LIKE MAGIC: Wired explores the new WDW MagicBand, which is revolutionizing the park experience:
It’s amazing how much friction Disney has engineered away: There’s no need to rent a car or waste time at the baggage carousel. You don’t need to carry cash, because the MagicBand is linked to your credit card. You don’t need to wait in long lines. You don’t even have to go to the trouble of taking out your wallet when your kid grabs a stuffed Olaf, looks up at you, and promises to be good if you’ll just let them have this one thing, please.
This is just what the experience looks like to you, the visitor. For Disney, the MagicBands, the thousands of sensors they talk with, and the 100 systems linked together to create MyMagicPlus turn the park into a giant computer—streaming real-time data about where guests are, what they’re doing, and what they want. It’s designed to anticipate your desires.
A friend of mine just got hers for her trip next week. I'm very eager to hear how it goes!
ReplyDeleteWe just went last month and *loved* the magic band. I really liked not having to carry my wallet- it stayed locked in the wall safe for our entire trip. We aren't impulsive shoppers, so it worked very well for us, but apparently it's increased Disney's sales quite a bit because of people who are!
ReplyDeleteOnly time I wished I had my wallet was when it came time to tip the woman who cut my daughter's hair. There was no way to put that tip on the magic band.
And we also liked that peace of mind that if our 4 year old got lost we could find her, or Disney could find us, pretty easily.
Not really good for comparisons - last time I went to a mouse place Epcot had just opened - but the magic bands were as described, and that, combined with the app (both beforehand and especially in the park - telling you wait times for things near you, keeping track of fast pass times and reservations) made it quite awesome. (Though shocking how few charging opportunities for that many phones.) Haven't looked at the photos to see how many random magic band shots made it in there, and never thought about the kid finding possibilities.
ReplyDeleteI have met Big Brother and his name is Mickey. :)
ReplyDeleteAlthough, I totally see the convenience, if for no other reason than the paying for things. A water park I went to several years ago had wristbands that functioned like debit cards - everybody was happy not to have to deal with wallets and money around all the water.
Over 7 days, we didn't have any random photos except from a few of the rides. (We did have several hundred posed shots, because we stopped at every photo pass photographer! That was another great use of the magic band- no fumbling to find the cards for scanning.)
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