Disney recently announced that the new MagicBand+ will be available at Walt Disney World and Disneyland Resort in 2022. This new MagicBand system will be better and have more features than the old one.
In this post, we’ll tell you what we know about the new MagicBand+ so far. We’ll tell you about all the new features, the release date, how much it will cost, how to use MagicBands, and how it’s different from the old system.
As more information comes out, we’ll update this post to answer as many of your questions as possible. Think of this as an introduction to MagicBand+.
The Walt Disney Company is always looking for new and exciting technologies to raise the bar. Walt Disney once said, “We’ll always be putting new materials and systems to the test and showing them off.” Now, MagicBand+ is the next one to come out of that line.
With these new MagicBands, guests will be able to interact with the stories told in theme parks in ways they never could before. If this is done right, it will make the Disney park experience even more immersive than it was before, and this is just the beginning of what it could be.
Disney is launching MagicBand+ during the 50th anniversary of Walt Disney World. They will even make it work with the event.
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A New Generation of MagicBand – Coming Summer 2022!
Immerse yourself in Disney stories with MagicBand+’s exciting new features, such as:
- Customizable color-changing lights
- Haptic vibrations let you feel the magic with light vibrations that bring experiences to life
- Gesture recognition—your movement enables magical surprises!
Plus, with any type of MagicBand or card, you can:
- Enter theme and water parks (with valid admission).
- Check-in at Lightning Lane and virtual queue entrances.
- Connect Disney PhotoPass images to your account.
- Unlock the door of your Disney Resort hotel room.
- Charge food and merchandise purchases to your Disney Resort hotel room (only available during your hotel stay).
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Fresh Updates on MagicBand:
We’ll start with the most recent news, which is that the MagicBand+ has been put on sale early at World of Disney. Before you run to Disney Springs, you should know that they were taken off the shelves quickly and are no longer for sale. (Thanks to Simonne C. for letting us know about this in the comments!)
Since the MagicBand+ wasn’t supposed to be sold yet, it’s likely that it’s not being sold anywhere else at Walt Disney World. As of yesterday, there were no plans to sell it at all this month. This product came out by mistake.
People who bought MagicBand+ can’t link them to their My Disney Experience accounts and use them at Walt Disney World because of this. Guest Services is telling these guests that they won’t be able to do this for two weeks when MagicBand+ will officially launch.
Aside from these reports, there’s no reason to think the MagicBand+ will come out in the middle of May 2022. So, it’s possible that the MagicBand+ linking feature will come out in a couple of weeks or that there will be a soft launch (which is different from this accidental release) before the official product launch in the summer of 2022. Either way, you won’t be able to buy a MagicBand+ at Walt Disney World in May 2022… Unless another shipment gets put on the shelves by mistake at another store!
We do have a few more MagicBand+ details to share based on the news that came out today. First, the solid “core colors” of MagicBand+ will cost $29.99 at retail. (There’s usually a pre-arrival discount for hotel guests, so expect this style to cost $19.99 or $24.99 once it’s in that system, which might not be right away.)
You can expect to pay more for designs that are only available for a limited time, like the Walt Disney World 50th Anniversary MagicBand+ styles. Like regular MagicBands, these are likely to start at $49.99 and go up from there.
What Does MagicBand+ Do?
So they look cool, but what do MagicBands and MagicBand+ actually do? MagicBand+ still does everything the older MagicBand+ did, and now it has even more features that guests will enjoy.
This is possible because MagicBand Plus uses brand-new technology and is much more advanced than the MagicBand 2.0 system.
Let’s look at all of MagicBand+’s features one by one:
Lightning Lanes & Virtual Queues
If you are using the Genie Plus system, your ride reservations are stored on your MagicBand. When you get to the entrance of the attraction, you scan your MagicBand into the ride line to confirm your reservation.
Just touch the sensor on your MagicBand to the tap style, and it will turn green, which means you’re good to go.
The same is true when you use the Virtual Queue to get on a ride. Just go to the entrance of the ride and touch your MagicBand to the tap point.
Once it’s out, MagicBand+ will work the same way for both Lightning Lanes and the Virtual Queue.
Park Tickets
Once your MagicBand is linked to your My Disney Experience account, you can use it to get into a theme park. You can get into the park if you touch the sensor on the taps tiles at the entrance.
Pay for Food and Merchandise
If you’re staying at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel, you can charge meals or products to your room using your MagicBand or MagicBand+ as a credit card. This simplifies things and eliminates the need to carry a wallet around all day to pay for stuff if you don’t want to.
Guest ID
Cast Members will sometimes ask you to scan your MagicBand to find out who you are. This is best shown when you drive into a theme park parking lot or one of the resort hotels.
If you have a reservation at one of the resort restaurants or are checking into your resort hotel, a Cast Member will scan your MagicBand at the entrance to the parking lot to make sure you should be there.
