Disney testing hand-held device for theme parks

Disney is currently testing a hand-held wireless device that lets theme park visitors check ride wait times, locate walk-around characters and plot a time-efficient strategy for visiting the most-popular attractions.

If the pilot program proves successful, Disney could roll out the Magic Connection devices at Disney World by 2009 and Disneyland by 2010, according to mouse watcher Jim Hill.

Using a standard Nintendo DS portable video game player, 600 Disney World visitors participating in the 10-day trial can check interactive theme park maps, parade routes and show schedules all at the touch of a stylus, reported Jim Hill Media, a Disney news site. While waiting in line, the Nintendo also offers games themed to that particular ride.

While the pilot system offers the ability to check FastPass availability and return times, Disney envisions a next generation system that would allow visitors to remotely book paperless FastPasses from hotel rooms and restaurants, Hill said.

Disney recently applied for a patent that imagined a day when theme park visitors could use cellphones to book a FastPass, the theme park giant’s ride reservation system that allows visitors to return at a designated time and enter via a shorter line.

— Brady MacDonald, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

[Photo: Nintendo]

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This entry was posted on Monday, January 14, 2008 at 5:52 pm by Brady MacDonald and is filed under Disneyland, East Coast, Family & Kids, San Diego, Theme Parks, Travel Technology. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.