Everything you need to know about MagicBands.

[madjohn]

Lot of talk about resorts, does that also cover Fort Wilderness? Staying in June and will I also get Magicbands?

 

[subtchr]

The CM behind the check in/out desk at the Contemporary told me this. I'm not sure if it is posted in writing. It is something to be careful about though seeing as our Magical Express picked us up at 5:00pm.....that could leave "anyone" with access to our Magicbands charging privileges several hours of shopping or dining fun until midnight!

No moreso after checkout than any time during the trip. They would need your PIN.

 

[Accident]

Lot of talk about resorts, does that also cover Fort Wilderness? Staying in June and will I also get Magicbands?

Yes that's a disney resort, the option to customize them should already be in your MDE account. Make an mde account and link your reservation to it if you don't have one yet.

 

[Accident]

It's probably technically incorrect to call the long-range readers "WiFi"... if there's someone on board who can clarify, please jump in...

It's the long range rfid stuff with a really tiny battery which I assume is to get longer range out of it. I'm going to shift it to just say wireless and adjust my "geek note" for what it really is instead of a hint.

 

[subtchr]

Let's go ahead and split this hair.
You're right about RFID being used at close range in the contact terminals... it's powered by the EM field emanated by the terminal like any other close-range RFID device. Most in-field RFID systems use the 125 or 134 KHz frequency range.

The long-range receivers, however, apparently operate in the 2.4 GHz band, squarely in (or slightly offset from) the standard WiFi (802.11a/b/g) frequency channels. While I can't speak to the protocol actually transmitted by the MagicBand for long-range comms, I believe it's probably similar to WiFi, sending a small packet consisting of a header bit (MagicBand comms), a MagicBand ID number, (the number on the back) and a check bit for error checking. That's why I used the term "WiFi" for the long-distance comms.

It's probably technically incorrect to call the long-range readers "WiFi"... if there's someone on board who can clarify, please jump in...

Fascinating stuff, and about ten degrees more technical than I could ever be!

My only point in bringing it up was that there are many of us who use wifi all day long, but all we know about it is that it annoys us when it doesn't work well! I just thought that bringing the term "wifi" into the magic band discussion might confuse the issue with the park-wide wifi being used on smart devices to access MDE.

From your description, it does sound as if wifi may technically be the best term to use, so from that standpoint I may be underestimating the capability of guests to differentiate.

Thanks for the insight!

 

[Accident]

Fascinating stuff, and about ten degrees more technical than I could ever be!

My only point in bringing it up was that there are many of us who use wifi all day long, but all we know about it is that it annoys us when it doesn't work well! I just thought that bringing the term "wifi" into the magic band discussion might confuse the issue with the park-wide wifi being used on smart devices to access MDE.

From your description, it does sound as if wifi may technically be the best term to use, so from that standpoint I may be underestimating the capability of guests to differentiate.

Thanks for the insight!

It's a very good point and people do complain about wifi not working right. I went more generic and just said wireless now. I adjusted the geek note that it's long range rfid

 

[Disneylover99]

The CM behind the check in/out desk at the Contemporary told me this. I'm not sure if it is posted in writing. It is something to be careful about though seeing as our Magical Express picked us up at 5:00pm.....that could leave "anyone" with access to our Magicbands charging privileges several hours of shopping or dining fun until midnight!

We've lost a few magic bands at the beginning of our trips over the past few years. They would definitely need your pin to shop or dine.

 

[larryz]

Fascinating stuff, and about ten degrees more technical than I could ever be!

My only point in bringing it up was that there are many of us who use wifi all day long, but all we know about it is that it annoys us when it doesn't work well! I just thought that bringing the term "wifi" into the magic band discussion might confuse the issue with the park-wide wifi being used on smart devices to access MDE.

From your description, it does sound as if wifi may technically be the best term to use, so from that standpoint I may be underestimating the capability of guests to differentiate.

Thanks for the insight!

