Fortune Magazine: Disney's tech innovation is my nightmare

[NelsonRD]

Does anybody expect anything else but negative reporting on this issue? Maybe somebody can post something on the contrary, but all articles I have seen, even articles with some overall positive points, have a major negative connotation to them.

 

[jakeman]

You mean to tell me... I can pay what to go on vacation and have 60% of the restaurants available to me? Sign me up!!!!

Sure, a sizable chunk are things unavailable anyway... Another sizeable chunk is in that 67 that... Who really wants to make a reservation to have dinner at while on vacation...

Also in there are the more popular restaurants with reservations at 4:10 or 9:05...

I'm not one of the people who complain about it because the fact is, it is what it is... But at the same time this is just blind acceptance of something that's really not all that wonderful, because it has become the norm. Going on vacation and taking into consideration when people traditionally enjoy having dinner, only having about 30% of the options available to you is pretty bad.

Eh, one of the most popular places on the planet and the expectation is that every table service restaurant have availability for every guest on every night. That seems like an unrealistic expectation.

There are two options. Dining reservations or multiple hour waits for the most popular restaurants. That's pretty much it. Any hybrid system folks come up with here is going to end up with either resentment on when the window opens for someone or resentment for having to give up a large fraction of your vacation waiting for a table.

No place at Disney is good enough to warrant the angst associated with dining reservations that goes on here.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Eh, one of the most popular places on the planet and the expectation is that every table service restaurant have availability for every guest on every night. That seems like an unrealistic expectation.

There are two options. Dining reservations or multiple hour waits for the most popular restaurants. That's pretty much it. Any hybrid system folks come up with here is going to end up with either resentment on when the window opens for someone or resentment for having to give up a large fraction of your vacation waiting for a table.

No place at Disney is good enough to warrant the angst associated with dining reservations that goes on here.

I'm fine with dining reservations. Where I draw the line is other people selling them.

 

[Dukeblue1227]

Eh, one of the most popular places on the planet and the expectation is that every table service restaurant have availability for every guest on every night. That seems like an unrealistic expectation.

There are two options. Dining reservations or multiple hour waits for the most popular restaurants. That's pretty much it. Any hybrid system folks come up with here is going to end up with either resentment on when the window opens for someone or resentment for having to give up a large fraction of your vacation waiting for a table.

No place at Disney is good enough to warrant the angst associated with dining reservations that goes on here.

30% to every place is an enormous leap. Enormous.

Like I said I'm not complaining about it, but the reality of the situation is I used to go to Disney every year if not twice a year... I go maybe once every four years now and a big part is I just don't like taking vacation to places I need to plan out so excruciatingly just to get the absolute most out of it.

It's not unreasonable to have some expectation of booking an expensive vacation and having most of its appeal available to you. Sometimes with any vacation you miss out on a few things. But to miss out on 70% of food options because you don't know if you want seafood, steak, or Italian 180 days from now...

 

[jakeman]

30% to every place is an enormous leap. Enormous.

Like I said I'm not complaining about it, but the reality of the situation is I used to go to Disney every year if not twice a year... I go maybe once every four years now and a big part is I just don't like taking vacation to places I need to plan out so excruciatingly just to get the absolute most out of it.

It's not unreasonable to have some expectation of booking an expensive vacation and having most of its appeal available to you. Sometimes with any vacation you miss out on a few things. But to miss out on 70% of food options because you don't know if you want seafood, steak, or Italian 180 days from now...

It's not an accurate perception, but it's your reality, so it's hard to argue.

Tomorrow, 74 out of 91 restaurants are available for a family of 4 (I took 5 minutes to excluded the packages and F&W stuff). If 81% of the dining options available with less than 24 hours notice and all but 5 attractions are available is unacceptable then that seems like an unrealistic expectation.

 

[Dukeblue1227]

It's not an accurate perception, but it's your reality, so it's hard to argue.

Tomorrow, 74 out of 91 restaurants are available for a family of 4 (I took 5 minutes to excluded the packages and F&W stuff). If 81% of the dining options available with less than 24 hours notice and all but 5 attractions are available is unacceptable then that seems like an unrealistic expectation.

