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

[ford91exploder]

My family can get get into the parks for free almost anytime they want due to my Spirited friends. They can get free and greatly discounted food and beverages thanks to my Spirited friends. They can even get fair (40-60% off) rates at WDW resorts due to my Spirited friends.

They have no desire to go to WDW anymore and largely have felt this way for years now.

You have a problem when you cannot GIVE product away.

 

[ford91exploder]

It will be some time before the suits realize it, but NGE is the Obamacare of the theme park industry. Management who evolved in ignorance of IT have no clue how to manage it. Time after time, unwieldy IT projects with big promises line the pockets of consultants and contractors, and non-scaleable systems never function as promised. Millions of lines of code are written, and functionality never lives up to the promises.

The sooner they face up to this mess being Igercare, the quicker the corporation will move past dumping good money after bad. The basic premise of both "care" programs is a clever fleecing of the paying (or taxpaying) public. It simply doesn't work.

I hope WDW recovers, but maybe not in my lifetime.

THIS

 

[aladdin2007]

It will be some time before the suits realize it, but NGE is the Obamacare of the theme park industry. Management who evolved in ignorance of IT have no clue how to manage it. Time after time, unwieldy IT projects with big promises line the pockets of consultants and contractors, and non-scaleable systems never function as promised. Millions of lines of code are written, and functionality never lives up to the promises.

The sooner they face up to this mess being Igercare, the quicker the corporation will move past dumping good money after bad. The basic premise of both "care" programs is a clever fleecing of the paying (or taxpaying) public. It simply doesn't work.

I hope WDW recovers, but maybe not in my lifetime.

Exactly, this indeed!!

 

[WDW1974]

Just a bit of an update, but one valued source checked in and told me that while parts of the Miceage story are true, others are simply speculation. I am trying to ascertain what is what ... I still believe the biggest affect of NGE overruns are at WDW, but Todd/Dusty and Norm/Fishbulb and crew may have read too much into certain things that are true: overruns and delays.

Now, I need to go baste my turkey ...

22 pages in a day? Hey, @marni1971 I disagree with @Lee ... you are almost in my league!!!

 

[Belowthesurface]

Has anyone brought up the fact that 3 different roles are needed to staff the FP+ kiosks--and more kiosks will be coming--which is adding to this budget?

You have...

Guest Relations and the FP+ Team staffing the FP+ kiosks and the Park Support Team responding to this tech not working. It's trendy right now to want to be on any of these 3 teams, but few realize how meaningless they really are.

The amount of gushing by some on the FP Team is pathetic.

 

[PhotoDave219]

So I guess the thought that "A good manager can manage anything" just isnt true, right?

You have to know how your product works in order for your management to be effective.

 

[SoupBone]

Some Spirited Perspective:


BTW, Saving Mr. Banks doesn't look all that (I know, the fanbois are crying and burying their heads under pillows while yelling 'I can't hear you!') and was it just me or did Walt Disney walk by the Walt Disney Story in one of the trailers? I thought so, but only got a brief glimpse. If so, that is one incredible continuity issue that someone should have seen.

I know I ranted earlier, and I still believe what I posted, but I'm going to see this movie simply because no one else has taken an interest in developing one with Walt Disney as a main character. I'll indulge and then repent.

 

[DisneyGentleman]

So I guess the thought that "A good manager can manage anything" just isnt true, right?

You have to know how your product works in order for your management to be effective.

A great example of this is Alan Mulally, who restored Ford to its past glory. Alan was a superb leader and engineer at Boeing who learned how to effectively build value into engineered products. He has done the same thing at Ford.

Taking more money from guests by putting an electronic hand into their wallet is not about value at all. NGE adds little value to the visitor experience.

The worst decision any company can make is to assume their customers are dumb. The power of a mass audience is its intelligence. Eventually they will figure out that the best way to stay beyond the reach of the electronic hand is to simply stay home.

The folks on this board all know the answer. It's about adding value to the user experience, whether it be more attractions, better food, or better products. Whether it is Disney or Ford, the answer is the same, and it is an answer well understood by Walt. Give the customer an experience they value, and they will return.

