WDW to use Wristbands in place of Tickets

[larryz]

I have to believe that the powers that be will offer a choice of "trackers" be it wristband or current kttw. They will have to provide a way to remedy a situation that would involve a person with autism or a severe sensitivity condition etc. People with these afflictions have routines (ones I'm sure their caretakers and or parents work very hard to keep intact) and any deviation can trigger a host of issues.

On a selfish note, our next trip will be a twelve day visit. I'm ok with a wristband for a few hours or even a day but I don't want to be tagged like a head of steer for over a weeks time. (and before you post that Disney isn't piercing my ear with the band.....I am well aware its a bracelet)

Well, maybe that battery powered transmitter is to help give the bracelet the range to be pinged from a longer distance (like a central transmitter location in each land, or sections of each land) and will allow WDW to watch you like the peeps in Roller Coaster Tycoon...

 

[GeorgeG]

This is making it too easy to envision chips implanted in the wrist. Spooky...

 

[Colleen27]

It would be a pain in the (_l_) to have one person go get FP's for a large group.

That was my first thought. Can't you see it now? An entire BTG of 100+ all waiting in line for their FPs instead of sending the guide with a pile of tickets!

I understand there are some concerns for AP guest but I don't see why keeping track of a wrist band is any different than keeping track of a ticket. However I do not have an AP so I cannot say for sure what effect it would have on you.
I hope this works and I hope they start to use them soon!

I'm sort of looking forward to it too, but I can see how a wristband would be harder to keep tabs on than a credit-card sized ticket for seasonal/annual passholders. But we don't know if APs are going to end up on the wristbands or not - it could be an optional item (early rumors speculated an assortment of colors and character designs, for a price), it could be a package inclusion, or it could be tied to your resort reservation as room key/charging card but not include tickets in certain situations (AP, tickets from a 3rd party, basically the same situations that have tickets separate from the KTTW now).

 

[dasan]

Not now but Disney could pass a law anytime they wish to. It would be valid and enforceable in any park.

Just like they do (or should do) nowadays with parties or extra magic hours. You would be stopped and questioned if you did not have the bracelet on your wrist.

The question that arises is, would it be nonremovable so someone else could not try to use it? How would it work for non-expiring tickets when you come back a few months or a few years later?

What would they do with someone who has Autism and is hypersensitive and
can't wear it? We have to remove tags from clothing for my son. He would
never wear something on his wrist.

 

[QueenElinor]

It sounds creepy to me! Will they also know when I use the bathroom? Why do we so easily give up our freedoms? Tracking at the supermarket, tracking with online shopping, tracking everywhere. I don't mind anonymous tracking, it's when they know my name and almost everything else about me that makes me uncomfortable.

Yep. I'm just going to buy an rfid wallet to carry it in (a passport wallet, for example) or wrap it in tinfoil. (seriously, I will).

They can say it's anonymous tracking, but they have my name, so how anonymous is that? And they say it's secure, but is it? Heck, banks get hacked all the time. No one, not even Disney, can promise my information is safe if people want to misuse it.

 

[parkhopping]

I don't see them requiring you to wear your wristband all day. The reason they do it for the parties is so that a regular guest who hasn't paid for the party can't "slip through the cracks" and stay in the park. I would also assume that they will keep the fingerprint system they currently have in place. Wristbands have no advantage or disadvantage over paper tickets in allowing another guest to use them, so I don't see why they would drop the fingerprinting. And why wouldn't one person still be able to get FPs for the whole group? I don't understand that concern

 

[mesaboy2]

I don't see them requiring you to wear your wristband all day. The reason they do it for the parties is so that a regular guest who hasn't paid for the party can't "slip through the cracks" and stay in the park. I would also assume that they will keep the fingerprint system they currently have in place. Wristbands have no advantage or disadvantage over paper tickets in allowing another guest to use them, so I don't see why they would drop the fingerprinting. And why wouldn't one person still be able to get FPs for the whole group? I don't understand that concern

Seems to me that lots of cards are easier to carry and manage than lots of wristbands.

 

[parkhopping]

Seems to me that lots of cards are easier to carry and manage than lots of wristbands.

I suppose that's true. I guess it depends on just how big your group is. If it were me, I'd just put them all on my wrists...could probably do 3-4 on each arm, so I think it's reasonable. Or surely you could just grip them in bunches in your hands? As long as your group isn't bigger than 10 or so, I don't see that being a huge issue. I hope BTGs just have everyone put their band into a bag for the tour guide or something instead of having the whole group go to get FPs, as PP suggested might happen. That would not be fun.

 

[bumbershoot]

You know you would think it wouldn't be that big of a deal b/c its so small but as anyone who has been to MNSSHP in September knows it is a pain in the rear. My wrist collects sweat beads underneath our wristbands its just icky.

Oh yes, ick.

I agree with the pp as I also would not like a band that is loose and flops around your wrist all day. I would rather have the traditional ticket/KTTW with or without any type of RFID.

I wouldn't want one that's tight and chafes, either!



And now I'm imagining this wristband, IF you can't take it off, and how GROSS it will be with bathroom visits....ick ick ick ick.

 

[Planogirl]

I hate bracelets and watches so I wouldn't want to wear this thing. If I can just put it in my pocket, I suppose that it'll be OK for me.

 

[Belle83]

It looked exactly like this:

I know you said he was wearing a watch, but they make watches that look like that. Could have also been a medical monitor, or a wrist pedometer like this:

I wouldn't mind a bracelet thing, but I wouldn't actually wear it in the park. I would just carry it in my purse.

