WestJet = MyMagic+ Plus A Year of a Million Dreams

There’s a wonderful video on YouTube showcasing a very special Christmas surprise made possible by WestJet airlines. If you haven’t seen it yet, you simply must–but then come back and read further on!

An Amazing Christmas Experience From WestJet

As you can see, this is a great example of what I refer to as a High Tech/High Touch experience. It’s what hasn’t happened yet for MyMagic+ at Walt Disney World, but I think is what it will soon become. The same kinds of technologies that allowed Santa to know the names of its passengers is no different than MyMagic+.

Note the surprise and awe on the faces of the passengers when they realized that Santa knew them by name. That’s a big part of MyMagic+. We experienced it some years ago when Turtle Talk with Crush opened at Epcot’s Living Seas. We were so impressed by our first visit–watching our daughter ask Crush questions–that we turned around and got in line again to see another show a half hour later. What blew us away was that in the second show Crush called on our daughter, remembering her name, having spoken to her earlier. It was really magical–even though no technology was used–simply a performer who remembered our daughter. That’s the power of what will happen in MyMagic+.

Of course there may be cynics that might be saying–wait a minute–what made the WestJet experience so cool is that when they got back to their destination, they got presents coming toward them at luggage. That was fantastic, but Disney can do something similar as well. Think of the Year of a Million Dreams campaign. Think of how you might combine the MyMagic+ technology with that sort of year-long giveaway.

Again, it hasn’t happened yet–but there’s all sorts of possibilities that eventually may occur when the magic arrives with the MyMagic+ program. Right now that sort of interactivity is being tested. Not everyone at Disney has the same kind of band. One unusual color is being handed out to pilot groups who are walking around and testing some of this magic. Disney’s not a fool–they’ve come up with what I think will be a high-tech/high-touch experience. This tool isn’t something that will simply make it more efficient to get on a ride. It’s intended to create magic.