Show Disney parks have havea a new ring to to them with deal Dawn C. C Chmielewski Los Las Angeles Times limes The Happiest Place on onEarth onEarth onEarth Earth soon will know where wherein in the World you are The Walt Disney Co has struck a deal with Wireless less that will allow it to remain in wireless co contact tact with its theme park visitors even when they step beyond the turnstiles in Anaheim Calif and Orlando Fla Disney and bill billit billit it as a way to enhance the theme park experience But it has broad and potentially controversial applications ons for marketers and consumers as each attempts to balance the need for information with privacy The new service has echoes of Minority Report a futuristic film in which Tom Cruises Cruise's character is inundated with personalized ad messages as he passes interactive billboards in a mall and could be adopted by an array of businesses from to J. J Crew On the face of it the service appears innocuous enough Visitors to Disneyland or Walt Disney World will be able to download an application to their mobile phones to plan trips from booking hotel rooms to creating a checklist of which attractions and shows to see Once they arrive they'll also be able use their cell phones to check wait times at Space Mountain find the nearest restaurant or learn where Snow White is sign signing ng autographs They might even be able to reserve a place in line for a popular ride What were we're doing r f o Sy is putting tools in the hands of our customers to better personalize their experience said Scott Trowbridge vice president of creative for Walt Disney research and development group group Disney joins a growing number of tourist attractions to employ mobile phones as a kind of personalized tour guide Using technology in mobile phones that pinpoints the devices device's location Disney would be able to recommend activities or restaurants to those who opt to participate with the theme park operator For example Disney could help park- park 1 goers avoid a long wait at Pirates of the Caribbean by alerting them to shorter lines at the Bobsleds or exploit the phones phone's location-awareness location to suggest burgers at the Terrace to visitors who've just exited the nearby Buzz Astro Blasters ride If Im I'm standing here Mickey is there how do I make my way to Mickey said Ryan Hughes vice president of business development and strategic partnerships If were we're dying for food wheres where's the closest restaurant How do we find our way there This communication could extend beyond the park with Disney sharing personalized mementos of the visit such as a photograph from Sleeping Beauty along with a message thanking the young guest for visiting her castle However Ho Disney and executives say they have no intention of bombarding park guests with marketing pitches for fear of intruding on privacy cy or detracting from the experience This is not us shooting out random messages its it's about the guest experience Disney parks spokesman John Nicoletti said But places that have adopted similar technology have found the temptation to pitch incessantly hard to resist In a phone cell-phone centric centric- country such as Japan posters feature small b like code images that contain coded information When photographed with a acell acell acell cell phone the image takes take the would-be would concert goer to an online ticketing site Theres just an awful lot of experimentation right now People understand these phones are very much mucha a part of peoples people's lives said Gene Jeffers executive director of Entertainment Association an alliance of companies that design create and build theme park attractions Disney has really been a aleader aleader aleader leader in terms of the theme parks exploring these technologies and how they could be used Jeffers said the amusement park industry looks to Disney as a technological trail-blazer trail because it has the resources to experiment with innovative applications of technology Last year for example children who brought their DS held hand-held game consoles to Disneyland and Walt Walt- Disney World could use uSe the the gadgets gadget's wireless capability to conduct a virtual treasure hunt seeking out hidden hot spots throughout the parks r j l 6 I r i US J i 1 Y j FA to t- 1 to L f Hr |