Hi, Kathryn! Welcome to planDisney from a fellow Floridian - also named Katherine!
As much as I love popping over to the Walt Disney World Resort for a day, my family really gets excited when we plan a stay in a Disney Resorts Collection hotel. It feels more like a real vacation when we're doing things like packing our suitcases,
making dining reservations, and of course, ordering
MagicBands!
I totally know what you mean about the options for purchasing MagicBands with your
Resort hotel reservation being a bit limited. The selection does change from time to time, but the choices you see are the only ones available for purchase and customization at that particular time. You can always
order MagicBands from shopDisney.com, but they won't be customized, and with your vacation coming up in just a couple of weeks, I'd worry that they may not arrive in time. You can also pick up some bands when you get to Walt Disney World. While they wouldn't be customizable, you'll have a whole World of choices that way!
Kathryn, if you'd prefer to
use the MagicBands from your previous trip, you can certainly do that. As long as they're still active in your
My Disney Experience account, any and all MagicBands you have are totally interchangeable. Disney does say the battery life is about three years or so, but that's more for things like onboard ride photos and videos. If you're touching the band to the tapstiles at the theme park entrances or your Resort hotel room doors, they should work regardless of the status of the battery. So pack those old MagicBands and bring 'em along!
I hope this helps you plan a magical stay at the Walt Disney World Resort, Kathryn. Please don't hesitate to stop by and see us again if you have any more questions. We're always here to help!
Keep Disney Dreaming,
Kathy K.