Cuts coming to every area of parks and resorts - thanks to Shanghai and Paris

RonnieHare

Member
: http://micechat.com/24073-disney-fastpass-plus/
http://micechat.com/62433-disneys-mymagic-failure/

Edit, a line from the second article:
"To recap, in order to avoid a “costly” attraction driven theme park war with Universal, Disney has opted to go with the “less costly” alternative: a bottomless pit of an infrastructure project that to date has cost more money than the initial build of any stateside theme park after inflation."
"

Shocking beyond belief. Just shocking.

Essentially what we are saying is this current Disney regime - Bob Iger - deemed it better value to invest in a new fast pass system (when there was nothing wrong with the old one) for the same price as building countless new attractions (and if you include inflation a brand new park). And this is Bob Iger who has built NO E-ticket attractions in Orlando under his tenure! Just wow.

That just makes me really sad. :cyclops:
 
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Disone

Well-Known Member
Shocking beyond belief. Just shocking.

Essentially what we are saying is this current Disney regime - Bob Iger - deemed it better value to invest in a new fast pass system (when there was nothing wrong with the old one) for the same price as building countless new attractions (and if you include inflation a brand new park). And this is Bob Iger who has built NO E-ticket attractions in Orlando under his tenure! Just wow.

That just makes me really sad. :cyclops:
Well lets be fair, under his tenure, WDW is currently building several e-tickets. His first 10 years has certainly been a god send to US parks and resorts compared to Eisners last 10 years.

The rumor mill is a bit out of control here. MDX is not an unmitigated failure. In fact, it has been successful enough that Universal is looking to create their own. Here is the article on that.....

http://www.fool.com/investing/gener...-disney-worlds-rival-may-be-ready-to-pla.aspx

Look, I am going to come out of the Disney Closet here, I am a cast member, long term (over 20 years), and salaried. I do have inside information, there are cuts being made, but no, I am not going to share specifics. That said I feel this thread is just out of control negative and WAY exaggerated. Personal observation....Some one mentioned "only one fantasmic and one ELP until April", but that has NOT happened and if its going to happen it certainly is taking its time. Almost every day this week... TWO ELPS and three days this week, TWO
Fant! But....

Looks like they will starting next week they will finally go to one a days, and you know what, I do play in the parks ALOT I was there this past Sunday, and I can tell you based on the crowds, the 2nd ELP that rolled out just as the park closed at 10pm was completely unnecessary. Cutting that is not going to harm the park experience.

They are having stellar profits and financial results, but those facts have been ignored and the stock has had significant stumbles. Cuts are never fun, but so far these cuts seem with in reason.
 
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RonnieHare

Member
I think if you would ask any guest if they would prefer the new fast pass system or 5 new e-ticket attractions which would they go for ?

If even one would have said a new fast pass system was the way to go i'd eat my shoe. Just shocking, horrific business decisions.
 

xdan0920

Think for yourselfer
Yes they did for your information because we asked. My family goes to the parks several times a month and we have friends who work there. But whatever, don't take my word for it just because you don't like me.

EVIDENCE:
columbia-harbour-house-dinner-menu.jpg

o.jpg

Photos of food pulled from the DFB is hardly proof of what a front line CM said to you. You are a strange bird for sure.
 

peter11435

Well-Known Member
I think if you would ask any guest if they would prefer the new fast pass system or 5 new e-ticket attractions which would they go for ?

If even one would have said a new fast pass system was the way to go i'd eat my shoe. Just shocking, horrific business decisions.
The majority of the cost of mymagic+ plus was not for fastpass. Most of the money went to much needed infrastructure updates the resort had needed for over a decade.
 

RonnieHare

Member
The majority of the cost of mymagic+ plus was not for fastpass. Most of the money went to much needed infrastructure updates the resort had needed for over a decade.

Cite me two infrastucture updates this mymagic+ achieved that the old system didn't.

I do hope you aren't defending the incredible waste of money, because even Disney themselves are citing it as a collosus over expenditure, and won't be repeated at any other Disney resort.
 

peter11435

Well-Known Member
Cite me two infrastucture updates this mymagic+ achieved that the old system didn't.

