Welcome back to planDisney, Bethany!
We are so happy to hear from you once again! You will
return to the magic of the Walt Disney World Resort in a few days, and it is a pleasure to help you create new memories!
If you go through the questions I have previously answered, you will see that I am a big fan of
MagicBands. I simply do not know how to go on a Disney vacation without this all-in-one device that can be used to enter theme parks and water parks (with valid admission) and link digital content captured by
Disney PhotoPass service to
My Disney Experience. Guests staying at a Disney Resort hotel can unlock more magic, like opening the door of their Guest room and charging food and merchandise purchases to their account during their stay.
Bethany, an official minimum age to use MagicBands with charging privileges is not in place, so you will be able to decide with your family what works best for your children. My oldest daughter has been using MagicBands to make purchases since she was 7-years-old, but because she is too young to go anywhere by herself, on our past visits I typed in her PIN when she made purchases – she has already informed me that on our next visit she will do this alone as she is already 10-years-old! My teenage sister, on the other hand, has been using MagicBands on her own for a while and we have never had issues.
If you decide to allow your kids to make purchases with their MagicBands, I recommend choosing PINs they will easily remember - you will do so at the time of
online check-in. If they get carried away and go over their budget, you can always stop by
Front Desk at your Disney Resort hotel to cancel their charging privileges. I also suggest visiting Front Desk upon arrival if you would like to assign different credit cards to charge purchases from different Guests on your reservation. My mother likes to pay for the souvenirs she buys with her MagicBand, so we stop by Front Desk to include her credit card, otherwise, all purchases are charged to the default credit card informed at the time of check-in.
Another option for your family, and one that I have used many times, is giving your kids
Disney Gift Cards. Gift cards are an excellent way to stay within your budget and kids do not need to worry about PINs. If you register your cards online, you can manage balances and even transfer funds between them. I usually keep an extra gift card back at the hotel to transfer balances online in the event a card gets lost at the parks. A great tip to add more funds to a gift card is purchasing another gift card or a
Disney Gift Card eGift, adding it to your account, and transferring the balance to the cards your children are using.
Thank you for returning to planDisney, Bethany. I hope this information is helpful and that you have a magical visit!
Best Disney wishes,
Thiana