Disney Debuts New Tech To Make Every Guest Feel Welcome

Disney has been experimenting with some exciting technology lately.

©Disney

At SXSW, we watched as a robot rabbit rollerbladed (and fell, then got back up!) and we talked to a real-life Tinker Bell in a tiny lantern! Hey Disney, an Alexa voice assistant, has started to debut in Disney World and Disneyland hotels. And, have you seen the new augmented reality headset that Apple and Disney are working together on? Recently, in an effort to make its parks more accessible, Disney debuted an exciting piece of technology at one of its theme parks.

Earlier this year, Disneyland Paris rolled out a new tool for its visually impaired and blind guests. The Virtuoz tablet allows guests to better find their way around both of its parks through 3D maps and descriptive audio. This is effective throughout all of the park’s themed lands and some restaurants.

Guests can pick up one of these new tablets free of charge and without a reservation each day at City Hall and Studio Services. There are eight languages to choose from: French, English, Italian, Spanish, German, Dutch, Portuguese, and Danish.

©Disney

Disneyland Paris plans on expanding this service to some of its hotels and to Disney Village later this year.

©Disney

This is just one of many steps we’ve seen Disney make in an effort to be more inclusive across its parks. Recently, Magic Kingdom got a new Braille map, complete with different textures representing areas of the park.

Braille map

In Disney’s Animal Kingdom, select shows of Feathers Friends in Flight feature a sign language interpreter for the hearing impaired. And in the last year, “it’s a small world” in Disney World and in Disneyland got updated to include dolls in wheelchairs.

A doll in a wheelchair has been added to a classic ride in Disney World.

We’re excited to see how Disney continues to promote diversity and inclusion throughout its parks. Stay tuned to DFB for all the latest updates and Disney news.

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