Owners of Alton Towers Amusement Park, second in the world ONLY to Disney
Drawing upon the recent decapitation/"Amusement" Park theme that has surfaced since the release of "The Dark Knight", I came across a rather innocuous story with "all in good fun" Big Brother ramifications.
The recent catastrophic wreck of a bus not far from
Alton Towers Amusement Park in
Staffordshire, England which carried passengers from the amusement park led to a story posted just 5 days prior to the tragic event by
RFIDNews.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 in News
With the help of RFID-enabled wristbands and a system of video cameras, UK amusement park Alton Towers is offering its patrons personalized videos chronicling their adventures at the park.
The video souvenir package, called YourDay, begins with an RFID-enabled wristband issued to park-goers. The wristbands activate a system of 36 cameras scattered about the park, which film the guest and store the footage under the appropriate individual’s account. At the end of the day, the guest can choose to purchase a DVD of their trip, with their personal images blended with stock footage of the park. Unclaimed footage is deleted at the end of each day.
A range of video options, from one ride to the entire trip, are available and priced accordingly. Faster rides are filmed in slow motion, and dramatic music and sound effects are added to the mix.
According to the parks website a description of the "Your Day" benefit feature is:
When you arrive at the park, we’ll give you a wristband containing a radio frequency chip, which will identify your footage on all the big rides and as you walk around the park.
As your ride moves along the track, it passes a sensor which tells a video camera just ahead to capture you on film as you pass by. (On high speed rides, the video cameras use super slow motion to capture your footage at its best.) Your personalised footage is then digitally stored on our system.
At the end of the day, bring your wristband into the YourDay shop on Towers Street and, in less than five minutes, our clever software will put your unique footage on a master DVD of the park, producing a professional and totally personalised film souvenir for you to take home and enjoy forever.
Don’t miss the moment!
We delete any unclaimed footage at the end of your visit so, if you don’t buy your personalised DVD before you leave, the moment will be gone forever.
In a related story from roughly the same time period (Spring 2008), Alton Towers decides to enforce a ban on all PDA's from the park. Was there more to this ban than wanting EVERYONE to enjoy the day...like Alton Towers should care who you're texting while the kids are running mad all over the place? maybe something with PDA's were interfering with their ability to record your every move...?
http://www.phonesreview.co.uk/2008/05/27/pda-phones-no-longer-a-good-ride-alton-towers-ban-pdas/