Spirited News and Observations and Opinions ...

[WDW1974]

Everyone should be concerned about privacy. Mymagic may prompt the concern, but you should look at everyone who tracks you.

YES! ... That is so, so very true.

I think the issue is Disney is dipping its toes in a very big ocean and everyone out there with a product to peddle or service to sell is waiting to see how far Disney can go with this.

WDW has the ultimate controlled atmosphere to execute this with 24/7 access to guests staying in its almost 30,000 hotel rooms, timeshares and camp sites.

They are like the bellweather. If Disney can do datamining on a massive scale and get away with it, then everyone from apparel companies and airlines to automobile manufacturers to etc will be trying to slip and slide the 'Disney Model' onto their businesses.

 

[WDW1974]

Besides the obvious criticism of WDW74's continued use of an inappropriately morbid and disrespectful nickname for Walt Disney (what did Walt ever do to this guy?), its cringe-worthy reading posts infused with the author's own language of neogolisms dripping with sarcasm, and real antipathy. (MAGICal . . . sarcasm? Why keep using this little made up nothingness in so many posts?)

First of all, there is something called sarcasm and that is why I refer to Walt (a personal hero of mine and a true genius) that way. It's the way the corporation that daily basically spits in his face (or his Legacy's) by doing things in ways that are the polar opposite of how he conducted business. ... I swear sometimes I feel like I'm speaking a foreign language.

And MAGICal is something I use as a shoutout to this very site that I enjoy so much. Seriously, what will your next accusation be? That I have 'relations' with my plush (I don't unlike some fanbois!)

Maybe WDW74 is worried that TDO will want to track the online super-critics and Adam Woo him from the parks by rescinding their annual passes?

No. And being an online critical fan would be one helluva thing to be 'banned' for ... I'd love to see how they'd attempt to spin something like that from someone who has spent what I have and showed the BRAND loyalty that I have over the years.

It seems that debate of NextGen is sort of academic at this point given that it will be rolled out.

Academic? Um ... no. It isn't. Disney still hasn't answered substantial questions about the technololgy and their long-term plans for it. And they may well have to change significant portions of it due to both privacy concerns and operational nightmares. This is far from a done deal.

Though we all have our pet peeves regarding TDO, maybe we should come up with a new term when somebody really goes off the rails, such as a "Donald Duck rant?"

Bob Iger isn't perfect, but under his tenure Carsland was built, and he acquired Star Wars. Seems to "get" Disney more than Eisner did. Not so sure I'd go so far as to basically call him a sub-human . . .

I know Michael Eisner and in sports terms, Iger can't carry his jock. He absolutely doesn't get Disney more than Michael did (or does). He has done far more to continue Michael's mistakes than to open his own legacy. ... He had no choice on DCA. If Michael were still running Disney, then DCA would have still been made over. There was no choice. ... And Star Wars/Lucas Film, on the surface it looks like a great move. But you don't judge something like that in weeks. Let's see how it looks in a decade.

 

[WDW1974]

Hold on here for a second.... Eisner - despite all his faults and critics by the end of his tenue - saved the company in 1984 along with Frank Wells from corporate raiders. He expanded it into the ridiculous empire it has become.

We may not like what Eisner became, but every Disney fan owes that man a "thank you" for what he did at the start of his tenue.

People need to realize that without Michael (and Frank and Roy and Jeffrey) that TWDC wouldn't exist today except in pieces.

It certainly wouldn't be an $88 billion market cap media goliath with a reach in almost every crevice on the globe.

 

[Rodan75]

Recent reports are that the parks have been shoulder to shoulder crowded. This will lull TDO into thinking all is well. These recent crowds may even get the PIXAR Place project shelved. Throw in a few more silly games and the folks will be thrilled.

My guess is that the crowds will stay until it hits critical mass and then attendance will go into free fall. At that point It will be too late to turn the Titanic away from the iceberg. Of course TWDC won't let WDW roll over and die, but the cost of the life support is going to be UGLY.

Maybe the crowds are big because the parks are still a lot more fun overall than universal. I like universal and what they are doing today is genius, it is also almost 15 years past due.

 

[John]

I am far beyond debateing NG....I know the pros and cons of the system. I personally dont like it. But I have to look at Disneys track record at WDW (since that is what we are talking about)' IMO I for the life of me cant see them rolling out such an ambitious program. The infrastructure on a system like this has to be mind boggleing. With millions of visitors each year I wonder how profcient and accurate the system can be. This isnt your regular "discount card" program at your local store. Some have mentioned the DCL system, that pales in comparrison to what is needed here. The management of the information collected is going to be enormous. The system itself will have a degree of error....the management and analysis of that information has a degree of error leads me to wonder how accurate the final information will be. Over the years until recent history) has done pretty well with the resources they already had in obtaining proficency goals. They have had more practicee at this then most anyother company. I wonder if this information isnt more valuable in the selling of the information then in what they will save in how much proficency it will provide?

