Hiya, Kathy! Welcome to planDisney from another Kathy!
MagicBands put the "fun" in "functional" since you can use them in so many different ways during your Walt Disney World Resort vacation. We have several of these colorful keys to the magic, so I'm happy to share my experience with you.
When you link a MagicBand to your
My Disney Experience account, you can start using it for everything from opening your Disney Resorts Collection hotel room door to entering the theme parks. Any and all bands you've linked can be used interchangeably, so your MagicBands will always be valid for future vacations. Disney says that the batteries in the bands should last two to three years, so yours may be near the end of its battery life. Even with a depleted battery, however, MagicBands should still work at physical touchpoints like the theme park entrances and Resort hotel room doors. You may find that your MagicBands don't work for functions that operate from a distance, like the onboard ride photos and videos that use the RFID signal from the band to send your photos directly to your My Disney Experience account.
Kathy, if you have a smartphone, you can get many of the functions of a MagicBand right on your phone with
Disney's new MagicMobile service! Just make sure your tickets are linked to your My Disney Experience account, and have the
My Disney Experience mobile app installed on your phone. In the app, click on the three horizontal lines in the bottom right corner of your screen, then on "Disney MagicMobile." Next, click "Set Up Your Pass," and follow the prompts to add your ticket to the e-wallet on your device. Then, when you arrive at the Walt Disney World Resort, your phone will take it from there!
I hope this helps you plan a magical visit to the Walt Disney World Resort, Kathy. Have fun, and we'll see ya real soon!
Keep Disney Dreaming,
Kathy K.