disney park.

On my last trip I got tickets for a party of 12 and they all went on my phone (not everyone was going to the same parks on the same day and not everyone was going at the same time -- adult group ages 25-85 - but I had done the reservations and paid for everyone), so I had to go to Disney Springs the night before and have them change this to 12 different tickets for me, so everyone could enter the parks on their own without my phone. I had to drive over, park, find the Disney ticket office, wait 45 minutes, walk back to my car, drive back to our offsite condo. Disney Springs was really busy, and I will say the Cast Members there were super friendly and helpful. Fortunately we had a relative visiting day before our Disney park day when I could take the time to do this, and we weren't getting together till late afternoon. It did mean though I didn't get to do a little half day activity I wanted to do in the morning as I needed to get all the tickets straightened out (March 2022 - busy spring break week). Took about three hours in total doing this at Disney Springs. Live and learn.

 

[tigger2002]

Can you use your hotel key (credit card size) to get in the parks?

 

[loves to dive]

Magic bands. I still have the original ones that were issued as experimental to deluxe guests. They are still on my MDE account and they still work. Of course, I also have the puck kind and the new magic band +. I don't buy memory maker and could care less about ride photos so the older ones work fine for me. I usually take a mix of older newer ones with me when I go. I have the front desk of the resort test them all to make sure they are going to work (just in case).

 

[CarolynFH]

Can you use your hotel key (credit card size) to get in the parks?

Yes, when you visit the front desk, just ask them for a Key to the World card, which will be programmed with your park tickets as well as your resort room information. You can also use it for charging to your resort room account - in fact, everything that you'd touch a MB Mickey to Mickey for. The only thing the card won't do is link long-distance photos, like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, to your MDE account.

 

[CarolynFH]

How do you get in the parks these days? We have old Magicbands but I don't see them on MDE. Last year we just used magicbands for eveything.

I just checked my MDE (website) Magic Bands and Cards section and can see old MB back to when they first offered them, so did you make any changes to your MDE account that might cause your old MBs not to show?

Do YOU use Magicbands, phone, watch, or something else? Apple Watch seemed to be inconsistent the last time we tried it.
We leave in about two weeks.

DH has been using his Apple Watch as a MB without any problems. I have a MB puck in a slider on my watchband, due to issues with getting my Apple Watch to work in the past. It turned out that somehow the linkage to my Watch had been lost, and I didn't realize it. I decided that I like the positioning of the puck for tapping and the watchface for checking time and other things, so I'll keep using the slider.

We'll be using old magic bands. I'll probably take the pucks out and put them on watch bands for DH and I. I've been considering buying a new MagicBand for just me, but I don't know if I'll be riding enough in order to make the extra features worth it.

They're still selling the MB2, which doesn't have the extra features and therefore costs less. I just checked MDE (haven't ordered for our resort stay yet), and the MB2s are way down the grid after the MB+s are, but there are about 18 different MB2 to choose from.

 

[GrumpyInPhilly]

old Magic Bands

 

[gatorlisa]

MagicBand. Usually just the puck in a slider on my watch band. I find the MB to be the easiest thing to use. Right there on my wrist, nothing to have to pull out of a pocket or wallet. Tried using my Apple watch last year and it was more tempermental at the touchpoints. MB works more consistently for me.

 

[honeymo78]

I also have an old MB puck in a slider on my Apple watch band. I'll usually just use the puck, due to positioning, but sometimes change it up and tap my watch.

 

[elvispursley]

We use the MB2 but will likely upgrade to the MB+ for our trip this fall. Will try to be patient about ordering one closer to our trip instead of picking something now and then regretting it when I see something I like later.

 

[Meriweather]

Magic Bands

 

[wdw&sonny]

We just have them issue us a (old-fashioned) paper ticket upon entry to the first park. Takes less than a minute.

 

[SleeplessInTO]

MagicBand. Or my room key card.

 

[mom2diskids]

I reuse my MagicBand puck on my Apple Watch, I’ve been stuck behind too many watch/phone users to want to go that route. Non-watch wearers in my group reuse their MagicBands, they’re quick and reliable. We also get all the ride photos and photopass pictures we can so like that feature when on rides.

 

[kiford]

Magic bands. I have some older ones that were themed which I really like but I didn't get to use them much. I'd also consider getting at least one MB+. DH is thinking about Apple watch the next time we go but I suspect it would end up being used more as a backup than the primary method. Mostly I think it's his excuse for getting an Apple watch.

 

[fla4fun]

I received two Magicband+ for Christmas, so I will be trying those. I will carry an old MB with me in case the new ones don’t work (always a chance of a defective device when it’s brand new). I will also have my AP card with me in my wallet and my pass is on my phone, so I have plenty of backup options. I prefer using a MB so that I am not digging anything out of my bag or pockets at the gate.