Welcome to
planDisney, Christine! Thank you so much for stopping by with your question!
Let me begin by saying that
MagicBands are unique to one person only, which means that one person will be authorized to access the benefits associated with it–including linked tickets, touch-to-pay purchases, and other entitlements. Once a
MagicBand is linked to one Guest's Disney account, it cannot be transferred to another Guest. MagicBands are actually associated to one Guest's fingerprint and PIN code, so it is virtually impossible for other Guests to use it for themselves.
Since MagicBands were designed to be used by one person only, you will not be able to use one of them for the eight people in your travel party. Each person will need to have their own tickets in order to enter the Theme Parks, so I do think that MagicBands are super worth it in your case! In fact, I am an avid MagicBand collector, and I love matching them to the outfits I wear to the parks. There are hundreds of designs for you to choose from, so I'm sure that you'll find a couple that you and your party like.
Besides working as your Theme Park ticket, MagicBands can also unlock your Disney Resorts Collection hotel room, connect Disney PhotoPass pictures to your Disney account, charge food and merchandise purchases to your Disney hotel room, and automatically associate your attraction photos to your Disney account. Isn't that awesome?
That being said, you can also enter the Theme Parks with the
Disney MagicMobile Service, which you'll find in the My Disney Experience mobile app. This service allows you to create a digital pass within your smartphone or Apple Watch, and it will work exactly like a MagicBand. You're welcome to purchase a MagicBand or use the MagicMobile service, but I do want to issue a warning. My iPhone tends to run out of battery before my Disney days are over, so if yours is that way too, I would advise you to purchase a MagicBand instead. You won't regret it!
Please don't hesitate to come back and ask us any other questions you might have, Christine. We'll be happy to help you out!
See you real soon,
Ana Paula