Disney’s MyMagic+ FAQ
MyMagic+ is a planning program at Walt Disney World that utilizes the My Disney Experience app, MagicBands, and other technology to assist guests on their vacations. This post offers tips and provides answers to frequently asked questions and advice for how to get the most out of the My Disney Experience app, MyMagic+, MagicBands, and more.
The MyMagic+ system completed its rollout a couple of years ago, with FastPass+ and MagicBands now being available to all guests, and the My Disney Experience app now fully functional, even for guests staying at off-site hotels when visiting Walt Disney World. Tweaks to My Disney Experience and other components of the system have continued throughout Late 2016 (this post was last updated October 21, 2016). This FAQ has been updated several times since then to cover all of the updates to MyMagic+.
With that said, we anticipate further tweaks to MyMagic+ even though it is now fully rolled out, as adjustments are made based on full scale use of the system. As information changes, we’ll revise and supplement this page. Please note that this post has been revised heavily since MyMagic+ initially began testing.
Note that this post on MyMagic+ covers the entire system Walt Disney World uses, from MagicBands to unlock their hotel room doors to the My Disney Experience app to make dining reservations. The most important part of this, for most guests is FastPass+. We also now have a huge Guide to FastPass+ at Walt Disney World complete with screenshots from My Disney Experience and tips for best taking advantage of FastPass+. That post is a much more “essential” read than this one…
With that said, let’s cover the basics of the MyMagic+ system…
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is MyMagic+?
Beyond the general description above, to the forward-facing public, MyMagic+ is a planning and enhancement tool consisting of the My Disney Experience smartphone app, FastPass+, and the MagicBand bracelet, all of which are proprietary Disney technology.
To guests, MyMagic+ is a way to seamlessly integrate various aspects of their Walt Disney World experience into one system, making dining and FastPass+ reservations via the My Disney Experience app, and redeeming FastPass+, charging expenses, and opening their hotel room doors (among other future functionality) with their MagicBands.
To Disney, MyMagic+ is a way to track guest behavior to maximize spending, manage labor more effectively, and assist with strategic planning. In theory, the system should also allow Disney to be more responsive to in-park traffic patterns as they shift, and deploy additional entertainment or increase (artificially underutilized) capacity at certain attractions with demand. In theory at least.
In a perfect world, the system will be beneficial to both guests and Disney.
What is My Disney Experience?
My Disney Experience is the smartphone app for the iPhone, iPad, and Android that is now available for download, which is also a web-based client on DisneyWorld.com. Guests can view wait times, make or change FastPass+ reservations, make dining reservations, and utilize other functionality. It is expected that advanced functionality for the app will be added over time.
What is FastPass+?
FastPass+ is a digital ride reservation system that has replaced paper FastPass tickets. FastPass+ can be obtained via the My Disney Experience app/website in advance of visits or via in-park kiosks for guests who don’t have smart phones, and will be stored on the MagicBand or park tickets. Guests can “redeem” their FastPass+ by swiping the MagicBand against an RFID reader outside applicable attractions. Guests are able to book 3 FastPass+ tickets in advance of their vacation (so, from home) at scheduled times. FastPass+ effectively spells the end of the morning Toy Story Mania FastPass dash!
Not all FastPass+ attractions are created equally–many were added in order to have sufficient capacity in the system so that each guest can book 3 per day. Do research before booking these, as some attractions with FASTPASS+ normally have no wait. You are wasting a FastPass by using it at one of these attractions. Our Disney Ride Guides for Walt Disney World each contain recommendations concerning the best uses of FastPass+.
How does FastPass+ work?
Much like Advance Dining Reservations, guests can select three “preferred experiences” (attractions and reserved seating for shows/parades) guests then can choose from available time slots. Some parks have FastPass+ “tiers,” and you may only select 1 attraction from the top tier (meaning no FastPass+ for both Soarin’ and Test Track at Epcot!) All advance selections must be in the same park, so guests who Park Hop will essentially be limited to day-of kiosk availability, if any.
Guests staying at Disney resort hotels at Walt Disney World can book their FastPass+ experiences up to 60 days in advance of their stay. Annual Passholders and off-site guests may book their FastPass+ experiences up to 30 days in advance of their visit.
Are you limited to 3 FastPass+ per day?
NO! Not anymore, at least. You can now book additional FastPass+ on the day-of once you’ve used the 3 FastPass+ that you booked in advance. This works similarly to the old FastPass system in that these day-of FastPasses can be booked one at a time, once you’ve used your previous FastPass.
