MagicBands roll out to all Walt Disney World guests, soon adding FastPass+ park hopping and more passes per day - Inside the Magic

Comments for MagicBands roll out to all Walt Disney World guests, soon adding FastPass+ park hopping and more passes per day

37 Comments

  1. Lisa Anderson

    I like the sound of the changes. That would certainly fix my complaints!!

  2. Marie

    This is exactly where I had hoped it would go – prebook your few and then have a version of fastpass- on the day.. perfect

  3. joanne torchia

    Thank you so much for hearing and acting so promptly to our requests. Disney Rocks!! I am a passholder and I love park hopping. This takes all the stress out of questions like “Can I do this? or Why can’t we do this”?? Thank you, thank you, all at Disney staff. You heard the people and the people are quite happy. I know I am. Have a very Disney day.!!

  4. Frog boy

    Paper fastpass is now called classic Fastpass

    1. Disney Freak

      Um… Paper FASTPASS is called NOTHING because it does not exist at WDW any longer. LOL

  5. debbie morecraft

    nothing like spending the better part of your day at a kiosks

    1. Nicole

      Debbie, you can us the app on your phone…no need to go to a kiosks. I was part of the testing group in November. I changed around FP while standing in lines. 🙂

      1. I agree–we made all our changes while standing in line. It was super easy.

        1. Anna

          In November it was easy, because not everyone was on it. I can tell you in January, nothing good was ever available day of. Even then, it was only open to all hotel guests. I can’t imagine you getting anything you like now late in the day. I think this is trying to get people to use their selections early and not mid-afternoon which is the strategy now for most people.

          1. Brianne

            I was just there during spring break and had no problem changing my fast passes around on my phone all day long. I was never sure how brave my son was going to be until I told him where we were going. If he didn’t want to go I got on my Disney experience and changed the fast pass. I would’ve liked more then but sounds like next visit everything will be great!

          2. Thank you for another wonderful article. Where else may anyone get that kind of info in such an ideal approach of writing? I have a presentation next week, and I am at the search for such info.

          3. Kiitos testilinkistä. Tuolla jo katsoinkin vähän, valitettavasti ihan kaikista en tiedä pitäisikö. mm. kuvassa näkyä liikettä… Mutta kuraa ovat asetukset kyllä. Kalibrointilaite maksaa liikaa. Tosin testikuvien avulla se onnistuu jotenkuten. Jos vain jaksaa. Acerissa vain tuntuu tuo omat säädöt olevan jotenkin hankalia muuttaa. Katsotaan.

          4. Hi Teresa,I was there with my son yesterday. I stagered at the end to finish in 25:46. Still I beat my 19 year old son who finished in 27 and change. He’ll never hear the end of this one. It was indeed a beautiful morning. I took a walk on the pavilion grounds before race. That’s one beautiful facility. Do you know if the results are posted online anywhere?

      2. I agree–we made all our changes while standing in line. It was super easy.

        1. Steve

          So with the phone app, will you be able to make your 4th choice for a FastPass once you have done your first 3 or will you still have to go to kiosk?

        2. ChrisB

          This is provided you have a smartphone. If not, you go to a kiosk….

    2. Tom

      You’re right Debbie. Go wait two hours in line instead.

  6. Shannon

    The issue that I have with the magic bands is that you now need to plan your whole vacation weeks before even getting there if you even have a chance of getting on a ride or restaurant within a descent wait time. Now you need to punch a time clock on vacation as well as at work. Takes the fun and spontaneousness out of vacation.

  7. Jen

    Debbie – I think it’s BETTER that there will be kiosks – after all, you can make a fastpass arrangement for where you will be without having to go there first like the old fastpass system. You won’t need to hang around. Not to mention, you’ll be able to do it through MDE as well I would imagine.

    Definitely LOVE the new changes. WIN WIN WIN for everyone!

  8. MsM

    It won’t fix the problems. You’ll now have to get your FP for the morning if you wish to get more. We have ours ‘guaranteed’ for the afternoon when we know the parks are more crowded.

  9. Bryan

    My biggest issue is the hard line on use. you have 15 minutes from the time the one hour window closes to use it, or you lose it. In the paper system, I could show up any time after the window opened and use my passes.
    That in combination with our loss of our Guest Services Pass, means we only get a limited experience any more. Our day is not easily scripted around 1 hour time blocks due to medical difficulties, but with this system there is no room for the human factor any longer.
    Big disappointment.

    1. Disney Freak

      How is a 1 hour window a “hard line” ? Don’t get the FASTPASS if you can’t make the window. You know beforehand what the window will be being as how they post it. And why should someone that is NOT disabled get to have a Guest Pass. The actual person who is disabled should be the one to get it. The helper can still help them to the line, but why do they need to go on the ride to “help” ?

