The Writing is On the Wall for MagicBands at Disney.
It’s the end of yet another era for MagicBands, which have been slowly fading away at Walt Disney World for a few years despite still being pretty popular (comparatively). It’s a different story at Disneyland, where the MagicBand+ is as good as dead. This discusses the device’s decline on both coasts, what led to this, and more.
Let’s start with the latest development for Walt Disney World, which is really non-news. During a recent media briefing, leadership from the WDW Product Management, Guest Experience, and Commercial Strategy departments discussed what to expect from upcoming digital product changes. They covered an upcoming overhaul to the My Disney Experience app and updates to Disneyworld.com, the most consequential of which we cover in detail here: Walt Disney World is Making Major App Changes.
MagicBands were not mentioned once. That’s not necessarily conclusive of anything; we don’t expect nonstop MagicBand news. But if there were a time to discuss developments to the wearable or its future, it would’ve been at this briefing. Instead, there was a reference to Apple Wallet in the new trip checklist feature, and that was it.
If there is a new MagicBand coming, 2026 would be the time to announce it. The original MagicBand was introduced in 2013 at Walt Disney World, with the iterative MagicBand 2.0 being announced three years later and launching in 2017. Fast-forward past COVID, and the MagicBand+ was announced for the 50th Anniversary in 2021 and released one year later.
Assuming a similar cadence, the next generation wearable should be announced any time now and launch in 2027. Which is why it was a conspicuous omission for MagicBands to not even be mentioned during that briefing on app and website updates. If MagicBands have a place as a marquee product offering, you’d think they’d come up.
Our strong suspicion for a while has been that MagicBands have no such future. That they are slowly being phased out in favor of better support for digital wallets, along with the likely introduction of facial recognition technology at park entrances and Lightning Lanes. That to the extent something tangible is necessary, physical ticket media or room keys will fill the gap.
The writing has been on the wall for a while, and was reinforced at the start of the last fiscal year with the End of Discount MagicBand+ for Walt Disney World Guests. That alone was a massive blow to guest utilization of MagicBands at Walt Disney World, but even before that, it was increasingly clear that the wearable was on its way out.
While ending the pre-arrival discount program was disappointing, it sadly made sense. There are only so many upcharges that guests will purchase prior to their trips, and it behooves Disney to emphasize those that will improve satisfaction.
This is yet another way that the switch from free FastPass to paid Lightning Lanes has had second order consequences on other aspects of Walt Disney World trips, but it’s not just that. Guest satisfaction is likely higher among those who purchase After Hours or Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party tickets versus MagicBands, and with the ‘plus’ devices skyrocketing in cost, it absolutely is one or the other.
If I had to bet right now on whether three years from now I’ll be able to wear a new generation of MagicBand or ride Disney’s Magical Express (a service that does not currently exist), I’d pick the latter. Neither strike me as overwhelmingly likely, but of the two, the odds of a Disney’s Magical Express comeback are higher than a MagicBand renaissance.
Future of MagicBands
Before we get going, the silver lining is that MagicBands are still being supported at Walt Disney World and Disneyland. That is not expected to change anytime soon, so if you’re one of the Disney diehards who already owns a MagicBand or twenty, you’ll still be able to use it for the foreseeable future.
There’s no officially announced or even rumored sunset date for support of the MagicBand+ on either coast. My gut is that it’ll continue to work so long as major changes aren’t made to legacy systems, but I wouldn’t expect future features to roll out, entertainment enhancements, mini-games, or that sort of thing (especially at Disneyland).
Basically, to the extent that Disney doesn’t have to invest significantly more money into MagicBands, they’ll work. Keeping in mind that the interactive Pal Mickey (anyone else remember that, or am I the oldest Walt Disney World fan still standing?!) plus from the early aughts still works in limited capacity roughly 20 years after the product was discontinued, MagicBands are likely “safe” from a guest perspective for a while.
