MagicBands Step by Step Guide

In our MagicBands 101 article we covered what MagicBands are, what they do, how you use them, where you can purchase them and more. And with MagicBand+, there are even more features to learn and love! Today we're going to take it further and provide a step by step guide on how to order and manage your MagicBands on the My Disney Experience website. 

If you haven't read our 101 article yet, here's a quick refresher on MagicBands: A MagicBand is an all-in-one device that can be used to open the door to your Disney Resort hotel room, enter the theme parks, add PhotoPass pictures to your account and charge food and merchandise purchases to your Disney Resort hotel room. This colorful wristband is your key to just about everything on your Walt Disney World vacation! 

Now that we've covered the basics, let's go through how to choose and manage your MagicBands. 

Choosing Your MagicBands

1. There are a couple ways you can get to the MagicBands page to choose your MagicBands. One way is to go to the My Plans page under the My Disney Experience tab on the Walt Disney World website. Scroll down the page and click on Choose Your MagicBands. (Important note: You'll need to make sure your Resort Hotel reservation is linked in order to choose your MagicBands.)

The other way you can select your MagicBands is by going to the My MagicBands and Cards page under the My Disney Experience tab. 

On the MagicBands and Cards page, you'll see a countdown with how many days you have left to complete your order. If you click on Why? you'll see more information on when you need to make your MagicBand selections. 

A pop-up window will appear showing the Shipping Timeline for receiving MagicBands. If you choose your MagicBands more than 11 days before arrival, your MagicBands can be shipped to your house. If you choose your MagicBands 10-6 days before your trip, your MagicBands will be shipped to your Resort. 5-1 days before your trip, MagicBands are unfortunately no longer available for selection. 

Once on the MagicBands and Cards page, click on the button Get Started and it will take you to the same page that is linked on the My Plans page by clicking on Choose Your MagicBands. 

2. This page is where you can choose (or decline) a MagicBand for each guest. Click on Select below the person you would like to make a selection for. 

3. Once you click on Select, you have a few ways you can search through the available MagicBands. You can either scroll through the available MagicBands by clicking on the arrow on the right side of the screen or Filter by Theme or Filter by Color. You can also click on Grid View to see all the MagicBands currently available. 

Filter Options

As you scroll through the available MagicBands, you can hover over the images to see the price for each band. Prices are subject to change but the current prices range from $10 plus tax for the solid color MagicBands up to $34.99 plus tax for some of the more elaborate MagicBand+ designs. Order your MagicBands or MagicBand+ before your vacation to take advantage of this special pre-arrival pricing. 

It's important to know that you do not have to purchase a new MagicBand before each trip. MagicBands are totally optional and they're also reusable so if you already have a MagicBand you can reuse it on a future trip. You'll see the option to Decline a New MagicBand under your name at the top of the page.  If only some people in your party want to purchase a new MagicBand, they can purchase a MagicBand and others can decline. 

If you or someone in your party wants to decline a new MagicBand, click on Decline a New MagicBand and then click on Decline Pre-Arrival Offer on the pop-up window. 

For our step by step guide, we're going to continue with purchasing some MagicBands. 

3. Once you find the MagicBand you want to purchase, click on that MagicBand. You will then see the option to customize your MagicBand with your name. There is a limit of 9 characters so you may have to use a nickname if your name is longer than 9 characters. After you enter your name, click Complete. 

4. Repeat those steps for the rest of the guests in your party until everyone has made a selection or declined a MagicBand. Once everyone has made a selection, you'll see a pop-up at the bottom of your screen letting you know there's One More Step! You can either click on Proceed to Checkout or Edit Selections. 

5. The Checkout page is where you can Complete Your Order. Review your MagicBand order and make sure all of the engravings are correct. You'll see an option to Edit the MagicBand if you change your mind or need to fix an engraving. Below the MagicBand Order section, you'll see those guests who have chosen to reuse their MagicBands. You can also edit your mailing address.

Scroll down the page and you can enter in your Payment Method. You'll need to enter in your Security Code if your credit card is already on file. You can also click on Use a Different Card if you want to enter a different credit card or click on Use this Card to use the card on file. Make sure you also check the box next to the Terms and Conditions. 

Once you've filled out the form, clicked on Use this Card and checked the box for Terms and Conditions, the green Purchase button will become active and you can click on Purchase to place your order. 

6. That's it! After you place your order you'll see a Congratulations page with your Order Number, Shipping Address and shipping timeline information if you've placed your order more than 11 days before your arrival date. You should also receive a confirmation email with your order and will receive an email once your order has shipped. 

Now that you know how to order your MagicBands, let's talk about managing your MagicBands. 

Managing Your MagicBands

1. First things first, you need to click on the My MagicBands and Cards page under the My Disney Experience tab. Scroll down past the Your MagicBand Order section to the Manage MagicBands or Cards section.

2. This is where you can find all of the MagicBands for everyone you manage under your My Disney Experience account. Next to each person's name you can see how many MagicBands or Cards they have. Click on the arrow next to your character icon to see all of your MagicBands. 

3. For each MagicBand in your account you have the option to Deactivate/Activate, or Report Lost. Multiple MagicBands can be assigned to one person so you do not need to deactivate an old MagicBand whenever you activate a new MagicBand. I've put in some dummy MagicBand IDs so you can see what this page looks like. 

All of your active MagicBands will have access to the benefits and entitlements you have in your account. MagicBands are interchangeable so as long as the MagicBands are active, you can bring multiple MagicBands on your trip and wear them whenever you'd like. (I like to match my MagicBand to my outfit each day!) 

Sometimes guests may lose or misplace a MagicBand and if this happens you'll want to click on the Report Lost button. This will prevent someone else from using your MagicBand. If you do find your MagicBand again, you can easily click on Report Found so that you can Activate your MagicBand once again. 

4. If you don't see one of your MagicBands in the Manage section, scroll down to the bottom of the page and you can Link a MagicBand by clicking on the Link button. On the next page you'll want to click on Select under MagicBand. 

Enter in the ID Number found on the interior of the Band and then click Next. From there you can Assign and Confirm that the MagicBand will be used by that individual. 

Have more questions about MagicBands? Leave use a comment with your question or make sure to read our MagicBands 101 article for more answers. 

Ashley Lehman

Ashley has been a Disney Parks fan from an early age and loves anything vintage Disney. You can email Ashley at ashley@kingdomkonsultant.com.