Magic Band or Card

ADR is a must. We made the mistake of going there during Christmas week with the plan to snack around - never again. Springs can reach capacity later in the day, which closes down entry to those even with ADRs, so going early in the day is for sure your best bet.
 
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Agreed with the posters above about timing. Early in the day is your friend! ADRs will be best for lunch and you may also have luck with mobile ordering as a back up. I also didn’t find out until later in our trip that the Christmas tree stroll gets you discounts at local stores. You may already know but I had no idea and found out after we had done most of our shopping. I got a map at Basin by the Disney store. Enjoy!!
 
ADR is a must. We made the mistake of going there during Christmas week with the plan to snack around - never again. Springs can reach capacity later in the day, which closes down entry to those even with ADRs, so going early in the day is for sure your best bet.
They’ll turn you away even if you have an ADR?? How does this work with the Disney cancellation policy then?
 


They’ll turn you away even if you have an ADR?? How does this work with the Disney cancellation policy then?

They waive the cancellation fee (it's actually posted on the DS reopening info that they will)

But... there are a lot of reports that the surface lot has been used for those with reservations when the garages are closed to capacity. People have been able to approach a guard at that lot, show the reservation, and park. I try to never find myself anywhere near DS when it's even close to capacity so I have not tried it myself.
 
oh great! we have ADRs for dinner the Saturday before Christmas....Its our arrival day and not a park day for my family...Looks like there's a chance we won't be allowed in? Do the buses from the resort to DS stop? How do I find out if they've reached capacity before getting there?
 


They waive the cancellation fee (it's actually posted on the DS reopening info that they will)

But... there are a lot of reports that the surface lot has been used for those with reservations when the garages are closed to capacity. People have been able to approach a guard at that lot, show the reservation, and park. I try to never find myself anywhere near DS when it's even close to capacity so I have not tried it myself.
Wow thanks for the tip! I didn’t even think about this when planning. I have a later reservation for wine bar George this Friday. We’re staying at Saratoga so I was trying to take advantage of Disney Springs being walkable ugh.
 
Now that Disney is no longer providing magic bands and they haven't been bugging me endlessly about linking them to my park passes, does this mean they aren't necessary? Can I use bands from a prior trip, like from 2 years ago? We really only use them to enter the park and open the door to the room; we don't charge to the room, use them for ride photos, etc. ALSO... If we do need to use the bands, do I need to link the old bands to this trip's park passes?
 
they are necessary if you don't have an actual ticket (card). Yes you can still use the ones from previous trips as long as they are linked to your name on MDE. Also Disney is still selling them and at a discounted price for those with resort bookings
The future (might be not so distant) will be that you can enter the park using your phone just like you can do to enter your room but that hasn't been rolled out yet
 
Looks like DS opens at 10AM. I would get there at 10AM on a weekday but not a Friday.
Many of the stores open at 10, but you can park and walk around before 10. I might even aim for 9:30-945 arrival. You also have to get through the temp and bag checks.
 
This is good to know. I booked 3 small trips next month to burn up some points. No park trips, so I wasnt interested in buying magic bands. I knew about the cards- Usually in the past, we would pick up a card or 2, just to have as a backup.

But the problem for the last few years was... it was often HARD to get the card. The front desk, which is generally super, super nice... would sometimes not know "where they were". I'm guess that MagicBands were so successful, that people rarely ever asked for cards, so I'm hoping they foresee the sudden demand for the cards starting Jan-1.

The phone app is wonderful, but it doesnt replace the current system because kids typically don't have cell phones, and mine doesnt always last the day. Its kinda funny that Disney is trying to reduce the need to go to the front desk..... except in this case, we would have to go to the front desk to get our cards.
 
we would have to go to the front desk to get our cards.
Do you not have any MBs (or RFID cards) that you used on previous trips?
If they show in your MDE account, they will work at your resort for this trip.
 
But the problem for the last few years was... it was often HARD to get the card. The front desk, which is generally super, super nice... would sometimes not know "where they were". I'm guess that MagicBands were so successful, that people rarely ever asked for cards, so I'm hoping they foresee the sudden demand for the cards starting Jan-1.
This. My experience as well.
 
Do you not have any MBs (or RFID cards) that you used on previous trips?
If they show in your MDE account, they will work at your resort for this trip.

We have always been told that they have a battery, and its not recommended to reuse them.
So, as crazy as it sounds, they get thrown out every trip, since, well, we would get new ones when we go back. lol
Now, on "My Experience", they are recommending you use old ones. Well, hindsight being 20/20.....

The card is perfect for the small trips I planned, like I said, I'm just hoping Disney has planned for this. Cards were sometimes hard to get the last few years. I'm extra flexible because of pandemic, but the app is not a substitute.

Edit: one of the trips was for Beach Club. I think they are using pool bands? So a mix of pool bands, cards, and apps.
 
We have always been told that they have a battery, and its not recommended to reuse them.
So, as crazy as it sounds, they get thrown out every trip, since, well, we would get new ones when we go back. lol
Now, on "My Experience", they are recommending you use old ones. Well, hindsight being 20/20.....

The card is perfect for the small trips I planned, like I said, I'm just hoping Disney has planned for this. Cards were sometimes hard to get the last few years. I'm extra flexible because of pandemic, but the app is not a substitute.

Edit: one of the trips was for Beach Club. I think they are using pool bands? So a mix of pool bands, cards, and apps.
Yeah the battery thing confused a lot of people. The battery in the magicbands only powers the far range aspect of the band (the cameras picking you up on rides like 7DMT or HM). Everything else that the magicband does (open doors, enter parks, pay at touch points, etc) is a passive system and is not powered by a battery. Those portions of the magicband will literally NEVER stop working. They receive a small charge from each touchpoint when they are used.

Best course of action, if you’re going in 2021 and won’t be getting a free one, is pick one that you really like and pay the $5-$10 for each member of your party and just keep them forever. Know those will be your bands for each upcoming trip and keep them somewhere safe. We literally have them all over, a bag in our overnight travel bag, a pair in each car, a pair in DW’s pocketbook (but we’re a bit over the top lol).
 
And the front desks have gotten much better with card availability over the past few months. We’ve been a few times now over the past 2-3 months and have had to get a card at the front desk on 2 occasions, because the room door at OKW was being finnicky. They’ve been having issues with a lot of the room doors (especially in sprawling resorts like OKW) from not being used as often during shutdown and even during the reopen period. They’ve been breaking down and not recognizing bands as frequently. So the front desk has the yellow cards available.
 
Wow thanks for the tip! I didn’t even think about this when planning. I have a later reservation for wine bar George this Friday. We’re staying at Saratoga so I was trying to take advantage of Disney Springs being walkable ugh.

I do not think it closes to walk-in traffic but maybe? I have only heard first hand reports of cars being turned away. We have stayed at SSR a couple times here lately and have loooooved being walking distance to DS! It's so lovely, especially when the weather is cooler. I think you'll be okay!
 

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