Disney Mobile Magic for Android!

[brownie]

Disney Mobile Magic is now available in the Android Marketplace. This is the official Disney app (only the second official Disney Android app of any kind.) It's still only available for Verizon phones, though (I tried but it wouldn't let me download it for my EVO, maybe Disney will make this available for all carriers some day.) Cost is $1.99. It looks like that's a one time cost and the app doesn't expire, but I couldn't find anything to confirm that in the Marketplace.

[dpamac]

It's about time...just sayin'. Exclusive deals are stupid.

[John]

As is charging money for something that should be free...

[brownie]

Exclusive deals are stupid.

I'm certainly not going to change from Sprint to Verizon to be able to get the app.

[WDWfanatic742]

Count me in that as well brownie. It doesn't show up in my app store though, how weird...

[kakn7294]

Can't find it in the iPhone app store either. When I did have it on my old "dumb" phone, I didn't find it all that helpful. The wait times were nice to see but it took so long to load that most of the time we could walk to the attraction or tip board and check for ourselves. The character feature was nice though.

[Dsnygirl]

Downloaded it onto my Smartphone (Samsung Fascinate...) Very cool app, but VERY slow. Nice features and info, etc., but unless it speeds up how it runs, it'd be a pain to try to use it quickly in the parks. We shall see...

[btharvey]

As is charging money for something that should be free...

I don't understand, John. Why should the app be free? If Disney (or anyone else, for that matter) puts together an APPlication that consolidates information that is normally only available when you are on-site and have paid your money ... and presents that information to you when you are outside the parks, why shouldn't they be repaid a little for their efforts? The fee is minimal compared to some.

I just don't see any justification for it "should" be free. It'd be nice, yes, but why "should?" Please elucidate.

[brownie]

Count me in that as well brownie. It doesn't show up in my app store though, how weird...

If you're accessing the Android Marketplace on your phone, I believe it filters out apps that aren't for your phone or can't be used on your phone. You have to go the Android Marketplace through your computer browser if you want to see it.

[brownie]

I don't understand, John. Why should the app be free? If Disney (or anyone else, for that matter) puts together an APPlication that consolidates information that is normally only available when you are on-site and have paid your money ... and presents that information to you when you are outside the parks, why shouldn't they be repaid a little for their efforts? The fee is minimal compared to some.

I just don't see any justification for it "should" be free. It'd be nice, yes, but why "should?" Please elucidate.

In Disney's case, the app is meant to help people while they are at Disneyland or Disney World. It's really no different than putting up tip boards or handing out maps in that sense. They could offer it as a "free" app as a value add. If it helps people manage their time in the parks better or learn about restaurant or shop they wouldn't have otherwise gone to, that can translate to increased spending by those guests.

The app can also become a platform to push other information, like advertising and marketing, to those using the app. Disney has the best available information on wait times, they could beat out all the other apps with their own, offer it for free across all platforms, and probably own the wait time app market for their parks.