How important are MB and LL?

[sam_gordon]

We're doing a family trip in June. Since it's been a while since we've been, I'll have a bunch of questions. Right now, DW & I are debating MB. Trying to figure out if they're "worth it". Factoring in to the discussion is in addition to the two of us, DD#1, DSiL, DS, DSFiance, and DD#2 are all going. So we have the choice of telling the kids (youngest 18) if they want MB, they can buy them, or we buy for them. Obviously $35-50 each for seven people add a chunk of change. So it comes down to functionality. Is it just "cool" or is it really that much better than just using room key?

LL (whether single or multiple) also factors in. We're staying on site and at a deluxe resort, so hoping to utilize EEH, but don't know what parks that will be available for. SOME people might use Early Entry, don't know. LLMP sounds like a decent price for a single person, but when you add multiple people and multiple days, that cost can explode.

The plan is 5 day park passes (not hoppers), so one park can be hit a 2nd day.

At this point, DS and DD#2 don't have jobs (still in college, but looking), so don't have solid income. If we buy for one we sort of feel we need to buy for all.

Random ramblings in the beginning of January.

TIA

 

[Dave006]

So we have the choice of telling the kids (youngest 18) if they want MB, they can buy them, or we buy for them. Obviously $35-50 each for seven people add a chunk of change. So it comes down to functionality. Is it just "cool" or is it really that much better than just using room key?

MB usage is convenient but there are other factors to consider. No it is not required to enjoy the parks. You can request free RF Cards to use your tickets for park entry, and to tap in at LL attractions. You can also use your smartphone for both park entry and to tap in to LL attractions. Do any of your group regularly wear watches or fitness trackers? Wearing the additional MB means using your other wrist which come people don't like or want to bother.

You can always purchase MB+ for all or let them purchase them once they get to WDW and decide if they think the convenience is worth it or not. They are not for everyone.

MB for charging purchase to your resort portfolio is quick and somewhat convenient but so is just using a CC or your smartphone for Mobile purchases or any point of sale in stores.

LLMP sounds like a decent price for a single person, but when you add multiple people and multiple days, that cost can explode.

First you don't need to purchase LLMP and/or LLSP for everyone traveling or even for each park. I would not purchase LLMP for AK or Epcot due to limited value overall. LLSP are just for guests that chose to ride attractions with LLSP. You can also make use of free VQ or simply wait in the Standby queue for LLSP attractions that offer it.

Dave

 

[LKing]

I haven't used it myself, but you might look into Disney Magic Mobile Service. It is where you can use your Apple watch as a MB.

 

[scrappinginontario]

We don't find that MB are needed. They are a bit more convenient than a KTTW card but not enough for us to justify the cost until they fix some of the current problems with MB+ - bands coming undone and short battery life. For not we use our old MB but if we did not have those I would request a KTTW card.

For us we sometimes purchase LLMP for MK and DHS. We have never purchased a LLSP. With 5 day non-hopper passes, if possible I would try to budget to purchase LLMP for DHS and possibly one day at MK. I would purchase those for as late in our trip as possible in order to have the best selection of LLs when purchasing.

 

[nherbert]

We're doing a family trip in June. Since it's been a while since we've been, I'll have a bunch of questions. Right now, DW & I are debating MB. Trying to figure out if they're "worth it". Factoring in to the discussion is in addition to the two of us, DD#1, DSiL, DS, DSFiance, and DD#2 are all going. So we have the choice of telling the kids (youngest 18) if they want MB, they can buy them, or we buy for them. Obviously $35-50 each for seven people add a chunk of change. So it comes down to functionality. Is it just "cool" or is it really that much better than just using room key?

LL (whether single or multiple) also factors in. We're staying on site and at a deluxe resort, so hoping to utilize EEH, but don't know what parks that will be available for. SOME people might use Early Entry, don't know. LLMP sounds like a decent price for a single person, but when you add multiple people and multiple days, that cost can explode.

The plan is 5 day park passes (not hoppers), so one park can be hit a 2nd day.

At this point, DS and DD#2 don't have jobs (still in college, but looking), so don't have solid income. If we buy for one we sort of feel we need to buy for all.

Random ramblings in the beginning of January.

