No more room keys or park tickets to keep up with - enter Magicband

[songbird123]

This is such a cool idea!! I hope they have it by July!

[tjlamphere]

Need some CMs to weigh in on this !!!!!! How will this affect a CM getting in a family member for free ????

[princessallegra]

It's huge! Holy crappy tan line Batman! Honestly I don't wear bracelets or watches because they get sweaty and gross. This stinks for me.

[dadddio]

Originally Posted by rcraw45425

Hubby has large wrists and hands, it's difficult for him to find a usable watchband. He's not going to wear a rubber band on his arm, I can tell you that!

The bands aren't like those irritating jelly 'cause of the moment' wristbands. They seem to be more like cheapo watchbands. The standard ones certainly looking alot more plasticy than the 'designer' upgrade ones. To keep with the analogy, the standard ones seem to be made out of some sort of soft rubber while the upgrades seem like cheapo PU leather. Neither is something that I would buy myrself (on purpose), but one or both would probably be acceptable for it's purpose.

I don't know if I will wear mine, or not. It all depends on whether I find it irritating to wear. I suspect, however, that the standard ones will be irritating and the upgrade ones will be acceptable. I can certainly see my entire family getting upgraded ones.

Originally Posted by Stitch1231

More Disney merchandise for people to buy like designer wristbands, character wristbands etc.

Still, it's a great idea not to have to carry a wallet on park LOL

They are pretty clear that they will be offering upgraded bands and some sort of related pinish jewelry. I bet that they are kicking themselves that Microsoft just changed the ipod nano. The magic band seems almost made to become a 6th gen nano Mickey watch.

Originally Posted by ricosuave

I like the idea. Especially bc I have kids. Imagine a cm being able to scan a child's bracelet and locate you ASAP if your child is lost. That is worth any inconvenience to me.

I was thinking the same thing. This definitely has the potential to very quickly return lost parents to their children.

[Minnesota!]

Originally Posted by linzbear

So, I was a little bored, and I'm a geek, so I went ahead and figured out exactly how the Magic Bands work, and what information Disney can actually get from them.

The bands have 3 RFID chips. 2 of them are passive (this means that they are powered by surrounding radio bands, and one is active (uses the battery to power a transmitter).

Chip A - HF band, passive. This is the standard touch-to-pay RFID chip found in credit cards and the like. In practice you must be touching the transmitter for this RFID chip to charge and disperse the information. Information on this chip is an ID code. This Chip is the same as the magnetic strip on the back of your KTTW card, just newer technology. If someone wanted to buy a reader for this, they would have to touch it to your bracelet and hold it there while the chip charged up and gave up the data. At this point the best the thief could do is to print out a new chip, embed it in a similar looking card, and spend up to $50.

Chip B - UHF band, passive. This is the creepy tracking RFID chip. The max range on this is 15ft, and the benefits for this particular chip is that you can read a large number of them at the same time, they are generally used for asset tags. This is to replace turnstile counting and otherwise measures the flow of people in the park (Unfortunately I have no idea if the cards will have this too, so in the future you may not be able to opt out of being counted as an 'asset'.). Because the read distance is so great, it is highly unlikely that this has any personally identifying information on it due to the fact that any shmoe can go onto ebay and buy a reader for it.

The other thing this chip could do is like Pal Mickey used to, trigger offers in your 'My Disney Experience.' "Hey, it looks like you're wandering around Fantasyland, why not check out Mickey's Philharmagic? Here's a free Fast Pass+ so you can get in on the next show!"

Chip C - WiFi band, active. This is the little transmitter. It transmits up to 6ft, and likely provides opt-in personalized experiences (Cinderella says, "Hi Victoria, Happy Birthday!" for example). This particular chip is almost identical to the toll transponders you put in your car. Extremely likely that this is all encrypted data because it is personally identifiable (but in general, useless to a thief).


Thievery: Unlikely. It is far easier, cheaper, and more lucrative to install Credit Card skimmers. Thieves are not likely to zap your RFID chips and reprint them for use when they can instead take a Credit Card number and order a $2000 computer online without blinking.