You are still limited to book 3 per day in advance of your trip, but this change effectively means no limit on FastPass+ once you start using the FastPass+ that you booked in advance. This opens the door to using FastPass+ when Park Hopping, too. Same day FastPass+ availability isn’t as good as advance booking availability, so we still strongly recommend booking in advance.
Expect continuing adjustments to the FastPass+ process as Disney responds to guest patterns now that MyMagic+ has been rolled out to the general public. If you notice more changes during your visit, please report them to us in the comments below!
What is a MagicBand?
The MagicBand is the little bracelet that guests wear around their wrists. It stores guest information, including park tickets, FastPass+ reservations, Memory Maker photo package details, and can also be used to charge purchases to the guest’s room and as a room key. It will also contain a code that identifies the guest’s profile in Disney’s system, which the guest (at their election) can complete with a variety of encrypted personal information to make elements of their visit more interactive (for example, in the future, characters might say, “happy birthday” to a guest on his or her birthday).
For many guests, a MagicBand will replace all of the papers and cards you carry with you on a given day in the park. You could potentially just carry a MagicBand and an ID, and leave behind the rest of your wallet.
Optimistically, in the future it is likely that the MagicBand will offer a more tailored experience throughout the parks. Pessimistically, Disney will use MagicBand as an “ankle tracking bracelet” of sorts that monitors just about everything guests do in parks for the purpose of maximizing guest spending.
MagicBands are available in seven colors (red, blue, green, pink, yellow, orange, and iconic gray). For guests staying at Walt Disney World hotels, they will be shipped to a guest’s home prior to arrival. If the trip is booked within 9 days of arrival, the MagicBand will be provided upon check-in. Annual Passholders may order a MagicBand and have it shipped to their home, free of charge. Iconic gray will be the default color for replacements and late arrivals. The MagicBand is waterproof, but doesn’t float. Each band will have a 3-year battery.
For guests staying off-site, MagicBands may be purchased in the theme parks, Downtown Disney, and various other locations for $12.95 each. MagicBands are not required for park admission or FastPass+ redemption, so they aren’t technically necessary at this time. Because of that, we do not recommend off-site guests purchase them.
Tables in Wonderland and other “membership” cards cannot be added to the MagicBand as of right now.
Is MyMagic+ available to the general public?
Yes, the only restrictions on MyMagic+ to the general public (as in those guests not staying in Disney-owned hotels) at this point is that their MagicBands are not free, and they have a 30-day advance window for booking FastPass+ once they have their park tickets. For this reason, we recommend purchasing park tickets in advance.
As a practical reality, we have noticed no actual disadvantages for off-site guests. Sure, there is convenience in being able to use the MagicBand for a variety of purposes including room charges and a hotel key, but even without the MagicBand, these weren’t things off-site guests could do.
As for the 30 v. 60 day window, we haven’t seen that make much of a difference. That could change as more people continue to use MyMagic+, but as of right now, there is usually very good FastPass+ availability at 30 days.
We do anticipate some future features that will require a MagicBand, but that is not presently the case. If/when that happens, off-site guests will be able to take full advantage by purchasing a MagicBand.
How much does MyMagic+ cost?
MyMagic+ will be available for all on-site guests, Annual Passholders, and Cast Members at no additional visible charge. However, since this entire NextGen project that includes MyMagic+ has cost Disney an estimated $1.5 to $2 billion dollars, you can bet that Disney will be rolling the costs into existing charges. Sort of the same way Disney’s Magical Express and transportation are ostensibly free, but Disney builds these “freebies” into the cost of vacation packages. Disney is a for-profit business, so you can bet you’ll be paying for this one way or another.
Off-site guests will have to pay $12.95 if they want a MagicBand. Again, at this point we really view that as an unnecessary purchase for off-site guests unless you really think the bands look stylish!
Add-on accessories and other trinkets for customizing the MagicBands are also available, called “MagicBandits” at an additional cost. Disney will have to sell a lot of Little Mermaid MagicBand dinglehoppers to pay for the system completely! 😉
How will MyMagic+ enhance my park experience?
MyMagic+ allows for greater advance planning and less racing around collecting FastPasses when in the park. It reduces a bunch on interconnected, but separate, aspects of a Walt Disney World vacation into a single, seamless system.
