Disney's MagicBand

[oldmanAZ]

Fascinating.

Disney's $1 Billion Bet on a Magical Wristband | WIRED Very interesting article for anyone interested in Ft.Wilderness, WDW, and/or technology.

I'm at a loss for words. For us, this changes virtually everything in the way we used to plan our WDW trips. For years we used note cards, laptops, etc. and made copious notes. They began the MagicBands shortly after our last trip to WDW. This year will be our first experience with them - really looking forward to it.

I'm a bit envious if you are in the group of 'newbies' that have already used MagicBands, or will use them for your first trip, and think 'No big deal.' They ARE a big deal and get rid of many unpleasant aspects of enjoying 'The happiest place on earth.'

MagicBands remove the 'friction' in your WDW experience:
"Part of the trick lies in the clever way Disney teaches you to use them—and, by extension, how to use the park. It begins when you book your ticket online and pick your favorite rides. Disney’s servers crunch your preferences, then neatly package them into an itinerary calculated to keep the route between stops from being a slog—or a frustrating zig-zag back and forth across the park. Then, in the weeks before your trip, the wristband arrives in the mail, etched with your name...

[Donedroolin]

The bands are great you can put you meals and everything on them.

[SouthCo]

We were in Disney this past January and used the magic bands. They are nice. But we have been going to Disney every year since 2010 and our first 5 trips were before the magic bands. Really the only difference for us was that we don't have to carry a plastic card (which got us into parks, meal plan and room key)and that we can book fast passes online now (which Disney could have allowed even back when you carried the plastic cards). So again I do like them better than carry a plastic card, but for us it didn't really alter anything else.

[oldmanAZ]

Our first trip to WDW after the Fast Pass program was for Y2K. We liked it for that trip and used them for many attractions. Our trips after that, at 'Rope Drop,' it became a mass foot race to the popular attractions to get Fast Passes for an entire group. And getting to the Fast Pass machines after the initial stampede didn't mean you'd get one; they often sold out early.

A further complication was dining reservations. We really like dining at WDW, but never knew if a Fast Pass time (if we had one) would interfere with a dining reservation that was made MONTHS in advance. Of course, too, was having a Fast Pass ticket prevented you from other Fast Passes until the earlier Fast Pass was expired. You had to keep the dining reservations somewhere and refer to them when you were in line to get Fast Pass and hope the Fast Pass times didn't change before you got your ticket.

Maybe we 'over planned' our WDW trips. We haven't (usually) gone more than once in a 18-month period; usually it has been 2, 3, or 4 years in between. We've always been concerned about getting our 'biggest bang for our buck' for ourselves and our kids. For us that meant planning.

This year will be our first using the Magic Bands, being there without kids and/or grand-kids, and being there for two weeks in Ft. Wilderness. We think the Magic Bands will help make this one of the best trips ever. Maybe not. We'll see.

[SouthCo]

I'm sure it will be great. Two weeks sounds great too. We always do just 7 or 8 days.

[Gary]

Yep, big brother is watching. Disney is following you and your kids through the parks system, with their long distance readers.

[WVDusty]

We just took our first trip to Disney last summer. The magic bands where awsome.

[gvn71]

We were there in February for 8 days! Towed the camper down and we stayed at Ft. Wilderness. Besides the unseasonably cold temps (2 nights below 30) we had a great time. The magicbands are awesome. We could eat, drink and hit the gift shops without having to dig for a wallet.

[RedHorse1]

Yes, the bands ARE great! And Yes, the Mouse knows what you like.