Magic Kingdom to test mobile phone charging lockers for guest use

[TP2000]

http://www.wdwmagic.com/other/mymag...bile-phone-charging-lockers-for-guest-use.htm

Yay! These charging lockers have saved me a few times when I use them at Disneyland the past few years. And they are very popular and the models Disney chose to use at Disneyland work well.

Surprised these haven't already been in all the parks for years now.

 

[RAXIP]

At the end of the day the tech is neat, but kind of overkill. It really doesn't operate full 'self-service', often requiring intervention from staff. If you weren't charging for the service, I think a simple 'coat check' system would probably be better for both guests and Disney. A counter staffed by CMs where you get a ticket to return with.

They already offer that, at Guest Relations.

 

[flynnibus]

They already offer that, at Guest Relations.

Yeah, but not at scale - and not as a service on its own (dedicated queues, etc). The service at GR is more of a courtesy.

Lockers work.. but if Disney were aspiring to make the experience 'delightful' - they would be better off with a staffed solution.

 

[WDWFantasmicFan]

It would be better if they allowed charging of iPads too, and phablets as previously mentioned, so many people use them for MDE, and as cameras!

 

[Bairstow]

and as cameras!

Is that really something Disney should be encouraging?

 

[WDWFantasmicFan]

Is that really something Disney should be encouraging?

Very true - I wouldn't encourage it either! But, people are still going to use them - as the cameras are simply getting better and are taking the place of proper cameras. I still prefer my DSLR, but some don't...

 

[eastvillage]

I think this would be awesome if it was installed inside gift shops. That way they can also sell merch. Actually why not install them at the old Aunt Polly place.

EDIT: Actually this would fit in at the "Tomorrowland Light and Power Company" building!

No Aunt Polly's please. We need it returned to food service!

 

[Mouse_Trap]

It also leaves the door open for what other cable that apple decides to invent in the future.

It's looking like propriatery adapters like Apple are set to be banned for sale in EU soon and the Micro USB standard adopted as being mandatory. Once that happens I guess Apple with have to adopt them too worldwide. It really is a shame the market has been splintered by no many different types of connectors since forever.

You can see them here.
http://brightboxcharge.com/experience/

Love it, hope they're not so big. Really they only need to be big enough to fit a phone, looks like they could fit 5 in the space of each of those compartments.

Very true - I wouldn't encourage it either! But, people are still going to use them - as the cameras are simply getting better and are taking the place of proper cameras. I still prefer my DSLR, but some don't...

I would make that an instant get kicked out of the park offence. Get caught 3 times and you get a 5 year ban.
Spoiling peoples views just so you can get crappy grainy blurry video.

 

[EOD K9]

The following is sarcasm....If we give Disney enough feedback, can they make the lockers bigger so I can put my backpack/stroller/sweatshirt/crocs, and other unnecessary things I brought to the park in there?

 

[Macca250]

I would make that an instant get kicked out of the park offence. Get caught 3 times and you get a 5 year ban.
Spoiling peoples views just so you can get crappy grainy blurry video.

Sometimes not even that... I witnessed a guy who didn't switch his rear camera around and had an excellent video of himself grinning like an idiot set to the soundtrack of Wishes..

 

[PhotoDave219]

The following is sarcasm....If we give Disney enough feedback, can they make the lockers bigger so I can put my backpack in there?

It's an off the shelf vendor. If I have time this week, I'll check it out.

 

[sloppy.joey]

Is that really something Disney should be encouraging?

I fully promote them (hear me out) because iPads have no flash whatsoever and that's my biggest pet peeve. I mean come on people do your flash photos of Pirates of the Caribbean really come out that good?

 

[mm121]

its about time they have things like this, along with accessible electrical outlets.

my phone likes to die at the worst times, so i have an 14000mah uno Enerpak Extreme so hopefully wont ever have to use one of these.

i can see that they may need to charge for them in the future though, maybe do like the first 2 hours free then start charging so people wont just leave them in there all day.

the trick with placing these around the parks will be finding accessible yet off to the side locations for them, as if they would put in like 20/30/50/100 of them it would easily get to be a bit much seeing them everywhere.

At the end of the day the tech is neat, but kind of overkill. It really doesn't operate full 'self-service', often requiring intervention from staff. If you weren't charging for the service, I think a simple 'coat check' system would probably be better for both guests and Disney. A counter staffed by CMs where you get a ticket to return with.

They already offer that, at Guest Relations.

i would think for liability reasons keeping staffed solutions to a minimum would be advisable.
Personally when it comes to my phone i'd rather use one of these than trust my phone with someone to just be laying out somewhere. I dont like letting it out of my sight let alone letting someone touch it.

It's looking like propriatery adapters like Apple are set to be banned for sale in EU soon and the Micro USB standard adopted as being mandatory. Once that happens I guess Apple with have to adopt them too worldwide. It really is a shame the market has been splintered by no many different types of connectors since forever.

its slowly been getting better, but it would be great if apple was forced to conform to everyone else.

when i worked at a hotel 06/07 there were so many different types of chargers, we had a huge box of them and it was just a matter of luck if someone found one that would work for their phone if they forgot it or lost it on their trip

 

[G00fyDad]

Must be for iPhone users. I just take an extra battery with me for my Samsung and I have no need to leave the phone in a locker for an hour or more to charge, and I don't have to backtrack to pick it back up. Excellent and much needed idea though.

 

[flynnibus]

i would think for liability reasons keeping staffed solutions to a minimum would be advisable.
Personally when it comes to my phone i'd rather use one of these than trust my phone with someone to just be laying out somewhere. I dont like letting it out of my sight let alone letting someone touch it.

I look at it as a matter of service. Someone pumping your gas.. or making you do it yourself, etc. Your phone should have a password/pin on it anyways.. no harm is letting someone else handle it. Put rubber mats on the floor to minimize risk from drops and have a proper asset tag system.

Sure it seems better to 'keep it all under your own control' - but that also means shouldering the burden of dealing with the variations, troubles, etc. A property that used to be known for it's world class SERVICE shouldn't be burdening the customer unless necessary.

 

[G00fyDad]

its slowly been getting better, but it would be great if apple was forced to conform to everyone else.

when i worked at a hotel 06/07 there were so many different types of chargers, we had a huge box of them and it was just a matter of luck if someone found one that would work for their phone if they forgot it or lost it on their trip

I thought that cell manufacturers were already forced to adopt the MicroUSB format in the US, and that Apple got away with using their own adapter because they classify the iPhone as an "entertainment device" and not a cell phone. Is that wrong? Like I said, I heard this from a questionable source.

 

[MichWolv]

I thought that cell manufacturers were already forced to adopt the MicroUSB format in the US, and that Apple got away with using their own adapter because they classify the iPhone as an "entertainment device" and not a cell phone. Is that wrong? Like I said, I heard this from a questionable source.

It is wrong. No regulations requiring standardization in the US.

 

[Bairstow]

Must be for iPhone users. I just take an extra battery with me for my Samsung and I have no need to leave the phone in a locker for an hour or more to charge, and I don't have to backtrack to pick it back up. Excellent and much needed idea though.

A lot of other Smartphones, my Motorola Razr Droid, for example, also have non-removable batteries.

 

[Master Yoda]

A lot of other Smartphones, my Motorola Razr Droid, for example, also have non-removable batteries.

Both versions of the HTC One also have an integrated battery.

It seems to becoming the norm as there are some performance advantages to the integrated design.

 

[PhotoDave219]

It would be better if they allowed charging of iPads too, and phablets as previously mentioned, so many people use them for MDE, and as cameras!

..... Which is a shame.