NexitGen RFID Wristbands, Enhanced PhotoPass & FastPass coming to WDW?

[crazy4wdw]

NexitGen: RFID Wristbands, Enhanced PhotoPass & FastPass coming to WDW.

Interesting article on DisFanatic about posssible new technology coming to WDW:

http://dizfanatic.com/DizTech012.aspx

 

[mike the canuck]

Wow. On-ride cameras is a cool idea.

 

[dbennett3899]

I love everything about these bracelets and hope they come out soon!

 

[Figment632]

Wow a billion dollars and the best they can do is bracelets!

What a waist think of how many could have been refurbed and how many new attractions could have been built!

Or do I dare say it Monorail expansion!

Epic Fail!

 

[ChloroFiend]

My Masters thesis was on the use of RFID for physical security; almost identical to what Disney may be planning to do for their room keys...so that part is totally feasible.

What scares me, however, is that RFID isn't transmitted encrypted. It's trivially easy to set up an RFID sniffer to read what other people have on their tags and then rebroadcast that somewhere else....or potentially clone their bracelet to your own. Once that happens, you couldget into their hotel room or rack up charges to their room account. Kind of a major security issue eh? It's sort of the same thing that people are worried about with RFID passports...but with a much more tangible and immediate possibility for ill effect.

It's definitely a next-gen concept, but one I'm not sure is ready for prime time.

 

[dbennett3899]

Que the haters lol...

 

[Disneyman_10]

This looks awesome

When is it supposed to come out?

 

[ChloroFiend]

Que the haters lol...

If being concerned about my personal and financial security labels me a hater, then consider me cued...or queued...take your pick.

In reality, I'm excited for new innovations and ways of doing things. It's one of the reasons I got into tech back as a kid. However, innovation at the cost of safety or security isn't something I'm all about.

We're obviously not hearing full details as they're not present; in technical parlance, we're probably looking at a pre-alpha stage...at best. That doesn't absolve the concerns from being present and the need for them to be addressed.

I'd be more than happy to get issued a CM badge and Imagineer spot just to tackle these and other Information Security related concerns.

 

[Disco]

Disney is way ahead of the game here already and these new systems are more than just a means to get a personalized experienced (which in itself is no small thing). They also will enable advanced crowd control and tracking measures. People will be able to hit more rides a day and be vastly more entertained while they wait to get on them. It will also open up a whole new slew of possible activities.
Making more out of my day is a huge thing while i'm at WDW, in fact that was my major complaint last time I went:
Had to stand in line to get my hotel room and they didn't put the park tickets on the keys like I requested. Next morning had to get in line to get park tickets. Requested that they put the keys and tickets together, that would take another 15 minutes.
Each of these blunders is a fricken ride that I am missing in the parks! Not that the new system will do away with all blunders but it should streamline everything a lot.
Security is a big thing. However these will be linked to my Ccard which does not hold me responsible for fraudulent charges. Also, there are methods to fight security issues. As with any method it's always an evolving process of trial and discovery. The biggest deterrent I can imagine off the top of my head is that these things can track redundant use pretty easily. Use them to get into the park more than once and you are going to be flagged. You are the correct holder? Then you are reissued a new ID and the next time the fraudulent band is used security will be there.
My only real worries with these bands are that some of these interactive renderings of possible scenes can look awfully gaudy. I hope they tastefully integrate all of them and don’t throw plasma screens on the front of every ride just to do it. Also, I don't want to see Cinderella wearing a radio headset to receive instructions on her next "client".
"DHQ, this is the big C. Next kid is on approach, please advise on new bio. Big C out."

 

[anthony2k7]

My Masters thesis was on the use of RFID for physical security; almost identical to what Disney may be planning to do for their room keys...so that part is totally feasible.

What scares me, however, is that RFID isn't transmitted encrypted. It's trivially easy to set up an RFID sniffer to read what other people have on their tags and then rebroadcast that somewhere else....or potentially clone their bracelet to your own. Once that happens, you couldget into their hotel room or rack up charges to their room account. Kind of a major security issue eh? It's sort of the same thing that people are worried about with RFID passports...but with a much more tangible and immediate possibility for ill effect.

It's definitely a next-gen concept, but one I'm not sure is ready for prime time.

depends on the standards of RFID used i believe though doesnt it? Passports use encryption - although some would argue its not very strong, there is at least some encryption.

Likewise all the latest NFC tech.

 

[anthony2k7]

Wow a billion dollars and the best they can do is bracelets!

What a waist think of how many could have been refurbed and how many new attractions could have been built!

Or do I dare say it Monorail expansion!

Epic Fail!

you can be fairly sure that disney's priorities are how they can make money from this - eg whatever they've got planned for photopass, optimised ride wait times etc so that people cant spend more time looking at all that same merch in all the shops instead

lets just hope the guys that did the numbers for this are better at it than the ones that did the recent DVC figures

 

[rutgers1]

I'm not too optimistic. I really don't seeing the initial debut being all that groundbreaking and, if anything, it will have little impact on my ability to go on more rides (my biggest wish) and much more of an impact on my ability to spend money that I didn't anticipate spending.

 

[ChloroFiend]

depends on the standards of RFID used i believe though doesnt it? Passports use encryption - although some would argue its not very strong, there is at least some encryption.

