End of an Era for MagicBands at Disney World.
It’s the end of an era for MagicBands at Walt Disney World. This discusses the decline of Disney’s MagicBands, what led to this, the absence of the OG MagicBands in the pre-arrival discount purchase program, why we don’t recommend first-timers purchase the wearable, and other thoughts.
We’d be remiss if we didn’t start in the same spot as several recent articles, retreading ground previously covered in Walt Disney World is Worried About Its High Prices and that progeny of posts. The company has internal concerns about Disney alienating the middle class, with growing fears about how price increases and unpopular decisions are angering fans and losing guest goodwill.
As we’ve pointed out, it’s not just price increases. It’s those coupled with corresponding cuts, nickel and diming, and other ways the guest experience has been diminished. Price isn’t the only, or perhaps even primary, concern. It’s the value proposition, which has taken hits in both directions.
There have been a few nails in the proverbial coffin of MagicBands at Walt Disney World. The devices were once ubiquitous in the parks because they were given away free to all Walt Disney World resort hotel guests. This on-site perk was eliminated in January 2021, and was one of several ‘soft resets’ to the guest experience that was announced in mid-2020 before the parks even reopened.
Walt Disney World retiring the complimentary MagicBand distribution program, and switching to a pre-arrival discount was announced in the exact same press release as the Disney Park Pass reservation system. This bombshell came only a couple of weeks after the retirement of FastPass+ and Extra Magic Hours, as well as the suspension of the Disney Dining Plan.
Suffice to say, it was a big news month between all of that and the phased reopening, and the end of free MagicBands was probably the least consequential news. There were plenty of fans who were–and still are–upset, but Disney flooded the zone with negative news, and it was difficult to be equally upset about all of it. (Although some fans tried!)
Walt Disney World sunsetting the complimentary MagicBand distribution program garnered the least backlash, by far. That’s in part because MagicBands would still exist, and for as cheap as $5 each when discounted for pre-arrivals.
The next big blow to MagicBands was the introduction of the MagicMobile service at Walt Disney World via the My Disney Experience app. This roughly coincided with the sunsetting of free MagicBands in early 2021.
MagicMobile can be added to your Android, iPhone, or Apple Watch digital wallet once enabled. It’s somewhat similar to a MagicBand, with most features working by simply holding up your smart device near an access point. It can be used to enter theme parks, connect PhotoPass images to your account, enter Lightning Lanes, and more.
MagicMobile didn’t have a seamless rollout, but has worked flawlessly for us in the last few years. As someone who already wears an Apple Watch, I typically don’t wear a MagicBand now because I don’t like two wearables on my wrist, and the MagicBand is mostly redundant to what’s offered by MagicMobile without needing a standalone device.
Possibly in response to this reality and wanting to distinguish MagicBands from MagicMobile, Disney introduced MagicBand+ a couple years ago.
From the time it was announced, our fear with MagicBand+ was that it was going to repeat the mistakes of the Made with Magic/Glow with the Show boondoggle. In a nutshell, that’s to say that Disney would invest a ton of money developing new wearable tech and push it as hard as possible to recoup those costs, only to see it flop with fans.
Judging by the thousands of MagicBand+ that were given away to Disneyland fans and how few of the devices we see in the WDW parks as compared to OG MagicBands only ~5 years ago, it’s safe to say that MagicBand+ has not been the success that Disney envisioned.
The newest generation of the device was probably the knockout punch for both the regular ole MagicBands (officially known as MagicBand 2.0).
When you take time passing by the technology, MagicMobile offering a suitable alternative to many guests for free, and MagicBand+ being met with an icy response from most fans, it’s not surprising to see fewer guests wearing MagicBands in the parks.
Of course, one big factor that cannot be overlooked is the cost. What was once free for everyone staying on-site now comes with a charge. The minimum is $25 and there are upgrade options costing as much as $45. If you want anything other than a plain color, the price is at least $35. You’re arguably better off just waiting for a sale at the Disney Store, which also has better selection.
That brings us to the main point of this post. Here’s the current selection of pre-arrival MagicBand discount upgrade options for on-site guests as of mid-February 2025:
As of mid-February 2025, there are 17 pre-arrival options, which is historically low. Last year, we saw 25-40 choices, on average. That was far fewer than the all-time peak of 82 MagicBands.
