Al Lutz: "Next Generation" RFID personalization coming to Fantasyland attractions

[kimmychad]

I have to say I agree with this. I am a strong advocate of privacy for those who truly value it as an important liberty, but do you really care about the right to be let alone when you disseminate that private information on the internet? It seems as if a lot of people who have qualms with being tracked freely volunteer the information in other settings. Do they really care about Disney tracking them, or are they just being difficult?

the funny thing about the internet is you can divulge what you choose to to whom you want.
I have no problem telling a cast member in a conversation that i've been to disney 8 times, or that my wifes name is kimberlee. i just don't need to go through it everytime i call. for one thing it's a little annoying, and for another they simply don't need to know.
If wdw magic made it mandatory that i put in my physical address i'd make one up, and if you want to call it just being difficult, that's fine, but i'll be the one to share what i choose about me and my family, not a company.

 

[jakeman]

And let's not even talk about the wonderful folks at Homeland Security and what they have been allowed to do under the guise of protecting us ...

We probably shouldn't because, you know, this is a Disney board, not a TSA board.

There hasn't been such a thing as privacy for several generations. Everything is the illusion of privacy. The only thing you can do is just take the basic steps to protect yourself.

If Disney tracking my every move on property helps them improve the guest experience, I'm all for it. I can't think of anything in these RCIDs that isn't on my Key to the World card. As other have said, they can track my spending and where I go, at this point why would I care if they knew the path I took to get there?

 

[WDWFigment]

the funny thing about the internet is you can divulge what you choose to to whom you want.

I don't know what Internet you're using. Once you put something out there, it's out there (conceivably) permanently.

 

[KCMO]

If you really feel that strongly about it, why not just throw them off by giving totally false information?

For Zip Codes, you could use one of my old ones I had 30 years ago, 98155. That's Seattle, in a nice community in the northern suburbs on the shores of Lake Washington. And it's about 3,000 miles from where you live, so it will really throw the grocery store tracking software off there in Pennsylvania.

Seattle is a beautiful city in a stunning part of the world. Go for it! 98155 pride! :lol:

Careful - more recently if they ask you for your zip code at checkout it is probably to validate your credit card, not for demographic research. If you give them a zip that doesn't match your cc billing address the charge will be declined.

 

[VillanovaBlue]

I say once they implement the RFIDs, we just all go stand in front of the Adventurer's Club...once they see that there are thousands of guests in PI, they'll have to reopen the clubs...

right?

anyone?

:lookaroun

 

[Master Yoda]

I say once they implement the RFIDs, we just all go stand in front of the Adventurer's Club...once they see that there are thousands of guests in PI, they'll have to reopen the clubs...

right?

anyone?

:lookaroun

If we do that they will just put up a snack cart and a DVC kiosk.:lol:

 

[MichWolv]

Maybe I'm too naive about this, but why are so many people worried and paranoid about Disney tracking you?:lookaroun:lol:

If they do track you, it's just for demographics/customer profiling...

I think people have started to believe in 1984...:lookaroun:lol:

And... who cares?!?
Who gives a rat's behind if they're "tracking" you?
What bad could possible come from knowing your zip code and how many times you've been to Disney? All you're doing is making the person talking with you annoyed at your noncompliance.

BTW, your zip code is 15301 and you've been to Disney 5 times... BWAHAHAHAHA! NOW I WILL HAVE YOUR SOUL!!!

Some care, some don't. If we all knew that the information would be used ONLY for demograhpics and service improvements, I suspect there'd be much less concern. But the information COULD be used for other things once Disney has it, and security is not foolproof. I worry, but it's a reality of the modern age. Some things we used to worry about we don't have to anymore, while other things we have to worry about more.