Likewise all the latest NFC tech.

That got brought up a bit in the other thread over in TPA&S. Here's a link to my post there that covers it.

I'm not up on NFC at all; just hasn't been relevant to my job duties and (surprisingly) it hasn't been on the agendas at any of the security conferences I've attended...or at least it was miniscule compared to talks on other topics. Can't really speak to its strengths or shortcomings.

 

[charliebrown]

I would feel so hardcore with those.

 

[Mickeysgirl34]

Disney.

The future stalkers.

 

[jlandis44]

As a frequent guest of Great Wolf Lodge, where a similar system has been in place for years, I have two primary things that worry me about wristbands...

- It's annoying to sleep with these things on, but not a show-stopper
- Now, Dad can't take everyone's pass at the gate and get Fastpasses for the important ride of the day...we all need to go...the crowds at Soarin' Fastpass machines first thing in the AM just increased 4-fold, on average...and it already can take 20-30 minutes to get thru Soarin' FP in the morning...that will suck.

 

[TheRustyScupper]

. . . an RFID sniffer to read what other people have on their tags and then rebroadcast that somewhere else....or potentially clone their bracelet to your own. Once that happens, you couldget into their hotel room or rack up charges to their room account . . .

1) Yep.
2) A gold mine for thieves!
3) And, you won't even know it.
. . . it is not like a KTTW that you notice is lost
. . . the charges are immediate to your account
. . . you don't see the charges until you ask for an accounting
. . . or worse, when you check out
4) Now, how tough is it to prove that YOU didn't make purchases!
5) Proving a negative can be awfully hard.
6) As an example:
. . . you are at DTD
. . . a thief walks by and zaps your RFID code without touching you
. . . the thief walks into WoD and buy three watches at $400 each
. . . then, four seat to La Nouba
. . . and, don't forget lobster for four at Fulton's
. . . voilà!, a $1,500 bill and you only ate at T-Rex

NOTE: We used RFID for secured access into our corporate headquarters.
We ended it when someone got a code and entered the facility. Since
they opened the doors, security had no reason to question them.

 

[Nemofinder15]

keylimecove.com

Thats a resort in Gurnee, IL that was considered the first all RFID resort. Its a pretty sweet system, but it comes with flaws. I would LOVE if Disney did it. Would make it feel more like a cruise, which is what they were going for with the Keys to the Kingdom Card. They should auto load fast passes on so that the wait for fast pass isn't as long as the line for the ride. They essentially could do it and still cut down on wait times. I'd be interested to see how personal Dis could make this!

 

[DizCaptain]

As a frequent guest of Great Wolf Lodge, where a similar system has been in place for years, I have two primary things that worry me about wristbands...

- It's annoying to sleep with these things on, but not a show-stopper
- Now, Dad can't take everyone's pass at the gate and get Fastpasses for the important ride of the day...we all need to go...the crowds at Soarin' Fastpass machines first thing in the AM just increased 4-fold, on average...and it already can take 20-30 minutes to get thru Soarin' FP in the morning...that will suck.

I completely agree. I personally HATE wristbands you have to wear for more than just a short time (like extra magic hours). Imagine wearing them a whole week? Geez, they better be sturdy as they get. Also, yea the lines at Soarin', which are already terrible with just one member of the family going, will probably get so bad that the building breaks building code...

1) Yep.
2) A gold mine for thieves!
3) And, you won't even know it.
. . . it is not like a KTTW that you notice is lost
. . . the charges are immediate to your account
. . . you don't see the charges until you ask for an accounting
. . . or worse, when you check out
4) Now, how tough is it to prove that YOU didn't make purchases!
5) Proving a negative can be awfully hard.
6) As an example:
. . . you are at DTD
. . . a thief walks by and zaps your RFID code without touching you
. . . the thief walks into WoD and buy three watches at $400 each
. . . then, four seat to La Nouba
. . . and, don't forget lobster for four at Fulton's
. . . voilà!, a $1,500 bill and you only ate at T-Rex

NOTE: We used RFID for secured access into our corporate headquarters.
We ended it when someone got a code and entered the facility. Since
they opened the doors, security had no reason to question them.

Thanks for bringing up those points, glad to see someone else sees these problems. I can see how its being installed can seem more convenient (to those who are disorganized and/or don't know how to use fastpass, photopass, front gates, doors, etc.) but in my eyes the cons far outweigh the pros. Not only is theft a problem, but so is keeping such a large system online. With this, they're putting essentially their ENTIRE park operation on the line, and if it were to glitch or get taken offline, itd be disastrous.

I only brought this up because during our Christmas vacation to Disney last year the Contemporary had installed a new computer system a few weeks prior and we found out the hard way it wasn't working when three times we discovered our keys were deactivated and it wasn't until the third that we learned that our room had been given to NEW tenants while we were at the park. We only found out when at 11 at night on a cold Winter's night a family opened the door to us chilling in our room (Thank God for that the other two families who saw luggage in there were honest and didn't steal anything).

The point of that story is that even a small glitch (let alone a complete system offline) like that in park operations could be disastrous. All it takes is one reservation to be glitched to ruin it...its a gamble to me.