MM+ Why we can't have nice things.

[wm49rs]

Truly stretching there. Not unexpected, of course, but still.....

 

[The Visionary Soul]

Could you expand on this? I'd be curious as to what aspects that TDO has botched in terms of the rollout.

TDO botched? Well, let's see... let's do a checklist! Ooo, I love checklists. (Bonus points if you know what movie I'm quoting there...)

• No localized servers? Check.
• Incomplete functions of My Disney Experience Website? Check.
• Purchase of badly designed (custom designed for Disney mind you) devices for Magic Band Terminals at all hotels, Guest relations, and merch and food locations? Check.
• Continual printing of extra unnecessary RFID enabled cards for guests? Check.
• No way to actually read magic bands at toll plazas? Check... though eventually fixed.
• No way to book DVC Open House times into myDisney Experience? Check.
• No way to verify anything about status of a guest at any register on property? Check.
• Mixing the names of FastPass and FastPass+? Check. (I was issued paper FastPass+ to ride the mermaid ride a week ago.)
• Telling the guys in Burbank that things were going well and hiding the fact that the rollout has been iffy at best? Check.
• Activation of Magic Bands in resorts not working properly from the get go? Check.
• Iffy wifi coverage in the parks because wrongfully trained Cast Members are checking the signal strength with lackluster tools? Check.

I could keep going, but I'm getting tired. And all of these are decisions that came out of Florida and Nick Franklin's roll-out team.

 

[WDWDad13]

The way the company was run even 10 years ago has absolutely nothing to do with the way a business is run today. To keep using that dated analogy is nothing more than an internet crutch. Modern times call for modern solutions especially in the world of business. MM+ is a long term infrastructure upgrade that will pay for itself by positive guest word of mouth once fully implemented. And here is the funny thing, all other so called "competitors" will have their own version before you know it.

Disney is making the right moves here, people just can't see it because of the cost, but this moves the theme park experience to another level.

Jimmy Thick- How many bandwagon jumpers have not even tried MM+ yet have a negative opinion? 95%?

Jimmy... you are spot on

 

[CDavid]

The way the company was run even 10 years ago has absolutely nothing to do with the way a business is run today.

That may be the problem.

Modern times call for modern solutions especially in the world of business.

I realize its an outdated, old fashioned concept to the modern business executive, but a good business still provides quality products and services and gives guests value for their money. It doesn't rest on its past success, doing as little as possible at the lowest possible cost to prop up the stock price and annual bonus, with no thought to the future or the guest (customer) experience.

MM+ is a long term infrastructure upgrade that will pay for itself by positive guest word of mouth once fully implemented.

How precisely is this "infrastructure upgrade" going to result in higher earnings that wouldn't have happened anyway without MyMagic+? All I've ever seen are vague suggestions that it will somehow (magically?) result in increased earnings. How is it going to do this?

Disney is making the right moves here, people just can't see it because of the cost, but this moves the theme park experience to another level.

Before moving to the next level, perhaps Disney might want to fix the crumbling foundation of the present level.

 

[ParentsOf4]

Responsible, yes. But the guys who are screwing everything up? They're all in Florida. You're talking about budgets. I'm talking about decisions. Two different apples my friend.

Quoting from The Right Stuff:

"You boys know what makes this bird go up? Funding makes this bird go up." "No bucks, no Buck Rogers."

Budget is king.

And if you ever think local management is not running their site exactly the way you want them to, you fire them and bring on someone who will.

WDW is not some mom-and-pop shop. It's a multi-billion dollar organization that's responsible for a good chunk of corporate profit. You bet your bottom dollar that Burbank is responsible for what happens there.

What happens in Orlando happens because, either directly through directives or indirectly through budget & annual corporate objectives, it's exactly what Burbank makes happen.

 

[The Visionary Soul]

How precisely is this "infrastructure upgrade" going to result in higher earnings that wouldn't have happened anyway without MyMagic+? All I've ever seen are vague suggestions that it will somehow (magically?) result in increased earnings. How is it going to do this?

I can't comment on the other stuff, but Disney has already made tens of millions of dollars on MagicBand accessories alone... I'm confident that once the bugs are worked out of the system, it will generate more money.

 

[The Visionary Soul]

Quoting from The Right Stuff:

"You boys know what makes this bird go up? Funding makes this bird go up." "No bucks, no Buck Rogers."

Budget is king.

And if you ever think local management is not running their site exactly the way you want them to, you fire them and bring on someone who will.

WDW is not some mom-and-pop shop. It's a multi-billion dollar organization that's responsible for a good chunk of corporate profit. You bet your bottom dollar that Burbank is responsible for what happens there.

What happens in Orlando happens because, either directly through directives or indirectly through budget & annual corporate objectives, it's exactly what Burbank makes happen.

