Fast pass plus

flynnibus

Premium Member
For instance, if during a given week Tuesday has the least FP+ reservations at EPCOT then make that the day you take Test Track down for a few hours for maintenance. If that same day has a larger than normal number of reservations at MK they can add CMs and potentially open additional food carts. These decisions could be made a month or more in advance if people actually use FP+ and make reservations.

While in theory such modeling would help - the example is a poor one I think. Something like an attraction like that serves too central a purpose. But the theory does apply for things like.. park attendance.. and possibly things like resturant staffing, etc. It basically boils down to.. having a better model for upcoming demand. That's never a bad thing for a company.
 

flynnibus

Premium Member
The focus on the negative aspects of FP+ is largely the result of TDO's recent track record, along with some business sense:

Sorry, I think that is a bit of a tact of muddying the water to make it so nothing is clear. You can't throw everything and the kitchen sink in the pile and say 'see.. told ya'. You mix in everything from attendance trends.. to HP's popularity. How do those things impact TDO's ability to execute on something COMPLETELY different?

NextGen is part of Disney's strategy to reverse those trends - it's purpose is to redefine the theme park experience.. and in doing so separate themselves from the crowd. Stop playing tit for tat.. and change the very nature of the game itself.

The risk is.. when you aim in front.. your audience may not necessarily agree and follow. That's part of the risk of innovation.
 

flynnibus

Premium Member
before you could if available.... go back later and get another FP for a later time. Even maybe for different attraction all together....now that is not the case. Once you blow a FP its lost forever....atleast that is how I read it. You have a certian amount of FPs a day....period!

Certain amount.. yes
Locked to the original picks.. no

If you miss a FP+, the terms of service say you will be able to reallocate that 'credit' to another attraction on the same day. What you won't be able to do is take part of your quota from one day and apply it to another day.
 

GoofGoof

Premium Member
While in theory such modeling would help - the example is a poor one I think. Something like an attraction like that serves too central a purpose. But the theory does apply for things like.. park attendance.. and possibly things like resturant staffing, etc. It basically boils down to.. having a better model for upcoming demand. That's never a bad thing for a company.

Again, just a theory. Maybe not for taking down a headliner for a day, that may have been an extreme example, but they certainly could use the data for managing staffing. They already do this with EMHs and in less busy times having shows like Fantasmic or even Wishes only certain nights. If you know when and how many people are coming to the parks 60 days in advance you can in theory maximize your work staff whether it's food services, entertainment or maintenance.
 

flynnibus

Premium Member
If Burbank was pleased with WDW attendance trends, I frankly doubt Next Gen would be happening. Next Gen is a response to what's happening, not an attempt by TDO to operate without regard to larger business considerations.

Why do you think it was coined as 'NextGen'? From the start.. it was a R&D initiative to innovate and figure out how to better integrate the emerging technologies into the guest and theme park experience. This effort is YEARS old now. This is not a recent reaction to flat trends.

Exactly what are you using as a basis for this statement?

How Phil and others have described the project from when news of it first broke over 3.5 years ago. People quickly forget.. the first tidbits leaked about NextGen were not operational changes - but show concepts like personalization in the rides (rumored Small World changes to have personalized dolls) and the changes in queues. This has always been about pushing technology into the parks to redefine the experience. Not 'how do we stop this short term slide'.
 

WDW1974

Well-Known Member
Sorry, I think that is a bit of a tact of muddying the water to make it so nothing is clear. You can't throw everything and the kitchen sink in the pile and say 'see.. told ya'. You mix in everything from attendance trends.. to HP's popularity. How do those things impact TDO's ability to execute on something COMPLETELY different?

NextGen is part of Disney's strategy to reverse those trends - it's purpose is to redefine the theme park experience.. and in doing so separate themselves from the crowd. Stop playing tit for tat.. and change the very nature of the game itself.

The risk is.. when you aim in front.. your audience may not necessarily agree and follow. That's part of the risk of innovation.

I don't have the energy to go back to where I left this thread. Only so many trainwrecks at once. So I figured this was a good quote to rest my hat on.

Reading through what Disney put out on FP+, I just am flabbergasted. How confusing. How time consuming. How wasteful (yeah, that comes to mind with a $1.5 billion, and growing tag). It doesn't sound like anything I'd want to be part of. It seems as if WDW is trying to micromanage guests' time and money down to the second and last penny.

