We are planning a trip in May and want to know what the alternatives are vs the magic band. We are staying off WDW and the band will cost $13 and the retractable badge holder is a lot cheaper (you can call me a cheapo if you want). I know that the band is very easy to use and more convenient, however, has anyone used a retractable badge holder and how was the experience?
Not tried them, but a lot of people just use a lanyard around their neck to hold their RFID plastic tickets in. The scanners can scan them through the plastic.
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For what it’s worth, there are some cool things that the magicbands will do, that you don’t get with the cards. Maybe not worth the money to you, but good to go in with all the information. Some of the rides (small world, space mountain, expedition everest, etc) have some interactive features that pull names off of the magicbands. For instance, Expedition Everest will customize the “ads” that you see in line, incorporating guest names into the reviews and such. Also, some of the ride photos are added right to MDE through your magicband, and I don’t believe they are accessible without the bands (SDMT and FEA are the 2 that I know of). These features do not happen with the RFID cards.
Thank you, @BeckyTemp13 ! I had not heard that about the photos. We’re planning on getting one annual pass so we can get all the photos because I’ve read elsewhere if we’re friended in mydisney and attached our tickets then we can download all of them. I’m still a bit hazy on details as I read one place only if the pass holder is there to swipe their pass and is in the photo, but elsewhere I read even without that I’ll be able to access all photos of connected reservations. Which is all to say guess I’ll find out when we get there. 
This has been my experience. I can download all the photos of people I’m friends with on MDE, even if my band was not involved in capturing the photos.
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