Given that the MagicBand user base is exponentially larger than that of Pal Mickey, I wouldn’t be surprised by ongoing maintenance and support for the wearables for a long time to come. Meaning that, for example, MagicBand tapstiles are likely at Lightning Lanes in Villains Land in Magic Kingdom and Pandora in Disney California Adventure, even if the devices are technically ‘dead’ by that time. In other words, the good news is that you’ll likely be able to use your MagicBands into the 2030s. Maybe even the 2040s.
MagicBands Already Dead or Dying at Disneyland
As for the MagicBand+ being dead at Disneyland, there have been rumors of this for a while now. It’s likewise been fairly obvious to anyone who visited a Disneyland gift shop, as there have been virtually no MagicBands anywhere.
At Disneyland, the MagicBand+ connects to park tickets or Magic Key Annual Passes to enter parks or Lightning Lanes. Additionally, you can connect your PhotoPass and use MagicBand+ for interactive activities around the park, such as the Disneyland 70th Anniversary touchpoints that are scattered throughout the park.
Unlike at Walt Disney World, the MagicBand+ will not unlock your hotel room, nor does it have resort charging privileges. A doppelganger device, known as DisneyBand+ (presumably for international IP purposes), is available aboard Disney Cruise Line as a stateroom key and for payment onboard and on the private islands.
Although I don’t pay super close attention, I can’t recall the last time I saw MagicBands on store shelves, period. Probably around New Year’s when a lot of 70th stuff being clearanced out at deep discounts. Speaking of the 70th, the beginning of that event is probably the last time I spotted any new designs.
Disneyland has officially confirmed as much, stating that the resort is ending on-property sales of MagicBand+ devices, but not support for them. Since that statement was made about one month ago, I’ve checked each of the three shops where MagicBands were last available, and have found no traces of MagicBands.
Along with this, I should note that I’ve heard unsubstantiated reports from Cast Members that the reason for the lack of MagicBand+ inventory is because a new generation of the device is going to roll out. I do not believe this for the reasons discussed above.
My gut is that this is chatter trying to make sense or come to terms with the MagicBand+ ending sales at Disneyland. Investing in yet another generation of the wearable feels like the ultimate example of throwing good money after bad. (Okay, when framed like that, it sounds like exactly the type of thing Disney would do!)
As you might recall, the MagicBand+ launched at Disneyland Resort in October 2022 to great excitement among a subset of Disney fans. The device had been anxiously awaited by diehards, who had been asking when the California parks would finally get MagicBands for years.
Less than one year later (September 2023), Disneyland announced a special offer: Magic Key Annual Passholders could receive a FREE MagicBand+ with any purchase at select Disneyland Resort gift shops. That was a free MagicBand+ with any purchase, not just with a purchase over a certain amount.
You could buy a bag of candy, magnet, or whatever the cheapest item was at participating locations and get a free MagicBand Plus. And in fact, when we went to take advantage of this deal, we actually had a harder time finding cheap products in stock than we did MagicBands, because Annual Passholders were spending as little as possible to score the freebie.
Prior to that promo, we had heard credible rumors that Disneyland over-ordered MagicBands to a staggering degree. I don’t recall exact numbers, but it was a comically large number ordered versus sold at full price (a single-digit percentage of units had sold, if I recall correctly). Giving away MagicBands succeeded at clearing that out, though.
At the risk of stating the obvious, MagicBand+ has been a massive flop at Disneyland Resort. The sluggish sales at launch and that giveaway less than one year later told me the MagicBand+ had no future at Disneyland.
Even after the giveaway, we still rarely see anyone wearing the devices. It’s amazing that Disneyland seeded tens of thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) for free, and yet, you still seldom see them. Maybe they’re like that E.T. Atari game, and decades from now, we’ll find out they were all buried in New Mexico or something. If you were to play a “count the…” game with MagicBands and Monsters University hats, the latter would win!
Between its limited uses at Disneyland and the reality that most guests are locals, it’s not a huge surprise that MagicBand+ hasn’t really caught on in the California parks. We expected it wouldn’t be a huge hit, but even we were caught off-guard by just how quickly it was forgotten and how few fans wear them out west.