Funny story regarding the information Disney has already. Woman next to me at Epcot Guest Relations in March asked the CM to check a few tickets to see if they had been used. CM comes back saying two of them hadn't been used and the other had been. Guests asks if the CM can tell when. CM says, "May 2, 2007, 9:01 am, Magic Kingdom, gate 4. Would you like to know what fastpasses it was used for?". Guest grabs the ticket and mutters under her breath "He lied!" on the way out. I imagine the woman had just found out that her husband/son/boyfriend had made an undisclosed trip to the MK two year ago!

 

[techgeek]

I don't have a problem with RFID tracking, or Disney knowing 'what I've done on property', as long as they don't remind me they know. I think it's all about show. If tracking helps show, and using some big 'Roller Coaster Tycoon-like' map of the park they can see how many peeps are where, and what the sell rates on popcorn stand-3 are, then sure. They already have this data, only before it used to be harder to get.

I think it breaks like plane of fantasy to have the ride start talking to you. Unless you're under 5, the only thing you're thinking about when ET says your name is the technology involved - and there's really nothing special there.

No real problems with the card also being my cash device, room key, ticket. In fact, why not just let my cell phone do all that? Then you can have the gps data too!

Just don't think that having a character say my name adds to my fantasy. For me, it detracts from it and rips me back into the real world. Maybe I don't want to be 'me' when I'm on Peter Pan - maybe I want to play that I'm a character in the story, or a character if my own design, or just passively 'enjoy the ride', with out being reminded who I am. !

 

[WDW Monorail]

And let's not forget all the social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin etc ... where all sorts of personal info is put out there (more by young people who don't quite get the damage this stuff can do to them). I found out last week about what drugs a certain relative of mine (who I have never met, thankfully) uses because of what he put out on a profile.

You bring up a good point. Last week, something happened to me which really caught me by surprise. I went for a formal job interview and the interviewer showed me something I did not know he had access to. I have no problem with anyone looking at my personal information. If I don't want others to know about it, I don't post it.
However, youngsters who may have questionable material out there should think twice about it, especially if they are ready to enter the professional world.

 

[fosse76]

Imagine just walking by a fastpass machine and it spitting one at you without you expecting it.:lol:

And what if it is for an attraction you had no desire to visit...now you can't get another FP for an attraction you want to visit because you're stuck with a Stitch Great Escape FP.:brick:

 

[Master Yoda]

And what if it is for an attraction you had no desire to visit...now you can't get another FP for an attraction you want to visit because you're stuck with a Stitch Great Escape FP.:brick:

That would be a good way to get people in there. "Go see SGE and we will give you a Buzz fast pass. Otherwise no fast pass for you!":lol:

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

It's a reality.

The scary thing about the Internet Era is just how easy it is to get ahold of all kinds of personal information. companies compile all sorts of sensitive information on millions of people and then hackers get into it and it goes godknowswhere.

Every keystroke you hit on a computer, every webpage you access is recorded for posterity ... the doctor's records that used to be written in pen on paper are now available by computer.

And let's not forget all the social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin etc ... where all sorts of personal info is put out there (more by young people who don't quite get the damage this stuff can do to them). I found out last week about what drugs a certain relative of mine (who I have never met, thankfully) uses because of what he put out on a profile.

Privacy is a thing of the past and I find that very scary.

Much more so than what Disney has done so far.

Think about the big picture and ask yourself if you want the world to know anything and everything about yourself? That's the direction we're headed.

And let's not even talk about the wonderful folks at Homeland Security and what they have been allowed to do under the guise of protecting us ...

1984?

Oh yeah, we're there ...

It's true, I have you there, but if they want to use this primarily for entertainment purposes, it's all good with me.

I could see this technology being used to practically revolutionize the entertainment industry. It's a interesting factor...That's for sure

 

[TP2000]

If we all knew that the information would be used ONLY for demograhpics and service improvements, I suspect there'd be much less concern. But the information COULD be used for other things once Disney has it, and security is not foolproof. I worry, but it's a reality of the modern age.

Just out of curiosity, what exactly do you worry about? Aside from demographics and customer service improvements, what exact information do you think Disney would glean from tracking a vacationer with an RFID tag in his pocket for 7 days?

