Steven,
Thanks for asking your question to planDisney!
The older
MagicBands technically would still be valid to use in Walt Disney World and should work. But I want to warn you that while these versions of MagicBands were great in terms of their battery power, ones that are more than 2 years old can often be drained of their magical energy and no longer work. Sadly, I know of no way to test that out at home, and you can't replace the batteries. But if your bands are from mid-2021 or earlier, I would think that they might be out of power by the time you visit this fall.
RECOMMENDATIONI would suggest you go with one of these two options.
Option 1: Just bring your current bands with you and see if they work. If so, fantastic! You will be able to do most of what one of the new MagicBand+ bands can do, though not everything. Some of the interactive adventures will not work with the older bands, but perhaps that is not important to you.
If, upon arrival, you see that they are out of power and not working, at that time you can decide if you want to just go with operating from a smartphone, or if you want to purchase new MagicBand+ bands for your party. They are available in all the resort and theme park stores.
Option 2: 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, via your
My Disney Experience account. 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 a few months ago, and it was fun!
BOTTOM LINEWhile it is an expense, I would go with option 2, and just buy the new bands ahead of time. But I like to get all the planning and preparation done ahead of my visit, leaving nothing to do upon arrival but run around the parks and have fun. The new adventures you can do with the MagicBand+ bands are great, and while I cannot be certain, I would not expect that your bands would still have the battery power to get you through the trip.
Please feel free to
write me back directly if you have any follow-up questions.
Have a Magical Vacation!Doug