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A new version of Amazon’s Alexa digital voice assistant will come complete with Disney branding and the ability to work alongside the operator’s MagicBand+ technology
Tom Anstey | Planet Attractions | 06 Jan 2023
Hey Disney! Is the first non-Alexa assistant to become available on Echo devices Credit: Disney/Amazon
Amazon has worked with Disney to enhance the parks and resorts experience, utilising the Alexa technology to bring Disney favourites to life in the form of a digital assistant.
Operating similarly to the existing Alexa Echo device but with a Disney twist, ‘Hey Disney!’ was built using Amazon’s Alexa Custom Assistant (ACA) solution, which allowed Disney to use its own in-house technology and systems while also having the ability to customise the existing Alexa platform.
Showcased this week at the popular tech event CES, Hey Disney! will soon be available as an in-home technology, but it’s in Disney’s parks and wider resorts where the new device will be able to be utilised to its fullest potential.
Compatible with MagicBand+ - the interactive wearable technology that connects the guest to multiple services around Disney’s parks and wider resorts - Hey Disney! is already available as a free service to guests at Disney World’s Polynesian Village Resort, with plans to roll the technology out across Disney World’s other hotels in the coming months.
As a resort assistant, Hey Disney! will wake hotel guests up with a message from a range of Disney characters, answer questions regarding planning the day ahead in the parks, tell jokes and ask fun trivia questions. The device can also be used to request new hotel items such as fresh towels and extra pillows.
Hey Disney! will also bring the park and Disney experience home, with the device available later this year for purchase. The device is Amazon’s first non-Alexa assistant to become available on Echo devices.
“Disney is the master storyteller, and its stories are so powerful for so many people,” said Aaron Rubenson, vice president of Alexa.
“Now people can keep talking to a character, they can continue with the storyline when they go back to their room at the end of the day or when they go home after the vacation is over. It’s just gratifying to imagine that we’re a part of literally bringing that magic home.”
Technology
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