Most Recent Reviews
Review of MagicBand
Reviewed by AndrewAceKing Review Date: 11/13/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
We were in the World for a 7 day stay back in September. We made the cutoff for the MyMagic+ testing by about 4 days at POR. I am so glad we did. The MagicBands themselves were very wearable, and we certainly tested them. We swam in them, sweat in them, and even showered in them. We never had any real issues at all. A couple of times it took a minute or two to get them to read (mostly at restaurants). As far as park entrance and shopping goes, it could not have been smoother.
Pros:
Easy to use, convenient, Stays onCons:
NoneReview of FastPass+ (Retired)
Reviewed by DanInNH Review Date: 11/13/2013
Rating: (1) Recommended
Our family park hops every day we are there. Typically a morning at one park - lunch could be anywhere - then the late afternoon evening in any other park. Our 3 fast pass times were spread out between early a.m. and late afternoon. And trying to change times to what we wanted did not work. If people book times and then do not show, other people are blocked from the ride...
And the more people staying onsite - which inreases when GF (and soon Poly) open additional wings, every FP is going to be booked ahead and I fear walking up to get a FP for any attraction, will be a thing of the past.
I wish I had a solution to offer up, but alas I do not. What next, pre-booking funnel cakes? It is not going to allow for any spontaneity! And everyone is going walk with their heads down and have their eyes glued to smart phones or such, trying to figure out how many minutes to go to their next designated reserved spot for a bottle of water. Now serving #34....
Pros:
great if you plan in advance and stick to one parkCons:
park hopping? sure! that is if you don't want a FPReview of FastPass+ (Retired)
Reviewed by DuncanTaylor Review Date: 11/13/2013
Rating: (6) Recommended
Just returned from 2 weeks using MDE, wristbands and Fastpass+.
It was good to be able to prebook Fastpasses without having to visit the ride to get them. We did this a few days in advance and got suitable times. However, when we decided to change our plans for the day selections were limited and we had to rely on the somewhat clunky MDE to do it.
One negative was that at Epcot the attractions were limited to two choices only from the headline list so Soarin, Mission Space and TestTrack was not a possible selection.
We did still have available the key to the world card which allowed the normal use of Fastpass distribution machines but I guess this will stop.
Another negative was that MDE only seemed to allow the changing of the time of one selection.
Overall the advantages slightly outweighed the disadvantages.
Pros:
allows prebooking of fastpassesCons:
limited to 3 per day, limits on selectionsReview of MagicBand
Reviewed by magoo22 Review Date: 11/13/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
Overall the wrist band was GREAT! Our October vacation went quite smoothly using the bands.
Our only complaint was that it was not obvious on the My Disney Experience App that your 3 Fast Pass reservations needed to al be in the same park. We park hopped from MK to Epcot only to discover that our two Epcot fast passes had "disappeared" from my APP. Customer relations apologized and said that the staff at our resort (Boardwalk) should have explained that glitch to us when we checked in. The staff at Boardwalk did not tell us anything at all about the wrist band.
After pleading with the customer relations cast member, she gave us one fast pass (not two), so that we could ride Soarin - but we missed out on Test Track.
We are pretty savvy WDW annual pass holders, have been visiting WDW since 1983 and generally navigate each new WDW experience with enthusiasm! The wrist bands are no exception- the growing pains and glitches seem to be minimal and we look forward to wearing the wrist bands again in January!
Pros:
Having my "ticket" on my wrist was very convenient. Liked be ing able to have wrist band linked to My Disney Experience App.Cons:
Unclear information regarding getting Fast PassesReview of MagicBand
Reviewed by DuncanTaylor Review Date: 11/13/2013
Rating: (6) Recommended
Just returned after using the wristbands for 2 weeks. They were presented at check in as customised previously online. Sometimes a little difficult to press Mickey to Mickey depending on orientation of the reader. The main problem was that sometimes, if they catch on something, they fall off. Something we constantly had to watch with our 6 year old. I kept the wristband in the larger format for him so that I could wear it when we felt he was at risk of losing it. I lost mine briefly as it dropped off in a suitcase. It was good to have the back-up of a key to the world card while mine was missing. (Presumably these will be phased out though - a mistake!)
