Disney Will Gather Private Information on Theme Park Visitors with New “Magic” Bracelets

Wednesday, January 09, 2013
Photo Credit: Kent Phillips, Disney

 

Visitors to Disney World in Orlando, Florida, will be revealing virtually everything they do at the park to company officials, if they participate in its new magic bracelet program.

 

This spring, Disney plans to offer MyMagic+, a special rubber bracelet encoded with customers’ credit card information. By using the bracelets, visitors will be able to enter the park and purchase food or souvenirs without pulling out their wallets.

 

But this also means that visitors’ actions, behavior and whereabouts will be carefully tracked within the park. Disney will collect this information, from what rides people go on and all purchases they make, to which costumed characters they choose to interact with. It will all be stored in a Disney data base, conceivably for marketing purposes.

 

Indeed, Disney’s decision to move forward with the wrist band technology was contingent on determining that it would increase its corporate profits, according to its Parks and Resorts chairman, Thomas O. Staggs. “If we can enhance the experience, more people will spend more of their leisure time with us,” he told The New York Times.

 

With parents’ consent, personal information about children will transmit from their wrist bands to on-site Disney employees, who will be privy to the young visitors’ names, birthdays, and other data, in order to personalize their interaction.

 

“We want to take experiences that are more passive and make them as interactive as possible — moving from, ‘Cool, look at that talking bird,’ to ‘Wow, amazing, that bird is talking directly to me,’ ” Bruce Vaughn, chief creative executive for Walt Disney Imagineering, told the newspaper.

 

Some parents say they’re fine with Disney collecting personal data about them, but not their kids. Others are bothered by it altogether.

 

“Although I know this type of technology is making its way into every facet of life, it still makes me feel a bit creeped out,” wrote Jayne Townsley on StitchKingdom.com, according to the newspaper.

 

A Disney Tourist blogger, Ray, wrote: “The ‘ankle bracelet’ aspect is troubling at best. Even I don’t want to plan to that degree and have my movements tracked… I don’t see these ‘guest enhancements’ being something that many guests have been demanding. So the big question is…why?”

 

The Disney World plan is part of a wider operation, costing Disney upward of a billion dollars, designed to implement the wrist-band technology in all of its theme parks.

-Noel Brinkerhoff, Danny Biederman

 

To Learn More:

At Disney Parks, a Bracelet Meant to Build Loyalty (and Sales) (by Brooks Barnes, New York Times)

Will Disney Visitors Feel Magic in New Bracelet Payment Method? (by Greg Beaubien, Public Relations Society of America)

Disney’s MyMagic+ FAQ (Disney TouristBlog.com)

Feds Want to Know What Data Brokers Who Market Data on Consumers Know (by Ken Broder, AllGov)

Comments

former "guest" 11 years ago
Welcome to Soviet America, where privacy is no longer a concern. This is just one more example of how the wonderful company that Walt created has been turned into a creepy, fascist cult. It is an insult to our intelligence that this is about greater guest service. If that thing which today dares to call itself Disney spent half as much on customer service as it does on customer control, it would be unmatched anywhere
Daniel T. Spriegel 11 years ago
Go for it -- not having to carry anything around is fantastic
BitterClinger 11 years ago
This definitely sounds like a lead-up to the eventual RFID chip.... get the sheep used to getting scanned, then on to the next step.
guest 11 years ago
this is an outrage .. disney seems to give no thought as to what this " policy " portends for the future of society .... HORRIBLE to think about
J. Jonz 11 years ago
Screw that big eared rodent.
Bite Me 11 years ago
Walt Disney was a major player in the Illuminati. Screw these people. They will NEVER make another dime off of me.
Bobbie Jo Justice 11 years ago
guess I won't be going to disney world anymore
Amerikagulag 11 years ago
I wouldn't visit that plastic paradise if it were free.
Harper Goff 11 years ago
SCREW DIZZY My family, coworkers, and friends will NEVER set foot in one of your parks again. Walt is rolling in his grave!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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