Magic band upgrade progress

[KanataDad]

Spoke with another CM. He told me the upgraded Magicbands is not a trial thing. This will be permanent option going forward (for the foreseeable future).
They were just taken by surprise as to how much demand there would be. And he said in a "few weeks" they should be able to catch up on the demand and have lots more selection available. Not sure if what is meant by "few weeks" and if they can truly predict at some point they will have a larger selection always in stock online. They have already created the frenzy ... not sure how they plan to fix this.
When something is perceived as limited in stock or in time then people tend to jump and purchase them even though they don't need them any time soon, or it's something they would normally not have purchased.
They need to do one of two things and they are aware of it. Either they need to:
1. Put in place a 60 day checkin window limit for upgraded Magicbands, or
2. Make sure they are able to keep up with the demand and communicate clearly that this is not a limited time option so people should not rush and settle for whatever selections are currently showing available.

They have NOT done either of these. At this point it seems people are just grabbing whatever they can because they don't know if they will ever get the ones they really want in the next 2 to 12 months.

 

[tolisamarie]

I'm sorry to hear so many people are having trouble.

I was able to order upgraded bands without an issue. It's a Small World for me and Figment for my husband. We received them a few days ago and I'm very happy with them!

Our trip is still several months away, so maybe we shouldn't have been able to order them yet, to give people who are going soon a chance to get bands first. As soon as we booked the trip, there was an option to choose magic bands from our Plan page, so I just went ahead and did it. Maybe in the future they can restrict this feature to 60 days out, at the same time you can access Fast Pass. That might help with inventory shortages.

 

[KNovacovschi]

This whole process is so frustrating, I’ve been trying since 7am day one, multiple times daily, with no success. I have reached out via phone/email multiple times. I have 10 days left to pick and keep getting an error, yet someone who isn’t going for months from now so easily can. I believe there is a very easy way to free up stock and shouldn’t take a normal person to figure it. Stop allowing people who don’t have trips within 60 days to order, you don’t need your MBs that early anyways, OR don’t ship them as soon as an order is placed, which will free up stock. They don’t ship the free ones until 30 days before your trip so why can’t they do the same with the premium bands.

 

[KNovacovschi]

I have been having the same issue and I contacted Disney about this yesterday. The cast member even check the inventory of the band and there was inventory for it. She had me use chrome and my computer. She had no idea why it should not work. So she moved my case to IT. But I see you are Canadian and I am starting to wonder if it is a Canadian website thing. I can't test my theory out yet I have to run in to work for an issue.

Definitely not a Canadian thing. I’m from Canada and have tried it multiple different ways, you can change it from Canada to US directly on the site but there are multiple Canadians that have been successful in ordering them.

 

[focusondisney]

Last weekend we booked a quick trip for the AP GE preview. Been trying for the castle magic band ever since. It finally showed up Thursday & has been listed several times since. Every time I get the “out of stock” message. I refuse to buy a band just because I can. I have plenty of free ones already & don’t need another one. I will only buy that one because I really want it.

Seems Disney is really playing people with this. They offer discounted bands & get people’s hopes up. Then when they aren’t available, lots of people are buying bands at full price, instead of getting the free one they would have previously. Win win for Disney.... they don’t have to send a free band & they sell a full price band. No real incentive for them to fix the issue.

 

[BSBNess]

Definitely not a Canadian thing. I’m from Canada and have tried it multiple different ways, you can change it from Canada to US directly on the site but there are multiple Canadians that have been successful in ordering them.

I know you can change the site and I have tried that many times as well. I tried that since it has become available. I know some Canadians have got some I have been on the boards I am just trying to figure out how many Canadians are having a problem compare to how many got some and it is a lot more having issues than who got some.

 

[KanataDad]

We are 20 days away. I tried checking out. Get errors. Checked with my credit card. They said charge was not even attempted.
Tried for a couple of more hours. Finally Magicbands we wanted are gone. So we wait again.

 

[KNovacovschi]

I know you can change the site and I have tried that many times as well. I tried that since it has become available. I know some Canadians have got some I have been on the boards I am just trying to figure out how many Canadians are having a problem compare to how many got some and it is a lot more having issues than who got some.

Gotcha.

 

[YodasMom]

We are 20 days away. I tried checking out. Get errors. Checked with my credit card. They said charge was not even attempted.
Tried for a couple of more hours. Finally Magicbands we wanted are gone. So we wait again.

Same experience here! I noticed that both the Epcot and Castle bands keep coming and going on the page, but I always get an "out of stock" response when I attempt to purchase.

 

[Jkaram37]

We're going in November and also in December and DD wanted a "themed" one for each of the trips, and we got both already. I was a bit surprised we actually got them this early -- I figured they'll just be in an "ordered" status and they'll get shipped out within the normal time frame that MBs usually get shipped. So now with 6+ months on one of the bands to still go, I'm just going to have to hope the battery life lasts that long.

The batteries last 2+ years.

