Households, companies, and cities are embracing physical minimalism through the internet of things. Whether it be using a tablet with a stylus instead of a notebook to avoid paper clutter or a smart speaker to add items to your calendar without even picking up a pen, combining the power of combining multiple devices into one is a positive feature of the internet of things. In 2013 Walt Disney World made a 1 billion dollar gambit on Internet of Things technology with the aforementioned premises in mind. They streamlined all of their processes such as booking, hotels, ticketing, FastPasses, and merchandise into one colorful wristband called a Magic Band and a companion app titled “My Disney Experience.”
Through the “My Disney Experience” app, the user sets up their Disney World vacation entirely from their phone, including guests attending, hotel choice, duration of stay, and FastPass planning. As the trip approaches, Disney takes this data and compiles it into a database with a unique identifier for each guest. This aforementioned unique identifier is placed onto a colorful Magic Band bracelet. The bracelet has an HF radio frequency device built in it that allows it to send and receive radio frequency (RF) signals. Multiple RF points exist throughout the Walt Disney World complex including hotels, FastPass queues for attractions, and shops/restaurants. These points use the unique guest ID stored on the Magic Band to access the database containing relevant park information to verify a requested action. These actions could range from entry to your hotel room, buying Mickey Ears and dinner, or entering the FastPass line at your assigned time slot. Upon this verification, the device allows or denies the requested action depending on the information stored in the database.
This technology allows for one device to cover the actions of multiple, and reduces the amount of items needed to be brought into the park during the guest’s stay. The Magic Band effectively acts as a room key, a park ticket, a FastPass, and a debit card all at the same time, and allows these separate items to be securely fastened to a wrist (which is valuable in a crowded theme park). In 2017, I got to utilize this technology on a trip with my high school’s marching band. Through the capabilities of the Magic Band, I could leave my valuables in the hotel safe and didn’t have to worry about my debit card or park ticket being stolen. It also made queuing for attractions and hotel entry more streamlined. This allowed me to immerse myself into the incredible theming of the Disney parks and truly enjoy the happiest place on Earth.
References:
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/faq/my-disney-experience/frequency-technology/
https://www.wired.com/2015/03/disney-magicband/
As a Disney lover who vacations in Disney World every year, I love the application of IoT through the use of Magic Bands and the My Disney Experience App, as it makes planning and actually going on trips to Disney World so much easier! Something I’ve always loved about this system is how easy it is to have photos taken of you throughout the parks by PhotoPass employees. The photographer takes your photo, scans you Magic Band, as shortly after, all your photos appear digitally on your My Disney Experience app!
In a recent article I found, Disney is going even further to create more digital shortcuts for their customers by using automated PhotoPass boxes for character meet and greets. Essentially, rather than having a PhotoPass photographer take photos of your character interactions and having them scan you Magic Band, this system uses an automated photo system to take an abundance of photos of the interaction from one angle. Then, similar to a ride, you can go to a kiosk to see your photos and scan your Magic Band to have the photos appear on your app.
This is a really interesting innovation to me because they are using Magic Bands in essentially the same way, but now they are adding another digital shortcut to the process of character photos. Not only does this allow for Disney to save money but having to hire less people for PhotoPass jobs, but it makes it so much easier for Disney to get photos to guests and for guests to enjoy a range of photos. This system gets a variety of candid photos for guests, and the character tells the guests to look at the camera at one point during the interaction to get the perfect posed photo for guests to enjoy. Technology nay-sayers seem to be against this system, but for Disney it is extremely cost efficient and beneficial to incorporating their Magic Bands into yet another technological advancement throughout the theme park. Currently, Disney is only testing this system in about five locations, but based on the success the system has had so far, I think they will eventually adopt this system at a majority of the character meet and greet locations.
Source: https://www.themeparktourist.com/news/20190919/37433/even-more-automated-photopass-boxes-installed-walt-disney-world-fan-backlash?page=1
It is crazy how technology has transformed and progressed. The last time I went to Disney was 10 years ago. I can tell a lot has changed especially with what they are doing with IOT and incorporating it within their theme park. Before, My family I used paper tickets and we got a paper band to tell us that we were in this part of the park. I think it is very smart to have everything like hotel, tickets that you had booked, passes and putting them on bands to be able to track during your time there. It is a pretty neat idea to create. Yes, they are hoping the environment by not having guests carry printed tickets and even having them not cary so much. However, there could be some negative feedback because of it. Yes, they are able to track your every movement, but some individuals could see that as a safety violation. Also, these Disney bands use RFID or radio frequency identification. If one steals this band, they would have all your information like your credit card. We do not want that type of information to get into the wrong set of hands. Lastly, sometimes these bands could be hacked or not work. At that time, you would wish you had a paper copy of your tickets because that means you cannot go on the ride you paid so much money for. I agree with some of my fellow peers that there are pros and cons to this.