This is notable in part because there’s been very little turnover in new MagicBand+ options. About two-thirds of the designs above were also available when we last updated the list 6 months ago! And many of those were there 6 months before that. We’re seeing very little turnover, which is probably because MagicBand+ has flopped. Or because the pre-arrival discount has low uptake. Or a mixture of both.
More notably, for the first time ever, there is not a single regular ole MagicBand 2.0 available via Walt Disney World’s pre-arrival discount program.
While the writing has been on the wall for a while due to a dearth of new designs, this more or less confirms what we’ve long suspected: the OG “dumb” MagicBand is dead.
A quick search of the Disney Store would seem to confirm the same. There are plenty of MagicBand+ designs for $35 to $65, but zero regular ole MagicBands. It’s been even longer since I’ve seen the regular MagicBands being sold in one of the gift shops at Walt Disney World.
This is unfortunate. Not only does the MagicBand 2.0 appear to be dead, but these price points are only going to accelerate the demise of MagicBands, period, at Walt Disney World. While I’m sure there are some collectors who still purchase them, the same could’ve been said for Vinylmations or any number of now-extinct product lines that once had loyal fan followings.
The high cost make the MagicBand+ cost prohibitive for many guests, especially on top of every other expense.
If you have a budget when visiting Walt Disney World, tough choices need to be made when spending on splurges. If you have to choose between MagicBand+ designs for everyone in your party, or using MagicMobile (and regular ole Key to the World Cards for kids or older guests without smartphones/watches) and buying Lightning Lane Multi-Pass at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, the decision should be a no-brainer.
MagicBand+ is a minimal value-add, whereas LLMP is hugely advantageous. The story is the same with just about any upcharge–or even other random souvenirs. I can wear a sweatshirt, t-shirt, or hat in the real world. Ditto coffee mugs and Tervis cups. MagicBand+ is dead weight at home.
Not only that, but MagicBand+ is minimally useful in the parks. The mini-games are somewhat enjoyable (although perhaps more so from a people-watching perspective thanks to all the arm-flailing), but they’re arguably a poor use of limited vacation time. And the decreased utilization rate of MagicBands all but ensures that Disney won’t throw good money after bad by investing more resources into creating new ones (hopefully).
I’m honestly surprised that Disney even bothered to roll out MagicBand+ at Disneyland and Disney Cruise Line. Or that they continue to add effects into shows and elsewhere. Maybe this is a matter of the company knowing more than me, and MagicBand+ being a quiet success story?
I doubt it. More likely is that they want to recoup/spread out some of the development costs, committed to the expansion years ago when they expected it to be a big hit, or are still somehow holding out hope it’ll gain traction. I don’t know why–technology doesn’t exactly get better with time.
Again, this has shades of Glow with the Show. Despite that flopping internationally and finding limited success when it was unveiled stateside, Disney kept trying to make it a “thing” for years. In so doing, they dedicated/wasted valuable retail space to promote a product that was DOA.
The good news is that, in light of all of the above, MagicBand+ will probably continue to be sold for at least the next few years. And as with the OG MagicBand, the devices will likely continue to be supported long after that. Just as you can still use a MagicBand 2.0 from ages ago, you’ll probably still be able to use a MB+ from launch in 2030.
That’s great for fans who already own MagicBands, but we nevertheless recommend that most new guests do not buy MagicBand+ devices.
This is especially aimed at first-timers who don’t have any sentimentality for the wearables, and might otherwise be swayed by fans who have outsized nostalgia for the devices. That is based largely on perceptions of MagicBands from over 5 years ago, not a clear-eyed cost-benefit assessment of the wearables today.
As of 2025, MagicBands simply are not worth the high prices. The free alternatives function nearly as well, and the opportunity cost of allocating a portion of your vacation budget to MagicBand+ as opposed to something else will seldom make sense. It’s for this reason that MagicBands made our list of the Worst Wastes of Money at Walt Disney World. That’s why I’ve bought my last MagicBand, no matter how much I might like that Figment design above.
All of this is bound to be controversial or unpopular with longtime diehard fans, and I get that. It breaks my heart just a little bit to write this. We started used MagicBands since the original pilot program over a decade ago, and have a lot of nostalgia for the wearables and the simpler times they represent.
I was even excited for MagicBand+ and was hoping it would reinvigorate the devices. Instead, it did the opposite. MagicBand+ just isn’t a good device, and it was the death knell for the OG MagicBands.
