MagicBand and MagicMobile

* Stores ticket info. Touch it to a lollipop-like scanner for entry.

* Records and redeems reservations such as dining. (The expanded capability is technically called MyMagic+.)

* Validates PhotoPass details. Scan it with photographers and tap it to post-ride photo kiosks to add new images to your portfolio.

* Allows Disney resort guests to make purchases (with a PIN; day visitors cannot) and open hotel room doors and gates. They also tell tollkeepers if you have a parking pass.

* Allows Disney Parks to track your movements. That can be fun: You might open the photos on your Disney World app and discover a shot of you on Slinky Dog Dash or a video of yourself on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (available for purchase, of course).

* Furnishes a beautiful tan line.

Technically, all the MagicBands sold today are the latest version, called MagicBand+, which also do minor tricks like lighting up when near fireworks shows and vibrate softly. To use those functions, they must be fully charged (about 90 minutes using a USB charger that’s included; if the battery dies, you won’t get lights or buzzing, but it’ll still function). They come in sassy colors and as special collectors’ editions featuring beloved characters. Buy one at shops across the resort ($35–$65) and link it to an account on MDX using the code on its back, but you can only link it once.

But don’t feel pressured to buy a MagicBand, because now your smartphone perform the same duties. Keepin’ it contactless, in 2021 Disney announced MagicMobile, which turns eligible iPhones, Apple Watches, and Google Pay–enabled Android phones into de facto MagicBands. Once MagicMobile is added to your digital Wallet through the Disney World app, you don’t even have to unlock your phone to scan in. However, you may find it annoying to be on your phone even more than you already will be, so the old-fashioned method of the MagicBand still has its appeal—and it preserves your battery for photos and calls.

If you have privacy concerns, you may decline both MagicBand and MagicMobile; you will be given a plastic card that only contains a passive radio transmitter chip that’s used to tap for entry but cannot trace your movements.

No matter what you use to scan in, brace yourself for the overspending potential of tapping a device rather than taking out a billfold. Studies show we spend 18% more when we don’t handle cash or credit cards—a big reason the company decided to sink $1 billion into this. Notably, nearly every exec who inflicted this unnecessarily complicated system on Disney World has since left.