I believe this is a great connection to the Internet of Things and it is truly amazing everything technology has become capable of in today’s day and age. As stated in the post above, Disney continuously seeks out ways to provide each guest with the perfect experience. While I feel there is always room to improve our knowledge on the IoT along with any subject for that matter, I believe IoT can cause more good than harm if done correctly. According to an article from KeyInfo, the IoT allows for cost savings, an increase in efficiency and communication, and instant data access which as we know are all considered great advantages. I personally believe that there are no disadvantages in regarding Disney Magic Bands because Walt Disney World has made it a top priority to become and remain such a unique, strong, and trustworthy company and brand.
Source: https://www.keyinfo.com/pros-and-cons-of-the-internet-of-things-iot/
This is my source for my comment! I forgot to put it on my post so Professor Pursel told me I can put it here
Source: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/plan/my-disney-experience/bands-cards/
This post is a perfect example of how the internet of things is becoming more available everywhere. I have heard of other places/events that use wristbands like Disney’s magic wristband and I have always admired the ease and convenience that these things hold. This post gave a very positive view of Disney’s new magic wristband, but is this wristband something that people should view as a positive asset? A wristband that holds access to a hotel room, the amusement park, and credit card seems like it is convenient and safe. However, I have learned in my IST class that devices connected to the internet of things are not always all that safe and secure. This makes me wonder if customers of Disney Parks have the potential to be hacked. Being hacked can mean someone can have access to your hotel room and credit card. This can raise a feeling of anything but safety. While I am sure a large company like Disney would have people monitoring this constantly, there are always so many possibilities when it comes to the internet. Large companies have been hacked before and I have learned that it can take a very long time for companies to even realize that someone has had access to their data.
This is a great example of IoT and how it can be used to better customers’ experience in the Disney parks. Having experienced this a few years ago I can attest how simple Disney makes your park experience through these bands. It completely takes away the need to bring so many things into the park, such as your wallet and room key. And if you’re anything like me and tend to loose everything this is a big life saver! Having everything I need directly on my wrist is a big win. Disney did an incredible job at incorporating the IoT into their parks.
However, Disney customers aren’t the only ones benefiting from this new streamlined feature. The company itself is gaining a lot from this technology. The company is collecting an insane amount of data on the habits on customers and they are leveraging this big data to try and make this experience even better. Disney is able to collect data about what the most popular rides are and when, when customers are going ride to ride / park to park, when they’re buying merchandise and food, where are they buying it from, what are the most popular items, and the list goes on and on. With the help of machine learning, Disney is utilizing this information to make the park going experience even easier. With this information, Disney can know when and where to schedule their staff members, which can help reduce lines. In addition, Disney can predict where customers are going to go and based on this can great an even more personalized experience. Overall, Disney has taken full advantage of this new and coming technology in order to not only better the customer experience, but also to benefit themselves as a company.
references: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2017/08/24/disney-uses-big-data-iot-and-machine-learning-to-boost-customer-experience/#29be60933876
Its truly amazing to me to see how IoT is taking over and changing the world of Disney. To me, this would make me want to book a vacation to Disney vs. some other amusement parks such as Hershey or other parks. The article above said that their IoT included booking, hotels, ticketing, FastPasses and putting them on bands to wear around the park. Disney is smart for doing this and knows how to market these bands well. I have seen advertisements for different Magic Bands with familiar faces on them such as Olaf from Frozen, Belle, and even Minnie Mouse. The more I thought about this idea of Magic Bands I started to think of the positive and negatives that this band has.
Some pros that I could think of for Magic Bands would be that Disney and the customers are using less paper, lighter and easier to travel, each pass is personalized for you and your family, makes the vacation more organized, everything you need to know about the vacation is on one app. Some cons I thought of was that it tracks you which could be a safety concern, if you loose it, you loose everything and all your plans; especially with little kids who love to take stuff on and throw things around. Another concern is that we do not know if it cost more than regular tickets and lastly what do you do if your phone is dead because the Magic Band connects to an app on your phone. Overall, I still think that the pros outweigh the cons but when thinking about Magic Bands, we still need to remember the cons.
