Bling Out Your MagicBand: Stay Comfy and Secure With Tips and Tricks 12

 in Pages from a Disney Book  tagged BandIts / costume / CoverBands / MagicBand / MagicSliders by

MagicBandSliderOne question I was asked frequently while touring Walt Disney World with the MagicBand was, “How does it feel? How do you like it?”

Well, I have to be completely honest here. It felt “okay.”

Not great. Not horrible. But okay.

I’ve never been a big fan of anything on my wrists. I haven’t worn a watch for more than 20 years. I have no bracelets. I only tolerate those sticky paper wristbands because I have to, but they tend to pull and irritate my sensitive skin.

It’s clear, however, that a lot of thought went into the design of the MagicBand. It’s hypoallergenic, and indeed I had no reaction to it. It’s soft. It’s flexible. It’s smooth. It’s waterproof. It’s heat-resistant. It’s tough. It’ll fit a wide circumference of wrists from 5″-10″.

So just how did it feel to wear the MagicBand?

Basically it felt comfortable except for the feel of the rubber material on my skin — I think this was a personal sensitivity. So I went to one of the resort stores to check out the MagicBand display, as I knew there were accessories. Available for sale are BandIts (small decorative elements that fit into one of the holes in your band-$6.95-$8.95), MagicSliders (frames and icons that you slide up your band-$12.95 or $14.95/3-pack), and CoverBands (fabric sleeves that can partially or completely cover your band-$6.95 or $15.95/3-pack).


MagicBand Display at Pop Century
I bought a CoverBand, hoping the fabric would feel better against my skin — and it definitely helped! We also bought some MagicSliders (one each for me and Alexander) and some Phineas & Ferb BandIts. Here are our blinged out MagicBands:


Our MagicBands

Note: While I preferred the feel of the fabric against my skin, I found that the CoverBand made it hard to tell where my Mickey icon was on the band — and it’s important you “touch Mickey to Mickey” when you’re tapping your MagicBand in various places around the resort. One solution is to slide the CoverBand around so that everything is covered except the Mickey icon. Or you can just be lazy like me and guess at where it is (you can slide your fingers over the fabric to locate the section) — that worked most of the time for me.

What about keeping the MagicBand on?

Alexander had no issues, but my MagicBand fell off three times. Each time it was while I was putting on my backpack — the strap of the pack would catch on the MagicBand and when I tugged too hard, the MagicBand would come undone and fall off my wrist. I never hurt the band, but it was still pretty annoying. I worried about not noticing, or having it pop off while I was near water (the MagicBand is waterproof, but it does not float). So my solution was to slide my MagicSlider over the connection point on the band to keep it secure, like this:


My MagicBand with a slider over the connection point to keep it more secure.
If you don’t want to buy a MagicSlider just to keep your MagicBand on, stop at the Concierge Desk at your resort and explain you’re having issues keeping your band on. They may have a solution for you. When I asked, I was given this small, glow-in-the-dark slider with “2013” and a Mickey Head on it, which worked great.


MagicBand with 2013 Slider
Alexander was quite concerned that his BandIts would fall out, and it turns out he had reason to be concerned — one of his BandIts was lost while he was wearing it. We heard from Sara that a Cast Member suggested we make sure the BandIts are pushed into the holes firmly when the MagicBand is off the wrist — when they are put on while being worn, they may not be pushed in as securely as they should. This makes a lot of sense — I saw Alexander playing and fussing with his BandIts and I think it’s likely he loosened them. Keep this in mind and avoid tears!

Now that I see how simple the CoverBands are, it would be quite simple to make one at home if you’re crafty. And if you make one, why not go the extra step and make it super awesome? Halloween is approaching and you could definitely make a little costume for your MagicBand. How about a princess CoverBand with satin and tulle? Or a pirate CoverBand red and white stripes and a little eyepatch? Or maybe a trendier CoverBand? Or one to match every outfit?  I’ve written up a tutorial on how to make your own CoverBand, both a no-sew and sewn version!

More MagicBand photos:


About Jennifer Marx

Jennifer Marx is the author of more than 50 travel guides and the recipient of more than a dozen awards. She is also the co-founder and co-creator of PassPorter.com, an active community of enthusiastic travelers. Her amazing son, Alexander, is the subject of many of her posts and thoughts on family travel. You can find her on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Google+.

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12 thoughts on “Bling Out Your MagicBand: Stay Comfy and Secure With Tips and Tricks”

  • Reply ↓
    Kris

    Thank you so much for the write up on the MagicBands. We were at WDW in August and didn’t need to wear one then so I was concerned about how it would be when they become mandatory. I like the cloth cover and will definately purchase one of those when I have to wear a MagicBand but the other decorations would drive me crazy. The pictures in your post really help me realize this won’t be as bad as I thought.

  • Reply ↓
    Tina Schaefer

    Quick question about child safety. I always make my son (4yrs) wear a Road ID identification band incase he is ever separated from us. It has his name, age, and our contact #s. Do you know if his MagicBand would have all of this information? If he were to become lost could a CM scan it and tell who he is and how we can be contacted?

    • Reply ↓
      Jennifer Marx Post author

      Disney has not make any official announcements about whether the MagicBands can be used to find lost children at Walt Disney World, but … it certainly makes sense that they can, now doesn’t it? Our MagicBands were scanned many times by Cast Members, and I honestly have no doubt that if my son had gotten lost and was wearing his MagicBand, that a Cast Member could have had his MagicBand scanned to help him get reunited. So, nothing official, but I certainly think so. The only thing is that only Disney can identify you via your MagicBand, for your own security — no one else can match up your ID on your MagicBand to Disney’s database but Disney. So you may want to keep the usual identification on him as that will (presumably) work anywhere.

  • Reply ↓
    Becky B

    I would love to see a tutorial on making cover bands. I am going with family to Disney World in less than 2 months and we just learned we will be getting Magic Bands. I am excited to try them out.

  • Reply ↓
    Linda Rodecap

    I, too would like a tutorial on making the cover bands. Rubber tends to irritate my skin. We are leaving next Saturday and we are excited to try them out.

  • Reply ↓
    Laura

    I’m glad to see this article & was thrilled when I read that like me you hate having things on your wrist. Based on your review it sounds like wearing one would be tolerable especially with a fabric cover added to it.

  • Reply ↓
    Emma

    What is this magic band for? Sorry but as my summer disneyland trip had to be cancelled due to throat surgery i have been bitter and not listening to your podcast 🙁

  • Reply ↓
    Mike

    Wife and I just returned from a 7 day trip to WDW. LOVED the MagicBands–very convenient. The one thing that we were thinking is that they should make a wristwatch slider for the band. We’ve both stopped wearing watches on a day to day basis, but at WDW, where clocks are few and far between other than at the attraction entrances, we realized that pulling our phones out was a pain…