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

[AndyS2992]

No. We don't make dining reservations because we don't have to.

Yeah however I have never made an ADR at WDW (and we go in Summer!) and have always got to eat at the restaurant of choice, sometimes we've had to wait about ten minutes but we've always got in. People fuss too much about dining reservations.

 

[khale1970]

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.

The problem for my family is that the superior product has too many headline rides with taller height requirements. When my kids can ride most of the headliners, we will definitely go to IOA and UOR more, but for right now, WDW is the better value for us. If I were a local or my kids were older, I'm pretty sure I'd be fully on your side.

 

[Slowjack]

But the Key to the World card is a card, so it feels like using your Visa or American Express.
Magic Bands don't, and that's the whole point. You don't even have to reach into your pocket to pull it out.
The goal here isn't simply to allow guests to charge things to their room, but to make the kinetics of spending money as different as possible from what is familiar.

Here's my problem with that argument. The idea that paying a different way makes someone more likely to spend more was once applied to credit cards themselves -- the idea that since you are just handing someone a card, or swiping it yourself, you are more likely to spend money you wouldn't otherwise. This is presumably why Disney has encouraged people to room charge in the first place. Now you are saying that people associate pulling out a card -- any card -- with spending money to such an extent that it feels like spending cash to them. And you know what -- I agree with you. There might have been a small increase in spending initially from switching to a card, but over time, people gain the new association and the benefit disappears. So why wouldn't any benefit from the band (which I doubt would be significant in the first place) disappear over time as well?

And honestly, how different does it feel? They still give you a receipt, right?

I remember once having a discussion about the fact that I graded papers using the traditional red pen. The other person said I should switch to a "friendly" color like green because students associated red with negativity. I said that it only mattered what I wrote, not the color I wrote it in, and if I switched to green that might make students feel better initially, but once they did poorly, they would presumably associate green with bad results just as they had with red.

 

[Darth Sidious]

Fun fact: Eisner is one of the the only Disney executive I have ever spied "shopping" the parks without an entourage. It was 1988, and he stopped by my restaurant, bought food, and asked tourist-level questions. I knew who he was immediately but didn't let on. He was there checking on the quality of the Show, the food, the Cast Members. He was my boss's boss's boss's boss's boss, but mostly I was thinking: good. Here's someone who cares to walk with the public. Walt did that all the time.

Another of the few execs I've seen do this: Jim Macphee. I was a Guest for that one, so I talked to him and took a photo

That is how it should be done! Kudos to Mr. Eisner for this, I always liked him. I would love to meet him one day.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Hmm..seems odd someone still on the WDI/Disney payroll would publicly post a comment like this.
Perhaps this is nothing new..?
I do not keep up with the likes of Twitter....

I have enjoyed Jason's books in the past....some interesting reads, particularly 'The Disney Mountains'.

I think the Disney Mountains should be a book about Jessica Rabbit.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I found it very nice as I could have three big things, my FP selections, in the queue and ready to go while maintaining a sense of being able to do what I wanted in between. Nothing kills spontaneity like a 65 minute standby line.

We purchased military tickets, scanned them at home they showed up in our MM+ no problem. But they still needed to be converted to park tickets, a function of the newness of the system. We checked in at the ticket window converted the military passes with no glitches. The rest of the time was a breeze.

The FP selections were simple to make and easy to change. We changed our minds the day before and switched parks. No problem getting our same selections. I will offer that 'day of' attendance, once FP's were gone for a ride, you also could not get them on MM+.

I believe this system is indeed the future. Easy to imagine AP holders getting special bands with FP selections made like an appointment. For us in Cali that works great. Pop in to the park, jump on your ride, no matter how crowded, and head out.

I don't think many people oppose the phone interaction. It's where we're headed as a society. I think the biggest argument is the need to reserve attractions 60 days in advance. There simply isn't enough attractions in 3 of the 4 parks to accommodate the system as it's currently set up. The legacy distribution rules handled this, and they could still work on My Magic +. I sincerely believe that if they maintained the legacy distribution rules but put it on a functioning system using in park kiosks and/or smart phones the complaints would drop significantly. Instead, they're spending $2 billion on a project where the biggest consumer facing component is something that consumers have flat out said they don't want. When this is being done in favor of new attractions this is a really hard sell for fans.

If executives are of the opinion that the only way My Magic+/Next Gen can be profitable is if guests are reserving 3 attractions in advance then the parks and resorts will die a painful death. Consumers will happily go to the "Shady part of Orlando" and visit the parks that will have built 7 E-Ticket attractions during the 11 year gap between E-Tickets at Disney World.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I'm VERY curious as to why you think this system would work at Disneyland. Disneyland folk don't even make dining reservations, what makes you think they're going to reserve a FastPass? If locals, like me, pop into Disneyland or California Adventure just for a while, I highly doubt they're going to be thinking about reserving a ride, which is absurd. They're going to be ED, including me.

