You may have noticed that a new app from TimeStream Software has hit the iTunes App Store – you may have even read the news here on DisTECH.  It’s now time to take a closer look at Walt Disney World Pro.  How does it do as a planning/tour guide?  How does it stack up against the competition?  Are the wait times accurate?  We’ll take a look at all of that and a little more right after the break!

Navigation and Content

When you fire up Walt Disney World Pro, you’ll be taken to the main menu.  The top of the main menu is made up of four globes, each containing a stylized version of Walt Disney World’s park weenies.  The bottom has eight smaller square buttons labeled WDW Information, Park Hours & Events, Maps, Dining, Wait Times, Disney Resorts, My Favorites, and TimeStream Software Apps.  For now, we’ll leave those sections alone as we continue to look at how you move throughout the app.

When you touch one of the large buttons on the main menu to look at its respective park, you’ll be taken to a list of all the attractions in the park.  Any attraction that should have a wait time displayed will have a clock symbol to the left of the attraction’s name.  This symbol also has the wait time shown in it.  (In the picture below, the screen at the far right shows you what this looks like.)  At the top of the screen are two buttons: home and refresh.  Home takes you back to the main menu, and refresh will fetch the most updated wait times for each attraction. 

If you touch an attraction name, you will get a detailed view of each attraction.  This screen shows you the current wait time, whether or not FastPass is available, minimum height requirement, a detailed description of the attraction, tips and strategy for the attraction, and usually multiple photos for each attraction.  The top of the screen has a few items to mention.  First, there is a button labeled attractions that takes you back to the previous screen.  The button on the right, labeled map, will show you the attraction on the respective park map.  Finally, there’s a star in the upper left that turns to a heart when you touch it.  This will put that attraction in your favorites list.

Back at the main menu, the buttons at the bottom give you access to more of Walt Disney World Pro, some of which isn’t found in the park buttons at the top of the main menu.  For example, the first button, WDW Information, gives you a list full of information ranging from annual events at Walt Disney World (holiday parties and festivals like Flower & Garden) to ticket prices (with the latest prices) and vacation planning tips.  I’m not going to go into all of the information beyond what I’ve mentioned – you’ll just have to go exploring on your own!  What I’ve read, though, seems to be very good.  There are tips and facts that make the app interesting for WDW newcomers and veterans.

The next button is Park Hours & Events.  It shows you a list of the parks with hours and Extra Magic Hours for any day that you select (with the limitation of published times, obviously).  Touching a park shows you any events for that day, including parades and nightly shows.  Touching an event gives you a detailed description of that event complete with colorful pictures.  Check out the image below (the two screens on the left, specifically) to see the wait times.

Also available from the main menu is the maps section.  These are the same maps you can access when you’re looking at the detailed views of each attraction.  I think I’m most excited about the maps in this app.  They are extremely detailed 2D maps of all four parks.  A quick Google Maps search will show you just how accurate these are.  It seems that every building and pathway of each park are included, and even tracks for rides are shown.  The image below gives you an idea of what the maps look like.  The attractions in each park are also tagged and will show you current wait times when applicable.

Next up is Dining, which will show you information on in-park dining options.  Prices are shown by the typical Disney dollar sign (1-3 dollar signs representing least to most expensive).  You can also view a description, menu (very detailed, I might add), what dining plans are accepted, and reservation information.  If a reservation is needed, simply touch the “Call” button to place a call to the restaurant (iPhone only). 

I’m going to quickly go through the rest of the buttons on the main menu, just because I want you to do some exploring of your own.  The next button is Wait Times, which is a centralized list of the wait time for each attraction (more on this later).  Disney Resorts provides a list of available resorts, minus DVC resorts.  You’ll find descriptions, lots of pictures, amenities, and room types available.  You can also make a call to the resorts.  The My Favorites button aggregates any attraction that you’ve favorited in the app.  It’s a great, easy way to keep track of the wait times for the attractions you don’t want to miss or the ones you experience most often.

Features

First of all, like its Notescasts predecessors, Walt Disney World Pro is a tour guide at heart.  In fact, if you’ve used any of the Notescasts this will feel very familiar to you.  Set the wait times, park maps, and park hours aside, and you still have an app with some great information.  It isn’t the equivalent of a 300-page park guide, though, so be wary of that.  It also isn’t designed to be that way.  It’s supposed to be concise, and easy to use on a mobile device.  I think it succeeds at that.

