Room Keys

[eandrsmom]

We have been using the Magicbands as our room keys for our last few trips and have been pleased with them. We have some friends that are going to be staying at a Disney resort for an upcoming convention. They are unsure if they will be going to the parks in the evenings and haven't purchased tickets. Will they be required to wear the grey Magicbands and use them as their keys, or can they still get a regular plastic key card?

[Fangorn]

You don't have to have tickets to get bands. You get bands if you have a reservation at a Disney resort.

That aside, you can still get key cards if you like. You don't have to wear or use the bands.

Steve

[eandrsmom]

Thanks! When I was explaining to them about Magicbands, MDE, online early check-in, etc. they didn't seem too thrilled. They asked if they could just get a plastic room key and check-in like they do at other hotels. I wasn't sure how to answer.

[Fangorn]

They will have to ask for key cards when they check in. They are not issued as a regular feature.

Steve

[Disney_Barbie]

I have a follow-up question : can one have both a key card & magic band both at the same time ?
I know this is odd, but my husband hates using his magic band at a table service restaurants, he just finds it annoying to have the server come over & scan his wrist. He much prefers to just slip a card into the bill.
But I also like when all our dining is on our room bill vs. individual credit card charges. So the old fashioned "key to the world" card was ideal.
But we do love the magic bands for quick purchases around the parks.
So is it possible to have them issue my a key to the world card, without it effecting the charging ability on the magic band - or do I have to choose one or the other?

[Goofy4TheWorld]

I have a follow-up question : can one have both a key card & magic band both at the same time ?

Yes!

You can go to the front desk and tell them you want the RFID cards (aka the old-school credit-card like keys) and they will print them for any person who wants one, and then they will see to it that those cards are linked to your MDE account just like a MagicBand is linked.

Assuming they do everything correctly, the "cards" and the "bands" may be used interchangeably, they system doesn't care which device you use to access your room, tickets, and charging privileges. Further, these cards last forever, so once you get them printed you can continue to reuse them on future trips without the need to get new ones, as long as they remain active on your MDE account. Having backup cards is also useful for "FastPass swapping" when a kid backs out of riding a ride, you can just use the card instead of swapping bands around. Backup cards would also be useful if you lost you MagicBand, you could use the cards until you had time to obtain a new band.

It's possible you may have to press the front desk CM to get this done, I recently got just a small amount of "I'm not sure we still do those" before someone else stepped over and got the job done for me.

[Fangorn]

So is it possible to have them issue my a key to the world card, without it effecting the charging ability on the magic band - or do I have to choose one or the other?

Yes. You can have both. Remember, all the REAL information is stored on your MDE account, NOT on the bands or cards. The bands/cards are merely a way to access your account. Any and all bands/cards active on your MDE account will work. They are all interchangeable. You can get a card to use at the restaurants if you want but also use your band at the parks or to open the door to your room.

Steve

[deedee73]

Thanks Steve I was wondering this too bc I hate things of any kind on my wrist (literally a phobia of sorts) and while I don't want to miss out on the MB experience not sure how long I could tolerate it either. Having the ability to have both would really help me.