DLRP Times have reported that there is now an application available from Disney, with parade times, restaurant information, videos and more. It seems like they have developed the Bluetooth idea into a full app. However, it looks like the service is via mobile internet rather than Bluetooth, which is going to put people off.
They have also used QR Codes (which they are calling flashcodes), which is an interesting development. However, maybe a bit too high tech for most guests!
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DLRP Times article (//http://translate.google.fr/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fdlrptimes.over-blog.fr%2F&sl=fr&tl=en&hl=fr&ie=UTF-8)
Does it have english language or just french ?
Will this application include Ride Wait Times???
Will it work on any network? I mean, is it only for French people, or can we still get it with a foreign number?
Huh, this is news? I got one of those leaflets on my trip back in March :/
Quote from: "15yearsofMagic2008"Does it have english language or just french ?
The leaflet was in both English and French, so I imagine the application's in both (I didn't use it as it wouldn't be compatible with my phone).
Quote from: "never2old"Will it work on any network? I mean, is it only for French people, or can we still get it with a foreign number?
I doubty ou'd be able to send that SMS code from an international phone, but there were different instructions on the English side of the leaflet, so I imagine it's available on that. That said, it's still over mobile internet, so it wouldn't come cheap.
I'll see if I can find the laeflet when I get home. I don't have a scanner, though, so I'd have to take a photo of the English side.
Thanks Agent Lex, that would be great!
It should work with all phones capable of installing the app, as non-French customers should be able to dial the number normally in France or add +33.
This should be pictured next to the word "Useless" in the dictionary. Why would you ever use that?
The Bluetooth thing was a better idea but still too complicated. Would it not be possible to just have a kind of park Wifi intranet taking you straight to attraction queue times, etc? So you just launch the browser on your phone and it takes you straight there?
Quote from: "Adam"It should work with all phones capable of installing the app, as non-French customers should be able to dial the number normally in France or add +33.
But after the initial SMS this looks like a Data application - which is going to cost anyone without a French SIM a small fortune to use.
It not like that small fortune is going to go into the finances of EDL either.
Quote from: "Anthony"This should be pictured next to the word "Useless" in the dictionary. Why would you ever use that?
The Bluetooth thing was a better idea but still too complicated. Would it not be possible to just have a kind of park Wifi intranet taking you straight to attraction queue times, etc? So you just launch the browser on your phone and it takes you straight there?
i agree Anthony a WiFi system would be so much better, and after all alot of new mobile phones now come with the WiFi built in already
I would imagine that Disney decided to go with a mobile internet version rather than a wifi or Bluetooth version, as it is easier for them. They don't have to cover the parks with routers and maintain them. Instead, they can utilise the mobile phone network.
Anthony's idea of the wifi intranet would work, as would a Bluetooth network. Wifi would be better, as it has got a better coverage concept and would work better with an app.
However, an ideal solution would be to work with Lo-Q, who have made the Q-Bot for Legoland and other parks, which is a little device to see times and book Fastpass-type tickets. They have now got a Text-Q, which uses text messaging, so I would have thought they could easily create a hybrid of the two to work in a mobile app.
Maybe soon they're release an iPhone app. I've seen there are some for the US parks...
Quote from: "never2old"Maybe soon they're release an iPhone app. I've seen there are some for the US parks...
Even if they did, the app would use the mobile phone network the same as this app, and cost international visitors a small fortune.
I ended up really busy last night, so I couldn't check for that leaflet. I'll check tonight, honest...
This seems silly.
Getting the times by Bluetooth was fine - all they needed to do was expand the range, so I could get the times while I'm in my hotel, or in a queue for a ride, or something (rather than in Studio 1, when I'm fairly near to a notice board anyway). Also, the Bluetooth was free, and how many people's phones
don't have Bluetooth?
It's all well and good suggesting Wi-Fi, or iPhone apps, but the percentage of people who have access to those is (currently) going to be incredibly slim - slimmer still when compared to Bluetooth.
QuoteHowever, an ideal solution would be to work with Lo-Q, who have made the Q-Bot for Legoland and other parks, which is a little device to see times and book Fastpass-type tickets.
Of course, they cost extra. Those Q-Bot things are the most annoying things in the world. If I've paid to get into a theme park, I don't want to be expected to pay more to actually get on some rides. Offering a different experience for those willing to pay more just alienates the rest of the customers - you should see the reaction some of the Q-Bot using parents get at Legoland from the rest of the "plebs". It isn't pretty.
Fastpass is fair - everyone can have it, if they get there in time. Q-Bot just creates a two tier system that's fair for no-one.
QuoteEven if they did, the app would use the mobile phone network the same as this app, and cost international visitors a small fortune.
Um, a quick correction. iPhone apps use whatever network is available to them. They use either a 3G network or a Wi-Fi network, and switch between them invisibly and automatically. If a Wi-Fi network is available, the iPhone will always use it in preference to a 3G network. But as soon as you go out of range of Wi-Fi, it switches automatically over to 3G.
So a Disneyland Paris iPhone app could make use of both. Disney would have to fill their parks with Wi-Fi routers though, to provide a free Wi-Fi network to all guests with valid tickets.
Quote from: "Alan"So a Disneyland Paris iPhone app could make use of both. Disney would have to fill their parks with Wi-Fi routers though, to provide a free Wi-Fi network to all guests with valid tickets.
That was exactly my point. I doubt they're going to do that any time soon, purely for the iPhone app which, as ian said, would only be useful to a minority of visitors in the first place.
And it would have to be wifi restricted for use of the app only, since wifi elsewhere is all paid for, and I believe that free wifi is something Disney just Don't Do.
Has this actually replaced the Bluetooth service then? Because I'm not convinced it actually tells you the waiting times for the attractions. There doesn't appear to be any option for it on the menu, anyway (if my bad french/babelfish can be trusted)
Can anyone confirm whether this is the "replacement" (in which case, I'm really disappointed), or whether it's just an additional "service"?
Either way, it's been shockingly badly researched. Do they have any idea how much roaming WAP/3G charges are!?
Also - how many phones actually use those "flashcode" things? I've noticed more and more places seem to be using them now, but I've yet to come across a phone that suports them. None of my immediate family and friends' phones work with them, and we've got a pretty wide range!
The flashcodes, correctly called QR Codes, are used in very few handsets. T-Mobile have been promoting them (I think it was the ad with buying Lulu's CD), Pepsi has been using them and Nokia have been utilising them. However, most handsets will have to install them on purchase - how many people actually download it?
A bit too cutting edge, me thinks!
Just seen this - rumours of an iphone app to replace Fastpass tickets! http://www.disneytheque.com/Ils_debarqu ... __a68.html (http://www.disneytheque.com/Ils_debarquent___sur_Iphone__a68.html%22%20onclick=%22window.open(this.href);return%20false;)
Hopefully, it is true, but it could be an early April fool!