What has surprised me is just how long the MagicBand+ has been allowed to remain on life support at Disneyland. Just last year, Disneyland added a bunch of shockingly well-done touchpoints for the Disneyland 70th Anniversary, complete with working effects and fun free keepsakes.
I can’t imagine how much that cost to deploy–money that probably could’ve been better spent. It felt oddly reminiscent of how Wish keeps ending up in new entertainment despite being a flop; either an example of Disney trying to make fetch happen or an example of the development pipeline taking way too long.
To the best of my recollection, that was the last big interactive initiative with MagicBand+ at Disneyland. With new turnstiles and a shift towards facial recognition, it seems that MagicBands will soon see their utility reduced even further, so it makes sense that Disneyland isn’t ordering more of them for the stores.
Maybe Disneyland is finally going to get around to supporting Disney MagicMobile or digital wallets, which would likewise reduce the utility of MagicBands. (That’s what I would personally love to see, as both the digital wallet and MagicBands are more efficient at touchpoints than barcodes.)
Earlier this spring, I attended a media roundtable with Thomas Mazloum, who was Disneyland President at the time but has since been promoted to Disney Experiences Chair. Mazloum and other leadership from the resort shared plans for the future, along with changes they’ve made over the last year to measurably improve the guest experience.
Mazloum also fielded questions from media, with one of my peers asking whether MagicBands might roll out additional features, as the device is a ‘useful tool’ at Walt Disney World, whereas it’s a ‘glorified toy’ at Disneyland. Mazloum didn’t sugarcoat the future of the device in his response.
He explained that, from his previous role overseeing Walt Disney World resort hotels, he knew that a majority of guests using MagicBands in Florida were staying in the resorts. He also explained that Walt Disney World has a ton of hotel inventory, giving the MagicBand actual utility.
This wasn’t really news to me. In discussing the sustainability (or lack thereof) of Early Entry at Disneyland vs. Walt Disney World, we pointed to hotel inventory. There are under 3,000 on-site resort rooms at Disneyland Resort (hotel inventory plus DVC), whereas there’s over 10 times that number at Walt Disney World.
Mazloum then discussed demographics, touching on familiar topics such as Annual Passholders vs. tourists, off-site vs. on-site stays, and more. The usual suspects that come up when discussing how Disneyland and Walt Disney World differ. Or rather, how Walt Disney World is the outlier when it comes to the parks, and everywhere else is more like the California parks (except arguably Disneyland Paris).
Putting a finer point on it, Mazloum explained that the theoretical audience for MagicBand+ at Disneyland is 7% of guests, whereas it was closer to 50% at Walt Disney World. He questioned the wisdom of spending on something that has a ceiling of 7% of guests, as opposed to investments that’ll benefit all park guests.
Frankly, I would argue that 7% actually overstates the audience for MagicBands at Disneyland; that the only way of reaching that number is giving away MagicBands to hotel guests, which Disneyland does not do.
I’ve always wondered why Disney bothered with MagicBand+ at Disneyland. From the very beginning in 2022, it felt like throwing good money after bad, and a project that was doomed to fail.
My strong belief is that the device was DOA at Disneyland, and that had nothing to do with its functionality or lack thereof. It seemed like Disneyland had MagicBand+ forced on them, possibly as a way to spread development costs. If not that, I’m not really sure what.
Nothing Mazloum said during that roundtable was remotely surprising. The only surprising thing would be if the leadership before him didn’t reach this exact same conclusion with anything more than like 30 minutes of analysis. It’s the patently obvious conclusion.
This might rub some fans the wrong way, and I’m aware that MagicBands have a passionate fan following. Many of those enthusiasts will argue that the device would’ve been a success at Disneyland had the company done X or Y differently, investing more in MagicBand+ infrastructure or whatever.