I do hope you aren't defending the incredible waste of money, because even Disney themselves are citing it as a collosus over expenditure, and won't be repeated at any other Disney resort.
Mymagic+ was a necessary replacement of Disney's internal systems. Previously everything from resort and dining reservations to ticketing systems were running off software from the 80's. Mymagic+ brought about the complete replacement of those systems as well as the replacement of the woefully outdated (and not secure) ving system of resort door locks.

I'm not defending the expenditures. I'm saying that fastpass+ is a very small part of the cost of mymagic+. Much of which needed to happen sooner or later. Fastpass+ is simply the largest guest facing aspect of mymagic+. I don't believe Disney themselves has ever citied it as a failure. Aspects of it have and and will continue to pop up at other resorts.
 

Jon81uk

Well-Known Member
Cite me two infrastucture updates this mymagic+ achieved that the old system didn't.

I do hope you aren't defending the incredible waste of money, because even Disney themselves are citing it as a collosus over expenditure, and won't be repeated at any other Disney resort.

Here's one
Disney World’s physical infrastructure, which was first built in the late 1960s, needed major capital improvements. Two hundred eighty-three park-entry touch points needed to be upgraded. Much of Disney World lacked a Wi-Fi connection, so in order for guests and cast members to take advantage of MyMagic+ and its mobile apps (which would offer a map service and real-time wait times for attractions), the company had to install more than 30 million square feet of Wi-Fi coverage. "They sure as hell had no ethernet networking, and didn’t even have a lot of power lines," says one source involved with the construction. "It was a huge effort to wire a communications infrastructure that was basically the same size as San Francisco."

Taken from http://www.fastcompany.com/3044283/the-messy-business-of-reinventing-happiness


I'm still waiting for the animatronic seagull who could interact with guests wearing the MagicBand on the Little Mermaid–themed ride.
 

RonnieHare

Member
Here's one
Disney World’s physical infrastructure, which was first built in the late 1960s, needed major capital improvements. Two hundred eighty-three park-entry touch points needed to be upgraded. Much of Disney World lacked a Wi-Fi connection, so in order for guests and cast members to take advantage of MyMagic+ and its mobile apps (which would offer a map service and real-time wait times for attractions), the company had to install more than 30 million square feet of Wi-Fi coverage. "They sure as hell had no ethernet networking, and didn’t even have a lot of power lines," says one source involved with the construction. "It was a huge effort to wire a communications infrastructure that was basically the same size as San Francisco."

Taken from http://www.fastcompany.com/3044283/the-messy-business-of-reinventing-happiness


I'm still waiting for the animatronic seagull who could interact with guests wearing the MagicBand on the Little Mermaid–themed ride.

WIFI CONNECTION ?! You're seriously citing wifi connection as something to justify an expense that could have built a brand new park ?

Nothing can justify the cost. It's such a monstrous waste of money, that it's incomprehensible.
 

peter11435

Well-Known Member
WIFI CONNECTION ?! You're seriously citing wifi connection as something to justify an expense that could have built a brand new park ?

Nothing can justify the cost. It's such a monstrous waste of money, that it's incomprehensible.

Wow.. He cited wifi connection as another part of the project. Just like fastpass+ it was another small part of a very large project. Neither wifi nor fastpass+ cost anywhere near the cost of a new park.
 

Goofyernmost

Well-Known Member
You cant do that much nowadays.. I mean yes, but that means losing a lot of attraction time.
Well, that is where I'm probably different then the average guest. I don't want to be doing attractions every minute of the day. I can afford that because I have been so many times, I suppose. I always need a break at some point in the day. I usually have breakfast offsite, usually have counter service at sometime around lunch, but always leave during the hottest part of the day (late afternoon) go offsite stop in my hotel room and refresh for a little while, go out for dinner and head back to the parks in the evenings without feeling like I was drawn through a knot hole. That is how I enjoy the parks and why I continue to go year after year. I try not to overdose on mouse.

Also the reason why park hoppers are a must for me. I might decide to go to a different park while having dinner. To me it's just easier and way, way less restrictive. What I don't see this time, I'll go to next time. If I decide to keel over dead before the next time gets here I doubt that will be my last thought. When I schedule FP's I always try and set them up for no earlier then 10am and no later then 2pm for the same reason, flexibility. I have this weird mental blockage that won't allow me to think of the place as anything more then a fun Theme Park that I really enjoy. Perhaps that is the blessing of being dead on the inside.. no excitement or emotion other then quietly internal. :happy:
 

Jon81uk

Well-Known Member
WIFI CONNECTION ?! You're seriously citing wifi connection as something to justify an expense that could have built a brand new park ?

