PHOTO - NextGen RFID payment readers now in operation at Disney's Contemporary Resort

Bob

B00b
Premium Member
I read the article, and at first glance I'd guess that the numbers are a little high. I don't doubt for a second though that Disney is saving money in the long run by doing this.

I'm sure that I am setting myself up to get mocked and ridiculed but.......one would hope that if they could save money using this technology, it would slow down the increase of ticket prices, room rates, etc.
 

tagrd

New Member
Does anyone know if you can pay for your room charges with a Disney gift card. My wife and I have gotten Disney gift cards for every special occasion for quite some time now. We are going down for 2 weeks, and have approximately $600 in gift cards. If I just charge all of our dining to my room, would I then be able to pay that balance at check-out with my gift cards, or would it have to be cash or credit. I know the restaurants take the gift cards, but instead of keeping track of what card has what balance, I would much rather charge $500 to the room key and then give (5) $100 gift cards at check-out.
 

hollywoodj

Active Member
I used the swipe on Saturday, just to swipe my credit card, and it was more difficult than I imagined. The area in which you swipe a card is so much smaller width-wise, than others, so I was forced to "try again" twice.
 

JCtheparrothead

Well-Known Member
Does anyone know if you can pay for your room charges with a Disney gift card. My wife and I have gotten Disney gift cards for every special occasion for quite some time now. We are going down for 2 weeks, and have approximately $600 in gift cards. If I just charge all of our dining to my room, would I then be able to pay that balance at check-out with my gift cards, or would it have to be cash or credit. I know the restaurants take the gift cards, but instead of keeping track of what card has what balance, I would much rather charge $500 to the room key and then give (5) $100 gift cards at check-out.
I think it is like the cruise line. You can put a positive balance on your room account and chip away at it while you are using you key to the kingdom. If you don't use the whole thing then you get a refund to a gift card. I'm not 100% sure so someone else might want to chime in here.
 

nolatron

Well-Known Member
At first I didn't see the point of RFID at stores but I can see this as the gateway to RFID park passes/wristbands.

That's something I look forward to having. I hate having to insert ticket... turn it around... insert it... rub the dirt off the strip... insert... turn around again.... insert...
 

Victor Kelly

Well-Known Member
Hey Disney is still years ahead of universal which still used bar codes which have nothing but issues. RFID has some issues. I am concerned with people being able to read your room number, days on the pass, and be able o use your days and get into your room. If anyone has a response to this that works in the RFID field please let us know.

Our IDs at work are RFID. Which is extremely short range, about 1.5 inches max, maybe not even that. My commuter pass is RFID I believe. Which is read when you go through the toll booths. All US passports have an RFID feature in them. And it is coming to drivers licenses soon too. I like the technology.

Now think, going through a turnstile in less than 3 seconds because of RFID readers. That will speed up the process because no matter how you do it, it works. Upside down, left, right, forwards and backwards. It is a more idiot proof technology.

No more hand stamps already. I kinda liked it, but it was old tech.

I can see RFID coming into play way way more in the future, not just at Disney, but in our normal fast paced lives.
 

bhg469

Well-Known Member
Its possible you tags at work are NFC which is a subset of RFID but has shorter range and is better for security. Rfid can go a few meters but that depends on the antenna. most likely disney will be using lower power at the gates so you have to be close and when rides start using the tech they will use higher power to determine if you are in the ride vehicle or the que. The security issue is interesting but since they are using it to make purchases also, you better believe there will be encryption involved.

as far as it being used in normal lives. I often use my cell phone's nfc chip to pay for items at the store. Its very handy, while pulling my wallet out isn't much harder, it is still more fun for my geekyness to use instead. The uses are pretty limitless though.
 

Rob562

Well-Known Member
Now think, going through a turnstile in less than 3 seconds because of RFID readers. That will speed up the process because no matter how you do it, it works. Upside down, left, right, forwards and backwards. It is a more idiot proof technology.

No more hand stamps already. I kinda liked it, but it was old tech.

