A Billion-Dollar Bracelet Is the Key to a Disney Park
[Philip Lelyveld comment: the debugging of this technology in such a high traffic environment could position Disney to play a major role in the next generation wireless financial transition economy out i the real world.]
Among other perks, the system provides a service called FastPass+, which allows visitors to prebook front-of-the-line access to three rides, parades or character meet-and-greets. The system also strives to make it easier for guests to buy food and merchandise — just stand at the register and swipe your wristband, called a MagicBand, which also functions as room key, park ticket and V.I.P. access. Disney thinks people will spend more money and time at the 40-square-mile mega-resort if they find it easier to navigate.
“We are pretty transparently upping our promise to our guests, and that is why we’re being so deliberate about this test-and-adjust period,” said Thomas O. Staggs, Disney’s parks and resorts chairman. “Delight turns very quickly to expectation.”
Disney wants to keep people from visiting competing Central Florida parks, including Comcast’s Universal Orlando Resort, and it thinks preplanning is one answer. Disney guests will be urged to use a website called My Disney Experience to begin locking in the particulars of their visits long before leaving for Orlando. (Adjustments can be made during the visit using a related smartphone app.)
See the full story here: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/02/business/billion-dollar-bracelet-is-key-to-magical-kingdom.html?curator=MediaREDEF&_r=0