PHOTO - NextGen RFID payment readers now in operation at Disney's Contemporary Resort

[RSoxNo1]

Possible RFID readable ranges? Are we talking inches, feet, or yards? And were my assumptions about IDs and commuter passes "in the ballpark" of RFIDs? Will Disney want to use the RFID for the nextgen enhancements? I do understand the information being well seated on servers, and it makes plenty of sense?

They can make it so the range varies. Consider going through an EZ-Pass tollbooth in your car. Same thing.

 

[Tim_4]

Some people are missing the point on this new roll-out. I have very good sources high up in Merchandise leadership and these readers are in direct response to guest feedback. These are NOT a money-grabbing scam as some have alleged. Guests have expressed interest in having a pin pad available for Debit purchases, which was not previously available at WDW. These pin pads are in direct response to that feedback.

 

[bhg469]

Possible RFID readable ranges? Are we talking inches, feet, or yards? And were my assumptions about IDs and commuter passes "in the ballpark" of RFIDs? Will Disney want to use the RFID for the nextgen enhancements? I do understand the information being well seated on servers, and it makes plenty of sense?

A few meters if the signal is strong enough. Or you may need to make contact for smaller readers like payment or for room access. NFC on my phone his to touch the reader and NFC is just a type of RFID.

 

[dreamfinder]

hrmm.. $50 limit for non-PIN transactions. Interesting.. I would have thought it be lower honestly, but Disney must be trusting

Not really. I believe that $50 is the point where most credit card companies switch from the card holder being responsible for fraudulent charges, to the company being responsible. Requiring the PIN at that point is probably how Disney legal feels they will be able to fight off any chargebacks/disputed charges from the credit card companies by saying "We did our part to make sure they were legit".

Does anyone know if you can pay for your room charges with a Disney gift card. My wife and I have gotten Disney gift cards for every special occasion for quite some time now. We are going down for 2 weeks, and have approximately $600 in gift cards. If I just charge all of our dining to my room, would I then be able to pay that balance at check-out with my gift cards, or would it have to be cash or credit. I know the restaurants take the gift cards, but instead of keeping track of what card has what balance, I would much rather charge $500 to the room key and then give (5) $100 gift cards at check-out.

You can. Just stop by the front desk prior to them closing out your account, and then you can apply the gift card to your room charge balance. You would still need to leave some sort of payment prior so that you can use room charge, but if you settle the balance up with gift cards/cash then they won't charge your card when you leave.

Possible RFID readable ranges? Are we talking inches, feet, or yards? And were my assumptions about IDs and commuter passes "in the ballpark" of RFIDs? Will Disney want to use the RFID for the nextgen enhancements? I do understand the information being well seated on servers, and it makes plenty of sense?

All of the above. As a PP said, you can have them so you need to touch (think building security badges) or ones that are many yards away (high speed SpeedPass lane on the highway). One of the reasons why WalMart was pushing so hard for RFID deployment is that they could basically scan a truck as it pulled in, and grab all the tags to know what exactly was on it. And then scan the pallets as they come off to know what is on each pallet, and then scan the boxes to put them in the appropriate areas. And then again scan the items at the register to know what has been sold, and reorder inventory as needed.

 

[mickeysbrother]

The cruise ships have had this for years already! No money needed charges you at the end if your stay! It's convenient and it's good for Disney to make money on!!!

 

[Victor Kelly]

Thank you for your responses. I think it is a pretty good technology as long as the system stays up and running. I am not too worried about RFID in the long run. It will make things easier going into the parks.

 

[Rasvar]

Another side benefit of RFID is not having to remove it from holder in many cases. My current student ID has an RFID chip for vending and copies. I keep it right under my Driver License. Open my wallet and hold the back of the flap up to the reader. No visual information is able to be seen. Eventually, the RFID will replace the mag stripes on tickets too. An RFID device is actually cheaper to maintain than a magstripe reader for park entry since no mechanical parts exist. It also won't fade like a barcode. So if you are going to get rid of the magstripe completely, you will have to phase it out in the retail situations also. Retail will still have magstripe capability for credit cards, so it also makes sense to install in the retail locations first along with phasing in hotel key entry. Once retail and hotels are completed, I expect the transition of all fastpass and the last will be the entry gates.