To be clear, we’re not suggesting that no one should use MagicBands. If you already own one, more power to you! I have an OG MagicBand from a decade ago that’s still going strong. What we’re saying is that very few people should purchase new ones given the $25 to $65 cost and limited functionality over the free MagicMobile. Even if you’re tech-averse, there’s also the free Key to the World card, which is literally just a piece of plastic.
Honestly, I can’t even fault Walt Disney World for this one. We’ve been staunch critics of the end of Disney’s Magical Express, and recently reaffirmed our take that eliminating it was a colossal mistake. That was an unforced error, and an instance of Walt Disney World making a short-sighted decision as opposed to playing the long game.
Sunsetting MagicBands is almost the opposite of that. Time passed them by years ago.
MagicBands were arguably obsolete within a year or two of first being released, and if not by then, once smartphones gained greater market share among Americans and, specifically, Walt Disney World’s core demographics. The biggest thing that kept MagicBands relevant until 2021 was Walt Disney World distributing them to so many guests for “free” (or building them into the cost of rooms).
It’s understandable that many guests, especially technology-averse ones, would disagree with this. It likewise makes sense that fans push back on all cost-cutting, nickel & diming, etc., as a matter of principle–if we give Disney an inch, they’ll take a mile. I certainly don’t like losing perks.
At the same time, we’re now several years removed from the decision to end free MagicBands, so I should be able to “safely” admit that I think it was the right call. There’s no such thing as a free lunch, and providing a MagicBand with every on-site hotel stay was incredibly wasteful on balance.
If anything, I think the truly wrong call here was throwing good money after bad and making the MagicBand+, as I’m highly skeptical that’s even managed to recoup its development costs and it was a worse product than its predecessor. If Walt Disney World is only going to offer one style of MagicBands, it should be the cheaper and dumber ones. Basically, they’ve retired the wrong version of the product!
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Your Thoughts
Do you still purchase or use OG MagicBands or MagicBand+ at Walt Disney World? What do you think about decline of wearables at WDW? Do you think the MB+ is worth the money, or are there better ways to allocate limited vacation budgets? Think Disney made a mistake by sunsetting the free MagicBands for on-site stays, or was it the right call? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Two things that make MB+ worth it to me, and only one really applies to MB+ specifically:
1. They’re rechargeable – this means they can be fully functional for more than ~1 year. As we all (should) know, once the battery dies in an OG MB/MB2.0 it’s only good for taps. The long range reads for ride photos and whatnot cease to function – resulting in lost ride photos at minimum. Which leads me to….
2. The long range reads. I know WDW says it SHOULD work with Bluetooth permissions enabled in the app, but we all know Disney IT and how that goes. The one time I tried an Apple Watch only trip, I got no automatic ride photos. So I never tried again. lol.
Now that my family has a handful of MB+ we probably will abstain from future purchases – save for my two year old who will need one for his next trip once he’s three. But I also fear you’re correct – the writing is probably on the wall with those limited options for sale.
We just returned from a trip in January, our party of ten using “dumb”MagicBands that were several years old, and reused for several annual trips. Never had a problem linking photos, or with anything else for that matter. They made our trip more convenient and magical. I hope Disney doesn’t abandon them anytime soon.
I was actually just thinking “maybe he’s right and we’ll stop using magic bands.” Especially considering we’re increasingly forced onto our phones anyway.
But you bring up a good point and something I hadn’t thought of. We love memory Maker and get it every visit. While some rides have taps, there’s quite a few that don’t. It’s nice to not have to worry about tapping and just walking off a ride and getting on with it.
Maybe we’ll stick it out with the magic bands a little longer…
magic bands make the park come alive for my kids. they love them. I would pay triple the price if that’s what it cost.
Well thought out and written article Tom. While I agree with the premise of your article, the MB+ works for us. Our family of four had resisted buying MB for years exactly as you suggest….extra price. Given we make a trip or two each year to DL, WDW, or Aulani we finally broke down and got bands for all four of us. Extra cost yes but very enjoyable. What I like is that its helps to lessen my time on the mobile phone. It’s what I dislike a lot in the parks now and the MB+ helps. We always get the Photo Pass and take a ton of photos. MB tap with the photographer and we’re good. Also use it at the gate, purchases, and room key except DL I think due to privacy laws…grrrrr).
