Hamartia Antidote
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Disney's MyMagic+: The future of wearable technology?
Disney’s MagicBands are just that, magic.
My wife and I recently took a trip to Walt Disney World, partly for some much needed R & R. The thing about Walt Disney World is that it is a massive property filled with lots of great things to do. The whole experience can become overwhelming to a novice. The operation of this Disney World is insane, you have 4 theme parks, 23 different resorts (not counting non-Disney owned properties), a massive transportation system that would make many large municipalities blush (we’re talking acres and acres of parking lots, monorails, trams, thousands of bus routes, boats and ferries) shuttling around thousands of people around its 47 square mile property. Perspective: 47 miles would be twice the size of Manhattan and roughly the size of the city of San Francisco. There is so much to see and do, and a week’s time just barely scratches the surface.
That’s where MyMagic+ hopes to help you navigate the daunting task of theme park visits. (I should clarify, MyMagic+ is the system and MagicBands are the wearable technology itself.) It begins when you book your hotel and tickets through Disney. You can then begin planning nearly every detail on your trip, from airport to hotel transportation, which theme park you would like to visit on which day, where you would like to dine for meals, and even in some cases what food you’d like to pre-order. Let’s face it when you’re hungry, you want your food NOW! Who enjoy’s waiting in line? Why mess with room keys and tickets when it could all be folded into one wearable device known as MagicBands.
Wearables
Recently, I’ve been on a wearable’s kick, much like any other tech fan. If you follow tech sites like TechnoBuffalo, it is hard to avoid the latest smartwatch, activity band, tracker, etc. “Apple Watch” and “Android Wear” related posts infiltrate my feed and it seems that’s all I ever read anymore. While the novelty is “coolish” I find that I don’t really love this technology. Ultimately I feel that is still in its infancy and really for early adopters that want to say they have “this” with out much in respect to value, per se. Don’t get me wrong I REALLY want it to take off, it just doesn’t make all that much sense, yet. The experience is lacking some real draw that makes a user NEED it.
So when a wearable is considered to be “magical” or throw in any PR-induced, over-the-top adjective here, I have a hard time taking the bait. Because, honestly, I’ve seen it all from Samsung, LG, Apple and Pebble. Yeah, I’m probably jaded by all the new tech we have sitting around the TechnoBuffalo testing labs. But that’s why I suppose why we are in this tech journalism industry. To be skeptical and a bit cynical when a new product tries to sell us some new snake oil.
But you guys, Disney MagicBands ARE magic.
You see Disney has gotten this formula down pat.
Full disclosure, I worked for Disney for 11 years and I know the theme park segment quite well. I’ve had to pleasure of visiting all the Disney theme parks, but that itself is another discussion we can have at a later time.
See with a trip to Walt Disney World Resort, you aren’t just being sold a park ticket, some turkey legs and a hotel room., but rather an experience. It begins with booking your trip, you can do so as a package, which includes your hotel, park tickets, airfare and even a shuttle bus that picks up/drops you off to and from Orlando’s airport, more on that part later.
When you book your trip, you also select these MagicBands, wearable RFID/ NFC wristbands that are supposed to make your trip more enjoyable. They act as your park tickets, room key, reservation keeper, FastPass and other magical access. They arrive a few weeks/months later, all depending on how far in advance your trip is booked. You receive them in the mail and I feel like this is where the experience really begins. You have these wristbands, customized with your name etched/printed on the sides. If you want to take it up a notch there are accessories you can buy to add on to the band’s grommets. There are also special wristbands you can pay for, the pair I had came free with our stay at the resort. For example, the Haunted Mansion ones that has a special chime when you swipe your band across the reader in front of the attraction. So you see the system is highly adaptable and customizable.
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Disney’s MagicBands are just that, magic.
My wife and I recently took a trip to Walt Disney World, partly for some much needed R & R. The thing about Walt Disney World is that it is a massive property filled with lots of great things to do. The whole experience can become overwhelming to a novice. The operation of this Disney World is insane, you have 4 theme parks, 23 different resorts (not counting non-Disney owned properties), a massive transportation system that would make many large municipalities blush (we’re talking acres and acres of parking lots, monorails, trams, thousands of bus routes, boats and ferries) shuttling around thousands of people around its 47 square mile property. Perspective: 47 miles would be twice the size of Manhattan and roughly the size of the city of San Francisco. There is so much to see and do, and a week’s time just barely scratches the surface.
That’s where MyMagic+ hopes to help you navigate the daunting task of theme park visits. (I should clarify, MyMagic+ is the system and MagicBands are the wearable technology itself.) It begins when you book your hotel and tickets through Disney. You can then begin planning nearly every detail on your trip, from airport to hotel transportation, which theme park you would like to visit on which day, where you would like to dine for meals, and even in some cases what food you’d like to pre-order. Let’s face it when you’re hungry, you want your food NOW! Who enjoy’s waiting in line? Why mess with room keys and tickets when it could all be folded into one wearable device known as MagicBands.
Wearables
Recently, I’ve been on a wearable’s kick, much like any other tech fan. If you follow tech sites like TechnoBuffalo, it is hard to avoid the latest smartwatch, activity band, tracker, etc. “Apple Watch” and “Android Wear” related posts infiltrate my feed and it seems that’s all I ever read anymore. While the novelty is “coolish” I find that I don’t really love this technology. Ultimately I feel that is still in its infancy and really for early adopters that want to say they have “this” with out much in respect to value, per se. Don’t get me wrong I REALLY want it to take off, it just doesn’t make all that much sense, yet. The experience is lacking some real draw that makes a user NEED it.
So when a wearable is considered to be “magical” or throw in any PR-induced, over-the-top adjective here, I have a hard time taking the bait. Because, honestly, I’ve seen it all from Samsung, LG, Apple and Pebble. Yeah, I’m probably jaded by all the new tech we have sitting around the TechnoBuffalo testing labs. But that’s why I suppose why we are in this tech journalism industry. To be skeptical and a bit cynical when a new product tries to sell us some new snake oil.
But you guys, Disney MagicBands ARE magic.
You see Disney has gotten this formula down pat.
Full disclosure, I worked for Disney for 11 years and I know the theme park segment quite well. I’ve had to pleasure of visiting all the Disney theme parks, but that itself is another discussion we can have at a later time.
See with a trip to Walt Disney World Resort, you aren’t just being sold a park ticket, some turkey legs and a hotel room., but rather an experience. It begins with booking your trip, you can do so as a package, which includes your hotel, park tickets, airfare and even a shuttle bus that picks up/drops you off to and from Orlando’s airport, more on that part later.
When you book your trip, you also select these MagicBands, wearable RFID/ NFC wristbands that are supposed to make your trip more enjoyable. They act as your park tickets, room key, reservation keeper, FastPass and other magical access. They arrive a few weeks/months later, all depending on how far in advance your trip is booked. You receive them in the mail and I feel like this is where the experience really begins. You have these wristbands, customized with your name etched/printed on the sides. If you want to take it up a notch there are accessories you can buy to add on to the band’s grommets. There are also special wristbands you can pay for, the pair I had came free with our stay at the resort. For example, the Haunted Mansion ones that has a special chime when you swipe your band across the reader in front of the attraction. So you see the system is highly adaptable and customizable.
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