Here's to hoping this stupid program doesn't fully make it to CA.

From an attraction standpoint, Disneyland can handle Fastpass+ better than Disney World. The clientele however would not and should not stand for it.

 

[RSoxNo1]

I would use it. Especially if I can do it from a smartphone. Can you imagine? On the 5 southbound setting up FP for the rides while I am on my way there. Wow. Having the ability to set my limited time there instead of playing the "hope the park is empty' game. You can stand in line, because you think reserving is absurd, while I breeze past you.

And why don't we make dining reservations? We could. We don't because we know where to eat off property. Disney is looking to get you on and keep you on property. Making special dining offers based on your preferences is next.

That's all well and good... day of. Except your dining reservations are booked up 180+ days out at the most popular restaurants, and the assumption is the same will be true (60 days out) for Fastpass+ reservations at the most popular attractions.

 

[James122]

From an attraction standpoint, Disneyland can handle Fastpass+ better than Disney World. The clientele however would not and should not stand for it.

This. The whole Fastpass+ disaster at WDW is interesting, because in terms of ride/ attraction capacity, Disneyland Resort is far better equipped to handle Fastpass+ than WDW is because the attractions are more evenly spread out between the two parks when compared the uneven distribution of attractions at the four WDW parks.

But there's no way that Disneyland's customer base would ever tolerate the system currently in place at WDW. Not to mention the fact that DLR has far fewer hotels rooms than WDW does, so the system where magic bands are offered to resort guests wouldn't be nearly as effective.

All in all, I'm glad that it looks like MyMagic+ won't be making its way out to Southern California anytime soon.

 

[71jason]

Mind you, that's 15% on average. Presuming a normal distribution, for every person that spends 0 additional dollars, there will be a person that spends 30% more.

The more posts I see on this--particularly the ones with hard numbers, $500 per vacation week--the more I'm convinced there was a plan to monetize MM+ by now. Maybe extra FPs for those in deluxe resorts. Maybe $5 FPs to Toy Story Mania if you were frozen out of the original 60-day window. No way guests feeling more comfortable with a wristband over a keycard or slight reductions in staffing were going to make that much real money.

Which begs the question---do they still plan to monetize it once the kinks are worked out?

 

[flynnibus]

agree with you. There might have been a small increase in spending initially from switching to a card, but over time, people gain the new association and the benefit disappears. So why wouldn't any benefit from the band (which I doubt would be significant in the first place) disappear over time as well?

The effect is in part why merchants accept paying fees and offering credit cards for even small transactions. It's in part why arcades invest in swipe systems verse coins. It's not just a novelty effect

 

[Goofyernmost]

This. The whole Fastpass+ disaster at WDW is interesting, because in terms of ride/ attraction capacity, Disneyland Resort is far better equipped to handle Fastpass+ than WDW is because the attractions are more evenly spread out between the two parks when compared the uneven distribution of attractions at the four WDW parks.

But there's no way that Disneyland's customer base would ever tolerate the system currently in place at WDW. Not to mention the fact that DLR has far fewer hotels rooms than WDW does, so the system where magic bands are offered to resort guests wouldn't be nearly as effective.

All in all, I'm glad that it looks like MyMagic+ won't be making its way out to Southern California anytime soon.

You don't seriously think that Disney is going to spend 1.5+ billion dollars for a system and then only use it at WDW do you. As soon as they iron out the bugs, and they will, just like every other roll out of new stuff needs time to fall into place, you will see it in all parks that Disney has controlling interest in. The same thing was said about Disneyland concerning the enforced FP. They said, well that will be just for WDW because Disneyland people will not stand for it. Got news for all you guys, if Disney decides that is what they want and how they want to run the parks the only choices you will have is to either do what they want or don't go at all. We all talk tough about that, but, how many people will do that long term. I don't think many will.

What you might see is fewer AP's, but that won't really have any affect on Disney's bottom line, in fact, it may just improve it.

 

[JimboJones123]

Next Gen is special.

 

[PhotoDave219]

I think the Disney Mountains should be a book about Jessica Rabbit.

On that note, we need more Roger Rabbit in the parks....

 

[G00fyDad]

You don't seriously think that Disney is going to spend 1.5+ billion dollars for a system and then only use it at WDW do you. As soon as they iron out the bugs, and they will, just like every other roll out of new stuff needs time to fall into place, you will see it in all parks that Disney has controlling interest in. The same thing was said about Disneyland concerning the enforced FP. They said, well that will be just for WDW because Disneyland people will not stand for it. Got news for all you guys, if Disney decides that is what they want and how they want to run the parks the only choices you will have is to either do what they want or don't go at all. We all talk tough about that, but, how many people will do that long term. I don't think many will.