Over and over again I hear that much of this is "just like they have now" I keep going back to the same question....WHY? I guess one answer is that they can do what they do now....better. But I also return to my original premise as in I look at Disneys recent history at WDW. Recntly ( last fifteen years) Disney has been faltering. So IMO they will just deteriorate better then ever

 

[WDW1974]

Referring to Walt as the "Old Dead Guy" is a direct reflection of how he is viewed by today's corporate management who have systematically removed or neglected many of the principles and ideas that the man stood for.
Spirit isn't showing disrespect, he is mocking those who do.

I just gave you your 15th 'like' for the comment. I appreciate the backup when I can't live on this forum.
I hope all is well in your parts. I just watched some scary weather footage from the 'hills'.
It was 82 and sunny here in paradise.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I know Michael Eisner and in sports terms, Iger can't carry his jock. He absolutely doesn't get Disney more than Michael did (or does). He has done far more to continue Michael's mistakes than to open his own legacy. ... He had no choice on DCA. If Michael were still running Disney, then DCA would have still been made over. There was no choice. ... And Star Wars/Lucas Film, on the surface it looks like a great move. But you don't judge something like that in weeks. Let's see how it looks in a decade.

But-but-bu...he brought back hand-drawn animation!!! (with one real feature, a 50-minute Pooh piece that could have been made by the Australian studio and no new features in sight)

 

[Rodan75]

Is this thread always going to be about Next Gen? It looks like this discussion has killed all other discussion in all of the other threads.

 

[WDWFigment]

Wait a second... @WDW1974, are you actually suggesting to me that THIS...

...is not the proper way to honor Walt Disney's legacy?!?!?!?!??!?!?!!??!?!?!!?!?!?!?!!?

You really have some nerve.

As for the Iger v. Eisner debate, I'd take Eisner and all of his faults over Iger any day. Eisner made a great number of mistakes, no doubt, but he also had an undeniable passion and was a charismatic leader. Some bad things happened as a result of his ego, impulsive nature, and fixations, but some great things happened as a result of his very same traits.

Now, I say this without having ever met either of them, but I think I've seen enough to come to this conclusion.

 

[WDW1974]

OK, but not all of us are in that loop. It really does hurt his credibility when he uses "insider" humor with some of us. And it bothers me to have anyone refer to Walt like that. He wasn't perfect but all one has to do is stand on an upper floor of a hotel in the Orlando area, look around, and see the impact that one man had on just one area, say nothing about the other places where that same impact is obvious. Something that will never be the legacy of any of those high paid executives currently in place. Just because that is the attitude of "management" doesn't mean that anyone should justify it by repeating it without some explanation to clarify its meaning . JMHO!

Goof, you don't like it? Great. Neither do I.

Take it up with WDW management, who basically threw his playbook out 15 years ago, yet use his image to shill timeshare sales.

Take it up with a CEO who thinks he's smarter than Walt and should even be talked of in the same breath.

I'm sorry if I use 'insider humor' ... but you've been reading my stuff for likely a decade now. If you don't get where I'm coming from yet, then I'm not sure you will. Not that it matters ... when you take a trip to O-Town and enjoy UNI more than WDW and point out shortcomings like you recently did, it speaks volumes because you largely do get it. Just took a lot longer than some!

 

[the.dreamfinder]

They are like the bellweather. If Disney can do datamining on a massive scale and get away with it, then everyone from apparel companies and airlines to automobile manufacturers to etc will be trying to slip and slide the 'Disney Model' onto their businesses.

I also worry about repressive governments possibly buying this tech ('Mercia included). Cisco has been known to sell Internet filtering/censorship technology to China, Syria, and the UAE among others...

 

[WDW1974]

I don't think it has anything to do with improving the guest experience. Just getting people to spend more money. Whether through being easier (wave of the wrist) or coercion (more FastPass+s based on how much you spend on merchandise or type of resorts).

Of course it doesn't, Dave.

There's a reason why they want to court less-discerning guests ... and would like folks like us (who have been with WDW from almost the start) to either drop dead or just go elsewhere.

If you didn't start visiting WDW until 1997 or 2001 or 2004 or 2007, then you have absolutely no clue as to how dramatically different the product once was ...

 

[nor'easter]

Everyone should be concerned about privacy. Mymagic may prompt the concern, but you should look at everyone who tracks you.​

YES! ... That is so, so very true.

