Walt Disney World Epcot Discussion Thread

[sfga2008I Guess Donkeys Are Okay]

I love the wider entrance and increased number of ticket validator's used in the latest test. I'm very curious to know what kind of technology is being deployed to monitor the guests walking through to determine who scanned the ticket.

[eddytheviperFull Fledged Donkey Enthusiast!]

Wow! They look great! Something new and out there, I suppose rather fitting for EPCOT.

I hope they are a success, look like could be much faster if people know how to use them, could be a bit messy though if something goes wrong though, something to keep an eye on there.

[larrygatorObsessive Overlord of the TPR Park Index]

Overall, I'm SURE they haven't gotten to this point without heavily discussing "How to mitigate people trying to sneak past the system."

You make it an all-in-one card/pass. You need it to enter any building within the park (shows/rides/restaurants/restrooms) or the red warning lights go off. Problem solved.

[BrownStreakA donkey is a domesticated member of the Equidae or horse family.]

My initial thought with this was 'How Many Jobs are going to get cut as the result of this thing?' Its like when the Indy Toll Roads installed the ATM-like Machines to collect the tolls - it saves money, but costs a lot of humans their jobs.

[CoasterGuy06When I grow up, I want to breed donkeys!]

I guess eliminating the need for stroller and wheelchair gates would make lines a bit more orderly, too.

This!

Come on, even those of you who don't use a stroller or wheel chair know how frustrating it can be to be behind one. Or how the cast members have to move out of the way to let one in, it absolutely slows down the line.

And as someone that has had to work a turnstyle the only thing that slowed me down more than a hard to scan ticket are people with strollers simply because of having to move around and open and close the side gate for them. Eliminating that alone is awesome!

[coasterfreak101Gimme Some Candy!]

Overall, I'm SURE they haven't gotten to this point without heavily discussing "How to mitigate people trying to sneak past the system."

You make it an all-in-one card/pass. You need it to enter any building within the park (shows/rides/restaurants/restrooms) or the red warning lights go off. Problem solved.

I highly doubt that. All that does is create an inconvenience for guests, who now have to pull their tickets out every time they want to do something. And families with three kids running around to find the closest bathroom aren't going to go for that.

Honestly, I think it's going to work exactly like how the self-checkout machines at a (at least my) grocery store work - there's an attendant monitoring each set of four machines or so, and it's up to them to keep tabs on everyone. The self-checkouts I worked at had a central station that kept track of everyone's orders. So you give an employee an iPad that's linked to their set of machines and you're good.

[robbalveySite Admin]

Overall, I'm SURE they haven't gotten to this point without heavily discussing "How to mitigate people trying to sneak past the system."

You make it an all-in-one card/pass. You need it to enter any building within the park (shows/rides/restaurants/restrooms) or the red warning lights go off. Problem solved.

I highly doubt that. All that does is create an inconvenience for guests, who now have to pull their tickets out every time they want to do something. And families with three kids running around to find the closest bathroom aren't going to go for that

I don't think you quite understand how RFID works. In theory, you wouldn't have to pull your card out for anything. And if/when you do, the transaction is by far quicker and easier.

Have you ever watched in most train/subway stations in the world, when people "tap their wallet" against the RFID system to gain very quick entry into the station? That's exactly what this is. Watch:

YouTube Videolink


Do you know how something like the "SunPass" or any other toll booth system that you put in your car that automatically clicks you through when you drive through the toll? That's exactly what this is.

And if it's tuned correctly, you could, in theory, just need to "walk up" to a fastpass machine, and it automatically prints you a fastpass if you have your ticket in your pocket. or you could just simply tap your wallet against the machine without having to insert any tickets at all.

Again, I don't think many of you are thinking the "bigger picture" in this system. It goes well beyond just having a system for park entry. Literally, that's where this system "starts" and the potential for it is so much more.

[CoasterGuy06When I grow up, I want to breed donkeys!]

Have you ever watched in most train/subway stations in the world, when people "tap their wallet" against the RFID system to gain very quick entry into the station? That's exactly what this is.

When I lived in a dorm our student IDs worked like this in order to unlock the dorm door. It always cracked me up when guys that were tall enough would just walk up to the scanner and swipe their butts across the scanner

[coasterfreak101Gimme Some Candy!]

^^No, I completely understand. I didn't realize that you could use them from your pockets. I always assumed that it was different technology in my EZ-Pass than is in these newer cards and such. And we have RFID chips in our SmarTrip cards for the DC Metro, but you still have to pull them out to use them. Same with the Exxon Tiger cards and things like that.

And I completely understand that this is going to be widespread - it amazes me that we'll be able to walk in to a park with our ticket, and use that ticket at registers and to get FastPasses and so forth. I was just saying that the idea of having to tap it to a machine every time I want to walk in to a building is excessive, and if they don't pick up from your pocket, inconvenient. The whole point of my post was really just to offer another way for them to keep people from skipping the entrance machines.

[WFChrisJar-Jar Binks smells like Donkey]

This is definitely a good step for Disney, especially with future FP integration and possibly a credit card link (or at least a way to preload it like a gift card). The current FP system is seeming more and more dated as I see RFID systems expand elsewhere. I find myself 'swiping' less and less, and 'tapping' a heck of a lot more.

This system will definitely require a staff presence though, as a red mickey is hardly going to stop somebody from coming in. They use the RFID system on the LA Metro rail unsupervised, and I can assure you the system is losing millions on people not tapping when they go through the gate. They are still issuing paper tickets AND tap, and if you have a paper ticket you do nothing...you just walk through the gate. If you have tap, you tap and go, but you REALLY don't have to.

It will be very exciting seeing what Disney's take on the whole system will be and how it will affect crowd management over time!