In general, they were better than a key to the world card or paper ticket, room key etc.
Pros:
Always to hand, easy to use.Cons:
Sometimes drops offReview of MagicBand
Reviewed by Quika Review Date: 11/13/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
We were quite pleasantly surprised with how well the bands worked overall. We were interested in using them but our travel agent checked and told us we weren't on the list to receive the magic bands. Then we were tinkering on the my disney experience site and found we DID in fact have the bands. We were a little disappointed not to receive earlier notifications because it meant we couldn't pick the custom colours. In addition, all the bands for our party of 9 had the persons name on the back except our son. That sort of thing does bug kids.
When we checked in our bands were there and ready. They really worked quite well most of the time. It was great not to have to dig in pockets for a card all the time. The bands worked for park entry, water park entry, meal plan, purchases charged to our room. The bands were comfortable to wear, even in the water all day.
On the downside one of our party seemed to have a very 'glitchy' band. It had intermittent problems throughout our trip. Also, you have to hold the band over the reader very precisely for it to read. I'm hoping disney improves that functionality a bit so you can just waive the band over the reader and have it work.
Overall I think these are going to be a great addition for disney visitors!
Pros:
Generally works very wellCons:
A little buggy still for some peopleReviewed by RoccoS Review Date: 11/13/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
We just got back from a 3 day stay at the Villas. Very pleased. Our first time staying at the Villas (had stayed at the main Lodge before). No major complaints. Easy to get back and forth to Magic Kingdom in the boats but everywhere else needed to use the buses which were hit or miss.
Pros:
Atmosphere, activities, diningCons:
Access to transportationReview of MagicBand
Reviewed by KellyBCV Review Date: 11/13/2013
Rating: (10) Recommended
I was in WDW the last week of October using my points to stay at GF. I received my Magic Band at home before leaving and had absolutely no problems using it for room access, purchases, dining plan, fast passes and gate access. I even linked my Halloween pass to it. It worked perfect every time! I loved it--no fumbling for cards. I did hear other guests had some problems, but I didn't and can't wait for it to become the norm!
Pros:
Super Time SaverCons:
NoneReview of MagicBand
Reviewed by The Hendies Review Date: 11/12/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
We had a split stay, first half of our trip was off-site, second half was on-site. We reserved several FP+ for the on-site days in advance, and found that we could reserve FP+ on that day when we were off site.
I wish...
You could select fewer that 3 FP+ at a park. (when park hopping, it would be good to be able to reserve at different parks)
There were more FP+ kiosks, and cast members were more familiar with where they are located.
It was easier to cancel FP+ that you are not going to be able to use (ie: you decided to change plans for the day or the stand-by wait was so short you didn't use the FP+)
In all, a great system, that once the kinks are ironed out, should work well!
Pros:
Had a little issue at first, but once it was fixed, worked great!Cons:
Limitations on Fast Pass +Review of Art of Animation Resort (Value Resort)
Reviewed by The Hendies Review Date: 11/12/2013
Rating: (9) Recommended
First, I must mention that the staff were AMAZING when my husband lost his cell phone. We are still not sure if it fell some where as we were walking, or on a bus, but my husband stopped every day to see if it was found, and the staff was soooooo patient with him! It was found and returned after 3 days.
We ended up driving from near our room to nearer the bus area each day, because it was quite a haul from the room (building 9) to the buses.
Lastly, there was NO cell service at all, anywhere in the room. To make a call, check messages, or use the internet, we had to stand outside our room.
However, I wouldn't hesitate to stay here again! The theming is wonderful, the room was plenty big for 2 of us, the beds were comfortable, and the bus service was great!