They are trying to reinvent the WDW visiting experience. No doubt. And they talk of it spreading to Anaheim and Paris (nope and you gotta be kidding me).

Worse, they truly do NOT have everything planned out. FP is going away. And Disney is looking at this as a new revenue stream, so to those who think this will be a free service down the road I think are kidding themselves. The problem isn't even so much that we, the fan community, don't get what FP+ will fully entail. It's that Disney folks you (or I) talk to don't seem to know either. You can't reinvent the WDW experience and not have detailed plans, yet it seems like they're sorta making it up as they go.

None of this sounds like fun. It sounds tiresome and tedious. No, I don't make plans when heading to WDW beyond a meal here or there (something you once didn't have to do). I just drive (or fly) up and do what I wish. I don't wait in lines more than 20-30 minutes as a rule. I just relax and enjoy, which I might be off on but sorta think that's the point of theme parks. I don't get the point of this from the guest perspective beyond the OCD crowd. I do know that I am tired of paying more and getting less from Disney. I don't see this helping me as an APer who often stays off-site and often makes last minute visits at all. Actually, I don't see it helping the majority of visitors period. People still don't understand FP. They're going to understand this bizarrre planning 'tool'?

I don't think so.
 

ParentsOf4

Well-Known Member
Why do you think it was coined as 'NextGen'? From the start.. it was a R&D initiative to innovate and figure out how to better integrate the emerging technologies into the guest and theme park experience. This effort is YEARS old now. This is not a recent reaction to flat trends.

How Phil and others have described the project from when news of it first broke over 3.5 years ago. People quickly forget.. the first tidbits leaked about NextGen were not operational changes - but show concepts like personalization in the rides (rumored Small World changes to have personalized dolls) and the changes in queues. This has always been about pushing technology into the parks to redefine the experience. Not 'how do we stop this short term slide'.
Hopefully you acknowledge WDW's attendance trend has been nearly flat since the opening of DAK. Next Gen is being created in response to this historical data. This poor performance has been highlighted in recent years by the wildly successful WWOHP and Carsland. The executives at TDO are under extreme pressure to come out with a "winner".

Hopefully you understand that 'NextGen' is a tagline, a way of "branding" the product in order to "sell" it to those involved in the decision-making process. Someone needed to convince Burbank to foot the $1.5B price. It needed a cool sounding name and someone came up with 'NextGen'. In high tech, 'NextGen' has become a tired, overused buzzword. I was using the phrase "Next Gen" decades ago and it had nothing to do with WDW. The fact that TDO couldn't come up with an original name is an indication of their lack of imagination. From what I've seen so far from Next Gen, there is nothing in it representing "emerging technologies". Most, if not all, has been used in other industries for some time. WDW's biggest technical challenge is integrating together the pieces. Given the many components of Next Gen, this is an extremely large effort but it's hardly innovative.

Hopefully you recognize Phil is going to present 'NextGen' one way publicly. What goes on behind closed doors is very different. My cynicism of Next Gen is based on one business "fact"; private sector companies do not invest large amounts of capital on "new" products unless they plan to make even more money later. Somebody must have put together a strong business case for Next Gen. Considering Next Gen's price tag (reportedly $1.5B), it would be interesting to learn how TDO intends to recover their capital investment.

I don't think you and I are far apart. I think we are both grappling with this thing called "Next Gen", trying to understand what it means to WDW fans like us. However, it appears I am more cynical than you because TDO hasn't given me a reason not to be.
 

John

Well-Known Member
I don't have the energy to go back to where I left this thread. Only so many trainwrecks at once. So I figured this was a good quote to rest my hat on.

Reading through what Disney put out on FP+, I just am flabbergasted. How confusing. How time consuming. How wasteful (yeah, that comes to mind with a $1.5 billion, and growing tag). It doesn't sound like anything I'd want to be part of. It seems as if WDW is trying to micromanage guests' time and money down to the second and last penny.

They are trying to reinvent the WDW visiting experience. No doubt. And they talk of it spreading to Anaheim and Paris (nope and you gotta be kidding me).

