Reviews of MagicBand
Reviewed by trudeasm Review Date: 11/21/2013
Rating: (3) Not Recommended
Just got back from the World. We were staying in one DVC room, but traveling with another family staying in a cash room at a different resort. We had problems every day with our Magic Bands. First, we could not link our reservations so that we could make reservations and FastPass+ together. Many hours on the phone with tech support prior to the trip did not resolve the issue. Then when we arrived, the bands were all mixed up, even though the names on the inside were correct. They were actually mixed up across the parties, making a simple switch impossible. Again, Cast Members were unable to correct the problems. We were told to wait a few hours without eating or visiting a park! Um, ok. When we returned to the desk to pick up our new bands, we discovered that no one had even begun addressing our problems. More waiting. The subsequent days were repeats of the same: our mugs kept turning off (because we were "checked out" when we were not!), our park tickets wouldn't work, entitlements were wrong, the PINs would not work, etc. Magic Express reservations were incorrect and required several calls. Pretty much an epic fail. I also agree that those not using FastPass+ are almost completely shut out of the major attractions. Hoping that Disney works out the bugs soon! That's what a beta test is for, right?
Pros:
convenient for park entryCons:
many technical issues that cast members cannot resolveReviewed by John Review Date: 12/07/2014
Rating: (2) Not Recommended
When we checked in they asked us to make sure we could access our room with the Magic Bands. They all worked fine. Then we went to the Magic Kingdom and my grandson's would not allow him access to the park. We were told we had to go to Guest Relations, but because it was raining and I did not want to stand out in the rain we went back to the hotel to get in straight. When we got there it took over an hour to finally get it cleared up and then my grandson's "Tragic Band" was the only one that could access the room. Luckily we had Key to the World Cards which would also work to access the room.
Also My son and daughter-in-law could not use their Bands to charge meals or other items.
I wish Disney would not have messed with a system that was pretty good before.
Pros:
NoneCons:
Don't work all the timeReviewed by bellebookworm9 Review Date: 01/11/2014
Rating: (2) Not Recommended
I was not a fan of the Magic Bands, and I don't like the whole next gen thing in general. Our problems started upon arrival at our resort. We came to the desk at 8:30pm after a long day of traveling. There was some glitch with activating our bands, and repeated reassurances of "it will only take five minutes to fix" turned into two and a half HOURS of waiting and waiting to get into our room. Ridiculous. We had no issues charging or using the dining plan. Because we used cast member admission, that was not linked to the band and we were also unable to take advantage of FP+. I found the band itself to be irritating to my skin and I disliked the texture. Wish they'd offer an alternative for people like me, but alas, they've totally done away with the Key to the World Cards!
Pros:
ConvenientCons:
Difficulties with activationReviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 05/22/2023
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
Don’t waste your money on Disney’s new Magic Band. You are not able to run the update that is required if you have an Android Phone so you are not able to customize it as advertised. The thing about this Magic Band Plus Disney knows there is an issue but don’t let their guest know it. Even after several complaints and requests to let consumers know Disney still has not let guests know about this issue. Don’t waste your time with Disney IT helpdesk either they make you wait several days before they respond to requests for help only to tell you yeah, they know it has a glitch and there is nothing you can do.
Pros:
NONE not worth the extra money it cost, cause did doesn't work as advertised.Cons:
he thing about this Magic Band Plus Disney knows there is an issue but don’t let their guest know it. Even after several complaints and requests to let consumers know Disney still has not let guests know about this issue. Don’t waste your time with Disney IT helpdesk either they make you wait several days before they respond to requests for help only to tell you yeah, they know it has a glitch and there is nothing you can do.Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 01/03/2020
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
To clarify my review I want to start with I made the mistake of purchasing my magic band through the Disney world pass holder site. I made a selection then changed it. At check out the site froze then skipped to a confirmation number but no review of my order. My magic band ended up not being the one that I selected and when I called to ask for a correction they gave me a firm no and goodbye. In 22 years of frequenting Disney this is my first bad experience but it's a big one for me because the convenience is lost due to me having paid for something that j won't use. It sounds incredibly petty but I paid extra and every time I look at it it's a reminder that the company can make billions every year but can't swap a piece of plastic for me.
