Garcia: With MyMagic+, Mickey will watch where you go, what you do

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Mr.MouseFan

Active Member
I can see this very easily going the way of casino loyalty cards. I wonder how long it will be before hotel availability and rates as well as restaurant and fastpass availability are based on how much you spend? Working in a casino, I can tell you that when you call and ask for a room and they say "sold out", nine times out of ten they are just waiting for someone to come along that spends more money than you do. Have an ADR at a restaurant at the same time as someone who spends more than you? Guess who's getting seated first? Super long line for the cashier in the Emporium? How long before there's a priority line for big spenders only?

Maybe I've just been around casinos too long, but I wouldn't be surprised to see a class system set up at WDW much like casinos have now.
 
Buried20KLeague

Buried20KLeague

Well-Known Member
Mr.MouseFan said:
I can see this very easily going the way of casino loyalty cards. I wonder how long it will be before hotel availability and rates as well as restaurant and fastpass availability are based on how much you spend? Working in a casino, I can tell you that when you call and ask for a room and they say "sold out", nine times out of ten they are just waiting for someone to come along that spends more money than you do. Have an ADR at a restaurant at the same time as someone who spends more than you? Guess who's getting seated first? Super long line for the cashier in the Emporium? How long before there's a priority line for big spenders only?

Maybe I've just been around casinos too long, but I wouldn't be surprised to see a class system set up at WDW much like casinos have now.
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Totally agree. I've said this from the beginning.

Those that don't expect this kind of result long term have their head in the sand. WDW is going to quickly become a VERY different place than it is now.
 
J

jed012788

Member
Buried20KLeague said:
Totally agree. I've said this from the beginning.

Those that don't expect this kind of result long term have their head in the sand. WDW is going to quickly become a VERY different place than it is now.
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It's about time. I spend upward of 200 nights per year at Marriott properties for business, as I'm sure many others on these boards do as well. I should be treated better than the vast majority of other guests at the hotel. That company appears to appreciate all the money they are receiving from me and reward for my loyalty to their brand. If they didn't, I'd be staying at Starwood hotels instead.

Disney has never treated its highest spenders and most dedicated customers with any semblance of respect. I am all for a strong rewards program, and if MyMagic+ is the catalyst for that, so be it.
 
space42

space42

Well-Known Member
jed012788 said:
It's about time. I spend upward of 200 nights per year at Marriott properties for business, as I'm sure many others on these boards do as well. I should be treated better than the vast majority of other guests at the hotel. That company appears to appreciate all the money they are receiving from me and reward for my loyalty to their brand. If they didn't, I'd be staying at Starwood hotels instead.

Disney has never treated its highest spenders and most dedicated customers with any semblance of respect. I am all for a strong rewards program, and if MyMagic+ is the catalyst for that, so be it.
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The problem is that EVERY guest at Disney is supposed to be as a first class guest not just the ones who spend more. For the price of admission to anything Disney we all should expect nothing less.
 
J

jed012788

Member
danv3 said:
Their focus is shifting away from repeat guests to once or twice in a lifetime, spend five or ten thousand dollars for magic guests. I don't think they'll be rewarding repeat visitors any time soon.
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Fair enough. But I'm not sure how tracking long-term spending would allow for any of the casino-like policies described in the posts above.

That said, I would have absolutely no problem if Disney created some sort of tiered system. Guests that stay at deluxe resorts deserve a better experience than the guests at value resorts, and the guests at value resorts deserve a better experience than those staying off-site. Even if we're just talking about extra Fastpass+ reservation allotments depending on where you stay, I'm all for it.

I realize that's probably a super unpopular opinion around here, based on most of the posts I've read over the past several months. But so be it.
 
J

jed012788

Member
One more point for now: I am constantly reading conflicting -- even hypocritical -- posts on these boards regarding the ideal Walt Disney World guest.

Sometimes, the consensus is that the parks should be made available to everybody. People complain that Disney has priced out middle-class families and use this reality as a critique of the resort's direction. Other times, the consensus is that Disney has grown classless over the years, filled with "undesirable" clientele. In another active thread right now, there is an entire discussion about how folks used to dress up to visit the Magic Kingdom in the so-called "golden era." One post even suggested that the guests in the parks back then were superior because they were "slender," a completely unfair sentiment.

So which is it?
 
Nemo14

Nemo14

Well-Known Member
jed012788 said:
Fair enough. But I'm not sure how tracking long-term spending would allow for any of the casino-like policies described in the posts above.