I love the convenience of the MagicBands. you don’t need to be constantly looking for a credit card. or holding your cell phone in your hand ALL DAY LONG. I bought a rechargeable one and wear it on the opposite wrist from my Fitbit.
perhaps a discount for people who are staying on property, Florida residents, or pass holders…
We booked our hotel back in September, and at no point have I been able to buy a MagicBand 2.0 with the pre-arrival discount. I don’t recall seeing any available on the Disney Store website either, but not sure when I started checking. The pre-arrival selection has been so small and heavy on Star Wars (not my cup of tea), but there were a couple that weren’t being sold on the Disney Store website. I ended up buying MagicBand+ for our family through the Disney Store when they were discounted before Christmas. I was on the fence, but with little kids, I think it’ll make entry and lightning lanes simpler…plus it’s a little extra fun for them to be able to open the door, pay for a snack, see the lights activate, etc. I would’ve appreciated free basic Magic Bands with resort reservations, and I would’ve preferred to buy the “dumber,” cheaper version for $10 a piece. I have no intention of playing any games in the parks, and I personally think it’s pretty silly to be watching lame lights on your wrist during fireworks or shows when you’re AT DISNEY WORLD. If I were on a stricter budget, I definitely wouldn’t have bothered with MagicBand+, though.
Grrrr come on! So much bad news bumming me out! I love our OG ones and I’m proud we managed not to lose any of our 4 over the course of 5 years. They should have just left them alone (never cared to upgrade for lights and games when we’re already entertained enough just being at Disney) and continued to give them for free. Now, I’d like some good news for a change!
Hell, the original MBs are still useful for tickets, getting into park, return times, etc. They may not always work for linking ride photos, but I used one last year just to see and it worked for everything else…
I have no interest in a so-called smart watch, though I’ll admit I’ve never tried one, or even a fitbit-type device. Maybe Samsung has one that could be useful but I’ve never looked. But maybe, if it would somewhat decrease the drain on the phone’s battery…
I still like my MagicBands. Breaking them out for a trip brings a certain amount of happiness to me. While the lights are cool, l liked being able to design one at the co-op.
same for us. they stay in our luggage so we dont forget them. plus it keeps us off our phone. if we’re not using LL we even use paper maps and old school it haha just to keep our faces out of our screens for that magical time!
A map? In the parks? Seriously? Maybe I’ve been there too may times…
Guess I need to update my Going Around The World: The Bathrooms of Epcot tshirt with the recent changes.
Just like your article mentions, our 2024 DLR trip made make decisions about things like Magic Bands, ILL, and LL. My party of six ended up spending as much as a seventh ticket for Max Pass/LL all five days, because PhotoPass alone is that important to me. my teens all have phones, so they had the app just like my spouse and I did.
But not the 9yo. Luckily, I had a chance to get a “free with purchase” MB from a Disney Store online purchase. I recommend them for the younger, phone-less members of your party. The 9yo loved being able to swipe in for LL and all the lights and color changes the band did on different rides, like turning Spidey red and blue for Web Slingers. I wouldn’t pay $65, but $35 would be “worth it.”
Like others, I enjoy them at WDW for opening hotel rooms, paying, using DDP, etc. Easier than the phone and helpful for a little digital detox.
Magic Mobile is such a pain to use, it rarely opens the resort door and hardly ever unlocks the pool gates. We prefer to use our MBs as they’re easier. I continue to recommend MB to new guests, especially ones who do not own Apple Watches $20 MB vs a $700 watch?).
If you really were pitching a way to save costs, tell new guests to just get a plastic room key and use that for free.
I totally agree with this. I can’t tell you the number of times we’ve gotten stuck behind a group at park entry trying to use Magic Mobile. Invariably, they seem to have problems getting into the park. I’ll use my Magic Band until it just won’t work anymore.
I Agree completely. Couldn’t get the app on my phone to open the hotel room door. Husband’s phone worked though. MB+ was much easier and worked every time for both of us. And the app was eating up my battery life.
So, I love MB/MB+ for WDW. I can NEVER get my phone to open the freaking door or the pools! My Apple Watch works — but last trip it kept ID’g my son as me on my Apple Watch since I had all the kids’ passes loaded in my Apple Watch and iPhone wallet, which was a hassle to get someone with an iPad to fix it every turnstile to get into a park — and then I lost some Memory Maker photos, because I carry that on my pass, but when we scanned it, it only seemed to remember my son scanning in, so lost photos for that day on all the rides! Ughhh.
