Discount Pre-Arrival MagicBand+ Designs at Disney World (Fall 2025)
Discounted MagicBand designs are available for pre-arrival Walt Disney World hotel guests and Annual Passholders. This buying guide covers the upgrade purchase process, inventory shortages, international issues & errors, Magic Band+ styles, and new options. (Updated August 3, 2025.)
To upgrade your Magic Band, use the My Disney Experience app or DisneyWorld.com, which allows you to choose from a variety of colors and designs inspired by characters, resorts, attractions, nighttime spectaculars, and more. The styles rotate with regularity, and there are dozens of MagicBand choices at discounted prices.
Walt Disney World typically offers dozens of MagicBand upgrade options, with new looks added as others sell out. As discussed below, the “new looks added” part of that has not been happening as much lately. Pricing varies, with options starting at $24.99 and costing as much as $44.99. We update this regularly with screenshots of the new MagicBands, plus info, and troubleshooting tips for what has proven to be a frustrating process.
Let’s start with all of the updates, as much has changed since this program launched. Walt Disney World has eliminated the complimentary solid-color MagicBands that were sent to guests pre-arrival. Disney also stopped offering free MagicBands to Annual Passholders.
This means that all MagicBands now cost money–you don’t get free ones with resort reservations or for being an Annual Passholder. Upgrading to these designs, buying MagicBands in the parks, or via shopDisney.com is your only option.
As always, MagicBands are not required at Walt Disney World. For room entry, park admission, Lightning Lanes, and charging privileges to the hotel room, Walt Disney World offers plastic Key To The World cards. This can be provided at the hotel front desk, and is how things worked prior to the debut of MagicBands several years ago. Alternatively, guests can receive standard ticket media and use that for park entry or using Lightning Lanes.
Additionally, MagicMobile service is available at Walt Disney World via the My Disney Experience app. This can be added to your Android, iPhone, or Apple Watch digital wallet once enabled. This works just like 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 Disney PhotoPass images to your account, enter Lightning Lanes, and more. Here’s how MagicMobile compares to MagicBands.
MagicMobile and Key to the World cards are two of four ways to access these features. The other options are the MagicBand+ and the regular ole MagicBand 2.0, as we’ll discuss below. Our brutally honest MagicBand+ Review: Good, Bad & Ugly should help you determine whether it’s for you.
For those wondering how MagicBand+ and MagicMobile compare to the original MagicBand, below is a handy chart. We’d recommend consulting that, trying out MagicMobile, and reading the above resources to determine whether upgrading to the MagicBand+ is worth it for you:
Unfortunately, there really isn’t much pointing in comparing the MagicBand+ to the OG MagicBand, as the latter is no longer available online. You might still be able to find older inventory in gift shops at Walt Disney World, but that’s a challenge. In End of an Era for MagicBands at Walt Disney World, we detail the tragic downfall of the wearable devices.
Not only is the MagicBand 2.0 dead, but the higher price points of the “plus” device 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.
In any case, here’s a current look at MagicBand+ inventory for the pre-arrival program as of August 3, 2025:
MagicBand+ Upgrade Designs – Fall 2025
There are currently 35 pre-arrival options, which is a sharp spike as compared to this winter through early summer! The three previous times we reported availability–in February, April and June–there was a low of 15 options and a high of 19. Having 35 choices, many of which are actually good, is a huge improvement.
It’s still fewer than shortly after the new MagicBand+ launched, when the options peaked at a high of 82 MagicBands. Part of the reason for a lower number since is undoubtedly that Walt Disney World is phasing out the regular ole MagicBands (officially known as MagicBand 2.0).
Personally, I still hope that Walt Disney World reverses course and makes more regular MagicBand styles. I’d rather pay less and stick with tried and true MagicBand 2. Here’s hoping that lower-than-anticipated sales of the MagicBand+ cause Disney to rethink its approach. Regular MagicBands are cheaper to make, which also means they wouldn’t need to be sold at such astronomical price points.
It’s also possible that there’s a lot less interest in MagicBand upgrades among guests. What started as a free program became paid, but was still a pretty good deal with $10 MagicBand options. Now, the minimum is $25 and there are upgrade options costing as much as $45. You’re arguably better off just waiting for a sale at the Disney Store, which also has better selection.
