Mouse Extra

Everyday we seem to get more and more information regarding the proposed “Disney Magic Connection” which is currently being tested at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World.  Will this new wireless information system truly reinvent the way guests tour Disney’s theme parks?

According to Jim Hill this morning, Disney World Cast Members are actually having trouble convincing people to take part in the testing.  Besides the fact that people generally do not like to be approached and stopped on their mission, it seems there is something more substantial that turns people off.

Another aspect of the “Disney Magic Connection” field test that allegedly turned off a lot of would-be participants was the security deposit. You see, before these folks could actually get their hands on that DS, they first had to hand over a major credit card. Which (strictly as a precaution) Mickey would take an imprint of. So that — in the event that these Magic Kingdom visitors accidentally left that theme park without returning their test unit — Mouse House officials could then charge them $300.

What happens if the 7 year old, while scrambling to get Goofy’s autograph, drops it and breaks it?  What happens if the soda spills on it during lunch and damages it?  Will that also cause a similar charge?  And how much does this $300 tell us about what the cost of this might be?

But Mr. Hill also gives us an insight into how cool this device might be. 

Well picture this : You’re sitting down to lunch at the Liberty Tree Tavern with your family. And as your waitress goes off to get your drinks, you ask the family what attraction they’d like to ride next after they’re done eating. And the kids immediately say “Space Mountain.”

So you pull out your handy dandy “Disney Magic Connnection.” And you then check to see if there are any FastPasses left for that Tomorrowland attraction. And as it turns out, they are. So from your table right there in Liberty Square, you reserve FastPasses for your entire family to ride Space Mountain later that same afternoon.

And the beauty part of this proposed “Disney Magic Connection” feature is that you won’t need any paper FastPass ticket. Once you arrive at the attraction that you’ve reserved FastPasses for, you just show your handheld unit to the cast member who’s standing watch over the FastPass portion of the queue. Once he sees the virtual FastPass that’s displayed on the screen of your Nintendo DS, he’ll wave you and your family on through … And then you’re good to go.

That does sound pretty darn cool, don’t you think?  But once again, it all comes down to how much this will cost.  Will this be something only those with lots of money can afford?  We’ll wait and see.  So far there is no concrete information to what the cost might be when the system is launched.