 

[Cesar R M]

Good grief. I think you need a hard dose of reality on the current state of WDW. This snowball has been building for the past 10 years with MANY warning signs along the way. The people who have tried to speak against it or change course have been reassigned, fired, or politely told to get out of the way as they were replaced with Yes Men. This isn't about projects that will never materialize. it's about the BILLIONS that have been spent on what is probably a sunk cost, and a project that wasn't well thought out, poorly executed, and probably should have been cut months ago! These types of initiatives are pretty much worst case scenario, and it will take years for the company to recover.

On your point about the stock price, trust me, it is not a sign of Iger's competence. Many stocks are at all time highs...I'm making money hand over foot on some of my positions. Stocks are trading 30x earnings, DJ hitting an all time high closing above 16,000. It's all going to come crashing down again soon, and Disney's stock price is going to fall right along with the rest of them!

almost sounds like money laundering a la iraq-helliburton.
or similar the ex-microsoft guy sabotaging nokia.. sinking nokia on purpose to sell it to Microsoft.
sinking disney to save the IT company in charge of mymagic+

 

[Buried20KLeague]

My family can get get into the parks for free almost anytime they want due to my Spirited friends. They can get free and greatly discounted food and beverages thanks to my Spirited friends. They can even get fair (40-60% off) rates at WDW resorts due to my Spirited friends.

They have no desire to go to WDW anymore and largely have felt this way for years now.

You're welcome to join the Buried clan at TDR in March! The stuffed Shiriki (for you to clutch) is on me!

 

[RichKermitFan]

Are there nice people that can have sensible discussions on these boards? It seems to be full of people who spend entirely too much time bashing EVERYTHING.

 

[Cody5242]

Okay after listening to the soundtrack of Frozen again the movie is REALLY growing on me! Might I say its on par with Beauty and Beast

 

[lazyboy97o]

The worst decision any company can make is to assume their customers are dumb.

Quoted for Truth.

Are there nice people that can have sensible discussions on these boards? It seems to be full of people who spend entirely too much time bashing EVERYTHING.

And we better not insult TDO

 

[GoofGoof]

Are there nice people that can have sensible discussions on these boards? It seems to be full of people who spend entirely too much time bashing EVERYTHING.

Nice people, yes.
Sensible discussion, sometimes.

You are unlikely to be part of a sensible discussion with nice people if you come out swinging right off the bat. This board has a history of attracting new people with older accounts but a limited post count whose only intent is to derail discussions whenever anything negative is brought up and turn things into personal attacks.

 

[bhg469]

Are there nice people that can have sensible discussions on these boards? It seems to be full of people who spend entirely too much time bashing EVERYTHING.

I used to be so very nice and that i wanted to be at wdw every year when i could take a trip. I'm 34 now and i don't have children and idon't like disney movies. The park that once could appeal to me is on life support and has had several amputations. This place used to be amazing, now its just there.

 

[FigmentJedi]

I also remember a time when you could buy much of the parks merchandise...only at the parks. Not at DisneyStore.com.

As someone who only gets down to Florida like once every three years, I'm glad that even with their ridiculously overpriced shipping, there's an option for me to get items from the parks without having to go through the overpriced middleman/third-party groups like LaughingPlace or YourWDWStore.

Granted, most of the DIsneyStore's park stuff is focused on the generic "Year Merch"

 

[Bairstow]

And if I had been -- or knew someone or multiple people that had been -- would you believe me?

No.

So, go ahead, smoke the Pixie Dust and keep on believing in DREAMS, WISHES and MAGIC!!!

No need for the personal attacks. I was merely questioning the credibility of the article.
...and reading some of your more recent posts in this thread, you are too.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Are there nice people that can have sensible discussions on these boards? It seems to be full of people who spend entirely too much time bashing EVERYTHING.

Yes.

However, we expect Disney to do better. Thats the point.

 

[Lee]

22 pages in a day? Hey, @marni1971 I disagree with @Lee ... you are almost in my league!!!

Hey, now...stop trying to stir up trouble.
You're both in leagues of your own.

 

[RunnerEd]

So when are the firings going to happen? In the economy that we're languishing in, I hate to see anyone lose their job but the people pushing this crap have been making huge promises along with huge pay checks and have not performed. Not only has the promised tech not performed, the parks have languished because of it all while getting more expensive for the average vacationer. Where's Trump when you need him....You're Fired!!!