Thoughts on Technology

I’m going to take a moment to contemplate the technology that we used on the trip.  Did we use too much or too little?

Before we left, I made up a Top Ten list of Disneyland apps that I put on my iPhone for the trip.  Please keep in mind that we are not commando in our touring style, and we know Disneyland quite well.  I was taking the kids by myself, so my hands were quite full.  After posting my list, a developer for iWalkee contacted me mentioning his app.  I have to say that I already have this app, and I do like it.  It just doesn’t fit in with our touring style.  I had Mousewait on my list for one reason only, and that was for the quick link to Howard Johnson’s camera for DS8 to watch fireworks on if needed.  I had Touring Plans on my list because it does just one thing, and it does it well.  When I am at the parks, I don’t like to take the time to flip through an app looking for what I want.  I want just that one thing and nothing else to distract me.  I have to say that I only opened Touring Plans once on this trip.  It just wasn’t needed more than that.  I didn’t need Mousewait, either, because our room had a side view of the fireworks.

Here is the extent of my technology usage:  1)  Gowalla to create an easy to navigate list of our adventures by date.  This is really handy for blogging and scrapbooking.  2)  Hootsuite to post photos to Twitter and Facebook at the same time for friends and family to see.  3)Skype to include Charlie in the activities and for the kids to tell him goodnight.

This list was actually too much for me to keep up with because I enjoy the beauty of the park.  I enjoy all the little details that are put everywhere in the park.  On this trip, I noticed something that I had not noticed before.  As the kids and I were waiting in line for Toy Story Midway Mania, I noticed that over 50% of the people who were in line had their heads buried in their phones.  There was not very much interaction amongst people.  While waiting for Big Thunder Mtn. Railroad, the young man in front of us had his iPod so loud that I could hear the detail in his music over the queue music.  Please don’t take this as complaining!  This is just an observation of how things are changing.

My kids and I like to see the little detail in things.

So, back to the original question.  Did we use too much or too little technology on our trip?  Also, can you name the locations of the objects in all of the pictures (except the flowers, of course)?

Disclaimer – We own iWalkee, Touring Plans, Mousewait, and too many others to list.  I must admit that we own most of the apps that are available for the subject of Disneyland and Walt Disney World.  I’m sorry that I can’t list them all.  We do like them, but we like to do the research from home before going to the parks.  We like to spend our time at the parks enjoying all the little details that make the Disney parks what they are.  If you are new to Disneyland, iWalkee has a good overall interface with a link to our all time favorite restaurant menu list on AllEars. (Mousewait also has the same dining link.) iWalkee also has a beautiful map and the ability to input your itinerary.  If we were new to Disneyland and needed an all round app with an included map, we would like choose iWalkee, at this point.  It is actually a total vacation planning tool, which is why we categorize it as vacation planning.  From what I can tell, iWalkee and Mousewait both have active social components.  I personally don’t need the map, so that is why I usually gravitate to Touring Plans (plus the research that goes into the crowd projections stats).

Have a wonderful day!