To each their own, but I strongly disagree. The device flopped even after liquidating inventory by giving them away. Disneyland couldn’t achieve meaningful uptake even after giving a ton of MagicBands away for free, so it was never going to work as a paid device.
About the only outcome-determinative change that I could see changing the equation would be time-traveling and launching them a decade earlier, back before smartphones were quite as ubiquitous and the wearable had more novelty. In the here and now? There’s nothing Disneyland could do to change the outcome.
The DisneyBand+ Difference
Beyond the parks, the MagicBand+ started rolling out aboard the Disney Cruise Line fleet as the DisneyBand+ in Summer 2023. It has since rolled out to every ship save for the Adventure (different beast).
By all reasonable accounts, the DisneyBand+ has been a popular product offering aboard DCL. This is probably because the ships are more akin to Walt Disney World than the aforementioned locals’ parks, and also because there are so many water-centric activities that makes the waterproof wearable more desirable.
We love the DisneyBand+ on DCL, as it’s convenient, not likely to get lost, and makes it possible to leave the phone back in the room. While the ‘plus’ version has many of the same problems plaguing MagicBand+ at Walt Disney World, it’s dissimilar from Disneyland. If anything, the DisneyBand+ is arguably the best implementation of the wearable anywhere.
Glow with the Show 2.0
Since it launched, MagicBand+ has felt like the Glow with the Show 2.0 to me. It’s pretty amazing that Disney learned exactly zero lessons with that flop when choosing to develop the pricier wearable, and then to import the MB+ from Walt Disney World to Disneyland.
For those who don’t remember Glow with the Show, it was a then next-gen product (like Pal Mickey before it and MagicBand+ after) that consisted of color-changing and “magical” Mickey Ear Hats that interacted with World of Color and Fantasmic!
Glow with the Show was a huge push for a few years (~2012 to ~2014) in the parks, with the ears being given prime real estate in just about every major gift shop at Disneyland Resort, despite sluggish (at best) sales.
In the end, Glow with the Show was a colossal flop. Even with those prominent in-store displays, multiple giveaways to “seed” some truly cool PR photos, very few guests purchased Glow with the Show ears.
The problem was that they were bulky, cumbersome, and–critically–the person spending the money on Glow with the Show ears could not benefit from how they interacted with shows and changed colors, since you cannot see the top of your own head.
MagicBand+ solved that problem, as most people can see their own wrists. (If you can’t, close this tab and seek medical attention immediately.) However, the MagicBand+ introduced a number of new issues, including poor battery life and higher costs. Its “interactivity” with the nighttime spectaculars is also worse than the technology released a decade ago.
When the original MagicBand was released back in 2013, wearable technology wasn’t really a thing. In the years since, all sorts of smart watches and other devices have been released, raising the technical bar every single year.
By contrast, MagicBands have only seen one major redesign, and at least from a tech perspective, now feel archaic as compared to other wearables. I realize that for many people, that’s the appeal of MagicBands–having technology that doesn’t require looking at a screen but still makes life more convenient.
This is precisely why MagicBands still “work” well enough at Walt Disney World where guests are in vacation mode and the devices have more utility. At the same time, MagicBands are dying out in Florida despite the value they add because of their cost and no longer being pushed pre-arrival. The MagicBand+ is in this no man’s land where it’s not good by wearable standards nor is it cheap enough to justify as a no-brainer add-on for the sake of convenience.
All of this is a lot to overcome, especially at Disneyland where the dynamic is different. By disproportionate numbers, guests are not staying in on-site hotel rooms. Those who are out of state tourists are largely staying off-site and incorporating Disneyland into bigger picture Southern California trips. MagicBands don’t have the same value for them since it’s not a lengthy ‘Disney Bubble’ vacation with an emphasis on escapism.
For locals, the overwhelming majority of Disneyland’s audience, there’s no such thing as the ‘Disney Bubble’ in the first place. Screen time isn’t viewed as negatively, and there’s not as much of a market for MagicBands. Consequently, it all comes down to the interactivity and utility for the MagicBand+ at Disneyland. Neither of those things are sufficiently compelling to justify the cost of the wearable. The MagicBand is already as good as dead, and will be replaced by digital wallets or your face in the future.
