Interactive Wands all but confirmed

RandomPrincess

RandomPrincess

Keep Moving Forward
Cesar R M said:
I wonder, will they be as good quality as the bran collection (in box) wands they started to sell a few years ago? (of the main characters)
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I'm guessing from the look of them in the video that they are similar to the generic wands they sell what are just different designs and patterns not character replicas. Those are pretty nice and sell for $35. People are guessing the new RFID wands will be about $50.
 
flynnibus

flynnibus

Premium Member
JediMasterMatt said:
Grander is a word that certainly could be used when discussing the philosophical ramifications of MM+. The more interesting discussion is the "why" MM+ had/has to be so grand in its ambitions?
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If you never think big - you'll never get big results.

NextGen was about redefining the theme park experience - not simply upgrading the old stuff. They aimed to change the game.

JediMasterMatt said:
MM+ could've been far less grand by simply being something to make reservations on, be used as a room key, and have some interaction while out in the parks.
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and it's value and differentiation in the industry would have been equally as neutered.

JediMasterMatt said:
The magic wands on display with Universal's Phase II don't have any ambitions of grandeur. They are designed to sell and make money. Their sales or acceptance don't cause the resort to sink or swim
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I don't disagree - but I also never compared The interactive Wands to an entire strategy pivot like NextGen like you have for some unknown reason.

I'm talking about the wands in the context of interactive elements. A form of entertainment in the parks.. and in this case, in UNI's latest and largest rework of the parks yet.. seems to fall short of matching the innovative and grandeur of the rest of the land and attractions. The ambition here seems muted compared to the rest of the project.
 
flynnibus

flynnibus

Premium Member
RandomPrincess said:
I'm guessing from the look of them in the video that they are similar to the generic wands they sell what are just different designs and patterns not character replicas. Those are pretty nice and sell for $35. People are guessing the new RFID wands will be about $50.
Click to expand...

RFID might be there for identification and proximity (unlock the feature), but the window effects are likely done by camera detection (best way to pickup the movement of a wand).

Might be interesting if they have RFID in them as well for touch effects on other stuff (like merchandise, etc).

The wands used by Great Wolf used light emitters and were not passive. SotMK is an example of a all passive token system (image detection). Will be interesting to see what they are aspiring to overall with the wands. I would think a passive tag in the tip and maybe a tag with a greater antenna would allow passive wands with minimal cost increases over the old plastic ones.
 
RandomPrincess

RandomPrincess

Keep Moving Forward
flynnibus said:
RFID might be there for identification and proximity (unlock the feature), but the window effects are likely done by camera detection (best way to pickup the movement of a wand).

Might be interesting if they have RFID in them as well for touch effects on other stuff (like merchandise, etc).

The wands used by Great Wolf used light emitters and were not passive. SotMK is an example of a all passive token system (image detection). Will be interesting to see what they are aspiring to overall with the wands. I would think a passive tag in the tip and maybe a tag with a greater antenna would allow passive wands with minimal cost increases over the old plastic ones.
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Sorry I said RFID but I don't know if they truly are other have said RFID and I just parroted them. Although as you pointed out here would need to be something to point out this is one of the new special wands otherwise I could just stand there and wave my arm for the camera and it would work without buying the upgraded wand.
 
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Cesar R M

Cesar R M

Well-Known Member
flynnibus said:
RFID might be there for identification and proximity (unlock the feature), but the window effects are likely done by camera detection (best way to pickup the movement of a wand).

Might be interesting if they have RFID in them as well for touch effects on other stuff (like merchandise, etc).

The wands used by Great Wolf used light emitters and were not passive. SotMK is an example of a all passive token system (image detection). Will be interesting to see what they are aspiring to overall with the wands. I would think a passive tag in the tip and maybe a tag with a greater antenna would allow passive wands with minimal cost increases over the old plastic ones.
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They might be using a tech similar to the sony EYECAM MOVE system.
where the MOVE system glowed a specific frequency of light and the camera/sensor picked it up.
or Wii's sensor system (motion with a specific range).

Also, is there any real facts about the Wands being PASSIVE?
the older illuminate wands (lumos) of the cast character are clearly ACTIVE (with a battery).
 
flynnibus

flynnibus

Premium Member
Cesar R M said:
sony
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Camera detection now can process live video and ID things (think Xbox Kinect). The use of a emitter is to simplify things. The thing with a system like this is it needs to work outdoors, day or night, in a crowded space, for a variety of people sizes. It's a challenging design that would require being able to define a very specific space to watch. Using a light emitter helps with the day/night challenges depending on the frequencies used.