Well, while we're splitting hairs, WiFi is rigidly defined in IEEE 802.11 and has defined data formats. I can't find anything spelling out the MagicBand data format in the 2.4 GHz range...

Maybe we should call it "DiFi" (for Disney Fidelity instead of Wired Fidelity)... but calling it "wireless long-range" is 100% accurate.

 

[bumbershoot]

The CM behind the check in/out desk at the Contemporary told me this. I'm not sure if it is posted in writing. It is something to be careful about though seeing as our Magical Express picked us up at 5:00pm.....that could leave "anyone" with access to our Magicbands charging privileges several hours of shopping or dining fun until midnight!

You need the pin to charge. Period.

 

[larryz]

You need the pin to charge. Period.

Yup... I was surprised -- I thought it was only $50 and over, but I had to pin every purchase.

 

[Accident]

Yup... I was surprised -- I thought it was only $50 and over, but I had to pin every purchase.

people would be trying to steal and charge if it wasn't a pin for everything. I like this.

 

[Disneylover99]

people would be trying to steal and charge if it wasn't a pin for everything. I like this.

I agree. Thank goodness you need a pin for every transaction.

 

[DznyPrnces]

I checked the link you have as to what magic band styles are available. I see solid purple is an option, but I can't tell if that's the option for the free ones that come with your room reservation, or if that's one you must purchase separately? We haven't booked yet, so I can't see customization options, but my daughter would love purple. Thanks!

 

[Isildur's Bane]

no purples with room reservations still the same ones as always

 

[Accident]

I checked the link you have as to what magic band styles are available. I see solid purple is an option, but I can't tell if that's the option for the free ones that come with your room reservation, or if that's one you must purchase separately? We haven't booked yet, so I can't see customization options, but my daughter would love purple. Thanks!

The very first picture is the current selection of free magic bands and colors..

Purple is newer and not available (many have asked). You can buy a solid purple band at MagicBand on Demand station inside the Tomorrowland Light & Power Co. location near Space Mountain in Magic Kingdom Park. I believe that is the only place (you can get it solid or customize it).

this gets asked, I should put in something about it..

 

[DznyPrnces]

The very first picture is the current selection of free magic bands and colors..

Purple is newer and not available (many have asked). You can buy a solid purple band at MagicBand on Demand station inside the Tomorrowland Light & Power Co. location near Space Mountain in Magic Kingdom Park. I believe that is the only place (you can get it solid or customize it).

this gets asked, I should put in something about it..

Thank you! Our trip is still over a year away (sniff sniff), hopefully it will become an option by then. Or she'll have to settle for pink lol

 

[Accident]

I"ve been making little tweaks all day but I just added the following about purple under the onsite section.:

Q: What choices do I have?

A: As of the last update, the color choices for free magic bands are grey, blue, green, orange, yellow, red and pink. Grey is the only color choice if you don't customize or disney replaces your band while your on property.

Q: Why isn't there purple?

A: Good question, many many ask. Purple started to appear in the parks for some limited edition magicbands as the background color during Halloween 2015. They also started to sell it at the MagicBand on Demand station inside the Tomorrowland Light & Power Co. location near Space Mountain in Magic Kingdom Park.

There is no free purple magicband option and they are only sold in that 1 location last time I checked.

 

[Accident]

Thank you! Our trip is still over a year away (sniff sniff), hopefully it will become an option by then. Or she'll have to settle for pink lol

you have plenty of time, they won't ship until 1 month away.. just remember to go back in and check (or watch these boards, I'm sure they will blow up with purple coming out).

 

[PammyPoppins]

Does the child magic band open the resort room hotel door also? Can a child use their own magic band for snack credit on dining plan at ice cream carts?
Thanks, I know my daughter will like to use hers instead of me doing it.

 

[Accident]

Does the child magic band open the resort room hotel door also? Can a child use their own magic band for snack credit on dining plan at ice cream carts?
Thanks, I know my daughter will like to use hers instead of me doing it.

yes, I believe child bands are limited to door and meal plan purchases unless you have the resort activate them for room charges.