MagicBands 101

When I returned from my recent trip to Walt Disney World the question I was most often asked was: what did you think of the MagicBands? How do they work and when do you use them? I think the best way to explain the uses of the MagicBand is to run down when and how we used them during our trip and where I was surprised they weren’t used.

walt disney world magicbands


When you stay at a Walt Disney World resort hotel you can choose the color of your MagicBand months in advance. A few weeks before your vacation a box will arrive in the mail with your bands (and probably the reason why a WDW vacation is so expensive is due to the sheer amount of stuff they send you via snail mail before your trip).

Each band is assigned to a specific traveler and has their name printed on the inside. One size fits all – the grey part can be torn away for smaller wrists.

magicband closeup

The bands use two types of radio frequency (RFID): short range (for financial transactions) and long range (presumably for tracking your movements and location). For short range transaction, you tap the Mickey icon on the band to the Mickey on the band reader, which will light up green if you’re good to go or blue if not.  

The first use of our MagicBand was at Orlando International Airport when checking into the Magical Express bus service. There were three of us but they only scanned one band, assuming because we were all linked together somehow. They scanned our bands twice; once before being directed to the correct waiting area, then again when exiting the waiting area directly before getting on a bus. So the bands were used to get on the bus but for some reason they were not used at the hotel on the way back to the airport; we had to have a paper ticket delivered to our room where we then had to present it to the bus driver. This type of inconsistency does not make sense to me.  

Tip: Don’t pack your MagicBand in your checked bag; take it on the plane with you.

The second use of the band was to get into our hotel room. The MagicBand is your room key and it’s nice to not have to worry about forgetting or losing a card or key. However, the band was not used while going through the check in process at the Polynesian Village Resort front desk.  

Sidenote: I thought the Magicband had to be used to get into the pool in order to prevent pool hopping but this was not the case.

Next use was for lunch at Captain Cooks. We were on the Disney Dining plan which gives each adult two meals per night. For every transaction you have to enter your pin number, so if you lose your band no one can spend your money unless they know the pin. The problem was, our pin numbers were somehow already assigned to our account. Maybe they were set up when we went on a Disney cruise two years ago? One big negative – the pin number could only be reset at the front desk. Why you can’t change it by logging into MyDisneyExperience online or using the app, I don’t know.

UPDATE FEB 2016: You can now save a visit to your hotel front desk by using MyDisneyExperience website or app to reset your MagicBand PIN number. Go to MyDisney Experience then Profile then Payment Methods then Reset PIN.  

Tip: Don’t forget your pin number.  

Sidenote: At Pineapple Lannai, the MagicBand reader was broken, so I had to remove my band and the cast member read the band ID number printed on the inside of the band in order to pay for one of the three Dole Whips I consumed during our stay.  11193247_10101564096729712_2090708702299193542_n

The next new use of the MagicBand for us was entrance to the MagicKingdom. We had no problems here though you still have to get a fingerprint read so you can’t transfer your band to anyone else.  

Another use of our band at Magic Kingdom was for our Be Our Guest breakfast reservation. Our reservation time was for 8:40am, before the park opened at 9am. The MagicBand got us past the ropes and into the park where we walked back to the restaurant (one of my tips to save time and avoid long lines).   We once again had to scan our band to get inside the restaurant, then scan again in the first room. We had ordered our food for Be Our Guest breakfast the night before, but we had to confirm our order. We were then printed a paper receipt. As we were sitting, waiting for our food to be “magically” delivered like promised, at least six different servers checked our paper receipt, so when our food finally came it didn’t seem magical at all. So they can definitely improve the MagicBand experience here.  

Sidenote: I also don’t understand why it was so hard to get reservations at Be Our Guest when half the room we were in was empty. Same goes for T-Rex at Downtown Disney. Our reservation was for 11am but the restaurant didn’t open until 11:20, and only half full at that point. Why were the only reservation times available at 11 or 2?  DSCN0511

Our final type of MagicBand use during our visit was forFastpass+ access. I had scheduled three ride times over a month in advance. When our ride window opened, we scanned our bands and got into the shorter lines. Theme park entrance and Fastpass+ were the only times my wife needed to actually wear her MagicBand. The rest of the time we only needed one band. My 1.5 year son never needed to wear his.  

Sidenote: My biggest complaint about Fastpass+ is once you use your three allotted reserve times, you may pick up another Fastpass+ selection  but you can only do it at a kiosk inside the park. Why? Why can’t I use my smart phone to make a new selection?   My other complaint is the app not pushing any notifications to my phone. The only way I knew what time our reservations were was to log into the app. It would have been nice to get alerts while were on property about reservations, weather, short wait times, last minute special deals, showtimes, etc.  

What actually felt like the most magical/creepy use of the MagicBand was after we returned home. I logged into MyDisneyExpereience account and there were pictures from all the rides we rode. It was kinda scary yet cool they knew exactly when we rode and what seats we were in. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train also takes video in two locations:


MagicBands are used in place of bus tickets, hotel keys, credit cards, theme park tickets, Fastpass tickets, and dining cards. I did enjoy the fact that it turns Walt Disney World into an all-inclusive resort. I didn’t have to take my wallet out until we bought a snack at the airport while waiting for our flight home. So the biggest benefit of the MagicBands is for those who stay on property. I can see MagicBands being very useful on Disney cruise ships but I’m not sure about other theme parks like Disneyland.

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Overall, I think MagicBands are an improvement but I was disappointed they are not being used to their full potential. I’m still waiting for Mickey to track me down and ask me how I enjoyed my ride on Big Thunder Mountain. Or if my 15 minute posted wait for Dumbo turns into forty-five minutes, when will they push me a free ice cream cone or additional Fastpass+ selection to make up for it?

Have you used MagicBands? What are your thoughts? Should they be spread to all Disney parks?

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