A Quick Rundown on MagicBands

MagicBands are everywhere at Walt Disney World. They use RDIF technology to enhance your vacation experience. Those of us who are over 50 might wonder if they are really necessary. After all, we’ve done just fine the past few decades at various theme parks without them. That said, they really do come in handy.

If you are staying at a Walt Disney World resort hotel or if you are an Annual Passholder you will receive a MagicBand for free. You can pick your color on the My Disney Experience App, if you don’t pick a color you will end up with gray. If you’re staying on property you will use your MagicBand as the key to your room. You can also link a credit card to it so that you can easily pay for souvenirs. Your MagicBand will also be your ticket to get you into the theme parks.

For those who are not staying on property, your MagicBand is mainly your theme park ticket. Everyone will use it for FastPass+. If you are entering an attraction that you have a FastPass+ reservation for, you will scan it at the entrance. Some rides will require a second scan. If you use a FastPass+ kiosk in the park, you will use a MagicBand for that as well.

Another thing that MagicBand is convenient for is Memory Maker. When you have a PhotoPass picture taken, the photographer will just scan your MagicBand. If you don’t have one, you will receive a card instead. That has instructions for how to be able to see your pictures. Your ride photos will also be delivered to your My Disney Experience account if you have a MagicBand.

What if you don’t have a MagicBand? You can still use FastPass+, and you can of course still get into the parks. You will just need to use a plastic ticket instead. That can also be used at a FastPass+ kiosk.

Do you really NEED a MagicBand? No, but it is convenient to have. It’s nice to just wear your ticket instead of having to pull it out each time that a FastPass+ reservation time hits. It is also a kind of cool souvenir to have, if you want to make the most of your “Disney experience” you might want to get one. The downside that I find to MagicBands is that they tend to get hot in the summer. They’re waterproof, so you don’t have to worry about wearing one if you hit a water park or if you get caught in a sudden downpour.

If you are staying off property and decide to buy a MagicBand, you’ll need to link it to your My Disney Experience account. If you have a problem with it, just ask at a ticket window or at the place where you bought the MagicBand and they can take care of it for you.

There are a few fun extras around the parks that you might experience because of your MagicBand. Watch the screens when you’re leaving Space Mountain, for example, and see if you notice a familiar name. Of course, some people do not like having their names (or their grandchildren’s names) shown for all to see. If that is going to be an issue for you, you might want to skip the MagicBands.

Plain MagicBands right now cost around $13 each. There are also special themed MagicBands, some of which are collectible. They celebrate favorite characters, movies, special events, seasons, and more. These vary in price. There is no limit to how many MagicBands you can link to your name, so if you want you can buy green for one day and blue for the next.

If you would like to customize a MagicBand, you can do that in several different places at Walt Disney World. Just look for D-Tech. You can also purchase accessories known as MagicSliders and MagicBandits. These can dress up your plain band and let you put your own spin on it. If you don’t want to wear both a watch and a MagicBand, you can buy a MagicSlider that is a watch. With the current model of MagicBand, you can remove the center piece and put it into a necklace or a different band, allowing you to customize a little bit more.