Who needs MB when you have a smart phone?

[AngiTN]

Just checked in a stay at a relatively new Renaissance (Marriott) property and like Disney, they offer early check in, with direct to room option. However, they don't use Magic Bands (obviously). Once you have a room assigned, they enable your phone to open your room. This will be a first for us, will know tomorrow night how well it works, or doesn't. LOL

Made me wonder, would Disney ever evolve away from MB and enable a system where smart phones did everything, instead of MB?

Personally, I think between the 2 I'd rather use a MB for everything at Disney, instead of the phone. Especially FP. But it may be nice to be able to use the phone for tickets and room access.

 

[Lesley Wake]

Problem is phones for international visitors. Yes, there is wifi, but the parks are notoriously slow. For Disneyland, people relying on wifi for MaxPass are often frustrated due to low signal strength. Any other international visitors would be out of luck unless they want to incur horrible roaming charges!

Edit, also it takes something out of the control of Disney. With MagicBands I'm sure they are making plenty of money on special designs. People end up having so many of these special ones, when in reality, you only need one!

 

[ShadeDK]

I've wondered the same thing - so much is done from our phones anyway (including scheduling everything on the MDE app that the MB is used for) that it almost makes too much sense.

Someone pointed out to me though that it was unlikely that Disney would switch anytime soon due to: (a) its billion dollar investment in MDE and integrated MB functionality; (b) the upsell on personalized MBs; and (c) this is Disney IT we're talking about. I'd love to see it myself - but doubt we'll see it happen for a long time.

 

[melana]

Hilton Properties, or most of their newer places, have the option for using your phone for room access too. I never do it. I don't know why, but I just like having a key. Wifi/data reliability is spotty sometimes where I stay and I would have to go to the front desk and get a key..and then go back to the room. LOL. Would rather just stop by the desk and get my key. LOL.

I don't know if Disney would venture to this, but they may. But their wifi/internet needs to get better. There were several times while at WDW that I had little or no access either with wifi or my 4G. It was very frustrating at times. I agree with you AngiTN, I would rather just use my MB for Disney.

 

[OKW Lover]

Agree with @AngiTN that this could/should come to Disney. Not as a replacement for the MB but to be used instead of a MB for those that wish to.

 

[hllb]

I tried using my phone at a Marriott on my last business trip. I never could get it to work. I thought it might be my battery case so I even took that off my phone. Nope. Fail. Had to go back downstairs and get a key card. Hopefully you have better luck. They said it usually works fine.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

I think I would still prefer an MB for one reason - I love being able to take it to the pool and not have to have either personal items stashed in a bag that can be stolen or a phone in a waterproof case knowing that if it fails, it’s a major issue. MB is perfect for pool days.

 

[epcotty]

That's interesting. Wonder if a more regular cell phone would be able to do that too. We've had smartphone problems recently so now we use regular cell phones and tablets for any apps we want to use. Hampton doesn't do this yet I know, it still was the regular card in the door at the location we stayed at in October.

And even regular cell phone reception can be bad in the parks, sometimes when we tried calling/texting it wouldn't go through

 

[Gehrig1B]

All Hilton properties are slowly moving to electronic keys on your phone. I have used this option for over a year. It works very well. When traveling with family I will use the phone option as well as have key cards made for others. I think Disney could go to a similar system where you can use our phone, use a card ticket, or use a Magic Band.

 

[gwb]

there are a lot of people who don't have new smart phones. There are far too many security issuea with using a smart phone. The magicbands have security coded frequencies that you can't get with smart phones. It would be far too easy to hack.

 

[DisneyOma]

I've wondered the same thing - so much is done from our phones anyway (including scheduling everything on the MDE app that the MB is used for) that it almost makes too much sense.

Someone pointed out to me though that it was unlikely that Disney would switch anytime soon due to: (a) its billion dollar investment in MDE and integrated MB functionality; (b) the upsell on personalized MBs; and (c) this is Disney IT we're talking about. I'd love to see it myself - but doubt we'll see it happen for a long time.

And what happens if you don't have a cellphone, or one that can handle the app, etc? Or if your phone dies while you are on vacation, or the battery dies and you left the charger in the room, etc. I don't want to spend any more of my life tied to a damn phone. People are on their phones too much as it is, and it's pathetic.

All Hilton properties are slowly moving to electronic keys on your phone. I have used this option for over a year. It works very well. When traveling with family I will use the phone option as well as have key cards made for others. I think Disney could go to a similar system where you can use our phone, use a card ticket, or use a Magic Band.

I'll stick to a separate device to open my door, so I hope they always offer one. Not that I stay at a Hilton - can't stand the twits in that family, won't give them a penny.

 

[AngiTN]

Agree with @AngiTN that this could/should come to Disney. Not as a replacement for the MB but to be used instead of a MB for those that wish to.

Yeah, I would never want this as a replacement or only option for room access, or any other type of access. Only as an option

 

[CarrieR]

I used the digital key last for Hilton (Hampton) at a stay last week - it was pretty cool. First time their night manager had activated one, so it was a learning experience for us both!