One of the main features of the app is the content.  There’s a lot of useful tips and tricks for navigating the parks and attractions, and there’s even a pretty complete list of phone numbers for locations across Walt Disney World.  That can be invaluable to carry in your pocket.  The content also includes the wealth of pictures found in WDW Pro.  Each section of the app has a really nice picture to go with it, and most sections have more than 2-3 images.  The image below gives you a taste of what you’ll find in the app.  You can see that they look like Disney promotional images, and they look better on the iPhone screen.

The maps feature is probably the all-star in this app.  As I said above, you get extremely detailed 2D maps of all four theme parks.  You can access these maps through the main menu by touching the Maps button, or you can touch the Maps button at the top of the screen when viewing attraction detail.  The maps themselves are really detailed.  You can seek out the tracks of Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and see the trek your car takes in Kilimanjaro Safaris.  You can even see some wakes put off by the Liberty Square Riverboat.  They will definitely help you journey through the parks, and they’re even fun if you’re at home on your couch.

Not to be outdone, though, Walt Disney World Pro has a wait time feature that seems pretty effective.  I compared the wait times in WDW Pro to other wait time apps I have, and found they were comparable within about 5-10 minutes.  I was also lucky enough to have friends and family visiting Walt Disney World when I was reviewing WDW Pro.  The wait times that my researchers in the parks returned were close to what the app displayed.  For example, the times we found at the Tower of Terror were almost exact.  Disney’s posted time was 30 minutes, while the actual wait time and the wait time shown in WDW Pro were both 40 minutes.  Other wait times we found were usually within the same 5-10 minute range.  TimeStream Software uses its own calculations to come up with wait time predictions, so you can’t submit your own wait times.    I understand the reasons to not take user submissions, as it does help eliminate outliers in wait time data.  The overall result seems to be an accurate representation of what you’ll wait in the parks.

Also, if you’ve downloaded the app already be sure to download the upgrade to version 1.1.  It’s free, and it fixes an issue that was causing wait times to not display.  I downloaded my update, and everything is working flawlessly. 

Overall Impressions

I think Walt Disney World Pro is a really good application.  In fact, I believe it’s one of the better overall apps I’ve used for Walt Disney World.  I haven’t been able to take it with me into the parks, but from what I’ve seen while testing it I’m excited to use it the next time I’m in Orlando.  I feel like I’m understating what I feel about the maps, so you’ll have to spend some time with them on your own.  And the wait times look like they’re accurate.  It’s hard to commit to sending out information like wait times – it takes a lot of data and research, but it looks like it’s paid off here.  I suspect they’ll get even more accurate as TimeStream continues to increase its sample size in time.  Overall, WDW Pro continues to build upon the great information provided in its Notescasts predecessors while adding interesting and effective new features.  It’s a steal for $4.99.  You can spend multiple times that amount on other guides and apps, and this does just about everything for a great price.

Head on over to iTunes to buy Walt Disney World Pro. I think you’ll enjoy the features and information you’re getting.  The app works on the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad.  You’ll need iOS 4.0 or later.

Click here to download Walt Disney World Pro.

Any thoughts on the app?  Leave a comment below.  And be sure to review the app in the App Store.  I’m sure TimeStream will appreciate your feedback!

This week’s release of Betamouse continues their “Hack” series with a look at how to get the best deals on drinks in the parks.  They cover everything from water to alcoholic beverages, so you’ll get good tips no matter what you prefer for thirst-quenching.  Hit up the links below to check out the show!  And remember to use these responsibly!

Visit the show page on betamouse.net.

Download and subscribe to Betamouse in iTunes.

Before you get too excited, I should tell you this seems to be more of a business deal.  The good news is that Disney content will continue to appear on Hulu, but it also sounds like the number of ads displayed during shows will increase as well.  I should also tell you, however, that this isn’t being done solely for ad revenue.  In fact, it seems this will be a catalyst to new ownership for Hulu.  The current owners of the popular content streaming site (that includes Disney itself) have decided to sell, and this deal will add value to the site for any prospective buyer.  This ensures that Disney content will be available and ad revenue will be there.  Fox has also agreed to a similar deal recently, and it appears that NBCUniversal is next on the slate. 

Click here to read the story as it appeared on Engadget yesterday evening.

It’s official!  Walt Disney World Pro is now available in the Apple App Store!  The app runs $4.99, and will work on the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad (requires iOS 4.0).  This also means that I’ll have a full review up and ready for viewing soon.  For now, check out the press release after the jump.

TimeStream Software Releases All New “Walt Disney World Pro” iPhone App

TimeStream Software announces today the release of the new “Walt Disney World Pro” app for the iPhone and iPod touch.