I love the bands for pools, hot tubs, water parks, and the kids to scan themselves into parks and also to be authorized users to buy things with the bands — like a coffee at Le Petit Cafe and run it back to us in the room.
I would happily use my Apple Watch for everything, but it doesn’t freaking work consistently, and I also don’t want to bring my phone to the pool/hot tub, either.
This happened to us during our last trip, I sent an email to the address in PhotoPass under the can’t find your photos area. I figured it was a lost cause but after a couple days they notified me they had found our photos! It may have helped that we were wearing matching bright red Disney shirts and I knew the time due to the LL reservation, but I was shocked and thrilled they were able to fine our photos.
Another in a series of mistakes on Disney’s part. Magic bands were always part of the “Disney Bubble” something that Disney seems intent on destroying. Earth to Iger: Cell phones are not part of the Disney experience! We come to Disney hoping to forget that we constantly use them, at least for the time we are there.
I absolutely love my OG Magicband. It is so nice to just tap in or pay easy. Not having to dig out my phone or my card. Great also just opening the door late at night. I don’t have a smart watch. I guess when my OG goes I will just have to use the old plastic card. Sure is nice not having to dig something out of a pocket or backpack.
You can have my MagicBands (OG 2014 that still works just fine, and January 2024 MB+ that I’ve had no problems with on five visits since) when you pry them off my wrist, I love them. And I’m not sure what entry process you’re watching, but it seems pretty obvious to me that people are still using Magic Bands to get into the parks at a pretty high rate?
We use the MGBand+ at WDW resorts to open rooms, pay for meals, etc. And on DCL to open rooms and the Concierge Lounge.
We got Magic Bands (think they’re 2.0 in your terms) for our trip to WDW in September 2021. They worked great. We used them again in September 2023, and they still worked for many things that we needed them for (Pop Century room doors, transactions, etc.). BUT….we had purchased the Memory Maker photo package and found that many of the newer rides were not recognizing our MB’s and thus, were not linking ride pics up to our account. I didn’t realize this until we were a good ways into our park visits (I don’t pay much attention to the app while trying to wrangle 2 kids and figure out where we’re going next). So that was a bit disappointing to miss out on many ride pics because of this.
we went to Disney world sept
2023 bought 2 magicbands from 50 year anniversary. got half price online through Disney. they were a lifesaver for us because when packing I stupidly left my debit card at home not realizing I did that until on plane in the air.. got to pop century all info needed was already on band. worked great.
There are numerous things I really enjoy about your articles: the jokes (both the corny ones and the sly, gentle sarcasm), the pictures, the commitment to trying to be as helpful as you can. Another thing that has kept me as a consistent reader since stumbling upon your site back in 2021 while planning what I had thought would be a one-and-done right of passage trip is your duality between the sweetest nostalgia for Disney-gone-by (exemplified in your writing anytime you mention the Country Bears) and your cold, bottomline focused logical approach of “is this worth it?” as reflected in this analysis the MagicBands. Thanks for the articles!
If they plan to eventually kill magic bands completely they really need to beef up the in park Wi-Fi. There were tons of dead spots in the park. Especially inside attractions. There were quite a few times we were trying to book our next attraction while waiting in the queue and had trouble due to a weak or non existent Wi-Fi connection. Another item with them making us rely on our phones is battery life. When it comes to battery usage, the Disney app is a resource hog. before our last visit I purchased a high capacity power bank that I can get 2 or 3 full charges out of. I made good use of it having to recharge my phone at least once a day if we were doing a full day in the park. They need to setup charging stations or install more power rod kiosks.
in 2023 our 2019 OG MBs still worked. if they don’t this year we’ll be going for a card each as we only take one mobile to parks and certainly don’t need stress of battery drain.
My husband and I still use the original, but our kids had magic band plus on our last trip in 23 and I didn’t notice a huge difference, plus we had to remember to charge all three each night. We will reuse all of our same gear when we go this fall as there’s so much added expense w/lightning lanes now. I really like that magic bands don’t run down your battery and that it keeps my phone available for mobile ordering or ride times. Plus for the little ones we wrap a Band-Aid around the closure of the magic bands to keep them from falling off, whereas I feel like a key card they would definitely lose.