That said, I would have absolutely no problem if Disney created some sort of tiered system. Guests that stay at deluxe resorts deserve a better experience than the guests at value resorts, and the guests at value resorts deserve a better experience than those staying off-site. Even if we're just talking about extra Fastpass+ reservation allotments depending on where you stay, I'm all for it.

I realize that's probably a super unpopular opinion around here, based on most of the posts I've read over the past several months. But so be it.
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I really have to respectfully disagree with you here. Guests who stay at deluxe resorts are getting a "better experience" just by virtue of the resort amenities, which they willingly pay more for. They are paying the same amount for the parks as the lowly value resort guests, and yes, even the rebellious off-site guests, so their "experiences" there should be no different.
 
Radok Block

Radok Block

Well-Known Member
jed012788 said:
One more point for now: I am constantly reading conflicting -- even hypocritical -- posts on these boards regarding the ideal Walt Disney World guest.

Sometimes, the consensus is that the parks should be made available to everybody. People complain that Disney has priced out middle-class families and use this reality as a critique of the resort's direction. Other times, the consensus is that Disney has grown classless over the years, filled with "undesirable" clientele. In another active thread right now, there is an entire discussion about how folks used to dress up to visit the Magic Kingdom in the so-called "golden era."

So which is it?
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Can't it be both? Do you have to be wealthy to act with dignity?
 
J

jed012788

Member
Mr.MouseFan said:
I enjoy a good rewards program when it comes to discounts or some other tangible reward. That said, I never understood (nor will I ever understand) the notion that the amount of money I spend entitles me to be treated any better than the person standing next to me.
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Well, what does "being treated better" mean? Airline mileage programs entitle elite members to first-class upgrades and access to expedited security lines. So while other travelers could wait 45 minutes to get through TSA screening at a major airport, this small subset of travels wait 10 minutes.

Fair or unfair?
 
Occasional Guest

Occasional Guest

Well-Known Member
If you have something that someone wants (in this case money), that someone is going to treat you nicely in order to ply it away from you. Don't have as much of what they want, you will be skipped over in favor of someone that does. Human nature. Sucks to be the have not.
 
M

Mr.MouseFan

Active Member
jed012788 said:
Well, what does "being treated better" mean? Airline mileage programs entitle elite members to first-class upgrades and access to expedited security lines. So while other travelers could wait 45 minutes to get through TSA screening at a major airport, this small subset of travels wait 10 minutes.

Fair or unfair?
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Obviously, "being treated better" means different things to different people.
Maybe I'm just being foolish, or naive or both. If MM+ goes the way I see it going, it'll be a sad day when your level of welcome inside a Disney theme park is based on the rate in which your money flies out of your pocket.
 
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ford91exploder

ford91exploder

Resident Curmudgeon
danv3 said:
Their focus is shifting away from repeat guests to once or twice in a lifetime, spend five or ten thousand dollars for magic guests. I don't think they'll be rewarding repeat visitors any time soon.
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Exactly the reasoning behind this is these people have no yardstick to measure their current experience against their prior experience so TDO can keep cheapening the experience, Classic penny-wise pound foolish scenario.

What Disney has forgotten is that it is FAR more expensive to acquire a new customer than it is to maintain an existing one. And that is what Airline and Hotel companies use their loyalty programs to create customer lock in so that the customer stays with them and refers people to them when asked, Word of mouth is the cheapest and most effective advertising medium the perks granted like priority security lines and room upgrades are FAR cheaper than acquisition costs for new customers.
 
ford91exploder

ford91exploder

Resident Curmudgeon
Mr.MouseFan said:
I enjoy a good rewards program when it comes to discounts or some other tangible reward. That said, I never understood (nor will I ever understand) the notion that the amount of money I spend entitles me to be treated any better than the person standing next to me.
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Agree, which is why most of the rewards programs have few outward trappings.
 
ford91exploder

ford91exploder

Resident Curmudgeon
mgf said:
Not an exclusively positive story. What a quote:

"We are fortunate that many of our guests want to communicate and have a relationship with us," Disney World spokeswoman Kim Prunty said. "We are focused on sharing information with guests in a way that respects their relationship and enhances their experience."

http://touch.orlandosentinel.com/#story/os-disney-mymagic-data-tracking-20131004

Thoughts?
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Has Jason re-discovered that he is a Journalist?, His stuff used to read like it came straight from TDO's PR department. Perhaps he's seen the light and realizes that while this stuff may be good short term for TDO it's VERY bad for Orlando as whole because the place for better or worse revolves around WDW's fortunes.
 

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