The new “Walt Disney World Pro” is the first app of its kind to combine Wait Times, Park Maps, Restaurants, Attractions, Park Hours and Parade & Events descriptions with over 600 high-quality photos, Attraction Tips & Strategies, valuable trip-planning and in-park information, WDW Hotel descriptions, “on-ride” photos, phone numbers and much more to create the most comprehensive Walt Disney World iPhone app available today.

Portland, OR – TimeStream Software announced today the release of its powerful new “Walt Disney World Pro” app for the iPhone and iPod touch.

With hundreds of pages of in-depth content, complete with more than 600 Photos, Wait Times, Maps, WDW Dining, Park Hours, Parade & Event Descriptions and more, the new “Walt Disney World Pro” iPhone app is one of the most comprehensive vacation planners and in-park guides available for Walt Disney World today, covering nearly every aspect of the entire resort and all four theme parks, including the Magic Kingdom®, Epcot®, Disney’s Animal Kingdom®, Disney’s Hollywood Studios™.

“The new ‘Walt Disney World Pro’ is the first app to combine such a wealth of Walt Disney World resources into a single fun, intuitive and easy-to-use app.” said Mike Westby of TimeStream Software. “Between the maps, wait times, dining information, the over 600 fun photos and amazing amount of helpful information, users can now spend hours discovering everything Walt Disney World theme parks have to offer.”

The new app contains valuable content critical to helping guests plan and enjoy a trip to Walt Disney World Resort, as well as helpful features for use while in the parks themselves, many of which are not found in other leading WDW iPhone apps.

“It was designed specifically for the iPhone and iPod touch.” continued Mr. Westby, “But the highly detailed maps are a ton of fun to explore on the iPad, as well.”

Available now from the iTunes App Store, the new Walt Disney World Pro app contains an extensive array of valuable resources, including:

*  Over 120 Walt Disney World Attractions, Parades & Events

*  The Most Detailed 2D Maps of Walt Disney World Available

* Accurate Wait Times with Multiple Displays

* Park Hours

* Parade & Event Hours, Descriptions and Photos

* Walt Disney World Restaurants

* Over 600 High-Quality Photos

* Multiple Photos per Attraction

* “On-Ride” Photos

* Walt Disney World Attractions “Tips & Strategies”

* Walt Disney World Hotels & Resorts

* Easy “My Favorites” Tagging

* Walt Disney World Tickets

The New “Walt Disney World Pro” is the Only Leading Walt Disney World App With:

* Over 600 Large Photos

* Complete Attraction Descriptions

     *  Multiple Photos per Attraction

* The Most Detailed 2D Maps of the Theme Parks Available

* Walt Disney World Hotel Information

* Multiple Photos per WDW Hotel

* “Quick Find” tabs for Attractions, Dining and Hotels

* Attraction Tips & Strategies

* Parade Descriptions with Multiple Photos

* Event Descriptions with Multiple Photos

* Walt Disney World – Annual Events

*  Walt Disney World – What’s New

     *  Walt Disney World – What’s Coming

     *  Walt Disney World – Phone Numbers

     *  Walt Disney World – Hotel Phone Numbers

     *  Walt Disney World – Tips

     *  Walt Disney World – Toddler Tips

     *  Walt Disney World – Tours

     *  All About Disney’s Magical Express

     *  All About Disney’s FASTPASS

     *  How to Plan Your Vacation

     *  Bonus: Hidden Mickey Tours

     *  The History of Walt Disney World

     *  Guests with Disabilities Information

     *  Vacation Planning Tips

     *  And more…all with photos!

The “Walt Disney World Pro” app is native to the iPhone and iPod touch, so no Internet access or Wi-Fi is required.  It works in all four Walt Disney World theme parks or wherever you go.

AVAILABILITY

The “Walt Disney World Pro” for the iPhone and iPod touch is available now at the iTunes App Store.

REQUIREMENTS

Designed for the iPhone and iPod touch. Compatible with the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.

Requires iPhone OS 4.0 or later

PRICING AND AVAILABILITY

The “Walt Disney World Pro” is $4.99 USD and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Travel category. 

DOWNLOAD

http://itunes.com/app/waltdisneyworldpro

So this is intriguing. I found an app today in the Android Market for Disney’s El Capitan theater in Hollywood.  Right now the app is decked out in its best Pirate garrrrrb (sorry for the pun).  On June 24th, however, the app gets its racing stripes for Cars 2.

