We have just returned from a quick trip to Walt Disney World for a travel agent conference. We all had an opportunity to try My Magic + during our trip and had a blast!
Testing continues for My Magic + including issuing Magic Bands to participants. I wanted to give you some information about how the testing went for us.
When we were advised that we would be part of the test, we went to StartYourDisneyExperience.com, which guided us through the linking process. We added our room reservation and tickets to My Disney Experience and then were given a link to customize our Magic Bands.
The Magic Bands were easy to customize. My husband is William so I switched his name to Bill. He really wanted gray so I got him that. I ordered pink, the most popular color right now! After confirming our shipping address, our bands were all set to be sent out.
I received a notice on the day they were to be delivered (I’m set up for My UPS Choice so they notified me the day prior). Once we opened the box, we saw the great packaging from Disney.
Inside the box was instructions on how to make the band smaller.
And finally, here were our bands!
We proceeded to make our FastPass+ selections, which, after doing it a couple times, was a piece of cake! You just have to think through what you want to do and keep in mind it is a step by step process. We made sure our smartphones had the app and that it was updated. Now we just had to wait for the trip!
While I am not a fan of scheduling my vacation this much, I do like the FastPass+ system more than I thought I would and I do like the Magic Bands.
When I was in Florida it was in the low 90s every day. Never once was my band uncomfortable. It didn’t dig in or hurt in anyway. I had some bling on my band and I was surprised how tightly it fit in the holes. Here’s a tip — when you get to the resort and check in, ask if they have any bling for your band. Right now they are giving away a band that says 2013 and glows in the dark!
Only once did I have trouble with my band and that was opening up the door to my room. Trying to get the right position for it to register wasn’t always easy and one time I gave up and used my Key to the World card.
I used my band for entry to my room, charging food and drinks, getting into the parks and FastPass+. I did mention that I’m not a huge fan of scheduling my vacation and I’ll explain. I don’t decide until usually the morning of which park I want to go to. I’m afraid with FastPass+ that there will be limited times available when I do that. Time will tell on that however. Disney is also increasing the number of attractions with FastPass+ so that will help as well. Let’s assume that there is still availability for nearly everything the morning I want to go to any park. Here is why I love FastPass+.
Let’s say I want to sleep in because we closed down the Magic Kingdom last night, but I still want to ride Toy Story Mania that day. With the current system, We have to get there pretty close to rope drop and hurry to Toy Story Mania with our tickets to get FastPass tickets. If we wait too long in the morning before heading to Hollywood Studios, we may not ride Toy Story Mania until evening if at all, unless we want to wait in line for an hour or more.
With FastPass+, I can decide that we will ride Toy Story Mania right after lunch, say at 1:00 – 2:00, I don’t have to worry, I just get on the app and make my FastPass+ time.
The other great thing we found out was how easy it was to change FastPass+ times same day. Some of our friends traveling with us changed their minds based on the weather in the morning and were able to change their times while on the bus to a new destination.
For the way I like to vacation, I have had a hard time embracing this change, but the more I play with it and saw how it worked in practice, I’m growing more and more fond of the changes.
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