There’s also no harm in waiting until you arrive at Walt Disney World to purchase your MagicBand. The only downside is that you won’t be able to immediately use your MagicBand to open your hotel room door, enter the parks, etc–but the actual process of buying a MagicBand and linking it to your My Disney Experience account is simple and easy. You can also buy from DisneyStore.com, where there’s a perpetual selection of MagicBand+ designs on sale.
Speaking of which, you could walk into a Walt Disney World gift shop right now and find shelves and shelves of MagicBands. There is ample availability in the parks & resorts…but these are not the same product lines and the logistics of delivering to the parks is different than the fulfillment center for these MagicBand upgrade options. (A more resourceful company might figure out a way to reallocate supply, but Disney is no Amazon!)
Whether you should pay to purchase a MagicBand pre-arrival is a personal decision, but there’s one big upside in that it makes the vacation experience seamless and streamlined. You can bypass your hotel’s front desk, don’t have to hassle with separate payments, keys, etc. So there’s definitely an element of convenience for on-site guests.
Note that you have until 10 days before your arrival at Walt Disney World to customize and order your MagicBand if you want to have the MagicBand shipped to your home. If you order in under 10 days, you’re eliminating two of the biggest advantages in buying MagicBands.
Due to postal service delays, we recommend placing your order at least 14 days in advance to play it safe. Anecdotally, we’re also hearing of more guests having their orders delayed or cancelled completely, so even ordering far in advance doesn’t guarantee that your MagicBands will arrive on time–or at all.
With that said, here are our troubleshooting tips and the step-by-step process for ordering. (Just keep in mind that this was written when supply chain disruptions were not a thing–so you’re going to see a lot more inventory n the screenshots below that is NOT currently available!)
MagicBand+ Upgrade Troubleshooting Tips
It’s hard to believe, but the MagicBand upgrade option went live a few years ago. Part of the reason that it’s hard to believe is because MagicBand inventory remains hit or miss. The system is also frustratingly glitchy, with errors throughout the process.
One thing we’ll start by noting is that international guests can no longer order MagicBand or MagicBand+ via the pre-arrival system unless they have a United States mailing address. If you’re locating outside the U.S. and are having problems, that’s not a bug of the system.
There are possible workarounds for this, which should allow you to order and pick-up at the resort–but it requires a lot of extra legwork. In our view, it’s not worth the effort. Just buy a MagicBand when you get to Walt Disney World…or not at all.
Walt Disney World has not offered an official explanation (and probably never will), our best guess is that it’s a matter of intellectual property law. As mentioned in our Guide to DisneyBand+ on Disney Cruise Line, the name change was made there for that reason. We’ve since heard more about the issue, and it sounds like it’s more significant than previously reported–that Disney cannot use the MagicBand name at all in certain international markets.
Disney Legal is probably erring on the side of caution and preventing Walt Disney World from marketing or selling MagicBands internationally in any capacity to avoid litigation exposure. Again, all of this is unconfirmed but we’ve heard enough to believe that this explanation is highly credible. The upshot is that Disney doesn’t care if you jump through a few extra hoops and manage to make a pre-arrival order even while residing in Canada or the United Kingdom or wherever.
Otherwise, there are still intermittent issues with the pre-arrival upgrade system. Beyond this troubleshooting advice below coupled with persistence, there’s no good resolution. If reader reports are any indication, contacting Disney is unlikely to yield favorable results. (We’d love to hear your experiences in the comments!)
If you’re having trouble completing the selection process, or getting this to work, we’d recommend using the desktop site instead of the My Disney Experience app or mobile site. If the desktop version of DisneyWorld.com won’t work for you, try private browsing, incognito mode, or a different browser entirely.
Usually, we first try private browsing on Chrome, and that resolves the issue. However, a couple of times we’ve received a message that we do not have access to a certain page, or that our payment couldn’t be processed–both of those issues can be resolved by time-traveling back to Y2K and using Internet Explorer. (Don’t worry, you won’t have to use AOL or dial-up, too.)
We’ve found that this process gets hung up on several different pages, including on the selection and checkout process. Having a ‘clean’ browser will often resolve these issues. It’s not foolproof, but if you’re finding that things become unavailable right after you select them, that’s one explanation as to why.
