Magic band battery. Just bought from Disney store/trip in October. - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
Welcome! We're happy you've found the PassPorter Community -- the friendliest place to plan your vacation to Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Line, Disneyland, and the world in general! You are now viewing the PassPorter Message Board Community as a guest, which gives you limited access. As our guest, feel free to browse our messages by selecting the forum you want to visit from the list below.
To post messages and ask questions, join our FREE community today and you'll get access to tools and resources not available to guests, such as our vacation countown timers, "living" avatars, private messaging system, database searches, downloads, and a special PassPorter discount code. Registration is fast, simple, and completely free. Just click the Join Our Community link.
If you think you've already joined, log in below now. If you don't remember your member name or password, please visit our Member Name and Password Recovery page. You are also welcome to contact us.
Location: Physically stuck in Michigan while my heart and soul reside in Disney.....
Posts: 2,680
Post Thanks / Like
Likes (Given): 16
Likes (Received): 11
Thanks (Given): 14
Thanks (Received): 0
Pixie Dust (Given): 0
Pixie Dust (Received): 0
Magic band battery. Just bought from Disney store/trip in October.
I have a strange question. I just bought a couple magic bands from the Disney site because they were on sale. I have heard battery life is 1-2 years. My trip is not until October.
If they were already marking them as "sale" and my trip is 5 months away......what if they don't work when we get there? I would be so bummed.
I know I will get regular magic bands from Disney a few weeks prior to my trip so I will have those to fall back on. I plan to use those util check in at the resort anyway then have them switched to the new ones. I know I can do that online but it just seems less risky to do it when I get there.
I would do what you plan to do & carry the ones you're sent with during the day for backup. The price combined with the fact that the battery isn't replaceable is why I wont buy one. And I'd love a Figment one.
I'd definitely keep the back up one handy in your bag or such, but I suspect you will be fine. By the way, you can have multiple magic bands linked to your name in your MDE account. There's no real reason not to go ahead and link them up. My account probably has about 5 or 6 linked. I sometimes switch them out when traveling just for the fun of it.
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
I'd definitely keep the back up one handy in your bag or such, but I suspect you will be fine. By the way, you can have multiple magic bands linked to your name in your MDE account. There's no real reason not to go ahead and link them up. My account probably has about 5 or 6 linked. I sometimes switch them out when traveling just for the fun of it.
This is us too; we each have three attached bands at the moment, and will be getting a new one on our upcoming trip. I agree that you should go ahead and attach them to your MDE account but definitely bring the backups.
The battery in a MagicBand only powers its long-range function, which is used in situations like ride photos, and food delivery at BoG.
Even if the batteries of your MagicBands are doa, you won't know until you go through a few attractions with automatic ride photos and they fail to show up in your PhotoPass account, or if you have lunch at BoG and the servers can't find you to deliver your food.
The close-range functions of a MagicBand which require you to tap the MagicBand against a reader - park entry, PhotoPass scanning, FastPass redemption, etc - are powered by the reader itself, so they will work essentially forever.
The battery in a MagicBand only powers its long-range function, which is used in situations like ride photos, and food delivery at BoG.
Even if the batteries of your MagicBands are doa, you won't know until you go through a few attractions with automatic ride photos and they fail to show up in your PhotoPass account, or if you have lunch at BoG and the servers can't find you to deliver your food.
The close-range functions of a MagicBand which require you to tap the MagicBand against a reader - park entry, PhotoPass scanning, FastPass redemption, etc - are powered by the reader itself, so they will work essentially forever.
That is interesting...I didn't realize there was such a difference in how the bands were "powered."
It would be really nice if they would make the batteries replaceable!!!
__________________
Jennifer / Eeyore is my favorite!!
OMG - He's sooooo grown up!!!! And an EAGLE SCOUT!! I can still remember my cute little Tiger Cub! 2016 Reading Goal - 75 books
Location: BELLEVIEW FLORIDA, ABOUT 70 MILES NORTH OF DISNEY
Posts: 442
Post Thanks / Like
Likes (Given): 24
Likes (Received): 4
Thanks (Given): 6
Thanks (Received): 2
Pixie Dust (Given): 1
Pixie Dust (Received): 0
I have bands that are over two years, or about and they still worked in the haunted mansion ride, with the new interaction at the end. It showed my name with the hitch hiking ghosts.
I have bands that are over two years, or about and they still worked in the haunted mansion ride, with the new interaction at the end. It showed my name with the hitch hiking ghosts.
Name-shmame! There should be an in-ride photo at that point. :::::grumble, gripe:::::
__________________
“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
Registered Message Board Members Get Our Free Newsletter! When you register you'll have the option to sign up for our weekly PassPorter Newsletter. It's chock-full of feature articles; news; tips; contests; photos; and special offers in our online store.
I really wish they lasted longer. There are so many fun ones I would love to have, but I cant justify the $25-$30. Oh well, I will just decorate my free ones.