Big Brother: Feels a little creepy. Well, what does Disney already have on me? My KTTW has park access, a number for biometrics, FP use, purchases, along with names, ages, address of my party. With the Magic Band they can also store the RFID check in points as I walk through the park, creepy, but what can they do with this information? Well, first of all, if I'm walking into a CS restaurant, I'm probably buying lunch and that will show up on my KTTW card, so that's not new information. What is new information is walking into a gift shop and not buying anything. So maybe they give you an incentive to buy something? A 10% discount if you go back today. It's 2pm and you haven't eaten lunch but are still in the park? Order now and your food will be ready for you at Pecos Bill.


Conclusions:
Really creepy to be an asset, realistically they already do track us, this gives them more accurate data. Offers and Personalized experiences are likely opt-in. I really hope Disney has a way to opt out of personalized tracking. And I better get a piece of paper at check-in that explains what they're using my information for!

Great post! Thanks for the info!

I am really looking forward to this!!!

[tjlamphere]

How will this affect a CM getting in a family member for free? How will this wristband deal factor into that????? Pro or Con ???

[cmwade77]

I disagree with the thievery being unlikely, unless Disney has implemented systems to prevent it.

There are RFID readers that work from up to 25 feet away that cost about $10 now. The writers cost about $25.

So for $35, someone could potentially steal thousands of people's information. Now granted they most likely wont get the credit card number, but they will get admission, room key (easy enough to figure out room number), charging privileges, etc.

Now from what I understand, there are things that can be done by Disney to help reduce the risks of this happening, but won't eliminate it.

[TDC Nala]

So for $35, someone could potentially steal thousands of people's information. Now granted they most likely wont get the credit card number, but they will get admission, room key (easy enough to figure out room number), charging privileges, etc.

NONE of that will be stored on the band itself from what I understand.

[Belle102498]

Does anyone know what the bands are made of yet? I'm not worried about them being RFID...I can always put the bands in an RFID blocking wallet/purse thing, but the material they are made of can be an issue. Just curious

[Dixiemom]

I must've missed this, but is there an implementation date?

[tlkgt76]

Originally Posted by AndyFL

I'm getting too old I guess. These acronyms are killing me I'm going to keep working on this one but I'm afraid the NY Times crossword puzzle will prove easier.

"TDBIASWS"

To Disney Because I Am Seriously Without Smiles??

[Missyrose]

Originally Posted by cmwade77

I disagree with the thievery being unlikely, unless Disney has implemented systems to prevent it.

There are RFID readers that work from up to 25 feet away that cost about $10 now. The writers cost about $25.

So for $35, someone could potentially steal thousands of people's information. Now granted they most likely wont get the credit card number, but they will get admission, room key (easy enough to figure out room number), charging privileges, etc.

Now from what I understand, there are things that can be done by Disney to help reduce the risks of this happening, but won't eliminate it.

As TDC Nala said, none of that information would be stored on the band. The band will literally carry just your Disney ID number, which means something to the Disney database, but anyone trying to steal something by using a reader would need access to the Disney database to glean any more information beyond the ID number.

Originally Posted by Belle102498

Does anyone know what the bands are made of yet? I'm not worried about them being RFID...I can always put the bands in an RFID blocking wallet/purse thing, but the material they are made of can be an issue. Just curious

The RFID blocking covers, bags, etc. don't actually work. They're a complete waste of money.

[myjourney]

Originally Posted by Belle102498

My concern with these wristbands are health related. If, in fact, they are rubber or latex, then I have no choice but to stop going to Disney. I am EXTREMELY allergic to these materials...It's not only a matter of wearing it, but others wearing it and waving their hands around. I can't go into any of the play areas because of the rubber in them...I can't even go to the Lights, Motor, Action, show because I have issues with the burning rubber of the tires. I hope Disney realizes how sensitive to this material people actually are. It's hard enough not being able to do certain things at Disney...the thought of not being able to go anymore really saddens me...but Disney isn't worth my health

Most people have rubber on their shoes, how do you deal with that?

[4forMe]

Originally Posted by Dixiemom

I must've missed this, but is there an implementation date?

Rumor has it that the program will begin in February for guests staying at the Boardwalk Inn.

[TDC Nala]

The rumor also is that there will be no immediate, park wide implementation. It will be done in stages.