Pros:
It works.Cons:
It's ugly and the only magic band I did not like in any way and so I hate wearing it.Reviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 09/27/2018
Rating: (1) Recommended
I really enjoy the magic bands , love all of the different colors to choose from , always pick a different color when going so I can end up having all of the colors so I can make a craft with all of the different colored bands
Pros:
Can get any color you likeCons:
There is no consReviewed by Anonymous Review Date: 09/27/2018
Rating: (1) Recommended
I love the Magicband! I did not think I would like it but it made everything so easy. Opening our room, fast pass, dining. Everything was great. I miss wearing it! In our package I was given the choice of a special band with pictures of the different parks. I only saw three other people with the same one so I felt very "magical".
Pros:
Ease of useCons:
NoneReviewed by Tigger82 Review Date: 09/25/2014
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
If I weren't blind, I'm sure my rating would be much different, or cast members more helpful. Being unable to see the mickey head, thank goodness my mother was there because almost all the cast members just stood there uselessly, most not even saying a word. If I were alone, I'd have to align the Mickey heads by trial and error I guess.
Pros:
None for a blind personCons:
Couldn't see the Mickey headReviewed by slapps Review Date: 01/08/2014
Rating: (1) Not Recommended
My family and friends have visited Disney World the past 10 out of eleven years. It has always been a very enjoyable time for my family and friends from upstate NY. This year we had 13 in our party and we rented a Grand Villa at Old Key West for 8 days and my family of 4 rented a studio at Wilderness Lodge.
We checked in on December 18 and out on December 28th. From day one, we had nothing but problems with our bands. Not just one but, all of us at one time or another. Everything from not being able to charge, not working to get in the parks, not opening our villa doors, not having the correct charges on each band and card assigned to that band. You name it and it went wrong. I spent hours and I mean hours at the front desk trying to get it fixed. Between the 13 of us we received 53 bands, we had several reservations and everyone of us got bands sent to us and had bands waiting at the counter, what a waste of money. I have never been so disappointed and upset with Disney. I rate our band experience a -40.
Pros:
great when it worksCons:
just a terrible overall experienceReviewed by Motherhen Review Date: 12/10/2013
Rating: (1) Recommended
I was so excited about this new development and couldn't wait to try it. I was so disappointed! I ordered my park tickets through DVC and was told to link them through "My Disney Experience". I had already set up our dining reservations and had them linked with MDE, so I thought it would be a simple process. We were taking our DD's BFF with us and all of our tickets wouldn't link on-line. I needed to call the help line for assistance. The CM on the help line set everything up for me and I was able to start the FP+ set up.
The FP+ set went fairly smoothly, although, the system was somewhat disagreeable when trying to make changes to the FP+ I had already set up. Nonetheless, I got everything ready and on screen everything looked perfect.
I showed up at our resort and was handed the display box with our customized wrist bands inside. They were exactly what I had ordered on-line. We used then right away to get into our room and they worked perfectly.
The next day when we went to use them at Animal Kingdom the problems started, and they continued through our entire vacation. We were staying for 10 days and out of our 30 FP+ selections that were set up, only 4 worked. It was a horribly frustrating experience.
I had to carry around a print out of our FP+ selections and show them to every CM at every ride or attraction we wanted to get into. Not exactly convenient. I spoke to CMs at every park and each and every time they did a system scan of our wrist bands, it showed everything exactly as I had planned it from home, but for some reason it wouldn't link up in the parks.
At check-in we were also given the original blue park ticket cards to use and these worked better for FP than our wrist bands.
The wrist bands worked exactly as they were supposed to for our meal plan and for entry to the parks themselves, it seemed that only the FP+ wasn't working.
FP+, in theory, sounds like a good idea, however, we found the FP lines were longer, in many cases, than the stand-by lines. In several instances we rode a ride in the stand-by line and then rode it again with our FP. Once the system becomes more widely know and used the FP lines will be useless.
I was expecting a lot more from Disney and was terribly disappointed!
My DH wanted me to add that the wristbands are very poorly designed. He has a very large wrist and found them uncomfortable. It was very hot while we were there, and the bands do not breathe, and caused skin irritation and sweating. They also leave unsightly tan lines. Definitely need work.
