Alll I see on DME are MB+. We usually get MB+ for the kids, but the regular MBs for DW and me so we don’t have to charge two of the MBs.
Is there another place to order MBs that are not MB+?
I probably have old MBs from a year or two ago in the house. If I find those, how will I know if they still work? I’d prefer to order new MBs but if that’s not feasible anymore, I’d rather use old ones than have to worry about charging MBs during our trip.
Unfortunately, Disney no longer makes the original Magicbands or the Magicband 2s. The only ones they make now are the Magicband Plus variety.
All Magicbands come with two chips. The first chip, the NFC chip, requires a tap to activate. That works similar to the chip on your credit card. No battery is needed for that, and it should work forever.
The second chip is the RFID chip, and out requires you to be close, but not directly next, to where you want to be. That does require a battery. The ones inside the first two generations of MBs had a non removable battery with a lifespan of 2-3 years. So most, if not all, of them should now be dead. The MB+s have the recharge function to keep them going.
To add to what @FelisLachesis said, if you don’t care about “remote” detection for photos, or playing any of the games or activate statues, then your old MBs should work fine. They basically work forever for anything that you can “tap”.
So…if you decide to go that route, note that it is STILL possible to get the functionality of the Bluetooth aspect of the MBs by using your phone. However, I found that in order for the phone to work consistently (such as for on-ride photos), you need to, JUST BEFORE YOU board the ride (i.e., Tron), to make sure you open up the MDE app make make sure you are logged in. Then, don’t leave the MDE app until after you get off the ride. If you go to another app, even if MDE is running in the backround, I found that the detection of the phone didn’t always work.
Nope, and I hate it
The MB+ will still work without charging to get into your room, tap for payment, tap into parks, and tap for LLs.; it just won’t buzz and light up - which to me is fine because I never know what the hell it’s trying to tell me anyway. I actually find them quite annoying.
But I hate paying for the MB+ when I will use it like the old MB. I literally never charge my MB+
Will a new MB+ work for on-ride photos if it’s not charged?
No…UNLESS it is a ride that provides tap points after you get off the ride at the end. Many have tap points, so you don’t need a charged MB+ (or phone)…you just tap which photos aligns to your ride. But some rides, such as Tron, only will work if you have a charged MB+, or using your phone instead of a MB+.
I’m even cheaper and just get free WDW World Key Cards, which are available at resort hotels or any Guest Service location. They work on the same principle as the old Magic Band, less the long distance capability need for ride photo assignment. No fuss, no hassle trying to get your smartphone to work.
This is the Disneyland way.
DW and I don’t care about this function, but …
This is very important to DW.
I don’t want to think about whether DME app is open on my phone so this means DW and I are going to need to have MB+.
One other question … Can DW and I use the kids’ MB+s from a prior trip if we charge them? Or are those batteries shot after a year or two? Maybe the easiest thing is to just purchase 4 new MB+s but it seems like such a waste when DW and I don’t care about new MBs for ourselves.
After reading this thread, I am with you.
The batteries will be fine, but the bands are forever linked to your kids, so you can’t put your own tickets on there.
Make sure you order via your MDE reservation for the (small) discount.
You can not transfer magic bands from one MyDisney Account to another. Though, if the kids don’t have their own account and are just under your MDE, you could in assign a different ticket to it.
Not really. At DLR in May, they would not give me a keycard as an admission media. They insisted it was MB+ or the phone. They’re big on using the phone there. The room key was just a room key, it couldn’t do anything else.
Oh that’s strange! Last time I was there, a whole bunch of people were still using keycards. MB+s were tripping up a lot of the LL CMs
Ah, I didn’t think about that … so I guess I am going to purchase 4 new MB+. Very annoying!
I wonder if they still sell the regular MB on property. Only 1 in the party needs MB+ for the pictures.
Unless someone rides alone…
We aren’t going to have anyone riding alone this trip, but now that the kids are both over 7, they like riding together. That leaves DW and I riding together in another ride vehicle for some rides so it won’t work unless at least one of DW or I has MB+.
Then that’s 3 MB+ instead of 4. 