Hi there, Mary!
Thanks for bringing your question to us. I'm always happy to help a fellow North Carolinian navigate the magic at Walt Disney World Resort. Let's get to it!
MagicBand+ is my go-to accessory when visiting the parks. These convenient bands allow us to
unlock our Disney Resorts Collection hotel room door, charge purchases to our room folio, enter the parks with linked admission, and access Lightning Lane entrances at our favorite attractions. You don't
need a MagicBand+ to do any of these things, but as you indicated, it's easier to quickly tap my wrist versus pulling out my phone or Key to the World Card each time.
You'll find a band to suit every style and will even enjoy lights and vibrations that perfectly sync with the nighttime spectaculars at the parks; an extra bit of magic for an already pretty magical accessory! Plus, if you ever plan to
sail on Disney Cruise Line you'll also be able to use your MagicBand+ to board the ship, make onboard purchases, and unlock your Stateroom on many itineraries.
You can also use your MagicBand+ to link
Disney PhotoPass photos captured around the parks, and your band will
automatically link attraction photos to your My Disney Experience Account. We especially love the pictures and videos we get riding while
TRON Lightcycle / Run presented by Enterprise. You are free to pose for pictures with a Disney PhotoPass photographer whenever you see them, but your images will have a watermark when viewed in your My Disney Experience Mobile App until you purchase and activate Memory Maker. By the way, you'll often see these names used together but remember that PhotoPass is the photography service while Memory Maker is the product/purchase of those images.
If you plan to purchase
Memory Maker you'll be able to download all of those photo memories to share with friends and family during your trip or once you get back home. You can purchase Memory Maker at any point before or during your trip, but you'll get the best price by purchasing at least 3 days before your arrival. Once you have your first photo taken you can click into it from your
My Disney Experience Mobile App to officially "activate" the purchase. This will remove the watermark on all images captured during your visit.
There are a few additional things I'd like to mention. First, once activated, Memory Maker will include photos captured within a 30-day period, with the exception of Memory Maker One Day. Once you return home, you'll have
45 days from the date of capture to download your photos and videos.
I hope this helped, Mary. If you need further clarification please don't hesitate to
come back and ask me directly. I have an entire photo wall in my house dedicated to our Disney memories, so I'm more than happy to help keep chatting about the service.
Magic and memories,
Amy