What does the app do?  It basically gives you extra content once you check in to the theater, very similarly to how you can check in at Disney Parks locations with Gowalla.  The main menu of the app (shown below) has five options: Check in to the El Cap, Free Gift, Bonus Material, Special Offer, and Rate Movie.  As for the free gift, some of the reviewers in the market are claiming they received a free pin set from the app.  They are also claiming the Special Offer gives you a discount on the Blu-Ray when it comes out.

The other thing that’s interesting about this app is that the splash screen that displays while the app is loading says it was developed not only by Disney Mobile, but Disney Research as well.  I hope the research proves that this is good marketing, because I’d love to see Disney pursue more of this type of interactivity.  I’m all for it.  What do you think?  Let me know in the comments, or post your thoughts on Facebook!

Click here to visit the official site of the El Capitan Theater.

Click here for more information on Disney’s El Capitan App.

I just got word today that Walt Disney World Pro is getting even closer to an official release.  Hopefully, we’ll get some up close and personal time with it soon.  To help satisfy that thirst for now, I also have some new details on the app.  Here’s the official release:

The exciting new “Walt Disney World Pro” lights up the iPhone with highly detailed Maps, full Attraction descriptions, Park Hours, daily Parade & Event times, WDW Dining information, WDW Resorts details, over 600 colorful photos and so much more.  Of course, it wouldn’t be complete without Wait Times, and the new “Walt Disney World Pro” offers park goers accurate Wait Times displayed in multiple locations throughout the app…a convenient wait times summary by park, atop the page of each attraction screen and throughout each detailed map.
Get ready…it’s almost here!

The Wait Times are built on a “powerful database featuring the empirical wait times data of countless park visits, wait times tracking, park visitation levels cross-referencing and more,” ensuring that they will be accurate. 

Walt Disney World Pro sounds like it will be a powerful app.  I’m certainly excited to get my hands on it and give it a whirl.  As always, keep watching DisTECH for more updates!

It’s been way, way too long since I’ve posted an update on the Betamouse podcast.  This week’s episode features a topic I covered recently: Kinect Disneyland Adventures.  For anyone who missed it, this is a game that debuted at this year’s E3 convention.  It will utilize Microsoft’s Kinect, a motion control peripheral for the Xbox 360.  The Betamouse crew goes into juicy detail on the game, so head over and listen to the show!

Click here to listen the episode!

You can also subscribe and download the show from iTunes.

Today, I’ve got some more information to share with you on Walt Disney World Pro, the new App coming from TimeStream Software.  Here’s the info straight from the source:

In addition to highly-detailed (and fun) Maps, Wait Times, WDW Restaurants, Attractions, Park Hours, Events and more, TimeStream Software’s new “Walt Disney World Pro” app includes in-depth descriptions, room information, resort amenities lists and large photos for 18 different “on-property” resorts at Walt Disney World.  All self-contained, guests can now review resort choices and plan their trips wherever they are, as no Wi-Fi or Internet connections are needed.  And because already it’s formatted for the device, there’s no frustrating pinching, zooming, scrolling or tiny fonts found with reviewing online hotel web sites.

This section of the app will feature tabs that allow you to switch between the “Description”, “Rooms”, and “Amenities” sections for each hotel.  According to TimeStream Software, this is the only Walt Disney World related app that allows you to do this.

That’s all for now, but keep your browsers pointed to DisTECH for more updates!

Those social moms are at it again.  This Wednesday, June 22, the moms are hosting a live event on Facebook.  They’ll discuss the differences between value, moderate, and deluxe hotels at the Walt Disney World Resort and how to pick the perfect place for your situation.  Interested?  Me too.  Click here to go the event page on Facebook!

See you there!

Last week was perhaps the year’s most popular gaming convention.  The Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3 for short) is where the gaming industry shows off its newest and greatest, from new games to brand new consoles.  This past year was no different.

Here, I’ll wrap up the Disney news that came out of E3 (there was some pretty interesting items).  I’ll also talk about some of the new consoles that were unveiled, as they also offer some unique opportunities for Disney Interactive.  The wrap-up starts after the jump, so click below to get started!

Kinect Disneyland Adventures (Xbox 360).

Kinect Disneyland Adventures gameplay demo from Microsoft’s Press Conference.

Our first piece of Disney news actually came from the Expo’s first press conference.  Microsoft unveiled a game for Kinect (the motion-control system for Xbox 360) that takes you on a virtual trip to Disneyland.  The game, creatively titled Kinect Disneyland Adventures, is the first part of what Corporate VP of Microsoft Game Studios Phil Spencer calls a collaboration with Disney.  Hopefully, this is corporate speak for there’s more of this coming later.  We’ll have to wait and see.