Worse, they truly do NOT have everything planned out. FP is going away. And Disney is looking at this as a new revenue stream, so to those who think this will be a free service down the road I think are kidding themselves. The problem isn't even so much that we, the fan community, don't get what FP+ will fully entail. It's that Disney folks you (or I) talk to don't seem to know either. You can't reinvent the WDW experience and not have detailed plans, yet it seems like they're sorta making it up as they go.

None of this sounds like fun. It sounds tiresome and tedious. No, I don't make plans when heading to WDW beyond a meal here or there (something you once didn't have to do). I just drive (or fly) up and do what I wish. I don't wait in lines more than 20-30 minutes as a rule. I just relax and enjoy, which I might be off on but sorta think that's the point of theme parks. I don't get the point of this from the guest perspective beyond the OCD crowd. I do know that I am tired of paying more and getting less from Disney. I don't see this helping me as an APer who often stays off-site and often makes last minute visits at all. Actually, I don't see it helping the majority of visitors period. People still don't understand FP. They're going to understand this bizarrre planning 'tool'?

I don't think so.

Judge Fynni, I would like to introduce my co-co- council....Mr 74. I know it might have been funny the first time but I couldnt resist.
 

WDW1974

Well-Known Member
Hopefully you recognize WDW's attendance trend has been nearly flat since the opening of DAK. Next Gen is being created in response to this historical data. This poor performance has been highlighted in recent years by the wildly successful WWOHP and Carsland. The executives at TDO are under extreme pressure to come out with a "winner".

Hopefully you understand that 'NextGen' is a tagline, a way of "branding" the product in order to "sell" it to those involved in the decision-making process. Someone needed to convince Burbank to foot the $1.5B price. It needed a cool sounding name and someone came up with 'NextGen'. In high tech, 'NextGen' has become a tired, overused buzzword. I was using the phrase "Next Gen" decades ago and it had nothing to do with WDW. The fact that TDO couldn't come up with an original name is an indication of their lack of imagination. From what I've seen so far from Next Gen, there is nothing in it representing "emerging technologies". Most, if not all, has been used in other industries for some time. WDW's biggest technical challenge is integrating together the pieces. Given the many components of Next Gen, this is an extremely large effort but it's hardly innovative.

Hopefully you recognize Phil is going to present 'NextGen' one way publicly. What's going on behind closed doors is very different. My cynicism of Next Gen is based on one business "fact"; private sector companies do not invest large amounts of capital on "new" products unless they plan to make even more money later. Somebody must have put together a strong business case for Next Gen. Considering Next Gen's price tag (reportedly $1.5B), it would be interesting to learn how TDO intends to recover their capital investment.

I don't think you and I are far apart. I think we are both grappling with this thing called "Next Gen", trying to understand what it means to WDW fans like us. However, it appears I am more cynical because TDO hasn't given me a reason not to be.

This whole deal came from Nick Franklin (formerly head of the global initiative for regional entertainment venues, which failed) to his savior at the company, Jay Rasulo. They rammed this forward with Bob Iger and when people questioned them, they'd trot out numbers and technology (an area Disney has struggled with, despite what you may believe) ... and Jim MacPhee, well, he's just the WDW face of it. I think he was given a choice to make it workable (and play fall guy) or take early retirement. No, I don't know that for a fact.

But as UNI and SW spend billions on real attractions, Disney is banking its money on this tech deal (much that won't affect guests directly, much they may not want). It just doesn't seem to make much sense.
 

