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

[John]

Well for starters I know several families who have booked Disney trips to go back just because they want to check this magic band stuff out. I don't think anyone will spend that much more or even a little more (who knows) but hopefully this will keep some from spending time standing in line at toy story mania for a fast pass or lining up an hour or more before parades etc down the road which gives them more time elsewhere

Two is a couple.....three is a few......four is more then a few....five is several.....so you know five or more families that want to book a Disney trip just to check out the Magic Band.....I am calling BS on this one. Keep in mind I was a Disney centric travel agent for a few years.

 

[janoimagine]

Bottom line is they really gambled, they broke strategy from building new world class attractions and entertainment that people would travel to see and as a result, stay on property, buy merchandise, in some cases merchandise related to the new offerings, and as of right now the gamble hasn't paid off and looks like it's really not going to.

I have a huge problem when key effects are missing from attractions (in some cases for months), and I see 2 to 3 MM+ cast members walking around with iPads and clipboards for every 1 standard cast member when that money could be put to much better use.

 

[janoimagine]

hopefully this will keep some from spending time standing in line at toy story mania for a fast pass or lining up an hour or more before parades etc down the road which gives them more time elsewhere

You know what else woud do this, and has done it for years and worked near perfectly? Building new attractions.

 

[danlb_2000]

Well for starters I know several families who have booked Disney trips to go back just because they want to check this magic band stuff out. I don't think anyone will spend that much more or even a little more (who knows) but hopefully this will keep some from spending time standing in line at toy story mania for a fast pass or lining up an hour or more before parades etc down the road which gives them more time elsewhere

If I were you I would make sure these family members understand exactly what "this magic band stuff" is. I don't think even the biggest MM+ supporter would say that it alone is a reason to visit the parks. Even if the system was working 100% I think people would be very disappointed if they planned a trip around it.

 

[SJN1279]

I understand, but as a lifelong Disney fan turned critic, I felt that to be able to rightfully critique The New Fantasyland, I actually had to experience it. I'm just not willing to pay for it. So when given the oppertunity to be comped in during cast previews, I took it.
And I should add that I'm not not going to WDW as a protest or send a message, I'm not going because I simply don't think it's worth it. As a local, I had been a lot and with the sky rocketing cost combined with the lack of compelling new attractions I just think my entertainment dollars are better spent else where. Particularly a place that is offering up an updated, cleaner, and more vibrant product.
I do have to admit that I find it odd that so many people keep throwing so much money, and defending to an illogical level, an obviously deteriorating product. Especially in light of the fact that 6 miles away, there is a superior product being offered.

Being in Orlando this year with a pregnant wife and next year with a newborn, I see first hand the many flaws and lack of family attractions within Universal(not one ride the entire family can ride together, totally baffling). For a family, nothing beats Magic Kingdom. Epcot also has numerous rides that a family can enjoy together. I will be going to Universal next year as well, but I am pretty sure the constant baby swaps will get old fast.

 

[PeterAlt]

The article mentioned that TDO wasn't that interested in the improvements being planned for Mermaid because of the required downtime. If it's true that WDI has been working on improvements for that ride and proposed to do the same work at both DCA and WDW, why can't they wait until the Seven Dwarf Mine Coaster opens at WDW before doing the work?

Considering that this project is on hold, 7DMC (I spelled it out above because I don't know the correct abbreviation for it) should be running by then, and TDO has really no excuse not to accept such a welcome improvement to the ride..

 

[WDWDad13]

Two is a couple.....three is a few......four is more then a few....five is several.....so you know five or more families that want to book a Disney trip just to check out the Magic Band.....I am calling BS on this one. Keep in mind I was a Disney centric travel agent for a few years.

As am I...right now...call your BS...but I have your proof

 

[WDWDad13]

If I were you I would make sure these family members understand exactly what "this magic band stuff" is. I don't think even the biggest MM+ supporter would say that it alone is a reason to visit the parks. Even if the system was working 100% I think people would be very disappointed if they planned a trip around it.

I know several who have done it and loved it. Only issue I've had reported back to me was with the photopass not linking up correctly. One phone call corrected it

 

[PeterAlt]

Who is going to be the first to post an Eisner, "Miss me?" meme?

Me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But Iger deserves some credit. The good he's done was taught by Eisner.

 

[WDWDad13]

Bottom line is they really gambled, they broke strategy from building new world class attractions and entertainment that people would travel to see and as a result, stay on property, buy merchandise, in some cases merchandise related to the new offerings, and as of right now the gamble hasn't paid off and looks like it's really not going to.

I have a huge problem when key effects are missing from attractions (in some cases for months), and I see 2 to 3 MM+ cast members walking around with iPads and clipboards for every 1 standard cast member when that money could be put to much better use.

Didn't Walt gamble all the time doing cutting edge things or building Disneyland altogether?

This will pay off...and I don't mean return on investment...I mean being the first to rethink and redesign the large theme park experience and being into the latest technology users and guests can take advantage of. The long term soft dollar return on this is huge while it can be spun to shareholders that this will bring in more money when it may not...much

 

[PeterAlt]

Jay Rasulo won't be getting CEO position, neither will Tom Staggs. No one in house will get the job, before an outsider gets a crack at it.

I thought Kathleen Kennedy was a candidate...

 

[WDWDad13]

You know what else woud do this, and has done it for years and worked near perfectly? Building new attractions.

