As we're preparing for our (getting closer every day) next trip to Walt Disney World, we recently ordered and received new Magic Bands for our family. They are technically Magic Band+ (because Disney needs a "+" for every occasion), and we'll get into some of the differences below. Magic Bands have been a traditional part of our family trips for years now, but given the new technology being implemented by Disney (as well as the reality that these cute trip add-ons aren't free anymore), I began to think about this question - do we still need Magic Bands?
I wanted to discuss a little history of the Magic Band, then discuss how they have evolved, where they stand today and what other options are available. The ultimate answer to the question in the post title here will be (say it with me) "it depends" (I figured I'd just spoil the end of this post now). As I'm writing this post AFTER we got our recent MB+'s, I think you can probably tell what side we fall on.