Congress Questions Next Gen

[MarkTwain]

They do if your iPhone is connected and you have locations activated. Plus if you're scared of next gen don't use it

Scared? No. As a former employee, I'm pretty sure Disney already has my exact height and weight, SSN and all 10 of my fingerprints, so some dining data don't bother me much at this point. I'm more concerned with their ethical behavior, and how they plan on treating the guests they claim are the focus of everything they do.

 

[Clowd Nyne]

Scared? No. As a former employee, I'm pretty sure Disney already has my exact height and weight, SSN and all 10 of my fingerprints, so some dining data don't bother me much at this point. I'm more concerned with their ethical behavior, and how they plan on treating the guests they claim are the focus of everything they do.

The more you spend the better they treat you. Is that how it's gonna go?

 

[hiptwinmama]

I think the congressman is grand standing. If you read any of the stories on Magic+ it answers almost all of the questions they have asked. There will be an opt in/opt out availability, so I personally don't see the big deal. The lesser experience could be an issue, and I don't see a way around it. I don't see it as a bad thing, but that is just me. The tracking will allow disney to watch park trends more closely and adjust things accordingly. Like what stays open for extra magic or maybe what merchandise is selling to who. Which could allow them to more effectively merchandise the stores. It will also increase per person spending within the parks.

Hypothetically...Long term, for those of us who visit often, the system will see what we usually ride and when, where we like to eat, do you buy trading pins or toys. In the future you could see some really cool offers as a result. Example....do you buy pins? Yes? You could be drawn to special commemorative pins when you book by a certain date. Or guaranteed ADR for Chef Mickey's on your first night because it has tracked your last few visits and sees that you go there but all the ADRs are taken.

I am sure that the Disney legal teams have done their due diligence (sp) prior to rolling out Magic+. I doubt this will ever make it before congress. Talk about govt getting too big.

 

[GrumpyFan]

Sorry for reposting the below but in light of Rep. Markey’s recent letter, it again seems pertinent.

Wow! I started to try and respond to each of your quotes, but there's just so much wrong with so much of what you quoted, I would be here a while, and I really don't care about it enough to spend THAT much time on it. Am I naive to what's going on? Absolutely not! I work in IT, have for many years, and even implemented RFID systems using similar technologies that Disney is, and I believe have a very firm grasp on what's going on, although some days I have to question that, but I digress.

Based on everything I've read about this, and I've read a lot, I don't think what Disney is planning to use this for is anything to be concerned with, especially not in the magnitude of fear mongering paranoia that you seem to want to incite by the quotes you referenced. Am I concerned for civil liberties and privacy? I certainly am, and I'm very careful about what kind of information I give out and to whom I give it. However, I choose to aim my concern at those I believe are actually intent on using my information for purposes that I strongly disagree with, like the federal government who has a horrible track record of taking, abusing and failing to adequately protect private information, and it's likely only to get worse when Obamacare is fully enacted. I'm not trying to start a political rant here, but some of the provisions of the Obamacare plan involves setting up a national database that providers, insurance companies and others can access personal medical information from, talk about a privacy nightmare!

The Mouse intends to track your movements. Where does it end? If left unchecked, what will private corporations be doing 10 years, 20 years from now?

I've seen nothing that would indicate to me they plan to track mine or your movements individually. If you know this to be true, please provide proof.

What I have seen is that they will have RF readers in multiple locations like ride entrances, restaurants, gift shops, etc. and yes, it's true they could in some way "track" your individual movements, but it's not in such a way that they can see every little thing you do, it's actually kind of limited, and as an individual, yields them relatively useless data. I mean, they don't care what YOU ride, what YOU eat or what YOU buy. What they do care about is when you plan to be there and when you plan to eat so they can figure out how many resources they will need to ensure you can with minimal wait, but also with efficiency in mind so they don't overstock or overstaff. Bear in mind though, that its not YOU as an individual they care about, it's the tally of you and everyone else who plans to be there. Will they try and sell you something based on your information/habits? You bet they will, just like they do now, based on the information they've already harvested from you over the many years you've visited. I'm pretty confident though, that like now, if you tell them you don't want to be bothered by a lot of emails or regular mail or phone calls, they will back off. After all, how much have they abused this in the past? For me, it's an occasional email, which I don't mind, and I don't expect to change in the future.

I know I've rambled too, but really, this isn't THAT big a deal. It's not big brother, they're not going to come after you and they're not going to sell your information to Six Flags, or anybody else for that matter. I'm pretty confident I can trust Disney on this. However, if this were in the hands of the government, I would be as ardently outspoken as you seem to be, and protest it all the way.