Going forward, it could also lead to increased interactively in the parks. Examples include characters at meet & greets saying hello to you by name and knowing a few of your personal details to humanize the experience. Similarly, advanced Audio-Animatronics in queues may interact with you. It’s also possible that queue games and experiences may be able to store your “achievements.” None of these things are “live” right now, but Disney has such projects in the works.
These are just a few examples of what is possible with MyMagic+. Much remains unknown, and is dependent upon how Disney is able to utilize the system going forward.
How will MyMagic+ detract from my park experience?
While the advance planning might be a plus for some, it’s likely to be a negative for many others. A portion of all FastPass+ will be allocated towards day-guests who don’t make reservations in advance, but there’s no question that there will be fewer FastPass+ for day-guests, who could find themselves waiting in long lines at FastPass+ kiosks when they arrive to the park. However, since you’re reading this article, it’s unlikely that this will detract from your experience–you now know that it’s important to make FastPass+ reservations in advance.
The main people who will be disadvantaged are those who do not do any advance planning before their trips. In fairness, these people are pretty much always disadvantaged, and are disadvantaged for failing to do their own due diligence.
Serious planners may also be disadvantaged, especially those who typically were able to utilize more than 3 FastPasses under the old, paper FastPass system. Efficient guests could regularly use 5+ FastPasses in a single day, and those people will likely find themselves waiting more time in line by being limited to 3 FastPass+ per day.
Elements of spontaneity will also be gone, as the new system requires more advance planning, some of which may not be practical for many guests 60 days before their visit. Beyond these concerns, there are great concerns by many over privacy information that Disney will collect as part of this initiative. Disney’s goal with MyMagic+ is a more enjoyable and intimate theme park experience, but its other main goal is to increase guest spending and efficiency. Many guests probably already feel as if they are spending too much at Walt Disney World.
Will you be able to opt out of MyMagic+?
If these privacy concerns don’t sit well with you, fear not, as MyMagic+ is an opt-in program that will not require participation. However, the number of perks afforded only to those who use MyMagic+ will be such that most guests will feel compelled to participate. If not, you’ll be stuck with waiting in the same-day FastPass+ lines and will have a difficult (if not impossible) time scoring FastPass+ for the most popular attractions, like Toy Story Mania.
What about Annual Passholders?
Annual Passholders can now register to receive their own MyMagic+ accounts and MagicBands free of charge. FastPass+ rules are slightly different for Annual Passholders, who have the 30 day advance booking window but also are limited to only 7 days worth of FastPass+ reservations for any 30 day period. For Annual Passholders who visit more than 7 days per month, this means some days with 0 FastPass+.
Replacement MagicBands for Annual Passholders will cost $50 (given the $12.95 cost for a MagicBand for day guests, we’re not sure whether this replacement cost will change, but it’s the current cost). Annual Passholders will be able to tie a credit card to their MagicBands for purchases at Walt Disney World.
What about guests without smartphones?
While a smartphone is necessary to use the My Disney Experience app, it is not necessary to use MyMagic+. Guests can pre-book their FastPass+ experiences from home or on kiosks set-up within the parks. Kiosks are located throughout the Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, Epcot, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom. One thing we noticed in Epcot is that the first FastPass+ kiosk in the park always had the longest lines–try going to one further in the park for shorter lines if you need to use the in-park kiosks. However, we highly recommend advance booking of FastPass+.
The user experience likely won’t be quite the same for those who can’t make adjustments on the fly with the My Disney Experience app, but a smartphone is still not required to partake.
What if I miss a FastPass+ window?
Disney is pretty efficient given its size, but it has a number of inefficiencies and variables beyond guest’s control. If transportation, dining, etc., outside of the guest’s control causes a guest to miss their FastPass+ window, Cast Members have limited discretionary authority over accommodating the guests. We don’t recommend “testing” the amount of discretion they have unless you have real circumstances beyond your control preventing you from making the window. It’s more of a hassle than it’s worth.
What if I book through a travel agent?
If you’re staying at a Walt Disney World hotel, you will have the same advantages. You can even have your travel agent book your FastPass+ and other reservations via My Disney Experience (if you want, and if that’s one of the services they offer).
What is Memory Maker?
