It took Walt Disney's (DIS 0.92%) original theme park in California nine years to catch up to its sister resort in Florida, but Disneyland is finally ready to take you by the wrist. Disneyland announced on Tuesday that it will be rolling out the MagicBand platform in the fall. The wearable tech will allow guests to use proprietary bracelets to tap their way into the two parks, access expedited Lightning Lane queues, and have their on-ride snapshots seamlessly tied to their cloud-hosted accounts.
This is more than the first MagicBand introduced in Disney World back in 2013. This is the bar-raising update that Disney World rolled out in July, that like so many things Disney these days starts with adding a plus sign at the end of the brand. MagicBand+ does all that the original radio-frequency identification (RFID) bracelets do, but this is a rechargeable device that also does a lot more.
Once Disneyland guests connect MagicBand+ to their admission tickets or Magic Key passes in the official resort app it does more than just tap into park touch points that feed into Disney's system back end. The new bands come with color-changing LED lights, haptic vibrations, and gesture recognition that make a day at the park even immersive. For guests, MagicBand+ is interactive fun. For Disney and its shareholders, it's a new way to make even more money.
Image source: Disney.
Tap dancing
The MagicBand+ rollout at Disney World this summer was bumpy. There were some early snags with app connectivity and recharging, but the new wearables are now starting to enhance the park experience as intended. They light up in sync with parades, shows, and firework displays. Visitors can go on interactive quests while visiting Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge, culminating in virtual bounties and an augmented reality thermal viewer in the Play Disney app. Disney World's MagicBand+ interacts with the 50 commemorative statues across the four Florida theme parks celebrating that resort turning 50. Disneyland will inevitably expand on what the bands can do for its visitors.
Disney reportedly invested $1 billion in the initial MyMagic+ technology. It's a lot to pay for an engagement platform, but it has evolved into something that will make the initial outlay more than worthwhile. Disney learns more about guest in-park habits than any other rival theme park operator, and that information can be used to guide expansion efforts and potentially target offers and promotions.
Unlike the original MagicBand that was all about one-way communication, Disney can now answer back. Isn't it just a matter of time before haptic vibrations nudge visitors to check in-app notifications for exclusive opportunities to meet their favorite characters or discounts on their favorite treats?
It was eight years ago that I was picturing a future when MagicBands would help create personalized ride experiences and custom-tailored events. They're not there yet -- beyond guest names popping up in some queues -- but the new wearable tech makes it that much closer to becoming a reality. I was early, but I'm still not wrong.
Disney has already worked other levers to push per-capita spending up a whopping 40% from pre-pandemic levels. Now it's just a matter of turning on the spigot that's wrapped around a growing number of our wrists. The bellwether travel and tourism company is doing well with its theme parks segment right now. It's about to get even better for guests and shareholders alike. There's a common gripe among some diehard theme park enthusiasts that the magic is dead as a result of Disney's monetization success. The magic isn't dead. The magic show is just getting started.
