Using MagicBand at Disney World, exactly portrays how the future will look like in a few years from now. The only thing you need to have while visiting Disney World, is the wristband. It is a simple, rubber wristbands (which can be customized- get your name added on it) offered in shades of grey, blue, green, pink, yellow, orange and red. Inside each is an RFID chip and a radio like those in a 2.4-GHz cordless phone. The wristband has enough battery to last two years and is waterproof. You also get a 4 digit pin number (just like the credit card) for security purpose.
After booking the ticket and receiving the band, one download the Disney’s app or use the website to make reservations of the rides (Fastpass). This will automatically create an itinerary for the rides you want to go to, this will save your time, moving back and forth searching for the rides. You also get a free shuttle service from airport to the hotel and back. The band acts as key to open your hotel room. Once in the park, it give you access to the rides, so it’s like a ticket. The band also connects to vast system of sensors within the park. One could make dinner or event registrations months in the future (reservation pass). You could use it as a credit card, to instantly pay for food, services and merchandise using the 4 digit pin. Just enter the restaurant and sit wherever you want. Soon, the food will find you (only if you have made a reservation for it before). Tables have radio receivers which pick up the signal from the MagicBand and the kitchen is notified.
All these things together can give an experience that is frictionless. Using the MagicBand eliminated a ton of the friction that typically comes with visiting a Disney park. You don’t require a ticket, don’t have to wait in long lines and pay for everything using cash or credit cards. It made for a much more enjoyable and stress-free visit.
Why is MagicBand the future of an Excellent User Experience?
With all the wearable technologies available in the market (apple/smart watch, fitness band ), a very similar experience like disney could be created. Half of it already exists but imagine this, using a wristband if you could access your front door, your car door, your apartment building front gate, your office door at work. If you could enter a venue whether a movie theatre, a Broadway theatre by just touching the band to the sensor. Pay for everything you buy whether at the grocery store, a retail store or a gift store. Track your body stats (heartbeat, steps, altitude, GPS, map your journey, etc.) It can also be your be your watch and phone and personal alert system.
Life would be so much easier with this kind of wristband. It will revolutionize your daily user experience and eliminate a ton of your annoying friction.
But there can be some drawbacks too, the system as whole would be very expensive, Disney invested about a billion dollars into the research and the making of this system. It would require multiple networks, readers, antennae and tons of integrated back-end data systems and points that all have to play very nice together by connecting seamlessly. Also, every sector needs to be integrated with this technology, the financial institutions, retail firms, restaurants, event places, mobile networks, hotels, houses, stores, restaurants etc. So in all, it is very expensive to do it but slowly sector by sector, we can get there.
But, MagicBand still reflects the future our world is getting at representing a hassle free way of conducting various tasks for different needs without even thinking about it.