As of 2021, MagicBands will no longer be free for Disney Resort hotel guests. However, they can still be purchased through My Disney Experience at least 11 days before your trip. MagicBands are included free with your resort stay if you choose one of the plain colored ones. If you want a decorated or special addition one, you need to purchase them.
Guests staying at Disney World property had always received a complimentary MagicBand, but this is no longer the case. With a MagicBand on your wrist, you can travel lighter throughout your vacation and use it to enter theme parks and water parks (with valid park admission). You can keep the bands after your resort stay is over and have multiple MagicBands associated to your MyDisneyExperience account.
One of the benefits of staying at a Disney Resorts Collection Hotel is being able to pre-order a MagicBand at a discounted price. MagicBands are not specific to one Resort Hotel vacation, so if you will be at a Theme Park prior to arrival at your resort, you should have no problem. You can purchase them separately from My Disney Experience.
When ordering MagicBands associated with a Disney Resort Hotel stay, place your order via My Disney Experience at least 11 days before your arrival. If you’re staying at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel, you get additional MagicBand benefits. Both Magic Band types unlock your room at Disney Resort hotels, eliminating the need for lost keys or struggling to find them when returning late at night.
📹 MagicBand 101 | Everything you need to know!
Let’s talk about MagicBand, MagicBand+ and everything you need to know at Walt Disney World! Is it worth it? What does it do?
Do resort guests get discounted MagicBands?
Guests of Disney Resort hotels and those in possession of an Annual Pass are eligible to receive a discounted pre-arrival price on a customized MagicBand+ if they make their purchase through My Disney Experience a minimum of six days prior to their scheduled arrival at the resort hotel.
What is the difference between MagicBand and MagicBand+?
Marianne enjoys wearing a MagicBand+ during her Walt Disney World Resort vacation, as it streamlines various activities such as unlocking hotel room doors, charging purchases, using dining plan meals and snacks, entering Disney Theme Parks, and enjoying interactive experiences. The new MagicBand+ is rechargeable and allows for fun lights and vibrations in the parks. The only MagicBand option available online is the new MagicBand+, with prices starting at $30 for some on-sale designs. Older MagicBand options may be available at merchandise locations, but pricing is subject to availability.
If you prefer not to wear a MagicBand or want a reliable backup, you can use the My Disney Experience Mobile App to save your ticket to your smartphone’s wallet. This complimentary feature, called Disney MagicMobile Service, functions like a boarding pass or credit card within your wallet, accessible with a quick double tap.
Do Disney MagicBands come with resort stay?
MagicBands were once free with a Disney resort reservation, but they are now available for purchase up to 11 days before your trip in My Disney Experience or 6 days if shipped to your resort. Available in various colors, patterns, and designs, some limited edition, the prices range from $10 to $60. If you decide to buy a MagicBand after your visit, onsite options are available, but you miss out on the pre-arrival discount.
Do MagicBands come with Disney reservations?
MagicBands, once free with a Disney resort reservation, can now be ordered up to 11 days before your trip in My Disney Experience or 6 days if shipped to your resort. These lightweight and waterproof wristbands are an all-in-one device worn to make your day in the parks more straightforward. It’s important to understand the benefits and alternatives before making a decision. MagicBands can be seen in vacation photos from the last decade and can be a valuable addition to any Disney vacation.
Can I use MagicBands from a previous trip?
Guests can reuse their Disney band from a previous visit at Walt Disney World, but the ability to receive Disney PhotoPass attraction videos and select photos may be limited. Disney bands are not available for purchase before arrival, but guests can purchase them from their Disney Resort Hotel or World of Disney. They come in limited-edition and custom designs. Guests without a Disney band do not need to visit the Front Desk upon arrival to their Disney Resort hotel.
Instead, they can use the Online Check-In/Direct-to-Room service through the My Disney Experience App for a seamless experience. The app allows guests to sign up for room ready notifications, use the app as a digital room key, and access features like park entry and charging purchases to a resort room.
Can MagicBands go through airport security?
The author shares their experience with using their MagicBand to navigate through airport security at Walt Disney World Resort. They usually leave their MagicBands on to avoid misplacement. However, the author warns that wearing a MagicBand does not guarantee no delays or extra attention. To exercise caution, the author suggests removing the MagicBand and placing it on a tray with shoes or other electronic devices. This may be particularly helpful for nervous flyers. The author wishes the reader safe travels and a magical Walt Disney World vacation, urging them to remember that they can fly.