Buried20KLeague

Well-Known Member
The focus on the negative aspects of FP+ is largely the result of TDO's recent track record, along with some business sense:
  • TDO is making a $1.5B capital investment in Next Gen. IMHO, FP+ is the centerpiece of Next Gen. TDO is part of TWDC, a large for-profit corporation. For-profit corporations do not make $1.5B investments without expecting significant returns on investment. Since we've repeatedly been told FP+ will be "free", how does TDO recoup its investment?
  • In recent years, TDO has shown an extreme focus on profits and revenue, to the point where the last decade represents a period of the fewest WDW theme park expansions ever, with pieces literally falling off major attractions, even as TDO continues to construct new resorts and DVCs, which can be more easily associated with new revenue.
  • WDW's annual attendance is "down modestly", along with resort occupancy rates. Businesses usually don't survive if their sales continually decline. TDO needs to reverse recent trends and, at this point, might take desperate measures to do so.
  • TDO has been secretive about Next Gen's details. Some aspects of it are already under trial, investment houses continue to ask about it at earnings teleconferences, yet, as far as I know, there has been no public presentation describing exactly what Next Gen is.
  • TDO let Harry Potter "get away", disappointing many Disney fans, while favoring Avatar instead, something that a lot of Disney fans are considerably less enthused about. Meanwhile, rumor is that TDO is resisting bringing a proven winner like Carsland to DHS. The point being that TDO's decision-making track record has, to put it mildly, not been exactly the best of late.
  • FP+ does nothing to increase ride capacity. The fact that they are adding FP+ to attractions that don't need them suggests TDO is manipulating guest behavior with FP+. People usually don't like feeling that they are being manipulated.
  • FP+ might solve one of WDW guests' biggest complaints for some guests, long lines. The current FP system provides a solution but takes effort. You have to get yourself out of bed and get to the parks at a decent hour in order to get "good" FP. FP+ allows people to, theoretically, sleep in on their WDW vacation without having to worry that they are going to stand in line for 120 minutes for TSM (for example). However, the number of FP+ is limited. Clearly, some people will be able to get a FP+ for TSM while most will not. Exactly how will TDO distribute those limited FP+? With its sophisticated FP+ system, is TDO simply going to allow it to be an online free-for-all at the 60-day mark?
  • Rumor is that TDA strongly opposes Next Gen. In the Disney fan community, recent opinion is that TDA is "doing things right" while TDO continues to operate as TDA's evil doppelgänger. If TDA doesn't like it but TDO does, what are fans supposed to think?
The idea that TDO would spend $1.5B so some guests could sleep in a few extra hours because they have FP+ is, IMHO, ludicrous. They've got bigger plans for Next Gen. The fact that they haven't given the public (or shareholders) any idea what these are only lets people fear the worst.

This is a brilliant post.
 

flynnibus

Premium Member
Hopefully you recognize WDW's attendance trend has been nearly flat since the opening of DAK. Next Gen is being created in response to this historical data

I don't think so - I think it was sold on the idea of breaking the mold and stop going tit for tat with attractions at other parks... experiences other parks can easily clone as 'close enough' and devalue the investment Disney had made.

Why drop another 100million on the next 4d movie.. when the competition can copy the idea and erode your uniqueness.. (exactly what people are trying to do with Soarin for example). Disney was in a unique position due to their end to end model.. and NextGen builds upon that to take that into the theme park experience itself.

The end game is always success for the division of course. But this isn't a sprint. This was discussed as an INVESTMENT in R&D to reinvent with technology. This isn't 'hey, this is the next attraction to build..' but rather a doubling down on Disney's differentiating aspects to build a end game others can not easily clone.

It needed a cool sounding name and someone came up with 'NextGen'. In high tech, 'NextGen' has become a tired, overused buzzword. I was using the phrase "Next Gen" decades ago and it had nothing to do with WDW. The fact that TDO couldn't come up with an original name is an indication of their lack of imagination

Its petty cheap shots like this that make me just walk away. It reeks of coming in after the fact and trying to glue things on top. Have you not been following this in 2009?

From what I've seen so far from Next Gen, there is nothing in it representing "emerging technologies". Most, if not all, has been used in other industries for some time. WDW's biggest technical challenge is integrating together the pieces. Given the many components of Next Gen, this is an extremely large effort but it's hardly innovative.

Because you are too focused on what has been happening the last year instead of looking at what was happening prior. It's not just FP+... smh

My cynicism of Next Gen is based on one business "fact"; private sector companies do not invest large amounts of capital on "new" products unless they plan to make even more money later. Somebody must have put together a strong business case for Next Gen. Considering Next Gen's price tag (reportedly $1.5B), it would be interesting to learn how TDO intends to recover their capital investment.

By driving the idea they are the premier theme park experience in the world.. and not just Universal but with Disney characters. They are aiming to set a new standard of what to expect of a theme park vacation -- not just 'check out our latest coaster!'. Their return is through driving P&R business.

