MagicBands, which changed how guests interact with Walt Disney World, were introduced back in 2013, and it’s already hard to imagine Disney without them.

So, what comes next? How can Disney build upon this technology to make the park experience even better? We’ve got a few ideas.

The 5 Disney Parks Innovations We’d Like to See Next!

Expanded Pre-Booking For Strollers, Wheelchairs, and More

If you need mobility assistance or similar accommodations at Disney World, you’ve got to make them on the spot, or use a third-party service and pick them up off site. This process could be SERIOUSLY streamlined.

Imagine being able to prebook a stroller for your entire trip? Simply make the reservation on the My Disney Experience app and scan your MagicBand at the park. You could even do similar things for the handheld devices used by guests with vision and hearing disabilities, as those are currently available on a first-come first-serve basis. Being able to prebook them would give guests some much needed peace of mind.

Read more about strollers at Walt Disney World here!

ID Verification

One of the perks of having a MagicBand as a resort guest is the ability to go cashless. Just tap your band and pay for what you need. Unless you’re buying a drink, that is — then you need to show your ID. Oh, and if you’re using a discount from your Annual Pass or DVC membership, you need your membership card AND ID. Same if you’re trying to use free parking. How nice would it be to just hold out your MagicBand and glide on through?

ID Verification would solve ALL those problems. Just get your picture taken and ID verified upon ticket purchase or check-in. A single, intensive ID verification matched with a photo of how you currently look will let your MagicBand function as your ID for most purposes in the park. Cast Members could just check their monitors to see if your photo and birthday match, and you’re done.  Now, there are probably some legal barriers to this somewhere, but if anyone can figure out a way past them it’s probably Disney.

Read more about what you can do with your MagicBand here!

Discounts and Gift Cards on Mobile Order

As an Annual Passholder, you can get discounts on a lot of things. Enough to make some purchases really tempting. Some will use a Disney Gift Card as a budgeting tool, setting a hard limit on spending before even setting foot into the park. It works great… unless you want to use mobile order to get lunch. Then you can’t use either of those things. You either need to wait in line as normal, or pay using a debit or credit card.

Being able to link and reload a Disney Gift Card through My Disney Experience would make things so much easier. Plus, using the aforementioned ID verification, you could even fold the Annual Pass and DVC discounts in! This would have the added benefit of unlocking the purchasing power of the MagicBands, letting everyone (not just hotel guests) use them for payments so long as they have a linked gift card balance.

Read more about Disney’s mobile order here!

MagicBands With Screens

Disney isn’t the only place to use RFID technology. Universal Orlando’s Volcano Bay has an innovative approach — the TapuTapu. One part ticket, one part credit card, and one part virtual queuing system, the TapuTapu is meant to solve some major problems with water parks. Namely, you don’t normally carry your phone and wallet with you when you go down waterslides. The TapuTapu uses a low-powered screen to display virtual queue times. If you want to ride an attraction, you simply tap a touch point to secure a place in line. When a spot is open, the screen updates to tell you it’s time to board!

Disney could take this technology and run with it, offering upgrades like vibration and noise capability (which the TapuTapu currently lacks), the ability to display gift card balances, nearby shows and characters, and the current time.

In fact, Disney could theoretically make these functions compatible with existing smart watches, using systems like ApplePay and Google Wallet to store your ticket and gift cards. With just a tap on the wrist, you’ll know when your FastPass is ready to go! Speaking of FastPasses…

Read more about TapuTapu at Volcano Bay here!

More Virtual Queues

As annoying as it can be to get one, the boarding groups at Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge are a blessing. Rather than spending your entire day waiting in a cramped and crowded building that could not possibly fit everyone who wanted to ride, you simply secure a spot in a virtual line and spend most of your wait enjoying the park. Rise of the Resistance is obviously an edge case, but wouldn’t it be great if that technology existed everywhere?

Before you shudder at the thought of having to arrive at the park at 6AM, let us alleviate your fears. First, Disney already has something of a virtual queuing system in the form of FastPass+.

When you book a FastPass, you’re making an appointment with a given attraction. You’re saying, “Yes, I will be riding you at this time”. Disney has essentially made a second, smaller queue specifically for FastPass users, and you’re booking your spot in line. Even so, this is actually a relatively recent phenomenon.

Before FastPass+, you had to collect a ticket from a kiosk near the attraction. It would give you a return time based on how many people had taken tickets before you. You didn’t really get to chose your time; it was based on what slots were available. Picking a specific time slot is a recent development that emerged with the advent of MyMagicPlus. Virtual queuing would simply be a refinement of the previous system.

Picture this: every attraction has a queue capacity. That’s the number of people who can safely wait inside the building to ride. If the current line is shorter than the queue capacity, you can simply walk into the attraction. If it’s longer, you can tap your MagicBand on a touchpoint. This will place you in a virtual line. When your window opens, your phone or MagicBand will alert you and boom; you’re in line! Queues could be devoted to providing interesting experiences rather than winding hallways, crowds could be reduced, and you could even enjoy food and snacks while you wait for your time.

The limitation would be that you couldn’t queue for multiple attractions at once (though you could board a walk-on attraction if one was available). However, you could still use FastPass as normal, much like you can with the current Disability Access Service.

Read more about the Rise of the Resistance virtual queue here!

All together, these additions would make Disney a much more pleasant place to visit, and help solve some of the problems that plague the theme park industry.

Still, we’d like to hear your thoughts. Do you agree with us? Have additional suggestions? Let us know in the comments!

 

 

 

 

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