Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
RFID for Payment, Hotel-Room Access, and Photos
Disney's hotel-room doors have RFID readers, allowing you to enter your room
simply by tapping your wristband or KTTW Card against the reader. The same tech-
nology has been in use for years at upscale hotels around the world.
RFID readers are also installed at virtually every Disney cash register on-prop-
erty, allowing you to pay for food, drinks, and souvenirs by tapping your MagicBand/
KTTW Card against the reader. You'll be asked to verify your identity by entering
your PIN on a small keypad to complete your purchase. This technology, known as
“contactless payment,” has been in use worldwide for many years, too.
If you're using Disney's
Memory Maker
service (
disneyworld.disney.go.com/
memory-maker
),yourMagicBand/KTTWCardservesasthelinkbetweenyourpho-
tos and your family. Each photographer carries a small RFID reader, against which
you tap your MagicBand before having your photo taken. The Memory Maker system
will link your photos to you, and you'll be able to view them on the Disney World
website.
Disney's onboard ride-photo computers incorporate RFID technology, too. As
you begin down the big drop near the finale of Splash Mountain, for example, RFID
sensors read the serial number on your MagicBand and pass it to Splash Mountain's
cameras. When those cameras snap your family plunging into the briar patch, they
attach your MagicBands' serial number to the photo, allowing you to see your ride
photos together after you've returned home. Because ride sensors may not pick up the
signal from an RFID card sitting in a wallet or purse, we're fairly sure that on-board
ride photos require MagicBands.
The Future of RFID
Other innovative uses of RFID technology are rumored to be in the works. In one
scenario we've heard, you'll provide Disney with some information about your child
before your visit, such as his or her favorite color and pet's name. Later, when your
child visits Cinderella, an RFID reader next to Cinderella will recognize your child's
wristband and display the previously gathered information on a hidden prompter for
Cinderella to work into conversation. And because Disney's computer systems will
know from your MagicBand which rides you've been on and where you've eaten,
Cinderella may mention those details, too.