Planning a Southern California vacation? For park admission deals, read Tips for Saving Money on Disneyland Tickets. Learn about on-site and off-site hotels in our Anaheim Hotel Reviews & Rankings. For where to eat, check out our Disneyland Restaurant Reviews. For unique ideas of things that’ll improve your trip, check out What to Pack for Disney. For comprehensive advice, consult our Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide. Finally, for guides beyond Disney, check out our Southern California Itineraries for day trips to Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, and tons of other places!
Your Thoughts
What do you think of the MagicBand+ slowly dying out? Do you regularly use the interactive wearable devices at Disneyland? Surprised it took so long for the MagicBand+ to fade away at Disneyland, especially given the liquidation back in September 2023? 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!
Here at DL now. First trip after nearly 12yrs of WDW trips. it’s mind boggling to me that MB+ is not a real thing here. it’s SO much better being beholden to the phone all day. We had A LOT of folks ask about them while we have been here. Not only when checking in to attractions, but also during the nighttime entertainment with the light up features. We have been really annoyed with having to use our phones for Room/Pool entry and paying for things. MB+ @ WDW > DL Nonsense. Sorry…not sorry.
*better then
Hi William,
I like it better with much better than better then as the first way is dripping with sarcasm.
Your point is much stronger that way.
you can invest in an inexpensive USB charging hub. Most give you at least 4 USB-A ports and sometimes a couple of USB-C ports.
I am going to echo what quite a few have already said. I love my magic band because I absolutely hate being on, or having to grab, my phone when I am in vacay mode. The magic band feels like a much less invasive form of tech. I’ll use it until they die out, or until it falls off and I have to buy another one. LOL
Your assessment makes a ton of sense! We were part of the pilot program in 2013 and my original haunted mansion wallpaper magic band still works, which is unbelievable. The newer ones are so ridiculously expensive that we stopped buying them after all these years of collecting them and having so much fun wearing things that went with the park or the day where the outfit.. silly is that sounds. We love the interaction with the Mickey head light up post .
I think for our family the most frustrating thing is all the money we have put out has been pretty much wasted, and it does seem it’s going to be obsolete someday.
We ll move with the times, but this ones a bummer.
Hi Mary V,
The money wasn’t wasted if you enjoyed the MBs at the time. Which I know you did. We all did and still do. And there’s something very cool you can do with them which I will share with Tom at some point.
Money is never wasted. You can always make more. Something you can’t do with time.
We took the family in April 2026. We liked the convenience and interaction throughout the parks, but they fell off too easily. We lost 4 out of the 7 because the snap is not secure. Big expense for them to fall so easily. My strap was too long and the tail overlapped and caught on things. If they were made more secure, it would be something we would purchase next trip. Disney did find one band and mailed it to our house after the trip. The bands were cute and would have been a keepsake. We would not plan on paying for bands again since they fell off so easily.
It’s poor design that the bands can fall off as easily as they do, but people make silicone rings specifically for the purpose of preventing this. Just go on Amazon and search for Magic Band locks or keepers. They’re super cheap and they work.
Hi M,
You can also find MB accessories on ebay. And if you’re willing to spend a little bit more you’ll find people selling the original official Disney MB accessories. Honestly they can be expensive but if you wait long enough you’ll find a deal.
Also you mentioned your strap was too long. You may not have noticed but they can easily be shortened for smaller wrists. We’ve shortened all of Carolyn’s MBs.
super cheap silicon ring that keep it closed. I forgot ours once, so diy-ed it with a bandaid wrapped around it, worked great! they do have the punch out to make shorter for small wrists.
I am both a Pal Mickey and a Magicband fan. But leave it to Disney to continue making things more difficult than they need to be.
