ds fanboy and other Nintendo DS and Disney focused blogs are reporting about Disney testing the idea of providing guides to their theme parks on the Nintendo DS.

Taking a Closer Look at the Disney DS Guide

Before you pooh-pooh (pun intended) the idea, consider this. I recall hearing or reading somewhere that the Nintendo DS Lite sold something like 4 million units this past December alone. It is probably safe to say that the DS was the largest selling handheld WiFi-enabled device in 2007 far surpassing the iPhone and Windows Mobile devices (probably combined). Having spent several weeks inside of several Disney theme parks with my child at various stages life, I would welcome an electronic guide if it provided more information than the crumpled maps I pulled out of my pocket and if it were faster than running through the fine print on those paper guides.

What I would really prefer, though, is a downloadable electronic guide for a smartphone with a GPS if the guide took advantage of the GPS’ capabilities. This would be especially helpful for first time visitors to a theme park.