A New Disney World Entrance Rumor Is Raising a Bigger Question About MagicBands
Disneyland appears to be ending MagicBand+ sales, and a new Disney World gate rumor is fueling questions about MagicBands' future.
A possible change at Walt Disney World park entrances is putting fresh attention on a question Disney fans have already started asking after a separate Disneyland move. MagicBand+ is still sold at Disney World, but a rumored new gate system and a recent MagicMobile upgrade have some guests wondering whether phones are becoming the bigger priority.
What changed
The immediate shift happened at Disneyland Resort, where sales of MagicBand+ appeared to be discontinued earlier this year. MagicBand+ launched in 2022 and added interactive features around the parks.
That does not mean MagicBand+ is going away everywhere. The bands continue to be sold at Walt Disney World, on Disney Cruise Line and through DisneyStore.com.
The new concern for Disney World fans comes from a different place. Disney first announced MagicMobile in 2021 as a contactless way to use MagicBand-style functions from a smart device, including theme park entry. A recent upgrade to that service, combined with new talk about updated entry gates, has led to speculation that Disney World could be encouraging more guests to use MagicMobile instead of depending on MagicBand or MagicBand+.
What the Disney World rumor says
The rumor centers on new face recognition entrance gates for Walt Disney World theme parks. Similar gates have already debuted at Disneyland Paris and at Disneyland in California.
Under that setup, guests first scan their tickets at screens located at individual entry gates. After that, each person in the group uses the screen to take a photo by pressing a camera icon. The cameras can adjust to capture photos of younger guests.
Once a ticket is scanned and the photo is digitally attached to it, the gates automatically open so the party can enter together.
If that system does come to Walt Disney World, it would affect guests entering the theme parks. The rumored scanners can still work with MagicBand, but the setup would move farther from the traditional tapstiles that helped make MagicBands so popular. For now, though, that part of the story remains just a rumor.