My party of three adults used Magic Band at DL for the first time a couple of years ago and I loved it. It made it so much easier to use Lightning Lane, no need to get your phone out and swipe across multiple tickets just lift your wrist and you are good to go. I never use a digital wallet so that would be a waste of a so called up side to me. I don’t want to buy a new one nor do I need it to do anything more than it does, but I really hope for the sake of easy accessibility to rides that it sticks around for a long time, unless of course they completely overhaul the LL system which I would love to see.
Tom, you maybe might have considered starting your Magic Band article with these three words: ” In my opinion . . . . .” .
If my old memory serves me well, you’ve been predicting the death of the Magic Band for some time now. In fact,if I had a nickel for every word you’ve written in that vein, I could probably afford another trip to Disney, and despite these dire predictions, they ain’t dead yet!
Your lede into the piece sounds so positive of this happenstance: “The writing is on the wall . . .” In my opinion, there’s a big “Maybe” that needs to be inserted somewhere into that conclusion. Your stated observations do support your thesis. Of course they would or you wouldn’t have written your piece, but you’ll please forgive me if I wanna hear of their passing from an official Mouse Rep. before I’m gonna get all worked up about it.
That said, I did learn one very useful thing reading the coments here: You don’t have to charge your othewise terminally useless Magic Band Plus to use it in the “normal” Magic Band fashion. Thank Donald, Goofy and Clarabel; no more green light ya gotta hide while charging them at night!
Anyway, even after all these years, I and mine still use our Magic Bands for everything on site, including dining at the better restaurants, and we will continue to use some form of an MB until they deactivate their viability. It lightens our park load and keeps us in the bubble, and when we go to Disney, that’s where we want to be. Speaking of that, our original, first issue bands still work! Maybe Disney is upset that they forgot to include planned obsolescence and ya don’t have to continually buy more?
Now if I could just figure out a way to inexpensively ditch my clunky old Nikons and still get first-rate park pictures, and no, I’m not gonna use a smart phone, I’d be rolling in high cotton!
Our best to you and yours!
It also did not state the any of the NEW adoptions of MagicBand+ at DL including in the DVC lounge and the new turnstiles and various other interactions that would normally require you to pull out your phone. Additionally they have launched new Club 33 magic bands I. Just the last few months. Not something I would expect of an item they Intend to fully phase out.
I think it is also overstated as to how many locals use or don’t use magic bands. Virtually every magic key or club member I k ow sports multiple magic bands.
Additionally the article is misleading that the magic key giveaway was inclusive of every style of magic bands as if it were an attempt to liquidate all stock. It was literally only one style with a bright blue magic band exclusive design that was given away with purchase, not just random stock liquidation. Also WOD currently has a few magic bands on the shelves right now, most notably the scarlet witch version (which is an odd choice to keep out).
A lot of doom and gloom in this article that is pure speculation at this point and also not the first time with respect to magic bands.
I hope Magic Bands are around forever at WDW! We carry no bags into the park, and only have a few dollars cash, a photo ID and our cell phones in our pockets. Magic Bands make purchases easy, park entry easy, and room entry at the resort easy. We only use our cell phones for photos, and occasionally for the park map and/or wait times. I don’t want to walk around with my face looking into a phone. Long live Magic Bands!
The more they increase the use of new technology the harder they will make if for senior citizens, the ones who have the money.
Also, MagicBands + work without charging for lightning lanes etc. only the plus function doesn’t work
Actually the magicband+ DOES unlock your room and charges to your room too. I used my magicband to unlock my hotel room in Disney World last year and my dad used his while we were at Disney Springs. So you’re wrong about Magicband+ not able to do that in Disney World because they can
Yes, as the article says, Disney World has those MB functions, but Disneyland does not.
