Hey Howdy Hey Jeni and welcome to planDisney!
MagicBands have been a must for our Disney trips, as they have made navigating all of Walt Disney World Resort so much easier and convenient. I love picking out just the right MagicBand to suit my Disney Style for that trip and nothing says "Vacation Mode" like putting your MagicBand on for your vacation! Like so many Disney fans, I am anxiously awaiting the release of
MagicBand+ later this summer. Disney was able to give us a little more of an update on more of the features that it will have other than the traditional ones with the first generation MagicBand and they sound so much more interactive and amazing! The one big thing we do not quite know yet is the specific dimensions and weight.
From the pictures, these bands look slightly bigger than the first generation MagicBands however I have not heard if they are heavier or not or by how much. Without having first-hand experience or hearing anything in regards to a kid's tolerance to wearing them, I can't give you a solid answer on if your five-year-old would wear it or not.
What I can tell you is my experience with the first-generation MagicBands and how my older girls used them. Of course, around age five, they did not like having watches on other than when playing and the same with bracelets. Once on vacation, however, that was a different story. When they saw how we used our MagicBands in the parks, they kept them on pretty much all day and did quite well with them. After a few minutes, they almost forgot about them until we needed to tap into the next attraction for our FastPass+ redemption at the time. They loved having the bands on so they could also access our rooms and overall had a lot of motivation to keep them on especially for park days.
One thing that you could do before you head to Walt Disney World, is try to see if your five-year-olds have any issues with wearing a smart watch if you have them. Many have the capability now to have faces changed to Disney characters so that might give you an idea if they would wear them or not and a little extra motivation for them to keep them on.
The other thing you can do for your vacation is to set up a MagicMobile Pass for them just in case. If you wanted to go with the MagicBand+, you can also have the MagicMobile Pass set up on your smart device in case they did not want to keep their MagicBand on at certain parts of the day. You would still be able to access everything for them with the MagicMobile Pass. With
Disney MagicMobile Service, this is just like setting up all the benefits of the first generation MagicBands all from your My Disney Experience app on your smart device. It can be used interchangeably with MagicBands so use it when you want or need to!
I hope that helps to give you some idea on a plan if purchasing a MagicBand+ is worth it or not for the younger ones. As we all continue to anxiously await a firm date on their rollout I will be keeping my fingers crossed that it will be soon so we all can have the opportunity to test them out! Please feel free to reach out if you have any other questions, we would be happy to help!
Have a Magical Day,
Nick