Memory Maker is the photography service component of MyMagic+ that effectively replaces PhotoPass+. Although there are some differences between Memory Maker and PhotoPass+, they aren’t expected to be significant. Essentially, this is just a renaming as Disney integrates the photo service into the Magic Bands and My Disney Experience. If you liked PhotoPass+, you’ll probably like Memory Maker. If you didn’t like PhotoPass+, same goes. If you are unfamiliar with PhotoPass+, read our post explaining its pros and cons.
Our Thoughts
While I do have some concerns about the privacy aspect and the money Disney has spent on the infrastructure for this new system, I already heavily use Google products, so the privacy concerns aren’t a big thing. I’m not exactly wild about the direction society is going with privacy, and I think corporations are diminishing our expectations of privacy, but this is far from the most (or even close to it) egregious example of that.
My greater concern lies with how much Disney has spent on this whole NextGen initiative, and how that money could have been used on actual substance or necessary maintenance in the parks. To me, the gains from a streamlined system aren’t a big deal. As for other aspects of NextGen and what MyMagic+ might be able to do in the future, I enjoy video games, but I don’t go to Walt Disney World to experience them, and it seems the whole direction of the Disney enterprise has been to cater more to the video game and iPhone-addicted generation.
I hope quality dark rides and themed environments continue to be a huge focus for Disney (and if Cars Land is any indication, they are), because this billion dollar investment represents nothing that I personally couldn’t do without. Now, if Disney quickly sees a huge return on investment, great. But I’d still rather see capital expenditures made on attractions and transportation infrastructure, rather than Disney Vacation Club resorts and NextGen. Not to say DVC and NextGen don’t have their place, but right now they seem like the primary focus of Disney in the theme parks realm (at least at Walt Disney World).
As for the actual functionality of MyMagic+? While it was initially somewhat problematic during early testing, our visits in 2016, MyMagic+ has worked flawlessly. This isn’t to say there aren’t still some kinks with the system, but it’s now (mostly) operating as intended.
For Walt Disney World trip planning tips and comprehensive advice, make sure to read our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide and related articles.
For updates on Walt Disney World, the latest news, discount information, and tips, sign up for our free monthly newsletter!
Your Reaction?
Now that we have a good amount of concrete information about MyMagic+ and the NextGen project, what are your thoughts? Do you see this as the evolution of the theme park experience, a profiteering and data-mining folly that is bound to fail, or is your opinion somewhere in between? If you’ve had a chance to use FastPass+, we really want to hear from you! Share your thoughts in the comments!
I will be visiting disney with a group of friends soon and I will likely be booking and planning everything so im concerned about the credit card part… Does credit card information have to be put onto the magic bands? Or can we keep that separate and still pay with cash or the actual credit card? I just don’t like the idea of everyone having the ability to pay for things with my card without my knowing.
Also is it possible to link different credit cards on different bands? Thank you in advance to any that answer 🙂
i recently received my magic bands, and the box includes small plastic attachments for the vacation club. are these attachments necessary, or are they just a decoration?
So the Magic Band bracelets do not let one cut to the front of the lines if you purchase them inside a theme park’s gift shop?
No, they do not. FastPass+ is the ride reservation system that allows “cutting” (not really, but to use your term), and that’s available for all guests as discussed above.
Une fois de plus un οst É‘ssurément séduisant
This is very “Big Brother” and creepy technology. I hope it fails badly. Im “old” wtih technology and almost 50 years old – I never get reception in Disneyland, no wifi, and I hate to be on a phone at the park. This would force more phone time. I hate this idea and this technology.
Well to be fair, you don’t have to use the band ( so no creepy technology here ), and then for getting fastpass you simply go to a kiosk and get the fastpass you want ( similar to how it used to, but now kiosk as for throughout the park, for whatever attraction you want to do, no more running around ).
This is all so confusing! I was last at wdw when fp+ was being tested and paid it no mind. But it seems a lot has changed… Does this mean classic fp option is no longer available? Will we be able to use our tickets to print a fp for whatever time slot is available? Or is it fp+ or no fp at all?
Hi, my mum is there at the minute, she flys over from the UK about three times a year at a cost of about $1200 a time/per person. At least one of those occasions will be a large family holiday of between 4-8 adults and two small children, for a duration of about 6 weeks. In addition there are some friends of ours (a family of 5) who also go at least once a year for about 6 weeks. We all work very hard to be able to afford to do this and spend a lot of money not just in Disney but in the local economy (eating out) and national economy (vacation home/utility bills/taxes). It would be incredibly painful to not vacation here anymore after having invested 20+ years but such was mums experience yesterday that she doesn’t really fancy doing any more Disney this trip.
