March 21st 2013, I posted on facebook that I was headed to get my new touch and go plastic version of the Disney annual pass, and turn in my old paper one. I asked you to send me your questions about this whole process – and we got some great ones! Some came by email, some by PM, and some were posted in various groups. I have much more I will post on the process and FUN I had getting this new touch-and-go pass, but I wanted to get to your awesome questions first.

Before we get started – I need to make a couple of shout-outs! I asked my Twitter and Facebook friends to guess which character I picked for my new pass. The correct answer was Minnie!

Robert Bearden of the fabulous MickeyUpdates.com was the first to answer correctly on Facebook! Honorable mention goes to Anne @_annaporter and Michelle @cmch22 for being my only 2 guessers on Twitter. Thank you so much to everyone who played along!

To my friends over at the Disney Dreamers group – you have a special place in my heart. I love you guys! Samantha, I know you are so proud. Thank you – and all the Dreamers – for your constant support.

Finally, another big thank you to each and every person who sent in questions, especially my wonderful Disneyways subscribers! You guys are the heart and soul of this whole thing. Thank you for taking this journey with me!

Enough mushy stuff…on with the questions!

Chantal G. – “Silly question are they plastic cards??? I am not all that fond of the paper ones.” Chantal…no Disney question is ever silly to me! Things change at lightning speed sometimes and a there is a seemingly never ending amount of new Disney information. Yes, these cards are plastic, and similar in size, width and flexibility as a driver’s license. I love it – I hope you do too.

Here is what I thought was the super cool secret part that (as far as I know) NOBODY else has posted any where on the internet. Get this…the cast members told me we don’t even have to take the thing out of our wallet for it to work. Of course I tried it…

They were right! I think I embarrassed my husband a little bit with how completely excited I was about this!!! I can’t promise it will work for everybody – but Disneyways readers will be informed enough to know they can try! I hope everyone will give it a shot- and let me know how it works for you!!

Linda R. – “I was wondering .. Do Season Passholders get the new card too or just annual passholders?” Linda this is for all passholders. Annual, seasonal, weekday and even Epcot after 4 passes will have the option to upgrade to plastic.

Mindy C. – “What determines whether your passes include parking or not? Is it a special kind of annual pass, or premium vs. regular?” Mindy, if you have a regular or premium annual pass, it includes parking – and this will not change when you switch to the new plastic card. There will be no doubt when you get it because the bottom of the card will have an orange stripe (see Minnie above) AND the back will have a red stripe like this:

Getting through the parking plaza will be a breeze. The cast members won’t have to squint like they do at the little black print on the old paper passes.

If you have a Florida resident seasonal or weekday pass – it does not include parking – and that won’t change. Your new card will have a black stripe on the bottom. If you buy a ticket as a day guest – your stripe will be green. See examples below:

Paul D. – “Are we allowed to request a character?” Paul this was a hot topic today! I am happy to report the answer is YES.

Alexis M. – “No more Pluto cards?” Alexis, Pluto is not an option at this time. Keep in mind however, you do not have to switch to the new plastic card. Also – please check out our post from January by clicking here. This post shows official pictures from Disney depicting the wonderful customization options we will get to choose once the MagicBands are released. The cast member last night was so cute, he said “They are going to be as customizable as CROCS!” Referencing the shoes people wear that you can decorate.

The next few questions were about Magicbands:

Samantha J. – “What if someone has sensitive skin and couldn’t wear the MagicBands, would be another option ?” Samantha, the cast members told me last night that Disney invested thousands of dollars doing research to create a MagicBand that will not irritate even the most sensitive skin. It is also breathable so our arms won’t sweat. We can adjust the MagicBand to fit even a child – so they are one size fits (almost) all. Again, MagicBands are optional. You don’t have to switch over to one if you don’t want to.

Shannon K.W. – “Okay…so just so I have this straight (because my family thinks I have all the answers and I would like to continue to keep them fooled…hahaha!) Do we also have the option of bracelets…or is it just annual pass cards?” Shannon I love your question! Right now, our only option is upgrading to the plastic card if we choose. Disney will be rolling out the MagicBands as soon as that technology is ready. No word yet on an exact date. Make sure you are subscribed to Disneyways so you will know the minute we find out!

Mark G. – “Still confused on if we will get replacements in the mail or will we have to go to guest relations when we go in June.” Mark, the cast members I spoke to last night were pretty confident that we will be able to get our new tickets or possibly Magicbands – if that technology is ready- as early as May 20th via the web, and then of course, if you order them on-line, they would arrive by mail. If you don’t have yours in time then you will head to guest relations when you get here. There are two more things they wanted me to be sure to tell you. One, if you haven’t already, you will want to be sure to register for an account here. Two, make sure you remember what email address you use to register this account. This is very important because all your MagicBand communication will go to that email address. Check your spam folder periodically if stuff tends to get sent there by accident sometimes.

The last questions I got were about Disneyland. Irene L. and Nichole M. thanks so much for asking! The information I heard (thanks Alexis M.) – was that Disneyland is not expected to have these new technologies until 2014 or later. You just never know with Disney, so keep an eye out for any changes there. I will do my best to watch – but Disneyways – for now, is mostly a Disney World resource (unofficially of course!)

Whew! I think that about does it. Again, if I missed your question, please let me know right away – the quickest being by facebook. I accept all friend requests.

You can also email me any time Disneyways@Disneyways.com There will be many more blog posts on this subject to come!

Now, in case there was ANY doubt in your mind about how much of a dork I really am….I have provided this lovely video. I did not know my husband was filming so what you are getting here is the real me. Check out this new little card and your MagicBand – in action – and listen to the little noise it makes! “Wow….that is really cool.”

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