Day 6: RFID and the Magic Bands

Ah, another wonderful morning at the All- Star Movies Resort at The Most Magical Place On Earth. Today we had a 7:30am meeting. In our meeting, we covered not only how Disney World incorporates easy-to-use RFID technology into their hotels, rides and other park attractions, but we also covered where places like Disney World should draw a line between amusement and invasion of privacy. For example, the hitchhiking ghosts in The Haunted Mansion in Liberty Square of the Magic Kingdom ride used to target riders with information like their home states, but the ride no longer does that. RFID technology (with the Magic Bands) does collect and track information from different groups (like age, gender, etc.) but solely for using psychology to improve the amusement experience for visitors and maximize profits. Believe it or not, Disney was not the first or only place to use RFID Technology; in fact, Great Wolf Lodge, and larger community colleges and their sports teams also have integrated the idea of using RFID Technology to improve student attendance in classes, and for instructors to know where they are when they are not in class when they should be.

Before we start talking about how Disney uses RFID technology, we should first talk about what it is and what it means. RFID stands for radio frequency identification; this is a way to track objects without the use of GPS, or The Global Positioning System that other electronic devices use. Last night, we were split into two groups. One read about RFID technology specifically in Disney while the other group read about different ways that colleges and universities have used RFID with their students. This morning, we met at outside of our hotel rooms at a place called The Reel Spot to discuss this information with each other and prepare for a day of studying this technology.


Our first encounter with RFID was when we scanned our Magic Bands to get into Magic Kingdom. Soon after that, we scanned our bands again to redeem our Fastpasses at Space Mountain. The highlight of the day, however, was our lunch reservations for the Be Our Guest restaurant in Belle's Castle. We were fortunate enough to score seats for each of us in the forbidden west wing from Beauty and The Beast. Although dark, this room had many decorations, including a projection of Beast's withering rose.
Other decorations included a torn portrait of the Beast in this human prince form; the other walls were also lined with torn tapestries and electronic candles that flickered in queue with the periodic thunder and lightning sound affects that set the mood of that portion of the castle. One of the most unique things about this restaurant is not its decor, though; it is the incorporation of RFID technology into its everyday service. When we entered the castle, we were told to take a seat wherever we would like, rather than guide us to a seat as most dining establishments do. Our food still arrived at our table, as if the waitress knew where we were. This is possible because Disney uses the RFID chip on customers' Magic Bands to locate where each order needs to go.


After lunch and before meeting with Doug Blemker, my roommates and I (Molly) went to ride the classic It's A Small World ride, and the farewell screen at the end acknowledge one of my roommates, Emily Ketterer by name from the information from her RFID Magic Band. The four of us also rode a few more rides and took a break at Gaston's Tavern, one of the lunch/snack stops near the Be Our Guest Restaurant where we all ordered Le Fou's Brew. Despite the name, it is the tavern's signature 'non- alcoholic beverage that consists of a blend of frozen Minute Maid apple juice and toasted marshmallow flavoring, and topped with all natural passion fruit mango foam' as generally described on the menu above the ordering counters, or on the Disney website or My Disney Experience app. It was personally not my favorite beverage; then again, apple isn't my favorite fruit. But it wasn't bad and I personally have no regrets in taking a chance and trying it anyway. I would still recommend trying it nonetheless, because who knows? Even if you don't think you might like a new food or beverage, and you at least try it, you might actually end up liking it.

Our class assignment for today was to find different ways that Disney uses the Magic Bands for things like shopping, hotel keys, tickets, and Photopass pictures. Groups wandered around the park searching for these features around them. This was not the conclusion of our RFID experience, though. Doug Blemker, a Franklin College grad and current employee at Walt Disney World, was kind enough to talk to our group about what he does on a daily basis and how he uses RFID technology in his daily life. One of the things he does frequently is organize times and places for characters in costume to come out. Each of Disney's character costumes are equipped with an RFID tag, to ensure that there are not multiple Mickeys walking around the same part of the park at the same time!

Tomorrow, we have the freedom to travel to anywhere on Walt Disney property that we wish. A large group of us are going to wake early to seek boarding passes on the new Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance ride while others are going to run in one of Disney's marathons. Still, others will take this opportunity to catch up on laundry and sleep. Regardless of what everyone chooses, tomorrow is bound to be a great day!

~Trey Jones and Molly Snyder