Hands On: Disney MagicBands, MyMagic+ Web Service

With four theme parks, two water parks, and a bunch of other attractions covering 43 square miles, you don't want to approach the massive Walt Disney World complex without a plan. Disney's MagicBands and its new MyMagic+ Web service use RFID, smartphones, and Wi-Fi to help streamline your trip. Here's how it helped mine.

The Walt Disney World (WDW) bug infected my family almost at the start: I have pictures there from November 1971, just 30 days after opening day. Over the next 44-odd years, I've used the original individual A-E tickets, single day passes, and multi-day passports on various trips.

The MagicBand is Disney's attempt to create a "turnstile-free" experience, according to a massive Wired cover story on its creation, and with over 10 million distributed, it's been a successful transition from the old paper tickets. MagicBands and their associated apps have made our trips better, with much less running around and a lot less time wasted figuring out what to do next.

Conjuring the Magic
The key to an orderly Disney trip in the age of MyMagic+ is to set as much up in advance as you can. First, you set up a Disney.com account, and then log in to the MyMagic+ website, which unifies your vacation plans.

After you've set that up, you can link your reservations with other friends and family on the same trip, so they know when you will arrive and so you can share meals together. The My Disney Experience app on an Android or iOS phone or tablet gives you access to dining reservations ahead of time or on that day. Wi-Fi is all over the parks and hotels, so we didn't need to use our data plans to make changes. We could grab a reservation to some restaurants on the same day, but for popular places like the California Grill, we had to book two months in advance to get the time we wanted.

FastPass+ reserves a spot for you on a ride or attraction at a specific time. While you might think this kills spontaneity, we found that reserving ride times let us enjoy our time in the parks more, and helping us avoid waiting in crowded lines. You can set up to three reservations per day online before you leave, up to 60 days in advance for Disney hotel guests (30 days in advance for everyone else). After your first three FastPass+ reservations are used each day, you can add more via in-park kiosks and keep track of them on the My Disney Experience app, depending on availability. Want to ride Peter Pan three hours from now? No problem. Test Track at Epcot in 20 minutes? Don't hold your breath.

Then, of course, you order your MagicBands.

Taking the Magic in Hand
MagicBands are durable, waterproof plastic bracelets that replace your room key, park tickets, and charge card for room charges. You could theoretically leave your credit card and ID behind while on Disney property, but we'd never recommend that unless you're just going to the pool. MagicBands also track your FastPass+ reservations, airport shuttle reservations, and Memory Maker tracking electronically, so all you really need to carry with you on vacation are the bands. They are adjustable, so most adults and children should be able to wear them comfortably all day.

All annual pass holders and each guest who stays in a Disney-owned hotel gets a MagicBand, which is included in the price of your vacation. Guests who stay at a non-Disney hotel, or ones that want to opt out of MagicBands will get a plastic RFID card that acts as their ticket and/or room key. The RFID card is short range (more on that later), so it won't track your active movement around the parks and resort. If you're a day guest, you can buy a MagicBand at many retail locations for $12.95.

MagicBands come in one of seven colors: blue, green, grey, orange, pink, red, and yellow. Online, you choose your color and nickname for each of the persons in your party, and the MagicBands will be sent to your home a few weeks before your trip. If you forget to sign up for them, you'll get gray bands at the hotel when you check in. We got blue, pink, red, and yellow ones, with our nicknames printed on them (mine was DrCoconut). Disney will apparently be able to use these names to personalize guest interactions in the future ("Hi Joel, were you frightened by Madame Leota in the Haunted Mansion?"), but we didn't see any on our recent trip.

MagicBands At The Park
FastPass+ reservations were stored in our MyMagic+ account, so all we had to do to bypass the huge line at Soarin' was to wave each MagicBand at a Mickey Mouse-shaped reader at the entrance. A green light and chime sound later, and we waited 10 minutes to board instead of 120. If you don't have a reservation, the reader will glow blue, and you'll be directed to one of the kiosks in the parks where you can make additional reservations.

You have the option of associating a credit card with your account, so you can use the MagicBand for room charges. It was very convenient to wave the MagicBand at a cash register terminal and use a PIN to pay, rather than dig through my daypack for my credit cards. It was the same process as using an Apple Watch ($300.00 at eBay)  or RFID-equipped credit card to pay. You can limit charging privileges to adults and late teens, like we did. Waiters at full service restaurants have handheld readers, so you can pay for a sit-down dinner with the MagicBand, too. Tips are handled on a paper receipt, so it's still not entirely paperless.

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Since we pretty much wore our MagicBands 16 hours a day, we were never without our room keys (like at right.) MagicBands also control access to resort amenities like unlocking the gates at the popular pools. If you're not staying at that resort, you won't be able to use the 3-acre pool complex at the Beach Club resort, for example.

We experienced the MagicBands' location services when we ate lunch at the Be Our Guest restaurant, which is themed to Beauty and the Beast. Once we ordered, we could sit anywhere in the restaurant. A waiter with a locator built into a cart was able to find my MagicBand and deliver the meal. It let us explore the three detailed rooms for a bit, while also helping serve our meal promptly before the soup could cool.

Location services can also be used to automatically connect Disney-shot photos and videos to your account. That way you can download and rewatch your kids' reactions on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, even after you've returned home. That is, if you've purchased the Memory Maker package, of course.

Disney also sells extras for your MagicBands. We only got a few "MagicBandit" charms that clip on to the bands, but fans can geek out with limited-edition Frozen or Star Wars bands, for example. Even if you don't add to them, your MagicBand is an instant souvenir.

How They Work and Conclusions
The MagicBands have built-in short-range and a long-range antennas. The short-range RFID antenna is used for secure transactions like paying a bill or claiming a FastPass+ reservation. The long-range radio transmitter lets Disney know where you are in the park. This can be used for crowd control, like letting Disney management know that it's crowded near Splash Mountain. They could then open up more FastPass+ opportunities at Buzz Lightyear to attract guests to the other side of the park where it's empty. And since Disney Park management is so data driven, they can monitor crowd behavior over time so they can adjust staffing and even surmise where to place future projects like rides and their waiting areas.

Ultimately, MagicBands and MyMagic+ work hand in hand to minimize wait times and to help you plan a Disney vacation, which can have all the logistical problems of a beach invasion. With some planning, you'll spend less time in line, and have more time to experience the sights of the park, and probably spend a little more time eating, shopping, and enjoying yourself.