Over the years, Disney has made it essential for its theme park guests to check their smartphones during their visit. For instance, the My Disney Experience app helps visitors manage tickets, check real-time wait times for rides, get park maps, and access opening times. Yet Disney is now trying to reduce the time guests spend on their smartphones.

The company is exploring the use of Ray-Ban Meta Glasses to help visitors spend less time on their phones and more time making the most of their experience.

Here's a closer look at how these gadgets will work, how they could enhance the visitor experience, and why Disney doesn’t want you spending time on your phone in the first place.

Disney Wants You To Stop Checking Your Phone And Use Ray-Ban Meta Glasses Instead

In the latest episode of the YouTube series We Call It Imagineering, published on the Walt Disney Imagineering official channel, Asa Kalama, Executive Creative Director at Walt Disney Imagineering, said the company is currently exploring a partnership with Meta and Ray-Ban.

In particular, the company is considering the use of Ray-Ban glasses, giving guests a personal AI guide in Disney parks.:

''What’s great about these glasses is they’ve got cameras in them, microphones, speakers. For our guests, it allows us to put a virtual theme park guide in their ear. The glasses can enhance the ways we tell stories for our guests, unlocking a world of information about the land that they’re in,'' Kalama said.

The Ray-Ban Meta Glasses are part of the new Meta Wearables Device Access Toolkit and feature a camera, speakers, and a microphone that phone app developers can access to create specific apps, giving Disney visitors a completely different experience.

According to a promo video, these devices will allow guests to access a wide range of information. In the video, a guest walks through a Disney theme park and asks all sorts of questions. These include specific information about rides, merchandise, and general directions to reach Disney characters.

For example, the guest wearing the Ray-Ban Meta Glasses asks, ''Where can I get a gluten-free snack?'' to which the AI assistant answers: ''Tropical Imports right by you (...) has fresh fruit (...) and other gluten-free snacks. Wanna check the menu?''

Ray-Ban Meta Glasses Key Information

Price

799 USD

Battery life

Up to 30 hours

U.S. launch

September 30, 2025

So, when will Disney visitors be able to access these unique glasses? Unfortunately, there is still no exact timeline for when these will be available to guests at Disney theme parks. However, according to Meta, this product hit shelves on September 30 at limited retailers in the U.S., while it will be available in Canada, France, Italy, and the UK in early 2026.

Over the years, Disney has made it essential for its theme park guests to check their smartphones during their visit. For instance, the My Disney Experience app helps visitors manage tickets, check real-time wait times for rides, get park maps, and access opening times. Yet Disney is now trying to reduce the time guests spend on their smartphones.

The company is exploring the use of Ray-Ban Meta Glasses to help visitors spend less time on their phones and more time making the most of their experience.

Here's a closer look at how these gadgets will work, how they could enhance the visitor experience, and why Disney doesn’t want you spending time on your phone in the first place.

Disney Wants You To Stop Checking Your Phone And Use Ray-Ban Meta Glasses Instead

In the latest episode of the YouTube series We Call It Imagineering, published on the Walt Disney Imagineering official channel, Asa Kalama, Executive Creative Director at Walt Disney Imagineering, said the company is currently exploring a partnership with Meta and Ray-Ban.

In particular, the company is considering the use of Ray-Ban glasses, giving guests a personal AI guide in Disney parks.:

''What’s great about these glasses is they’ve got cameras in them, microphones, speakers. For our guests, it allows us to put a virtual theme park guide in their ear. The glasses can enhance the ways we tell stories for our guests, unlocking a world of information about the land that they’re in,'' Kalama said.

The Ray-Ban Meta Glasses are part of the new Meta Wearables Device Access Toolkit and feature a camera, speakers, and a microphone that phone app developers can access to create specific apps, giving Disney visitors a completely different experience.

According to a promo video, these devices will allow guests to access a wide range of information. In the video, a guest walks through a Disney theme park and asks all sorts of questions. These include specific information about rides, merchandise, and general directions to reach Disney characters.

It also remains unclear whether the Ray-Ban Meta Glasses will be available for rent or purchase, and whether they will be available in all theme parks or only in the U.S.

Why Doesn’t Disney Want You To Be On Your Phone?

According to Walt Disney Imagineering President Bruce Vaughn, constantly checking your phone breaks Disney's spell, which is allegedly the main reason why the company wants visitors to engage less with their phones and more with their surroundings.

''A big differentiator for us is that you’re there together with friends and family and people that you care about. Every time you have to look down at a device or a phone, it breaks that spell,'' Vaugn said.

While this is surely part of the problem, there's another reason Disney wants guests to diminish their phone usage. The company has recently banned these devices on some of its Disneyland rides.

Visitors are no longer allowed to bring their phones on the Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway. Disney guests have recently noticed a sign that reads: ''Attention: Secure all personal belongings prior to boarding. Hand-held or loose items, including cell phones, are not permitted to be held while riding.''

This is because the ride’s sudden, jerky movements increase the risk of losing your phone, which could cause severe damage to the ride itself.

In addition, some people have been complaining about guests who constantly film on Disney rides, something that can ruin the experience for others. Plenty of people commented on a Reddit post about this bad habit, with a user claiming they ''got tired of people dropping stuff and making the ride break down.''

For now, it remains unclear when Ray-Ban Meta Glasses will be available for Disney theme park guests. However, these devices may indeed lead to fewer people constantly checking their phones in these parks, improving the magical experience for everyone.