Magic band notice - is this new?

You can always get a KTTW card if you don't want to use your phone.

How are they going to ID people in ride photos without a MB?
 
My theory on ride photos is that MDE will have to beacon Bluetooth messages since GPS doesn't give your location accurately enough nor does it work inside buildings. For security I want Bluetooth OFF. For battery life I do not want to be location tracking 24 hours a day with MDE.

I am wondering how they will check you in to Magic Express. Will every family member need a phone? Or will one person's phone give them the entire group, I hope.

Every trip we have been on since Magic Bands and MDE started has included a major MDE failure. Once they could not get our hotel door linked and after 3 trips to the room and back they finally issued door-only KTTW cards we had to use the rest of the stay. Another time it wiped out our Fastpasses when a ride went down and we tried to reschedule that one fastpass... while being helped by a cast member no less.

And it still makes a mess out of groups traveling together when some have their own accounts and some do not (managed by me.) And I can't remove people from my MDE friends and family without opening a ticket after 3 years.

If they are going to rely on IT they need to hire back people who can program and TEST properly. Since they outsourced it, there has been so much pain.
 


Magic bands are a huge revenue source, the only reason why they want to get rid of it is for environmental reasons. That’s a lot of bands that fill up landfills. Disney failed miserably on the upgraded magic bands. They obviously were not prepared for the roll out.
 
Magic bands are a huge revenue source, the only reason why they want to get rid of it is for environmental reasons. That’s a lot of bands that fill up landfills. Disney failed miserably on the upgraded magic bands. They obviously were not prepared for the roll out.
They’re not getting rid of magicbands. They will continue to sell them for the foreseeable future. They’re just stopping free giveaways for resort stays.
 
IMO, having to open an app and click around to open your hotel door is /will be a pain. I will be asking for a key card at the front desk if my MBs no longer work. I have more than enough MBs to last as long as I want to travel to WDW.
Those of us who travel fir a living already use the phone to get in our rooms at major hotel chains throughout the world. Way easier than reaching in a wallet for a card key.
 


Those of us who travel fir a living already use the phone to get in our rooms at major hotel chains throughout the world. Way easier than reaching in a wallet for a card key.

I don’t agree. I don’t want to have to stand outside my room fumbling through an app to bring the digital key up. For security reasons, I want to stroll up to the door and walk right in. A key card allows me to do this. Unless I have a first floor room (which can also be a security risk) or the hallways are outdoors and I take the stairs, I always lose the signal in the elevator and have to start the process of accessing the digital key all over again. I can get the key card in my hand before boarding the elevator, or while on board, and have immediate access to my room. I have never found a digital key to be faster or more convenient, even though I have a smartphone.

I have acquired a few MB this year, and as long as they work, I will use them. Then I will go back to a key card. I am glad the digital key works well for you, but it doesn’t work well for everyone.
 
I don’t agree. I don’t want to have to stand outside my room fumbling through an app to bring the digital key up. For security reasons, I want to stroll up to the door and walk right in. A key card allows me to do this. Unless I have a first floor room (which can also be a security risk) or the hallways are outdoors and I take the stairs, I always lose the signal in the elevator and have to start the process of accessing the digital key all over again. I can get the key card in my hand before boarding the elevator, or while on board, and have immediate access to my room. I have never found a digital key to be faster or more convenient, even though I have a smartphone.

I have acquired a few MB this year, and as long as they work, I will use them. Then I will go back to a key card. I am glad the digital key works well for you, but it doesn’t work well for everyone.

I tried to use my phone so that I could run the half without my MB but when I tried it the day before it wouldn't open the door. Knowing my friend would be gone by the time I finished I wore my MB. It just seems less reliable.

I also agree with the safety part, especially when I'm traveling alone. I'd much rather be able to scan the band or key and be in than fumbling with stuff outtside my door.
 
I just got text for my Trip checkin letting me know I should stay away from front desk cast due to Covid Policy.
 
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I just got text for my Trip checkin letting me know I should stay away from front desk cast for Covid... BLT ... guess I will see a reduction in those castmembers standing around and decrease in dues. Right?
I do not plan to carry a cell phone into parks unless Disney buys one for me. Guess I won’t spend money either on food

They didn't cancel MBs. Just free ones. Plus you can open your room with your phone without taking your phone into the park. Unless you have no MB or smartphone, then yes you check with the front desk to get a KTTW card.
 
