While visiting Walt Disney World recently, I noticed that the collection of MagicBands is growing, giving visitors a variety of options beyond the colors that are offered to them initially as part of the Magic Your Way package.

For the uninitiated, MagicBands are the new way for visitors to Walt Disney World to unlock their room door, access the parks, pay for dining, “store photos” with Photopass Photographers and just about anything that can be tied to a purchase.

Generally about thirty days prior to  their arrival, a guest receives an email from Disney asking them to choose the color of their MagicBands and indicate the name that should appear on the band. Around fourteen days prior to their visit, the bands are shipped out to the guest, and they are told to bring them to the resort for use in all of the previously mentioned ways.

What’s exciting is there are many ways that a guest can “personalize” their band through a variety of add-ons, and now a guest can also choose to “replace” the whole band with a new one, some of which depict classic Disney characters.

New MagicBands

In January 2015, there will be a several new bands for purchase including:

• Ariel and Cinderella Castle (available Jan. 16, 2015)
• Belle (available Jan. 23, 2015)
• Tinkerbell and Toy Story (available Jan. 30, 2015)

These MagicBands will be available at select merchandise locations at Walt Disney World Theme Parks, as well as at Downtown Disney®. The MagicBands retail for $19.95 and will be sold in the new, standard retail packaging.

Like the original bands, they are “once size fits all”, allowing them to be worn by the youngest AND the oldest guests in the party.