(For this introduction to work, I need you to picture the scene from Frozen after Olaf sings “In Summer” and Kristoff threatens to tell him what would happen if snow were exposed to heat. Got that scene in your head? Ok…ACTION!)

Disney Adults: “Woohoo! We love these Disney souvenirs!”

Us: “I’m gonna tell them.”

Anna: “Don’t you dare!”

Seriously, that’s how we feel when we see people buying these $30 Disney souvenirs that are fun…but TOTALLY unnecessary. Like, anything you can do with this souvenir, you can also do for FREE. (Have you already caught on to which items we’re talking about? 😉)

If you guessed “Disney MagicBands,” you’d be correct!

What Are MagicBands?

MagicBands made their debut in 2013 as part of MyMagic+ — a (then) new system that allowed guests to plan and experience their trip in a whole new way. (This is also when My Disney Experience came out.)

MagicBands are wearable technology that connects all of your Disney World experiences booked through My Disney Experience. They’re made of a rubbery material and are worn on your wrist like a watch.

You can use them to unlock your hotel room, scan into the theme parks, scan into your Lightning Lanes booked with Genie+, and even link to the card on file at your resort to pay for food and merchandise while you’re in Disney World. Sounds pretty handy, right?

The Problem With MagicBands

Here’s the thing…MagicBands have gotten EXPENSIVE over the years, and everything you can do WITH a MagicBand you can also do WITHOUT a MagicBand.

They’re Expensive

MagicBands start at around $35 a pop, and they go up from there. Limited-edition or designer MagicBands generally cost $50 or more.

MagicBands used to be free for all Disney World hotel guests. We still remember the days when you got to pick out the color of your complimentary MagicBand and Disney would mail them to you before your vacation started. The free MagicBands for resort guests ended on January 1st, 2021.

For a while, Disney World Annual Passholders still got a free MagicBand with the purchase of an Annual Pass, but Disney discontinued that perk on August 16th, 2021.

Now, MagicBands aren’t free for anyone.

They’re Unnecessary

Disney stated that the main reason why MagicBands would no longer be free to any guests was because of the debut of MagicMobile, which is a way to essentially use your smartphone as a MagicBand.

This brings us to why MagicBands are actually totally unnecessary: With MagicMobile — which is FREE — you can do just about everything that you could do with a MagicBand.

You can enter theme parks (with your valid admission), connect PhotoPass photos, access Virtual Queues, and redeem Disney Dining Plan credits. And you can even charge to your Disney hotel with MagicMobile, just like you would with a MagicBand.

Your MagicMobile pass can be created and managed through your My Disney Experience app. Once you’ve created it, add your MagicMobile pass to your digital wallet, which you can hold up near an access point — the same way a MagicBand functions.

Click here for a step-by-step guide to setting up your MagicMobile Pass.

If you don’t want to use MagicMobile, you can go the “old-fashioned” route. You can pick up a physical room key when you check into your Disney World hotel, get a physical Disney World park ticket by visiting guest relations or any ticket window, and use your credit or debit card normally to pay for food and merchandise.

So WHY Are People Buying Them?

So if MagicBands are pricey and unnecessary…why do people keep buying them? Well, for one thing, they’re pretty cute. They come in all kinds of colors and designs, and you can even create your own customized band.

Disney comes out with MagicBands to commemorate big occasions, like anniversaries and EPCOT festivals.

That’s not even mentioning MagicBand+, which has some pretty fun and unique features of its own.

Click here to learn more about MagicBand+.

Also, although it’s possible to use MagicMobile to do everything a MagicBand can do, it’s just a little bit more convenient to have that band on your wrist and accessible at all times.

You skip that one tiny step of pulling out your phone when you have a MagicBand.

And the final reason why people keep buying MagicBands: Disney adults LOVE a good collectible. Don’t try to deny it, you guys. We saw the lines for the Figment popcorn bucket, and we keep having to update our posts every time that Nightmare Before Christmas Starbucks tumbler sells out.

We know Disney adults with huge collections of Minnie ears, Loungefly backpacks, and Spirit Jerseys. MagicBands are one more way to express their love for Disney and especially for their favorite characters and stories.

Disney adults probably aren’t going to stop buying MagicBands, and hey — if it makes you happy, you should get one too! Don’t forget that you can reuse the same band for multiple trips, so there’s no need to buy a new one every time you visit (unless you want to, of course!).

Stay tuned to DFB for more of the latest Disney news and vacation tips!

Click here to see our FULL GUIDE to MagicBands.

Do you like Disney MagicBands, or do you prefer to use MagicMobile? Let us know in the comments!