News AI Comes to Disney Dining: All-Star Sports Food Court Hosts New Self-Checkout Trial

[flynnibus]

without transferring that work to the guest

When it worked, and you had no variations.

Now imagine the simple scenario like your family has multiple trays... imagine going through this process multiple times.. and if there is any issue.. watching it cascade and blow up on you.

Reality is the cashier is very efficient at their task of identifying and entering your limited order. There isn't much time to be saved for automating that part of the process.

 

[Lilofan]

more jobs lost...whoopee

It’s not just jobs lost but more staffing can lead to workplace injuries. These affect a company’s bottom line in that company paying out workers comp medical costs possible lawsuits etc etc. AI can’t get injured on the job and robots can’t sue the company. A slip and fall back injury can be a 6 figure hit to the company and that’s just one staff member.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

I do hope there is a law down the line where cash can be used no matter what the company forces the cashless option...Not many people can get cards or they don't have the gift cards and can be used as an option. I have seen this problem at Six Flags for a good example...While they have these machines to exchange cash to card it's still a ridiculous idea and hope they bring an end to this..

 

[Figments Friend]

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[Vegas Disney Fan]

I love the self kiosks at places like Target or the grocery store but amazing CMs are a big part of the reason we are willing to pay the prices that Disney charges. We’ve noticed a downturn in the CMs “magic” the last few years but this would be one more reason not to continue paying Disneys high prices.

The extra Disney touches that set them apart from the competition are steadily disappearing.

 

[FerretAfros]

That’s the tension, right? They want to charge luxury prices for what was once a slightly expensive product that offered excellent value for the money and strip out the human element that once was a differentiator.

Efficiency matters, but redesigning the checkout process to make things faster for the cashier and guest still maintains a cashier.

It’s funny because we’re headed towards a future where human interactions in the service and hospitality industries will be the marker of a luxury or higher end experience.

Safety. Courtesy. Show. Efficiency.

Sure, the hierarchy of the Keys have been muddied since the addition of “Inclusion,” (which arguably was already included in the earlier 4, notably courtesy), but it’s still clear that courtesy is supposed to be more important than efficiency.

Just think about loading a crowd for a show: Surely they could be more efficient if they could rush people to move quickly, squeeze together with strangers, and separate from their families to fill in small gaps. But nobody wants that, so there’s an accepted degree of inefficiency to allow for a pleasant experience. Similarly with restaurants, there’s an accepted degree of inefficiency to remove the workload from the guests and give them one less thing to worry about being responsible for that day. The morning food court rush is hardly a luxury experience, but it certainly is an assault on the senses; adding more tasks that guests must complete on their own is only going to make the overall experience more miserable and overwhelming.

But as we all know, Disney likes to think of itself as an exceptional product that is above-average in many ways. Their prices certainly reflect this self-belief. Similar to calling out the shortcomings of many recent WDI projects, this isn’t fans being overly picky, it’s holding Disney to the standards that they very publicly set as business differentiators for themselves.

Either they charge more than their competitors because their product is better, or they need to reduce their pricing to be in line with similarly low-quality experiences. They can’t have it both ways. Disney set the rules themselves; now they need to follow them.

 

[BrianLo]

Very tangential question for everyone! What is the typical restaurant payment standards like in the US?

I find it very odd that there isn’t mobile debit/credit machines for table service. Having to follow servers to their backstage areas to tap. Is this just a “Disney” thing? Or do most places in the US not have table side mobile machines?

I’d go so far as to say 99.9% of places in Canada do now.

And more pertinent, do most of your grocery stores and Walmarts have self check outs?

 

[Animaniac93-98]

Very tangential question for everyone! What is the typical restaurant payment standards like in the US?

I find it very odd that there isn’t mobile debit/credit machines for table service. Having to follow servers to their backstage areas to tap. Is this just a “Disney” thing? Or do most places in the US not have table side mobile machines?

I’d go so far as to say 99.9% of places in Canada do now.

From what I've seen, most do not.

It's like going back in time every time you want to go out to eat.

 

[BrianLo]

From what I've seen, most do not.

It's like going back in time every time you want to go out to eat.

