FoxNews website article on NextGen

[MichWolv]

These quotes exemplify the issue.

The billion dollar investment in next gen is primarily geared toward extracting more profit from the current line-up of attractions -- How can TDO better utilize the current assets to extract more money from guests. Walt's philosophy was you invest and expand the product to grow profit, whereas TDO would rather invest in data gathering to (they believe) extract profit more efficiently. The part I bolded above can only happen when we stop letting MBAs and bean counters run the company and instead put in people that have passion for the product (Walt Disney, Steve Jobs, John Lasseter at Pixar, etc.). Most great entrepeneurs were not business people, but individuals passionate about their product. Passion tempered with good judgment, or at least a right-hand man/woman with good judgment.

Entrepreneurs need passion. Successful entrepreneurs also need practicality. Walt and Roy. Sometimes Walt's ideas won out, and sometimes Roy's practicality won out. It's getting the right balance that is the key.

Steve Jobs is the rare individual that didn't need a partner complementing his skills to make it go. He had the passion and vision for the project and the business knack to make it all happen in an efficient and profitable way. He killed many ideas that his product development came up with because he concluded they couldn't be done profitably.

There is nothing wrong with the business people trying to find ways to make more money off of what they already have. Indeed, it's a great idea...if it works. And utlizing existing assets rather than building new is a smart move. Heck, we've all said "No" to a fifth gate, because there are 4 existing gates that can/should be used before a fifth, with all the attendant infrastructure, gets developed.

There are aspects of NextGen that are very appealing. If it succeeds in allowing people to have fun while in the parks 70% of the time vs. 60%, let's say, by reducing their waits in lines or making the time they spend in line fun vs. boring, that would be huge in terms of guest satisfaction, and could justify quite a large investment. Of coruse, I've just made up those numbers and have no idea if they're close to what the average guest feels or not, or whether that's actually the intent of the NextGen project.

On the other hand, the parts of NextGen that will no doubt be used to send customized offers, etc. in an attempt to get you to spend more money might be much more problematic, but maybe not, depending on how they are used. Maybe Cirque du Soleil some night has available tickets, so Disney is willing to sell at a discount -- if NextGen makes it possible to send texts to targeted groups to let them know of the discount, that might be helpful. If I'm at MK and don't have an ADR, getting a notice that tables are available at Crystal Palace might be welcome. Sure, the goal is for Disney to make more money by making sure wasting assets don't get wasted, but that doesn't mean it can't be a boon to guests as well.

And the parts of NextGen that result in a need to plan and plan and plan to take advantage...we'll see. If they can somehow implement it so that those who don't plan ahead have the same experience they have now (same lines, same opportunities to see things, etc.), great. But if not...ugh.

 

[COProgressFan]

Entrepreneurs need passion. Successful entrepreneurs also need practicality. Walt and Roy. Sometimes Walt's ideas won out, and sometimes Roy's practicality won out. It's getting the right balance that is the key.

Steve Jobs is the rare individual that didn't need a partner complemently his skills to make it go. He had the passion and vision for the project and the business knack to make it all happen in an efficient and profitable way. He killed many ideas that his product development came up with because he concluded they couldn't be done profitably.

There is nothing wrong with the business people trying to find ways to make more money off of what they already have. Indeed, it's a great idea...if it works. And utlizing existing assets rather than building new is a smart move. Heck, we've all said "No" to a fifth gate, because there are 4 existing gates that can/should be used before a fifth, with all the attendant infrastructure, gets developed.

There are aspects of NextGen that are very appealing. If it succeeds in allowing people to have fun while in the parks 70% of the time vs. 60%, let's say, by reducing their waits in lines or making the time they spend in line fun vs. boring, that would be huge in terms of guest satisfaction, and could justify quite a large investment. Of coruse, I've just made up those numbers and have no idea if they're close to what the average guest feels or not, or whether that's actually the intent of the NextGen project.

On the other hand, the parts of NextGen that will no doubt be used to send customized offers, etc. in an attempt to get you to spend more money might be much more problematic, but maybe not, depending on how they are used. Maybe Cirque du Soleil some night has available tickets, so Disney is willing to sell at a discount -- if NextGen makes it possible to send texts to targeted groups to let them know of the discount, that might be helpful. If I'm at MK and don't have an ADR, getting a notice that tables are available at Crystal Palace might be welcome. Sure, the goal is for Disney to make more money by making sure wasting assets don't get wasted, but that doesn't mean it can't be a boon to guests as well.

And the parts of NextGen that result in a need to plan and plan and plan to take advantage...we'll see. If they can somehow implement it so that those who don't plan ahead have the same experience they have now (same lines, same opportunities to see things, etc.), great. But if not...ugh.

