Magicbands don't come with your resort stay anymore?

[Babsy]

well, this is a disappointment. Are you able to use an old magic band? (2019 and older) OR will they give you a KTTW card like they did pre magic band days? I don't really want to spend more money on magic bands when I have so many already...

 

[tony67]

well, this is a disappointment. Are you able to use an old magic band? (2019 and older) OR will they give you a KTTW card like they did pre magic band days? I don't really want to spend more money on magic bands when I have so many already...

If you plan to buy Genie+ then you probably want a new magic band+ since you can download the ride photos

You old one should still work - I assume its in your account already - but if the batteries are dead then it wont work for the ride photos. Its will still work for the contact things like park entry etc..

 

[Dave006]

Are you able to use an old magic band? (2019 and older) OR will they give you a KTTW card like they did pre magic band days?

Yes they will still work if they are active on your MDE account. The remote battery will be dead but the function is only for on-ride pictures and not for any touch points. You can also .get a RFID card as a free backup at the Front Desk should you lose you MB while in a park

Dave

 

[reddog21]

Your could also use your phone or apple watch.

 

[Simba's Mom]

Your could also use your phone or apple watch.

I would use my phone or apple watch, but how do you do that?

 

[Minniesgal]

Use your phone

 

[reddog21]

I would use my phone or apple watch, but how do you do that?

Here you go, my wife and I use our watches and my son used his phone both experiences work perfect. I have only used Apple devices so I can't comment on android. Also, using this with multiple people(one phone) can be time consuming at first but once you get the hang of it it's not bad.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/magic-mobile/

 

[tony67]

So couple of questions as Id prefer to use my phone then purchase a MB+

Does it work well for ride photos?
Can you bring your phone on all rides?
I think I read it is a battery hog - is that true.

 

[Dave006]

So couple of questions as Id prefer to use my phone then purchase a MB+

Does it work well for ride photos?
Can you bring your phone on all rides?
I think I read it is a battery hog - is that true.

Yes if linked to your MDE Account correctly
Yes you can bring your phone on all ride
This function is not a really a battery hog bu the basic MDE app is a battery hog.

Note: it needs to be properly setup in MDE and linked to your Phones "wallet" application and/or watch. You really need to check out "Transit" mode then you don't even need to unlock you phone or watch just pass the nearby access point.

Note: you can setup digital passes for other members of your party. It works great for children.

Again carefully read this content before you arrive at you first park:

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/magic-mobile/

Dave

 

[Once.Upon.A.Time]

We used our room keys for our last vacation and we were happy.

 

[Genie+]

The 2019 battery might not be dead, but even if it is the MagicBand can still be used for:
Park entry
Ride entry (when needed - VQ, G+, ILL etc)
Room entry
Photographer pics
Charge to room (if you have that set up)

That stuff all still works as long as that MB is still active in your account. Their reader just needs to read the unique ‘key’ code your MB holds, and will do so whether or not battery has life left.

Ride photos need information thrown to them so a dead MB will not work. As suggested, you can set up a phone or watch if these photos are important to you. I also like to have more than just MB to enter our room because sometimes that gets messed up, but it’s been easy enough to use our phone to open the door instead.

We still use our older MBs for most things. We have our phone as backup.

 

[Babsy]

Thanks everyone! Looks like we will use the card and maybe try using our phones. I'm not very good with electronics though.......but if the room key works, then all is good.

 

[beccasmom]

Our MB+s did not work well at all on our recent trip. We used the cards provided by the front desk and guest relations 90% of the time.

 

[Genie+]

Our MB+s did not work well at all on our recent trip. We used the cards provided by the front desk and guest relations 90% of the time.

Was that for the room, or did your MagicBands not work well for anything?

 

[peacefrogdog]

The 2019 battery might not be dead, but even if it is the MagicBand can still be used for:
Park entry
Ride entry (when needed - VQ, G+, ILL etc)
Room entry
Photographer pics
Charge to room (if you have that set up)

That stuff all still works as long as that MB is still active in your account. Their reader just needs to read the unique ‘key’ code your MB holds, and will do so whether or not battery has life left.

Ride photos need information thrown to them so a dead MB will not work. As suggested, you can set up a phone or watch if these photos are important to you. I also like to have more than just MB to enter our room because sometimes that gets messed up, but it’s been easy enough to use our phone to open the door instead.

We still use our older MBs for most things. We have our phone as backup.

When using your phone for ride photos - is it via the MagicMobile option on the MDE app? If so, would I just tap the pass that I've saved to my Apple wallet?

 

[beccasmom]

Was that for the room, or did your MagicBands not work well for anything?

My band did not open the room (and the very nice guy at the front desk could not get it to work), but DH’s worked fine. My band worked at the parks, but DH’s did not and he was issued a card at guest services. It didn’t ruin the trip or anything, but was a pain nonetheless.

 

[reddog21]

When using your phone for ride photos - is it via the MagicMobile option on the MDE app? If so, would I just tap the pass that I've saved to my Apple wallet?

If you set up your magic mobile correctly for an Apple product you don’t have to unlock your phone or select anything just take your phone or watch and hold it near the Mickey head the exact same process if you had a magic band. Make sure you have express mode active in the wallet app.

For ride photos that don’t use a Mickey head for photos all you need to do is grant the mde app Bluetooth acess and make sure sure your logged into the mde app. If for some reason you get logged out of the mde app then you won’t get ride photos. It’s never happened to me while at Disney but it could.

 

[peacefrogdog]

If you set up your magic mobile correctly for an Apple product you don’t have to unlock your phone or select anything just take your phone or watch and hold it near the Mickey head the exact same process if you had a magic band. Make sure you have express mode active in the wallet app.

For ride photos that don’t use a Mickey head for photos all you need to do is grant the mde app Bluetooth acess and make sure sure your logged into the mde app. If for some reason you get logged out of the mde app then you won’t get ride photos. It’s never happened to me while at Disney but it could.

I guess setting up magic mobile correctly is the kicker. Is there a way to know in advance whether it's set up property? My and my wife's passes are in my wallet and both are already set to express mode.
If it is setup correctly, does my phone ding or vibrate when holding it to the mickey head for photos (or does the head light up) to let me know it worked?

 

[Miffy]

OP, just FYI, MBs aren't free anymore with a resort stay, but if you scroll to the end of the MB choices, you'll find several MB 2's (the former version) available for around $10 each. Not a bad price.

 

[slo]

On my last trip in June 2023, my MB+ blew off on RnRC, so I used my Apple Watch the rest of the trip.

My watch worked great at the rides and entering the parks, but did not work on door at the resort - I had to get a Key to the Kingdom. Because I was using my watch a lot, the battery started dying faster so I had to bring my cord with to charge my watch during meals.

From this experience, I’d be fine using my watch for a day, but not for a trip - buying the MB is worth it for multiple days.

ETA…I agree that it stinks to have to buy it now, but I’m sure it’s extremely expensive to give those out at no charge, so I get why they changed it.