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ParkHoppin’ with Paul Ruben
Who needs a
smartphone when you can have a dumb phone?
MyMagic+ is a fantastic new way for guests to experience more of the magic of a Walt Disney World vacation. Don’t take my word for it. That’s what Tom Staggs, chairman, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, says.
MyMagic+ is a programme to help guests plan their stay at Disney’s Florida resort and enable them to see and do more during their time there. It uses RFID technology in wristbands and smartphone apps to help guests make advance reservations for rides, attractions, shows, meals and more. The
MagicBand, a chip-embedded wristband, doubles as admission ticket, reservation keeper, charge card and hotel room key. That’s me in the photo using my MagicBand to gain entry to the park. In the good old days I just gave someone a ticket.
By using MyMagic+ guests can create a personal guide to the “magic” at a new website and the accompanying mobile app. Ahh, the accompanying mobile app. This is where Disney’s magic and Paul’s magic go our separate ways, because to use a mobile app one must have a smartphone. I have a “thing” about phones. I eventually decided to carry a dumb phone, but for years I had no portable phone. Let me explain.
A mobile phone is like a long leash. You’re never free from interruption, alone with your thoughts, even when you are on travel. I always planned ahead, carried a phone card for long distance calls, and used a map for directions. Old school.
Increasingly I found people with mobile phones were talking at me but not to me. It got so bad I finally bought a toy cell phone, strictly for defensive purposes. Consider the advantages of a toy cell phone. It looks like a real phone. There are no monthly fees, no roaming charges, and you can speak to anyone, anywhere in the world ... if you are within about 10 feet (3m). I carried it with me when I travelled. I’m sitting alone, in an airport departure lounge minding my own business, when someone comes up, sits next to me and starts speaking loudly on their mobile phone. I dig into my bag, take out my toy cell phone, dial up an imaginary friend and start talking even louder! They quickly get up and move away, I finish my imaginary call, and put the phone away. Quiet reigns once again. Works every time.
This worked fine until one day a few years ago, during the IAAPA trade show in Orlando, when the owner of the company that publishes Park World finds me at the show and says: ”I was trying to call you. You should carry a cell phone.” I said I did, and proudly pulled out my toy cell phone. “Just dial 1-800-FUN, and if you’re nearby we can talk.” “No,” he insisted, “you need a real phone.” So I got one, the dumbest, cheapest mobile phone I could find, and you know what? The boss never called. My dumb phone doesn’t work with MyMagic+, but I’m told that guests unable to participate in MyMagic+ can make FastPass+ selections in advance or via in-park kiosks and use the MagicBands. They can still enjoy a great park experience though they may not have access to all aspects of the programme. Disney thought of everything.
6
This is a big month for Harry Potter theme park fans. Not only does Universal Orlando’s new Diagon Alley welcome its first paying guests, but Universal Studios Japan will open its own Wizarding World of Harry Potter on 15 July. The new themed land in Osaka reproduces environments from the Harry
Potter stories on a grand scale and features Hogwarts Castle as its iconic centrepiece. Visitors will be able to explore the classrooms and corridors of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They will also be able to enjoy the second carnation (following the original in Orlando) of the highly acclaimed Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey, taking passengers on a magical ride through the skies, flying above the Hogwarts grounds with Harry Potter with the aid of a robotic arm ride system and cutting-edge 4K imaging technology. Meanwhile the Flight of the Hippogriff will offer a family-friendly rollercoaster ride that swoops and dives past Hagrid’s hut. Universal guests will also be able to enjoy a harmonic offering of songs by a choir of Hogwarts students accompanied by their talented croaking frogs or cheer on students demonstrating their skill in the Triwizard Tournament and watch as they demonstrate their skill through enchanting street
performances.In Hogsmeade, a village where wizards reside, there will of course be an array of shops and other retail opportunities including Honeydukes sweet shop, Ollivanders magic shop, Zonko’s
Over China
Six Flags Entertainment Corporation has announced a strategic partnership with Chinese real estate developer Riverside Investment Group to build multiple Six Flags-branded theme parks in China over the next decade. “Our international expansion strategy is focused on finding the right partners in the right markets, and Riverside Investment Group will be the perfect strategic partner for us in China,” believes Six Flags chairman, president and CEO Jim Reid-Anderson. “We are honoured to enter this strategic relationship with Six Flags and expand the entertainment offerings in China,” says Li Zhe, chairman of Riverside Investment Group. “We are confident this world-class brand and unique form of entertainment will attract millions of guests to our parks.” Terms of the arrangement were not disclosed. Six Flags is already working on a park in Dubai, scheduled to open late 2017.
JULY 2014
Wizard World Potter arrives in Japan
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