Comments

1. Margaret Gordon says

   September 30, 2021 at 12:03 pm

   Now we have another idea as to why Disney stopped giving free MagicBands to resort guests. They stand to make a little extra money from a new kind of MagicBand. Fine. Enhanced performance – if it is genuinely enhanced – might be worth a little extra money. That’s economics, and you’d have the choice to opt in.

2. Nicole says

   September 30, 2021 at 12:22 pm

   These seem intriguing, but the timing seems off. Why are they not being made available to guests coming this year for the start of the 50th celebration? We will be going in November, and would love to have added these. Why have special statues for guests to “interact” with if the technology they need to do so will only be available for a fraction of the time the statues are up? They’re missing a whole segment of their target audience by delaying their release until sometime next year. I assume there’s a production issue, but getting all the 50th merch out for the start of the 50th celebration seems like it should have been a top priority.

3. Don says

   September 30, 2021 at 12:30 pm

   Can these people sell merchandise or what? (Ever wonder what Bob Chapek’s bonus looks like?)

4. Carol says

   September 30, 2021 at 12:59 pm

   I just bought a new magic band and now I’ll have to get a new one if I want the cool stuff it does. Great. More money going to Disney. I wonder how much….

5. Christine Bunt says

   September 30, 2021 at 1:33 pm

   Yeah!!! I love my magic band! I was always forgetting my card/ticket. I put it on my wrist in the morning and forgot about it till I got ready to take a shower that evening. Will also have the stuff Genie has on it? I am not tec h savvy and still have problems answering or hanging up on it. A magic band would not have as many “other” things on it. And if I took it some where and used it I left that behind as well. 😀😀😀

6. Margaret says

   September 30, 2021 at 2:08 pm

   I’m trying to decide if MagicBands are worth getting. We are going to WDW in February for the first time. We are DVC members and will be staying at the Polynesian. My question is why would we need the MagicBands if we have the Genie app on our phones?

7. DFB Sarah says

   October 1, 2021 at 11:37 am

   Margaret, I think for many people, the convenience of only needing to tap the MagicBand to make a purchase, open a Resort room door, and tap into a Park is the real draw. My Disney Experience can now do those thing via MagicMobile, so in terms of the functions, you don’t technically need a MagicBand. However, like, I said, it’s a convenience and, for some, a comfort.

8. DFB Sarah says

   October 1, 2021 at 12:08 pm

   Christine, no info yet from Disney about how Disney Genie will sync with a MagicBand, but I would expect it to be connected similarly to how FastPass+ selections were connected.

9. Tiffany says

   October 3, 2021 at 11:23 am

   You are not able to use the current magicbands to access the virtual lines for rides (i.e. Remy), which is a major flaw. You cannot mobile order either, with the magicband, another flaw. These flaws require your phone to access. By using the Disney App your phone, you can access your park tickets, your room, park maps, show times and food/merchandise purchase, etc. – requiring the use of your phone. Disney should return to the days when we didn’t need to rely on our phone as much and the magicband covered most of the features mentioned above without the use of your phone – but that’s wishful thinking. It sounds like this new magicband plus will act like the wands sold at Universal, used to activate the interactive features found in the Harry Potter section of the park. I will do at Disney like I do at Universal – watch as others trigger the interactive features, saving me the trouble of waiting in line to use a wand or magicband and saving me the trouble of owning a wand/magicband that I will have to store and probably forget to bring if I visit again. I’m not sure it’s worth it for the whole family to get one, maybe – just maybe, I would get one.

10. Mindy says

    October 5, 2021 at 4:26 pm

    What is the cost and do you get them at your Disney Hotel Check In so they can sync them or can you get them somewhere else so you get the design you want? Going with company group end of Feb 2022.

11. DFB Sarah says

    October 6, 2021 at 9:34 am

    Mindy, so far Disney hasn’t released pricing for the new version of MagicBand+, but we will report when they do. I would expect them to be available both online and onsite, but I think we’ll have to wait and see if it’s something a guest can buy pre-arrival to have shipped to them or picked up at the front desk. Regardless, you should be able to purchase a design you like, whether you do so online before you leave or wait to buy onsite.