I think the issue is Disney is dipping its toes in a very big ocean and everyone out there with a product to peddle or service to sell is waiting to see how far Disney can go with this.

What many don't realize is that the big tech companies, and the techies they employ (and I've dealt with a lot of them) have NO time for privacy. Nada. Because privacy is the enemy of their business model. Every one of them, from the sanctimonious Google to the ridiculous Facebook rely on your personal information to make money. And big corporations like Walmart (one of the first RFID users) and Disney see the potential as well.

The sad fact is that many Americans are willing to sacrifice their privacy for 2 minutes of fame on Facebook or You Tube, or to allow corporations like Disney give them a bone in exchange for their personal info. It has been the influence of other countries that has actually strengthened privacy protection in the US, from Canada to the EU, ironically due to $$$. These countries insist on some standards or businesses and consumers cannot do business or share data to US entities. Hence we have the Safe Harbor agreement with the EU (which Disney companies are signatories to, by the way). I think the MyMagic scheme has some problems there.

 

[Magenta Panther]

First of all, there is something called sarcasm and that is why I refer to Walt (a personal hero of mine and a true genius) that way. It's the way the corporation that daily basically spits in his face (or his Legacy's) by doing things in ways that are the polar opposite of how he conducted business. ... I swear sometimes I feel like I'm speaking a foreign language.

Oh, boy, do I hear that.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

I know Michael Eisner and in sports terms, Iger can't carry his jock. He absolutely doesn't get Disney more than Michael did (or does). He has done far more to continue Michael's mistakes than to open his own legacy. ... He had no choice on DCA. If Michael were still running Disney, then DCA would have still been made over. There was no choice. ... And Star Wars/Lucas Film, on the surface it looks like a great move. But you don't judge something like that in weeks. Let's see how it looks in a decade.

Does mister Eisner have an opinion on the current state of the company?

 

[WDW1974]

This is the quintessential example of a contrived question that doesn't represent reality at all or actually prove anything.

Why not just say 'What if Iger came up to you and said, hey we can spend one billion on NextGen, or I can give that money to you, which would you have chosen?'

The alternatives are not equally plausible, making it completely unrealistic.

C'mon, Flynn ... we understand you love the tech (I am sure Disney, Cisco, media, consultants, congressional assistants etc) all get that point by now.

But it is a very fair question:

How many folks (even those who can't wait to slap a MAGICBand with Cinderella bling on their little seven-year-old princess's wrist) would really have chosen MyMagic+ over substantial additions to the parks (like say what UNI and SW parks are doing)?

I'll say it would be about nine out of every 10 would pick the additions ... that's giving the benefit of the doubt and taking into account the fact that some WDW guests are mentally ill to begin with.

 

[flynnibus]

I also worry about repressive governments possibly buying this tech ('Mercia included). Cisco has been known to sell Internet filtering/censorship technology to China, Syria, and the UAE among others...

You do know that selling to companies blackballed by the state department is illegal right? Those deals happen because of unscrupulous grey market partners. Partner's buy it in a legal part of the world, then resell it to people in the banned countries. Happens to every company to some degree.

I mean when you see an iPhone in Iran - it's not because they opened a new Apple store in Tehran..

 

[flynnibus]

I'll say it would be about nine out of every 10 would pick the additions ... that's giving the benefit of the doubt and taking into account the fact that some WDW guests are mentally ill to begin with.

I'd also wager 9 out of 10 people are incapable of running a large scale corporation that should exists for decades. Why would I trust their judgement on what's the best thing to invest in?

Let's not goto the well and pull out all the examples of business leading their customers shall we... including Disney themselves.

 

[kittybubbles]

N network runs on both 5 and 2.4ghz.

As you said, a network of recievers can triangulate a location.. But they may not even care for that type of Precision. If proximity is asll you need... You can simplify.


That's a fair assessment and I can see why proximity would be enough. But I was rally just trying to point out that it was technically possible to track folks more closely than some seem to think.





But this is not a new concern at all...

 

[WDW1974]

How do you know that they wouldn't get justifiable ROI? What is this based on? Carsland and TWWOHP seem to disagree.

Exactly. It's weak.

WWoHP and Cars Land show what adding quality immersive experiences do for the bottom line.

Hell, HKDL finally is in the black and it has done nothing but invest in both seasonal events and three new lands, two with major unique E-Tickets.

Quality attractions draw people to parks. Tracking bracelets that make it easier for you and your children to spend more than you planned don't. I can't wait to see the marketing for this ... I may love the new WDW FL RES commercials they are running (no foamheads, no princesses, no dreams, no wishes, no MAGIC, no DLR footage, no Disney Parks Where Dreams Come True at the end), but they are looking at a damn near impossible sales job here.