While there are plenty of cheap airplane tickets, discount hotel rooms, and cheap vacation packages available to Orlando, FL, Disney World is more determined than ever to make it THE destination tourist spot in the city and country.
Disney wants to see the Most Magical Place on Earth become even more hassle free over the next few months by introducing new wireless tracking wristbands that will be distributed to all guests and employees.
These MagicBands will be linked to guests credit card information and serve as room keys and park entry passes using radio-frequency identification (RFID) chips which are frequently used in wireless toll collection and public transit turnstiles.
MagicBands are just one piece of a larger system called MyMagic+ which will enable Disney to collect sensitive personal information including the names of visitors, their purchasing and riding patterns, and real time location data, all of which the theme park claims will be used to enhance guest experiences.
Disney is touting its new MagicBands as the means of guaranteeing ride times for guests favorite shows and attractions before entering the park.
Disney will make it easy for guests to control what and how much information is shared with whom or to opt out of the program altogether. If permitted by guests, mascot characters could use the information transmitted by the MagicBands to welcome visiting children by name and even wish them Happy Birthday, if so desired.
My Disney Experience on the official Disney World website makes it easy to manage MagicBand privacy controls for each family member.
The estimated cost of installing this new system, which will cover 60,000 employees and over 100,000 guests daily, is between $800 million and $1 billion.
No announcement has been made when the MyMagic+ program will be extended to the four other Disney theme parks in southern California, Hong Kong, Japan, and Paris.
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