TIA

we are here December/january, so December experience may relate crowd wise to June. You don’t need magic bands, they are just more convenient - though a lanyard for ticket is probably same. I would suggest don’t pre purchase and individuals who want them buy their own when here. Use money for LLSP or LLMP, because this is something you all need to purchase at same time, so if you are paying for group it would be easy.

We discovered that early entry to AK meant no need for LLSP or LLMP. If no early entry and if you want to do FoP, then LLSP for that is Best Buy. The rest you can queue.
For Epcot, LLSP for guardians is a good buy, if you also are lucky with VQ you can do it twice. If you want to do both Remy and frozen then LLMP is pretty useful, unless you want to queue for 90minutes for each.
For both HS and MK there are rides we want to do that can have long queues so we use LLMP, and LLSP for tron.

Having LLMP has meant we don’t have to rope drop and can get there around 10am, do rides, schedule more rides, have lunch, do rides.

We have seen no need for the more expensive LLPP, as we don’t want to ride every ride.

 

[godfather927]

Just got done with our first trip using the LLMP system, was there for 8 days, but 2 of the days were more or less hotel days where we let the kids enjoy the pool (even though it was cold), I've put together some thoughts below:

• For the way we prefer to enjoy the parks, it's way worse than Genie+ was. I know not everyone will agree, but for us, we were able to get wayyy more rides in with G+ than with this system.
• The cost is different by park so you almost need to make a list of the rides you absolutely can't miss, the ones you'd like to ride but aren't must haves, and then the ones that would be a bonus but not anything you'd miss if you can't get them. Use this list to cross check the sell-out times for your listed rides from a comparable crowd day using thrill data as a reference.
• Assume you can get your booked Tier 1 and Tier 2 rides, and then maybe one other Tier 1 and another Tier 2, then break down the cost by assigning it proportionally to each ride and see if that cost is "worth it" to you. For me, it was worth it on some days, but less so on others.
• Not sure if Test Track will be back up by then, but as it stands now, there's little point in paying for LLMP with the Tiers at Epcot unless you really want either Remy or Frozen. Which at that point, you're almost basically paying LLSP for one of those rides on that day
• Because of the tier system, park hopping is now needed more than ever to help get the most value from LLMP. Mostly because all the Tier 1 rides may be sold out at a certain park you started the day in, but other parks may still have Tier 1 rides available, giving you the option to hop over and still get some decent value for your LLMP price. Bonus value if you paid for AK LLMP prices, swiped into them in the morning, and then snagged one or two Tier 1s at MK for the afternoon/evening.
• Though the 7 day booking window does allow some level of "preplanning" of your days, the unpredictable nature of which rides will be available for your 4th or 5th bookings still force you to improvise in a similar way that you had to do with Genie+ so don't get too locked into a particular plan or strategy if you want to maximize your value
• We just went during one of the busiest weeks of the year, so standby lines were all very long and we did save a good amount of time by using LLs but the crowds were also the cause of LL shortages so it's tough to gauge how useful it is due to the same reason. One example of shortages was that all Tier 1 rides, at all 4 parks, were sold out by 11:30am on Jan 3rd with the exception of Soarin which we had already done the day prior. So I booked it again just to get some value out of the cost but hard to justify the MK price we paid, and we wouldn't have been able to book it at all had we not had park hoppers.
• In summary: It's not as good of a value as Genie+ was, but with early morning bookings and park hopping, it can be worth it.

As for magic bands, the only notable benefit to them over the plastic keycards is the convenience of not having to dig them out of your wallet for each LL, and that some rides like Tron require them to link photos. There is supposedly a way to have photos linked with your phone but after 8 days of trying we could never figure out how to get that part to work, and the only photos that got linked from the times we rode Tron and Guardians was to my MB+ (when it was charged). There's also the golden statues thing and the color effects during certain rides but that's hardly anything worth paying that much money for.

 

[Kooks and Bay Bay]

My vote for MB is first if you have old ones just use them.
If they want new ones or you don't have old ones then I'd say tell them to buy their own or just go to the front desk and ask for a KTTW card. Tickets and room can also be accessed on your phone.

For LL If EVERYONE is gonna go on the same rides at the same time then one person should buy all.
If everyone is doing their own thing then again whoever wants it can choose to purchase it.

