A Complete Guide to MagicBands

To me, MagicBands are basically magic. I mean, it says it all in the name! You technically don’t need MagicBands while visiting Walt Disney World. but it does make your life a whole lot easier. And I am 100% for making life easier. Here is a complete Guide to MagicBands!

1. What are MagicBands?

I am so glad you asked! (I am just going to assume that you asked). Anyway, MagicBands are the most magic-filled jewelry that you will ever own. They are bracelets that use RF technology to store your specific information. You match them up (“Mickey to Mickey” as you will hear Castmembers say) to various touch points throughout your Disney World vacation, giving you access to the various plans you have made with My Disney Experience. They are even waterproof! So no worries about taking them off while in the pool.

2. What do they do?

MagicBands can do sooo many things! Below, I will list out the numerous things it helps you with:

• Check in to Magical Express – Disney’s Magical Express is the amazing complimentary transportation service that is only available to Disney World resort guests. It will pick you up from the airport and drop you off at your resort. You can use your MagicBand to check-in for Magical Express. You don’t need your Magicbands to get on the Magical Express, but doing so makes life so much easier and magical! If you don’t have it, you will just have to check in with paper work.
• Make Charges to your Disney World Resort Room – On of my favorite things about the MagicBands is that I do not need to carry cash or credit cards around with me. I tend to misplace things, so this is great that there is one less thing that I have to carry around with me. When you are ready to make a purchase, you will just tell the Castmember that you will like to charge it to your room. Hold your MagicBand to the receiver, enter in your unique PIN, and you are all set! At the end of your trip when you check out, you can ask for an itemized recite of your charges.
• Connect Memory Maker and Photopass to your Account – Once you get any photos taken by a PhotoPass Photographer, scan your MagicBand and presto! Your photos will appear on your My Disney Experience App. Sometimes it takes a little bit for the photos to appear, so don’t fret if you don’t see them right away. Also, with rides like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, you don’t even need to scan your MagicBand for the video! The ride has signals that will automatically detect your MagicBand and put the video on the app for you. Pretty cool, huh?
• Park Ticket – Entrance to the theme parks and water parks is made easy with a simple touch of “Mickey to Mickey”! Just tap the Mickey icon on your Magic Band to the Mickey Icon at the ticket booth and you are all set! (you will also need to use your fingerprint). Not only can you link your park tickets to the MagicBands, but also the special ticket event like Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party too!
• Room Key – In the center of your MagicBand, there is a Mickey icon. To get into your room, you will tough the Mickey Icon to the receiver on your room door. The receiver will light up green, and then you are in!
• FastPasses – Another “Mickey to Mickey” situation. Remember all of those Fastpasses you made (or are going to have to make)? Well, MagicBands are the way you use them! When your time slot comes up, just head over to the ride and touch your MagicBand to the receiver at the Fastpass line. Once it lights up green, you can head on up to the ride.
• Using Dining Plan Credits – Your MagicBand is also your ticket to your meals and snacks. When it is time to pay, you will tap the Mickey Icon of your MagicBand to the receiver and enter your PIN (this PIN will be set up at the time of check-in to your resort if you haven’t done so previously).

3. How do I get one?

Right now, there are three different way that you can obtain one of these WDW necessities. The first, Disney will offer them complimentary to guests who book at one of the WDW resorts. Disney offers an array of solid colors that guest can pick out for free! If you pick out the colors that you and your family want before the trip, Disney will ship them to your house, free of charge. If not, they will be waiting for you at the resort at the time of check-in. Another way to get them is by being an annual passholder. Disney also gives the basic solid colors for free to annual passholders. Not staying on-site or an annual passholder? No problem! You can purchase MagicBands at Walt Disney World or even online.

A new thing that Disney just implemented is that now you can upgrade your MagicBand for a small upcharge to one of the MagicBands with designs on them! To read more about that, click here!

4. Can I customize it?

You sure can! As stated above you can pick a basic color or pay a small fee to upgrade your MagicBand. But there are other ways to spice up these MagicBands!

One way is to add Bandits to your MagicBand! These little icons are a cute way to customize and add some magic to your MagicBands.

Another way to really customize your MagicBand is by creating your own! In Tomorrowland at Magic Kingdom, there is a shop called Tomorrowland Power & Light Co. (right next to Space Mountian). Here you can really customize your MagicBand and make it your own! Prices will vary.

If you prefer to support small shops, there are TONS of Etsy shop that you can buy MagicBand skins from! The options are endless here.

5. Anything else I need to know?

Did you know that you can reuse your MagicBand? That means that as long as you link your tickets to your MagicBand (you can do this on the website or on the My Disney Experience app) you can reuse your MagicBand for future trips!

Also, If lost, it can be deactivated. If you lose your MagicBand while in Disney World, you can report it to Guest Relations or any Castmember and they will assist you. The castmember will deactivate it for you. You are also able to deactivate it yourself through the My Disney Experience app so you don’t have to worry about what happens if you lose it!

Is wearing a band around your arm something that you are not interested in? No worries! My husband does’t like them either. They way MagicBands work is that the Micky Icon (Or the puck) is removable. This way, you can put it in a key chain instead! This way you will now just scan the Key chain instead of having to scan a band.

Was this Guide to MagicBands helpful? Let me know your thoughts in the comments down below!