      1. Rebekka

        Um, because if I go to Disney with my family member with a disability, I want to ride WITH them, just like everyone else rides with their family, not just “help” them onto a ride and then not ride myself. Sheesh, have a little empathy,a Disney Freak.

      2. KM

        Because not all disabled people are able to get on and off rides by themselves. My 9 year old son has Autism and I would never let him on a ride “alone.”

        1. Disney Freak

          Um no…thats what Cast Members are for….they will help you get on the ride. There are too many people who take advantage of the system. Bottom line is this: The new system still lets disabled people ride the rides and not have to stand in lines. Period. If you are not disabled then you stand in line like everybody else. Period. I applaud Disney for stopping the widespread misuse that was happenning.

          1. SS

            Are you serious? Right, that’s exactly what my child would want, some stranger riding on a ride with him instead of a family member. Wow, it wouldn’t kill you to have an ounce of empathy would it? You know what they say about karma…..

    2. Greg

      Bryan, you have a full hour to use your fastpass! Not only that but not only can you arrive 5 minutes early but as you said up to 15 minutes late, giving you a total of an hour and twenty minutes to use your pass. If you can’t make it in that time you are doing something wrong. And even if you are and you miss it I believe you can reassign your missed fastpass. The paper fastpass also had a time window but castmembers would sometimes be nice and let you in anyway. As far as the guest assistance card goes it was severely abused by many people so that is why they don’t hand them out like Halloween candy anymore. You may still use a new version of the pass called something like a Dissability assistance card it just has qualifications so it is not abused and everyone can have a fair chance at getting through the Parks. Disney has also revamped many of the lines to ensure wheelchairs may comfortably make it through the cue. Yes you get a ‘limited’ experience just as there are limited hours of the day such is life. I believe they are trying to limit the number of fastpasses you may attain because if all guests have a fastpass for every attraction then they are no longer Fast and lose any merit. Disney knows you are going to have to wait in long lines but they have come along side the guests and created fastpass to ensure not every line does not require a better part of an hour. The fact that they have found a way to do it is amazing. If that isn’t guest service I don’t know what is.

      1. me

        Greg, I like you. Well said.

        1. Deborah

          Well said Greg. Yeah….for Disney. For those of us who truly love the parks this improvement is welcomed. We have a child with a disability in our family and we do not use that disability to ride on ride for which she does not meet the height requirement

    3. sara

      No sorry your wrong the system was never set up for you to come back whenever you were always supposed to come back in your hour window that was on the fast pass. it was just guest service that you were able to do it but that policy was in place since the beginning, long before FP+. To your other point, the Guest Service Pass is not gone but changed so that people cant abuse the system anymore and now it helps those that ACTUALLY need it so you can blame the people that abused it since they are the reason it changed. sorry your disappointed but coming from someone that has worked attractions on many sides for many years i am 100 % a fan of the changes.

  10. Jen

    This will not be helpful at all to guests who are using a FP for Wishes, Illuminations, or another late night show. You can’t get another FP until you have used all three, and the park may be closed after you finish with the show. Or certainly all the FP opportunities for that day would be gone. This new system will only encourage everyone to make all their reservations for the mornings so they can get additional FPs later in the day. While it is a good idea to give out additional FP opportunities, this proposed system needs some work.

    1. Carolyn

      Oooh… good point about the nighttime shows. Just takes planning, I suppose. It’ll be interesting to see how all of these rules settle in when they’re tweaked – AGAIN.

  11. Jen S

    Just what this annual passholder DOESN’T want, a band of synthetic foam around my wrist in 90* weather. It might be acceptable, but you STILL need your ticket AND ID.

    1. Deborah

      Do you wear a metal watch with a ban in 90 degree weather or a watch with any type of band for that matter……same difference…..and the only reason you would need a ticket is for parking purposes….I am liking it but then if too many complain I am sure Disney will go back to the paper fast pass if necessary……I like the idea of having my ticket on my wrist rather than in my pocket or in a pouch a on a lanyard around my neck. This way I can go to the pack with just my magic band and a credit card and do not have to go through the dreaded “search” before entering the park…..

  12. Becky

    Thank you to WDW for listening! I called Disney with this issue on Tuesday night. While it doesn’t solve all FP+
    problems, it’s a start in the right direction.

  13. Heather

    Is there a timeline for these new features?

  14. Lynne

    Its all well Disney introducing new things, but where disabled people are concerned Disney has not thoroughly looked into it!
    if there has been some prblem with the old GAS card and they want it changed to the new DAS card then Disney should have done its homework properly! And why couldnt they add the OLD GAS card to the new band technology? Or even add the now new photo technology to the GAS card instead of changing it to make it harder on the most genuine disabled people? I know from experiance this new DAS card does not work for all hidden disability children!

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