 

[rioriz]

never used them there. My issue is with the fact that giving permission for the app gives them permission to use your kids info. Any website directed at kids is not allowed to collect that info. Since "my disney experience" is not "directed" at kids, but is allowed to market to kids, it's a very slippery area they are sneaking into. Are there smartphone apps involved with the great wolf lodge system? Have you read the fine print?

Great Wolf does have a Social Media app that one can use to connect to Facebook, Twitter and such so when they use their bands on photopass or check in at rides and such they can be immediately transfered to Facebook. I have used it and so have my teen cousins. You can set privacy settings such as Disney is setting.

 

[ParentsOf4]

Wow! I started to try and respond to each of your quotes, but there's just so much wrong with so much of what you quoted, I would be here a while, and I really don't care about it enough to spend THAT much time on it. Am I naive to what's going on? Absolutely not! I work in IT, have for many years, and even implemented RFID systems using similar technologies that Disney is, and I believe have a very firm grasp on what's going on, although some days I have to question that, but I digress.

You are too focused on today's technology and what you perceive to be Disney's intentions today. Do you really think technology won't advance in 20 years? Do you really think Disney and other corporations won't expand their intentions 20 years from now? All you have to do is read (or live) a little history to see the evolution and to project a path forward. What's happening today was predicted decades ago.

Allowing private corporations to track individuals sets a precedent that will have repercussions decades from now. Currently, there are almost no laws protecting citizens from invasive corporations. Where does it stop?

The word “privacy” appears 65 times in U.S. v. Jones. U.S. v Jones is very much about privacy and its protections afforded under the 4th Amendment.

The question is whether the privacy protections afforded to us by law and the courts apply equally to corporations. Current law is on the side of corporations but it’s only within the last few years that corporations have had the practical means to track individuals. As suggested in his opinion, Justice Alito believes “the best solution to privacy concerns may be legislative.”

The challenge we face is with large corporations that have considerable funds to influence legislators. If we citizens do not do something to counteract their influence, we eventually will reach a point where our democracy will be controlled by “kings and princes, priestly castes, military juntas, party dictatorships, or modern corporations.”

If this allowed to stand, corporations will continue to push the limits until, one day, they cross your threshold. They've already crossed mine.

 

[Tigger Trainer]

In my humble opinion the congress man should perhaps be more focused on more important things like, oh I don't know maybe the national debt and budget. I suppose this is why little to nothing gets done on Capital Hill. Congress is too busy prying into small and already answered questions and not focused on the big mountain in front of them. I think MyMagic+ will turn out to be a great asset for the company as well as the guest.

 

[GrumpyFan]

You are too focused on today's technology and what you perceive to be Disney's intentions today. Do you really think technology won't advance in 20 years? Do you really think Disney and other corporations won't expand their intentions 20 years from now? All you have to do is read (or live) a little history to see the evolution and to project a path forward. What's happening today was predicted decades ago.

Well aware of how technology has and will likely advance. I've been in the IT industry for 20+ years. I've replaced more pieces of technology than I can count, so I get it. I know they will advance, but I can't speak for their intentions, any more than I can yours. Technology in itself is not evil, but how it is used can be sometimes, just like money, just like a rock.

Allowing private corporations to track individuals sets a precedent that will have repercussions decades from now. Currently, there are almost no laws protecting citizens from invasive corporations. Where does it stop?

Who is tracking individuals, and who is allowing it? The only individual tracking I know of at present, is by our prison system for certain criminals.

The word “privacy” appears 65 times in U.S. v. Jones. U.S. v Jones is very much about privacy and its protections afforded under the 4th Amendment.

The question is whether the privacy protections afforded to us by law and the courts apply equally to corporations. Current law is on the side of corporations but it’s only within the last few years that corporations have had the practical means to track individuals. As suggested in his opinion, Justice Alito believes “the best solution to privacy concerns may be legislative.”

You seem to want to cite this a lot, but it's mostly in reference to the government and how they treated or clearly abused an individual's privacy and violated the fourth amendment, nothing about corporations. I'm completely in agreement with the findings on this, but again, it had nothing to do with a corporation tracking someone, so I don't get it.

The challenge we face is with large corporations that have considerable funds to influence legislators. If we citizens do not do something to counteract their influence, we eventually will reach a point where our democracy will be controlled by “kings and princes, priestly castes, military juntas, party dictatorships, or modern corporations.”

