MyMagic+/FastPass+...

[KingsIslander]

Having seen the... mixed reaction... to MyMagic+ on Board X and such, I can only imagine some of the SGs that the "test" must be causing... people using old expired tickets to get Fastpasses (apparently this is possible again? One person on Board X claims to be getting quadruple FP-), having meltdowns over only getting 3 FP+, being suspicious of Disney, etc. Anyone have any good stories?

Also, my condolences are with those at AK where they stopped giving out FP-. I'm sure the guests are *so* pleased about that.

[hobie16]

From Time Magazine

Now Disney Can Track Your Every Move with NSA-Style Wristbands
Big Brother's got mouse ears

By Eliana Dockterman

Families planning trips to one of Disney’s theme parks can now get waterproof rubber wristbands embedded with computer chips in lieu of paper tickets. When scanned, the bands can act as a park entry ticket, a FastPass, a hotel room key and a credit card. The “Magic Bands” — which are currently optional — are part of a new MyMagic+ “vacation management system” that can track guests as they move throughout the park.

Efficient? Perhaps. But post-Snowden, some worry that Magic Bands are nothing more than NSA-esque tracking devices. The MyMagic+ system is designed to track users’ purchasing habits, and if parents agree to certain settings, employees playing characters in the park can use hidden sensors to track children and their information; so Goofy can walk up to a child and say something like, “Hi Bobby. Happy birthday.” Pretty creepy. Plus, others worry that someone might be able to hack your band and thus access your hotel room and credit card.

Massachusetts Rep Ed Markey publicly criticized the bands after they were announced last year, saying that he worried that the new tickets invade the privacy of millions of children. Disney’s CEO, Bob Iger, responded by calling Markey’s statements “ludicrous” and “ill-informed.”

Disney fanatics, for their part, can’t wait to get their hands on the devices.

[KingsIslander]

If I were a kid, I'd be thrilled that Goofy knew my name! I guess it doesn't bother me all that much, but that's probably because I'm also part of the generation that's grown up being "tracked" by cell phones and such.

[WEDFan]

So, they can track your purchasing, like they could with rooom charges. And are they really "hidden sensors to track children and their information" or are they the FastPass sensors that you touch with your band? From what I could see, these bands don't have much of a range... like 1/4". And it does seem to be the bands since using the chipped cards on the same sensors is nowhere near as finicky. And of course the CC information isn't on the band, it's associated with the same account that the band is linked too, just the same way it is/was linked to your room key.

All in all, I've got to say, not very NSA like at all. Especially since Disney discloses that it is collecting information and you have to initiate the whole thing. I don't recall that being the case with the NSA.

I hate stories that simply go for the sensationalism.

Maybe if they had launched into an at least semi-serious discussion of whether the RFID technology significantly increases risks, but they couldn't even be bothered to collect some of the facts let alone examine them.

[ktulu]

The only time our name popped up on anything was after we touched the sensors. It was nice, but kids kept forgetting to tap the bands at FP. The other downside was the FP lines were much longer. They need to work out the child swap if the lines are going to stay like that. EE was the worst one, youngest didn't pass the height test (but did on other attractions), so we swapped and got to wait in the FP line (just to get past the first tap station) twice! It wouldn't have been so bad if the line wasn't on the bridge toward Nemo...

[mapo]

OMG...seriously????

Well, that explains why guests keep telling me that I can track them all day! Or I have magic that can track their party member(s) using my MM+ GPS system to reunite.

Once again, my faith in the Fifth Estate is back in negative infinity.

mapo

[Goofyernmost]

From what I understand, granted my knowledge is limited, but the magic bands do sent a signal from out side the areas of entry. And that, yes they can track where you are inside the park, but, the information that is let out is limited to a body being at a location which is exactly what they used to do with camera's. Remember the cameras all over the parks? And it is only worthwhile while in the compound of the parks where the receiving equipment would be located.

It is comforting to know that so few people are aware of how a pedophile works. Tracking a child is not a useful tool for a pedophile. They have the type of weird that has to be done in person. They can only achieve their goals by being able to take advantage of a small window opportunity. They can't sit in a building find a child on the scope and be able to get to them and even if they could, who knows where they will be by the time they get there, or whom they are with for that matter. It just isn't how it works. It was a lot of non-thought out fear spreading. The cameras were far more of a threat then the Magic Bands are.

[Big Wallaby]

The other thing is, if Disney is doing it right, then the linking between a credit card, any personal info, and the number on the band should be fairly loose, meaning you have to take several steps to get from the band to the actual personal info. After all, they changed the Cast ID from the old ones that actually had some pretty personal info on them, to the new ones that yes, do have the same technology as the bands, but no personal info. Frankly, I am all too happy to carry around the new ID where if I lose my ID for some reason, I am not putting personal info out there for anyone with the ability to scan, or in the case of hhsrat read on sight, the bar code.

By the way, if you for some reason have a copy of an old ID, either take it to Security or destroy it. I am sure mapo has the best of those two answers.

[KingsIslander]

The other thing is, if Disney is doing it right, then the linking between a credit card, any personal info, and the number on the band should be fairly loose, meaning you have to take several steps to get from the band to the actual personal info. After all, they changed the Cast ID from the old ones that actually had some pretty personal info on them, to the new ones that yes, do have the same technology as the bands, but no personal info. Frankly, I am all too happy to carry around the new ID where if I lose my ID for some reason, I am not putting personal info out there for anyone with the ability to scan, or in the case of hhsrat read on sight, the bar code.

By the way, if you for some reason have a copy of an old ID, either take it to Security or destroy it. I am sure mapo has the best of those two answers.

I believe that the only thing stored on the band is a number that links with the MyMagic+ website, so when you scan it, it checks that number in Disney's big magical database of dreams and celebrations for your information. As long as Disney doesn't pull a Target and leak people's information, it should be safe... hopefully.

[EpcotFan]

We were able to use Fastpass+ with the wrist bands on my November trip and generally liked the experience. We were able to arrange Fast passes for the evening we arrived and for when we planned to park hop mid-day (an impossibility under the original Fastpass system since the passes would be gone by the time we entered the park).

However, I'm coming back in April to celebrate my 50th birthday, and I'm not sure the system will work that well for us this time. In Nov, we both had active annual passes that I was able to link on-line. This trip, we won't be purchasing our new annual passes until we arrive. If I read things correctly, we won't be able to select Fastpass+'s until we link the new passes, by which time the passes will probably be gone except for the things that really don't need passes anyways.