What the article mentioned is an idea that's been floating around the company for a bit. It's essentially a return to the old A thru E tickets but with a high-tech (if you support the idea) or Dave & Busters (if you don't) twist.
Instead of receiving a main gate ticket, you'd receive a smart card. The card would be loaded with a certain number of "points" much like a Dave & Buster's or the old DisneyQuest cards . Each attraction inside the park would "cost" a certain number of points, just as they used to be require a A, B, C, D, or E ticket. A card reader would be placed in front of each attraction; you'd swipe your card through the turnstile and the "points" would be deducted from your account. The concept could be further expanded so the same card could be used as you room key and a charge card throughout the resort. One example would be the ability to buy something on the card and have it automatically delivered to your hotel or home without having to fill out any paperwork (because the card would already contain your address).
Two forces are driving this concept. The first is the customer relation management angle that says "look at all the synergy we could developed!" Say you ride 'Pirates of the Caribbean' twice during your last stay. Some computer could tag you as a "Pirate fan" and send you endless e-mails about the upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean sequel. Less ominously say if you have a reservation at the Rose & Crown pub but the computer sees you just got on 'Primeval Whirl'. The computer can bump your table to a waiting guest already at the restaurant while it sends a message to your Pal Mickey reminding you that you are supposed to be spending money somewhere else.
The other force is coming out of frustration. Under the current management it is impossible to get a new attraction approved or even maintained without being to prove - on paper - that it will return a significant amount of money. The ticket price is prorated among all the attractions, the maintenance gets pooled - but there's no way of knowing how much each attraction "earns" or "makes".
Take '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'. That attraction was expensive to operate and to maintain. Under the old ticket it was easy to so that "X number of people spent a 95 cent E-ticket, so we can afford to spend Y on operations and Z on maintenance". Each ride paid its own way, you could judge the real value of an attration (because people were willing to pay for it instead of just going on it because it was there) and you could also justify upgrades because adding more riders would increase your revenue.
But under the passport plan (and management without a feel for theme parks), costs and benefits of an attraction have become clouded. Maintenance is pooled and cut - so the game becomes "how do we split up our maintenance resources" rather than seeing which attraction can really pay for its own keep. Enhancements are ignored because the only way of generating more revenue is through increased admissions at the main gate. So with something like '20K' it's real easy to say "shut it down because we won't lose a penny and I can move all the maintenance guys elsewhere".
Granted, the "make it ride pay for itself" concepts sound more Eisner than anything he has come up with - but that's the reason a lot of people are pushing for it. It's the only way the parks and WDI can make the case that new attractions, updated attractions and working attractions are important. It circumvents all the fuzzy logic and management guesswork that has proven to be so wrong in the past, and presents the same management with a dollars-and-cents mentality that gets them drooling like a dog when you run the can opener.
This is still very much a blue-sky idea. The cost of the card system would be significant, and the reputation of FastPass makes it hard to convince The Big Guy to drop that kind of coin on infrastructure. It will happen only if someone can convince him that it will generate substantial revenues and someone in marketing can figure out a way to spin this to the guests.
P.S. The other, simpler idea is simply to add an additional cost for shows and attractions. Say you want to see 'Fantasmic!' from the center section? That will be ten bucks. Want an instant FastPass? That's two-fifty. Want to a dinner reservation? A five dollar "service charge" on your hotel bill is all it takes.
That's much, much more likely to happen.
