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

[GeneralKnowledge]

I know it's easy to have 20/20 hindsight, but as a seasoned Disney fanatic, I could see this coming from the moment I learned the details of this project and the $ involved. It's horribly unfortunate for Disney, but come on, it was pretty easy to see this was a flawed plan.

 

[GeneralKnowledge]

You'll get a lot of examples from people here, but it is not giving fits to the majority of people using it. It is true that it is over budget and behind schedule. So I suppose that it was a bad idea from the start, but I for one still really like it. However, I do acknowledge that it is seriously flawed in the grand scheme of things. Even though it is "buggy" or a down right failure for as few people as there are it is still a problem. You cannot have a system as comprehensive and invasive as this have even this many problems. People are having problems with the package not being tied to the bands, the bands not activating properly, bands not working on the entry gates/checkouts/FP returns, etc.... Disney needs to work these bugs out before it get so bad that they have to scrap the whole thing. They are going to start losing (continue to lose) a ton of guest money to rival parks if they don't.

I'm sure that moreso on top of any technical failings or difficulties it's not increasing revenue anywhere close to what they need it to in order to justify the price tag.

 

[lazyboy97o]

Disney execs and other elites in business and government positions live in Bubbleworld. The rest of us live in Disneyworld. When there is no more money to spend in my Disneyworld household - then there is no more money. In Bubbleworld they can create another Bubbleworld that has more money in it to spend.

Walt Disney World mostly had been operating under the idea that people just did not have the money to spend. Universal Orlando Resort destroyed the last vestiges of that notion. Instead of figuring out why people just are not interested in spending at Walt Disney World they've dived head first into payment methods and technology to try and capture more impulse purchases.

 

[yeti]

 

[lazyboy97o]

I know it's easy to have 20/20 hindsight, but as a seasoned Disney fanatic, I could see this coming from the moment I learned the details of this project and the $ involved. It's horribly unfortunate for Disney, but come on, it was pretty easy to see this was a flawed plan.

Not if you don't like theme parks and therefore have no understanding of how they work. That's the bigger problem here. Both coasts are beholden to people with no love or respect for the business.

 

[Nmoody1]

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!

 

[Magenta Panther]

Yeah, that Bob Iger, he's some genius...

Frankly, I couldn't be happier about this debacle. MyMagic+ was designed to "mine" more out of park guests and give them nothing in return. Iger looks like a fool now. Yay!

 

[AMartin767]

Does anyone know if there were major issues around the introduction of the "Key To the World" cards when they were first introduced? Typically, projects of this scope are not going to go in without issues and are often over budget. I'm just not sure that the doomsaying about Magic+ is warrented.

 

[Magenta Panther]

Well the next quarterly earnings call will be interesting. If any of this MiceAge type news gets to the analysts out there, how will Iger respond to any questions of how every project on the boards for the domestic parks has been hampered by overspending? He can and will deflect all day long, but the bottom line is....if it impacts the bottom line. Shareholders will not be pleased and if the stock takes a hit, he'll have to respond.

I hope to heaven that SOMEBODY will bring up the broken Yeti during that call. Iger wastes millions on the MyNSA-oopsMagic+ project while the Yeti remains "Frozen" (see what I did there? )

 

[flynnibus]

MiceAge updates, especially when they were written by Al Lutz, have a long history of being highly accurate.

This is the house Al built - not Al

 

[flynnibus]

There's nothing quantifiable about any of this. That's why this aticle is so useless. It comes across as a way of walking back previous rumors (Star Wars at Tomorrowland) with new ones.

Don't you remember @WDW1974 talking about the execs being on property the other week ??

 

[janoimagine]

How could they not see this coming ... if anything comes out of this I would hope it be Rasulo's resignation. 15 years ago he would have been fired for even suggesting such Crap as My Magic+.

Last week it seemed like their was at least 2 or 3 MM+ cast members to every 1 standard cast ... this is such a joke. Every cast member I spoke too ... including some at Guest Relations find the program a pain and to quote at least 2 cast members ... Creepy.

They should rename it to the MM+ Tether program and make an ankle version. The fact that this is installed onto rides like Small World, and Journey into Imagination proves that Disney has lost all touch with it's consumer and has no shame whatsoever.

