Will DCL use magic bands

[Bjn10]

So it is highly recommended by CLIA that Cruise lines have the ability to contact trace potential COVID cases on board, with Disney’s existing technology in MB’s I could see a situation were they require everyone to wear a MB onboard to help with tracing. They could advertise it as an update

 

[pumpkinqueen93]

Hey. If it's a magic band that I can keep, customize, get my own. I'd be okay with it if they switched from the key card to magic bands. Even though the card tells you important information. Can't see why they would use both tho. In one way I prefer the card because of the information it tells you. Unless somehow they make them like an apple watch with all the information you need on a screen.

 

[AquaDame]

Maybe - the kids already have bands for their clubs. The tech is there.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Maybe - the kids already have bands for their clubs. The tech is there.

Of course, you'd have to get everyone to wear them.

 

[KT2038]

I don’t think they would use Magic Bands. But if they ever do, I hope the CMs get to use them too!

 

[cgolf]

I so hope that all cruise lines stick to the cards. I still have all my cards from my 16 cruises and my 1 trip to Disney World stored in a binder. Every once in a while it is cool to pull out as it brings back a lot of good memories Would be difficult to fit the magic bands in the binder

 

[FigmentSpark]

More likely, they'll add it to the app, which I don't like. It means everyone has to bring their own device and carry it around the ship. I'd much rather a magic band or a card.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I so hope that all cruise lines stick to the cards. I still have all my cards from my 16 cruises and my 1 trip to Disney World stored in a binder. Every once in a while it is cool to pull out as it brings back a lot of good memories Would be difficult to fit the magic bands in the binder

Chances are the cards aren't going away anytime soon. Even if they adopt a band for whatever reason. The card is used for re-entry to the port areas in many foreign ports. There's no way DCL is going to invest in the technology & training necessary in multiple foreign ports to be able to read the bands.

 

[pumpkinqueen93]

Maybe have the bands be used for everything on the ship, payment, opening your room door, tracking, and the card can just be used for getting on and off the ship.

 

[lilsonicfan]

Maybe have the bands be used for everything on the ship, payment, opening your room door, tracking, and the card can just be used for getting on and off the ship.

this is how it worked on our MSC cruise. Only needed the cards for getting on and off but the bands worked everywhere else. Handy !

 

[pumpkinqueen93]

this is how it worked on our MSC cruise. Only needed the cards for getting on and off but the bands worked everywhere else. Handy !

More likely to see DCL do it this way then. Maybe I should start looking into Magic Bands.

 

[Marc D]

So it is highly recommended by CLIA that Cruise lines have the ability to contact trace potential COVID cases on board, with Disney’s existing technology in MB’s I could see a situation were they require everyone to wear a MB onboard to help with tracing. They could advertise it as an update

Will they move to MB’s for onboard usage ? Maybe or maybe not. They have resisted until now even if MB’s have been used in WDW since 2013. The goal in WDW was to help with FP+ implementation, facilitate impulse purchases and streamline Photopass operations. They are still not used in DL because the guests’ profile is very different - it is a local park instead of a destination - and they have very little incentive to upgrade the resort. The profits from the bands do not seem to justify the costs there to this day. They also announced they are moving away from the bands in WDW, by not including them with hotel reservations beginning January 2021. They will move the functionalities to the WDW app.

Outside of the novelty of the bands, there is little use for them onboard. Other lines that released an equivalent - Princess and RCCL come to mind - still haven’t made them mandatory and mainly use them to project a modern image. There is very little added advantages for the cruiseline. The RFID in the card, which will still be required for shore access, does as good a job and costs a lot less to produce.

As for contact tracing, I don’t think the technology on the bands themselves is sufficient. All it contains is a short-range and a long-range radio emitter. The bands cannot record information, which is required for them to be self-sufficient. They would need to add sensors all over the ship, then record all the places the bands have been. They would then need to cross-check long-term exposures - two specific bands being near one another for more than a few seconds - with reported cases. It would also mean that DCL keeps a record of your physical location on the ship at all times, which might turn off some guests.

Contact tracing apps released by governments and implemented by Apple and Google in their phones are anonymous and use the BLE antenna to exchange random codes with other phones. Some governments have released pucks that can do the same thing, but they also include a Bluetooth antenna and use the same software. When I read the recommandation, I immediately came to the conclusion they would issue such devices and make wearing them mandatory.

 

[daedelus]

I actually asked one of the engineering officers about this a couple of years ago. He said that it wouldn't happen at all / any time soon because the tech they use is different.