If this allowed to stand, corporations will continue to push the limits until, one day, they cross your threshold. They've already crossed mine.

Sorry, I don't know you and I mean no disrespect, but It all sounds like a bunch of paranoia to me. I just don't see where Disney specifically is trying to track me, nor that they would care what I'm doing. Now, Google, Apple or the U.S. Government, that's a different story.

 

[ParentsOf4]

In my humble opinion the congress man should perhaps be more focused on more important things like, oh I don't know maybe the national debt and budget. I suppose this is why little to nothing gets done on Capital Hill. Congress is too busy prying into small and already answered questions and not focused on the big mountain in front of them. I think MyMagic+ will turn out to be a great asset for the company as well as the guest.

Perhaps Disney should be more focused on providing superior attractions and quality at a reasonable price? Perhaps Disney should focus more on its customers rather than its bottom line?

You know, like Disney used to.

 

[asianway]

In my humble opinion the congress man should perhaps be more focused on more important things like, oh I don't know maybe the national debt and budget. I suppose this is why little to nothing gets done on Capital Hill. Congress is too busy prying into small and already answered questions and not focused on the big mountain in front of them. I think MyMagic+ will turn out to be a great asset for the company as well as the guest.

Did you ever figure out your Deluxe vs Value dilemma?

 

[puntagordabob]

I'd like to see the official document that has Mr. Iger's response to these questions......

 

[Nmoody1]

Panic over people.... Disney have dropped RFID readers at all toilets across property! Now if you can just get a cloaking device so they can't pin point you walking around the park.

Would park guest 45673452 please pick up the coke cup they just dropped! Yes... You with the yellow wrist band standing outside of Splash Mountain!

Still think it really isn't something to worry about - you'll all be lining up when they introduce limited edition wrist bands!

 

[Tigger Trainer]

Did you ever figure out your Deluxe vs Value dilemma?

Yes we did get that figured out. My wife and I decided to hold off our tirp a bit longer in hopes of paying off student debt. It stinks to be responsable sometimes, but it will only make our trip better when we actually make it. Thanks again for your help.

Perhaps Disney should be more focused on providing superior attractions and quality at a reasonable price? Perhaps Disney should focus more on its customers rather than its bottom line?

You know, like Disney used to.

I have to agree that it would be great for the company to focus more on stong storied attractions, but I feel that this technology when fully implimented will allow the company to get the best of both worlds. From a business standpoint the more infomration Disney has the better it will be able to create new experiances. The company has been doing this seince Disneyland opened, but now it will be in a different scale.

 

[HM Spectre]

Perhaps Disney should be more focused on providing superior attractions and quality at a reasonable price? Perhaps Disney should focus more on its customers rather than its bottom line?

You know, like Disney used to.

^ This.

It's sad that it even has to be said this way. Focus on customers IS focusing on the bottom line. Take care of your customers and they'll take care of you... the bottom line will take care of itself. Focus on the bottom line at the expense of your customers and they'll repay the favor by taking their dollars elsewhere. At some point you'd think that Disney would remember that, especially given their rich history of providing a great experience realizing that money invested up front will come back in the end.

 

[Skippy's Pal]

This is a puffed up congressman ruffling his feathers for the hometown voters and bored CSPAN viewers. As most congressmen do.

That said, this is a PR nightmare for Disney. After being a Disney watcher for a few decades, they absolutely hate losing control of their message, and their MyMagic+ message is slipping away from them quickly. The prospect of a sitting Disney CEO being called before a congressional committee, even if only in written format, to answer questions about a new theme park initiative that cost the company 1+ Billion dollars is disastrous. The press will jump on this, condense it into an 8 second sound bite and 45 second vapid "story" for the brain-impaired viewers at home, and the whole MyMagic+ thing becomes tainted goods worse than DCA circa 2001.

Disney is losing control of their message on MyMagic+, and for Disney that means complete disaster. It's a grey and rainy day today in Burbank, and you can bet a cold wind has blown down the halls of the executive suites with this little congressional bombshell.

I share many concerns about NextGen, but the observation about Congressman Markey is correct. He is the favored Democrat in Massachusetts (where I live) to run for Sen Kerry's Senate seat when Kerry becomes Secretary of State. Markey is jumping on everything except the third rail to give him visibility and publicity, and what more appealing and headline-grabbing than protecting "the children?" Perhaps an all-expenses-paid "fact finding" trip to WDW for Rep. Markey and 20 of his closest relatives is in the offing so he can come to better understand this terrible concern. Wouldn't doubt it. Heard of "low information voters?" Markey is a "low information congressman." Would be fun to know who put him onto this story.

