Our Best MagicBand Tips

Even though we only have one trip under our belts using Magic Bands and Fastpass+, I feel like we learned a thing or two.  Here are our best tips for using Magic Bands at the Walt Disney World Resort:

• You don’t have to wear them on the opposite hand as your “scanned” finger—you know when you are gaining entry into a theme park or water park.  The system allows you to scan your band and then scan your finger.  For the boy, he wore his band on the same hand as his scanned finger—which helped him to know which finger to use.
• Have everyone try to open your resort room door with their band.  This allows for a test of all the bands before using them for something more important, like paying for a meal or gaining entry into a park.  We didn’t have any problems but we know people who have.
• The bands are secure with two notches, but nevertheless, they do fall off.  The husband had his come off as we were sitting in Rock-n-Roller Coaster waiting for the launch.  (I quickly put it in the seat pocket and held it secure with my knee.)  We found ourselves doing “band checks” every so often.  Not compulsively, just preventatively.
• They are water proof.  I was especially looking forward to using the MagicBand at the water parks to pay for meals, etc.  No more going back to our stuff to get a Key to The World Card to pay for our meal and then returning to put the card away.  We floated, or walked, to the dining establishment of our choice, ordered, paid, ate, and floated off again.  Love it!
• It’s okay to take them off, too.  We took our bands off each night upon returning to our room and then put them back on in the morning.  Each of us has a designated spot to put our things like that—jewelry, watches, lanyards, etc.  And, since they are personalized on the inside—if you customize prior to your trip—it is easy to know which band belongs to who even if they are the same color.

On a personal note, I liked not having to wear a lanyard, or feeling like I had to wear a lanyard to keep track of my Key to The World Card.  The convenience of the MagicBand holding all of our ticket information, Fastpass+ selections, dining plan credits, and it opened our resort room hotel was terrific.  It would have also been cool to use it for the Disney’s Magical Express ride to our resort, but we only used Magical Express for the ride back to the airport and they are still using the paper ticket hanging on your resort room door system.

If you have found other helpful hints and tips for using your MagicBand, please let us know!  Oh, and the boy enjoyed the extra Disney Infinity surprise his MagicBand opened up on the game.

Our MagicBands Arrived!

After waking up to an exciting email last week from Disney Destinations informing me that our MagicBands had been shipped, the whole family was looking forward to their day of arrival.  Each morning we would wonder if today would be the day.

Well, the MagicBands, our MagicBands have arrived! 

The box said it all, “Here’s the key to making your experience INCREDIBLE!”  Inside were our three customized MagicBands. 

I took mine out of the box to check out the personalization inside the band.  The husband tried his on, and the boy put his on then took it off and placed it on the Disney Infinity base and opened up a Dragon Keep in the Toybox mode of the game.  His band is back in the box, now.

What I am most looking forward to is the convenience of having all of our “stuff” loaded onto the bands—actually the account connected to the bands—at the water parks.  Just scan the bands for photos, dining credits, and park admission.

I have decided to wear mine on my right wrist and use the index finger on my left hand for scanning to get into the parks.  The husband may do the opposite and then we will compare.  The boy will most likely imitate my plan.

Another question. . . when do we put them on?  NOW!  No, that would be premature.  Since we won’t need them until we arrive at our Walt Disney World Resort (most guests need them when they arrive at Orlando International as the band contains information needed for Disney’s Magical Express) I’m envisioning that we will wear them on the morning we disembark the ship.  MagicBands are not yet needed/used on the Disney ships, other than children registered for the kids’ clubs and those bands must be returned the last night of the cruise.

When to take them off?  Answering that question is more difficult.  I’m leaning towards NEVER!

We Customized Our MagicBands For Upcoming Trip To Walt Disney World

Even though we are more than six months away from our next Walt Disney World Resort vacation, I was able to log into the on-line My Disney Experience to find our reservation.  This also allowed me to customize our MagicBands!

The use of MagicBands is something we are looking forward to for our next vacation.  The husband wants to decorate his with "Bandits"--get it?.  The boy wants to get his MagicBand home and place it on his Disney Infinity base as it is supposed to unlock new powers for the Disney Infinity characters.  And, I just want to have everything I need in a stylish bracelet--room key, park tickets, Memory Maker--click here to read more, and Dining Plan credits.

Since we are staying on-site at the Walt Disney World Resort, our customized bands will be colors of our choosing.  If you don't select a color, Disney will do it for you.  And, if you wait until you arrive at your resort to get your MagicBands, you will will receive the default color--gray--with no personalization.

I picked yellow, the husband red, and the boy blue.  Oh, and our names will also be on the MagicBands as a part of the customization.  The husband said, "What, we aren't going to match?" with a serious tone.  I'm thinking it may be difficult for me to take the MagicBand off once we get home!

The page on the My Disney Experience website that hosts the customization, reminds guests to pack their MagicBands in their carry-on luggage so that the bands are accessible upon check in at their resort.

Now, all I need is a watch--waterproof--built in to the MagicBand and we will be all set!