Currently, the MBs are only used for kids checking in/out of the Oceaneer's areas. Those are easy, as there are only a couple of entry / exit points. But all of the doors and point of sale systems where they use the KTTW card are on a different system, chip and frequency. The cost to replace these and the infrastructure behind them is very high.

The other thing he mentioned was that cards are easy and cheap to replace - MBs are not. If you lost your MB, you'd have to pay the $15-20 (whatever they cost) for a new one. Oh, and you can't get back into your room until you do...

IMHO, I'm just fine with the KTTW cards. Easy to slip into your pocket!

 

[DisneYE]

I actually asked one of the engineering officers about this a couple of years ago. He said that it wouldn't happen at all / any time soon because the tech they use is different.

Currently, the MBs are only used for kids checking in/out of the Oceaneer's areas. Those are easy, as there are only a couple of entry / exit points. But all of the doors and point of sale systems where they use the KTTW card are on a different system, chip and frequency. The cost to replace these and the infrastructure behind them is very high.

The other thing he mentioned was that cards are easy and cheap to replace - MBs are not. If you lost your MB, you'd have to pay the $15-20 (whatever they cost) for a new one. Oh, and you can't get back into your room until you do...

IMHO, I'm just fine with the KTTW cards. Easy to slip into your pocket!

I also love the kttw, its so convenient.. but it wouldn't work for tracing purposes as it doesn't have a chip like the bands...the technology is already there on the bands, it would be very expensive to put in place a new one for cards... but its doable & I'd much rather a card than a band.

 

[MomOTwins]

I would prefer a magic band. Easier to swim with in pools/hot tubs or on excursions or CC. And in the Covid world, would be nice to simply hold out an arm to cashier rather than taking off the lanyard (I certainly won’t be doing the lean-in-your-face-close move so they can scan the lanyard while wearing it). Plus when I hand wash the band gets clean too—sanitize-wiping down a lanyard sounds annoying.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

I also love the kttw, its so convenient.. but it wouldn't work for tracing purposes as it doesn't have a chip like the bands...the technology is already there on the bands, it would be very expensive to put in place a new one for cards... but its doable & I'd much rather a card than a band.

The card now has a chip, has had for a couple of years.

 

[DisBNewB]

The card now has a chip, has had for a couple of years.

Can confirm that the cards have an RFID chip in them, as I somehow managed to kill mine while on our WDW excursion last year, stopped working for fast pass, they had to manually check me on to the bus back and on to the ship, and then I had to get a replacement. The CM who got me a new one was impressed - said the chips are really hard to kill. Apparently I'm just talented.

 

[lanejudy]

They also announced they are moving away from the bands in WDW, by not including them with hotel reservations beginning January 2021. They will move the functionalities to the WDW app.

While it's true MBs will not be free for WDW resort guests, I believe either a band or a hard ticket will be required within the parks to charge purchases to your room and once things like FP+ return. They aren't "moving away" from MBs as much as they've indoctrinated folks to want a MB and will buy one. The app does open resort doors for those who don't wish to buy a band but i don’t believe it does all the in-park aspects of MagicBands.

As for DCL - i don’t think they’ll add MagicBands anytime soon. More expense that likely wouldn’t see a return on that investment in the near future, at a time when funds are low.

 

[pumpkinqueen93]

I agree with what mostly everyone is saying. They're not doing away with MBs, they're just not gonna give them away for free anymore. So now if you want one, you have to buy one. And then you might end up addicted and start collecting them all like they're Pokemon Or pins.

 

[Marc D]

While it's true MBs will not be free for WDW resort guests, I believe either a band or a hard ticket will be required within the parks to charge purchases to your room and once things like FP+ return.

Multiple websites reported that they were going to expend the RFID/BT use on cellphones when the news of the removal of free MagicBands dropped. This is the quote from DisneyFoodBlog but it was mentioned elsewhere :

“Instead, Disney plans to launch new offerings as part of the My Disney Experience app that will bring the features of a MagicBand to guests’ smart devices.This will involve expanding upon the app’s Digital Key technology which allows guests to unlock their rooms using their smartphones.”

The tickets are already in the app, and so are the FP+. They already have mobile ordering but it goes, for the moment, directly to the credit card on file instead of showing up on the room account. That’s an easy fix.

Of course, they will still maintain MB and physical tickets to make sure everyone can continue to visit without requiring an iPhone 8 or newer, but I don’t think they still view MB’s as something other than a legacy platform. It was launched before a lot of us had a programmable RFID in our pocket at all times.