Worst case scenario, what information is Disney able to get from knowing where on property you went and what you bought or interacted with? And, worst case scenario, what does Disney do with that information?

 

[KCMO]

Something I would think could make this development even cooler would be if they built the RFID "nerve center" in Epcot's Innoventions and combined it with exhibits and demonstrations on the technology and potential real world applications.

Not only would it be pretty cool to see - I would think that having the operation out in the open instead of off in some invisible cloud might help make some of the folks intimidated by the technology feel a bit more at ease.

 

[Dubman]

Only thing that would worry me is how much info they decide to be attached to it.. We were coming out of HM last October and my wife spotted a room key on the ground.. She picked it up and brought it to the CM at the rides entrance.. At that point a woman was frantically approaching the ride looking for her card.. She was very appreciative that we turned it in.. Disney resorts allow you to attach your CC info to your room key to use for purchases in the parks, so some not so honest person could have easily used it if she had her CC info attached.. I could see it now, people hacking into these new cards and walking around the parks gathering everyones info with some sort of portable device.. Probably very far fetched and I am sure they would put some sort of safeguard in place to avoid such things, but you never know..

 

[MichWolv]

Just out of curiosity, what exactly do you worry about? Aside from demographics and customer service improvements, what exact information do you think Disney would glean from tracking a vacationer with an RFID tag in his pocket for 7 days?

Worst case scenario, what information is Disney able to get from knowing where on property you went and what you bought or interacted with? And, worst case scenario, what does Disney do with that information?

Me. I don't worry so much. But, what COULD the information conceivably be used for? If a person had access to the database, they could figure out, for example, that your home is empty because your whole family is in the Magic Kingdom. Or that your hotel room is empty because your whole family is the Magic Kingdom. For some people, that could already be possible -- this could make it easier. If someone were intent on doing harm to your child, it might help them to know exactly where you and the child are in a park at a particular time. These are extremes, and, like I say, I don't worry about them much.

With respect to the accumulated data, it is the same worry that causes some people to refuse to the use the grocery store discount card, because then the store could compile a list of everything you bought and when. Me -- I don't buy anything that is interesting enough that I'd be worried if the world know about it, but some people value their privacy far more than I do.

 

[plutoismyhero]

Maybe its just me but i dont see how this technology could be bad for disney, except for security but disney will find a way to fix that

 

[plutoismyhero]

Only thing that would worry me is how much info they decide to be attached to it.. We were coming out of HM last October and my wife spotted a room key on the ground.. She picked it up and brought it to the CM at the rides entrance.. At that point a woman was frantically approaching the ride looking for her card.. She was very appreciative that we turned it in.. Disney resorts allow you to attach your CC info to your room key to use for purchases in the parks, so some not so honest person could have easily used it if she had her CC info attached.. I could see it now, people hacking into these new cards and walking around the parks gathering everyones info with some sort of portable device.. Probably very far fetched and I am sure they would put some sort of safeguard in place to avoid such things, but you never know..

those people just should be at disney then. Disney should make a jail where these people go and it could play a mix of its a small world theme song followed by the line from BTMRR where they says its the wildest ride in the wilderness...:lol:

 

[DisneyDellsDude]

You sure that these are the 100YoM Magical Moments pins or do you have one of the later versions?:wave:

I couldn't find a picture online, but it's the castle one. It has a large 100 Years of Magic logo on the front.
I'll have to try it out next time I am down in Florida.
Edit: If my memory serves me right as well, I *think* they even went off during SpectroMagic when we first bought the pins. That was cool!

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

I couldn't find a picture online, but it's the castle one. It has a large 100 Years of Magic logo on the front.
I'll have to try it out next time I am down in Florida.
Edit: If my memory serves me right as well, I *think* they even went off during SpectroMagic when we first bought the pins. That was cool!

Gotcha.

EDIT- This one?