Why the heck is Disney moving away from Magic Bands?

[kay1864]

Disney announced they are moving MB functionality to the app in 2021. To me, there are two big advantages of Magic Bands over phones:
- I can buy merchandise/food/drinks at the theme parks without having to get out my phone. I prefer to keep my phone in a mesh pouch on my day bag. I know many like to carry their phones in their hand for pictures, but my aim when I visit the parks is to enjoy the attractions, not to document them.
- I can buy food/drinks at the pool (or water parks) without my phone getting wet.

I think this move will actually slow down purchases for guests, since at a minimum guests will have to open the app and navigate to the pay function. Many will not do so until they're at the register. Some may also have to fish their phone out of their purse etc. Versus tapping a MB--boom, quick and easy. Longer purchase time = longer lines = less revenue for Disney if the lines get long. In fact, this faster time was one of the selling points of MBs when they were introduced!

I wonder if this also means that in-ride photos for MB wearers will go away.

 

[osufeth24]

They're not getting rid of them

They're getting rid of giving away complimentary MBs to resort guests

 

[Eastern]

$$$ They saw how many people were willing to pay extra for special MBs and then Covid.

 

[tinkerbell1991]

They're not getting rid of them

They're getting rid of giving away complimentary MBs to resort guests

Exactly. You'll just have to buy them now (start at £10 online if you're staying onsite). I realise it's not what some people want and they still want it free but the option is still there to buy them if you don't want to use your phone

 

[Disneyfan754321]

They are still going to offer them at discount... I am sure its a money saving move.



Disney also announced that it will retire complimentary Magic Band distribution to hotel guests starting January 1. Instead, Magic Band functionality will transfer to the My Disney Experience app, using the app’s existing digital key feature. Magic Band will continue to be available for purchase, but the expectation will be that you can use your phone and the app for anything you used the Magic Band for before, even though you can keeping using Magic Bands, if you'd like.

 

[Eastern]

Going to have to take backup phone batteries when you go now. At least one member of my family runs out of power each day.

 

[HashberryOTG]

This makes me sad. I like collecting them. As they move towards phones, I assume over time fewer folks will use them, so they'll manufacture fewer. Less variety

 

[jo-jo]

And what about kids. So you'll be forced to buy them for the kids, or will you tap into rides for a bunch of people?

For myself, I like the bands and not have to worry about being a butterfinger with my phone. Or delaying people behind me cause once again I hit the wrong thing and shut the phone off......

 

[Nick Richardson]

If anything they should be embracing MB’s even more now. They are a great non contact form of payment and entry. I could see them modifying the finger print scanners.

 

[Nick Richardson]

It’s also important to note that changes occurring during the phase reopening could potentially be permanent they are in no way set in stone. Disney is simply looking to get back to a profitable model. Many of the changes are basic cost savings measures since while operating at less than full capacity is a money losing endeavor

 

[nkereina]

There's going to be people who will not purchase MBs, which will lead to a good number of people in the parks who do not have them. OP's point still stands that because of this, we will inevitably see people fumbling with their phones potentially slowing things down in lines. I can already envision the backlog at the FP+ entry points (when FP+ comes back) with people trying to open the app and pull up their FP+ to scan.

 

[kay1864]

I never said they were getting rid of them, I said "moving away".
No longer free to guests = fewer people buying them = longer purchase lines (one of the original selling points) = less revenue for Disney

Seems counter-intuitive.

 

[PCFriar80]

They are still going to offer them at discount... I am sure its a money saving move.



Disney also announced that it will retire complimentary Magic Band distribution to hotel guests starting January 1. Instead, Magic Band functionality will transfer to the My Disney Experience app, using the app’s existing digital key feature. Magic Band will continue to be available for purchase, but the expectation will be that you can use your phone and the app for anything you used the Magic Band for before, even though you can keeping using Magic Bands, if you'd like.

And for those who don't have phones?

 

[gatorlisa]

And for those who don't have phones?

For resort guests, they will still offer a plastic card to serve as room key. And plastic cards are always an option for a ticket.

 

[Helvetica]

Depending on how much they cost, I can still see lots of people buying them. I know I've been buying the premium bands every time since they introduced them.

With them losing about 4 billion during the shutdown, I think I can forgive them for not wanting to give them away for free anymore. Almost everyone has a phone now that can act like a magic band and Apple Watches along with other wearables are becoming increasingly common.

If it becomes an issue with dinning, I can see them including Magic Bands as a free upgrade as part of a dining plan.

 

[poetz]

It will certainly slow some things down. I've been there three times since they put the room key functionality on the app. I can never get my phone to unlock the door. I've tried multiple times at three different hotels and I always give up and use the MB. Even had a cast member try for me once and it took him three or four tries with my phone before the door unlocked. Who wants to fuss with that at the end of a long day at the park?

I have a bunch of old bands, so I can just take one of those if I don't want to pay for an upgrade, but if I didn't have a MB, you can believe I'd still be asking for a free key card because I can't trust my current phone to work. I also don't want to drain my battery by using the app for all the things a MB or key card can do much faster. I already need to recharge it at least once midday just from checking fast passes and dining reservations. Nothing kills my battery like MDE.

 

[marcyleecorgan]

It is really easy to market these as a safety measure for less contact of public surfaces (but not really, sanitize it!) , so I don't expect anything other than the upsell when Disney finally gets back to enticing people into the Parks.
I highly doubt that less people will buy them. I think many people will want to pick out a personalized option and pay the $10! Most Disney visitors thought you had to PAY for the first 3 FP+ after all.

 

[jo-jo]

For resort guests, they will still offer a plastic card to serve as room key. And plastic cards are always an option for a ticket.

So the card can be used for tapping into rides as well as entrance ? My DH would rather use that than a MB. He always seems to have issues with tapping in.

 

[nonnadisney]

This makes me sad. I like collecting them. As they move towards phones, I assume over time fewer folks will use them, so they'll manufacture fewer. Less variety

What if people like them so much that the variety is even better. The demand for the upgraded magic bands has been pretty high. I know my 17yr old and 20yr old really like the ones I bought them. And they are good for 2-3 years so you wouldn't need to buy one every year.

 

[GoofyCoaster]

The lack of magic bands works pretty well at DL in CA for park entry and max pass. Use either the paper park ticket or app. Our family could actually get into the parks FASTER and onto rides FASTER with max pass than using magic bands. One adult holds the phone and swipes and scans through tickets or MP for the whole family. Much easier than trying to get young kids to individually match their magic bands to tapstiles of use finger biometric scanner.

Magic bands do have the edge for purchases and swimming though.