Disneyland Tech
Is the Happiest Place on Earth happier with apps and MagicBands?
Recently, I visited Disneyland in Anaheim, California. I've always enjoyed a good Disney trip maybe twice a decade, but this would be my first time visiting as a parent. Overall, we had a great time and the magic of Disney is still there for young and young-at-heart-alike.
But I have to say that I was flummoxed by all of the technology involved in the modern Disney trip. From confusing digital tickets that need to be tied to a specific date on the calendar, to letting a "Genie-powered AI" help plan out our day, the Disney tech needs some work.
The Disneyland App
Like most things these days, Disneyland has a companion app. That seems like a smart idea. I'm all for using an app to save time and add convenience to what could be a stressful trip. The Disneyland app aims to be your central hub that acts as a personal guide, map, credit card, hotel room key and more.
Perhaps that's where the trouble lies. This app is trying to be everything and it's doing a pretty poor job. I'd like to consider myself to be a pretty tech savvy gent, if I was having trouble with the Disneyland app, I can't imagine how a tech-averse Luddite would get by. I suppose they would just choose not to use the app altogether which may be the smart move.
I struggled to make the connection between my Disney account (the same one used for Disney+ and ESPN) and the tickets that my wife purchased for our trip. By the end, I was able to see only my ticket but not those of the rest of my family. This maybe doesn't sound like a big deal but it meant that I couldn't book specific ride times for my daughter since the app didn't recognize her as part of my party.
Having a digital check-in experience at a hotel is also a pretty great feeling. No one wants to wait in line just to be handed a plastic key card and told where the swimming pool is. We can figure these things out on our own, just let us get into our room. Sadly, the digital key experience on the Disneyland app was unreliable. After not working at all for the first 20 times I tried unlocking the door, it just started working for some reason. I never felt confident that the door was going to unlock as I pressed my phone to the digital pad on the lock. Perhaps this was more of a problem with the NFC chip on the Pixel phone, but next time I may just have to go for the old fashioned physical key.
And what was possibly the worst part of the Disneyland app was just the interface itself. It was extremely busy with far too many menu options. I can understand wanting to create a robust app that lets you do everything, but it would make sense to just pick the most used features and keep them easily accessible. I shouldn't have to go through multiple menus to get to my digital room key.
It also seems like poor design to have advertisements inside an app for things I've already paid for. I kept seeing an ad that took up nearly half the screen telling me to sign up for the Genie+ experience to cut down on wait times for the rides. And yet, that was already part of my ticket, shouldn't the app have been smart enough to know that?
There was also just something less than magical about seeing everyone in the parks staring down at their phones every five seconds. Sure, maybe that's just society these days, but the Disneyland app just made this feel even more obvious. It's a good bet that most of the people glued to their screens were having the same app issues that I was.
I even had an encounter on Space Mountain that illustrated this point. As we climbed the first hill in total darkness, I noticed a glowing phone screen at the front of the train. Someone decided it was a good idea to film his Space Mountain journey and his huge glowing phone screen and red shutter button were perched directly in everyone's line of sight. This clearly ruined the effect of a pitch black rollercoaster. The people in front of me noticed it as quickly as I did and shouted "put down your phone, you're ruining the ride!" After a few sheepish seconds, the guy realized the error of his way and put the phone down. In order to really buy into the Disney magic, sometimes you need to take a break from the screens.
MagicBands+
The other side of the tech equation for Disney is something called a MagicBand+. While not essential to the theme park experience, it is a neat little add-on. For prices ranging from $35-$75 you can purchase these bands in the color and style of your choosing. It's basically an RFID oval surrounded by a watch band. The tag lights up and vibrates at various moments throughout your Disney trip. You can connect your park tickets to the band and use it to tap into "Lightning Lanes" to shorten your wait times.
While not a perfect experience, I actually thought the MagicBands were a pretty great idea. They're obviously fun for kids to choose and accessorize their Disney outfits. And they're a tangible way to experience the park. Tapping your MagicBand+ to enter a ride removes the need for you to take out your phone and scan a bar code instead. It's just a fun way to add a little magic and remove another robotic transaction on your phone.
I can see the MagicBands getting some nice upgrades in the future. Maybe they could connect to wireless earbuds to share audio snippets based on your location in the park. Maybe the LED lights could blink in compass directions to guide you to the next ride you've scheduled in your Genie+ queue. And yeah maybe the MagicBand evolves into a full-fledged smartwatch of sorts that can do many of the things the Disneyland app currently struggles with. I'm sure those imagineers have plenty of concepts up their sleeves.
Conclusion
As I said, the overall trip was really great. But Disney still needs to work on their tech. I haven't even mentioned all of the rides that were either out of order completely or temporarily shutdown on our trip. As rides get more and more complex, it only makes sense that more things are bound to breakdown. But nothing will kill the magic for a kid faster than seeing an animatronic character come to halt while the music stops and lights come on.
It'll probably be quite a while before my next Disney trip, so who knows what kind of advancements they'll have by then. At the very least, I hope they can figure out a redesign of the app that makes things actually more simple and helpful while retaining that trademark Disney magic.
Thanks for reading, I’ll see you next week!
Hey! Could you use some help establishing healthy habits? Do you have a big project or new business that you want to get off the ground but could use some advice? Maybe you could benefit from hiring me as your coach. If you’re interested, read more about my coaching services here, or go ahead and book some time on my calendar to discuss further.
Iterate is free today. But if you enjoyed this post, you should let me know that this writing is valuable by pledging a future subscription. You won't be charged unless I enable payments at some point in the future. Think of it like an IOU in a tip jar.