NextGen has included platforms, integration, new interaction technologies, new show elements, new show technologies, sets new levels of expectations when it comes to personalized experiences, alters what it means to 'wait' in a theme park, will radically alter the company-guest interaction points, fundamentally shift how people approach trips, and if successful.. redefine what it means to visit a theme park. By setting new expectations.. Disney puts the screws to the competition who can not compete at that level because they do not have the same sort of infrastructure and end-to-end control of the customer.

It's akin to being able to order something from Amazon and getting it in 2days.. vs what it used to mean to shop via mail order. That's the kind of fundamental shift support for NextGen is predicated on. It doesn't matter what the product is.. no consumer is going to order today from someone who insists you mail them a handwritten form, and wait a few weeks for some product to show up COD. The shopping experience has changed - and customers demand that experience as a prerequisite to do business with you. Disney is aiming to reset the bar at a level only they can achieve - as a way of cornering the market through technology.
 

fngoofy

Well-Known Member
Is there anyone here obsessive enough about planning to think this is a good idea (no, I haven't read the thread ... just skimmed)?
Me. I my wife and I are waiting for something, or taking transportation somewhere, and we can look at our phone and decide what we are eating for lunch (quick serve) and that means we skip a long line... count us in.
 

flynnibus

Premium Member
You can't reinvent the WDW experience and not have detailed plans, yet it seems like they're sorta making it up as they go.

To me this is the concerning part. By the sheer lack of forward looking information on this rollout.. it makes me believe there are alot of areas where people are probably just covering with "we'll get to that..". A common trait found in half-baked solutions.. normally initiated from outside the core competency group. Always happens when someone comes along and says 'ok, we have a new process.. its gonna rock' and in the first Q&A.. the daily grunts stump them with basic scenarios the outsiders had not considered or prioritized.

The earlier outputs of NextGen have only gotten lukewarm receptions at best. Not sure if that makes Disney gunshy.. or if they are of the belief 'it will all make more sense when XYZ is in place..' - kind of perpetually deferring criticism with the 'its not done yet' excuse.
 

fngoofy

Well-Known Member
I see that you’ve never been a long-suffering Chicago Cubs fan.:)

The Cubs have been mostly a bunch of “losers” for 100 years. Millions still follow them anyway, with a couple of million paying serious money every year just to see them blow another game. Their fandom in ingrained into them. Fans simply cannot walk away, no matter how bad the team. I spent many years in Chicago and listened to sports talk radio from time-to-time. Year-after-year, it was the same fans calling in, complaining how bad the team was this year, threatening to start following another team next year. Every year, they came back for more.

WDW is no different. In fact, WDW’s fans are spoiled. Until 15 years ago, WDW was the undisputed champion. As recently as about 5 years ago, WDW had no serious challengers, even if their best years were in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

Suddenly, Universal gets its act together and scores a major victory with WWOHP. (A victory, by the way, that WDW had won and then lost on a last-second buzzer beater.) Suddenly, DLR takes care of that big gigantic wart that was called DCA and scores a major victory with Carsland. Suddenly, SeaWorld has a major new renovation in progress and looks like it will be better than ever. Suddenly (it feels), everyone is talking about how much nicer Disneyland Tokyo and Disneyland Paris are than WDW. All within the last few years, it feels as if WDW is falling behind everyone else. (OK, they’re still ahead of Six Flags. Whoopee!)

I’ve been a WDW fan for decades and I’m not ready to throw in the towel. I want TDO to get its act to get and make WDW the undisputed champion once again.

Filtering through a lot of posts to get to the ones you like is similar to what you have to do for pretty much everything in life. Do you always read every article in the newspaper? Do you always watch every channel and every show on TV? Do you always like every meal at every restaurant you eat at? I’m not sure why you think a discussion forum is any different. I’m sure there will be those reading our posts wishing the two of us never had this discussion, even though this is supposed to be an open forum.

If there are people who post things you don’t want to read, use the “ignore” button. I’ve never used it because I like reading a lot of posts but maybe it will help you. In my view, a lot of people have a lot of interesting things to write, both good and bad, about WDW. Sure, I’d prefer less thread drift (like we’re doing now!) and I strongly dislike the personal attacks (“I disagree with you so you are stupid”) but, otherwise, I enjoy most posts. The only button I don’t use enough is the “like” button.