I agree with the last thing you said, you're right if those numbers hold up which I think they do, that's unreasonable.

I'm actually going the first week of November which is a little over 2 months away. Any given night during my trip is about 50% not available. Maybe more reservations open up right before trips and I've never experienced that because I've been programmed to book 180 days out and not change, and if I've tried to change in the 2-4 month out range I'm always unsuccessful.

So that's just the basis of where I'm coming from. Your argument is solid though.

 

[jakeman]

I agree with the last thing you said, you're right if those numbers hold up which I think they do, that's unreasonable.

I'm actually going the first week of November which is a little over 2 months away. Any given night during my trip is about 50% not available. Maybe more reservations open up right before trips and I've never experienced that because I've been programmed to book 180 days out and not change, and if I've tried to change in the 2-4 month out range I'm always unsuccessful.

So that's just the basis of where I'm coming from. Your argument is solid though.

This particular argument rears it's head quite often and I completely understand there are times where reservations can get tight and it really sucks if one of those times is when you are going, but I've pulled the day of reservations enough at this point (either at Disney or here while at home) to say with a certain degree of confidence that low availability is the exception and not the norm.

It double sucks when it's a time that you think it shouldn't be busy (first week of November would rank up there for me).

 

[erasure fan1]

It's not an accurate perception, but it's your reality, so it's hard to argue.

Tomorrow, 74 out of 91 restaurants are available for a family of 4 (I took 5 minutes to excluded the packages and F&W stuff). If 81% of the dining options available with less than 24 hours notice and all but 5 attractions are available is unacceptable then that seems like an unrealistic expectation.

But the only thing that matters for anyone here is their own reality. It doesn't mean a thing for me that tomorrow I could make ADRs because I won't be there. The times we can go, that availability you talk about is not even close (unless you plan to eat after 9pm). The real problem I see is that it's not the ADRs that are the issue but a shortage of restaurants.

 

[Matt_Black]

Surprise! You have to plan things when you want to go on vacation. All these articles, these "journalists" should know better, and yet they act all shocked that Disney is somehow not the exception.

 

[Siren]

Thanks Miss Siren, appreciate the compliment. The FP idea I gave to Disney just made perfect sense to me because the main complaint about reserving FPs & making ADRs is the what if factor, not knowing what will happen six months from now. What if my kid(s) gets sick & we can't go? What if my wife or girlfriend goes into labor the day we leave? What if there's a death in my family? What if what if what if. And I just think that if Disney was to give us more time, more options on how to make our ADRs & FPs in case the what if happens, it should make for a better experience. I also suggested that they make an alternative mode on the MDE app & their website for people such as seniors or non techies & make it easier for them. They already doing that now actually for smartphones. When you go to the Disney World website, its optimized for smartphones & almost everything is straight forward. I also suggested adding a section for embedded video tutorials that show step by step instructions on how to create, modify & delete a FPs or ADRs, how to create your Magic Your Way package, etc. True, you can go to YouTube for tutorials and all that but from my experience, they dont always give you the most up to date info. So My Magic+ has so much potential, its just that Disney is taking their sweet as time in implementing some of things that will make our experiences more convenient, use friendly, flexible and most of all......magical. But at the same time, as I said before, to Disney's credit, they're always open to feedback from guests & will actually implement of our ideas. Its just another reason why I will Love Disney to death.

Oh wow, me too! You have such a way with words -- I could not agree more! I love FP+ and the MDE app so much. And, I really like how everything is streamlined now.

Wow, this post made me throw up a little.

Um, I don't think so. What made you throw up is all of those hatertots that you've been gnawing on -- it's bound to give you a tummy ache at some point.

And, you are hitting that bottle way too hard, pops. So um, just ease up on the haterade -- only then, will you start to feel better.

Except Wall Street types don't read "screens and schedules" as a scary thing. They read it as a smart and efficient way to predict guest behavior and manage costs.

The fallacy of this article is the implication that Disney didn't require advanced planning prior to FP+. That's garbage, of course it did. Just take a look at the touring plans in the back of The Unofficial Guide. People were still saying "okay, we'll run to Frontierland to get our Fastpass for Big Thunder, then cross the park to Tomorrowland and ride Space Mountain and Buzz, then return to Fontierland (depending on our return window) to use our Fastpass and get a second for Splash and..." months in advance. The only difference now is that you can secure those plans ahead of time and not need to crisscross the Magic Kingdom twelve times to physically retrieve and use paper FP tickets.

