Hi Donna!
Thanks for visiting us at planDisney!
While
MagicBands are not required when visiting Disney World, they do add to the magic of it all (and make things so much more convenient!).
With your MagicBand, you’ll be able to scan into the theme parks and
Lightning Lane queues, and the band will have fun interactions around the park, on rides, and during shows. If you’re staying at a
Disney World resort, you’ll also be able to charge purchases to your room and unlock your resort room door. What’s even better is that, if you visit Disney World again in the future, the same MagicBand can be used during future trips.
With that being said, you can decide to purchase MagicBands for anyone you’d like to for your vacation. For my family, everyone age 3 and older has a MagicBand so that everyone can scan into everything needed throughout our vacation.
Unfortunately, MagicBands are not included in your Disney World vacation package. They will need to be purchased separately.
If you’d like your MagicBands personalized with each guest’s name, you can do so by visiting
Disney World’s website, hovering over the My Disney Experience button, then clicking My MagicBands and Cards. Just make sure to purchase your bands 11 or more days prior to your trip if you’d like them shipped to your house.
If you don’t feel like you want the personalization, sometimes you’ll have a larger MagicBand selection by shopping for them on
DisneyStore.com.
If you decide MagicBands aren’t the right choice for your family (or if only some of your family members get MagicBands and others don’t), you can set up
MagicMobile Service on your phone or ask the front desk of your Disney World resort for a Key to the World card to have similar functions to your MagicBand throughout your trip.
I hope that helps! As you continue to plan your trip, let us know if any other questions pop up!
Jenn J.