I can see RFID coming into play way way more in the future, not just at Disney, but in our normal fast paced lives.

Disney hasn't used handstamps in years with the "Ticket Tag" biometric system.

And all of the ticket readers at Disney (both the entry turnstiles and the FastPass machines) can read a ticket in any of the four orientations you can insert it (faceup or facedown, stripe to the left or right). FP machines used to require the stripe to be in one place, but those readers were swapped out within the first year or two.

But I agree that RFID will speed up the entry process.

-Rob
 

llrain

Well-Known Member
another thats been around for a long time now, Exxon Mobile Easypay, so ya, disney not really leading the world into the future
And for those of you complaining about Disney Corp not leading the world into the future, it will be interesting to see how long it takes for the rest of the world to start doing this sort of thing, too.
 

wdwmagic

Administrator
Moderator
Premium Member
Original Poster
another thats been around for a long time now, Exxon Mobile Easypay, so ya, disney not really leading the world into the future
Well no, because Disney's Touch to Pay is just the tip of the iceberg for their NextGen initiative. It offers much more than that.
 

ulto22

Active Member
RFID has some issues. I am concerned with people being able to read your room number, days on the pass, and be able o use your days and get into your room. If anyone has a response to this that works in the RFID field please let us know.

I'm currently an Electrical/Computer Engineering student and have worked on personal projects like an RFID door lock for my dorm.

To answer your question, RFIDs for the most part do not hold your information like room number, days of passes, etc. What it does hold is a small set of numbers and letters in a random configuration that Disney will be able to read when passed near their antennas. Disney's computers will then check that number with their server's for your information.

There are RFID tags that can store information, but I highly highly doubt Disney would go that route for safety and monetary reasons.

Now, these RFID tags can very likely be read by other people who build portable readers, but that information will be made invalid to them if you have a verbal PIN number that you must state while using it. I don't think Disney would overlook security like that for this new system.

Hopefully I answered your questions. Let me know if you have anything else you want to know.
 

bhg469

Well-Known Member
Really? We were at Universal this summer, and the bar code scanners seemed to work just fine.
I work in the ticketing industry and we can use bar codes for just about everything. For example if you go to some of our MLB parks you can buy a ticket and gain entrance to the park. The ball park can also use that information to redeem it for food at any of the concession stands or use it for a dollar value at a gift shop. Bar codes are still going to be in use for quite some time.
 

Bolna

Well-Known Member
Well no, because Disney's Touch to Pay is just the tip of the iceberg for their NextGen initiative. It offers much more than that.

You keep saying that, but so far I really don't see that there will be a huge iceberg underneath what we have heard about so far. And so far I am not impressed. So what is there to get excited about? Any examples?
 

wdwmagic

Administrator
Moderator
Premium Member
Original Poster
You keep saying that, but so far I really don't see that there will be a huge iceberg underneath what we have heard about so far. And so far I am not impressed. So what is there to get excited about? Any examples?

Well if you find it exciting depends on your viewpoint, but:

- Personalised ride experiences
- Personalised shows
- Personalised character interactions
- Ticketless Fastpass
- Touch door entry
- Touch payment
- Touch PhotoPass
- SmartPhone integration for every aspect of the vacation
and so on..

These things will make a HUGE impact on people's trips. It is cutting edge, and Disney are putting together a real technoligical powerhouse to run this. Nobody else in the same field is anywhere close.
 

flynnibus

Premium Member
Where Disney makes the difference is in the systems integration and how one token will lead to entertainment integration, customer services, etc.

That's what nextgen's platform brings and will be the basis for disney's differentiation in the industry.

It's not RFID that is so unique but all the things it will enable
 

Victor Kelly

Well-Known Member
Possible RFID readable ranges? Are we talking inches, feet, or yards? And were my assumptions about IDs and commuter passes "in the ballpark" of RFIDs? Will Disney want to use the RFID for the nextgen enhancements? I do understand the information being well seated on servers, and it makes plenty of sense?
 

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