Jason Garcia at the Orlando Sentinel has the scoop on an update to one of Walt Disney World’s best kept secrets. Since 2005 Disney has had a rugged wireless device that provides captions and assisted listening for disabled patrons who might need that to fully realize the magic of the Disney experience. Now they’ve added Descriptive Audio for those who are visually impaired.
Called “audio description,” the service provides visually impaired vacationers with a narrative depiction of the scenes that unfold as they move through rides such as the Magic Kingdom’s Haunted Mansion or Pirates of the Caribbean.
“We want to make our rich stories available to everyone,” said Greg Hale, vice president of worldwide safety and accessibility for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.
Remember a few years ago when Vince Scully did some descriptive audio tracks for movies. I listened to a couple samples (I’m a Vince Scully fan, what can I say) and they did a wonderful job at putting you in a similar space to actually watching the film. If it’s anything like that this is a great move. Apparently they’ve been working on it since 2005, but just finally perfected the technology.
( via the Orlando Sentinel )
I know this has been available at Epcot for at least imagination for about a year now. Inside The Magic included the audio on one episode.
Descriptive Audio comes to Walt Disney World – http://is.gd/sKz0 – provides audio experience for visually impaired.
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