Magic band upgrade FRUSTRATING

I think the back order thing would cause a lot of headaches due to orders being canceled as they make you order everyones band at once. They either need to stock a lot more magic bands or limit how far in advance people can upgrade their magic bands.

There's got to be something easier than the current game of whack a mole that's currently running. I'm not planning on finalizing our order until closer to travel date, but my husband will be really disappointed if the only upgraded options are just a handful of characters he's not interested in.
 
There's got to be something easier than the current game of whack a mole that's currently running. I'm not planning on finalizing our order until closer to travel date, but my husband will be really disappointed if the only upgraded options are just a handful of characters he's not interested in.
Yeah, the group ordering thing sucks. I understand why they do it but it still sucks. I ended up settling with the plain orange one as I wasn't willing to risk not being able to get my daughter's top pick. Only took about a month of looking multiple times a day. There were way too many times where it showed in stock but you couldn't actually check out with it.
 
Yep I might have to settle for a plain one so my wife can get the Minnie Mouse one. We have some time but would hate to lose out on the one she wants.
 
There's got to be something easier than the current game of whack a mole that's currently running. I'm not planning on finalizing our order until closer to travel date, but my husband will be really disappointed if the only upgraded options are just a handful of characters he's not interested in.

Just sharing my experience, I have been doing the same thing since they released the upgrade in June. We are traveling in November and I felt guilty ordering so early when so many people were complaining about their trips coming up in a few weeks or a month and they couldn't get what they wanted. I was also told by a cast member that by November all the kinks would be worked out and we wouldn't have issues getting our choices. But here we are, a few days from our deadline to have them shipped, and I can't get what we want. It's been beyond frustrating. I'm about to settle for plain ones and order the skins off etsy.
My advice is to go ahead and get what you want when you can, don't wait, b/c there's no guarantee they will ever be available.
 


I'll also add that I did manage to order two for my parents, since they are booked separately. The white castle band is much nicer in person than I anticipated, it has mickey sketched on the other side. Dad got the rainbow Mickey b/c my kids liked it, but it's not great. The center is red, then it has orange on either side of it, and that's really all you see on top of your wrist when you are wearing it. My husband was glad he didn't pick that one.
 
@jolynne28 we're not going until July. I'll probably start looking more frequently in April to see what's available. My daughter's easy to please, my husband is pretty persnickety and nothing drives him more bonkers than poor implementation (he deals with it a lot on the job).
 
@jolynne28 we're not going until July. I'll probably start looking more frequently in April to see what's available. My daughter's easy to please, my husband is pretty persnickety and nothing drives him more bonkers than poor implementation (he deals with it a lot on the job).

There will also probably be plenty of new bands added between now and April
 


Total of 31 bands (including the solid colours) available right now for selection. Looks like early morning may be the time for most options. Still nothing we are looking for but some cute ones.
 
Is there any way at all to tell if something is in stock? My sister and I have been going crazy this morning trying to order 2 different upgraded bands and it keeps saying they're out of stock, even though it let us choose them.
 
Is there any way at all to tell if something is in stock? My sister and I have been going crazy this morning trying to order 2 different upgraded bands and it keeps saying they're out of stock, even though it let us choose them.

Same thing is happening to me. It's been showing Figment since yesterday but every time I add it, I can't check out. It's SO frustrating.
 
Same thing is happening to me. It's been showing Figment since yesterday but every time I add it, I can't check out. It's SO frustrating.
And what's even more frustrating is that one of the bands is available but the system won't let you order just one of them. You have to order both or all 3 or 4 or whatever. Arghh!
 
Update: I was able to order both bands just now even though one of them wasn't in stock an hour and a half ago.

Meanwhile, here's some info for anyone else ordering their bands. On my order, the shipping address listed was my sister's address, not mine. I assumed this was the case because she's the lead on the reservation, so I also assumed--wrongly--that that meant that her name would be on the shipment. Wrong. But I didn't find this out until after I completed the order, when they finally listed the entire address--my name + my sister's address. We don't live together, don't have the same last name, and don't even live in the same city.

I replied to the email that contained the order confirmation, however, I suspect it's possible that no human being will ever see it, since the confirmation email was probably sent by a bot. So then I did the thing that Disney makes more difficult than anything else: I called them. Really, I'd rather wait in a 2-hour line at FoP than call WDW. But I did and after nearly 30 minutes spoke to someone who said he'd take care of it.

But at least we got the bands we wanted: 1 It's a Small World and 1 Minnie dots.

Good luck to everyone else involved in this process!
 
This is the mos my frustrating process!! There has seriously got to be a better way!!! Nothing I try and select is EVER in stock!!! Ugh they need to get it together!
 
This is the mos my frustrating process!! There has seriously got to be a better way!!! Nothing I try and select is EVER in stock!!! Ugh they need to get it together!
Yep! This morning it said there were 31 options, got my wife's choice seleced, tried to get the Haunted Mansion, fail. I didn't feel like fighting with it so I bailed. This is a huge black eye for Disney IMHO, and this is all before I set foot in the park. If I wasn't part of forums like this I'd be even more aggravated.
 
I gave up when we hit the deadline to have our bands mailed. My kids ended up picking out some cute skins from EmilyG on Etsy, they are excited that they glow in the dark and have glitter. I’m kicking myself for spending way too much time trying to get what we wanted, I should have stopped the madness months ago. So not worth the headache and disappointment.
 
So not worth the headache and disappointment.
Yup. This is why I just order what I want on shopDisney or just get the plain one and get what I want in the park. Had to get 12 bands for our trip in August and everyone got exactly what they wanted. No stalking the site, headaches or stress.
 
So, update from me (OP)
I emailed Disney and complained (with refs in my email to goofy movie quotes) ... They told me to keep trying (with goofy movie quotes)
That wasn't good enough for me so I wrote back (with more goofy movie lines) and their response wasn't helpful again (with goofy movie lines)
Another response from me (yes... Goofy movie quotes)..... And then no response

A month later, I get a phone call (keeping in mind I'm in Australia!) from disney
Apologising
Saying they will be crediting our resort 15$ per person due to the trouble so when we charge back whatever we buy it's a discount (whether magic bands or other purchase)

(goofy movie refs because I've been desperately trying to get the goofy movie band!! I've ordered a custom design from TheSkinDudes on Etsy in the end)
 
There are 36 total bands "available" right now. I tried to get at least 5 (Genie, Sorcerer, Figment, Toy Story, Groot, Baymax) with no luck. :(
 

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