Disney has some pretty cool elevators in some of their Resort Hotels on both coasts.
You can find these Smart Elevators in the Paradise Pier Hotel at the Disneyland Resort and the new Grand Destino Tower at Walt Disney World’s Coronado Springs Resort.
Disneyland’s Paradise Pier Hotel Smart Elevator Lobby Panel
These elevators vary from the regular sort in that you select the floor you’d like to go to when calling the elevator versus the old way of calling an elevator car by pushing the up or down button and then selecting a floor once you get in.
These are called Smart Elevators in the elevator business. Smart Elevators are faster, easier and even more energy efficient than the older type elevators.
Smart elevators handle passengers more efficiently making fewer stops per car thus saving energy as accelerating up from a stop uses the most energy.
Walt Disney World’s Grand Destino Tower Smart Elevator Panel
In old school elevators everyone going up piles into one car and you might have lots of stops depending on where people are going.
Smart elevators assign from one to a few floors to a car and those are the only floors where it stops.
Enough of the techno stuff, let’s look at how you use them.
The most disconcerting thing thing about Smart Elevators is that there are no floor buttons inside. You can’t change your mind on what floor you want once you enter.
Walt Disney World’s Grand Destino Tower Interior
When using these Smart Elevators you push the button for the floor that you’d like to go to.
Disneyland’s Paradise Pier Hotel Smart Elevator Lobby Panel with Quick Access Buttons
The panel then gives lets you know the number or letter of your elevator car (door) and where it is via an arrow.
Walt Disney World’s Grand Destino Tower Directions to Your Elevator
Once the car arrives just get in. You’ll still see the door open and door close buttons as well as the emergency one, but as I said no floor buttons.
Disneyland’s Paradise Pier Hotel Smart Elevator Interior
The car will indicate which floors it will be stopping on so you can gauge which stop is yours without looking.
Walt Disney World’s Grand Destino Tower Destination Floors – On Elevator Door Right Side
If you realize you picked the wrong floor or change your mind, you’ll need to get of and start over.
Disneyland’s Paradise Pier Hotel Smart Elevator Interior Upper Floor Keypad
We expect to find these new style Smart Elevators in Walt Disney World’s new Disney Vacation Club location, The Riviera Resort as well as other upcoming properties.
Over to you
Have you used the new Smart Elevators? What do you think? Let us know in the comments section below!
This article was written by Steve Bell, founder of Military Disney Tips.
Steve is a retired U.S. military member who has been visiting the Disney Parks since 1971 and writing about Disney military discounts and vacations for the military community for over 18 years.
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