 

[njDizFan]

Plus.... A congressman is questioning this???? Surely there are more pressing things for congress to worry about???

Privacy issues are very important...and trying to downplay this is a sure fire way to let corporations run all over us with no oversight. What is a more pressing matter for a member of the subcomittee of telecommunications and the internet?

 

[lebeau]

Funny you mention checks and balances and the Fed, as they've been unable to balance their checkbook for a long time!

Yeah. Since the Clinton administration if I remember correctly.

 

[Buried20KLeague]

You are too focused on today's technology and what you perceive to be Disney's intentions today. Do you really think technology won't advance in 20 years? Do you really think Disney and other corporations won't expand their intentions 20 years from now? All you have to do is read (or live) a little history to see the evolution and to project a path forward. What's happening today was predicted decades ago.

Allowing private corporations to track individuals sets a precedent that will have repercussions decades from now. Currently, there are almost no laws protecting citizens from invasive corporations. Where does it stop?

The word “privacy” appears 65 times in U.S. v. Jones. U.S. v Jones is very much about privacy and its protections afforded under the 4th Amendment.

The question is whether the privacy protections afforded to us by law and the courts apply equally to corporations. Current law is on the side of corporations but it’s only within the last few years that corporations have had the practical means to track individuals. As suggested in his opinion, Justice Alito believes “the best solution to privacy concerns may be legislative.”

The challenge we face is with large corporations that have considerable funds to influence legislators. If we citizens do not do something to counteract their influence, we eventually will reach a point where our democracy will be controlled by “kings and princes, priestly castes, military juntas, party dictatorships, or modern corporations.”

If this allowed to stand, corporations will continue to push the limits until, one day, they cross your threshold. They've already crossed mine.

Every time I decide I feel the need to contribute to this topic, I come across your next post and your views and thoughts are virtually lock-step with mine... Thus eliminating my need to further avoid actual work in order to take the time to post. I appreciate that! I'm well aware it's costing you considerably more time than I... But hey. Them's the breaks.

I think it's GREAT that someone in congress locked on to this. It's hilarious. Regardless of the motive, it's at the very least a GIANT speedbump in Iger's road, and at most a program and policy changer. Just knowing that meeting upon meeting on this topic is probably going on as we speak in the halls of Glendale brings a chuckle.

And to all you who think this program is going to be all positive for you... Remember that when you're ticked that you have to spend a considerable percentage more on your trip in order to gain full benefit of the system, or when you're spending 3X as long standing in a standby line for Nemo at Epcot than you currently do because you already chose your 3 FP's for the day and had to use them on fireworks viewing, a table at Garden Grill, and UoE because that's all that was available to you when you decided to visit the park that morning and didn't book your FP's two months back.

"Where Dreams Come True" my ... Unless your dream is to be direct marketed through a beeping and buzzing cell phone in your back pocket to tell you you can save two dollars if you stop at the popcorn ODV cart in the hub on your way to Small World to use your FP because yesterday the standby line didn't drop under 40 minutes... And if so... Good for you, I suppose.

 

[Buried20KLeague]

Perhaps Disney should be more focused on providing superior attractions and quality at a reasonable price? Perhaps Disney should focus more on its customers rather than its bottom line?

You know, like Disney used to.

Nope. The future is INSANE amounts of corporate bloat and pricing increases that outpace the economy by literally hundreds of times while introducing with massive fanfare new benches, meet and greets, projects that get canceled before they're off the drawing board, and super-fun "interactive games" that can be slapped in for a fraction of the cost of actually building an e-ticket attraction.

Get on board, or get the hell out of the way. There are lemmings in line behind you that want your place in line.

IT'S BEEN OVER 20 YEARS AND COUNTING SINCE THE ADDITION OF AN E-TICKET ATTRACTION AT THE MAGIC KINGDOM.

 

[docdebbi]

The government should not be involved in what Disney does or doesn't know about my behavior. If I choose to go to WDW and wear an RFID band and give Disney that info and they send me an advertizement in response..........that is between me and Disney. If they send my kid an advertizement, that is between me and Disney.
If I am unhappy, I will let Disney know, and maybe stop going. The point is.........that is between me and Disney.
I am so blooming tired of the government getting it's nose in our business, I am ready to spit. Go away and leave me alone.