buzznwoodysmom
12-03-2013, 12:37 PM
MagicBands convenience. As many others have reported the bands make several parts of vacation more convenient. I was one of those who felt it was no big deal to get the room keys out to get in the parks, the room, charge purchases, or get dining. I didn't see how these bands would make a big difference as far as convenience goes. I WAS WRONG. It was so much quicker and easier with the bands.
Getting into the room was great! The kids often run ahead of us to get in the room and I'd always have to fish their room keys out the purse. Not any longer. A major PLUS in my book.
Getting into the parks even easier! It was great to just walk through and not have to get keys out and then save them, making sure I have accounted for everyone's key. There were some guests that were having trouble, but we never encountered any issues at all getting into the parks. I don't know why, but many guests don't understand that there are two scanners at each "turnstile". I don't know how many times I heard other guests comment that they were "cut" in front of. People you can use both scanners!!!!!!! No need to all wait behind the first scanner you come to when there is another, perfectly fine scanner just 2 feet ahead.
Charging purchases. Again easier than ever. We had no issues and it made purchases quicker than in the past. Again another plus.
Dining plan. For the most part the dining plan worked really well with the bands. Counter Service was easy and we never had any problems. Again scanning was much quicker and easier than pulling and saving cards.
Table Service was a bit more challenging at times. Some TS locations didn't have scanners so we had to use the cards at those locations. I think this happened twice all week. The TS locations that did have scanners sometimes had to scan the bands several times before they got it to work. I think this had to do with internet connection, not really the bands. I did feel, especially with such a large group, that paying the bill and tips was quicker with the bands than with the cards. It seemed we were out of there quicker than in the past.
All in all I give the bands an A+ for convenience. They were easy to use and easy to wear. I am very particular about how things fit around my wrist and I barely could tell the band was there. My youngest son didn't like wearing it. He could tolerate it for a few hours, but then his wrist would get itchy and he had a very faint rash. Not sure why, maybe an allergy to something the band is made out of, but he was the only one in our group of 25 to have this problem. Also I know some people were worried about losing them. Out of 25 of us, and kids ranging in age from 8 months to 20 years old, not one person lost their band.
Getting into the room was great! The kids often run ahead of us to get in the room and I'd always have to fish their room keys out the purse. Not any longer. A major PLUS in my book.
Getting into the parks even easier! It was great to just walk through and not have to get keys out and then save them, making sure I have accounted for everyone's key. There were some guests that were having trouble, but we never encountered any issues at all getting into the parks. I don't know why, but many guests don't understand that there are two scanners at each "turnstile". I don't know how many times I heard other guests comment that they were "cut" in front of. People you can use both scanners!!!!!!! No need to all wait behind the first scanner you come to when there is another, perfectly fine scanner just 2 feet ahead.
Charging purchases. Again easier than ever. We had no issues and it made purchases quicker than in the past. Again another plus.
Dining plan. For the most part the dining plan worked really well with the bands. Counter Service was easy and we never had any problems. Again scanning was much quicker and easier than pulling and saving cards.
Table Service was a bit more challenging at times. Some TS locations didn't have scanners so we had to use the cards at those locations. I think this happened twice all week. The TS locations that did have scanners sometimes had to scan the bands several times before they got it to work. I think this had to do with internet connection, not really the bands. I did feel, especially with such a large group, that paying the bill and tips was quicker with the bands than with the cards. It seemed we were out of there quicker than in the past.
All in all I give the bands an A+ for convenience. They were easy to use and easy to wear. I am very particular about how things fit around my wrist and I barely could tell the band was there. My youngest son didn't like wearing it. He could tolerate it for a few hours, but then his wrist would get itchy and he had a very faint rash. Not sure why, maybe an allergy to something the band is made out of, but he was the only one in our group of 25 to have this problem. Also I know some people were worried about losing them. Out of 25 of us, and kids ranging in age from 8 months to 20 years old, not one person lost their band.