What is the difference between MagicBand and MagicBand Plus?
The MagicBand represents the inaugural iteration of the band, offering convenient park access and virtual queues. The MagicBand+ incorporates additional features, including haptic and light functionality, interactive park activities, and enhancements to its predecessor’s capabilities.
Can you get a MagicBand without staying at a resort?
Magic Bands are available for guests staying off-property at Walt Disney World Resort or shopDisney. These bands offer similar perks, including linking park tickets and accounts for admission and Genie+ reservations. Magic Bands are no longer free, but guests booking a Walt Disney World vacation package can enjoy a discount on Magic Band and Magic Band+ purchases. To start planning your Walt Disney World vacation, visit the Magic Bands FAQs for more information.
Does MagicBand unlock hotel room?
It is possible to unlock doors at Disney Resort hotels by using active MagicBands and Key to the World Cards. Furthermore, applicable MagicBands or cards may also be used for park admission and room charges.
Can I use my Apple Watch as a MagicBand?
The feature is designed to automatically alert users when they approach a Walt Disney World touchpoint, thereby enabling them to enter the park or check in for activities related to lightning.
📹 Do You Need a MagicBand Plus at Disney World? Our Fun Guide to Magic Mobile, MagicBands & More!
Do you need the new MagicBand Plus on your next trip to Disney World? How about Magic Mobile? What if you plan to use …
I just want to say rob, you have the most easy to follow and most informative articles of any Disney vlogger. As far as prepping for a trip your articles have been some of the most helpful and you know exactly what you’re doing and I will be at Disney in 9 days for the first time since 2003 and your articles have been a lifesaver.
Rob and Erick, you guys are bringing such great hands on information!! e.g. Other websites or blogs would mention the Key to the World card but not elaborate on where to get it, or I hadn’t heard anyone mention picking up a park ticket card at Guest Relations. Your articles and knowledge are truly going to make my upcoming trip so much smoother. Thanks so much!!❤
I just have to tell you that I think you are fabulous. I am a TA that specializes in Disney vacations and I also follow very many Youtubers. I have recently found you and I think your articles are the most informative, helpful articles!! I really appreciate the time you put into these articles with such detailed information. They help me as a TA and I definitely am going to use your articles!!
Yet another amazingly informative article! Thank you Ear Scouts! We’ll be heading to Disneyland and WDW in a couple of weeks for the very first time ever and were wondering if we needed a Magic Band for our trips. 3 mins into the article and already answering so many of our questions. Keep up the quality content!! 😄
We were in Disney a few weeks ago and decided to try the magic band plus. The highlight was my kids had a blast, doing the Bounty Hunter game in Hollywood studios. They are 14/16 and had so much fun for hours. I would love to see them add some more fun activities like that, in the other parks. Yes the band did open our boardwalk door as well.. the interactions with the character statues is a little silly but a cute idea. We did stop at each one and waved our arms like crazy. 😂
We have MB’s that are about 5 years old and going back in November 2023. I’m hoping they still work. They are still marked as ACTIVE on the My Disney App so fingers crossed their batteries are still good. Not cool that Disney is now charging $ for basic MB’s especially since we are staying at a Deluxe resort (Beach Club). If you’re paying Deluxe resort prices these things should be complimentary.
Very comprehensive article! I have been perusal your tips before our 5-day park visit the first week of August. This article would have come in handy. I was anxious to use my Apple watch, but it had glitches, e.g. had to unlock, then scroll to the WDW card in Wallet. iPhone behaved similarly. The 100% foolproof method was the plastic park ticket, got from Guest Relations – since Costco Travel only gives you a ticket confirmation number – which works with the My Experience app. My favorite part of your articles, besides your collection of Ears, is perusal you actually enjoying the rides! Keep up the good work! Looking forward to your D23 visit!
I haven’t been to Disney in a really long time (like, before magic bands time) and for my honeymoon trip with my husband we weighed the options if we should get the plus or not. At first I thought we don’t even need bands at all and would be fine just using our cards; however, we plan to purchase memory maker. I think we would have got the new bands if it had some more features. I think it’s lacking in some areas. It would be more fun if the statues were animatronics that would move when you waved at them instead of just playing a sound!
