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Thread: DVC members can also finally opt out of getting a new Magic Band

  1. #1
    Adrienne Vincent-Phoenix
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    DVC members can also finally opt out of getting a new Magic Band

    Marie shared in a WDW Update a couple of weeks ago that Walt Disney World guests could decline a new Magic Band if they already had one that was less than a year old. Now Disney Vacation Club members can also opt out.

    FINALLY!!!!

    Not that I don't love my collection of Magic Bands, but when I have enough to garland a 6' Christmas tree, enough is enough.

    Adrienne

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  3. #2
    Read Everything-Assume Nothing GusMan's Avatar
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    So glad to hear this in general. Its not that I dont like to have a stash of colors for me to use, we found that having multiple bands associated with MDE caused a number of problems once we got to the parks.

    Hopefully limiting the number of bands you get will help reduce overall issues.

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  4. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by GusMan View Post
    So glad to hear this in general. Its not that I dont like to have a stash of colors for me to use, we found that having multiple bands associated with MDE caused a number of problems once we got to the parks.

    Hopefully limiting the number of bands you get will help reduce overall issues.
    Sorry to pull this a bit off topic, but can you elaborate on what bad side effects you experienced with multiple (how many? 5? 20? more?) bands on your account?

    I only ask because I've had a few (no where near as many as others, I'm sure, but I'm just slightly past one of each color along with a special event one I bought) associated with my account and also had a few of these "spares" on my person in the parks with no serious ill effect that I know of. (the only thing I do note is sometimes I end up with multiple ride pics, possibly because of the extra bands in my hip pack).

    Thanks!
    -Dave

  5. #4

    I've done the dance of the many Magic Bands before. There is a list of numbers associated with your account. As long as the number on the Magic Band is still listed on your account, then you're fine. But there's the rub. I'd think that the brand new band issued with my upcoming trip would have the best chance of being there on the list. You can always go to your hotel's front desk and make sure that the correct numbers are on the list.

    The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.
    - James Taylor

  6. #5
    Read Everything-Assume Nothing GusMan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave1313 View Post
    Sorry to pull this a bit off topic, but can you elaborate on what bad side effects you experienced with multiple (how many? 5? 20? more?) bands on your account?
    I think its a fair question...
    The issues we dealt with were multi-fold:
    - Some bands were registered as my full first name. (Per the reservation)
    - Some bands were registered as my short name. (Per the reservation)
    - My MDX account knew me as my short name. (How I set up my account)
    - DVC knew me as my full first name.
    - How my wife registered me onto her MDX account in regards to tickets and reservations. (Didn't match what I had in MDX.)

    And while not the fault of the bands themselves from a technical perspective, it would have been better if once I got my first MB problem fixed, chances are I would not have had varying issues for future trips as well. But the issues experienced ranged from ticket association issues, FP issues, charging issues, and room lock issues. (Pretty much anything...) The good thing was that after the first time, I was always prepared with an alternative method of payment as well as having my AP cards with me.)

    Now, at the same time I will say this... Tech support has been very helpful in getting everything worked out. And now that they are worked out, Im going to stick with one band till the time the battery goes dead.
    Disney-Inspired Author and Blogger
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  7. #6
    Ready for MA World Explorers! Drince88's Avatar
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    I had a MAJOR hassle checking into the resort last January because "I had too many devices (bands and RFID admission media) associated with my account" They ended up deactivating most of them and then they were able to get the remaining ones associated with my room. It was so bad I got a free rice cereal treat from the gift shop because they wanted to check it out for charging.

    Next time before I go, I'm going to make sure just the bands/AP card I'm bringing are associated with my account.

    Cathy

  8. #7

    I'm always nervous at the start of any WDW trip. I worry that my MB will allow me into the park. I worry that my MB will allow me into my room. And I worry that my MB will allow me to make room charges for both food and merch. My MB has failed on a variety of combinations of the above. Once it's working on all fronts it stays working for the rest of the visit. But the first time I use it for any of the above, it's about a 50/50 chance that it'll fail.

    The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.
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  9. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by GusMan View Post
    I think its a fair question...
    The issues we dealt with were multi-fold:
    - Some bands were registered as my full first name. (Per the reservation)
    - Some bands were registered as my short name. (Per the reservation)
    - My MDX account knew me as my short name. (How I set up my account)
    - DVC knew me as my full first name.
    - How my wife registered me onto her MDX account in regards to tickets and reservations. (Didn't match what I had in MDX.)

    And while not the fault of the bands themselves from a technical perspective, it would have been better if once I got my first MB problem fixed, chances are I would not have had varying issues for future trips as well. But the issues experienced ranged from ticket association issues, FP issues, charging issues, and room lock issues. (Pretty much anything...) The good thing was that after the first time, I was always prepared with an alternative method of payment as well as having my AP cards with me.)