I know our payment standards have always been quite a bit ahead. Largely due to the interac pay system. Now of course Shopify. But I sort of figured the fact Apple and Google were driving things would have caused the US to ‘catch up’.

Japan is also way behind. At least I don’t need cash in the US.

 

[lewisc]

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Only 25%?

 

[castlecake2.0]

I know our payment standards have always been quite a bit ahead. Largely due to the interac pay system. Now of course Shopify. But I sort of figured the fact Apple and Google were driving things would have caused the US to ‘catch up’.

Japan is also way behind. At least I don’t need cash in the US.

It’s something that’s being looked at but currently not high on their priority list. DDP and resort folio charges can be done at the table though, so if you’re staying on site that’s an alternative to credit cards.

As for the CM interaction at QSR checkout, TBH 99% of the time they’re too busy trying to type in your tray of food to make any meaningful connection. If they have them stationed at these scanners to assist they’d probably have more time to interact with you than standard check out. And as I mentioned before a nice thing about this is that it doesn’t offload work from an employee to a consumer, it’s the AI that’s doing the work.

 

[HauntedPirate]

Small point - This is simply visual recognition software, not AI.

 

[Brian]

Walt Disney World Union Speaks Out Against AI Replacing Cast Member Jobs as Disney Pilots New Self-Checkout System

Walt Disney World union Unite Here has spoken out against a pilot program that utilizes AI-powered self-checkout at dining locations

blogmickey.com

 

[Lilofan]

Very tangential question for everyone! What is the typical restaurant payment standards like in the US?

I find it very odd that there isn’t mobile debit/credit machines for table service. Having to follow servers to their backstage areas to tap. Is this just a “Disney” thing? Or do most places in the US not have table side mobile machines?

I’d go so far as to say 99.9% of places in Canada do now.

And more pertinent, do most of your grocery stores and Walmarts have self check outs?

One Target I went to had one cashier and 10 self service kiosks. Then a few months later there were more cashiers and less self service kiosks. One staff member said a number of guests using self service were shoplifting and not scanning all the Items to buy themselves before leaving the store.

 

[flynnibus]

Small point - This is simply visual recognition software, not AI.

Many visual recognition systems use ai for their training and refinement. Including this one…

So AI is appropriate here

 

[flynnibus]

I find it very odd that there isn’t mobile debit/credit machines for table service. Having to follow servers to their backstage areas to tap. Is this just a “Disney” thing? Or do most places in the US not have table side mobile machines?

It’s not the norm in the US… tho finally becoming more common as NFC and tap payment upgrades make their way down the food chain.

In europe it was the norm decades ago… along with chip+pin while the US was stuck using swipe

 

[flynnibus]

And more pertinent, do most of your grocery stores and Walmarts have self check outs?

Yes - almost wvery major chain uses self serve kiosks… be it grocery, big box retail, etc

 

[wdwmagic]

I, for one, would like to read about some first-hand experiences with this, and from some who really put it to the test (gift card, cast discount, DDP, et al).

Thats really just software adjustments. I'm sure if this gets deployed all of that functionality will be available.

 

[flynnibus]

Thats really just software adjustments. I'm sure if this gets deployed all of that functionality will be available.

Blogmickey’s reporting is they aren’t integrated at all in the test… hence only taking credit. Which makes sense for such a test. Standalone only needing the pci compliant internet.

 

[TheMaxRebo]

I love the self kiosks at places like Target or the grocery store but amazing CMs are a big part of the reason we are willing to pay the prices that Disney charges. We’ve noticed a downturn in the CMs “magic” the last few years but this would be one more reason not to continue paying Disneys high prices.

The extra Disney touches that set them apart from the competition are steadily disappearing.

I love the self check place at our grocery store - actually have scan guns (or your phone) you use to scan things while you shop and put them right in your bags and then just pay at the register and head out - so much more efficient

Big difference though is that all involves scanning bar codes vs this AI system that has to be able to tell what things are - including any modifications - just by looking at it and just think there will be so many inaccuracies it won't save time or resources in the end.

If this was for grab and go places where you can scan a barcode, that would be one thing, but just doesn't seem like the potential upside is worth it in this application