By Soarin’ Diva
If you haven’t heard the news yet that complimentary Magic Bands will be a thing of the past when 2021 hits, allow this to be your official notification. Walt Disney World is implementing the ability for you to use My Disney Experience on your phone for literally everything when you are at the parks. It will be your ticket to scan your way into the parks, your FastPass to get you through the lines quicker, your way to pay for snacks and meals…everything.
If you are like me, though, you may actually prefer using the Magic Bands to using your phone for every little thing. I usually have my phone put away in my bag when I’m not trying to nab extra FastPasses. The reason I usually keep it put away is that I tend to wear shorts that don’t have pockets and I don’t want to carry it in my hand constantly, setting myself up to accidentally leaving it behind on a ride or something else that would not make my vacation magical. I find the ease and convenience of the Magic Band unbeatable. As a matter of fact, I wish I had one that worked in everyday life.
So, what are our options for 2021 as far as Magic Bands go? You can still use any Magic Bands you currently have in your possession, or you can purchase a new one. They are only ending the complimentary Magic Bands that usually comes with the Disney vacation packages you book, but they will still have plenty for you to pay for out of pocket. You can either purchase different designs online at shopdisney.com or, if you decide to wait until you arrive for your vacation, there are Magic Bands in almost every store on Disney property.
Another option to get a unique and specially designed Magic Band is D-Tech On Demand. What is D-Tech On Demand? These are kiosks located within shops in Walt Disney World Parks and Disney Springs where you can pick a design of your choice on a computer screen and it will etch the design for you. You just have to come back later in the day, pick up your personalized Magic Band from a Cast Member in the shop, link the Magic Band to your account on My Disney Experience and you are now ready to scan that baby on anything and everything!
The great thing about D-Tech On Demand is they offer designs that aren’t already in the shops, so your Magic Band can be a little more unique than most you see gracing the wrists of others. D-Tech On Demand also offers options of phone cases for iPhones.
I can’t seem to find a list of all of the Disney shops that have D-Tech On Demand kiosks, but I can tell you where we found the one we used to design our Magic Bands as well as a few others. I’m sure there are most likely plenty more kiosks you can design your Magic Bands or phone cases at, but again, I can’t find an actual list of the locations. The locations I do know about are: Star Wars Launch Bay at Hollywood Studios, Marketplace Co-Op at Disney Springs, Tomorrowland Light & Power Co (where we designed our bands) at the Magic Kingdom, and Frontier Trading Post at the Magic Kingdom.
The pricing of the Magic Bands on our last visit ran at $24.99 for a customized Magic Band and $29.99 for a personalized Magic Band.
Pricing for the iPhone cases were $29.99 for a standard phone case, $34.99 for a specialized phone case and you can add another $5.00 to the price if you want to personalize the case with your name. Of course, these prices are subject to change, so I can’t guarantee these will be the prices when the parks open back up.
I’m sure my husband and I will opt to design another Magic Band on our next visit (a very long 326 days away) if we aren’t able to find one on ShopDisney.com or one in the shops that we really like. How about you? Have you customized a Magic Band at D-Tech On Demand or do you just prefer the bands you can buy online or in the shops?
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Soarin Diva
Hi, I'm a Disney loving wife and mom to two awesome Devos. We love all things Disney and when we aren't at WDW, we are usually planning our next trip there! I love to give tips on how to make your WDW trip better.
How can I order two customize magic bands since I live in Texas
Hi! At the moment, these particular customized bands are in-park or Disney Springs only. You can check the ShopDisney.com website and search their many Magic Band designs though. They usually have a wide variety and update them often. I hope this helps!
my son bought me an SE iphone mickey personalized cover at your store several weeks ago
i’m not able to use it since it causes my phone to get extremely hot…have had to start using my old cover and the phone is fine now…CAN anything be done like a return and reimbursement?
Hi Gayle,
I just wanted to let you know that we are a fan-based website, we don’t actually have any affiliate with Walt Disney World or D-Tech on Demand. My suggestion would be to call the Walt Disney World guest service line if your son bought the phone case at Walt Disney World. The number I found for that is 407-939-2273. If your son purchased the case at a Disney Store that is not on Disney property, I would reach out to that store it was purchased at. I have found that the Disney company is very easy to work with when it comes to returns, so I’m confident they can help you!
Soarin’ Diva
Gayle- Good Morning, this is a fan based site so when you say “your” store you aren’t contacting Disney directly, you would need to do that directly via phone or email.