I agree with everything you are saying, the thing is, Burbank is making decisions based on bad data that comes out of Orlando's execs. Orlando's management team is manipulating Burbank's hands, and they should probably all be fired. (Save for a good few)

 

[Jimmy Thick]

I realize its an outdated, old fashioned concept to the modern business executive, but a good business still provides quality products and services and gives guests value for their money. It doesn't rest on its past success, doing as little as possible at the lowest possible cost to prop up the stock price and annual bonus, with no thought to the future or the guest (customer) experience.



How precisely is this "infrastructure upgrade" going to result in higher earnings that wouldn't have happened anyway without MyMagic+? All I've ever seen are vague suggestions that it will somehow (magically?) result in increased earnings. How is it going to do this?



Before moving to the next level, perhaps Disney might want to fix the crumbling foundation of the present level.

If Disney World was not a quality product the general public at large, not a handful on the internet mind you, would have spoken with the hard earned cash by now. That's not the case. People can find any argument on any subject in regards to how fall Disney World has fallen but the reality is, the general public keeps going back.

Again and again in record numbers, MM+ not withstanding.

And guess what, people will still continue to go no matter how "bad" MM+ is or how "bad" the parks get. It will increase earning by simply making things easier for the guest. The bands work great, when they have the whole thing dialed in, people will wonder how they lived without it. If people have never tried them, they really should not have an opinion otherwise.

Crumbling foundation?

Number 1 in theme parks by far with no clear competitors?

Crumbling?

Oh stumblin' in.

Jimmy Thick- Our love is alive...

 

[Jimmy Thick]

TDO botched? Well, let's see... let's do a checklist! Ooo, I love checklists. (Bonus points if you know what movie I'm quoting there...)

• No localized servers? Check.
• Incomplete functions of My Disney Experience Website? Check.
• Purchase of badly designed (custom designed for Disney mind you) devices for Magic Band Terminals at all hotels, Guest relations, and merch and food locations? Check.
• Continual printing of extra unnecessary RFID enabled cards for guests? Check.
• No way to actually read magic bands at toll plazas? Check... though eventually fixed.
• No way to book DVC Open House times into myDisney Experience? Check.
• No way to verify anything about status of a guest at any register on property? Check.
• Mixing the names of FastPass and FastPass+? Check. (I was issued paper FastPass+ to ride the mermaid ride a week ago.)
• Telling the guys in Burbank that things were going well and hiding the fact that the rollout has been iffy at best? Check.
• Activation of Magic Bands in resorts not working properly from the get go? Check.
• Iffy wifi coverage in the parks because wrongfully trained Cast Members are checking the signal strength with lackluster tools? Check.

I could keep going, but I'm getting tired. And all of these are decisions that came out of Florida and Nick Franklin's roll-out team.

Links to verify, or verification from Disney everything on your list please, thank you.


Jimmy Thick- Queue Jeopardy final question theme.

 

[WDWDad13]

Links to verify, or verification from Disney everything on your list please, thank you.


Jimmy Thick- Queue Jeopardy final question theme.

yep.... and I'm getting dizzy from all the spin and things they like to make up to try and "prove" a point

I like the "no way to book DVC open house times" - if this were really an option, people would be complaining about that as well and saying they are just trying to sell dvc and take our money just like when people complain about all the dvc kiosks

 

[danlb_2000]

yep.... and I'm getting dizzy from all the spin and things they like to make up to try and "prove" a point

I like the "no way to book DVC open house times" - if this were really an option, people would be complaining about that as well and saying they are just trying to sell dvc and take our money just like when people complain about all the dvc kiosks

People just stating things isn't enough for you? You want them to offer proof?

 

[Jimmy Thick]

yep.... and I'm getting dizzy from all the spin and things they like to make up to try and "prove" a point

I like the "no way to book DVC open house times" - if this were really an option, people would be complaining about that as well and saying they are just trying to sell dvc and take our money just like when people complain about all the dvc kiosks

I know what you mean, its as hilarious as people saying Comcast would thrive without the cable channels Disney offers.

Jimmy Thick- Among other things ridiculous.

 

[WDWDad13]

People just stating things isn't enough for you? You want them to offer proof?

na not really... this forum wouldn't thrive as much without all the wild information we all make up to try to "prove" our point haha

 

[GoofGoof]

Quoting from The Right Stuff:

"You boys know what makes this bird go up? Funding makes this bird go up." "No bucks, no Buck Rogers."

Budget is king.

And if you ever think local management is not running their site exactly the way you want them to, you fire them and bring on someone who will.

WDW is not some mom-and-pop shop. It's a multi-billion dollar organization that's responsible for a good chunk of corporate profit. You bet your bottom dollar that Burbank is responsible for what happens there.

What happens in Orlando happens because, either directly through directives or indirectly through budget & annual corporate objectives, it's exactly what Burbank makes happen.

