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Disney builds a park-wide WAN, but don't expect to link in as a guest.

Ken Mingis, Computerworld online
Friday, November 23, 2001

On any given day, between 100,000 and 150,000 visitors crowd into Walt Disney World in Florida, most of them unaware that the 47-square-mile theme park is almost completely enveloped in an invisible wireless Web.

While park patrons watch Goofy and Mickey Mouse on parade, seek thrills on rides, or head for the nearest hot dog stand, the attraction's 55,000 "cast members"--as Disney employees are called--quietly rely on an 802.11b LAN to do everything from authorizing credit card purchases to dispatching shuttle buses to tracking visitors as they wander through the park.

At Gartner's recent Wireless LAN Summit in Boston, Murshid S. Khan, director of telecommunications and technology support at Walt Disney World, talked about the theme park's use of wireless technology. According to Khan, Disney World is part of an interconnected world that includes as many as 200 wireless access points hidden throughout the park. The access points are used to facilitate the flow of information and data behind the scenes.

Khan described how the park's use of technology has evolved and where he believes Disney plans to go with wireless LANs in the future. His comments came on the last day of the three-day Gartner event.

A More Mobile Mouse

The decision to provide 802.11b coverage for most of the amusement park--which includes the famed Magic Kingdom and Epcot Center--grew in response to visitors' complaints about being unable to use credit cards to buy food, beverages, and Disney World merchandise at kiosks as well as at the park's stores, Khan said.

"We were running a food and wine festival and a lot of people had complained in the past that they couldn't use credit cards [to pay for items]," Khan said. "When people go to the park, they want to use credit cards. So we changed that."

With the wireless LAN in place, Khan observed, employees can accept credit card purchases and complete authorizations quickly, speeding up transactions and making it easier for visitors to buy food and merchandise. The technology also allows employees to become mobile, boosting revenue by bringing merchandise and food to people who may be stuck in line waiting for rides.

"They're not static; they're mobile," Khan said. "And mobility has enhanced revenue generation."

The technology is also used for "guest tracking" on Disney cruises, especially during stops when travelers disembark for island excursions. Each person who arrives on board one of the company's cruise ships is given a card, Khan said. As passengers leave and return to the ship, they must swipe their cards in a device that tracks who has come and gone.

"That tells us who's on board," Khan said. "Let's say 200 people have gone onto an island. If we see that not all 200 people have come back, we know how many people are missing."

Priority: Security

Though the company's goal is to provide a wireless workplace for its employees throughout the park, Khan noted that implementing the technology has posed some challenges. "Bandwidth is an issue in some areas. Integration [with wired networks and applications] is an issue. Seamless roaming is an issue," he said.

But the biggest hurdle is security--ensuring that tens of thousands of credit card numbers are sufficiently protected during multiple transactions to prevent theft, and working constantly to keep "sniffers" from illegally connecting.

Khan said Disney uses 128-bit encryption and other means of detecting possible intrusions with software. Though he declined to be more specific about how the company protects its network, Khan stressed that Disney is constantly looking to beef up security, especially as the network grows and is used for more services.

During a question-and-answer session after he spoke, however, Khan acknowledged that wireless LANs remain a new technology that may not be right for all businesses.

"This is an emerging technology," he said. "It's going to take a while before everyone feels comfortable with it. For small-business groups, you can [implement] it. But for larger Fortune 500 companies, I'm not sure the rate of return is there. You have to be comfortable before you jump in."

"If someone is asking me about applying this for office automation, I'm not sure I would do that at this point," Khan said.

Not for Guests

And though Disney plans a gradual move to a faster 802.11a network in the years ahead, Khan said, the company has no plans to deploy Bluetooth wireless technology. Bluetooth has a relatively short range and is used primarily to handle the personal-area network among devices such as telephones, handhelds, laptops, printers, and fax machines. By contrast, 802.11b networks are seen as being better suited for workgroup settings and other situations where wireless connections can be spread apart.

Asked whether Disney might ever offer some of its bandwidth to park visitors, Khan said no. Aside from bandwidth concerns, he said, there are more practical worries.

"We need you to come to the park and enjoy the park," he said. "If we start opening Internet cafes, you won't do that."