Kimmunicating around the World...Showcase

I know I already lamented about jumping to conclusions when  tourists are glued to their gadgets, but there are other ways travelers use technology aside from app surfing.

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For example: Disney World has a new program incorporating technology into vacationing.  However, all I saw were little kids clutching cell phones. Every time they stopped running they would punch something out in a text or take a picture.

First, I was irate. We're at Walt Disney World and kids are more into phones than parks! My family was really enjoying our spur of the moment trip to Florida. Why weren't these kids as excited as I, the 19 year old, was?

I sat, agitated, in the Germany pavilion and saw another batch of phone clutching kiddies ramble in, pointing at things around the staged marketplace. I watched them find a button hiding by the fountain. As they pushed it, the square’s glockenspiel sprang to life and Professor Dementor, from the TV show Kim Possible, came out. (If you are unfamiliar with with show, reconnect with the early 2000s for a second here . It takes only a few minutes to catch the gists.)

Well that was new.

As soon as the character was gone the kids went back to their phones and ran off. Another group of kids did the same thing just minutes later.

What Disney had created was a new technology driven program to get kids active in Epcot's World Showcase, which has the unfortunate reputation of not being as kid-friendly as other parks. They call it Disney’s Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure.

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I spoke with one of the Team Possible members manning a booth. She told me that guests are issued specialized phones that give instructions for places to go and what  “agents” are supposed to find. There are seven different adventures they can take to better explore the featured countries in ways they probably wouldn’t have if they weren’t playing the game.


Disney is well aware of the impact technology has on the everyday lives of guests, even when they are vacationing. People want to interact with everything possible. Bruce Vaughn, Chief Creative Executive of Walt Disney Imagineering , explains it well in a March 23rd, 2009 article in D23 :

“As leaders in family entertainment, Disney theme parks push the envelope by combining state-of-the-art technology with creative storytelling to enhance the overall Disney vacation experience.”

“State-of-the-art technology” is right! The Kimmunicators are more than just phones. They have a GPS that helps  guide “agents,” and chips that help personalize the experience. In the United Kingdom pavilion, a tin solider addresses “agents” by name (courtesy of the chip) and responds to guest's voice and appearance.

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The GPS is also handy if guests get lost or side tracked and need help getting back on course. As Disney puts it on the attraction's website: “even secret agents need ice cream breaks!”

The World Showcase Adventure is just one of the many ways that Disney is giving their parks a techno-friendly face lift. Engaging guests more than ever, Disney is embracing technological advancements and moving forward into an enriched vacationing future.