If you take a trip to Disney World you might be lucky enough to test a new device that promises to streamline your experience. The “Disney Magic Connection” is a wireless device that plans on radically changing the way you experience the magic. It runs on a Nintendo DS and has the ability to:

• Give current wait times for attractions
• Let you know whether FastPasses are left for that particular attraction
• And when those FastPasses will become available
• Show schedules
• Parade routes
• Interactive maps which reveal the location of rides, shows and attractions, restaurants, character appearances, restrooms, etc.
• It will know which ride you are waiting for and display interactive trivia based on that information to pass the time

I’m what you might call a Disney fanatic. When I heard this announcement I was both intrigued and disappointed. The theme parks are a multi-layered environment. They offer so much detail that even as a Disney fan, I still find new cracks and crevices unexplored on each visit.

It’s exciting that families will be able to share a streamlined “in-the-know” experience. On short trips where you might not have the time to plan out an 8-hour day with tired children, you’ll still have the ability to see a lot. That includes character visits, attractions and activities that you might have overlooked by planning ahead on a generic website.

At the same time it’s disappointing because it separates park goers into two groups, those who can afford the device and those who can not. It also has the ability to trivialize the experience by making a job out of the visit. Unless it’s designed with the parks atmosphere in mind, I fear that some guests may constantly be looking down into the screen rather than at the meticulous detail that the parks are known for.

Either way, it should be available for the general public by April of 2009. Chalk up another one to the Imagineers for continuously innovating the theme park experience.

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