I was making a similar point on the blame meg thread. If the executives in CA say do X and you are president of WDW and you say screw it, we're doing Y instead because we know better you find yourself unemployed. I'm no insider or expert on the internal workings of corporate Disney, but from what I've read here MM+ has been primarily driven by Burbank and not a local initiative. The often blamed TDO had no more choice than we did. MM+ has been dropped in their laps. There seems to be a pretty concerted effort to have enough CMs with handhelds and iPads to assist guests through the implementation phase of the project. Those people work under the local management team. IMHO and based on actually visiting during the roll out, the local teams of CMs are doing a pretty decent job of trying to work through the issues and limit impact to guests.

 

[Jimmy Thick]

Personally, I think there should be some kind of notation under each users avatar here displaying if they have actually used MM+ that is verifiable. It would eliminate who is knowledgeable and who is just jumping on the old internet bandwagon.\

Jimmy Thick- Much needed around here.

 

[SirLink]

In order for something to be "trending" on twitter it would have to reach a very high level of activity (think hundreds of thousands, if not millions using the same #). I doubt a group of angry Disney nerds would get much attention, but the message is more likely to build organically from there than on here or some specific site (like D-Troops, who's message only worked if you actively sought it out).

Having seen big media giants use passive aggressive tweets in their marketing efforts - thinking they were positive is quite common.

 

[WDWDad13]

Personally, I think there should be some kind of notation under each users avatar here displaying if they have actually used MM+ that is verifiable. It would eliminate who is knowledgeable and who is just jumping on the old internet bandwagon.\

Jimmy Thick- Much needed around here.

well I have certainly used it... for 2 weeks (just returned this past Saturday)

it may have changed my normal Disney itinerary some and how I use to do things (a little anyways), but it made it even better in my opinion

no issues... I had everything set up ahead of time online and through the app

Linked and used magic bands for:
- AP's
- Christmas Party Tickets
- Room Key
- Charging
- Fastpass+
- Photopass+

got into the park every day, no problem

got into the Christmas party, no problem

got into the room, no problem

charged using the band with a pin, no problem

used for fastpass+ I had setup in advance (and some that day including one that was changed due to Big Thunder Mountain going down), no problem

used for photopass+ and got all of our photos online, no problem


While I"m sure there are still a few bugs here and there to work out...if everyone sets them up correctly (if/where needed), they work...and work well

One complain I have is about the My Disney Experience app... once you are drilled down inside a page somewhere it'd be nice to click a home button to go back to the main screen/menu

 

[kittybubbles]

Yes Disney is a business, I have no problem with that. But I can still observe that execution has been poor in Orlando. Let's just look at a couple of things they tried to do in recent years.

The people mover....they added color changing lights, but they just use them for ambient lighting at the Halloween parties...seems a bit wasteful to me.

How many folks got to experience Tiger's bounce area of the Winnie the Pooh queue? I think everyone on this board new it was a bad idea when they saw it...but it was designed, built, and opened (opened for a few days I think) then closed and replaced with as a new location for a meet and greet....seems like a poor plan that should have been noticed long before it was ever built.

Folks on here felt the rails/gate around Casey at the new splash area where a last minute add due to a poor design of the train engine.

Mermaids on POTC that reports suggest the effect does not work too often.

What do you mean that The eels on the new ride are suppose to move when they are talking?

I could go on....but these are some reason as to why I do not have a lot of confidence in what Disney does in Orlando.

 

[ford91exploder]

Nearly everyone on this site is "pro Disney".

It's just that some of us are not "pro corporate Disney".

Corporate leadership in Burbank have no passion for WDW and are hell-bent on squeezing every last cent out of their "guests".

Many WDW theme park tickets are up more than 25% over the last 3 years. DDP prices were raised 20% in less than 12 months.

Does anyone seriously think WDW is 25% better than it was 3 years ago?

Our frustrations are not with WDW or the front lines CMs who try their best under increasingly difficult circumstances. It's with a bunch of extremely well-compensated senior executives in California who think that it's OK to dupe consumers and cash in on a brand name that took decades to establish.

^^^THIS^^^

I think ALL of the frequent posters on this board are indeed 'Pro-Disney', We carp precisely BECAUSE we care. Because of exceedingly poor decisions designed to milk the cow known as P&R being made in Orlando and Burbank some of us wonder whether there WILL be a 'Disney Park' for our children and grandchildren to enjoy with the same standards we grew up enjoying.

Disney P&R is 17% of the company and profits (43% of TWDC as a whole) from P&R are being used as the ATM for the rest of the company, The Studios and Interactive divisions are running at a massive loss, Cable is moderately profitable, Licensing is likewise moderately profitable.

 

[danlb_2000]

Personally, I think there should be some kind of notation under each users avatar here displaying if they have actually used MM+ that is verifiable. It would eliminate who is knowledgeable and who is just jumping on the old internet bandwagon.\

Jimmy Thick- Much needed around here.

I assume you had a completely positive experience when you used MM+?