I have just one word for you - "achievements." I actually had this idea a while back after first hearing about RFID. After riding Toy Story Mania on our last trip, I thought, "how cool would it be if Disney could track your score from ride to ride?" And then I thought, "how cool would it be if you could earn achievements (ala the XBOX 360) for doing different things on the ride?" And THEN I thought, "how cool would it be if you could earn achievements for just doing things in the parks?" I mean, it would be a little thing, only a small drop in the bucket, but it would be cool. Earn the "Three Mountains Badge" for riding all three mountains in MK in one day. This could all be tied with your "Disney Parks" online profile that could be shared through Facebook, etc. It would be great if Disney could also provide tangible rewards, although Disney being Disney, I doubt much would be given away for free. But maybe you could earn an extra fastpass for a ride or unlock a special pin that can only be purchased by people who have completed certain achievements.
Moving beyond that, I think that there are a ton of great uses for this tech. We've got boards dedicated to trip reports after the fact. Wouldn't it be cool to be able to get a personalized trip log afterwards showing where you went and when? What if your RFID wristband is also tied into PhotoPass (a service that they need to overhaul and expand...good idea, not so good execution), and in your chronological trip log you have your PhotoPass photos shown in order. Or you could even take your personal photos and have an app that takes the time stamp and melds it with your trip log to create a visual interactive story of your trip. It could know where you were at what times and map your photos to a map of the park, etc. Another little thing, but cool.
Another thing is the "sheep factor." 90%+ of the visitors are not like us. They do not know where to go next. How many groups in the park do you see that have no idea where to go next or what they want to do? For these people having an interactive guide to nudge them along and maximize their time would be a huge perk. Tie your cell phone to your account profile, set up what attractions you're interested in ahead of time, and as you navigate the parks get text messages for wait times, fastpass windows, upcoming show times, or even prompts to get a fastpass now.
What about being able to get a FP from your cell phone? Text FP Expidition:Everest to a designated number, it IDs you from your number, sees if you are eligible, and gives you a virtual FP. You then wander over to the FP machine at your convenience, wave your RFID band, and get your FP with the time from the text. You no longer have to run across the park to get a FP for something, and those saved minutes mean more time to get a snack or buy a souvenir...hmmm....(yes, this is probably technically possible now without RFID, but whatever.)
Anywho, I'm just a nobody who knows just about next to nothing about park operations, and I came up with those ideas. I'm hoping that the professionals who know this stuff inside out could come up with about a million more. I do totally agree that this is ultimately though about ROI - how can Disney make more money. There's a few ways that something like this will separate our money from our wallets:
1. Make it easier to physically purchase things. As has been stated earlier, it is much easier physically and psychologically to purchase something by waving a wristband than hauling out cash or a credit card.
2. Make our time more efficient. Again as has been stated, less time in lines = more time I can eat, drink, and buy Mickey Ears.
3. Make it easier and more enticing to plan and take a trip. As much as many people hate Magical Express, DDP, etc., many more people like these because they want a planned, all-inclusive resort type trip. That's one of the reasons people like going on cruises, etc. With something as huge as WDW, if RFID and online initiatives can make the experience easier for people, you will get more people coming. As I've become the WDW trip guru to my friends, many of them will come to me for advice. Almost all of them say, "I want to go, but I just don't know where to start planning."
Well, this was supposed to be a short post.... to sum up, this could be cool IF done right.