 

[goofynut41]

How do I change a reservation on MDE so I can pick Magic bands? I have two reservations on MDE and it only lets me pick for last reservation. How do I fix it to pick Magic Bands for first trip?

 

[disneykc321]

We live in Canada and were able to order the magic bands and paid for them. Yesteeday got an email saying due to popularity our order has been delayed and they are working hard to fulfill it. We arrive in 3 weeks!

 

[Beckyjthomas]

Question - I didn't realize that these bands change! Dang it, I sent the options to family members and now the options they chose are gone! But to prevent this from happening again, if I assign it to a person without paying will it go away? If I find the ones we want do I pay all together or can we pay per band when we find them? Thanks for your help. Didn't know this would be a stressful part of the trip!!

 

[YodasMom]

Question - I didn't realize that these bands change! Dang it, I sent the options to family members and now the options they chose are gone! But to prevent this from happening again, if I assign it to a person without paying will it go away? If I find the ones we want do I pay all together or can we pay per band when we find them? Thanks for your help. Didn't know this would be a stressful part of the trip!!

The bands that are in stock at a particular time change, but it's likely that the ones you saw earlier will be back in stock at some point, too, but if you're ordering for a group of people your previous choices may not be back in stock at the same time. I finally gave up and ordered one that isn't one of my first choices, even though they are on ShopDisney. Frustrating, I know!

 

[focusondisney]

But to prevent this from happening again, if I assign it to a person without paying will it go away?
Yes.

If I find the ones we want do I pay all together or can we pay per band when we find them?
You have to complete your whole party’s order at once. You can’t order individually. And they won’t “sit” in your cart waiting for you to order for each person.

 

[Beckyjthomas]

I shared a bunch of options with our 6 people (family of four plus two grandparents) and of course everyone picked one they liked. I went back to get them and they were changed or gone. I found a picture of all the options on Disney tourist blog and shared with our party and asked everyone to give me their top 5. I've been checking back several times a day to see what was available, but there was never a set that fit everyone. We did also talk about getting the kids fun ones and letting everyone else get a plain color if those came available. Even when they were available they weren't actually adding to my people But today I logged on at 6:40 pst and there was one for everyone and I got no error messages! We have a Stitch, Donald, Castle, Pirates of the Caribbean and a Mickey rainbow and a Mickey sorcerer. Phew kind of glad that's over. Wasn't anyone's first choice (except mine with the castle), but everyone got one they liked! Here's to hoping the process continues to get better. Good Luck!

 

[focusondisney]

I shared a bunch of options with our 6 people (family of four plus two grandparents) and of course everyone picked one they liked. I went back to get them and they were changed or gone. I found a picture of all the options on Disney tourist blog and shared with our party and asked everyone to give me their top 5. I've been checking back several times a day to see what was available, but there was never a set that fit everyone. We did also talk about getting the kids fun ones and letting everyone else get a plain color if those came available. Even when they were available they weren't actually adding to my people But today I logged on at 6:40 pst and there was one for everyone and I got no error messages! We have a Stitch, Donald, Castle, Pirates of the Caribbean and a Mickey rainbow and a Mickey sorcerer. Phew kind of glad that's over. Wasn't anyone's first choice (except mine with the castle), but everyone got one they liked! Here's to hoping the process continues to get better. Good Luck!

Wow that is amazing, good for you! I have been trying for the castle one for about 2 months now. I actually checked at 5:45 his morning & there were only about 4 special bands & the castle band wasn’t one of them. I think it was goofy, captain marvel, black panther & another one I can’t think of right now. I am glad to see someone get one so at least I know it is still available at some point.

 

[Rach3975]

Wow that is amazing, god for you! I have been trying for the castle one for about 2 months now. I actually checked at 5:45 his morning & there were only about 4 special bands & the castle band wasn’t one of them. I think it was goofy, captain marvel, black panther & another one I can’t think of right now. I am glad to see someone get one so at least I know it is still available at some point.

Have you tried more recently today? I checked way too many times today, starting at 6. Finally around 10 I saw a bunch of options and was able to buy. According to another thread here, several other people who've been trying for weeks or months succeeded today. I don't know if they're still there, but I hope it's the start of a much-improved upgrade process.

 

[StephyDee]

Have you tried more recently today? I checked way too many times today, starting at 6. Finally around 10 I saw a bunch of options and was able to buy. According to another thread here, several other people who've been trying for weeks or months succeeded today. I don't know if they're still there, but I hope it's the start of a much-improved upgrade process.

Can confirm! Been trying since mid June and finally got my one castle band a couple of hours ago. I was frankly shocked that it worked lol

 

[focusondisney]

Have you tried more recently today? I checked way too many times today, starting at 6. Finally around 10 I saw a bunch of options and was able to buy. According to another thread here, several other people who've been trying for weeks or months succeeded today. I don't know if they're still there, but I hope it's the start of a much-improved upgrade process.

Oh my gosh thank you for posting! I am at work & read your post on lunch. I was just able to order the castle band. Very happy! Thanks so much !!!