I spoke to my mum on the phone yesterday after her first day in the parks using magic bands and fast pass plus. To say she was annoyed would be an understatement! Having been many times and considering the durations of her/our stays she/we no longer feel the need to tour the parks like we are never going back. I presume this is how most locals utilise the parks. We often decide at the last minute to nip to DHS after dinner and jump on ToT and really have no plan as to what we will do from one day to the next.
Mum said it took over an hour for her friend to sync their mymagic accounts so they could get fp’s together. Then, once they had done that they couldn’t actually get what they wanted. The fp’s that they got were for 9am, 1pm and 8:30 pm.
She also doesn’t have a smartphone, so when she is in the park and wants to get a fp or change an fp she has to go to a cast member with an iPad. All of then had at least 20 people in line. She said all she did was walk around and see lines for everything, things that, even in July/august didn’t used to have lines.
Mum was so disheartened by the nightmare that was mymagic+ that she is seriously considering not renewing her AP (which would also include dad/sister/me/hubby/family friends) resulting in a lot of lost revenue for Disney. I know that the way that we tour the parks is not the way that the majority of people do and we are very lucky to be able to vacation in this way but I’m just so disappointed that Disney seem to have given absolutely no consideration to the proportion of people who like to vacation without a plan that is set in stone.
Ouch, that sounds pretty bad! Thanks for reporting back on her experience, although I’m really sorry to hear that it happened in the first place. 🙁
Thank you for confirming my suspicions.Im sorry this happened. Im not “techy” either and IM sure this is the tip of the iceberg.
“Pulling numbers out of the air, I think this is 25% about guest needs/desires (mostly with a younger iDevice demographic) and 75% about the bottom line.”
-Tom Bricker
Your poor mum had to go to a Cast Member with an iPad to manage her disneyexperience/mymagic account? That takes up most of her time! Your feedback proves that the new mymagic+ system is only useful for the 25% of park goers, who all happen to be part of the young idevice demographic.
Hi,
It’s now weeks after mums holiday and she is still ranting and raving about it! She is not averse to technology but it takes her a while to figure out how to use something 🙂 she has an iMac at home and just bought a MacBook Air when she was over at Easter ($$$ cheaper than the UK!) but she refuses to have a mobile phone that does anything more than call people! She said, as others have pointed out, that one of the most annoying things was how any people were walking around with their head watching a device on their hand rather than where they were going. It will only take one person to walk into my toddler or my soon to be new baby’s pushchair through not watching where they are going and I will lose it!!
Xxx
An I’m a young person! 25 years old.
I’m at WDW right now and unfortunately, you cannot get more fastpasses once your three pre-planned fastpasses are gone. I’ve spoken with several cast members and they seem to think the extra fastpasses are glitches.
The bands are great for everything EXCEPT fastpass+.
There was an official announcement from Disney regarding the additional FastPass+ beyond 3, so it’s definitely not a glitch.
Hope you’re having a great trip! 🙂
We had a great trip! From what I read, it seems the extra fastpasses are going to be rolled out soon, but as of yesterday, they’re still not available. Hopefully soon!
Quick follow-up to my previous post. We just returned from a week at WDW. All I can say is WOW did we have a good time! Magic bands, FP+, My Disney Experience — all worked perfectly. Planning for the trip practically made my head explode, and I’m not sure what all this stuff means for more spontaneous types, but for our family, we had an AMAZING vacation. We’ve traveled a lot, and this trip was truly one of the greats. Fun, fun, fun!! I feel really confident that Disney will work out any wrinkles in the system.
I’m really hoping a lot of the wrinkles are ironed out of the MyMagic+ system by now… Back when my wife and I last visited in September 2013, we had a number of issues with our MagicBands related to billing (whoops, cards didn’t link), room entry (locked out on day 1), park entry (slowed at rope drop every day), and Fast Pass usage (I “wasn’t in the park” so I couldn’t get additional FastPasses without help from a Cast Member). While we didn’t let it ruin our trip, it certainly annoyed us a fair amount, but Disney did try to remedy the situation with a few small benefits here and there, so kudos for good customer service. I work in I.T. and realize giant projects like this take time to perfect, so when we return for Christmas 2014, if we encounter as little as even half of the issues that we had last time, I’ll consider it a resounding success.
