Hi Deanna,
Welcome to planDisney! I'm so glad you stopped by with your question about
MagicBands. My family loves the convenience of tapping to scan into the theme parks, using it as a key to unlock our Disney Resort hotel room, tapping to charge purchases to our resort room and my kids love holding out their wrist to have
Disney Photopass photos linked to our account.
My family just returned from a trip to
Walt Disney World, and we used a combination of MagicBand+, physical cards and older MagicBands (from a 2020 trip). While I can't guarantee your bands will work, we had no issues using our older bands to enter the theme parks and to link Photopass photos.
You can check if your MagicBand is active by first logging in to the
My Disney Experience app. Using the menu icon at the bottom right, (the "≡" button), scroll to the "Account" heading and then click "MagicBands and Cards". Select your name to see any MagicBands and Admission Cards currently linked to your account. If your band is inactive, you can click on the "Activate Band" button. Any MagicBands that are currently active will allow you to scan your tickets that are linked to your My Disney account.
The only feature that depends on the internal battery is the long-range capability (things like certain attraction videos in your PhotoPass gallery), and those batteries can last a few years. Even if the battery has run out, your MagicBand will still work for the basics like theme park entry and Lightning Lane access.
If you’d like a backup option, you can also set up a
Disney MagicMobile pass in the My Disney Experience app. Just look for Set Up MagicMobile Entry under the same menu, and follow the prompts. It lets you use your phone or Apple Watch to enter the parks, and you can even choose from a variety of fun digital designs.
I hope this helps you feel confident about tapping into the magic on your next visit! If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to visit us again at
planDisney - we'd love to help!
Happy planning,
Candace