If you’re having issues with inventory…there’s no great solution to that. We’d recommend watching the site, checking each morning at around 8 am for the day’s restocks, and ordering your MagicBands when you see a ‘good enough’ selection of MagicBands that appeal to you. Additionally, people are reporting issues with their orders actually shipping, but this seems to be a sporadic problem.
If your Walt Disney World vacation is not in the near future, we’d recommend being patient and waiting for a design you actually want. Now that Disney has a more accurate understanding of demand, they are (hopefully) more likely to increase the inventory to an adequate level to satisfy the incredible demand.
While we aren’t huge into Magic Bands, this will undoubtedly have collectors and character fans excited, as it means acquiring a new design for what amounts to $10 to 15 off. If you liked unique designs and already have a drawer full of the ‘standard’ colors from past Walt Disney World trips, jumping at the up-charge certainly makes sense.
Personally, I’ll probably just stick to the single, solid blue MagicBand that I’ve been using for the past several years…which itself replaced a different blue one that had to be “retired” because it was too dirty.
Not that you care about that. Anyway, here’s how the process works…
After clicking the “My MagicBands and Cards” link below the My Disney Experience drop-down on DisneyWorld.com or the “Choose MagicBands” button on your resort reservation, you’ll see the above screen.
As you can see, there’s a message on the screen indicating that the new upgrade options can be shipped to guests’ homes (U.S. addresses only) if ordered 11 or more days ahead of arrival. They can be personalized if done so at least 6 or more days ahead of arrival.
This is what appears next, and once you hit “Select” the screen scrolls down on the same page, revealing all of this:
No Country Bear Jamboree, but ya can’t win ’em all. New designs are constantly being added, designs sell out, are restocked, etc. Options change as part of special promotions, seasonal events, and that sort of thing. The ‘best’ designs that Walt Disney World believes will sell to collectors and enthusiasts remain exclusive to stores, where they can be sold at full price.
Once selected, you arrive at this complete purchase screen where you can change your name. From there, you’ll enter payment info, a shipping address, and finish the checkout. Assuming the system works. Good luck!
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of the new MagicBand upgrade options? Will you be paying the premium for one of these colors or themed designs? Any specific design catch your eye? Do you cynically think this is just a lame cash-grab? 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!
The Mickey’s birthday band is out there again for anybody that wants it.
There are a bunch of custom magic bands out there again . get them while you can they even have the one that has the castle on it.
There was over 20 available when I just ordered and got no errors. Really hope the order comes correct. My dad is only staying half of the trip and I managed to get him a pirates magic band and I had received errors all the way through purchase, but it eventually let me finish. It came today and it was correct, so I am optimistic!
I managed to order a Haunted Mansion band and just an orange one for my husband. No errors either!! Maybe they have ironed out the Kinks in the system 🙂
I hope you get all the magic bands that you want and that they are correct when you get them. I personally would like to get The nightmare before Christmas one if it ever becomes available.
FYI
For people who don’t have their trips for many months from now should let the people that are going on their trips soon to have a chance at getting the magic band upgrade.
At this rate it might take 6 months to be able to get the ones people want. I look for them to revamp program or discontinue and go back to either full price or solid colors.
Well I wish I have 6 months and not 5 days.
Try looking now they’re a bunch of new ones out there to choose.
letting people that are going on their trips sooner get the custom magic bands over people that are going on their trips for many months would not work. This could be risky for people who are going on trips several months from now because there may not be any more custom magic bands available after a certain time period. Instead of making custom magic bands a free for all Disney might consider letting resort guests choose their magic bands based on the date that they made their reservations.
The first question I asked Disney is if the demand extremely high why wouldn’t Disney have it set up similar to dining reservations and fastpasses where you can’t choose until so many days before your check in date. This would solve the problem rather quickly.
Nathan: I said the same thing. Why didn’t they put it into a time window like the dining & FP’s. I think they are learning from their big mistakes on this one.
I got mine today. Thanks Mark
You are welcome Nathan. I’m glad you were able to get what you wanted I still hope I’m lucky enough to get my nightmare before Christmas one that I want.
There are a bunch of new magic bands out there now to choose.