I also think that with the ones that don't have jobs and are still in college you could offer to pay for things and should not feel like its an all or nothing with all the kids.
If others have their own money they can pay for the extras so that its less of a financial strain on you.

EEH depends on when you go. Much of the time its Epcot on Monday and MK on Wednesday.
To me EEH is well worth it at MK and its ok for EPCOT.

 

[sam_gordon]

While we do have some MB, they are circa 2016. My understanding is the odds are HIGH that they won't work.

 

[scrappinginontario]

While we do have some MB, they are circa 2016. My understanding is the odds are HIGH that they won't work.

They will work for basically everything except ride photos. They will work for park entrance, room entrance, charging to your account. You will want your phone to have the MDE Bluetooth turned on to pick up ride photos.

 

[sam_gordon]

They will work for basically everything except ride photos. They will work for park entrance, room entrance, charging to your account. You will want your phone to have the MDE Bluetooth turned on to pick up ride photos.

Really? OK. That's good. I found 3 (of the original 6 we had. lol)

 

[HeiHei2018]

While we do have some MB, they are circa 2016. My understanding is the odds are HIGH that they won't work.

Do your MB have the removable round puck that can separate from the band? If so, they should work fine (except ride photos but turn on phone Bluetooth and you are good). If they are the first-generation ones that were a single straight piece of plastic, they will probably work, but you have to reactivate them in MDE. It’s just a few clicks, but Disney deactivated them all last year to encourage MB+ purchases.

 

[sam_gordon]

Do your MB have the removable round puck that can separate from the band? If so, they should work fine (except ride photos but turn on phone Bluetooth and you are good). If they are the first-generation ones that were a single straight piece of plastic, they will probably work, but you have to reactivate them in MDE. It’s just a few clicks, but Disney deactivated them all last year to encourage MB+ purchases.

No. Nothing removable that I can see. I believe they're 1st generation. Let me see if I can attach a picture (with no identifying info)...

 

[Dave006]

No. Nothing removable that I can see. I believe they're 1st generation. Let me see if I can attach a picture (with no identifying info)...

Yes those are the original MB and will work for the person that they were used by based on your MDE Account profile. And as @HeiHei2018 posted please check your MDE Account profile under MagicBands & Cards to verify that they are "Activated".

Dave

 

[Minnie1222]

For the way we prefer to enjoy the parks, it's way worse than Genie+ was. I know not everyone will agree, but for us, we were able to get wayyy more rides in with G+ than with this system.

I agree! with LLMP we had fewer rides, longer times between redemptions, and rides not available until much later in the day. This reminded me of the earlier days of Genie+, which means a price increase will be coming soon.

 

[Dave006]

This reminded me of the earlier days of Genie+, which means a price increase will be coming soon.

A price increase is always coming for anything at WDW (resorts, tickets, food, and now LLMP and/or LLSP or LLPP) just like death and taxes.

Dave

 

[Smugpugmug]

Tbh if you're not a frequent visitor you don't need a Magicband+. The old ones you have or a room key are fine. They light up one some rides (ex. Frozen) and during the fireworks but that's not really worth the additional cost. I do like that you can charge them so that the battery doesn't die for ride photos like the old ones do but a room key will suffice.

I used LLMP this weekend and thought it sucked in comparison to Genie+. I REALLY can't believe I'm saying this but........I miss Genie+ LOL. But I think it'd be good for HS and MK and a waste of money for Epcot and AK unless you're going during Christmas or Easter. If you want for AK, you could only buy the single pass for FOP and standby everything else but if you're willing to get to the park at the crack of dawn you can hop on FOP without a super long wait.

 

[Minnie1222]

I used LLMP this weekend and thought it sucked in comparison to Genie+. I REALLY can't believe I'm saying this but........I miss Genie+ LOL.

I said the same thing...out loud at MK. People probably thought I was crazy.

I look forward to trying LLMP at Disneyland. From what I read, it is Genie-esque.

 

[LKing]

delete

 

[scrappinginontario]

Please ensure discussion in this thread remains about WDW. We don’t want to cause unnecessary confusion.

Those looking to discuss DL may do so in the DL forum.

Thanks.

 

[LKing]

Please ensure discussion in this thread remains about WDW. We don’t want to cause unnecessary confusion.

Those looking to discuss DL may do so in the DL forum.

Thanks.

Got it. I'll edit my post.