A Magic Band is a wristband sold by Disney with Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) chips in it. These bands, when they’re near specialized readers, will tell the server who they are and will ask if they should be let into a park, buy a drink, or open a hotel room door. This system works “like magic” and each reader is a physical representation of this. It lights up and plays a special song when the authentication is successful.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LbyihyfJJ8

My brother is a former Disney employee and I’m very interested in the tech that makes their theme parks work. I had the idea of combining these interests into his next birthday present! Inspired by this video,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5EqzD_41gA

The commercial versions did not not look visually interesting or have a great price…

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I went on a quest to build my own version from scratch.

Head on back to:

Magic Band Reader