Our sailing on the Disney Wish this June was one of the first ones that offered DisneyBand+ as an option for everyone onboard. In case you’re wondering, yes, it’s the exact same thing as a MagicBand+ in the theme parks, but I guess for trademark purposes, they had to say DisneyBand+ instead? I dunno, but if you have a MagicBand+ that you have used in the parks previously (not to be confused with the original version of MagicBands that do NOT vibrate or light up, it has to be the NEW version), you can totally use it on the ship, and no need to pay more for an additional band.
Is it an added cost?
I decided that we should try it out for our 3 night sailing because I wanted to be able to explain it better to everyone, and how better to explain it than to do it! I’m happy we got them and we were able to experience it, but I don’t know that it was worth the extra cost if I didn’t have that specific purpose in mind already. When I got our bands, I was a frugal consumer and bought us solid colored bands, no fancy decorated ones for our room. Even with the $10 presailing discount, the total for our two bands was still over $50! If we had gotten any of the DCL exclusive bands (which were very cute!), or any of the decorated bands (not DCL exclusive, but general Disney and WDW themed), it would have been at least $20 more because those bands were at a minimum $10 per band more expensive than the ones I got us!
Was your DisneyBand worth it?
As you know, going on a Disney Cruise is not something where you’re necessarily being frugal with your vacation money, so the added cost of the bands REALLY needs to get me some major bang for my buck if I’m going to feel it was worth while and rave about it. So, was it worth it to me for us to get bands for a 3 night sailing on the Disney Wish? Yes and No, but more No than Yes.
Say WHAT? That makes no sense!
Ok, so the reason I said yes and no is because there were some great benefits to having the bands, but I don’t think those benefits will outweigh the extra cost for most people at this initial stage in the roll out of the bands. Also keep in mind, it may not be available on your sailing. As of July 2023, the technology has only been rolled out to the Disney Wish and the Disney Fantasy, but they have stated that it will eventually be on all the ships. Additionally, they can only be purchased between 11 and 45 days before you set sail, so if you book last minute and are 10 days or less from your departure date, you will not be able to order any.
What are the benefits of DisneyBand+?
If you’re sailing on the Disney Wish, if you plan to spend ANY time in the Oceaneers Club and you are NOT between the ages of 3-12, you will NOT be able to build your own rollercoaster or make yourself into an Avenger without having your own personal DisneyBand+. You can watch your kids do it, if they are in the proper age groups, or you can watch other peoples kids do it, but you personally cannot scan anything to set up your own activities. My son and I spent about an hour and a half building coasters and turning into Avengers all on our own during our Castaway Day when the kids club was completely empty but open for an Open House time. It was seriously one of the BEST things about the cruise.
I also liked that my son did not need to get a separate Oceaneers Club band that we would be charged for and then have to remember to get a refund for before the last night of the cruise. Full disclosure, they STILL charged us for a band even though we did not actually receive a band, so we STILL had to visit and ask them to remove the charge. Sigh, you win some, you lose some. I think it was a kink in the system because kids using the club but not needing to get the DCL specific band is so new in the process that the computers didn’t know how to handle it, so I forgave them. Now, if it’s still happening 3-4 months down the line, then that will be annoying.
What if you’re not going to hang out in the kids club?
If you do not think you’re going to visit the Open House times in the kids club, think long and hard before you buy a band. As of our June sailing, which was only the third sailing of using the bands, we still needed our Key to the World card to get on and off the ship, plus you had to remove your band and give it to the servers if you were buying any drinks or food in one of the restaurants or lounges. They were able to scan my band from my wrist to purchase merchandise in the shops though, so hopefully they can translate that to food and drink purchases too at some point.
We did think it was neat to have the band light up and vibrate at key points during dinner at Worlds of Marvel, when you’re at Hyperspace Lounge and during fireworks or other things going on during the sailing, but was THAT a sufficient experience to warrant the extra per person cost? Not really in my opinion. Yes the photographers could scan my band to get our pictures attached to our account, but I can hand them my lanyard just as easily too…
So what’s the final verdict?
Ultimately, I say get the band if you’re going to play in the kids club during open house and you can’t play any other way. If you don’t want to carry around your Key to the World card to let yourself in your room, you don’t mind handing the band over each time you want to make a purchase in a bar or lounge, you’re REALLY into the vibrations and different light options that you can pick from for your band, and you’re cool with having to charge that thing EACH NIGHT and plan to use the glow as a nightlight in your room, then you’re probably the ideal customer for a DisneyBand+.
If you already have bands from a previous sailing, or visit to one of the Disney theme parks, and again, make sure it’s one of the PLUS bands that lights up and vibrates, not one of the ORIGINAL versions that does NOT light up or vibrate, for sure bring it with you and link it up to your Disney Cruise Line account.
If you don’t have bands from a previous trip, think about if you’re going to take another cruise and can use it again down the road, or if you’re also going to the parks before or after your cruise so you can get more usage out of it, then getting the family a band might be worth it. It does add a decent cost to your precruise expenses, but it’s also a fun souvenir you can use on future trips. I know I plan to use ours again on our sailing we are doing in September on the Disney Fantasy because the bands have been rolled out on that ship now too. It will be interesting to see the difference between the two ships for what you experience with them.
Thinking of heading out on a Disney Cruise Line vacation but you’re overwhelmed with where to start? No idea what ship to pick, or how long you want to go for? Not sure how to pick the perfect stateroom? Feel free to contact me today for help booking that vacation! I’ve sailed on more than 15 Disney Cruise Line vacations out of multiple ports, I’d love to help you out!
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