What a great example of how the IoT is utilized by one of the most successful companies in the world. The examples you used to show how these bands connect to fast pass, your room key, credit card, and many other databases prove that Disney is in fact ahead of their competitors at universal and all other theme parks around the world. This use of technology not only makes it easier for travelers to access everything they need all with their wrist, but it also opens new product and marketing opportunities for Disney. Not only do these bands utilize the IoT to the fullest, but it also offers new product ideas for Disney to make money off of. Ever since they released these bands, Disney has been selling magic band skins and add-on accessories to make it a more personal experience for the user. These Disney bands use Radio frequency identification (RFID) to link up each band and link it to the traveler’s Disney account through the app which is different than just RF as mentioned above. This connection thanks to RFID is the reason why people can use their fast pass and credit card information with their bands since it “identifies” with the user for each band. Even though the cost of these magic bands were a total of $1 billion, Disney will benefit in the long run once they make all their money back in profit.
I myself have used the magic bands and while it is very convenient to have everything you need on your wrist, there is always the risk of it being lost or even stolen. When I used my band, there were problems entering one of the parks even though I had already purchased the ticket. With technology like this being used at high volume, problems like this will occur. The question that should be asked is how much can the IoT handle? The number of networks used at the parks and restaurants are endless in the happiest place on earth and it is only getting bigger.
https://www.wired.com/2015/03/disney-magicband/
This is an amazing connection to IOT and something I never considered when thinking about how Disney has modernized their guest experience through a simple bracelet. The idea that this bracelet has access to every piece of information related to your vacation is innovation at its finest. Disney is an incredible company that is constantly raising the bar in multiple areas of its brand, now enhancing their unmatched level of customer service and efficiency with the addition of IOT within the Magic Bands.
As well as revolutionizing the way that guests experience the happiest place on earth, by doing this, Disney has eliminated the excessive use of paper that would be necessary for park tickets, hotel reservation confirmations, and has become more environmentally conscious as a result. However, Disneyland in Anaheim, CA does not use the entire magic band technology, but has begun to introduce the influence of IOT through the Disneyland app, having most everything a park guest might need on the app, ticket, and the accessibility to restaurants as well.
The only risk that one might have with the band is the risk of losing it. If the band is lost, everything is gone. While IOT is amazing, the risk is high with having everything in one place. As a whole, the Magic Bands have been a huge success and is an incredible innovation of technology that should be used in Disney parks universally. Magic Bands should also be the basis for more innovations to society, and the idea of a bracelet being home to many different information hubs could change the way that we live our lives.
Considering the last time I went to Disney we thought a Blackberry was a smart phone, It amazes me to see what Disney themself was able to do with these bracelets! In general the concept of these bracelets is really interesting. IoT was a really good invention especially since it makes packing a LOT easier with young children. You don’t have to continuously search for you credit card, room key, tickets, etc while also watching your young ones run around.
The amount of impact that such a small bracelet was able to do is very intriguing. If you take IoL invention and throw it into the real world it would be revolutionary. Think about testing it at everyday life. For example if Penn State did this with their students living on campus. They could have a bracelet that swipes them into the dining hall, testing centers, key to their rooms, student ID and more. This would help students keep in check with all their belongings.
On the other hand it could create some problems. For example what is someone were to lose the bracelet? That means someone could pretty much have access to your whole life. Scary thought to have right? IoT would have to put a lot of work into having some sort of system to keeping everything safe. My idea would be what the credit card companies do. I would have students have an app on their phone that would be able to lock the bracelet from working. It would stop access to everything and anything. In my eyes this idea that Disney and IoT created can really help modernize how we do things in everyday life. I think we should give it a shot.
I’m amazed by the connection that you have made between the Magic Bands and the IoT. I never looked at the Magic Bands this way, and it makes sense, that yes, Disney is one of the first few companies in which IoT is used. This brings me to the discussions in class, as well as the IoT homework assignment. Should we begin to support the Internet of Things? Based on this fantastic example, I think we should be doing more research on IoT and how it affects travelling. Because of the Magic Bands, you and your friends/family were able to have a well organized trip to Disney.
What if we attach IoT to packing for trips and getting on the actual flight. For example, your suitcase could connect to your toothbrush and your toothbrush will beep if it is forgotten in your bathroom. Another example would be that you want to stop for lunch before getting on a flight, your plane ticket can connect to restaurants in the airport and give you a notification that you can go to this restaurant, since the wait isn’t long, and still get on your flight on time. This would all be great, however, it is something to consider when concerning privacy and security. If someone if able to hack into the system they can see when your flight is, where you’re going, and how many people are going with you/is your house open. The article I used to write this response goes into more detail of this possible security breach.
https://www.travelpulse.com/news/features/what-is-the-internet-of-things-and-how-will-it-affect-travel.html