Basically, this game allows you to walk through a virtual Disneyland, interact with characters, and play minigames based on Disneyland attractions.  It honestly sounds like a current version of Adventures in the Magic Kingdom for the NES.  You can see in the video above what to expect from the minigames: motion-controlled games in which you collect coins scattered along a path.

I’m kind of lukewarm on Kinect Disneyland Adventures.  From the limited video available, it doesn’t look like there’s much to this game.  Don’t get me wrong, I like the idea and a virtual Disneyland is pretty cool.  It just seems like a game that won’t keep audiences engaged very long.  I can only give Snow White so many virtual hugs before I’m ready to move on.  Kinect Disneyland Adventures is scheduled for a Q4 2011 release.

Disney Universe (PC, PS3, Wii, Xbox 360)

Disney Universe official trailer.

Disney Universe actually looks far more intriguing to me.  This is an action adventure game that will play very similarly to the LEGO series of games and Sony’s LittleBigPlanet.  In fact, the characters remind me a little of LittleBigPlanet’s Sackboy (Google him if you need a frame of reference).

What’s the game about?  Glad you asked.  Players control Beta testers in a Disney-themed virtual world.  When a hacker breaks into the world and causes havoc in said virtual world, you have to suit up in a character costume and stop the attacks.  Disney says there will be over 40 playable characters spanning several Disney and Pixar films, including Alice in Wonderland (2010), Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, Tron, Lilo & Stitch, and The Lion King.

This game looks somewhat promising.  It’s quirky, and it takes its inspiration in some successful games (the LEGO series and LittleBigPlanet).  The one major drawback so far is the apparent lack of online play.  If this game is going to draw comparisons to LittleBigPlanet, it really needs online co-op play.  There’s still time for this to change, as the game is slated to hit shelves in Q3 2011.  Let’s hope for the best.

Other Noteworthy Items

These are the two biggest items coming from Disney this year.  Other companies made a big splash, too – namely Nintendo and Sony.  Both unveiled new systems, and both offer interesting possibilities for Disney.  Let’s take a look at what’s coming!

Sony’s PSVita demo video.

I think we’ll take a look at the PSVita first.  This is Sony’s successor to the PlayStation Portable (PSP) handheld system.  It will be substantially more powerful than the PSP, will feature an OLED touchscreen (which should provide crisp, vibrant colors), a rear touch panel, front and rear cameras, and Wi-Fi, At&T 3G (good luck), and GPS.  Quite the laundry list of features.  It is scheduled to launch toward the end of this year at $249.99 for the Wi-Fi version and $299.99 for the 3G model.

The PSVita offers a lot of interesting opportunities for mobile gaming.  There’s plenty Disney could offer with this.  A new Kingdom Hearts game comes to mind.  The front and rear touch panels will be excellent for puzzle-solving.  I think Disney Universe could be a hit on the PSVita.  Its already quirky style could really benefit from the touch control and cameras.

Nintendo Wii U trailer.

Not to be outdone, Nintendo also had a big announcement to make.  Ever since the Wii’s initial release, its lack of HD output has spurred rumors of an HD-capable Wii.  Last weeks, those rumors came true…with a twist.  Nintendo showed off the Wii U, a new version of the Wii that’s more powerful, plays games in HD, and has a brand new controller.

While the new system’s horsepower is nothing to ignore, the real story is the controller.  It features a 6.2 inch touchscreen and is capable of streaming content from the system to the screen.  In other words, you can play games on the TV or on the controller.  The Wii U can interact with the current Wii remotes, which means motion gaming still works on this device (check out the video above to get a better idea of how this will work).

While this console is unquestionably unconventional, it offers unique gameplay possibilities.  Disney could do a number of different things with this.  A sequel to Epic Mickey, perhaps?  You could have access to your sketches on the touch screen, instead of having to cycle through with the Wii Remote (which was rather clumsy).  Perhaps we could see a Wii U version of Kinect Disneyland Adventures in which the Wii U controller becomes your park map.  We’ll have to wait and see what Disney can do with the Wii U.  The new console is scheduled to launch around the middle of 2012.

These are just four of the many announcements that came out of E3 this past year.  If you want to seek out more information, gaming sites like IGN.com posted plenty of E3 updates through the course of the convention.  If you have any thoughts about any of the items discussed above, be sure to leave a comment below or post your thoughts on the Facebook page!