The FP Scanner stanchions are equipped with the latest generation “Touch Points” / readers from Disney that support RFID, BLE, and optionally a barcode reader.
All of those technologies are supported in a single device for future-proofing purposes. It means that if Disney wants to start supporting RFID or BLE, they don’t have to replace hardware to do so. It doesn’t mean that the software and infrastructure to support that functionality is in place / working.
If DLR were to switch to basic RFID tickets that literally just contained the same number as a ticket barcode, that would be fairly straightforward to accomplish.
That would be unlikely though, since that wouldn’t support MagicBands.
MagicBands (and existing Disney RFID-based ticket media) each have their own unique ID number. When you scan a MagicBand, the ticketing system has to look up the profile associated with that MagicBand, and then look up active tickets associated with that profile.
That is far more complex than the current system at DLR where you just scan a barcode with your ticket number on it.
Indeed. The undertaking was massive in Florida and was expected to roll out to Disneyland shortly thereafter. However the expected ROI did not appear anywhere close to what they expected, which largely halted the rollout of MM+/FP+ to other properties.