MiceAge on the latest news regarding MyMagic+ : Read it and weep.

danv3

danv3

Well-Known Member
Clever Name said:
Indeed. I don't consider the article to be reporting at all. It is story telling and the author(s) obviously used prevailing sentiments within the fan community as focal points to churn up hatred and discontent.
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These negative attitudes can't represent prevailing sentiments. We know that only 2% of guests have a negative reaction to MM+. The Disney Parks Blog said so!
 
GoofGoof

GoofGoof

Premium Member
If true, this is obviously disappointing and very bad news. I am wondering how real any of these projects really were in the first place.

In the last 12+ months we supposedly had:
1) No StarWars for domestic parks
2) A greenlit Carsland for DHS
3) Avatar on, then on life support, now back on again
4) Carsland at DHS off, replaced with a Pixar project including a Cars dark ride (not RSR) and possibly a Monsters ride
5) DHS getting both StarWarsLand and Pixar Expansion
6) Pixar expansion off in favor of full dedication to StarWarsLand at DHS
7) No new additions to WDW due to NextGen overruns
8) No additions to any parks due to NextGen overruns

I find it hard to believe that Iger and his crew didn't know about the NextGen problems until the meetings in Orlando. If I knew about the problems from insiders here they had to know. I have no doubt that cost overruns could be delaying other projects and I totally believe that they are looking to allocate as many hours of WDI's time to projects in Japan and China that they aren't paying for. It's likely that funds they expected to have available for new projects in Q1 and Q2 of this year are now going towards finishing up NextGen. That should mean a delay, not a cancellation. Still disappointing, but perhaps not as bad as the picture this article paints.
 
PhotoDave219

PhotoDave219

Well-Known Member
Cutting Star Wars is a problem.

Then again, the biggest problem has been a lack of foresight & strategic thinking within the theme parks.

They are only a "mature business" because that's how management views them, this making it a self-fulfilling prophecy. If management wanted them to be a growth business, they would have properly invested in them and put people in charge who know how to run theme parks.
 
GoofGoof

GoofGoof

Premium Member
flynnibus said:
Meeting summits aren't just about 'learning the news' - but are usually about what action to take with the information.
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I agree with that, but the article seems to imply that when Iger got to Orlando and found out how bad things were he flipped out and put everything on hold. I'm sure if everything is really on hold that was decided well before those meetings.
 
RSoxNo1

RSoxNo1

Well-Known Member
This was a system theorized by people that didn't understand theme parks. They were trying to drastically change how people experienced their parks and did so with no evidence to support this was needed. The motivation was money and ignorance.

My Magic+ will continue to be a financial burden relative to how it's paid off. The ways that this product was intended to earn money were also shortsighted and based largely on assumptions:
  • Reserving attractions would keep people on property: Sure, this works in theory but ultimately people will want to have superior attractions.
  • Magic Bands linked to credit cards allow for more convenient spending: Psychologically people recognize they're spending money when they pull out their wallet. This aims to address that, but to what extent?
  • Magic Bands can be linked to Photopass: This is a strong selling point, I'm just not sure if it's $1 billion+ selling point
  • In park activity monitored by RFID can be sold: This can be a money maker.
Conversely, there are components of this that could be damaging financially
  • Disincentive to park hop: Fastpass+ is designed to prevent park hopping
  • Potential for less rides per guest/lower guest satisfaction due to scheduling
  • Opportunity costs arising from not building an E-ticket for 7 years
 
RSoxNo1

RSoxNo1

Well-Known Member
Nmoody1 said:
Didn't the last time a whole bunch of imagineers get laid off we ended up with Islands of Adventure.... Attractions that were just what the Orlando scene needed..... Fine by me for history to repeat itself, I love Disney but if someone else is willing to invest in ATTRACTIONS and creativity of these imagineering folks, they get my buck.

I'm bored of princesses and planning vacations in advance..... Especially when I am planning to experience the same old tired attractions I have experienced for the last 10 years with very little new to entice me.

I'll take a disney cruise, I'm happy to visit Tokyo, but the US parks really are lacking in comparison to the competition.

I do think Miceage have been somewhat negative towards MyMagic+ .. Maybe it's jealousy, maybe it's fear of change.... We all know how the west coast reacts to Disney daring to do something different (hence the. Museum that is Fantasyland and the reason they don't have a nighttime parade.... Remember their reaction to LightMagic). I'm all for the majority of MyMagic+ aspects.... Even planning fast passes if it meant I could still fast pass all main attractions.

90 days may sound like an age.... But it's 90 days that Shanghai and Tokyo will be paying for imagineering. Let's worry about what happens in 95 days time .... If and when this all happens.... The speed at what Disney moves at is nothing.... 90 days in the 5 years it's taking to get Avatar going.... Drop in the ocean!
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This is an excellent point. Universal is poised for a 3rd park before Disney is poised for a 5th...
 
Ciciwoowoo

Ciciwoowoo

Well-Known Member
I am here at the World right now, with my own shiny pink magic band. My thoughts? Love how easy it is to get into the hotel room, parking gate at hotel, and theme parks.

Hate planning three rides a day. It is a pain in the rear to change and you spend half your vacation on your smartphone, looking up your next destination.

Have I spent one dime more because of it? No. In fact, we are so busy crossing the park that I have only been in 2 stores in 5 days. Total merchandise purchases so far: $28.00

Problems with the bands: for some reason, my son is not on any of our FP+ reservations. We have talked to a few CMs about it, but no one knows how to fix it. It does make us feel like criminals every time we go on a ride and have to explain the problems over and over again.
 
G

gsimpson

Well-Known Member
Regardless of how incompetent the suits in Burbank may be regarding how to run a theme park they are well heeled business people who know the ins and outs of making a buck, possibly too well, and it defies good business practice to shut down all development at all US parks because a non-Disney developed project is on the skids. when John Carter tanked you may have noticed they didn't cancel all new shows at ABC and cancel contract negotiations over at ESPN. They didn't even cancel other movies at the studios. that line of reasoning just does not hold up. They didn't even shut it all down when Lone Ranger ubber tanked. While I don't believe MM will ever pay big dividends, or probably even pay for itself, I personally like it, and I've been going to WDW since it opened, stayed at the Poly within 3 weeks of opening. I have only used it on one trip so far but will use it again when I am down there from 12/26 - 1/7. I know in Al's eyes all things evil are the result of something being done, or not done, at WDW but if they did actually scotch all development at DLR it is because DLR has a problem, not because of the cost over runs and schedule delays of an unrelated project at WDW. The businesses are run on separate budgets, with separate over sight until all but the highest level.
 

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