Ahead of select Walt Disney World Disney Vacation Club Resort hotels beginning to reopen next week, followed by the theme parks reopening in July, Disney has shared a variety of different experiences and entertainment that will be temporarily unavailable when they reopen.
Now, Disney World has announced another new procedure that will be followed when they reopen.
According to Disney, free MagicBands will be discontinued in the parks for guests with new hotels reservations starting January 1st, 2021.
Up until now, guests at Disney World Resort hotels were given a complimentary MagicBand along with their stay that they could link to their My Disney Experience account to use for their trip. However, due to health and safety precautions, Disney will be discontinuing this offering.
Instead, Disney World will be moving towards a new tool on the My Disney Experience app in 2021 that will bring MagicBand features to smart devices on top of the digital key availability on the app already.
However, Disney Resort guests will still be able to purchase new MagicBands at a discount with even more colors and designs. During their visit, guests can also use the My Disney Experience app or a Key to the World card instead of a MagicBand. Retail locations and shopDisney will still be selling MagicBands for guests to continue wearing in Disney World.
We will continue to update with any further developments as we learn more!
What are your thoughts on the discontinued MagicBands? Let us know in the comments below!
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Health Issues…pa-lease…they lost a ton of money during the shut down. I guess this is one way they are making it up. The bands battery last two years (apparently). Just buy a new one every two years. From what i have read the bands has two chips in it. One for active RFID which uses the battery to transmit an ID# to ride cameras and so on (non-touch or non-tap). There is also a passive RFID chip (no battery) that will still work and this is what you are using with the tap for paying, park admissions and getting into your room. Just keep using your favorite band for all of your tap stuff and let your phone/app deal with the in-ride stuff. It kinda stinks…but that is the way it is… Usually when Disney does something “temporarily” they actually mean permanently… I guess they will bring them back if they see a reduction in sales….
I can’t believe they would take away Disney Magic. This is a way that Disney is cashing in.. if it was a health issue then why continue to sell them. You spend enough money and this small gesture to bring Magic to a family vacation should not be taken away.
First of all we do not take our phones to the parks and we love the magic bands and how convenient they are. Doesn’t seem like Disney telling us they are discontinuing due to this Covid and our safety when we are the only ones touching them. I feel it’s only to cut their cost while keeping our prices up. Taking away all the perks of the magic along with no dining, fireworks, character meet and greets or Parades aren’t going to keep guest coming to the parks at such high prices that we have to pay.
Guests can also use the My Disney Experience app or a Key to the World CARD instead of a MagicBand. So if you do not have a smartphone you can get a card which is what guest used before the came out with MB.
Remember folks the article said this is a temporary discontinuation.
Once again Disney is all about the money and not the families that save up for this vacation for years! Shame on you Disney! Don’t lie to us. It is insulting!
This sucks! Disney is taking away all the magic. A smart phone is not magical. DisneyExpress is gone. We only can borrow 50% of our points for a hotel and we are still paying for these points!
I won’t be there again. I don’t use smart phone, I’80 years old with arthritic thumbs. Always taking away never adding to joy of Disney. CHEAP! CHEAP! CHEAP!
Since the start of the “Magic Bands” we always chose to use the old fashioned key card. We have never worn a watch so having a band was dorky to us. Guess we were and still are ahead of the curve. Using my iPhone now will be a plus
Everyone should have realized that Magic Bands were going to be a relatively short usage period in the history of WDW. It is hardly taking something away that is so engrained considering they never existed until 2014. Six years of usage is hardly something that guests should have become so accustomed to. They certainly are a significant operational expense when you include shipping not to mention the environmental impact. I think it is safe to say that we aren’t far off from the Apple watch having a Disney app, thus functioning just like the Magic Band did. I look forward to the day.
What if you don’t have a smart phone. How will you get into your room and the parks.
They keep taking, taking, and taking, but never want to give anything anymore. It’s getting old.
I can’t believe that Disney will be discontinuing this “FREE” perk. We all know that we are already paying for this “FREE” item with the high hotel room costs. Also, I would think that they would want to encourage the no touch aspect of the magic bands. Additionally, the WiFi at the parks is always so sketchy and unpredictable. Finally, I don’t know about you guys, but my cell phone is ALWAYS dying after such a long day of continuing to look at my itinerary, reservations, and fast passes.
So, NO. I think this is a bad decision.
Hm. Seems a little like a $ saving move that will eliminate the cost of free bands and boost magic band sales for nostalgia/the experience. Let’s hope the discount is a lot!!
If it was a health and safety concern, why isn’t it immediately being implemented as opposed to next year.
Not everyone has a smart phone or device. Seems like Disney is moving past the less fortunate and technologically challenged!
Instead of buying a new band wonder if you can use an old one? I have about 50 of them stashed away from past visits.
You can always use the old bands that are listed in your profile.
So if we have a reservation for later this year (like in September), are we still going to get/use MagicBands? I like using the MagicBand since everything is on there like my tickets and room key.
Hi Betty! Disney has said they will not be discontinuing the complimentary MagicBands until arrivals in 2021.
I fail to see how a magic band is a health and safety concern when given to you free, but not if you buy one. Or how it is more germy than a card or a phone you touch with your hand? Not like CM touch your band. Sounds more like cost cutting, no more postage spent mailing them and no more production costs. But call it health related and everyone will nod and thank them for “keeping us safe”…health and safety aren’t synonyms. I am not a magic band fan, they are hot to wear, but having used their door app, it was a big pain involving too many clicks just to open a door and I don’t want to be glued to my phone all day to check in for a FP or enter a park.
I agree. This has nothing to do with health and safety, def a money saving thing. I also like to go to the parks with no phone! The last thing i want is to have to spend my vac on my phone to do everything. Plus what do people do that dont have smart phones? Yes, those people do exist.
Thank you.
I could not agree more! Making it to where more people have to use their phones means more wait times because we now will have to stand there waiting on people to dig them out of their bags and fiddle with them until they find their pass or what have you. If Walt were alive he would’ve found a way in today’s world to STILL make sure people could unplug from the real world while on vacation. This is so against everything he stood for and does nothing but cater to kids that can’t keep their noses out of their phones long enough to know what a good time is! And yes, it’s about saving money not health. Get ready for a long list of things to come that Disney deems “unsanitary”. Guaranteed, we won’t be seeing much live entertainment in the parks anymore. That’s always the first to go.
This just seems like overkill. How is a free magic band a “health and safety issue?” If you can still buy them, and still use them, what good are they doing by not continuing to provide them as part of the package? Disney needs to slow down on all the changes. This doesn’t even start until January. Who knows what the situation may look like then? I know it says “temporary,” but…….it’s really easy to stick with a change than to go back.
I think Melissa hit it on the head. A magic band is a health and safety concern when given as part of our package, BUT okay if we make you buy it. If it truly was a health problem, they would be ALL discontinued. The magic band helped by NOT touching things. Just another sad way that Disney is cashing in and taking away the magic.
There is no magic is using your phone. The magic is disappearing. Disney Vacation members don’t get anything for free and now we can’t even use all of our points. Nonmembers get free meal plans, members don’t.