Hello there Lesley!
Welcome to planDisney! Your trip is coming up very soon, and I'm so excited for you!
MagicBands make everything so slick while at the Disney World resort. I absolutely love heading out to the parks for the day and not needing to bring anything along but my MagicBand for park tickets, purchases,
Lightening Lane Pass redemption, and my hotel room key.
You are correct that when you purchase a Disney World package online, MagicBands are offered at a slightly discounted pre-arrival price. I see that you are in UK, so mail times may take a bit longer. To check what's available for your vacation, log on to My Disney Experience and go to "MagicBands and Cards". You may still see a link for "Customize your MagicBand+"... along with a countdown of how many remaining days you can still make this pre-arrival purchase in time to have them shipped to you.
If your pre-arrival order window has already closed, not to fret... that just means your magical vacation is getting really close!! Alternately, once you arrive at Walt Disney World, you can purchase MagicBands and link them to your guest account in the
My Disney Experience app. When I was at a Disney resort days ago, I saw them available for sale at the resort gift shop and at multiple Disney parks gift shops.
I hope this helps answer your question, Lesley. Please eat a Mickey waffle for me when you're there!
See ya real soon,
Tami