Disney Now Testing DS-Based Park Map

by Cavin Smith on January 21, 2008 at 2:45 pm

Why bother with the repeated folding and unfolding of a traditional paper map until the edges start to wear, when you can just flip open your portable? With the help of a special cartridge, Disney plans to give tech-savvy visitors a better way to get around their famous theme parks.

Rumored some months ago, Disney’s Magic Connection is apparently now in the testing phase, but you’ll need your Nintendo DS to use it. Packed with a GPS locator, the software allows you to pinpoint your exact location at any time on the digital map. As expected, the stylus can also be used to scroll around or zoom in and out on the bottom screen.

But wait, it does more!

Magic Connection also uses wi-fi to key into the park’s OneSource network, a hefty information hub used chiefly by staff to keep track of various park activities in real time. While your average visitor won’t be able to access everything OneSource has to offer, the pertinent bits (such as ride wait times) will be available to guests.

And those silly itineraries your mom always makes are present, too. You can pick and choose attractions/restaurants/events around the park and add them to a built-in wishlist, checking them off as you complete each item.

To top it all off, the cartridge comes with trivia and several mini-games that unlock when visiting appropriate areas of the park, giving you something else to do while waiting in those never-ending lines. Some can even be played along with other people.

But if you’re expecting to walk into the Magic Kingdom today with your brand-spanking-new DS Lite, be warned — Disney is currently only offering park-furnished units for the test. According to certain testers, the custom handhelds seem to be outlined in a sort of foam covering (likely to guard against any bumps and bruises) that conceals a memory expansion cart.

It’s currently unknown whether the final product will be offered to visitors who bring their own portables or if they’ll continue to use said rentals. Likewise, the existing set of features will no doubt be tweaked/expanded as Magic Connection nears release.