    Now, at the same time I will say this... Tech support has been very helpful in getting everything worked out. And now that they are worked out, Im going to stick with one band till the time the battery goes dead.

    Quote Originally Posted by danyoung View Post
    I'm always nervous at the start of any WDW trip. I worry that my MB will allow me into the park. I worry that my MB will allow me into my room. And I worry that my MB will allow me to make room charges for both food and merch. My MB has failed on a variety of combinations of the above. Once it's working on all fronts it stays working for the rest of the visit. But the first time I use it for any of the above, it's about a 50/50 chance that it'll fail.
    Wow! Thanks for sharing the details. My habits are much simpler, so maybe that's why I've been relatively lucky. I really only use the band for admission, FP+, and resort entry. I also didn't "exist" in any Disney system (like DVC, and I actually didn't have any stays at on-site resorts pre-band) really before the bands, maybe that helps me as well. I went to the parks for a couple trips over 2 years with normal admission media (not AP), I did my first AP purchase in 2014 after the bands had started.

    Aside from on informal internet sites, I don't use my shortened name for any type of bill/credit card, etc, so that's probably why I've not had that flavor of problem. I also don't link the band for charging purposes, since I am of the mindset that I basically want a receipt for any transactions I make at the time I make them, and needing to take out my wallet to file said receipt means it's just as convenient to use the credit card directly at the time of sale (I understand that for many people it's useful, especially if you are at a water park or something along those lines where not having a wallet on your person is advantageous).

    I'm also a solo traveler most times, so there is no one else trying to make FP+ reservations for me from a different MDE account. The closest I came to that was with a trip with my sister's family, but when she registered for MDE, t was really just to be able to view our plans, she did not modify anything.

    I may have had minor issues once or twice with park admission, but they were easily handled pretty quickly (minute or 2 at most) by a cast member with the portable iPad devices. I never had to go to guest services or anything like that to straighten things out. On several trips, I've used a different band each day with general success. I also generally try any bands I do have with me on my hotel door to see if they all work (while I have not had all of my bands with me as they grew in number, of those I've brought each time, I've never had one fail).

    I don't ever mix bands on any given day once used for admission. The band I use to get in is the one I use for FP+ (figuring that very well could be asking for problems, I'm not trying to break the system ).

    Hopefully I didn't just jinx myself too badly by stating my previous successes.

    Thanks again for the details of your experiences!
    -Dave

  10. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by Dave1313 View Post
    My habits are much simpler, so maybe that's why I've been relatively lucky. I really only use the band for admission, FP+, and resort entry.
    Well, not that much simpler - the only thing you don't use your MB for is purchases and food. I've had park admission fail, I've had room entry fail, I've had FP+'s fail, and I've had food purchases fail. Of course, I've had the Premier AP, which is somewhat notorious for not working well with the system.
    The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.
    - James Taylor

  11. #10
    Read Everything-Assume Nothing GusMan's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dave1313 View Post
    I don't ever mix bands on any given day once used for admission.
    We didnt do this either. At the same time, my wife had the fun idea of trying to use multiple MB colors in order to match the outfit of the day - for all of us.
    Which was rather easy to do since we usually do split stays in order to save points with a DVC points stay sandwiched between stays at either value or moderate resorts, resulting in three sets of bands for each person. I mean, they were associated with us in MDX, it should have worked. Im sure that some had no issues in doing so either, but I think our MDX variances didnt help at all.

    So, once a band works for me - it does not come off till I am off property.
    Disney-Inspired Author and Blogger
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    Admin of The WDW Community Facebook page.

    The search function is like the Force. It may take practice, but the more you use it, the more control you will have over it!

  12. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by danyoung View Post
    Well, not that much simpler - the only thing you don't use your MB for is purchases and food. I've had park admission fail, I've had room entry fail, I've had FP+'s fail, and I've had food purchases fail. Of course, I've had the Premier AP, which is somewhat notorious for not working well with the system.
    I remember reading your horror stories with your pass and the bands last year when you first got a band I think. Last year I did upgrade a WDW only pass up to a Premier in between some WDW trips(and I was a bit worried about it based on your experiences, and I think others had mentioned issues as well).

    I was lucky that for 3 other WDW visits post upgrade, to the best of my observations, it worked OK for me. Odd that the system seems to be behaving sort of randomly for different people's situations (or at the very least has some quirks depending on some subset of unknown conditions that can make the system cranky).
    -Dave

  13. #12

    To be fair, most of the problems I've had have been on older trips. I'm hoping that they have most of the bugs worked out now.

    The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time.
    - James Taylor

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