 

[ford91exploder]

probably not much... I don't 100% fully buy everything in that article... considering Disney Springs is still being worked on and we're now seeing avatarland permits filed, etc.

Honestly... I can't seem to figure out how delaying needed projects in the American parks would help anything regardless of the issues with MM+

Iger just may be trying to make a statement... who knows

The fact is that TWDC is BROKE, They have been spending and spending on things like 'John Carter', MM+ and purchasing IP all that needs to be paid for and I'd like to see the real 'Free cash flow' figures I bet they are not pretty.

 

[ABQ]

The fact is that TWDC is BROKE.....

I think that's a little extreme, don't you?

 

[ford91exploder]

I am not sure how a company like Disney works with its Board and Iger, but how can heads not roll after this? I saw a few posts a while back about a few people being let go, but this is a massive failure. I know the blame will be pushed around, but is there a confirmed source of who started pushing the ideas of magic bands and who started it all?

All belongs to Staggs and Rasulo, MM+ is like the 'Smart Grid' which is supposed to allow you to use electricity more efficiently - Both MM+ and 'Smart Grid' would work if additional capacity were being created.

however in both cases both the US power grid and the parks need more CAPACITY in both cases the usage controls are meant to substitute for capacity and 'Bullwinkle that trick NEVER WORKS' as there is no substitute for CAPACITY in either case.

 

[mitchk]

I told everyone, when I tested the magic + last sept, this is not gonna work. Well, I just got back from a 7 day trip with my trusty band.....all I can say is...they Suck! I couldn't believe how many problems there were. My fast passes were not viewable from my iPad, they never gave us a pin at check in, so when we tried to get a qs at MK we were denied and had to go back to our resort to have a pin installed, it would not open our room door........ You get the idea, they are nowhere near ready, and even if they do get all the bugs out, I still hate the whole idea of them. Why would you get a park hopper option with these things anyway? So I can do my FPs at MK, then go to Epcot and wait in crazy lines, because everyone else there has FPs for all the good rides? Makes no sense, who ever green lit this so called project needs to be fired! Last thing, in Epcot I even went to a magic my way station to look up my FPs, and the whole system was down, this was on 2 different occasions.

 

[pheneix]

If I had known WDPR's business would turn into a train wreck this fast I would have approached all of the DHS expansion information I disclosed with a lot more suspicion. Of course, even then my sources who were talking were not enthusiastic at what was proposed and not so secretly wanted the whole thing scrapped anyway.

They got their wish.

There are things that will happen to Disney Parks in 2014 that are gonna break the allegiance of even the most hardened of fans of this organization. Disney is absolutely convinced this will never happen and will continue pursuing their blue ocean business strategy until there is no more water to squeeze out of this sponge.

It's not like somebody woke up last week and said "FREEZE EVERYTHING!" for all parks. Things have been heading in this direction for a while now and for the record Tokyo Disney's upcoming projects are also on hold and under review because OLC is not comfortable with what was proposed or even with WDPR as a business partner, to be frank. The dysfunction is officially spilling over into the business everywhere.

 

[ford91exploder]

I think that's a little extreme, don't you?

I'm not sure - TWDC is acting like a company with severe financial constraints even though their balance sheet is supposedly flush. The balance sheet and P&L contradict their actions, The extreme cost cutting, reducing operating hours in the face of record demand, price increases.

If this was any other company BUT Disney what would we be saying about it's apparent financial health??

 

[twebber55]

my theory would be if this is such a money issue the best thing they could do would be to build new attractions not more cut backs!

 

[Magenta Panther]

I'm not sure - TWDC is acting like a company with severe financial constraints even though their balance sheet is supposedly flush. The balance sheet and P&L contradict their actions, The extreme cost cutting, reducing operating hours in the face of record demand, price increases.

If this was any other company BUT Disney what would we be saying about it's apparent financial health??

Frankly, when you describe things that way, what the situation looks like to me is...that Iger's trying to reshape the Parks' financial picture to make them look more attractive to prospective buyers. Which I hope to God is not true...