Although I am not a huge MB fan (hate wearing things on my wrist, so I usually keep it looped around the strap of my park bag) I found I preferred the MB for the door key. It is always "right there" instead of needing to be dug out like a cell - small thing, but I found myself thinking "MBs are easier."

What I DID love was the ability to choose my own room during OLCI. Open the app, it showed me what was available, I picked one. I WISH Disney had such a system!! Maybe then we'd get our requests

 

[CrankyDad]

Hilton GM here. My hotel is digital. Works great for guests that want the feature.

That said my understanding is the mb is tracking a ton of info for Disney. So they can use that info to know when people go to what parks dining etc. also some interactive stuff also. Things you don’t want your phone having access too

 

[Gehrig1B]

And what happens if you don't have a cellphone, or one that can handle the app, etc? Or if your phone dies while you are on vacation, or the battery dies and you left the charger in the room, etc. I don't want to spend any more of my life tied to a damn phone. People are on their phones too much as it is, and it's pathetic.

Don't have a cellphone? Ask for a keycard.
Phone dies? Carry an extra battery, most people do these days.

Your life is not tied to a phone, you are connected to the world like never before...move into the 21st century or get left behind. Choosing to live in the past is pathetic in my opinion. Technology is blamed for too many of societie's ills. Remember when TV was going to be the ruin of us all?

 

[Gehrig1B]

That said my understanding is the mb is tracking a ton of info for Disney. So they can use that info to know when people go to what parks dining etc. also some interactive stuff also. Things you don’t want your phone having access too

Disney could always separate the key function on your phone from the data on your account. There is nothing on a Magic Band...it just accesses your Disney account like a debit card accesses your bank account.

 

[Tomh]

Just checked in a stay at a relatively new Renaissance (Marriott) property and like Disney, they offer early check in, with direct to room option. However, they don't use Magic Bands (obviously). Once you have a room assigned, they enable your phone to open your room. This will be a first for us, will know tomorrow night how well it works, or doesn't. LOL

Made me wonder, would Disney ever evolve away from MB and enable a system where smart phones did everything, instead of MB?

Personally, I think between the 2 I'd rather use a MB for everything at Disney, instead of the phone. Especially FP. But it may be nice to be able to use the phone for tickets and room access.

As long as Disney can make you pay $13 for a MB I don't see any chance of this ever becoming a reality at Disney. Personally, what I'd like to see is some kind of smart watch partnership with Disney, where you could use the watch along with all of your apps, but it would also double as your MB, fully rechargeable, no need for replacing it when the battery dies, interchangeable bands, and the ability to run all sorts of apps on it.

 

[OKW Lover]

That said my understanding is the mb is tracking a ton of info for Disney. So they can use that info to know when people go to what parks dining etc. also some interactive stuff also. Things you don’t want your phone having access too

Actually the MB isn't tracking anything. All it does is transmit a fixed code every time its interrogated. That code is then interpreted by the "My Disney Experience" data base which determines if the MB is allowed to enter an attraction, open a hotel door, or access the fast pass line.

A smart phone could just as easily transmit a unique code to the system and provide those same functions without giving Disney any access to any information on the phone.

 

[mesaboy2]

Actually the MB isn't tracking anything. All it does is transmit a fixed code every time its interrogated. That code is then interpreted by the "My Disney Experience" data base which determines if the MB is allowed to enter an attraction, open a hotel door, or access the fast pass line.

A smart phone could just as easily transmit a unique code to the system and provide those same functions without giving Disney any access to any information on the phone.

I think it’s safe to assume that Disney is using MDX (of which MBs are a key part) to track each and every guest’s usage of it—whether it be to enter a room, a park, an attraction, pay for a meal, or pay for souvenirs. They have also demonstrated the ability for MBs to report guest locations at various areas within WDW. That‘s why Disney was willing to blow $2B on it.

 

[fla4fun]

Don't have a cellphone? Ask for a keycard.
Phone dies? Carry an extra battery, most people do these days.

Your life is not tied to a phone, you are connected to the world like never before...move into the 21st century or get left behind. Choosing to live in the past is pathetic in my opinion. Technology is blamed for too many of societie's ills. Remember when TV was going to be the ruin of us all?

It’s not necessarily choosing to live in the past, but using what is most convenient and reliable.

I have tried digital key at a couple different Hilton brand properties. First you have to open the app, then work with it, then sometimes it unlocks the door and sometimes it doesn’t. As a female who travels solo a lot, I want to walk up to the door and get in immediately for security reasons. I don’t want to be standing in the hall with my back to other patrons trying to get the app to work. I tried firing up the app on my way to the room in the elevator but couldn’t get a steady signal. For it to be convenient for me it needs to be quick enough that I can fire up the app and get the door unlocked just as fast as I can pull a key card out of a pocket and do the same.

I have no problem using apps that make life easier. One day, stepping into an elevator won’t cause your phone to lose its signal, and you will be able to use the digital key just by having the app open instead of having to navigate through several pages to get to it. It’s not quite there yet. By the time it is, maybe we will have smart watch integration as well, which I agree would be great.