Attractions are not and should not be just "rides" in a theme park. No one knows if they never did MM+ if anything would have been different at WDW in Florida and I'm sure not eating the entire cheese from sources (and I use that term loosely) like miceage

 

[G00fyDad]

I know several who have done it and loved it. Only issue I've had reported back to me was with the photopass not linking up correctly. One phone call corrected it

As I've said before, the vast majority of people are not experiencing any issues with the MM+/FP+/MagicBand at all. It is just a small percentage. However, if you consider the sheer amount of people that visit Disney World each day, that small 5% or so will be a very large and not to be ignored amount of people. For example, lets say that for attendance we have:

16 million per year (average) / 365 days a year = 43,836 visitors per day

(Remove 50% for those that are not testing MM+)

43,836 / 2 = 21,918 visitors per day using MM+

21,918 - 10% having issues = 2192 people per day having trouble with MM+.

2000 or more people having issues with this each day is way too many. Keep in mind that I have used the MB's and loved every minute of it. Thankfully I was not one of the lower percentage.

 

[G00fyDad]

I thought Kathleen Kennedy was a candidate...

I hope so. She has that creative mind. But let's not forget that whoever the BoD hires is going to be financially oriented like Iger.

 

[WDWDad13]

As I've said before, the vast majority of people are not experiencing any issues with the MM+/FP+/MagicBand at all. It is just a small percentage. However, if you consider the sheer amount of people that visit Disney World each day, that small 5% or so will be a very large and not to be ignored amount of people. For example, lets say that for attendance we have:

16 million per year (average) / 365 days a year = 43,836 visitors per day

(Remove 50% for those that are not testing MM+)

43,836 / 2 = 21,918 visitors per day using MM+

21,918 - 10% having issues = 2192 people per day having trouble with MM+.

2000 or more people having issues with this each day is way too many. Keep in mind that I have used the MB's and loved every minute of it. Thankfully I was not one of the lower percentage.

I agree and hopefully the remaining bugs will be fixed during testing. My guess is that's why they havent opened it yet to pass holders or non resort guests just yet too

 

[danlb_2000]

I know several who have done it and loved it. Only issue I've had reported back to me was with the photopass not linking up correctly. One phone call corrected it

Would they not have had as good a time if MM+ wasn't there? What part made it worth while just to plan a trip to see it? Getting into a hotel room with the band isn't much more exciting then using a key card which pretty much every hotel in the world has now. Paying with the band isn't really that exciting, you can use pay to touch in a lot of places outside of Disney. Yes, I can see MM+ making the trip slightly more enjoyable, but I can't see people being existing to just see MM+.

 

[SJN1279]

I thought Kathleen Kennedy was a candidate...

That has disaster written all over it. Just watch TNA Wrestling, and you will see why.

 

[PeterAlt]

I didn't state that Burbank was being logical here, for clearly they miss the point of spending more to get more.

I've heard the excuse dozens of times over the decades about how the Japanese tourist is very gullible and can't spend their money fast enough and that's why OLC is so profitable. And of course, it's simply a stupid lazy excuse to justify not taking American parks CAPEX to the same level as Tokyo's.

Truth is, the Japanese tourist is just as selective as the American tourist. Offer them better entertainment with higher quality and they'll bail on you. OLC needs to spend the higher CAPEX to stay in business and remain profitable. But Burbank continues to ignore this and still insists that the markets are vastly different requiring different operating models. Hogwarts should be proving this fallacy in their thinking but they're too arrogant to let that truth sink in. Or at least too arrogant to publicly admit it.


Margins aren't lower per se. They need to spend more to keep those margins above a certain level. There's a threshold of return in Japan that's dependent upon that higher CAPEX spending. Without the higher spending, they get basically nothing back.

Burbank thinks their American parks are mature and immune to higher spending but Hogwarts up the road in Orlando proved them wrong. So now Burbank is backpeddling with Avatar and SW additions which may or may not turn the tide on increased revenue because of the fiscal black hole of TragicBand. My personal suspicions are that Uni got the jump on them when they were too busy messing around with NGE and has now permanently stolen a significant chunk of Disney's devoted visitor base. But time will tell.

You, just hit a hole in one there. Truth is what you told, and accurate it is!

 

[AndyMagic]

It is predicated on the idea that you will place a certain amount of money on your band and it will make it easier for you to spend the money, or at least not "see" it as spending the money. If you have to pull out your wallet each time you will soon get the idea that you're laying down some serious money. It is the same idea behind no clocks or windows in casinos. They don't want you knowing how long you have been emptying your bank account, and Disney doesn't want you to know how much you have been tossing away in the parks all day.

The similarities between MyMagic and the various schemes thought up by the second generation of big casino resorts are staggering actually. Instead of dispensing actual money, the casinos switched to pieces of branded paper and chips as a stand-in because people are much more likely to double down, let it ride, and in general be careless when they can just place a single chip on their lucky number instead of a $100 bill. People are also less likely to "cash-out" as their pile of chips and tickets dwindle due to a number of reasons. If you have a dollar and 80 cents left on a slot-machine ticket, the sense that you "might as well" finish it off kicks in. Turning your money into a magical little game for the guests is a slimy way to increase profits. All companies are looking to maximize the amount people spend on their products and this is probably the worst way to do it from a customer service standpoint. You want to increase guest spending? No problem. Develop and manufacture original and interesting merchandise and then sell it at a premium price. Give guests one-of-a-kind experiences that will make them WANT to spend their money. It's puzzling to me that Disney of all companies doesn't grasp this since they were the ones who did it so brilliantly for so many years.

 

[WDWDad13]

Would they not have had as good a time if MM+ wasn't there? What part made it worth while just to plan a trip to see it? Getting into a hotel room with the band isn't much more exciting then using a key card which pretty much every hotel in the world has now. Paying with the band isn't really that exciting, you can use pay to touch in a lot of places outside of Disney. Yes, I can see MM+ making the trip slightly more enjoyable, but I can't see people being existing to just see MM+.

Simply because it's something new. Whether or not you or I would book a trip because of this is one thing but honestly some had (believe it or not) just to try it out