Magic Bands Now Available for Purchase for Off-Site Guests

[Melanie]

As part of the test-and-adjust process for MyMagic+, Day Guests (those Guests who are not staying at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel) are now able to make FastPass+ selections 30 days in advance of their trip and can purchase MagicBands to link to their plans in My Disney Experience.

Day Guests may make FastPass+ selections for each day they have admission linked in My Disney Experience starting 30 days in advance of their visit.

While day Guests are not issued MagicBands, they may use their RF-enabled theme park admission to enter the theme parks and redeem FastPass+ selections, or they may purchase a MagicBand and link their theme park admission to the MagicBand.

MagicBands will be available to purchase for $12.96 plus tax at Walt Disney World Resort Park merchandise locations and at Downtown Disney®. They will be available in all seven colors – pink, blue, red, green, orange, gray and yellow.

After a MagicBand is purchased, Cast Members will link the Guest’s admission media (or other RF media such as an existing MagicBand or Memory Maker card) to the retail MagicBand. If the Guest’s ticket is already linked to his/her My Disney Experience account, all of the plans, such as tickets, dining reservations and FastPass+ selections, will be seamlessly linked to their new MagicBand.?

Touch to pay is not available for day Guests. Only Guests staying at Walt Disney World Resort hotels who establish charging privileges upon check-in are able to touch to pay using MagicBands or RF-enabled theme park tickets.

As a reminder, MagicBands are available to all Guests staying at Walt Disney World Resort hotels.

[ibelieveindisneymagic]

This is just crazy enough to be an April Fool's Joke. Can you imagine the nightmare of the CM's trying to link everything to the MB ... will they really be doing that park at the store where the MB is purchased? I think I'd just stick to the card.

[yankeesfan123]

It should be as easy as just scanning the MB. It shouldn't be any more difficult than getting your KTTW card at check in or getting a replacement ticket if you lost one..

[merlinmagic4]

My disney tickets are coming tomorrow. Am I correct in thinking I will:

a) link my paper tickets online or with the My Disney Experience app
b) make fastpass+ selections
c) purchase a magic band once I get to the parks
d) have my tickets "loaded" onto the band by a cast member

Is this right?

[faline]

My disney tickets are coming tomorrow. Am I correct in thinking I will:

a) link my paper tickets online or with the My Disney Experience app
b) make fastpass+ selections
c) purchase a magic band once I get to the parks
d) have my tickets "loaded" onto the band by a cast member

Is this right?

Since this is all new, I'm not sure how this will work. It appears that they expect off-site guests to purchase a magic band so I don't know if they will require the purchase of the band before your can make your fastpass+ selections or not.

[Tekneek]

This is weird. I can understand not sending out "free" bands to just anybody who says they're buying tickets to the parks, but $12.96 + $17 for parking is nearly $30+ over what you're already paying for park admission. This is a fool's game.

The bands make little sense for anybody who isn't staying on property and able to also use the band as room keys, payment authorization, etc.

[BriarRose0708]

The way I read it is no off-site guest is required to purchase a Magic Band to use FP+ To quote Mel from below:

"While day Guests are not issued MagicBands, they may use their RF-enabled theme park admission to enter the theme parks and redeem FastPass+ selections, or they may purchase a MagicBand and link their theme park admission to the MagicBand."

So if you order tickets from a place like Official Ticket Center, when they arrive in the mail at your home you can log into MDE and link the tickets to your account and make FP+ selections at 30 days out. When you arrive at the parks, you use the RFID in the tickets to enter and (likely) will tap them at the FP+ post outside the attraction you have a FP for, instead of the Magic Band. I already have a Magic Band from a previous trip, but if I stay offsite with others at some point I can't imagine them paying $13 for something they won't need and then have to wait in line for a CM to transfer their FP+ info and tickets to the Magic Band when a physical ticket will do the same thing.

[dnickels]

The bands make little sense for anybody who isn't staying on property and able to also use the band as room keys, payment authorization, etc.

You're 100% right, this is basically 13 bucks per person to have a wristband ticket instead of a credit card shaped ticket.

That said, people make a lot of silly/unwise/frivolous purchasing decisions that they probably wouldn't make otherwise when the name 'Disney' is attached to something and I'm sure a good chunk of them will buy these bands.