MagicBands and MagicBands 2 are plastic bracelets that contain RFID radios, in use at Walt Disney World Resort. The MagicBands form the central part of the MyMagic+ experience, providing a way for the system to connect data to guests. This includes connecting park tickets, hotel room keys, payments, and PhotoPass information to the MagicBands. The bands were announced on January 7, 2013 by Tom Staggs as a part of MyMagic+.
Development
MagicBands were developed alongside the MyMagic+ program as a way to tie all of the different elements of the program together. The MagicBand idea came at the start of the Next Generation Experience, when one of the original five members of the project, business development VP John Padgett, was on a flight between Burbank, the Walt Disney Company's headquarters, and Orlando, the location of Walt Disney World. Padgett saw a magnetic therapy wristband in a SkyMall magazine, which claimed to ease sore muscles "while simultaneously improving one's golf swing". He and the project team began considering the design of a wristband encoded with "everything a guest might need—park tickets, photos, coupons, even money". Soon afterward, they created a makeshift xBand using a velcro strip, a plastic liner, and an RFID tag. The original MagicBand design was created by Frog Design. The original design consisted of an outer plastic grey bracelet, which can be removed to adjust for a smaller sized wrist, and an inner plastic bracelet. The inner plastic bracelet is one of eight base colors, which can then have a series of different designs printed on them for an extra fee. Sealed inside of the middle of the inner band is the circuitry, consisting ofhigh frequency and ultra-high frequency antennas and a coin cell battery, all embedded on a PCB board. Directly outside of the circuitry is an outline of Mickey Mouse's head on the front, while the back includes the Band ID, the FCC ID number, and other information. On November 19, 2016, a new MagicBand design, MagicBand 2, was announced. The new design increases the size of the Mickey head and the circuitry area. This part, called the Icon, is able to be removed from the rest of the wristband with a special screwdriver and placed in other bands or special accessories such as a key-chain.
Implementation
Until January 1st, 2021, MagicBands are free to Disney Resort guests and annual passholders. While other guests receive a card with an RFID chip inside, they are able to purchase a MagicBand online or at the parks. Touchpoints, consisting of a ring with an outline of Mickey Mouse's head, are located at park entry points, Fastpass+ entry points, PhotoPass locations, and point of sales location. When a guest walks up to one, they place their MagicBand's circuitry location against the center of the ring, in order to engage the system. The ring and outline on the touchpoint will then light up green if access is granted, while it will turn blue if cast member assistance is required. Some special edition MagicBands with graphics printed on them will cause the touchpoints to light up different colors and make different noises instead of the default green, when access is granted. An example of this is the red lightsaberStar Wars themed MagicBand, which changed the default green to red. In normal settings, the touchpoints will never turn red, due to the negative connotation of the color. Handheld MagicBand readers are used at sit-down restaurants for point of sales and by PhotoPass photographers to link photos. These handheld readers do not have the light up features of the touchpoints. The MagicBands are also used to connect guests' on-ride photos to their PhotoPass using the long-range ultra-high frequency radio without guests having to use touchpoints to associate the pictures to their account. The MagicBands also allow guests to interact, using a system called Storymaker, with screens in rides or queues, such as it's a small world, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith, Haunted Mansion, and Expedition Everest. On February 13, 2017, it was announced that over 29 million MagicBands had been made.
Competitors
On November 3, 2016, Walt Disney World competitor Universal Orlando announced the TapuTapu system for their new water park, Volcano Bay. The system allows Volcano Bay guests to tap their wristbands to a touchpoint, which will then place them in a virtual queue. Fifteen minutes before their wait time is up, the device will vibrate to let the wearer know that they should head back to the attraction. However, guests have to return the TapuTapu at the end of the day, unlike Magicbands that can be kept and reused by the guests. In addition, an RFID wristband system, manufactured by the Slovene corporation Metra inženiring, is employed at the Blue Lagoon in Iceland as an entry pass, storage locker key, and payment method for food and drinks. However, similarly to the TapuTapu, the Blue Lagoon's RFID wristbands must be returned at the end of one's stay, and a recovery mechanism is appropriately installed in the exit turnstiles.