I like to think of myself as a student of history. IMHO, there’s nothing new under the sun and much of what I think you’re blaming on our culture is simply human nature. It allegedly was Socrates who said:

Are things different today?

Is human nature different? No, people are still the same; natural evolution tends to be a slow process. What has changed? Technology. In Socrates’ day, I had to jump on my 400 BC equivalent of the soap box to be heard. Today, I can sit at home, type a few lines, and send my thoughts out to millions. With technology, you can choose to read my words or, if you prefer, simply use the “ignore” button.

P.S. I really want to know TDO’s ulterior motives behind FP+. I still believe they are not spending $1.5B out of the kindness of their hearts. See, now I can’t be accused of total thread drift!

I think their "Ulterior Motives" are to give me a better vacation.
If I can skip being the runner, and having to leave my family to go to the other side of the park to get fast passes (which up until this trip, it was a crapshoot to know if the comeback time would work for us.) then I am all for it.
It was so nice using the app to see if the comeback time was what we wanted before I ran over to get them. Cutting out the run would be all the better.

I am nostalgic for the old days, but NXGN is going to bring them back for me at least.
Back in the day our family would pick a land and do that for half the day. In the not too distant future, I will be able to plan out the land that we want to do, complete with fast passes and dinning and know that we will be doing just that.

Time is money, and at WDW even more so. Maximizing my time and letting me avoid running around like a chicken with my head cut off in order to get Safari passes in the a.m. at AK, or TSMWM passes at DHS makes me warm inside.

God bless us one and all and God bless TDO.
 

John

Well-Known Member
I think their "Ulterior Motives" are to give me a better vacation.
If I can skip being the runner, and having to leave my family to go to the other side of the park to get fast passes (which up until this trip, it was a crapshoot to know if the comeback time would work for us.) then I am all for it.
It was so nice using the app to see if the comeback time was what we wanted before I ran over to get them. Cutting out the run would be all the better.

I am nostalgic for the old days, but NXGN is going to bring them back for me at least.
Back in the day our family would pick a land and do that for half the day. In the not too distant future, I will be able to plan out the land that we want to do, complete with fast passes and dinning and know that we will be doing just that.

Time is money, and at WDW even more so. Maximizing my time and letting me avoid running around like a chicken with my head cut off in order to get Safari passes in the a.m. at AK, or TSMWM passes at DHS makes me warm inside.

God bless us one and all and God bless TDO.


The only problem with this scenario is that you will only be allowed so many FPs, what about the rest of the day? You wont have to run around the park....but you only had to do that for certian rides. Plus there is no garuntee that you will get the FP you want when you want. Everyone seems to think its going to be like setting your own agenda. I want TT at 1:00...thank you. Problem is 23,000 people wanted it for the same time.
 

ParentsOf4

Well-Known Member
I think their "Ulterior Motives" are to give me a better vacation.
If I can skip being the runner, and having to leave my family to go to the other side of the park to get fast passes (which up until this trip, it was a crapshoot to know if the comeback time would work for us.) then I am all for it.
It was so nice using the app to see if the comeback time was what we wanted before I ran over to get them. Cutting out the run would be all the better.
Sure, I posted something similar here:

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/numbers-cars-and-quality.856357/page-18#post-5225183

But I'm also not kidding myself. No company spends $1.5B just to make its customers happy. It spends $1.5B because it will make more money by making its customers happy.

The big question is: How did TDO financially justify a $1.5B capex? What's the business case for it? The Board, CEO, and stockholders would not be happy if TDO just gave away $1.5B. They want something in in return. That something is money, more than $1.5B. How is TDO going to get it? My theory on that is here:

http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/numbers-cars-and-quality.856357/page-17#post-5225009

I don't think my theory is right but it's the best I could come up with given the limited information.

The other possibility is TDO believes Next Gen will drive large attendance increases. It's possible but I don't see it. Rides such as EE, TSM, and M:S did not noticeably improve attendance. It's hard for me to fathom something involving walking through the turnstiles a few seconds faster, having some games to play while queued in the Standby line, or having the ability to change ADRs or FP+ from a smart phone will somehow drive significant attendance increases. Many of these things already are available and, so far, don't seem to be having any effect. If TDO executives don't have bigger plans for Next Gen, they quickly will become Last Gen TDO executives.
 