I like the Magic bands. Didn’t have to fumble around for it at lightening lanes, didn’t have to tap your kids in from your phone, everyone could just do a quick tap and we were on the rides. If your hands were full getting into your hotel room, it was an easy tap to get access. I was happy when I found out I could use our WDW bands at Disneyland.
yet josh d said disney has heard the negative comments about tech and is leaning away from it bc they want people to be more focused on their vacations not their phones! so i doubt it all plus using the app or google wallets for things is like streaming something it never wrks unless your connected and knowing from being a cm you do not log in personal anything at wdw i dont know about dl. there is no firewalls and your always at risk! though the app drops and fails all the time vs the site! they all have to realize most of the time the app sends you back to the site so whats the pt anyways. also minority right now even tourists arent using the app as much and aps barely use it bc there is no pt!
Jackie, as an IT professional…this is a very ill informed post. Digital wallets are far safer than traditional swiping or even chip and pin credit card transactions because your actual card data is never exposed at any point in the transaction. The major wallets all use end-to-end encryption and tokenization methods to protect your data.
And none of that is germane to the discussion anyway because behind the scenes, MagicMobile passes function exactly like tap to pay public transit cards, only no actual paid transaction occurs. That’s why Apple Wallet has the Express Transit option available for them, and it’s also why contrary to your misconception you don’t actually need an internet connection or cell signal to use it with Express Transit active. You don’t even need battery life on your phone, it even works when it’s dead. But your ticket data, whether an AP or a standard date based ticket, is no more exposed via digital wallets than your credit card information is.
As always, the #1 way people have data compromised is by phishing and social engineering attacks. I’d be far more concerned about handing over my MDE login information to various third party bot crawler services than tapping into a LL with my phone or watch.
I can assure you there are firewalls at all disney properties, parks, and the ships. There may not be encryption on public wifi, but that doesn’t stop you form using a VPN to tunnel your traffic in an encrypted way.
I love the Magic Bands. It is so much easier when in parks and hotel. Several times we were behind folks entering park and the line backed up waiting for them to access tickets on their phones. I love the tap and go of the bands especially for kids.
On my last trip we were glad my wife still had her MB. The app wasn’t working on our Android phones all week. We got locked out of our account for 3 hours due to the app freezing on our Androids. At the time Disney said it was a common occurrence of app problems on Androids.
I get a key card too as backup for app and MB.
I still have and use my MB 2.0 long after I was told not to expect the battery to last. I have one MB+ that I got at Destination D23 a couple of years ago. I used it once. Having to keep it charged for it to be useful was a big game stopper.
You do not need to charge it. It works just fine without power.
Works just like a non-plus MB if not charged.
I was a passholder at Disneyland for over a decade. I never understood why they tried to push the magic band onto guests. It served no purpose other than fashion. By the time they introduced them we were already using the app for everything including scanning tickets. If you’re using your phone for everything like mobile ordering & lighting lanes why would you want a separate device just to enter the park. If you have a smart watch you already have a device you can use to tap for payments.
personally I like to use them. its one less time to have my phone out to use during lightening lane and park entry. I hated having to keep track of multiple cards when I took my grandkids to Disneyland. I had them in sleeves clipped to a lanyard on my waist. its one thing I thought disney got right over universal- not having to have the lanyard.
I dont have an apple watch, not likely to ever have.
my grandkids dont have phones, so having the. have the watch to tap in the various rides was great. we usually have the premier pass, so we are tapping all day. ( there are reasons beyond wait times)
I loved the magic bands at Disneyworld especially for my kids, who did not have phones till age 14. They could tap into the parks which was very time efficient, buy food/snacks themselves and get into our hotel room.
Don’t forget its not just the need to charge MB+ every night, its that they take a unique, clunky charger. For a family of 4 we have to carry 4 of these on each trip and find additional USB slots every night.
The lack of foresight and user considerations in that design, when they could have just used a standard USB-C, is mind boggling to me.
Love the MB, especially for kids/teens. The original was fine, the features of the + are nice, but they managed to add another burden to the parents (usually mom) planning an already complex trip.
they work just fine without charging! we never charge ours at all
They don’t need to charge for the non-plus functions though.
Hi Amy,
I got a big kick out of your comment “(usually mom)”.
Sooooo true.
God bless my wife.