Environmentally Irresponsible

[Club Cooloholic]

Would you print anything at home if an email was sent?

The stuff being sent is not even to help with check in. And printing something at home is a far smaller carbon footprint than having it boxed, mailed and delivered. Sgain though I just want to be able to decline it, especially if I have a split stay.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Really so mailings that some people would rather not get do not waste paper...same thing with multiple magicbands...again no way to decline one? Using simple addition, if you never produce and mail the paper, its less paper being used, less ending up taking space in my trash, thats not a concept that is actual physical proof.

But please explain where we are misinformed.

I believe you're misinformed about how easy a switch this whole thing would be. There are several variables that will cause problems.

First, guests are unreliable when you put decision-making in their hands. Allow them to "opt out" of receiving a MB and you're going to be flooded with guests complaining that they never received their MB. Yes, the guest would be wrong, but they'd still be unhappy and that's a problem.

Second, this is all managed outside of Disney's shop. The logistical mess of creating exceptions for eight different classes of guest is a nightmare.

• MagicBand, booklet, DME tags
• MagicBand, booklet, no DME tags
• MagicBand, no booklet, DME tags
• MagicBand, no booklet, no DME tags
• No MagicBand, booklet, DME tags
• No MagicBand, booklet, no DME tags
• No MagicBand, no booklet, DME tags
• No MagicBand, no booklet, no DME tags

And what if Dad has a MagicBand but junior and mom don't? But junior ripped his sizer off so he needs an new one anyways. Today's process is simple. DME, yes or no? That's it. Again, the number of guests who say on property every single year (the window when you can reliably count on the MB's battery) is extremely small.

Finally, the dollars and cents. I bought MemoryMaker based on the promotional material I received prior to my trip. I absolutely loved the product and will buy it in the future. That's a win-win for Disney, who gets my $170, and me, the satisfied guest with a pile of wonderful pictures.

 

[Gomer]

I believe you're misinformed about how easy a switch this whole thing would be. There are several variables that will cause problems.

First, guests are unreliable when you put decision-making in their hands. Allow them to "opt out" of receiving a MB and you're going to be flooded with guests complaining that they never received their MB. Yes, the guest would be wrong, but they'd still be unhappy and that's a problem.

Second, this is all managed outside of Disney's shop. The logistical mess of creating exceptions for eight different classes of guest is a nightmare.

• MagicBand, booklet, DME tags
• MagicBand, booklet, no DME tags
• MagicBand, no booklet, DME tags
• MagicBand, no booklet, no DME tags
• No MagicBand, booklet, DME tags
• No MagicBand, booklet, no DME tags
• No MagicBand, no booklet, DME tags
• No MagicBand, no booklet, no DME tags

And what if Dad has a MagicBand but junior and mom don't? But junior ripped his sizer off so he needs an new one anyways. Today's process is simple. DME, yes or no? That's it. Again, the number of guests who say on property every single year (the window when you can reliably count on the MB's battery) is extremely small.

Finally, the dollars and cents. I bought MemoryMaker based on the promotional material I received prior to my trip. I absolutely loved the product and will buy it in the future. That's a win-win for Disney, who gets my $170, and me, the satisfied guest with a pile of wonderful pictures.

I don't think anyone is arguing that it would be cheap or financially beneficial for Disney to do so at the current time. I'm just saying I value environmental friendliness enough that the process bothers me. And I'm sure others do too. If enough people feel that way and let it be known, then it will be beneficial from a public perception standpoint to change the process.

And I don't think its quite as complicated as you are making it out to be. Its a pretty simple branching logic addition that can be disguised as dumbed down questions within the standard MDE reservation process when you have to fill out your MB request. They can handle multiple DME reservations, different hotels, different ticket types. I think they could add logic for different MB requests without breaking the system.

 

[willtravel]

I believe you're misinformed about how easy a switch this whole thing would be. There are several variables that will cause problems.

First, guests are unreliable when you put decision-making in their hands. Allow them to "opt out" of receiving a MB and you're going to be flooded with guests complaining that they never received their MB. Yes, the guest would be wrong, but they'd still be unhappy and that's a problem.

Second, this is all managed outside of Disney's shop. The logistical mess of creating exceptions for eight different classes of guest is a nightmare.

• MagicBand, booklet, DME tags
• MagicBand, booklet, no DME tags
• MagicBand, no booklet, DME tags
• MagicBand, no booklet, no DME tags
• No MagicBand, booklet, DME tags
• No MagicBand, booklet, no DME tags
• No MagicBand, no booklet, DME tags
• No MagicBand, no booklet, no DME tags

And what if Dad has a MagicBand but junior and mom don't? But junior ripped his sizer off so he needs an new one anyways. Today's process is simple. DME, yes or no? That's it. Again, the number of guests who say on property every single year (the window when you can reliably count on the MB's battery) is extremely small.

