When you think of Disney you probably think of Mickey Mouse, movies, the Magic Kingdom and all things entertainment. However, have you considered Disney a technology play? Disney has many different divisions as you can imagine, one that focuses on technology is Walt Disney Imagineering in which they aim to blend imagination with engineering. However this division has been around for a while and focuses on theme parks. Nothing wrong with that, however enter Magic Bands.

Magic Bands

Magic Bands may just seem like a gimmick before you dive into what they do. As a visitor to Disney you slip a magic band on your arm. Now it can be used as you hotel key, so your hotel key is no longer needed. After you purchase your park tickets it can be associated to your park tickets and will gain you admittance. So throw away your park tickets. Now you no longer have to remember to take your key or your tickets. Amazing. That is just the beginning. It is better than Apple pay.

Apple decided you could pay with a mobile phone, and you can use an Apple watch (in 2015) however you must still have your phone. Not so with the Magic band. You can associate a method of payment with your magic band and you assign it a pin number. Now everywhere you go at a Disney park, the theme park, stores, hotels, everywhere, you can use it to pay. You no longer need a wallet, simply swipe your magic band and enter your pin. Better yet, everyone in your family has a unique band and can use it for hotels, parks, and purchasing. You get an itemized account of every dollar spent and who spent it. No longer do you need keys, tickets or a wallet, and you do not need a mobile phone to operate it.

Now you tell me, is Disney a technology company? Before you decide, think about the fact that Disney came up with a better payment alternative than Apple. Now answer the question.

Disney Stock

Disney trades on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:DIS). I for one am looking at Disney completely different than I once did. With companies such as IBM licensing their technology as huge revenue streams, I have to say Disney has a new stream of revenue that I never associated to them.