It seems like there is one feature you missed in your feature grid. I haven’t been to the parks recently. So maybe they don’t have it any more. But it used to be that when you sat down at a restaurant with mobile order you didn’t have to tell anyone where you were sitting to be served. They just knew from your magic band. This assumes that the battery in your magic band or magic band+ is not dead. And there used to be interactions around the park, other than the fab 50 statues that would react with your regular magic band, if the battery was not dead. For example, the former movie ride use to show your name on the article movie posters when you were near them. But with all the new construction they may all be gone.
So when the 50th statues go away (which they presumably will now that the celebration is over), am I right in thinking that the only pro of the Plus version is the Batuu game? Which I can imagine even a child getting bored of after a round or two… I certainly wouldn’t want to be staring at my wrist during the fireworks so that’s a con in my mind! Do they still sell the normal MagicBands?
Yasss! Sunscreen or lotion is always our turnstile Gremlin! Thank you so much for the chart for us Disney data dorks. 🤣 I’m so happy they brought back something that is Sorceres of the Magic Kingdom-esque with the new MagicBand+ and the Bounty Hounter game. Hope they expand that because we used to love Soreceres and Phineas and Ferb at Epcot. Also, please tell me about those ears. I was trying to figure them out. They’re giving me an Enchanted Tiki Room vibe and I need them if so!
So so so helpful! Just bought Magicband+ devices for my family (4 of us) for out trip next year fo rmy university graduation. The special prices were so worth buying it early, and they will have our names engraved! I can’t wait to use the magicbands for it’s special features, it is just so special and convenient. Your enthusiasm is so contagious!
I just learned a genie plus tip from Molly at Mammoth club. She says at the beginning of your day you can pin your favorite selections for the park your going to and the park you intend to hop to at the beginning of the day. I haven’t seen you make this tip so I’m wondering if you knew it or not. Anyway thought it was a great tip that I would like to share in case you didn’t know.
Your article is Sooo Awsome Bro, I can tell you where Telling the Truth about Everything that you said in your article about the Part Ticket and the Card Key an the Magic plus band that you had on, and the information you where telling in your article for your Fan’s and Friends To 😊👍🏼, Nice Job of the article 😊👍🏼, your a Cool Guy, I can really tell you put in the Hard work & Effort in your article for all of Use to see 😊👍🏼, Nice Job on it 😊👍🏼👍🏼. I like your magic band plus to 😊👍🏼, it’s awsome on you 😊👍🏼. #AwsomeVideoYouDid 💯💯 😊👍🏼👍🏼. Your Friend: #Balaban & #JustinBalaban 😊👍🏼👍🏼.
I highly recommend having an alternate way besides the mobile phone option for your ticket. I frequently have trouble with the Disney mobile app in the parks. One day the mobile app wouldn’t let me sign in at all- kept telling me my credentials were wrong while I tried to use Disney’s WiFi instead of Verizon. That’s not the first time I’ve had trouble, just the strangest & biggest problem. A plastic ticket or Magic band has never given me trouble.
Does the Key to the World card work for ride photos in the moment? I know you said that it would work to scan the photo after you’re off the ride, but what about rides that don’t have those photo screens? I know my Magic Band would just automatically know which photo I was in, but wasn’t sure if I were to skip a MagicBand, if the Key to the World card would work? Thanks!
Ah thanks so much for doing this article. I think it’s much more feasible to purchase a $10 Apple Watch band that’s Disney themed via Amazon instead of dropping $35-50 on a new one! Having a card or using my phone to unlock my hotel room door also isn’t a big deal. I’ll get one for my 6 year old though for the experience for sure.
I am Canadian and I just found out that I can NOT order that magic band ahead of time at a reduced cost even though I am staying at a Disney resort. I have to pay full price when I get there. They said it is because they can’t ship it to me. So I said I have a US address to ship them to. No go. Then I asked if I could order it ahead of time and have it at the resort waiting for us. Nope, can’t do that either. So ONLY people who live in the US can get the reduced priced magic bands in advance when staying a resort. Wasn’t impressed with that.
Love your website and thank you for all your help! I have a question in regards to magic bands, maybe you know the answer. We used our magic bands from 2019 on our trip a couple weeks ago. We didn’t get any of our ride photos to show up. After some research I think our batteries may be dead on those bands for the long range sensors. The bands worked for everything else including Genie+. Do you think that’s maybe what happened? I’m thinking I may need to buy a magic band+ to make sure our photos show up on the next trip. Luckily, Disney was able to find most of our photos but I don’t want to have them search for them for every visit. Thank you!!!