Finally, the dollars and cents. I bought MemoryMaker based on the promotional material I received prior to my trip. I absolutely loved the product and will buy it in the future. That's a win-win for Disney, who gets my $170, and me, the satisfied guest with a pile of wonderful pictures.

Agree 100%. With Disney, it would be damned if we do and damned if we don't.

 

[Master Yoda]

I was gullible enough to fall for the uber priced LED bulbs that were supposed to last 7 years... at 7 years it was economical... of course after I had replaced about 20 bulbs in my house I found that some started dying in less than a years time... Then of course you find the fine print on the warranty, they might claim they last 7 years but they only warranty them for 3 and if you want to replace them you have to send them in at your expense and then pay for the S&H of the replacement that will be sent back to you.... I learned the hard way, use the cheap bulbs - they actually work.

The brand of LED bulb has a good deal to do with the quality. The LED bulbs do last pretty much forever. What goes out is the electronics.

All of our regular lights have been converted to CFL which have been around long enough to where even the cheap ones are fairly good quality. Right now the difference between CFL and LED is not at a point to cover the difference in cost between the two so we stick with CFL.

Where we do use LED bulbs is in our track lighting that uses a multiple 50w halogen GU 16 bulbs. The ones you find in Hope Depot and Lowe's are drastically overpriced for what they are. After much searching I found a place online (Focalprice) where I can get GU 16 bulbs for about 70%-80% less than you will find them in the stores.

The only bad thing about the site is you really need to know what you are looking at as you will rarely see any kind of "this replaces a 50W bulb" kind of comparison.

I pay roughly $6 per GU 16 bulb, they last around 3-4 years, use 1/10 the electricity of their halogen equivalents and generate nearly no heat.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

And I don't think its quite as complicated as you are making it out to be. Its a pretty simple branching logic addition that can be disguised as dumbed down questions within the standard MDE reservation process when you have to fill out your MB request. They can handle multiple DME reservations, different hotels, different ticket types. I think they could add logic for different MB requests without breaking the system.

The difficulty isn't in the logic. You and I could probably take an afternoon in a conference room and map out the logic on a whiteboard no problem. The problem is the technology. "The system" is a misnomer, as it's actually several interconnected systems, many of which are not Disney's in the first place. The complexities that you described (hotels, tickets, ADRs) are all within Disney's reservation and ticketing systems. WDW is a reservation and ticketing business so they can handle those complexities no problem. But third parties need to be brought in because Disney is neither a printer, nor a manufacturer, nor a shipping/logistics company.

 

[Gomer]

The difficulty isn't in the logic. You and I could probably take an afternoon in a conference room and map out the logic on a whiteboard no problem. The problem is the technology. "The system" is a misnomer, as it's actually several interconnected systems, many of which are not Disney's in the first place. The complexities that you described (hotels, tickets, ADRs) are all within Disney's reservation and ticketing systems. WDW is a reservation and ticketing business so they can handle those complexities no problem. But third parties need to be brought in because Disney is neither a printer, nor a manufacturer, nor a shipping/logistics company.

No, but I would imagine their requisition sent to the third party is just a report of what is shipping (how many bands, what color, and what account they are tied to) and where it is shipping to. Maybe I'm wrong and the third party is doing that work. But it would seem more likely that MDE is collecting that data and translating into a requisition order for whoever creates and ships the magic band. SO, its likely all that would need to be done to stop that is to have the logic in MDE change the requisition that is created.

As for mailers, those would likely be all or nothing I'd assume. Most companies have a way to opt out of receiving physical mail. I don't' think it would be that difficult to put a stop to any marketing shipments to a specific address associated with the MDE account.

 

[BJones82]

I learned the hard way, use the cheap bulbs - they actually work.

GE now makes a $3 LED bulb that works great and for $3 each they aren't much worse than regular bulbs. You can find them at Lowe's and Home Depot !!

 

[jakeman]

So this is the wrong thread to pitch my idea for ocelot hide MagicBand covers?

 

[thomas998]

Where am I misinformed? Does Disney not send more magic bands than needed? Do they not have the information available to stop that process? They do it because its cheaper and because it benefits them to do so. But you can't make any argument that it wouldn't be less wasteful to send less mailers and fewer magic bands.

How do they send more magic bands that is needed? Last trip we booked we got the same number of bands as we had in our party. Next trip we book I expect to get bands for everyone in our group then too... not more not less. I don't keep my magic bands when I finish a trip, my kids might or they might not... either way I'm not going to be a pack rat trying to keep old magic bands when it makes more sense to get new ones with fresh batteries in them.

 

[aw14]

I love it. How many threads do we have complaining about how Disney has made cuts to "little touches" that make the experience feel special in the name of saving a few dollars. Yet here we are complaining that one of those "little touches" is unnecessary.

I have 200-and-something days until my next Disney trip. Every piece of mail I receive from them builds excitement and anticipation. I can only imagine the effect is magnified when you have kids old enough to understand (my daughter is not yet 1).

Very well said.