Cesar R M said:
Also, is there any real facts about the Wands being PASSIVE?
the older illuminate wands (lumos) of the cast character are clearly ACTIVE (with a battery).
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I don't think there is anything out on these yet. Just speculation based on existing technology, constraints, and what would be desirable. Having the wands be passive would make them cheaper and more reliable.

If you've ever used the great wolf system... it was not always very reliable and durable. But things have come a long way since it was first introduced.

I would have just liked to see more ambitious effects. Imagine if they used the mylar projection screens in the windows and not only did things move.. but you got other effects via projection.. or effects would differ if you were a good or bad character wand, etc.
 
PrincessNelly_NJ

PrincessNelly_NJ

Well-Known Member
flynnibus said:
Certainly a point about the sequence of events for the bands.. but Disney's ambitions are also much grander and it was going to be painful either way.

But there is much to be seen about these wands yet. What we've seen so far isn't all that forward thinking.. and isn't far off from what you've been able to do in a Great Wolf lodge for the last 8+ years.

The effects are physical (the ones we have seen) but where are the digital upgrades? Making the monkey dance in the window isn't going to be very exciting when you've had to wait for 5 people in front of you to do it first. Honestly, the MK card game is more innovative than what we've seen here so far.

All is not yet revealed... but they better do more than this.
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Is it possible that more than one effect is in each window? So that every few guest get a different result?
 
CTXRover

CTXRover

Well-Known Member
Like Sorcerors of the Magic Kingdom, A Pirate's Adventure:Treasures of the Seven Seas (which has been using RFID cards/magic bands to activate the effects) and Agent P's World Showcase Adventure, all of which have been available for some time already, the problem with these 'games' is the potential for a backlog at each area and thus leading to the next guest seeing the effect before their turn comes up. The one thing I thought benefited SOTMK using screens was that usually each location has more than one variation of what is shown. If true that you have to buy a wand to activate it, then by making the 'game' available to only those who pay extra for a wand rather making it something available to anybody who simply pays to enter the park, they may be able to keep demand down a bit. My other concern is given that the pathways in Hogsmeade are tight, and look similarly tight in Diagon Alley (which admittingly is a plus and minus to these areas) will there be enough room to have people trying to stand and perform these spells? The Agent P and Pirates' games work well because most of the effects are out of main guest thoroughfares.

Either way, could be fun.
 
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JediMasterMatt

JediMasterMatt

Well-Known Member
flynnibus said:
If you never think big - you'll never get big results.

NextGen was about redefining the theme park experience - not simply upgrading the old stuff. They aimed to change the game.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, regardless of whatever way Disney wants to spin MM+ as a revolution in forever changing the way theme parks are experienced - the simple truth is that the primary driver behind the entire project is stop spending heavily in rides and attractions as a method of providing revenue to the resort. TDO recognized that WDW needed additional capacity and decided to go blue ocean and away from the competition. Rides and attractions are an expensive proposition to expand. You actually have to spend money to make money. TDO got away from rapid expansion and found the turnstiles were still spinning. This lead to their confidence that they could continue this paradigm of doing as little as possible and remain profitable. The only issue was that attendance continued to increase. Faced with the challenge of capacity, MM+'s step child FP+ was created as a way to combat this. Load balance guests by leveraging them across the entire park's attractions.

It's up to the guest to decide if this vacation micromanagment is "redefining the theme park experience" or not.

Personally, I would rather capacity be added by actually adding capacity and not making me wait longer for the attractions that I never had to wait for them before, especially if it means I need to plan my vacation to the minute months in advance.

The connection between Disney's MagicBand and Universal's interactive magic wand is a microcosm of the differences between the two resorts for the last several years. It's almost like they were both given the same ingredients to play with - RFID (Band vs wand), big brand names (Potter vs. Disney characters/Avatar/Star Wars), and construction equipment and told go make the most of it.

On this very special episode of Iron Chef Theme Park Edition - see if Disney's complex 13 layer cake castle will rise or if Universal's butterbeer infused ice cream will triumph. To see the results tune in later this month for Universal's offering and check back by 2017 or so to see if Disney can deliver.
 
danpam1024

danpam1024

Well-Known Member
So BACK to the wands- did anyone else chuckle when Al Roker had an epic fail- live? And the CM swooped in to save the day? I'm not a Roker fan- hilarious :D
 

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