I totally agree and very well said!

First 2 times I, as an adult, paying my own way, went to WDW, were May of 1996 and November 1997 (before, not during Thanksgiving week). Pre-Fastpass. Both times, I experienced wait times of 90-minutes plus for certain rides. Both times, I missed parades and/or fireworks because I was on lines so long the festivities began and I was still waiting, tempted to say "screw it, I'll come back" only to see how many people were still on line behind me and thinking "I don't want to wait on this line all over again."

Since then all subsequent trips have been in an age of FP or FP+, and the only times I've waited on crazy lines, was when I could not get a Fastpass. It's afforded me the peace of mind of knowing I won't screw up a meal reservation, or I can hit a ride right after eating. It makes it easier to slow down and enjoy the scenery.

Now that I have kids old enough to really soak in the ol' pre-fabricated Disney magic, the FP+ affords me a better chance of doing more things they will like without having to wait on longer lines, perhaps missing a designated nap time (important to insure the rest of the day doesn't stink). They don't necessarily know or care about all the time I put in making the reservations, as far as they know, we're walking left, walking right, and hey, look at that, let's go see if we can meet Anna and Elsa...

I can't help but wonder, if these innovations were never developed or utilized at WDW, would we see guys like this author writing pieces about how out of control the lines are at WDW, and for all the money you spend on a Disney trip can't they do SOMETHING about making the lines a little shorter? Indeed, I'd bet if those same people tried to come up with a way to get guests to have more chances to pack more things to do in a WDW trip, the result would be...Fastpass or Fastpass Plus.

Wow, great post and I totally agree!

Does anybody expect anything else but negative reporting on this issue? Maybe somebody can post something on the contrary, but all articles I have seen, even articles with some overall positive points, have a major negative connotation to them.

The negative articles appeal to a very small subset of people, it's pretty much negligible. The mass majority of park guests are more than satisfied with FP+.

Surprise! You have to plan things when you want to go on vacation. All these articles, these "journalists" should know better, and yet they act all shocked that Disney is somehow not the exception.

Exactly -- planning with regular FP was a major headache, it's so much easier using FP+.

 

[jakeman]

Exactly -- planning with regular FP was a major headache, it's so much easier using FP+.

Neither are a headache. It's just a different mindset to use each.

 

[blueboxdoctor]

For once I find myself agreeing with a negative article about WDW (I have issues with some things at WDW, but some articles are just written by ignorant people). Somehow we have reservations for Be Our Guest for dinner, but even for lunch it basically needs a Fast Pass (don't let that line fool you, the Fast Pass people are basically the only ones who get in). Plus, 60 days ahead of time I don't know when I want to go on Splash Mountain or Pirates.

I also don't like those bands you have to wear. I know everyone there has them on, but I just can't get over how stupid they look, and they're kind of cumbersome. I found a card to be more streamlined (thinner/not bulky and could easily keep it in my wallet and/or pocket). Plus, those new entrance gates for the bands never seem to work right (well, it could just be user error, I constantly see people not listen to the cast members on how to use them and my family and I rarely have an issue with getting into a park).

 

[CaptainAmerica]

Somehow we have reservations for Be Our Guest for dinner, but even for lunch it basically needs a Fast Pass (don't let that line fool you, the Fast Pass people are basically the only ones who get in).

Serious question, because I've seen this complaint a lot. What do you suggest as an alternative? If 5,000 people want to get in and they can only serve 2,000 people, how do you decide which 2,000? Without reservations, people would start lining up for lunch at 9:00 AM. Is that honestly better, in your mind, than making a reservation in advance (like every restaurant on Earth).

 

[blueboxdoctor]

Serious question, because I've seen this complaint a lot. What do you suggest as an alternative? If 5,000 people want to get in and they can only serve 2,000 people, how do you decide which 2,000? Without reservations, people would start lining up for lunch at 9:00 AM. Is that honestly better, in your mind, than making a reservation in advance (like every restaurant on Earth).

