Walt Disney World Epcot Discussion Thread

[coasterfreak101Gimme Some Candy!]

I'm really interested to see how they keep people from walking through in the future, when less people (management and extra employees there to teach everyone how to use the new technology) are there monitoring the place. But hey, this is some cool stuff! I love what RFID chips can do to speed up these processes, and like someone mentioned, I wonder if we'll see the ability to load money on our annual passes to spend around the park?

[larrygatorObsessive Overlord of the TPR Park Index]

Looks very cool! I wonder if this will be incorporated into other aspects of the park as well. Virtual queuing and payment options ect.

If they don't incorporate it in those ways, then I really don't see the benefit.

Robb - Was the tap and go that much quicker than the old method? I don't remember the old method ever being a big time eating exercise.

[cfcI've gone pantless!]

Interesting--I had no idea Disney was going to try something like this. I wonder why they stopped the fingerprint scanning for regular tickets. I guess eliminating the need for stroller and wheelchair gates would make lines a bit more orderly, too.

[larrygatorObsessive Overlord of the TPR Park Index]

Ignore my question, I wasn't taking into account how slow the General Public (yes, they exist) is with the finger scanning method.

[ZackBack™I Guess Donkeys Are Okay]

This is an awesome idea if they can get it down pat. It really depends on how the public takes to the new method, and if they can get through it quickly. I imagine that the Cast Members have to constanly instruct the guests what to do, and ocassionally help them out if the system will not scan someone's pass. It may take some time to get the process standardized.... It will be interesting if they decide to use this technology.


And the idea of using them as fastpasses is a great one. Afterall they named them "The Key to the World". The Magic Your Way passes already can be used to charge things from the parks (a.k.a.- credit cards). It would be nice to be able to use them as a pre-loaded card of some sorts, though.

[UniverseHollywoodCan I park my donkey here?]

I never really had an issue with walking through turnstyles...

[ChroniqTPR's nicest person EVAR!!!]

Looks very cool! I wonder if this will be incorporated into other aspects of the park as well. Virtual queuing and payment options.

Here is some information about what Disney hopes to do with the RFID tags- From the article found here- http://dizfanatic.com/DizTech012.aspx

"Need to get into your awesome Pirates of the Caribbean themed hotel room? Just hold your wristband up to the door.
At Magic Kingdom gates at 5:30AM for an 8:00 opening? Just hold your wristband to the turnstile (at 8:00 am).
Mmm, time to buy a yummy cinnamon bun at the Main Street Bakery. Just hold up your wristband to the paystation to pay!
Oh, hurry, FastPass to meet Mickey Mouse (or Tinkerbell in my case <3 ). Just hold up your wristband to the FastPass kiosk.
Next? Get that classic photo on Main Street with the castle in the background, and even daddy can get into this photo thanks to PhotoPass. Just hold up your wristband for the photographer to scan. (No more digging in your pocket for that card)
Love EPCOT's Kim Possible interactive spy game? Try some new adventures like a Magic Kingdom Pirate Adventure, an Imagineer's hidden secrets adventure or even "a romantic adventure"? Use your wristband to keep the adventure going.
Can't wait to show your jealous friends at home that awesome ride video of you on Big Thunder Mountain? Just hold up your wristband to be sure that it is added to your 'Enhanced' PhotoPass account."
- Check that page out for some photos of the RFID enabled wrists bands, concept art, etc..


Robb- From the photos, the turnstiles (or lack there of) appeared to be very temporary looking. Did it look like a test or part of a larger roll out to you? Also; Were the people using the regular entrances also required to get rfid enabled stickers on their tickets?


Edited to add: Robb's post is the first to verify that the above article is actually true as the photos Robb posted of the Mickey rfid scanner match the style of the one's found at Epcot.

[chrisdangerFull Fledged Donkey Enthusiast!]

Neat fact about these readers: the scanners dont read your prints, they read the bone density in your finger..

I never really had an issue with walking through turnstyles...

It's not just about walking through a turnstile...

"Need to get into your awesome Pirates of the Caribbean themed hotel room? Just hold your wristband up to the door.
At Magic Kingdom gates at 5:30AM for an 8:00 opening? Just hold your wristband to the turnstile (at 8:00 am).
Mmm, time to buy a yummy cinnamon bun at the Main Street Bakery. Just hold up your wristband to the paystation to pay!
Oh, hurry, FastPass to meet Mickey Mouse (or Tinkerbell in my case <3 ). Just hold up your wristband to the FastPass kiosk.
Next? Get that classic photo on Main Street with the castle in the background, and even daddy can get into this photo thanks to PhotoPass. Just hold up your wristband for the photographer to scan. (No more digging in your pocket for that card)
Love EPCOT's Kim Possible interactive spy game? Try some new adventures like a Magic Kingdom Pirate Adventure, an Imagineer's hidden secrets adventure or even "a romantic adventure"? Use your wristband to keep the adventure going.
Can't wait to show your jealous friends at home that awesome ride video of you on Big Thunder Mountain? Just hold up your wristband to be sure that it is added to your 'Enhanced' PhotoPass account."

EXACTLY! It's about the possibility of a fully integrated system, and not *just* for resort guests. For example, I would LOVE to have a credit card tied to my annual pass and just "tap it" when I want to charge something, very similar to the "Octopus Card" in Hong Kong or "Suica Card" in Japan.

Robb- From the photos, the turnstyles (or lack there of) appeared to be very temporary looking. Did it look like a test or part of a larger roll out to you? Also; Were the people using the regular entrances also required to get rfid enabled stickers on their tickets?

It absolutely looked like a "test", but a test of something that was definitely happening, just needed to work things out through the system. The fact that they gave us an actual RFID embedded annual pass today was a sure sign of that. That means they've actually spent money to get the tickets designed, printed up, and working with the POS systems at all the ticket booths. That didn't seem temporary at all to me.

--Robb

[A.J.Counts I305 as 32 credits...]

My question is - what can this system do to stop a guest from entering the park if they get a (color assumed) red light? One time when I didn't put my finger down properly and I assumed I was good, I started charging forward, essentially falling over the non-moveable turnstile.