Nice review! It definitely gave me some more insight on MyMagic+.
Here’s the big question for me: does everyone in the group have to pick the same attractions for FassPass+, or can everyone pick different ones?
If I book my hotel on Expedia, and purchase tickets on Undercover Agent, can I receive a MagicBand? And if so, when? Also, since all four of us are going to be using FastPass, can I get all four of us at the same attraction at once using FastPass? Thanks!
If you’re staying at a Disney-owned hotel, you will receive a MagicBand. Regardless, you can book FastPass+ for all of you on the same attraction.
Well I think the people at Universal must be delighted with the magic band and the “enhanced” guest experiences. I’ve been coming to WDW since it opened and my experience this trip with magic band has us considering NEVER coming back! I have never seen so many unhappy customers…oh wait maybe I have, anyone remember Diners Club Cards? Lol! They also thought they owned their customers…when was the last time you saw a diners club card?
We had a slightly frustrating situation with ours on our last trip, but I believe that MM+ was still in beta at the time. My wife had almost no trouble with her magic band but mine kept forgetting I was in the park and I kept having to visit customer relations to get it fixed. Also, our credit cards weren’t linked for some reason either, which led to some embarrassing situations. Oh, and we were locked out of our room when we first arrived to our resort; the door panel was being screwy. Overall annoyed, but we got over it and thoroughly enjoyed our stay (and our calm reactions led to a free meal and 5 FP+ selections at DHS!)
But sweet beans of Buddha, what happened with your magic bands that was so bad you’re considering never returning, if you don’t mind me asking? It must have been pretty dang awful to make you want to never return to the Happiest Place on Earth! :-/
Just got home from Disney! I’m an AP and found the magic bands to be helpful and at times frustrating. Today the My Disney experience app updated and since that happened I was not able to pull up wait times at any park but Magic Kingdom. The dining part of the app wasn’t working either. I’m sure these will be addressed though. With the amount of money that’s been spent, I
don’t understand why we as AP have to still carry a separate card to get free parking and discounts on merchandise. I hope this is addressed soon as it was my probably my only true complaint. The fastpass+ system was nice for the most part. I really dislike the tiers at Epcot and Hollywood Studios and also the limit of 3 and ONE park per day. But at the same time we got up somewhat late on Saturday and I just pulled up the app and changed the times with no hassle at all. This was great since before we wouldn’t be able to obtain any until we entered the park. Overall I did like the system but I do think there is still a lot of work that needs to be done to it.
Yeah, the current AP set-up is frustrating. Hopefully they integrate Tables in Wonderland, DVC, D23, etc. I really don’t see why it would be that difficult.
Thanks for the feedback!
I just hope they change things to allow park hopping with fast pass+!
Yeah, it really boggles my mind that they’d discourage park hopping like this. Maybe it will come over time once they see guest traffic patterns?
We are in the process of planning a late March trip to WDW, our first visit. We are Disney fanatics from Southern California, so have many, many happy family memories at Disneyland. We’re doing the real splurge, staying at Grand Floridian, reserving nice restaurants, etc. I love to plan, but I have to say the planning for this trip has been extremely tedious. The website and app are Not Ready for Prime Time at all. Each time I log on, something has been changed up, and the app never shows all my reservations. I feel strongly that Disney should have done more testing of this MDE program before they put people’s precious vacation resources at risk. Nobody wants to spend expensive time in the park trying to figure out what’s on an app that is semi-functioning. As for the whole app thing in general, we just spent a lovely day at a seaside village in France when it happened to be a work holiday for the locals. We saw Not One Single Cell Phone. Instead, we saw families laughing and enjoying conversation, each other, and the lovely day.
Just got back from my 2nd trip in two months to Disney World. the fastpass plus is indeed 3 per day per park- not the entire stay. Loved them for visiting characters and parades and shows. We actually saw LESS of the park than we usually do- too much running from place to place for the fast pass+ times. We are annual pass holders as well as 13 year DVC members. Over the 28 years we have been going there I have seen the prices go up and up and up- but if you do it right, the prices are still in line. I know this is very unpopular- but I want to see the prices go even higher, the amount of riff raff at the parks has steadily increased and I would like to see them priced out of the market.
Hi, your blog its so awesome!! I´m planning a trip for september 2014, with my sister to take my goddaughter for this wonderful world!! she doesn´t know, its a surpise, and discover your blog give a tons of info that the past two times my sister and me visit wdw doesn´t know! but right now i have a concern, we are not staying at disney hotel, but at downtown disney hotel, what about the magic bands? it going to work for us? we can participate at this whole new project?