For lunch it is still considered a counter service, so in this case, yes, people should be able to wait (we could when it first opened) for lunch. Dinner it is different and they change from counter service to an actual sit down/restaurant category, so in that case reservations make sense. Plus, if people want to wait in a line for lunch then it is their choice. The line was fairly quick when it was an option (ended up eating there twice for lunch on that trip, and we didn't line up at a crazy time).

 

[CaptainAmerica]

For lunch it is still considered a counter service, so in this case, yes, people should be able to wait (we could when it first opened) for lunch. Dinner it is different and they change from counter service to an actual sit down/restaurant category, so in that case reservations make sense. Plus, if people want to wait in a line for lunch then it is their choice. The line was fairly quick when it was an option (ended up eating there twice for lunch on that trip, and we didn't line up at a crazy time).

I didn't ask if it was their choice, I asked if it was better. Is waiting in line for hours better than making a reservation? A reservation, by the way, is no different than "waiting in line" virtually, the only difference being you don't have to physically be stuck in a line. You can be off doing other things. Also, who cares if it's counter-service or table-service? Those are arbitrarily defined terms and neither one carries a requirement that it does or does not include the ability to make reservations.

 

[Master Yoda]

For lunch it is still considered a counter service, so in this case, yes, people should be able to wait (we could when it first opened) for lunch. Dinner it is different and they change from counter service to an actual sit down/restaurant category, so in that case reservations make sense. Plus, if people want to wait in a line for lunch then it is their choice. The line was fairly quick when it was an option (ended up eating there twice for lunch on that trip, and we didn't line up at a crazy time).

So whose choice is it in the summer when people are passing out from the heat after waiting in a line for several hours? This was actually happening when the restaurant opened. They were having to give out water and umbrellas until the restaurant went with Fastpass. Should Disney just ignore this and let the weak drop out of the gene pool or make a change that will avoid it all together?

 

[jakeman]

I will say, in the spirit of fairness, the dining issue in MK goes past MDE. They simply need more eateries with longer hours.

Using FP+ to manage supply against overwhelming demand should only be a stopgap.

 

[blueboxdoctor]

So whose choice is it in the summer when people are passing out from the heat after waiting in a line for several hours? This was actually happening when the restaurant opened. They were having to give out water and umbrellas until the restaurant went with Fastpass. Should Disney just ignore this and let the weak drop out of the gene pool or make a change that will avoid it all together?

Well if we're being honest, a human being should know their limits. If you see a big line and it's really hot out, well, common sense should kick in. Again, this is just my opinion, but I didn't see anything wrong with how they had it before.

 

[Master Yoda]

Well if we're being honest, a human being should know their limits. If you see a big line and it's really hot out, well, common sense should kick in. Again, this is just my opinion, but I didn't see anything wrong with how they had it before.

Disney unknowingly created a dangerous situation. Any ambulance chasing lawyer could see that. Adding Fastpass was a quick and easy way to not only fix the problem, but most likely increase guest satisfaction as well.

 

[blueboxdoctor]

I didn't ask if it was their choice, I asked if it was better. Is waiting in line for hours better than making a reservation? A reservation, by the way, is no different than "waiting in line" virtually, the only difference being you don't have to physically be stuck in a line. You can be off doing other things. Also, who cares if it's counter-service or table-service? Those are arbitrarily defined terms and neither one carries a requirement that it does or does not include the ability to make reservations.

Except they are different. One is meant to get you in and out quicker by going up, ordering your food, finding your seat, and ideally your food arrives within minutes of sitting down.

But really there's no point arguing it, not much is going to change. The problem I have is the pretend line they have for lunch time. We waited in it with a couple other groups for about 45 minutes and nobody was let in. Just get rid of that if they want it to be all reservation based.

Also, I had no issue waiting in an actual line, all you have to do is go when the line is shorter (it does, or rather, did happen often enough) and use common sense to judge when to get in line and when to pass. But at least that way everybody had an equal opportunity to get in.
Except they are different. One is meant to get you in and out quicker by going up, ordering your food, finding your seat, and ideally your food arrives within minutes of sitting down.