How Technology Is Enhancing the DVC Experience

On Monday, September 23rd, 2024, My Disney Experience experienced a total outage. As a byproduct of this crash, customers could not perform basic tasks like payments, Mobile Orders, or Lightning Lane reservations. At that moment, countless tourists realized the truth. Disney has quietly gotten night and day better with its services, and we’ve grown overly reliant on them. Here’s how technology is enhancing the DVC experience. 

Why You Love Hey Disney

Almost exactly ten years ago on November 14th, 2014, Amazon announced its new flagship product, Alexa, a virtual assistant. This device simplifies our lives by doing everything from creating lists to answering questions to playing our favorite music. 

Sensing an opportunity, Disney officials went to Amazon and proposed something similar. This device, the Hey Disney, would provide similar intel for theme park visits. While the idea sounded niche at first, critics quickly recognized the brilliance of the idea. 

Now, you’ll find Hey Disney in DVC hotel rooms, and if you’re not using it, you’re cheating yourself. This device can enrich your vacation in myriad ways. For example, you can set a morning alarm that will awaken you with the soothing voice of a classic Disney character. 

Hey Disney also provides theme park and hotel information, operating as an always-available front desk clerk. You can learn theme park hours or transportation schedules. Alternatively, you can request towel service or satisfy similar in-room needs. It’s like having an invisible intern during your hotel stay!

Why You Love Interactive TVs

One of the newest in-room amenities is the interactive HDTV. Disney gradually implemented them across the various DVC resorts over the past few years. I get irrationally annoyed when I stay in a room that lacks this feature now because I’m so addicted.

Interactive TVs streamline the guest experience while making you feel at home. DVC visits no longer require guests to perform check-in at the front desk, which is a mixed blessing. We no longer hear those wonderful words, “Welcome home!”

The interactive TVs fill that void because the introductory screen welcomes your family by name. It’s personal and immediately sets the tone that you’re safely ensconced in the Disney Bubble. 

The main screen provides another pertinent detail: the weather forecast. So, you can glance up and know how you should dress and what to pack for your park visit. 

You can also find additional information about the hotel restaurants, theme park operating hours, and more. So, if you’re not a fan of virtual assistants like Hey Disney, there’s a backup source for that information. 

Of course, my favorite feature is Connect Your Device. You can cast whatever you watch on your phone/tablet onto the interactive HDTV. That way, you can see it on the big screen and share it with your traveling party. 

Why You Love MagicMobile and MagicBands

When Disney introduced MyMagic+, the entire theme park experience was instantly rebuilt. Suddenly, guests had no need for their wallets or hotel room keys. Instead, a wearable device could perform the same functions, vastly reducing the amount of clutter in your backpack/purse. 

Disney didn’t anticipate the way the world was going, though. If the company had waited another couple of years, smartphone apps would have been ready to achieve the same goals. To Disney’s credit, the company adapted to changing circumstances. So, DVC members can use both now.

With MagicMobile, you don’t need a MagicBand to prove theme park admission. Your smartphone will do it for you. Similarly, your phone works as your room key as well. 

Personally, I still prefer MagicBands. They’re stylish and sleek. Plus, when you’re wearing one, you know you’re at Disney. 

MagicBands take care of so many of our tourism needs during a DVC stay that we almost take them for granted. These wearables can pay for food and merchandise, unlock doors, provide Lightning Lane access, validate theme park tickets, and more. 

The old sci-fi quote applies perfectly to MagicBands: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. MagicBands somehow qualify as both advanced technology and magic!

Why You Love Mobile Ordering

When Disney introduced Mobile Ordering in 2017, I would literally beg people to use it. Whenever I wrote about it, readers would tell me they saw no point. They feared Disney would get their orders wrong or let their food get cold.

When the outage occurred on September 23rd, I appreciated how far we’d come as Disney tourists. On that date, fans vented online about how they couldn’t use Mobile Ordering. It was like they’d forgotten how to stand in line and order food. 

The pandemic changed the way consumers think of the ordering process. During those weird years, people wanted to avoid human contact and learned to order digitally. Nowadays, many consumers refuse to go back to the old ways. If Mobile Ordering doesn’t work, they kind of lose their minds. 

I fully understand why. Disney empowers guests with the ability to choose a restaurant, a pick-up time, and a precise meal. For those of us with dietary restrictions, Mobile Ordering builds our confidence that Disney will prepare our meals to our precise specifications. 

Also, at some DVC resorts, you can order a Mobile Order variant called Table Service to Go. Disney should shout from the rooftops that this option exists because DVC members can order from places like:

• Ale & Compass Restaurant
• Kona Café
• Olivia’s Cafe
• Sanaa 
• Steakhouse 71
• Trattoria al Forno

So, when you stay at these resorts, you can order to-go and then enjoy a delicious meal in the comfort of your DVC Studio/Villa. 

Why You Love My Disney Experience

We’ve already touched on several of the reasons why, but let’s tie them together. This article should have gone a long way in making you realize how reliant you’ve become on Disney tech. We really do take it for granted.

With My Disney Experience, we can order our meals, open our doors, pay for our stuff, and even open our doors. From a theme park perspective, we can check wait times, find the nearest bathroom, and purchase/use Lightning Lane. 

In short, with a phone in our hand, we can do anything we need or want at Disney. That’s why everyone panics when the service goes offline. It’s our DVC lifeline during a Disney vacation, and the remarkable part is that virtually everything I’ve mentioned here is less than a decade old. Imagine what DVC tech will be like in 2035!