But is not that serial number also what drives room charging privileges? Dining credits? etc.? How else can I use my room key and charge to my room?
The cards themselves are not active; they are merely a means of identifying yourself. They don't "drive" anything; the WDW central computer system keeps track of all room, dining, and charging entitrlements, and the cards are simply a means to access the account that has your entitlements in it.
A proximity RFID system would work exactly the same way, with the only difference being that you'd have a card or fob that you'd wave near a reader instead of sliding it through a slot.
But the whole "cloning RFID" thing is incredibly unlikely, because the cards and fobs only work within about 1" of the reader. I've seen people walk up to the readers at work and, thinking it funny, turn around and rub their rear pants pocket up against it (with the proximity card in their wallet). Usually it works, but i've seen guys with thick wallets contort themselves and still fail to open the door - because the wallet was so thick that even pressing themselves right up to the reader didn't bring the card close enough to release the door.
So I'm no more worried about people cloning RFID cards or fobs than I am about people stealing the current mag strip cards and going on a shopping spree. Theoretically, it's possible, but doing it is so difficult that it's not worth the effort to a crook.
I could easily find out if it had room charging. Simply go into one of the stores and try and buy something. If it doesn't work, just say you forgot and present a credit card instead - the CM won't care one way or the other. Then toss that one away and clone someone else.
So I don't know what room you are in - don't care. I'm not looking to rob your room. I can, however, go on a shopping spree, perhaps grab a few fastpasses and ride a few rides, and ride off into the sunset...
Same here...I'm not saying any of this is practical (and getting further away from the fact that Disney is NOT using RFID), but possible.
Fortunately, the credit/debit cards I know of place limits on touch-and-go transactions without having to at least sign for it or use a PIN.
Again, not worth the expense of buying the RFID hardware, the trouble of rubbing up against people in the parks, and the awkward weirdness of trying card after card in shop after shop just to get away with a few trinkets, a cheesburger, or a free FastPass.
The only thing that would be worth such effort would be ripping off hotel rooms, and that's also extremely unlikely; it's far easier to pick someone's pocket as they leave their room and use the card or fob to get in. Which can be done with the current mag strip system, or any other system that requires some sort of key.
Nope that's pretty much it.
Not quite - surface damage to magnetic strips can also cause them to cease to function, so you need to be very careful about what you use to store them. Anything with even a mildly abrasive surface, like a cloth wallet or a pocket, or the various objects you might carry IN a pocket, can scratch the mag strip, and Poof! Card no work. And scratches can be so small that they can't be seen with the naked eye, leading to many mistaken, "my card demagnetized for no reason!" stories.
I have also long been of the opinion that static electricity is a much more common culprit than cell phones or magnetic purses. Static is the bane of sensitive electronics, able to fry silicone chips and disrupt magnetic media - like the mag strips on KTTW cards. And static is rampant in hot, humid places like central Florida.
So keep your KTTW cards in a safe place; I recommend one of these from WalMart:
I've been using them for years and never had a KTTW card or any other mag strip card cease to function at WDW.
