It seems this was only a matter of time (the MB part, not the side conversation on DTD, but I hope that works out well too) before this was the inevitable conclusion. It's (to me) amazing that Disney continued with totally different systems on each coast for as long as they did.
The DL folks who are not so keen on MBs can thank the general acceptance and embracing of the technology by the WDW crowd for the last 7-8 years (without trying to look it up, I forget actual start date, but I'm pretty sure it was somewhere around late 2013 to very early 2014).
The WDW folks (or DL folks for that matter) who are not so keen on the paid aspect of Genie + and the separate paid Lightning Lanes (compared to free FP/ FP+) can thank the general DL crowd for embracing the paid Max Pass system. That proved to Disney the paid services for "skip the line" features were going to likely work. I think a lot of us saw the writing on the wall when MP debuted, but since it was widely accepted, here we are.
I can see some of the "you need your phone anyway" argument for DL, but the mobile order I think we need to remember is relatively new, and certainly pushed more now (originally due to COVID(at least for the earlier days of WDW re-opening), perhaps more for saving money by paying fewer CMs to take orders now - that's probably a different discussion). I fully agree that the hotel access part of the equation is no where near as useful in DL (though not everyone stays at on-site Disney hotels at WDW either).
As to the "cross over" of both technologies, When I did a virtual queue for Remy at Epcot (I had to of course use MDE to get the group and keep track of boarding time - presumably similar to RotR methods at DL), I'm pretty sure I scanned my MB at the access point, not anything on the app. The MB also being used here protects against dead batteries in phones/iPods to some extent.
And the other less considered aspect is what the bands bring to Disney, vs what they do for the guest experience. The crowd observation/tracking that Disney is able to do is a big part of it (assuming they deploy the same tech at WDW in full to DL). While some of that translates over to guest experience, there is probably a whole heck of a lot more that does not. An example, for WDW ride photos, there are MB touch points to link your pic to your Photopass/MDE account. Newer rides (Seven Dwarf's Mine Train comes to mind - though I think maybe they upgraded Buzz Space Ranger Spin to this tech too), the system automatically included the picture of your ride without the need for you to pick the correct photo when exiting the ride. All properly figured out by the tracking of your MB.
I believe they probably do more with MB tracking than they would do with the slippery slope of actual cell phone tracking. Blue tooth is obviously something you can turn off on your phone to limit tracking, but you have no control over turning any tracking features off on a MB.
I hope the WDW and DL systems recognize the same bands (though if the different apps cause us to have to register them to "cross over", that's probably fine - unless the roll out of Genie at DL also involves integrating DL into MDE instead of standing alone as its own app?). It would not be cool to need to have different bands at different parks. I've got more than enough WDW MBs, I probably don't need to buy a DL one the next time I head out there, if I can help it (though I can certainly see myself buying one with some sort of unique DL markings at some point) .
Oh, also great news to hear the return of F! and WoC! It may be a mess, but remember, that mess of having it on the RoA makes the DL version of F! far superior to the one at DHS . Stadium seating at DHS is nice enough , but in most every other way, DL version is still considered better by most, I think... I know I wish that was the one I could more regularly see!)
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