"Personally, I love the idea of wandering around a Disney park with my DS to get extra content in specific places, especially if that content can only _ever_ be unlocked that way and it's cool and bonus."

Alas, you can count me against the idea. It means to access these parts of the game one must make a pilgramage to Temple Disney and pay for park admission. Further, it is unlikely that Disney will keep the promotion going for long, and when it's over, what then? Will everyone who buys the game used or wasn't able to visit the People's Republic of Mickey be locked out of these features?

For the record, I'm not too keen on the idea of Mew either. Purposely locking content in a cart that requires special out-of-game measures to access is cool only if someone making a reasonable effort to access it can get it. Making a trip somewhere, catching a special in-person event, or shelling out cash is not reasonable.

I REALLY like this idea, it totally adds value to theme parks, especially for us savvy consumers who mostly think of theme parks as a ripoff. Honestly I don't think that too many people care about the POTC game and neither do I so this is not a big deal for me. They could make more money (yeah, like they need it) by setting up a booth at the entrance of the ride to sell the games for those that don't already have it.

However the extra content should not be game-breaking because no one is going to pay several thousand dollars for a disney visit just to get some extra content on a DS game.

A very good solution to this would be to debut the bonuses at the park for a week or two and let the paying customers have it first (after all, they paid for the disney visit, they should be entitled to something!) THEN maybe like a month later put the bonuses up on the Nintendo Wifi Connection so that everyone can download it so that it does not make everyone else feel left out.

If you have added content available only at the park then you also risk the backlash of people who won't buy the game because they won't be able to access the added content easily and they will be left feeling cheated. If this continues to happen in a way where I will have to spend thousands to get added content then I will not buy the games that have added content (that is never available again) either.

Overall its a good idea though because it begins the idea of incorporating video games and new technology into theme parks, which is something the theme park industry very desperately needs in order to lure in today's technology-minded children. Let's hope that the theme park industry continues to deliver and use new technology to lure in customers.

not to be hopelessly cynical, but i have a feeling that while this is clever and interesting, it's also moot from a "user enjoyment" standpoint given what game it is. =)