So my understanding is it magic band plus interactive stuff only works if you have a cell phone? My 8 year old would love the bounty hunter at HS but doesn’t have a phone. Can anyone confirm how this works? Can more than one band be connected to a phone? Leaving in August and would love to understand this before I purchase! Thanks
Man you are a treasure trove of information my friend. You are my favorite informative Disney content creator. You help ease my anxious personality so that I am Uber prepared. One question- has the magic mobile been updated to let you in to your hotel? We have a stay coming up and all have Apple Watches. Not sure we want to shell out for the magic bands
Hello, I have been on a wild marathon of your articles and I am not quite sure how the lightning lane works I have them in QR codes however I am not sure my phone has the NFC, we are a party of 4 and since we are only going this time only we do not want the magic bands, should we go and have the little cards by guest relations? Thanks a lot for your help and happy thoughts!
You know this bands are tracking devices, use to let security know where you are and what you are saying during your stay. But even if you do not have them, there is enough cameras, mics and seismo pads all over the park to let them know where you art. Every 25′ in the park as a camera and mic hidden. monitoring your position. And your car license plate is recorded as well in 4 places in the entrance and park lot. Disney is now employing drones to watch from overhead. And before you ask, I am a past employee, I know.
thanks for this info, I never even knew that about old keycards! So if you have multiple keycards, and bands and they are all set as active in your MDE which is linked to your ticket, will they all work interchangeably throughout your day or trip? or do you need to choose one to link your current ticket to for the trip? thanks!
Thanks for the useful tips! We plan to use either our room key or ticket cards when we are there and keep them on lanyards we already had from a past trip. Also a tip I’ve heard is to write everyones name on the cards in case they get mixed up. I do miss the days of the free magic bands in the mail but for us we didn’t feel it was a necessary expense and our old ones no longer work.
I really really like all your articles! You have a way to explain things that makes everything so much easier and fun at the same time. I will be traveling to WDW in october (cant wait) so you have been my travel agency guide 😂 specially on those genie plus updates and the 27 tips, YOU REALLY OUTDID YOURSELF YOUR THAT ONE 🏆🥇 I just wanted to show you my appreciation, we will be looking for you and your ears on our trip!!!! Oh, quick question!! I see you riding expedition everest, is it now working??? And how about tower of terror? Still at half capacity? Again, THANKS!!! Have a great day
I have a question about using multiple Magic Band+’s for bounty hunting. I used one Magic Band+ to do bounty hunting on a previous trip. Now I’m heading to HS again, but will have a different Magic Band+. Will it have stored my progress in bounty hunting from my first trip? Do I have to continue using the previous Magic Band+ if I want to pick up where I left off? Thanks for any info. I love your how-to articles. I just watched a recent Genie+ article you posted. The combo of good info, creative tricks, and great screenshots makes that article invaluable to me.
So much useful info, thank you! Just one thing, you said you can’t use your mobile to open your resort room door, but I think this is definitly possible?! We are coming to Disney in a few weeks as part of a resort/parks package from the UK, and I have been able to ‘check in’ early through the app, and it tells me we can go straight to the room and use our mobile to open the room. Maybe this is a new thing! Keep they content coming guys 😁
We look forward to each and every article…you are informative and fun to watch! Our magic bands + are being shipped for our next trip. We have bragging rights about magic bands…my family was part of the first test group for magic bands! Can’t wait to get our plus bands and wear them in October! Thanks for breaking it all down. ❤️
Yet another incredibly helpful article. Thank you so much! I have been trying to find online whether or not the magic mobile on the apple watch is effective at catching on ride photos so it was nice to see this mentioned in this article. If you have memory maker do they automatically get added to your account with apple watch like they would if you were wearing a magic band or do you have to tap your watch somewhere upon exiting the ride for them to be added?
Hi Rob, awesome article as usual. Quick question about the photopass and magicband: how about rides that “automagically” know you rode them and take your photo. Is the magic band required? I’m guessing yes, since it would be hard for them to detect a card or a phone, right? Do they have a non-band alternative to get the photo?
Superb article again. Just one question, you say we cannot open our hotel room with the phone and I was hoping to use the Direct-to-Room Service from the app, which says that you can? I wonder if you could help us out here please? We won’t have magic bands when we arrive. And by the way, your thoughts and insights into Disney’s Boardwalk Resort would be very much appreciated in a future vlog 😀👍