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First of all, RFID stands for Radio Frequency Identification. The concept of using it in Disney Parks is old news, but my interest was recently sparked and I thought of ways it could change the parks.
First of all, here's an excerpt from an article about what RFID is and why Disney wanted to use it in the parks:
Thursday, October 16, 2008
<H3 class="post-title entry-title">RFID Questions with Randy Josselyn of Disneyland Resort</H3>
As the industry continues to find ways to serve its customers better every year, a common denominator is technology. One of the hot buttons over the past several years has been RF or RFID (radio frequency) technology, which can be applied to a variety of operational functions in the attractions industry, including point of sale, ticketing, and more.
Randy Josselyn of Disneyland Resort describes how the technology is being used, what it does, and how it works in the attractions industry.
FUNWORLD: What are some of the main RFID applications you see most frequently at parks?
Randy Josselyn: For the most part, RFID is being applied as a cashless spending module, allowing guests the convenience of stowing away their personal affects. This is especially true in the waterpark environment, where valuables and wallets are stowed away in lockers.
RFID is also being employed at many locations for guest tracking and child locating. Using an external interface, parents, children, and groups can locate the members of their party via kiosks or handheld devices.
The rest is here:
IAAPA: In the Queue: RFID Questions with Randy Josselyn of Disneyland Resort
However, I think RFID has some great potential.
First of all, the ability to recognize guests' park tickets would completely change the way of interaction at Disney Parks. Imagine going on Space Mountain and being able to view the on-ride picture at the end of the day with Photopass because during the ride the signal connected with your ticket or Photopass card.
RFID could be used to determine accurate wait times for attraction. From the time a guest enters the queue to the time they reach the load gates, RFID could automatically establish a stand-by wait time.
The obvious one, of course, is characters and other thematic pieces in the parks identifying with your name or birthday. A rumor in another thread right now is that a new Indiana Jones at the end of the ride will be able to interact with guests- Could RFID be used to identify the guest in the driver's seat so that the AA could comment on their driving, or maybe that he feels sorry for some guy in the back row? Maybe in the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, instead of Pooh's birthday, it's your birthday! Maybe it can be your name on the Autopia driver's license.
Maybe turnstiles or other guest-counting devices will no longer be needed with RFID. Maybe RFID could be a new way to control crowds. Maybe RFID can tell us which "land" is least crowded. Maybe RFID will improve security all over the parks. Maybe RFID will bring great opportunities for quality attractions.
There are so many maybes! And the beauty of it all is the guest wouldn't know what is happening, but it would just happen. That's Disney magic.
I haven't heard about it in a while. Is there still talk of RFID going into the parks? Space Mountain at Walt Disney World is supposedly getting an "interactive queue". This rumored Indy is supposed to be interactive. So what's the deal?
First of all, here's an excerpt from an article about what RFID is and why Disney wanted to use it in the parks:
Thursday, October 16, 2008
<H3 class="post-title entry-title">RFID Questions with Randy Josselyn of Disneyland Resort</H3>
As the industry continues to find ways to serve its customers better every year, a common denominator is technology. One of the hot buttons over the past several years has been RF or RFID (radio frequency) technology, which can be applied to a variety of operational functions in the attractions industry, including point of sale, ticketing, and more.
Randy Josselyn of Disneyland Resort describes how the technology is being used, what it does, and how it works in the attractions industry.
FUNWORLD: What are some of the main RFID applications you see most frequently at parks?
Randy Josselyn: For the most part, RFID is being applied as a cashless spending module, allowing guests the convenience of stowing away their personal affects. This is especially true in the waterpark environment, where valuables and wallets are stowed away in lockers.
RFID is also being employed at many locations for guest tracking and child locating. Using an external interface, parents, children, and groups can locate the members of their party via kiosks or handheld devices.
IAAPA: In the Queue: RFID Questions with Randy Josselyn of Disneyland Resort
However, I think RFID has some great potential.
First of all, the ability to recognize guests' park tickets would completely change the way of interaction at Disney Parks. Imagine going on Space Mountain and being able to view the on-ride picture at the end of the day with Photopass because during the ride the signal connected with your ticket or Photopass card.
RFID could be used to determine accurate wait times for attraction. From the time a guest enters the queue to the time they reach the load gates, RFID could automatically establish a stand-by wait time.
The obvious one, of course, is characters and other thematic pieces in the parks identifying with your name or birthday. A rumor in another thread right now is that a new Indiana Jones at the end of the ride will be able to interact with guests- Could RFID be used to identify the guest in the driver's seat so that the AA could comment on their driving, or maybe that he feels sorry for some guy in the back row? Maybe in the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, instead of Pooh's birthday, it's your birthday! Maybe it can be your name on the Autopia driver's license.
Maybe turnstiles or other guest-counting devices will no longer be needed with RFID. Maybe RFID could be a new way to control crowds. Maybe RFID can tell us which "land" is least crowded. Maybe RFID will improve security all over the parks. Maybe RFID will bring great opportunities for quality attractions.
There are so many maybes! And the beauty of it all is the guest wouldn't know what is happening, but it would just happen. That's Disney magic.
I haven't heard about it in a while. Is there still talk of RFID going into the parks? Space Mountain at Walt Disney World is supposedly getting an "interactive queue". This rumored Indy is supposed to be interactive. So what's the deal?
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