Project Background
- MagicBands were used at Walt Disney World starting in 2013
- The bands enabled the Guest to leave their wallet behind since the bands acted as a Ticket, Room Key, and Payment for restaurants and stores
- Disney MagicMobile provided complimentary Wallet-free access to the Park so there was a need to provide a reason to purchase a new product
- There was also new competition from other theme parks, including the Power Up Band at SUPER NINTENDO WORLD at Universal Parks
What is MagicBand+?
- This new version of MagicBand added Bluetooth technology, Gesture Recognition, LED lights, and haptic feedback that would offer additional interaction and response with the parks and smartphones
- New and Existing sensors were leveraged in the parks to recieve and send signals to band
- This included light and haptic sequences that could sync up to Attractions or Entertainment
- MagicBand+ also kept the RFID chip which kept parody with the regular MagicBand and MagicMobile Pass
Guests use the NFC sensor on the Band to quickly idenitfy the band to the phone and account
Guests can then assign a band to a member of their friends or family. Then an animation shows how to activate the Bluetooth pairing process on the band
After pairing, the phone can then change settings and preferences to the Band Hardware. In addition, firmware updates can be applied to the band to add support for future experiences.
In the app, Guest can watch videos about the features and fucntionality, find experience in the park and addition support and resources
Launch Details
- MagicBand+ launched in August 2022 in Walt Disney World and in October 2022 in Disneyland
- Disney sold over a million units during FY23
- This was the first MagicBand product to launch in Disneyland. Park and Ride entrances have been remodeled to accept MagicBand+.
