The announcement was made at the New Fantasyland ribbon-cutting ceremony in Disney World, Florida.
Disney has implemented a billion dollar mobile technology system in many of its different theme parks in order to help its guests to be able to reduce the length of time that they spend standing in line, and to be able to pay for the items that they want at the gift shops.
Now, it will be expanding this mobile tech to reach into other parts of its Disney resorts and parks.
The MyMagic+ $1 billion program uses mobile technology build into wristbands and an app that make it possible for guests at Walt Disney world resorts and parks to be able to pay for food and merchandise, open their hotel room doors, book their ride times, and even make meal reservations at restaurants. This makes it possible for the guests to book more of the different parts of their trips in advance, to reduce waiting time, personalize their visits, and allow them to move through the park more quickly, without delays.
So far, there have been more than 11 million of the mobile technology wristbands (MagicBands) used.
According to Tom Staggs, the chief operating officer, “The folks who are saying the MyMagic+ experience is excellent is the vast, vast majority of folks who are using it, and that, we know, is good for our business.” Staggs was speaking from the Disneyland Resort at an apartment once occupied by Walt Disney, during the 60th anniversary year of that park.
Staggs had been the head of the Disney parks and resorts division from 2010 until February 2015, when he became the COO. It is believed that he will be next in line for the CEO position when the current chief exec, Bob Iger, steps down in 2018.
One of the many ways in which Disney intends to continue the growth of its business is to ensure that it keeps on top of the latest in wearable and mobile technology. According to Staggs, they intend to continue to bring additional versions of MyMagic+ to their different parks and their other businesses across the globe.
The company has now invested $1 billion into its MyMagic+ brand and will combine several mobile elements.
The Walt Disney Company has now put $1 billion into wearable technology with the intention of implementing a broad scale experimental program that will help to change the way that visitors to its theme parks spend their money.
The MyMagic+ program brings together several different mobile technologies and features to enhance the guest experience.
The MyMagic+ program brings together the website, a smartphone app, and wearable technology and the form of MagicBands. The MagicBands are a type of tracking bracelet that allows the company to monitor the movements of the visitors as they make their way through the Disney World resorts and enjoy the various features, shows, rides, shops, restaurants, kiosks, and more. The guests will be able to use the program to be able to make their trip bookings and plan out the rides that they’d like to enjoy, months in advance.
The MagicBands are wearable technology that hold all of the information the visitor will need.
For instance, a visitor to Disney World who is staying in one of the resorts would be able to store his or her hotel room key, credit and debit card information, and tickets, all within these bracelet wearables. Then, they can be used at any place in the parks and hotels simply by tapping these mobile devices to a sensor.
The MyMagic+ program also uses the MagicBand RFID enabled bracelets for geolocation purposes, to track the movements of all of their wearers throughout the parks. This is the feature that is being considered defining in terms of whether or not the program should be deemed successful. While the bracelets do help Disney to be able to provide guests with faster and more convenient service at restaurants, to better manage lines, and to direct the park employees, the tracking also offers additional opportunities.
As the park will always know where a guest is located, the geolocation style tracking in these wearable technology devices can provide wearers with custom notifications about wait times for rides or changes at restaurants.
