Disneyland Paris Launches Bluetooth Information Service

[Figment!]

Disneyland Paris launches free visitor information via Bluetooth



15-Jul-08
by Jacquie Bowser
Brand Republic

LONDON - Disneyland Resort Paris has launched Bluetooth technology within its theme park to offer visitors free information about the site's attractions.
Guests who activate the Bluetooth reception on their mobile phones will be able to find out how long the waiting line is to a particular ride or find out the starting times for the park's shows.

Four Bluetooth terminals have been set up in the Walt Disney Studios Park. They are situated in the waiting line ofCrush's Coaster, in theTwilight Zone Tower of Terror, by the information panel at the exit of Studio 1 and in theEn Coulisse restaurant.

As guests walk near these terminals, an alert will inform them that they can receive information via Bluetooth. They then may accept or reject the free content.
Eric Cosset, parks operation director for Disneyland Resort Paris, said: "Our position as Europe's leading tourist destination requires that our level of services be increasingly performing, in order to guarantee a quality experience for our guests.

"We have been working on real-time information for some time now, for we know it is one of the keys to a wholly successful visit for our guests."
The presence of the Bluetooth technology is indicated on the park programme and the location of the terminals is given on the information panels.

[Mufasa]

Bluetooth information terminals are quite common in some places overseas- I remember first encountering a system at a shopping mall in Europe where as soon as you walked through the entrance, you could sign up to get free messages and updates on your mobile phone with targeted discounts and offers sent to you as you moved through the mall.

Here in the US parks, Disney is definitely looking at ways to introduce new services (via SMS text messaging for example) as ways to bring information with guests.

And then there's this device called the iPhone...

Back to the bluetooth systems- I'm not certain, but at least in the deployment at some shopping centers it was possible for the system to be used to help track movement though which probably raises concerns for those privacy minded individuals about their whereabouts being tracked.

[TheRustyScupper]

1) For shopping centers and airports, fantastic.
2) For theme parks, no.
3) All we need are more people to use cell phones in the parks.