Really well said. I think the important deciding factor on all this NextGen stuff is in the details of how it is actually implemented. I'm not entirely sure I'm sold on the idea that Disney can do it in a way that actually improves guest experiences, but you did name several situations where it could do just that. And it needs to not be too intrusive/commercial or that will turn guests off. Finally, striking the balance of features that target local day guests vs. once in a lifetimers vs. once a year regular visitors is also crucial.

Lots of possibilities here both good and bad. We'll have to see how it all turns out. I want to optomistic about it, but given Disney's track record in recent years I'm not so sure.

 

[dcibrando]

I agree with alot being said here... i think the main points are:
1- Disney needs to be careful not to disrupt those that do not want to plan out everything or else they'll get angry about "how disney has become" etc. etc.
2- remember your DVC and annual passholders if some of this is pay per use because they are your loyal and consistent visitor base

 

[hurricanepat]

I agree with alot being said here... i think the main points are:
1- Disney needs to be careful not to disrupt those that do not want to plan out everything or else they'll get angry about "how disney has become" etc. etc.
2- remember your DVC and annual passholders if some of this is pay per use because they are your loyal and consistent visitor base

Gotta agree with this. My fiancee and myself plan on returning to Disney sometime in either November or January. We went for the first time together last year and enjoyed having a spontaneous trip...MK too crowded? Shoot on over to Epcot for a bit and so forth. I wouldnt want to feel as if I had to hang around because "oh I have my 2:30 Splash Mountain reservation" .The only thing we liked to have planned was our dinners which we like most people here have had reserved months in advanced.

The concept behind this xpass is IMO genius if they can find a balance between those who like to have everything planned to those who like to go with the flow and see where the day takes them.

 

[Tom]

Gotta agree with this. My fiancee and myself plan on returning to Disney sometime in either November or January. We went for the first time together last year and enjoyed having a spontaneous trip...MK too crowded? Shoot on over to Epcot for a bit and so forth. I wouldnt want to feel as if I had to hang around because "oh I have my 2:30 Splash Mountain reservation" .The only thing we liked to have planned was our dinners which we like most people here have had reserved months in advanced.

The concept behind this xpass is IMO genius if they can find a balance between those who like to have everything planned to those who like to go with the flow and see where the day takes them.

I fear we're going to lose that happy balance when they realize that people will pay for these things. What if they start selling more and more, with the rides ending up like table service restaurants, in that there are no "walk-on" openings?

If they want to do all the RFID stuff and make my visit a bit more interactive or clever - sure, what the heck. But I'm not a fan of the ride reservation system.

 

[Brava Centauri]

Gotta agree with this. My fiancee and myself plan on returning to Disney sometime in either November or January. We went for the first time together last year and enjoyed having a spontaneous trip...MK too crowded? Shoot on over to Epcot for a bit and so forth. I wouldnt want to feel as if I had to hang around because "oh I have my 2:30 Splash Mountain reservation" .The only thing we liked to have planned was our dinners which we like most people here have had reserved months in advanced.

The concept behind this xpass is IMO genius if they can find a balance between those who like to have everything planned to those who like to go with the flow and see where the day takes them.

Exactly. And what about folks who decide to reserve their rides and meals in different parks on the same day? How happy are people going to be when they overplan and underestimate the time it takes to travel between parks? They're still not addressing the degrading transportation issues. People are going to be even less happy than they are now about the mandatory return times on the FPs. It's clear the folks like the ability to do whatever on their own schedule. So really, how much happier are people going to be?

I fear we're going to lose that happy balance when they realize that people will pay for these things. What if they start selling more and more, with the rides ending up like table service restaurants, in that there are no "walk-on" openings?

If they want to do all the RFID stuff and make my visit a bit more interactive or clever - sure, what the heck. But I'm not a fan of the ride reservation system.

If it gets to that point, I'll probably stop going to the parks as often as I do now. Currently, I can only go when my one best friend who happens to be a seasonal CM is in town a few times a year. She lives across the street from the property. If Disney decides their reservation system is for resort guests, and it gets to the point where you can't just "walk on" to a ride without an XPASS, that's it ... no more Disney for me. And I'm sure for guests who stay on on-site hotels would probably only get the XPASS included if they buy a minimum-# park hopper pass.

On one hand, I'm hoping that the people in charge of this craziness have already thought of all these concerns. But I still don't see how this solves problems. It would make sense that they only allow a certain number of "reservations" per time slot to be made in advance in order not to overload the queue. So what happens when all the slots are filled, and you've got angry guests who now believe they have to wait stand-by even though they're planning this vacation weeks in advance? It hurts my brain to try to figure it out. And then using a wristband to connect to attractions, stores, and your credit card? So, are they requiring this for all guests, sort of like how the only method of payment on cruise ships is to use your stateroom key card? Then again, how much time would be consumed when a non-Disney resort guest goes to enter the park to set up their Mickey-branded homing device?