Nothing can justify the cost. It's such a monstrous waste of money, that it's incomprehensible.

You were asking for infrastructure improvements that were brought in as part of the overall My Magic+ project that weren't there before. A complete network installation, not just wifi but all the ethernet needed to run it and all the touchpoints and kiosks is a pretty big infrastructure investment.
Also more than 28,000 hotel doors needed their locks replaced in order to connect wirelessly with the MagicBand. Two dozen workers spent eight months upgrading 120 doors per day.
Now you could argue that the magnetic stripe tech was OK, but many hotels are upgrading to RFID locks, so this is a good long-term investment as well.

If a new park was built now they would have a decent network cabling system in place from day one and new hotels would have RFID locks, not keys or mag stripe. Much of the cost was upgrading exisiting stuff.

Also think about the ride hardware that was installed, such as the screens at the end of Small World that were designed to say goodbye to your name or in your language but have never been used.

I'm not saying the project hasn't gone over budget, just that there is more to it than FPs and MagicBands
 
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RSoxNo1

Well-Known Member
Well lets be fair, under his tenure, WDW is currently building several e-tickets. His first 10 years has certainly been a god send to US parks and resorts compared to Eisners last 10 years.

The rumor mill is a bit out of control here. MDX is not an unmitigated failure. In fact, it has been successful enough that Universal is looking to create their own. Here is the article on that.....

http://www.fool.com/investing/gener...-disney-worlds-rival-may-be-ready-to-pla.aspx

Look, I am going to come out of the Disney Closet here, I am a cast member, long term (over 20 years), and salaried. I do have inside information, there are cuts being made, but no, I am not going to share specifics. That said I feel this thread is just out of control negative and WAY exaggerated. Personal observation....Some one mentioned "only one fantasmic and one ELP until April", but that has NOT happened and if its going to happen it certainly is taking its time. Almost every day this week... TWO ELPS and three days this week, TWO
Fant! But....

Looks like they will starting next week they will finally go to one a days, and you know what, I do play in the parks ALOT I was there this past Sunday, and I can tell you based on the crowds, the 2nd ELP that rolled out just as the park closed at 10pm was completely unnecessary. Cutting that is not going to harm the park experience.

They are having stellar profits and financial results, but those facts have been ignored and the stock has had significant stumbles. Cuts are never fun, but so far these cuts seem with in reason.
In Eisner's last ten years (95-05) he built Indiana Jones Adventure (that's a bit of a stretch), Animal Kingdom, DCA, Rock 'n' roller Coaster and approved Expedition Everest and Soarin' in WDW. In Iger's first ten years he fixed DCA, and built Toy Story and New Fantasyland. I'm giving the nod to Eisner's worst 10 years.

Universal is copying it without doing any of the R&D. I'd be surprised if Universal's system costs 5% of what Disney paid.
 

The90skid

Well-Known Member
Time for my two cents:
  1. "Buh, buh, Disney is shortchanging the US parks! It's not fair!" - Yes, but remember, attendance in US parks is at record highs. Unless people ACTUALLY stop going to the parks, Disney can do whatever they want; it's a morbidly obese Cash Cow for them.
  2. Disney may need to make a decision in the future about divesting some of its international parks, but that remains to be seen.
  3. Most of the time, we only know what the Disney company intends to reveal to the public. There is always more to these stories than meets the eye, and while speculation is enjoyable, I like my information to be solid before I jump on a bandwagon.
 

RSoxNo1

Well-Known Member
Cite me two infrastucture updates this mymagic+ achieved that the old system didn't.

I do hope you aren't defending the incredible waste of money, because even Disney themselves are citing it as a collosus over expenditure, and won't be repeated at any other Disney resort.
The ability to book a Fastpass for anywhere else in the park is a great feature. There are components of Fastpass+ that really are an improvement to guests quality, but they're not using them as they should.

Eliminate advanced bookings and once you check into a park you can use kiosks or your smart phone to get Fastpasses for any available attraction and the system is upgraded. Unfortunately they have the infrastructure setup to do that but they're not allowing guests to do it.
 

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