New magic bands are once again available to purchase. I was just able to get the nightmare before Christmas one that I’ve wanted for a while.
And gone
Try looking now they’re a bunch of new ones out there to choose.
While I do like to design bands I don’t like paying for them. They are now charging more to get in the parks, more for parking at the parks and at the resorts, more for food, more to stay at a resort, and now charging for bands that guest can otherwise get for free…and everyone is going crazy for them. A few weeks ago weren’t most of us were fine with the solid color ones that are free. I know they’ve always sold design magic bands and I’m sure people bought them but now that they’re “discounted” they’re selling out on the regular! This just encourages Disney to charge for more “free” things because they know that people will buy them. Maybe they’ll start charging for ice cold refreshing liquid magic (water) or pixie dust particles that fill your lungs with magic (otherwise know as AIR). Name it something different than what it actually is and of course we’d HAVE to buy that! This is getting ridiculous…I know I’m not the only one who feels this way.
I don’t understand why some people are reporting that Disney reps have given them promo codes to use on the store site. When I called because of error messages they pretty much said sorry keep trying. They also claimed that if your trip is more than 30 days away you are more likely to get an error message. I am not sure if I believe that or not. Super frustrating, nothing but error messages and now nothing is available again.
I was told the same thing the 2x I called Customer Service & also did the live chat a couple times. Basically ~ too bad, just keep trying. It means they are sold out. The can’t do anything about it. Not sure why you can call Disney to have them do your resort reservations, dining reservations & Fast Passes, but they can’t help with this. They don’t want to deal with it. They have turned something good into making guests angry. Like you said ~ now you don’t get anything at all. Good luck everyone.
Not sure the timeframe theory is true. From my experience, I was able to order for my October trip (3 people, 2 specialty bands) but still have not been able to get my order through for my August trip (5 people) despite trying repeatedly the past several days. Maybe I just got lucky with one, but it seems like a larger party makes it harder to get MDE to take everyone’s pick and have it go through.
I just checked and they put some more new magic bands out there that I didn’t see earlier.
I have been checking all day and have not got any bands :(. I am very disappointed in Disney.
Me too! Disney has done a terrible job with this. Not only the mess they have created, but by not communicating with their guests. Guest Services can’t even help with this one so don’t waste your time calling them. They have lost a lot of points in my book.
There are a bunch of new ones out there now try checking
Can you order new bands if you have already received the original bands. Mine just came the day you said there were new ones.
Sorry to say Karol but I believe once you have received your Magic Bands you can’t return / exchange them. The only way to get something different now is to buy them at full price. You didn’t really miss out on anything though because none of us are able to get our hands on the premium band anyways. Not a magical experience by any means.
I have been trying to access the site to edit my magic band for 4 days now but all I get is the 7 dwarves and we’re working on it message. Not good enough.
That happens to me a lot with Disney’s sites. Try using private browsing/incognito mode, or a different browser.
I spent a bunch of time on the site yesterday (6/24) with no luck. I was able to select bands for everyone, but every time I tried to check out, I’d get an error. I would keep retrying until my selected bands disappeared, and I had to start all over again. Eventually, the site stopped loading altogether. I tried again this morning and at first still couldn’t load the site, but when I finally got it up, only the solid colors were options. I’m really frustrated with how this whole thing worked and disappointed we will likely be stuck with standard unless I buy them at full price from the Disney store.
There are a bunch of new ones out there now if you want to check.
I ordered for my husband and me, and on the last screen, it said “Oops, something went wrong,” and kicked me out. Then I got an order confirmation email, but only for my band. My husband’s is showing a plain gray one. I’ve tried to email and chat with them, but they aren’t very responsive. The band he selected is still in stock – we have a split stay so I can see what’s available on that reservation. But I am not ordering again until they fix this.
Remember to use website NOT app! When I ordered my promo magic bands I wanted to “decline” my husband’s as he did not want one but could not figure out how. I called Wdw and they told me there was a way but I could not figure it out so he got a free plain colored one! The first day I could not get the White Castle one so I opted for the birthday one( it will be my birthday on that trip). I then got the Minnie bow one for lack of any other one I liked ( we have 2 back to back trips due to adding days to trip but not able to get “sun & fun on last added days of trip). Then designs gone. I waited. At first learning of more stock I went online on website and the White Castle one was available so I got that one for me and Grut for my granddaughter. We are out of state AP and go September, October, February & March… usually. The only issue I really had (besides lack of supply) was not being able to decline other members of our party who already have MB! Waste of MB! Thanks
I just checked and there are 13 different ones out there including Star Wars .