Whatever it ends up being, I hope that it's something that is limited and optional. It should not become something you have to use in order to enjoy a day at the parks.

(The only way to get impulse spending off of me is if they start offering unique park-specific items at less-than-outrageous prices, instead of the poorly designed, unremarkable, dated universal tourist junk they sell everywhere now.)

 

[Frau Farbissina]

This is crappy journalism at its . . . crappiest. Is no one pointing out that some of the quotes used in this article are a year old?

 

[invader]

This is crappy journalism at its . . . crappiest. Is no one pointing out that some of the quotes used in this article are a year old?

Relax, they're junior reporters. It's not like anything new has been said in a quite awhile anyways. Does old information make it false information?

~ FD

 

[Frau Farbissina]

Relax, they're junior reporters. It's not like anything new has been said in a quite awhile anyways. Does old information make it false information?

~ FD

Well, that's my point--nothing new has been said in a while. At least get some new quotes--it's not like those guys would shy away from talking to the media. And particularly given how much things have changed with the FLE, it seems reasonable that year-old news might be useless.

 

[Sir-Disney]

double post sorry

 

[Sir-Disney]

I don't think the solution is to keep expanding and adding more and more attractions to add to an already discombobulated and unefficient system. I'm sure everytime they expand that brings more and more people to the park and more people in the park add to longer wait times with their current system. So how is that helping any? The big increase in attendance when new attractions are added isn't going to be offset by having the increased attendance people on a new attraction or two. It seems as if they are trying to master what they have. Take what they have and make it as efficient as possible.

If I was a park owner and heard complaint after complaint that people hated the long lines, spent all that money to only see a few things, and would most likely never return. I would do everything in my power to try to fix it. How is waiting in a line adding to your experience? it isnt. The less time you are in line the better your experience is going to be. The more chances you are going to spend more money, eat more, drink more, BUY MORE. I think that is the driving force behind this.

This is assuming this NextGen thing can actually cut the time you're in line. But even with reservations you still have the same number of people riding so I don't understand how they can make the ride move any faster. The idea behind adding attractions isn't really what I meant totally. I should have said make the existing attractions more equal in their quality. You have some attractions that are taking up space at the park that draw a super minimal group of people per hour so the better rides take the heat. Make those less popular attractions more worth the while and the people will spread out a little. I think one failure is to just accept the fact that there will be wait times for popular rides. Disney is a popular place

Also, consider this. Say you reserve your seat on Test Track a year in advance like it says you'll be able to do. Then assume Disney messes around and doesn't announce the ride closure until the last minute like they did this time. Ok, peoples' wonderful, planned out scheduled are marred and you have a LOT of people that will be rescheduling and inconvenienced.

I suppose I'm just not convinced overall that you can take the same amount of people and move them through the ride quicker. With X-Pass you will have large amounts of people showing up early and late for their reservation just like any other reservation. Due to distractions, delays on previous reservations, etc.

These are just observations and could be biased because I love to do Disney on a spontaneous schedule. I don't know what I will feel like riding from one minute to the next. I don't know if I'll be feeling a bit ill at one part of the day and would rather ride less invasive rides. Lots of concerns here.:veryconfu

 

[Sir-Disney]

From what I understand, the bands would only retain and transmit the guest's generic "assigned number". Say your number was 1876384756. It would be on the back end, within Disney's internal system, that the number would translate into Bob Smith, using a Visa card, with a ressie at 5:30 at liberty tree.

So someone with a walk-around RFID reader could read your guests number potentially, but not have access to the info tied to that number.

Now... Could they read your number, leave the park, and somehow program their own band to replicate your guest number in order to walk around the park as you, free to purchase stuff on your account? Dunno.

I'm not AT ALL a fan of all this, but I think it'll be difficult to have your info and ID stolen.

So, if someone could hack into Disney's back end, and they had a big list of guest numbers, they could potentially rack up a bunch of charges. This is assuming they just wanted to cause chaos (which is a big hacker thing). I think they would have a far more difficult time changing the routing information to have the money go into their account. So, that part of it is a bit more comforting. It is worrysome that someone could potentially duplicate guest bands. But again, as much as Disney is supposedly investing in this thing, it should be near impossible to do any of that crap.

Thanks for clearing that a bit.

