Thanks to collaboration between Walt Disney Co. and Gowalla, visitors to theme parks in the United States can now use their smart phones to check into resorts and earn the digital versions of the park’s popular pins, which Disney fans buy, collect and trade, as well as go on customized tours.

Gowalla is one of a number of start-up companies that offer phone applications, which allow users to broadcast their location to friends and strangers. Facebook also contains this feature, indicating the high likelihood of this being a mainstream trend.

According to a survey done in August by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, only 1% percent of Americans use the feature in any given day. Although it also states that just over 4% of the population has ever used this application, this percentage is expected to grow as Facebook only announced the location feature in mid-August.

Gowalla has also designed custom trips for users to take as they visit Florida’s Disneyworld and California’s Disneyland. This distinguishes it from other location-based services as it also lets users share photos, recommendations and trips previously gone on. Its user base is, however, smaller than that of its main competitor, FourSquare.

When they visit the parks, users of the Gowalla phone application are entitled to more than 100 virtual passport stamps and pins.
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