Off site Magic Band

There is no inherent benefit to having a band except for the convenience of it.

The bands are nothing more than a way to access your MDE account. It's that account to which you connect your tickets, FP+ and ADRs. Without the bands, you just use your ticket (the card you get when you buy your tickets). That card has the same chip technology in it as the bands so it's basically the same thing, only in a different form factor. The cards do everything the bands do.

The bands are very convenient though - they're always with your and your not constantly having to dig through a wallet or purse or pocket to get them.

Your decision is best made based on the cost vs the convenience.

Steve

twostep;2464932 wrote: Is it worth it to buy these for our family?

You're basically paying $12.95 (plus tax) per person to have your ticket on your wrist. Since you've got a group of 8, is it worth it for you to spend about $100 to have wristband tickets rather than plastic tickets?

Fangorn;2464935 wrote: There is no inherent benefit to having a band except for the convenience of it.

The bands are nothing more than a way to access your MDE account. It's that account to which you connect your tickets, FP+ and ADRs. Without the bands, you just use your ticket (the card you get when you buy your tickets). That card has the same chip technology in it as the bands so it's basically the same thing, only in a different form factor. The cards do everything the bands do.

No quite true. There are certain attractions that the bands allow you to get ride photos and videos from, that you will not be able to get if you just have a ticket. 7DMT and TOT both pop to mind with the ride video, and with 7DMT you can not even get a ride photo without a Magic Band. So you need to factor ride photos/ and videos into your decision about the magic bands.

Speedy1998;2464969 wrote: No quite true. There are certain attractions that the bands allow you to get ride photos and videos from, that you will not be able to get if you just have a ticket. 7DMT and TOT both pop to mind with the ride video, and with 7DMT you can not even get a ride photo without a Magic Band. So you need to factor ride photos/ and videos into your decision about the magic bands.

You're right, of course. That is the one difference - the bands have a second RFID chip - a transmitter and are capable of short range communication which allows for photos and videos to be remotely connected to your account. You can still get ride photos with the card (but not the videos). You just have to stop at the counter and connect them manually instead of it being automatic.

Except for 7DMT, as you point out. Those photos are available only via the bands.

Assuming you care about ride photos and videos (they're not a big deal for us), you could get around this by just buying 1 band for your group and connecting it to your MDE account. Not everyone in the party has to have a band. One is sufficient. And for this purpose, the band doesn't even have to be worn by the same person.

Steve

We'll be stay offsite this december. We've used the bands previously while staying onsite and we'll purchase them this time for our group. We enjoyed the convenience of having the bands for entrance to the park and for fast pass plus. For the $12 a band it seems worth it for our 7 day trip.