Odd Question: WDW POS System?

[EDisFan]

I am doing research on POS systems and I was interested in knowing more about what POS system WDW uses. Is it some form of Oracle POS? I noticed that any location restaurant or retail uses the same type of system - screen and modular buttons that change based on the operation of that specific location.

We need a similar product and just wanted to know more about the solution WDW uses.

Thanks,

Rick P

 

[CaptainAmerica]

It's proprietary.

 

[EDisFan]

I figured it would be, but does it have a name? I can't imagine that they built a POS from the ground up. I am sure it is built on someone's tech.

 

[Tom]

They use NCR (National Cash Register). Not Oracle. Oracle now owns Micros.

 

[englanddg]

I'd look into Aloha POS (which is NCR).

 

[englanddg]

I figured it would be, but does it have a name? I can't imagine that they built a POS from the ground up. I am sure it is built on someone's tech.

It's not unthinkable to build a POS from the ground up. There's really not much to a POS system from a design standpoint (coming from someone who has deployed and developed POS systems...mind you).

But, no, Disney uses NCR, and a customized version of their POS, as @Tom noted.

 

[Tom]

It's not unthinkable to build a POS from the ground up. There's really not much to a POS system from a design standpoint (coming from someone who has deployed and developed POS systems...mind you).

But, no, Disney uses NCR, and a customized version of their POS, as @Tom noted.

Yes, extremely customized. My guess is the interface/PLUs are populated based on statically assigned IPs. LOTS of screen layouts around property, but everything is very clean and tidy on the screens at each location.

I'd say, the POS is the most impressive and fully functioning IT system they have. Seriously.

 

[englanddg]

Yes, extremely customized. My guess is the interface/PLUs are populated based on statically assigned IPs. LOTS of screen layouts around property, but everything is very clean and tidy on the screens at each location.

I'd say, the POS is the most impressive and fully functioning IT system they have. Seriously.

I'd suspect that it's more a network of servers scattered around the parks at the specific locations to serve up the POS terminals locally with a larger "interface" grid for data sharing and polling. Hotel and DP charges are handled through the POS as a third party CC system would be handled (meaning, the billing authorization system for the POS wouldn't need to be modified).

But, that's all a guess.

 

[Tom]

I'd suspect that it's more a network of servers scattered around the parks at the specific locations to serve up the POS terminals locally with a larger "interface" grid for data sharing and polling. Hotel and DP charges are handled through the POS as a third party CC system would be handled (meaning, the billing authorization system for the POS wouldn't need to be modified).

But, that's all a guess.

That could also be true. I only know how Micros, RDS and Stream work. Never used NCR beyond a demo.

 

[EDisFan]

Thanks for all the feedback - I did see a few references to Matra POS system which seems to now be OmniCo running on an NCR terminal.

 

[Captain Hank]

Yup, Disney uses the MATRA system (which appears to now be branded Omnico) for merchandise and food and beverage. Universal also uses it for food and beverage (but not merchandise). Very good system.

 

[BrittanyRose428]

MATRA has it's pros and cons. There were certain things that I would not do on the POS system when I worked merchandise in Disney that I could when I worked retail other places. I would say I expected more from Disney's system.

 

[ThatMouse]

Interesting topic -- it has to be heavily customized. No large company can use a POS out of the box. Disney would not be using any of the back office features a small business would use, so database, hardware, OS is really insignificant. I believe Disney is a big IBM AS/400 user, with Oracle being their choice for front end databases. It takes a year to customize a POS and integrate it with all the other systems. If you are expecting Disney magic, they have it. Disney tracks you by using your cell phone signal and security cam footage while you are shopping to see what displays you are lingering by, and what lead to a purchase. Unfortunately no one higher up sees any value in designing a good looking UI, and coders have no design skills.

 

[WDIFanBoy]

WDW used MATRA and DCL used Micros when I worked in Merch at both locations. Definitely could have changed since then with all the new technology coming out.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Interesting topic -- it has to be heavily customized. No large company can use a POS out of the box. Disney would not be using any of the back office features a small business would use, so database, hardware, OS is really insignificant. I believe Disney is a big IBM AS/400 user, with Oracle being their choice for front end databases. It takes a year to customize a POS and integrate it with all the other systems. If you are expecting Disney magic, they have it. Disney tracks you by using your cell phone signal and security cam footage while you are shopping to see what displays you are lingering by, and what lead to a purchase. Unfortunately no one higher up sees any value in designing a good looking UI, and coders have no design skills.

McDonald's recently switched to a "better looking" UI and it's terrible. The learning curve has been flattened a bit but expert users are nowhere near as fast as they were ten years ago.

 

[bfish]

I don't know, but am I the only one who has to swipe their card about 4 times and then hand it to the cast member? I do a celebratory dance if it reads my card on the first swipe.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I don't know, but am I the only one who has to swipe their card about 4 times and then hand it to the cast member? I do a celebratory dance if it reads my card on the first swipe.

Might be your card.

 

[draybook]

When I first glanced at the title I thought that this belonged in the FP+ forum......

 

[gsimpson]

A good UI on a POS system is going to be considerably more utilitarian than a good UI on a consumer facing product. There are a few reasons for that, the most obvious is to reduce the cost of the terminal, which high end graphics horsepower cost money, but then you also want to everything possible to speed up screen draws, which a simple graphic elements render faster (especially on cheap hardware). The third and actually most important is speed of transaction, exploding menus, sliding screens, and expanding bubbles all look pretty and take up seconds while people wait in line. I've done software work (coder myself) for the hospitality industry and we've won some very lucrative bids on the single fact that we reduced check-in/check-out transactions several seconds over our nearest competitor, although they had "prettier" screens.