Hiya, Susan! We're glad you found us here at the Disney Parks Moms Panel!
Back in 2018,
Disney Parks announced an initiative to reduce plastic waste, based on Walt's philosophy, "Conservation isn't just the business of a few people. It's a matter that concerns all of us." One way guests at home can help out in these conservation efforts is to
reuse their MagicBands. According to many sources, the batteries in MagicBands lasts for up to two years. For our family trip last year, I purchased the
discounted upgraded MagicBands with the intention of using them for the next couple of yEARs. So, if you have MagicBands from a prior vacation, they will still work for future trips as long as everything for your upcoming stay, including your theme park tickets, is
linked to your My Disney Experience account. I suggest logging in to your account and clicking the link for "My MagicBands and Cards." Instead of ordering new MagicBands, you can choose the option to decline them. Keep in mind that while MagicBands can be reused, they are non-transferrable, which means that once they are linked to a My Disney Experience account, they cannot be used by a different guest (I've been eyeing up my son's Spaceship Earth band. Guess I'll have to get my own!).
I hope this answers your question, Susan! If there's anything else you need, remember we're all EARs!
Eean