Brace Yourself

Like everyone on the planet, I have a pretty strong desire to never be pickpocketed. I can only imagine finding out your wallet has been stolen is the same fear you experience for a half-second when you reach for something and it is not in the pocket where you left it before discovering it in another spot, except 10,000 times worse. It is why I do silly things like move my wallet to different pockets when in a crowd. (After all when you dress as expensively as I do, with an entire outfit costing $80, you're just advertising to people how much money is in your wallet.) Anyway, since everyone shares this fear, companies are always trying to cut down on how many things they actually need you to carry so that if you do get rob/lose something it cuts down on the amount of work you have to do to replace everything. With that in mind you would think a story in the paper the other day which says that Disney is looking to introduce a bracelet at their theme parks which park goers could link to their credit card and allow them to simply touch a keypad to buy things like drinks or merchandise, as well as register for waiting lists which would allow them to skip the line, would be something we are all in favor of. Instead, it just sounds like another major corporation which is trying to keep a close eye on the very people keeping them in business.

[Sidebar: Before we go any further, I should probably express my bias here: I have never understood the pull of Disney World. Apparently, my parents took us as children but I don't remember a thing. I vaguely remember Disney World as a pre-teen, but on any trips to Florida as either a teenager or an adult I always preferred Sea World or Universal Studios. Even when I was an ESPN employee and got discounted tickets to the park I never thought about using them for a second and quickly passed them off to people. Mostly it has to do with the fact that I don't like amusement park rides. So, while I don't have any reason to dislike the parks and I do buy the toys for the next generation as well as enjoy an animated movie as much as the next guy, I certainly couldn't be counted as a fan.]

Disney is trying to claim this is for consumer convenience, but I think we all know that is a sham. What this really is designed to do is speed up the buying process and remove any time which may be required to pull out a credit card, because that is time which could be used to wonder if you really need a Goofy tie and thought is the enemy of the vacation impulse purchase. If you accidentally leave your 4 year-old unattended for a second and they charge a couple hats to your account because they like the beeping noise the bracelet makes, all the better. But probably more importantly Disney can take the bracelet and track your movement in the park, using that data to see which rides you go on, restaurants you stop at and which things you decided to skip. Sure, the data collected could make for a better park experience and if Disney is keeping the info for themselves there is nothing legally wrong with that. The problem is the chances they would keep this information to themselves when they could sell it and make some money are probably rather low. Besides, you get the feeling people would be willing to answer any questions the park had if they only asked nicely, so the fact Disney see a need to take it without asking adds a feeling of deception where there doesn't need to be one.

Disney is kind of an interesting company because it feels like a lot of people have a negative image of them and yet no one stops going to their movies or buying the merchandise and the park charges outrageous prices because they have yet to hit the number which will stop people from coming. They are kind of like Facebook that way - everyone complains about their messed-up policy of collecting personal data, yet very few people actually delete their profiles. The big difference is that Facebook doesn't have an actual place you have to visit, so I have to wonder if they would have as many users if they were thought to be so bad and asked you to fly hundreds or thousands of miles to use the site. Disney requires you to fly to Florida for the chance to be mistreated and for some reason people are only to happy to get on the plane. If they were any other company there would be picket lines out front and they would have to explain what they were planning to do with all the data they are collecting. But as long as Disney keep churning out movies with a cute main character that the kids just love parents appear to have decided it is easier to deal with an evil company than a crying child. Honestly, the fact they keep chugging along despite everyone knowing how they operate would be impressive if it weren't so bone-chilling.

Like everyone else, I am fascinated to see how this experiment works out, because if this works at Disney World than you know it will only be a matter of time before it is put into operation at places all over the world. People are already only too happy to swipe their frequent shopper cards when they go to the supermarket, so seeing people willing to do the same at the gym or the movies is not a big leap. To be honest, I'm not sure how I feel about people having that much information on file. While I may understand why the pop-up ads on the side of my emails often feature a product I just did a Google search for, that doesn't mean I like the idea of companies knowing I am running low on toilet paper before I do. I'm all for being offered good deals, but I don't think they need to be tailored to my specific shopping past. Besides, Disney is asking their consumers to wear bracelets and I'm not a big jewelry guy, so I won't be signing up for the chance to wear some necklace that will let people know what golf balls I use. Still, I will admit it is probably more inconspicuous than selling you mouse ears with an antenna sticking out of them.