I made my resort reservation at a DVC resort about a month ago. I was so very excited to see that I could order these specialized Magicbands. I ordered and personalized two, and ensured my credit card info was correct. I didn’t receive a confirmation email; I was in a hurry at the time and didn’t think twice about it. Our arrival date is in 5 days, and guess what? No specialized Magicbands! I am so disappointed. I have been having issues with MDE in the last few months. My credit card info was dropped off my record and I was unable to make Fastpass reservations for my husband even though he has admission tickets loaded to his name. MDE used to work flawlessly and fast for me. Now, it has been more frustrating and I have spent far too long on hold waiting to talk to the Help Desk. I really wanted these Magicbands and I probably cannot order them unless I have a trip planned, so because of system problems, I missed out. I was able to order regular Magicbands–I already have 35!!!
I’m hoping that I can get The nightmare before Christmas one if it becomes available. There are about 20 new ones out there now.
Hi Pat,
I think it’s cool that you have 35 magic bands. I wish I had the opportunity to go to Disney that much. I only have two magic bands after I get my new one before my upcoming trip. Which magic bands do you have?
This has turned into a full-time job trying to get the Magic Bands we want. We are going for my 60th birthday celebration so I want the birthday one. Apparently everybody else on the planet does too. So frustrating how it is there, then it is gone, then you get the system error & can’t get in at all. I’ve gotten excited a couple times that both bands go into the cart, but when I hit the checkout I get an error they are not able to process & to contact them. But when you contact them they can’t do anything for you ~ it all needs to be done on line. Usually Disney is 2nd to none on everything they do. However, I don’t think they have thought this one through well before they launched this program. Signed, Exhausted Disney Fan.
now I’m getting the error below when I try to upgrade my magic band which is ridiculous!
Access Unavailable
You do not have permission to access this page.
Disney needs to take care of this and I think they’re doing this on purpose because the more we have to access the page the more interested it keeps us in the website. This also leads to more traffic on their website which means that they’re pageviews and site statistics increase.
Ridiculous is one word. I have many more I’ve been using. This is a total mess !!!
I now get that message every time I try to access the magic bands page in my default browser. If it persists, try using another web browser or incognito mode (as per Tom’s advice above). That has worked for me somewhat as I can at least access the page… but I still get the other error message (“We’re working on it!”) if and when I get through to checkout.
I just went on the site and there’s some new magic bands out there to purchase.
I like the idea of getting the upgraded bands but I wish they would also make the other plain colors available. I like the plain navy blue one that you can buy for 14.99.
So I got one of the four we wanted. I wanted to keep checking back as others came into stock, but since I got one, it won’t let me look for any others. It keeps says my order is being fulfilled. Any thoughts on this? We don’t arrive until Nov 30, so they shouldn’t be shipping already.
Unfortunately the order for all the bands on a resort reservation has to be done at the same time. Once you finalize and pay you can no longer make changes or add bands. If you didn’t select any band for others in your party it usually defaults to grey. If you had solid complimentary colors as a placeholder they wil send those.
There’s a bunch of new match fans out there if you want to try to get one now.
Sorry I meant magic bands.
As of now, none are available. I will likely have to wait and buy one at the park.
As of right now, there are only 18 of the upgraded bands. None are the ones I want. I will keep checking back. I understand why everyone is upset but it is cheaper then the original price. I am crossing my fingers that the one that I want comes back in stock. Yes, I know, Disney has these but I guess it is a matter of how many they are willing to let go for a cheaper price. I do have another one that I did purchase last year to use but I would like the Cinderella castle one too. I have time still.
I got all 3 of the ones I wantedâ¤ï¸â¤ï¸
If you still have time to pick for your upcoming trip. Check everyday through out the day. I did that last Thursday as it was my last day to finalize my bands. Checked every 5 minutes and got lucky! I got them before the rush and people found out they had been restocked. Good luck!