Butch,
Thanks for asking your question to planDisney!
I am going to be there at about the same time! If you see me in the parks, say hi!A MagicBand from 2017 or 2018 technically would still be a valid band to use in Walt Disney World. However I will caution you that while these versions of
MagicBands were extremely efficient in terms of their power usage, ones that are more than 2 years old can often be drained of their battery power and no longer working. Sadly, I know of no way to test that out at home, and you can't replace the batteries.
RECOMMENDATIONI would suggest you go with one of two paths.
The first is to arrive at your vacation with your current bands and see if they work. If so, great! You will be able to do most of what one of the new MagicBand+ bands can do, though obviously not everything. Some of the interactive adventures will not work with the older bands, but perhaps that is not important to you. Also, if you arrive and they are not working, at that time you can decide if you want to just go with operating from a smartphone, or you could purchase new MagicBand+ bands for your party. They are available in all the resort and theme park stores.
The second path would be just to go ahead and buy new MagicBand+ bands now. The upside there is that with many Disney vacation packages you can purchase bands ahead of your trip at a discount. You would also be able to play some of the great new interactive adventures, like the
Batuu Bounty Hunters quest. I did it for the first time about a month ago, and it was fun!
Please feel free to
write me back directly if you have any follow-up questions.
Have a Magical Vacation!
Doug