 

[jayhawkmickey]

I have to admit being a planner I love the next gen concepts for ADR's, prime firework and parade spots, and the interaction in the parks with the characters. First we could spend the time we usualy spend in line for characters in a more usefull way. Also having the ghosts in the haunted mansion call out my name would be awesome. I don't thing the majority of the people in the world would take advantage of the ride reservation feature and the ones who do are the 1% super planners (no offence implied). We plan our ADR's now at the earliest time we can and plan out which parks to go to months in advance, but we have never planned a ride in a certain order at a certain time. The overall effect can't be any worse than the fastpasses, which by the way I like alot as well.
Also to all the people who are saying that the parks need a major overhaul, they are getting it. Just like a house, you would be a fool to spent major cash for paint and landscape if your foundation needs repairs! A billion dollars for nextgen is just the start. Once done then e tickets can be refurbed with the nextgen concepts and money spent on neat and cool things like shiny rides and paint later. After seeing BTM, Test Track, the amazing new Fantasyland, Mainstreet and Liberty Square and Fronierland refurbishments just in the last year or two I don't see how you can say TDO isn't investing in the parks. They are, it's just in ways we don't see yet like infraftructure in a city. You love that its there it's just not sexy like a coaster or new park. Just my two cents.

 

[RSoxNo1]

This is crappy journalism at its . . . crappiest. Is no one pointing out that some of the quotes used in this article are a year old?

The info is a bit late to the game, but in terms of national news on a story like this they at least got most of the info correct. It's not like the Habit Heroes stories that had 8% of the information.

 

[rortiz]

So only the deluxe resort guests will have this option? What about the moderate hotel guests?

 

[Tom]

So only the deluxe resort guests will have this option? What about the moderate hotel guests?

There is no evidence that only Deluxe Resort guests will have access to the new "xPass" system.

 

[flavious27]

If this was really about having less wait times, then build more. I like planning dinning because I can then make sure I have a table and where I will be, but I don't want to plan where I will be every moment in the day. I also don't want to swipe my wrist without any kind of protection it isn't someone else that has my band. I don't have a problem with disney using rfid to add to the experience, what jim described takes away from the experience.

 

[G00fyDad]

If this was really about having less wait times, then build more.

They are.

but I don't want to plan where I will be every moment in the day.

Then don't. There is such an "either/or" attitude with this xPass system. This is going to be another perk for booking packages. Not a required action. Nor should it ever cause any more irritation with guests that do not use it than the current FP system. The consensus seems to be that xPass is "something I have to do", "something that will consume every moment of my day", or "something that will cause the lines to be unbearable". That is not what it is about. There are plenty of people like me that are excited about this idea. I can book my TS 180 days out right now and I love that because I do know what parks I'd like to visit on each day. (and yes, I can change it later, even that same day and still get a seat) And now I will be able to book rides 180 days out. I can book all of my attractions that usually fill up fast for the first thing in the mornings and get them out of the way. Then I can just relax for the rest of the day and if I get to ride them again then great, if not then at least I had an xPass for that morning.

I also don't want to swipe my wrist without any kind of protection it isn't someone else that has my band.

So you have no problem with them not knowing if it is you using your KttW card but you have a problem with them not knowing if it is you using your RFID bracelet? :shrug: And if you have this kind of problem then send Disney a suggestion to give you the option to have the cash registers tell the the cashiers ask for ID when you buy something. Or better yet, if you feel that strongly about the security issues then just don't get charging privileges on the bracelet or KttW card.

 

[mickeyminiemom]

They are.

) And now I will be able to book rides 180 days out. I can book all of my attractions that usually fill up fast for the first thing in the mornings and get them out of the way. Then I can just relax for the rest of the day and if I get to ride them again then great, if not then at least I had an xPass for that morning.


.

This is exactly what I was thinking. Now I will know that I will definitely be able to ride some of the top attractions with out having to kill myself to get there in morning to do so. Do you have any idea if you are only able to schedule an attraction for once a day or can you do it multiple times in a day?

 

[dkosdros]

They are.



Then don't. There is such an "either/or" attitude with this xPass system. This is going to be another perk for booking packages. Not a required action. Nor should it ever cause any more irritation with guests that do not use it than the current FP system. The consensus seems to be that xPass is "something I have to do", "something that will consume every moment of my day", or "something that will cause the lines to be unbearable". That is not what it is about. There are plenty of people like me that are excited about this idea. I can book my TS 180 days out right now and I love that because I do know what parks I'd like to visit on each day. (and yes, I can change it later, even that same day and still get a seat) And now I will be able to book rides 180 days out. I can book all of my attractions that usually fill up fast for the first thing in the mornings and get them out of the way. Then I can just relax for the rest of the day and if I get to ride them again then great, if not then at least I had an xPass for that morning.



So you have no problem with them not knowing if it is you using your KttW card but you have a problem with them not knowing if it is you using your RFID bracelet? :shrug: And if you have this kind of problem then send Disney a suggestion to give you the option to have the cash registers tell the the cashiers ask for ID when you buy something. Or better yet, if you feel that strongly about the security issues then just don't get charging privileges on the bracelet or KttW card.

Well said!!! :sohappy: Point is if you like it then great take advantage of it. If you don't then don't whine that you are standing in line with all the others as I walk on up and onto the ride because I like to plan ahead. :lol: