If you are staying at a Walt Disney World Resort you will be given (for free) a MagicBand. A MagicBand is a rubber/plastic bracelet containing an electronic (RFID) chip, as a WDW resort guest the MagicBand can function as your room key, resort entrance gate opener, park ticket, FastPass+ ticket, Magic Express ticket, chargecard for food and merchandise throughout WDW as well as holding information for your Disney Dining Plan and MemoryMaker + more.
As a non Walt Disney Resort guest many of these features are not available, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't buy one... So what can you use them for if you are not a WDW resort guest?
Why use a MagicBand instead of Admission Card? There are two main reasons I prefer having a MagicBand over the card, firstly, ease of use, it is so much easier to just place you MagicBand against the touch points or be scanned by a cast member, rather than having to get the card out of your pocket/bag/wallet and then put them away again. Also when you are at the water parks it is a bit awkward to carry around the card to scan if you have photos taken, whereas the MagicBand is waterproof. Secondly, the added magic. At certain rides and attractions by wearing a MagicBand you will get added bonuses, such as, on Its a Small World at the end of the ride it may pick up your names and say goodbye to you. If you have MemoryMaker (currently free with all UK Disney World tickets) then you get additional videos, such as your ride on Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.
How much does a MagicBand cost?
A plain coloured MagicBand is currently $12.99 + tax - there are 10 different colours available. Then you get the themed MagicBands which start at $22.99 + tax which are themed to a particular park, ride or character etc, there are also limited release themed MagicBands that start at $27.99 and up. Here are some of the MagicBands currently available at the parks. So for a family of four that could work out at over $50, is it really worth it? This is a hard question to answer as each family is different. We bought plain coloured MagicBands in 2015 and have used them on 3 holidays already, so for us they have definitely been worth it. But if you only plan on going once you may decide it is not worth the additional expense. Is there a cheaper way? You may think about buying a secondhand MagicBand on Ebay, but if a MagicBand has been attached to someone else's Disney Account then it can not be transferred to another Account, therefore I do not advise buying MagicBands from sites such as Ebay. We did however find a way to buy some cheaper MagicBands. Last year (2017) we visited Disney's Character Warehouse at Orlando Vineland Premium Outlets. Earlier in the year MagicBand 2 had been released and we were able to pick up themed MagicBand 1's for the girls at the cost of about $5 or $6 each. So if you would really like MagicBands, but would like to get them cheaper check out this location or Orlando International Premium Outlets which also has a Disney's Character Outlet and you may be able to get a bargain. Whatever you decide to do for your holiday at Walt Disney World, just make sure you do this one thing - Have Fun!!!
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AuthorHi, I'm Paul, the guy who put this website together. Archives
June 2021
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