Digital Key to expand to all Walt Disney World Resort hotels

Aug 22, 2018 in "MyMagic+"

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Posted: Wednesday August 22, 2018 1:07pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Disney has today announced that it will expand the use of its Digital Key feature to all hotels at the Walt Disney World Resort including Disney Vacation Club properties.

Digital Key launched at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge earlier this year, and is a new feature in the My Disney Experience app that allows guests to quickly unlock their hotel room using a digital key on their mobile devices.

Guests can also use their digital key to unlock the hotel entrance gate and common area doors requiring a key, which may include pools, fitness centers, elevators and club level lounges. Arriving travel parties that have checked in online may even use their digital key to bypass the need to visit the front desk, giving them the opportunity to go directly to their room when it is ready and start their vacation even faster.

The feature represents the latest evolution of keyless room entry, which Disney began offering with the MagicBand. Guests may use either or both options to enter their room during their stay.

To use their digital key, guests can opt in and activate the feature on their check-in day through a brief set up process in the app. To enter their room, guests tap the “Unlock Door” button and then hold their phone against the door lock. Check out the video below to see aDigital Key in action.

Bluetooth-enabled mobile devices with the latest version of the My Disney Experience app are required to take advantage of a digital key for room entry.

Discuss on the Forums

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FigmentForver96Aug 24, 2018

How dare you not overreact!! You clearly aren’t a REAL Disney fan cause REAL Disney fans would know that this would have never happened back in the day! This is all part of some ploy to save money or upcharge! 😉

redsfan4lifeAug 24, 2018

Its not that I can not afford a cell phone just am old fashioned and do not need one . If someone needs to get ahold of me call my land phone .

TrojanUSCAug 24, 2018

It's also that it's become industry standard for hotel chains and Disney is trying to compete in the convention market.

SirwalterraleighAug 23, 2018

I gotcha...I’m just saying that in no way does the walt disney company want less work for employees by design...that’s a “loss” And “more time with the guest” cuts down on their time to spend money. BLUE OCEAN...farm it out.

SirwalterraleighAug 23, 2018

The reason this doesn’t light my lamp is this: magic bands are more “handsfree” Than a phone...so why would I bother?

SirwalterraleighAug 23, 2018

Same reason why Disney would or wouldn’t do anything...cost/benefit analysis 1. How much will it cost to do it? 2. Is there longterm overhead associated? 3. What’s the potential to generate revenue specifically from this? To be clear...I’m not arguing...this is a good idea/concept.

phillip9698Aug 23, 2018

From my experience this is only good for when you are checking in really late and don't want to stop at the front desk or when you forgot your key card in the room. Other than that it's a lot slower to use your phone as a key than it is to use the card or in this case a magic band.

NormCAug 23, 2018

I don't think this is a big deal. It is just another option. You don't have to use it. Hotels around the world have been doing this for a while.

bektexAug 23, 2018

Smart watches have bluetooth capabilities, just like smart phones, so the tech is already there. If they will enable phone capabilities, why not do both?

SirwalterraleighAug 23, 2018

What do you think the overall usage is? Compared to wrist watches in 1985? That would be more predictive of how effective converting for smart watches would be.

note2001Aug 23, 2018

They're just catching up to the competition. Nothing amazing about it. I'll be more impressed when I hear that low paid cast members have been able to receive a degree and moved on up the ladder. While a selling point for Disney right now, it will be interesting to see what happens over time. All too often companies will refuse to pay tuition due or acknowledge the existence of these programs. Now, how is this related to the digital key?

bektexAug 23, 2018

Smart watches are popular. Look at how many people have Apple Watches, FitBits, and Android watches. Most of my friends have at least one, between them and their spouse. Those would be the ones that could open the doors, anyway.

Andrew CAug 23, 2018

It wasn't a theory. It only explained ways which Digital Key can be utilized specific to front office operations. I made no mention of what I expect from Disney.