Maybe it’s based on when you booked?

It seems like 2021 reservations made before they announced the MagicBand change are grandfathered in and you can still order free basic bands.

I checked an April 2021 stay booked several months ago and I could order basic bands for free. But a Sept 2021 stay that I booked two weeks ago has the basic bands at $5.
 
Instead of the complimentary plain color MBs, they are now $5 with resort stay (you don't need to pay the $15 retail price). I've noticed on our last 2 trips new charging stations added all over the bubble. It's much easier than it used to be to find a place to plug in. Don't forget your wire :)

It feels crappy losing another something of value on top of everything else altered this year but I think in actual practice it won't be as bad as expected. Worse case is a resort guest needs to pay $5 to get a new MB if they don't want to use the app and don't have an easy alternative like having a newer phone with battery that lasts all day, backup charger, MBs from recent trip, etc. And with any luck the Genie will be really cool to distract us. The parking charge left a bigger bruise and we got nothing in return.
 
They’re not getting rid of magicbands. They will continue to sell them for the foreseeable future. They’re just stopping free giveaways for resort stays.

I also think they want to avoid another March-July situation again where their logistics teams had to be going out of their minds if they were shipping those things or not from week to week.
 
They’re not getting rid of magicbands. They will continue to sell them for the foreseeable future. They’re just stopping free giveaways for resort stays.
I know they are not getting rid of them, but in reality how many people will buy them? You can get a free card or use your phone or even a old magic band will still work to unlock doors and enter the parks. Plus the MB wasn’t free, it was included in the price for the room.
 
I know they are not getting rid of them, but in reality how many people will buy them? You can get a free card or use your phone or even a old magic band will still work to unlock doors and enter the parks. Plus the MB wasn’t free, it was included in the price for the room.
Well, don’t expect the price of the rooms to drop by $10-$15 because they’re not giving out magicbands anymore.
 
I know they are not getting rid of them, but in reality how many people will buy them? You can get a free card or use your phone or even a old magic band will still work to unlock doors and enter the parks. Plus the MB wasn’t free, it was included in the price for the room.
Right .. if they aren't being given away .. a lot less people will be using them.

I think Disney sorta messed up when they decided to give out Magic Bands "for free" .. they needed to give you an option to opt out of them and just apply that credit to your room or give you a gift card. Frequent guests were overloaded with them and felt like such a waste to get them every time.

When I had an AP .. I got four different magic bands that year for 3 different trips. But if they would have offered me a $5-10 credit for NOT taking them, I gladly would have and Disney would have saved money AND they would have gotten the money back anyway.
they should have done the "upgrade for cheaper" option a LOT sooner so they'd make money selling all those premium magic bands. I am guessing those just never sold as well as they though in the stores?


Magic bands are great, but feels like a missed opportunity where they weren't used enough and the "customizations" with them never came to fruition except in a few spots (like I saw it used once in a movie poster digital display at All-Star Movies where your name popped up) .. but if they aren't giving them away, just feels like they won't bother with expanding Magic Band use anymore and just force everyone to have a phone.
 
Right .. if they aren't being given away .. a lot less people will be using them.

I think Disney sorta messed up when they decided to give out Magic Bands "for free" .. they needed to give you an option to opt out of them and just apply that credit to your room or give you a gift card. Frequent guests were overloaded with them and felt like such a waste to get them every time.

When I had an AP .. I got four different magic bands that year for 3 different trips. But if they would have offered me a $5-10 credit for NOT taking them, I gladly would have and Disney would have saved money AND they would have gotten the money back anyway.
they should have done the "upgrade for cheaper" option a LOT sooner so they'd make money selling all those premium magic bands. I am guessing those just never sold as well as they though in the stores?


Magic bands are great, but feels like a missed opportunity where they weren't used enough and the "customizations" with them never came to fruition except in a few spots (like I saw it used once in a movie poster digital display at All-Star Movies where your name popped up) .. but if they aren't giving them away, just feels like they won't bother with expanding Magic Band use anymore and just force everyone to have a phone.
I don’t really think they had to offer money for opting out. We’ve opted out of them for years now because we go so often and have so many. I would have never expected to receive compensation for not taking them. We also love buying new, usually exclusive or limited edition, bands regularly and will continue to do so. But we haven’t taken a free regular band in probably 3-4 years now.
 

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