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An article in this months Wired details how Disney spent $1 Billion developing, testing, and rolling out their Magicband system that started actually rolling out in 2013.
Disney's Magicband system is based on a wristband containing an RFID chip and a 2.4gHz wifi transmitter. To use the system, the guest simply aligns the Mickey head on the wristband with a Mickey head on the receiving antenna. These antenna are dispersed throughout the park; for example: rides, souvenir shops, restaurants, and on-property hotel rooms. Rather than having to pull out a wallet to pay for something, one simply uses the Magicband and, upon a good read of the RFID tag, your associated credit card gets charged accordingly. It is even used by their FastPass system which allows you to schedule getting on rides.
When everything works, the reader flashes green and emits a pleasing tone; if something goes wrong, it glows blue, never red. Red lights are forbidden at Disney, as they imply something bad happened. Nothing bad can happen at Disney World.
In early 2014, "atdisneyagain.com" did an actual dissection of a Magicband to get a look at the components, complete with FCC look ups to see exactly what was going on inside.
[Update: corrected grammar and phrasing.]
(Score: 2, Funny) by yarp on Monday March 23 2015, @02:07PM
I'm sure they already have a very good idea of their customers' behaviour but this will allow them to catalogue and data mine practically every action made wherever a wristband is worn. This would make me uneasy but I expect many will applaud it for the convenience it offers. Will wearing one be optional, I wonder? Would tinfoil hats be offered as an alternative? :)
Oh, and this:
Is it... alive?
(Score: 2) by Kilo110 on Monday March 23 2015, @02:09PM
"Would tinfoil hats be offered as an alternative? "
Don't you mean tinfoil wrist guards?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 23 2015, @02:24PM
I bet there would be a decent sized market for a cheap product that could be used to cover the band and attenuate the signal to the barest minimum necessary to work only when the wearer intended to use it - like making direct physical contact with the reader.
Especially if you sold it as protecting your kid from being tracked by predators piggybacking on disney's system.
(Score: 1) by yarp on Monday March 23 2015, @02:25PM
Yes, wrists can have hats too!
(Score: 2) by fadrian on Monday March 23 2015, @03:23PM
I believe they're called cuffs.
That is all.
(Score: 1) by MostCynical on Monday March 23 2015, @09:40PM
Cuffs.. to go with the invisible collar (and leash).
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 2) by cmn32480 on Monday March 23 2015, @02:37PM
It is the triangulation from the wifi transmitter that allows this to happen. If they can get within 10 feet of your location, and only 1 table doesn't have food, it does not take a genius to figure it out.
"It's a dog eat dog world, and I'm wearing Milkbone underwear" - Norm Peterson
(Score: 2) by Rivenaleem on Tuesday March 24 2015, @02:40PM
My understanding is not only are the optional, they not free. You have to rent the bands. They should be awesome for finding lost children, though.