My DD is 12, and everything that comes in the mail, builds the excitement even more

 

[thomas998]

I don't think anyone is arguing that it would be cheap or financially beneficial for Disney to do so at the current time. I'm just saying I value environmental friendliness enough that the process bothers me. And I'm sure others do too. If enough people feel that way and let it be known, then it will be beneficial from a public perception standpoint to change the process.

And I don't think its quite as complicated as you are making it out to be. Its a pretty simple branching logic addition that can be disguised as dumbed down questions within the standard MDE reservation process when you have to fill out your MB request. They can handle multiple DME reservations, different hotels, different ticket types. I think they could add logic for different MB requests without breaking the system.

When you start saying things like "I value environmental friendliness enough that the process bothers me." You pretty much lose all credibility because now we see that it just comes down to what you think is environmentally friendly... I believe in job creation and that means cut down lots of trees, print lots of stuff and mail it out all over the place. No doubt everyone could get by with less stuff, but that hurts the economy... and right now the economy needs all the help it can get even if it is just a few lumberjacks chopping trees or graphic designers creating junk mail.

 

[Gomer]

How do they send more magic bands that is needed? Last trip we booked we got the same number of bands as we had in our party. Next trip we book I expect to get bands for everyone in our group then too... not more not less. I don't keep my magic bands when I finish a trip, my kids might or they might not... either way I'm not going to be a pack rat trying to keep old magic bands when it makes more sense to get new ones with fresh batteries in them.

I have 8 sets for 3 trips. AP magic Bands, split stay magic bands, I think there was a DVC one in there as well? I can live with one set per trip. But 8 for 3 is excessive.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

I have 8 sets for 3 trips. AP magic Bands, split stay magic bands, I think there was a DVC one in there as well? I can live with one set per trip. But 8 for 3 is excessive.

I think because this is the way you travel, you're drastically overestimating how common it is. Most people are DVC OR Contemporary OR Port Orleans OR offsite, not all four on a single trip. There's no easy way to distinguish between your disjointed "single" trip and four separate trips.

 

[BJones82]

So Idk if I am wrong but we are doing a split stay where we are in separate rooms before our wedding then we have a split honeymoon after our wedding so we have 4 different rooms over 18 days... That being said when we activated our annual passes when in WDW in April we bought two magic bands while we were there because we didn't want the normal solid colors. After making our reservations we just aren't setting up our magic bands for any of our hotels and the two we just got will work... Now this might be because we have annual passes so IDK if setting up your magic band is normally necessary to make FP+ reservations and if this is the case then ignore my whole statement as it is pointless lol... Also with the paper mailings for our 4 reservations we only got 2 mailings so maybe they have started watching this? We made our reservations about a week and a half ago so idk if this means anything...

All of this being said, I think Magic Bands are complicated in that having guests pick them up would defeat the point of the easy system they are trying to make and also as others have stated putting too many decisions in guests hands will lead to the majority of them getting upset because they just want it to work and don't want to decide when to pick them up or have them shipped though this would be possible.

It all comes down to Disney's perception of the issue and if the negatives of giving the options out way the benefits of giving options, currently it appears they believe the negatives out way the benefits...

 

[Gomer]

When you start saying things like "I value environmental friendliness enough that the process bothers me." You pretty much lose all credibility because now we see that it just comes down to what you think is environmentally friendly... I believe in job creation and that means cut down lots of trees, print lots of stuff and mail it out all over the place. No doubt everyone could get by with less stuff, but that hurts the economy... and right now the economy needs all the help it can get even if it is just a few lumberjacks chopping trees or graphic designers creating junk mail.

Yeah, that was perfectly clear from your previous posts.

You are trying to expand this into a crusade against environmentalists. That is your right. I whole heartedly disagree, but it is your right. But it also has nothing to do with the topic at hand. Shipping too many magic bands has nothing to do with your comments about recycling or about cutting down trees to create jobs. You are lumping all environmental concerns together because its a topic you don't agree with and you want to attack the arguer instead of the argument. I'll argue all day about why I think environment and economy don't have to be mutually exclusive. But not here. It will likely just get the thread locked.

 

[Gomer]

I think because this is the way you travel, you're drastically overestimating how common it is. Most people are DVC OR Contemporary OR Port Orleans OR offsite, not all four on a single trip. There's no easy way to distinguish between your disjointed "single" trip and four separate trips.

Yes, I get my travel method is not shared by all and is the cause of the bulk. But its not uncommon either. DVC members frequently have split stays. AP holders frequently book hotel stays. My example may be extreme, but its not rare.

 

[BJones82]

It will likely just get the thread locked.

I think we are on the way to that lol...

 

[Gomer]

I think we are on the way to that lol...

Touche. I'm passionate about the environment and about Disney. And I've 4 cups of coffee. Maybe I should back off.

 

[BJones82]

Touche. I'm passionate about the environment and about Disney. And I've 4 cups of coffee. Maybe I should back off.

I am equally passionate about the environment lol just know they frown on these discussions on the forums lol... And I have had just as much coffee... This friday is hard lol