Lost Nintendo DS software for usage at Walt Disney World
Oct 4, 2023 1:27:12 GMT
pastelsux and mysteriousskye like this
Post by jenkinsjinkies on Oct 4, 2023 1:27:12 GMT
In the late 2000s, Disney was experimenting with new ways to let visitors interact with their theme parks using technology such as cell phones and RFID wrist bands. While these concepts evolved and were incorporated into their parks years later (ex. My Disney Experience app and MagicBand), several of their ideas fell flat and were discontinued.
One of these concepts was a special Nintendo DS application titled Disney Magic Connection, developed sometime in 2007, and tested with Magic Kingdom park guests starting in January 2008. Disney Magic Connection let visitors access information on ride wait times, show schedules, parade routes, dining locations, and play minigames/trivia. The software used special technology that interacted with the park's 400+ sensors on the modified DS Lite unit(s) to guide guests throughout the park, and actions were controlled directly on the touch screen. Disney was aiming for sixty families a day to test the system, however the company ended up with half that number on most days.
The app testers were randomly selected visitors; however a credit card and signed NDA were required for testing. Guests who agreed were given an instruction manual/sheet they could keep, the DS Lite unit itself, a generic trading pin, and a free PhotoPass picture for each party member. A security fee of $300 was charged if visitors left the theme park without returning the unit. The test was quickly discontinued, lasting only a couple of months. According to a Disney Imagineering insider, it was deemed a failure because of its small userbase. Cast Members had a hard time convincing families to try the software (especially with ones with children, that had long and tiresome trips to get to the park).
Disney Magic Connection was never publicly released to guests for their own Nintendo DS systems and the app's ROM was never dumped. It is unknown what happened to the DS Lite units after the test concluded. However, that same year Disney and Verizon Wireless collaborated to release a very similar app that could be used with Verizon phones called Disney Mobile Magic. Nintendo also used a similar concept for Seattle Mariners baseball games where attendants could rent out DS units to order food and view game stats.
A picture of the software's map
A picture of the manual given to its testers
Destructoid article on its announcement
WDWmagic forum thread on its announcement
One of these concepts was a special Nintendo DS application titled Disney Magic Connection, developed sometime in 2007, and tested with Magic Kingdom park guests starting in January 2008. Disney Magic Connection let visitors access information on ride wait times, show schedules, parade routes, dining locations, and play minigames/trivia. The software used special technology that interacted with the park's 400+ sensors on the modified DS Lite unit(s) to guide guests throughout the park, and actions were controlled directly on the touch screen. Disney was aiming for sixty families a day to test the system, however the company ended up with half that number on most days.
The app testers were randomly selected visitors; however a credit card and signed NDA were required for testing. Guests who agreed were given an instruction manual/sheet they could keep, the DS Lite unit itself, a generic trading pin, and a free PhotoPass picture for each party member. A security fee of $300 was charged if visitors left the theme park without returning the unit. The test was quickly discontinued, lasting only a couple of months. According to a Disney Imagineering insider, it was deemed a failure because of its small userbase. Cast Members had a hard time convincing families to try the software (especially with ones with children, that had long and tiresome trips to get to the park).
Disney Magic Connection was never publicly released to guests for their own Nintendo DS systems and the app's ROM was never dumped. It is unknown what happened to the DS Lite units after the test concluded. However, that same year Disney and Verizon Wireless collaborated to release a very similar app that could be used with Verizon phones called Disney Mobile Magic. Nintendo also used a similar concept for Seattle Mariners baseball games where attendants could rent out DS units to order food and view game stats.
A picture of the software's map
A picture of the manual given to its testers
Destructoid article on its announcement
WDWmagic forum thread on its announcement