 

[ppony]

What would they do with someone who has Autism and is hypersensitive and
can't wear it? We have to remove tags from clothing for my son. He would
never wear something on his wrist.

We have that situation here. We have a GPS for my youngest that we still can't figure out how to get him to wear it all day. Right now, it just attaches to his backpack but sooner or later, he'll have to wear it. We do have a plan.

ANYWAY, back to this topic, my family LOVES the idea of the wristband! For my autistic son who, at least right now, would never tolerate one on his wrist, I would just keep it for him. I'm sure they'd allow that. As others have said, some won't want to wear it. But keeping it in a pocket or lanyard or whatever will do well too.

I'm pretty jazzed about this coming move.

 

[topmonkeygirl]

I'm not following your logic.

If one puts it in a bag or pocket, how is that any less a pain than a conventional ticket?

I would wear mine.

 

[Colleen27]

Yep. I'm just going to buy an rfid wallet to carry it in (a passport wallet, for example) or wrap it in tinfoil. (seriously, I will).

They can say it's anonymous tracking, but they have my name, so how anonymous is that? And they say it's secure, but is it? Heck, banks get hacked all the time. No one, not even Disney, can promise my information is safe if people want to misuse it.

True, but that is just as true now without RFID. The information that anyone would want is already there, assuming you set up room charging - name, address, and CC#. More than enough for an identity thief to go on. The added information of which rides you enjoyed and the general pattern to your park touring wouldn't be of any use to anyone other than Disney.

FWIW, the financial exposure can be greatly minimized by using a pre-paid card (secured debit, like Green Dot) with a very low balance to establish your room charging. You'll have to go to the front desk with cash/gift cards or a CC with sufficient balance to settle your room account at check-out but that way the available information is worthless to a thief.

 

[babydovesx2]

We stayed at The Great Wolf Lodge this summer and we had a wrist band that was used for everything. It was our room key, our water park passes, and we could charge everything to the room using our wrist bands. We could even use them to pay for arcade games. You can restrict what band have charging privledges. It worked out really good. At first I thought it would be uncomfortable but we all soon got used to it and once the week was over and we took our bands off it felt wierd not having it on. The front desk had a device that you could use to take the band off at night if you did not want to sleep in it. The kids especially loved being able to walk up to the room and open the door themselves.

I would love for WDW to start using this.

 

[mom2rtk]

We stayed at The Great Wolf Lodge this summer and we had a wrist band that was used for everything. It was our room key, our water park passes, and we could charge everything to the room using our wrist bands. We could even use them to pay for arcade games. You can restrict what band have charging privledges. It worked out really good. At first I thought it would be uncomfortable but we all soon got used to it and once the week was over and we took our bands off it felt wierd not having it on. The front desk had a device that you could use to take the band off at night if you did not want to sleep in it. The kids especially loved being able to walk up to the room and open the door themselves.

I would love for WDW to start using this.

So they assumed you would sleep in it? And that you had to get a special device at the front desk to take it off of you didn't want to?

I'm out. That's a complete non starter for me.

 

[SaraJayne]

This is invevitable - the whole FP+ change is not about improving the guest experience or getting you on a ride quicker. It is 100% about collecting data and marketing.

Once they rifd you for FP+, they will be collecting data on you all day long - when you rode a bus/monorail, how many times you go to the bathroom, where you go for snacks and meals, what SB lines you wait in, what shows you attend...

You can put RFID readers anywhere, without the parkgoing public even knowing they are there.

All of this data will allow them to expand and market more efficiently.

Yup. The idea completely creeps me out.

 

[jarestel]

The current methods of touring WDW will, in all likelihood, still be available for those who prefer it. However, the RFID-enhanced experience will be able to provide convenience and extras for those who use it. And since human nature, (especially ay WDW), is such that we don't typically like it when some other family has access to things we don't have access to, I expect RFID will rapidly gain converts as it's rolled out and understood more completely.

 

[peachygreen]

So they assumed you would sleep in it? And that you had to get a special device at the front desk to take it off of you didn't want to?

I'm out. That's a complete non starter for me.

Yep - just got back from Great Wolf this weekend. This was a cheap plastic band that had the holes in it for you to stick the button and then it locked in place. They never mentioned being able to remove it at the front desk. I hated wearing it. It was nice at the waterpark because I didn't have to worry about getting a locker and having a key for a locker because I could just keep everything in the room. The RIFD band worked for the vending machines, quick service, gifts, etc, but . . . you can't take it off. So if you want to leave to go to dinner off property, or to Wal-mart or the mall or anywhere else, you have this band on - so everyone knows you are staying at Great Wolf Lodge.

We were there for 2 nights so 3 days of wearing the band. I defiantely was ready to take it off when the 3 days were done. I would not want to wear one for a 10 day trip to WDW.

There were advantages. It did make getting into the room easier. It was nice not needing cash for anything (including a candy bar). But I found myself worried about people being able to scan the RIFD and when I leave a hotel I don't need everyone knowing where I am staying. That just made me feel weird.

 

[osugal]

We go to the Great Wolf Lodges a lot and they have wrist bands. We love them. It's our entrance into the water parks, pays for purchases and meals, and opens our doors. We never have to dig anything out of our purse or wallet. We don't even take a bag with us to the water parks because of it. They're so convenient! And after a day you don't even notice that you're wearing one. Our kids wore them around their ankles when they were little because they weren't opening doors or making purchases.