WDW1974

Well-Known Member
Just a thought at halftime ... but I was pondering (I do a lot of pondering, sometimes when sitting on the Spirited Throne) that let's say I am wrong and the folks who agree that FP+ isn't a good thing are wrong as well, isn't it very possible that just because it might be a good thing that does not make it the right thing?
 

John

Well-Known Member
I don't think so - I think it was sold on the idea of breaking the mold and stop going tit for tat with attractions at other parks... experiences other parks can easily clone as 'close enough' and devalue the investment Disney had made.

Why drop another 100million on the next 4d movie.. when the competition can copy the idea and erode your uniqueness.. (exactly what people are trying to do with Soarin for example). Disney was in a unique position due to their end to end model.. and NextGen builds upon that to take that into the theme park experience itself.

The end game is always success for the division of course. But this isn't a sprint. This was discussed as an INVESTMENT in R&D to reinvent with technology. This isn't 'hey, this is the next attraction to build..' but rather a doubling down on Disney's differentiating aspects to build a end game others can not easily clone.



Its petty cheap shots like this that make me just walk away. It reeks of coming in after the fact and trying to glue things on top. Have you not been following this in 2009?



Because you are too focused on what has been happening the last year instead of looking at what was happening prior. It's not just FP+... smh



By driving the idea they are the premier theme park experience in the world.. and not just Universal but with Disney characters. They are aiming to set a new standard of what to expect of a theme park vacation -- not just 'check out our latest coaster!'. Their return is through driving P&R business.

NextGen has included platforms, integration, new interaction technologies, new show elements, new show technologies, sets new levels of expectations when it comes to personalized experiences, alters what it means to 'wait' in a theme park, will radically alter the company-guest interaction points, fundamentally shift how people approach trips, and if successful.. redefine what it means to visit a theme park. By setting new expectations.. Disney puts the screws to the competition who can not compete at that level because they do not have the same sort of infrastructure and end-to-end control of the customer.

It's akin to being able to order something from Amazon and getting it in 2days.. vs what it used to mean to shop via mail order. That's the kind of fundamental shift support for NextGen is predicated on. It doesn't matter what the product is.. no consumer is going to order today from someone who insists you mail them a handwritten form, and wait a few weeks for some product to show up COD. The shopping experience has changed - and customers demand that experience as a prerequisite to do business with you. Disney is aiming to reset the bar at a level only they can achieve - as a way of cornering the market through technology.

Flynn, I agree with you this is thier intention, but 1) No matter how well it is implimented it will take some time to get it fully functional and implimented. 2) Not sure how nexgen will resonate with the toddlers and tweens. These are the ones who drive the theme park buisness. How are you going to explain NexGen to a thirteen yr old? How is that kid going to understand that this is way better then Potter? 3) the rides that we are getting FPs for are still the same ones from before that are having problems competeing with down the road in the first place. 4) this may work well with sophisticated guest like yourself and those who visit here but other then the FP system (which we still dont know how it will be recieved from the average guest) will be the only tangible thing they can put thier hands on that they can actually physically see. They couldnt care less if the toilet paper hasnt run out because TDO knew that bathroom was being heavily used. If that food cart wasnt there they would just walk a hundred feet further and buy a coke. It helps driving sales with impulse buys but I dont think the customer is wowed because a soda cart was ten feet away.

Lastly you keep mentioning that Disney wants to raise the level of guest experience that no other park can match? I think the same thing was said about UNI ten years ago. That they couldnt match the magic? Well Disney seems to think they need to spend over a billion dollars to try and seperate themselves again. So what tecnology does Disney have that cant be duplicated? Why cant Uni have the same system in five yrs? Feeling that they were invinsible is what got them to this point to begin with.
 

Lil Fort

Well-Known Member
Just a thought at halftime ... but I was pondering (I do a lot of pondering, sometimes when sitting on the Spirited Throne) that let's say I am wrong and the folks who agree that FP+ isn't a good thing are wrong as well, isn't it very possible that just because it might be a good thing that does not make it the right thing?
That makes me think of something a coworker of mine used to say, "Just because you can, doesn't mean you should."
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom