An interesting article from 2010 - Precursor into Fastpass +

[SueM in MN]

I was looking for something else and found this article from December 2010. It's very interesting about how Disney was already using technology for controlling crowds and the flow of rides at that point.
It gives some early glimpses into the idea of Magicbands and Fastpass +

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/28/business/media/28disney.html?_r=0

I knew they had some 'control center' that tracked all the wait times, but had no idea it was this sophisticated.

 

[Schmeck]

I was looking for something else and found this article from December 2010. It's very interesting about how Disney was already using technology for controlling crowds and the flow of rides at that point.
It gives some early glimpses into the idea of Magicbands and Fastpass +

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/28/business/media/28disney.html?_r=0

I knew they had some 'control center' that tracked all the wait times, but had no idea it was this sophisticated.

Interesting, but not sure how it relates to disabilities?

Not thrilled that Disney is feeding into the "ADD" generation by thinking we all need to play games and have instant smartphone access all the time.

 

[SueM in MN]

Interesting, but not sure how it relates to disabilities?

Not thrilled that Disney is feeding into the "ADD" generation by thinking we all need to play games and have instant smartphone access all the time.

It doesn't have to be related to disabilities, but there is an indirect connection.
The article shows how much infomation Disney was collecting and how much they were using that information to route people even before RFID, Magicbands and Fastpass Plus.

At the time the article was written, we knew very little (almost nothing) about those things, but Disney was obviously pretty well in the planning phase.
One of the things mentioned - that a character might be able to 'remember' a guest had visited 3 or 4 times before and call the guest by name, points to the system having a lot more potential functions than just reserving Fastpasses and paying with the RFID card or Magicbands.

 

[Schmeck]

It doesn't have to be related to disabilities, but there is an indirect connection.

Just asking because you posted it on the disABILITIES forum, so I was thinking it had to do with disabilities, and couldn't figure out what I missed.

 

[GadgetTheInventor]

I came across that article within the last year and also found it to be quite interesting. I always figured they were doing a lot of data mining just because of the sheer size of WDW and knowing they want to increase their profit margin as much as possible and keep visitors headed to their parks instead of the competition's. Just the other day, a CM at reservations called my DM by her first name at the beginning of the conversation. Now if only they would also remember that we need a room with VIP cleaning, away from the chlorinated pools, HEPA filter, etc. (they are always loosing our medical requests multiple times before we arrive which means I have to spend hours on the phone rerequesting requests).

Have you noticed that the MK wheel spokes are different sizes? They are proportional to the crowd size using them. Yep, even Walt was interested in crowd management.

I've also had a lot of enlightening conversations with CMs regarding crowd control while killing time during the long waits for the HC vehicle. Nothing that is a Disney secret or would get them in trouble for sharing, but it is interesting how the number of ride vehicles change throughout the day and seasons. One of the few perks!