MagicBands 2.0? New Style Surfaces & Excites Fans

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Back in March, I brought to you word of new styles for Disney’s MagicBands that began appearing all over the Net. This was just as the program began its official testing period involving the brightly-colored bracelets that allow guests to use them as their room key, park ticket, dining voucher, FastPass+ medium, and form of payment at merchandise locations. Since then, the Bands have popped up all over Walt Disney World property and are the topic of discussion among many.

Disney’s MagicBand is a new way for guests to experience a vacation at Walt Disney World.

Even though MagicBands are still in the testing phase – albeit a very large one – Disney fans are finding ways to personalize them. This includes the color options provided by Disney, additional purchase trinkets and fabric covers, and even using craft supplies like paint pens and rhinestones. For those looking for something more, I may just have found it. There’s a new style of MagicBand that has surfaced, and let me tell you, this one is definitely E-Ticket worthy.

In fact, it’s just that….continue reading to see it.

A new E-Ticket themed MagicBand surfaced today on the Net. Supposedly it has been created by Disney, not a fan looking to customize his own Band. There’s no word on whether or not this style will be available to guests or even when, but it leaves many intrigued.

This new “E-Ticket” style MagicBand has surfaced and is sure to be a prized possession among Disney die-hards. The Band pays homage to the old coupon booklet system the parks used from Disneyland’s birth until the early 1980s. Back then, guests would purchase tickets of varying quantities to ride the attractions; tickets ranged from A to E with the latter being reserved for the most thrilling or exciting rides.

An Original Disney Ticket Booklet

An A-Ticket from Disney’s Past

An A-Ticket would allow guests to ride smaller attractions like this omnibus.

Since these booklets were retired, Disney and fans alike continue to refer to the “best of the best” as E-Ticket experiences. Likewise, merchandise featuring replicas of the tickets has been produced for the parks here and there including pin sets and magnets. These are quickly bought by collectors and can be difficult to find. Most currently, a vinyl magnet set was produced featuring replicas of each ticket.

Disney Ticket Replica Pins

This collector pin features a reproduction of the Magic Kingdom ticket booklets.

All of the tickets are show inside.

Being that this is the first time we’ve seen this E-Ticket MagicBand, there’s not much information on when and if it will be available. We do know that it was produced by Disney and not someone looking to personalize a Band themselves. The last time we saw designs like this was in the spring; they focused more so on the princesses and confirmation was never found as to whether or not they were created by Disney or a collector. My guess is that they were either original prototypes or doctored versions by some unknown source.

This photo from March features different styles of MagicBands. To date, ones like these have not been produced.

Still, one has to wonder if and when Disney is going to follow through with designing Bands that are above the standard offering. Rumors once stated that they would be partnering with outlets such as Dooney & Bourke and even Swarovski crystal. Little has been said about this for quite some time now. One can only hope that this new image of a different style could be leading the way for things to come.

Some guests are using craft supplies to personalize their MagicBands. The one above uses rhinestones to add some sparkle to a standard pink Band.

If the E-Ticket MagicBand does come to fruition, it is sure to be a hit among fans. Disney history is something that fascinates many, so it only makes sense to capitalize on this fact. I love how everything from the box to the logos on the Band itself bring the E-Ticket back to life. My thinking is that deluxe MagicBands – MagicBands 2.0, so to speak – will be heading our way within the next year. The logistics of this is obviously unknown though. If I had to guess, I’d say that these specialty Bands will be available for purchase and synced at the merchandise location. Perhaps they will even come with a bonus of additional FastPass+ options which would provide even more of an incentive for guests to purchase them. On the flip side, I’d be disappointed if this was a special Band given only to higher up Disney execs. Either way, I’m pretty excited about this finding and hope you are too. Let me know what you think in the comments below. I’ll keep my eyes out for more news in the meantime.

An Original E-Ticket: Could a MagicBand like this be available soon? What do you think?

UPDATE (1/5):

Over the past two days, I’ve heard that these E-Ticket MagicBands were possibly given out at a recent corporate event or conference. While that may or may not be true, I received word that this particular one was actually sent to someone who had a friend at Disney. Either way, I think it proves that the company is thinking in the direction of making new designs, deluxe ones, if you will. I like that idea. We’ve heard that this was a possibility for awhile now especially with big names like Dooney & Bourke and Swarovski; this seems to prove that fact and shows that there is a chance – a great one – that different designs could be in the works for guests in the future. Exciting!

Images:

Disney Media

N. Mancini

S. Otis/Facebook

DizFanatic

Tags: Disneyland, Dooney & Bourke, Fastpass, FastPass Plus, featured, Magic Band, magic kingdom, MagicBands, Merchandise, Swarovski, walt disney world

Category: Disney World, Merchandise, Rumor Mill