A trip to a Disney World theme park has become a more complicated effort since the covid pandemic hit in 2020. The preliminary requirements to get you into a park and onto a ride can be time-consuming and could lead to long waits in lines and reduce the amount of time you have to visit all the attractions in your plans.
First, you need to buy a ticket and secure a reservation for the day that you plan to visit a particular park or parks. You then need to stand in line and use the My Disney Experience app on your smartphone (or print out your tickets) to enter the park. Next, it's off to stand in long lines at various rides and attractions to get your Disney (DIS) thrill, unless you've purchased a Lightning Lane pass to bypass the long lines.
Most people will use the Disney app on their smartphone to store their ticket and Lightning Lane pass information and will keep pulling it out to scan for necessary uses throughout the day. Better make sure your phone is charged and you know where the scarce charging stations are located at the parks you visit.
Disney
Disney World Improves Popular Device
Disney World had an answer to try to make things easier for its guests, offering the original MagicBand since 2013. The MagicBand allows guests to unlock their Disney World resort hotel room, enter Disney theme parks with purchased tickets, access Lightning Lane reservations and charge purchases and dining to their resort hotel bill.
Disney had provided complimentary MagicBands to resort hotel guests and passholders, but it now only offers discounts.
Disney believes it has improved the device with the launch of MagicBand+ at Disney World on July 27. Guests can enter the park with a tap of the MagicBand+, connect with their Disney PhotoPass, enjoy new color-changing lights, haptic vibrations and gesture recognition, and link to their smartphone with the My Disney Experience app.
The Disneyland Resort in California, however, has not yet offered the MagicBand experience for its guests, which some Florida Disney visitors have used for almost 10 years.
Disney
Disneyland Introduces MagicBand+ to Guests
This fall will mark the introduction of the MagicBand device to the Disneyland Resort, which includes Disneyland, California Adventure and the resort's hotels, for the first time with MagicBand+. Disney has not set a specific date for the launch of MagicBand+ at the Disneyland Resort.
The Disneyland Resort's MagicBand+ will include many of the same features of the Disney World MagicBand+, except users can link the device to their smartphone through the Disneyland app for tickets, Lightning Lane and all of the other features on the app.
The MagicBand+ is waterproof, rechargeable and will be in sync with Disneyland Resort's nighttime spectaculars. It will also be useful in the Star Wars: Batuu Bounty Hunters interactive quest in Galaxy's Edge at Disneyland. Players can participate through the Play Disney Parks app to earn galactic credit rewards.
Disney says that the fall launch of MagicBand+ at the Disneyland Resort is just the beginning, and it will be adding more features and experiences in the near future.
Disneyland Resort did not list a retail price for the MagicBand+, but you can expect the price to match Disney World's retail price of the device at $34.99.
