Disney Magicbands: $1 Billion Bet on Technology to Track Theme-Park Visitors

Walt Disney World

It you’re traveling to Disneyland or Disney World this year you may be in for a surprise. The company who is known for its brilliant customer service and experience is taking things to another level…. and it’s not cheap.

According to Businessweek, Disney is investing $1 billion in a program called MyMagic+ that includes Disney’s own Magicbands. The program, which has been in a test phase for several months, is the ultimate decoy in data collection that will help analyze crowd control. The innovative technology is sure to change the way people play AND spend at the most magical place on Earth. Experts have said that if the system works, it will be adopted by theme parks, zoos, museums, airports and more. Surely, Disney will profit from proprietary information.

So how does it work? Guests are given Disney Magicbands upon their arrival. Within the band is an electronic link to an encrypted database of visitor information that serves as an all-in-one park admission tickets, hotel keys, credit or debit cards, and Disney Dining Plan data. The bands have radio frequency identification chips – called spychips – that allows Disney to monitor people or things.

The tracking power makes these bands so vital to Disney’s $14.1 billion empire. The data, all voluntary, that is stored in the Magicband and the My Disney Experience, will tell Disney how to operate their business. What rides to staff more, what restaurants to serve, what souvenirs to be stocked, where they should focus on putting employees in costumes in a given day – the information is endless. It’s an incredible way to fully understand the day-to-day at the parks all the way down to an individual level. Data about customer preferences can be used to alert visitors via text message when rides are closed or other updates pertinent to the traveler.

People are barking that the technology may be too invasive, but they need to calm down. It’s an entirely voluntary process. Personally, I’ve used the Magicbands and My Disney Experience before and it makes for an absolutely seamless, awesome trip. The fact that Disney is going to be collecting information to make the experience even better at their parks is the actual SCARY thing.

Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Written by Worthly