Thanks!!
I don’t have any inside info but my understanding of these band systems is that they have less to do with tracking guests and more to do with money handling/finances. I would not be surprised to see disney parks go cashless at some point in the future. If the band is tied to a credit card or prepaid account then they can eliminate every CM whose primary function is checkout, or getting cash into the bank at the end of the day, that’s a lot of jobs/cost the parks will save. Not to mention theft protection. And all those transaction fees paid to the credit card companies. It will speed up food lines and trinket sales which should make guests happy. It’s already what cruise lines do. And if you’ve been to a great Wolfe lodge then you can see where it’s headed. They will get the kinks worked out with the value-added aspects, get guests comfortable with it and then move into the financial advantages for them. I would expect that the expense of the system will be absorbed by the projected savings after its fully implemented. These are my own guesses. After doing Great Wolfe last year I can totally see how it would be nice not to need a wallet, room key etc while inside the park. kids bands could be customized to have a spending limit or only be room key only. It would be an awesome way to locate a lost kid. They could add games that you play by swiping your band at points throughout the park. The possibilities are endless. I can’t wait to see what’s coming.
I was in WDW just a few days ago and I really hated this new system! The bracelet was REALLY uncomfortable, and I hated how they only let you get Fastpasses for 3 rides only 🙁 No more and no less! And also, at EPCOT they split attractions into two groups, and for the 3 fastpasses you could only choose one from group 1, and two from group 2. I was planning to get fastpass for Soarin, Mission SPACE and Test Track but both Soarin and Test Track were on group 1 so I had to choose one of them! Also, as a person who doesnt have a smartphone and didnt bring my camera to my trip (as i’ve already been to Disney more than 10 times)it was really bothering me. I literally take NOTHING with me to the parks so I had almost no was of remembering the times. When I was first getting fastpasses with the new system I asked a cast member why didnt I get a ticket with the time of return printed on it and she said that I had to check it on the Disney app on my smartphone, when I told her I do not have a smartphone she just looked really surprised and said that I would just have to try and remember it in my head… Also they screen where you choose your Fastpasses (in the kiosks)is really confusing, for example when you choose the fastpass for an attraction, instead of just telling you which times are available, you just have to configure the fastpass ALL OVER AGAIN with each time until you find one available and it’s kind of tiring. I too hated how (at least when I was these earlier this month) there were so few kiosks for this thing… there were always lines at the kiosks!
This article was right – the element of spontaneity is totally gone. I’m a HUGE Disney fan, like I said, i’ve been there more than 10 times ever since I was only a few months old, but this new system didnt make my last trip as enjoyable as the ones before. I understand that some people like things perfectly planned but I think this is too much. For example, each and every time I have gone to WDW in the last years I have gone on the Mission SPACE ride 5 or 6 times in one day, because I could ALWAYS encounter random people just outside this ride giving out their fastpasses for who-knows-what reason (Its funny because it’s only happened to me on this ride in particular) so without plan, we just went on the ride again because a random guy wanted to give us his ticket! This and many other things were part of my Disney experience, the spontaneity, just walking around going on the rides and getting a fastpass not knowing what return time it would give you… You can imagine that i’m not a big fan of the regular Dining Plan either, I much prefer the quick-service plan and just eat whenever I want 😛 But at least that you can choose!
Well I understand this comment is very subjective, and I know some people would like it better like this, planning everything, so If most people like it then its ok, i’ll just have to get used to it 🙂 However I did try my best to express this opinion to every cast member I could, and I saw many many people who didnt like it as well, and very few who actually liked it.
Now, if the limitation of only 3 Fastpasses per day is “supposed to make lines shorter because many people abuse the Fastpass system” (this is what a cast member told me) then it’s not working at all. The standby lines are still as fuckin’ long as they’ve always been and the shorter but still existant Fastpass lines are STILL THE SAME as always, believe me, I have JUST been there.
ONE LAST UNREALTED THING, I really dont like how there’s wifi at the parks now. It was ok on the hotels but now EVERYONE’s just staring at their phones like zombies, makes me want to say to them “HEY, YOURE IN DISNEY WORLD, you’ll have time to stare at your phone later, just enjoy yourself now!” But oh well to each their own, they’re the ones missing out.