Credit: Inside the MagicGuests may never see these features return to Walt Disney World.
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Walt Disney World has always been a place of invention and innovation, with exciting new pieces of technology popping up across each of the resort’s four theme parks and its dozens of hotels. Arguably, the biggest overhaul to the way guests experience Disney World came in 2013 when The Walt Disney Company introduced MagicBand.
These wearable RFID bracelets fundamentally changed the way guests experience the Disney theme parks, allowing them to pay and unlock their hotel doors with their MagicBands. MagicBands also allowed a new level of interactivity and personality to make its way to select rides and attractions.
However, recent changes indicate some MagicBand functionality may be gone for good in Disney World.
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Earlier this year, guests began to notice that MagicBand functionality had been removed from “it’s a small world.” For the uninitiated, the classic boat ride was equipped with scanners and other technology that could track guests, displaying their names on screens at the end of the ride.
This feature was quietly removed at some point, with a few static signs now greeting guests as they make the final turn before disembarking (as seen above).
While this one-off example may not be concrete evidence that Disney is phasing out the technology, at least within its attractions, “it’s a small world” is not the only ride that has seen its MagicBand functionally disappear.
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Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster also used to feature MagicBand integration similar to what was seen in “it’s a small world,” displaying the names of certain guests as they walked through a specific point in the ride’s queue.
The attraction made it look like guests were the stars of upcoming concerts, displaying their names and even, sometimes, their hometowns on concert posters. However, much like “it’s a small world,” this feature was quietly removed (shown above).
It’s unknown what will eventually become of MagicBand integration on these attractions and others, but it appears Disney is done with the technology, at least on these rides, for now.
This is not to say that MagicBand functionality does not exist all around the Walt Disney World Resort; quite the opposite, with guests now able to do more things than ever with their colorful bracelets.
Guests can use their MagicBands, now called MagicBand+, to lock and unlock their personal lockers at TRON Ligthcycle / Run, which is one of the very few rides that require guests to stow their personal belongings elsewhere before boarding.
MagicBand+ has also been brought to the high seas, with Disney Cruise Line using the technology on newer vessels like the Disney Wish and the Treasure.
What are your thoughts on MagicBand? Do you prefer to use it over a traditional keycard?