What you might see is fewer AP's, but that won't really have any affect on Disney's bottom line, in fact, it may just improve it.

I see what you're saying, and I loved the way the tech worked for my last trip, but this roll out is not "falling" into place. It is dropping, bumping, crashing, tumbling, and busting its a** all the way down. They need to fix it very, very fast because we all know that they are not going to reverse direction and get rid of it. The amount of negative experiences with the technology, no matter how small of a percent of the whole, needs to drop drastically.

 

[Cody5242]

The more I think about Frozen, the more I like it. Olaf is definitely in my top 5 favorite Disney characters

 

[englanddg]

The more I think about Frozen, the more I like it. Olaf is definitely in my top 5 favorite Disney characters

He's certainly up there with Timon and Pumbaa (not as good, but pretty close) as far as side characters go.

 

[Gabe1]

You don't seriously think that Disney is going to spend 1.5+ billion dollars for a system and then only use it at WDW do you. As soon as they iron out the bugs, and they will, just like every other roll out of new stuff needs time to fall into place, you will see it in all parks that Disney has controlling interest in. The same thing was said about Disneyland concerning the enforced FP. They said, well that will be just for WDW because Disneyland people will not stand for it. Got news for all you guys, if Disney decides that is what they want and how they want to run the parks the only choices you will have is to either do what they want or don't go at all. We all talk tough about that, but, how many people will do that long term. I don't think many will.

What you might see is fewer AP's, but that won't really have any affect on Disney's bottom line, in fact, it may just improve it.

You seriously don't think that just because Disney throws tons of money at a stupid idea that it will be allowed to spiral forever do you?

The real issue with MME is it is a solution to a problem that didn't exist. Guests spent plenty without MME and it isn't going to keep them out of the Universal Parks. DME didn't keep guests out of Universal either.

Does anyone remember the Walt Disney World Speedway and what a colossal mess that turned out to be for both theme park guests and Indy patrons. First MK guests had to park at Epcot facilitate Indy goers, then when MK guests rebelled Indy guests had to park at Epcot. Traffic was a nightmare each way ticking off both groups.

Indy races from 1996-2000 before Disney admitted defeat and ended professional racing.

Decades of spending countless dollars at DTD property Disney still doesn't know how to define that property and make it stick, the cycle continues and Springs likely won't be worth the investment.

Big or Small Disney makes costly blunders. Stitches Supersonic Celebration Stage show, Opened in May 2009 and closed June 2009.

Disney Discovery River Boat attraction at AK, what it lasted a few months? Learned nothing from the Swan Boats that went no where either.

Disney has plenty of Fails under their belts. MME just might be the one to tank Iger's legacy. Over 1.5 billion and still counting.

 

[Cesar R M]

You seriously don't think that just because Disney throws tons of money at a stupid idea that it will be allowed to spiral forever do you?

The real issue with MME is it is a solution to a problem that didn't exist. Guests spent plenty without MME and it isn't going to keep them out of the Universal Parks. DME didn't keep guests out of Universal either.

Does anyone remember the Walt Disney World Speedway and what a colossal mess that turned out to be for both theme park guests and Indy patrons. First MK guests had to park at Epcot facilitate Indy goers, then when MK guests rebelled Indy guests had to park at Epcot. Traffic was a nightmare each way ticking off both groups.

Indy races from 1996-2000 before Disney admitted defeat and ended professional racing.

Decades of spending countless dollars at DTD property Disney still doesn't know how to define that property and make it stick, the cycle continues and Springs likely won't be worth the investment.

Big or Small Disney makes costly blunders. Stitches Supersonic Celebration Stage show, Opened in May 2009 and closed June 2009.

Disney Discovery River Boat attraction at AK, what it lasted a few months? Learned nothing from the Swan Boats that went no where either.

Disney has plenty of Fails under their belts. MME just might be the one to tank Iger's legacy. Over 1.5 billion and still counting.

didnt the problem of the stitch's show was the location?
direct sun(blocked the screens), no shade, long show..

 

[DisneyGentleman]

That's all well and good... day of. Except your dining reservations are booked up 180+ days out at the most popular restaurants, and the assumption is the same will be true (60 days out) for Fastpass+ reservations at the most popular attractions.

In our over-scheduled life style, we need a break from it all when we go on vacation. I live by my calendar almost every day of the week, and when I go on vacation, I like to ad some spontaneity in my life. Of course that's just me, and I know people who like to schedule every moment of every day. But if I'm in the mood, I'll lounge around until noon and then head into the parks.

With MM+, that opportunity will be gone. I will join the frantic crowds trying to schedule everything early while it is still available. Worst of all, I'll have to rely on the transportation system to get me where I need to be, when I need to be there.

The burden will be on me to thread the needle and nail every location at the right time. In fact, if I decide to skip a scheduled meal, I'll pay a penalty. Vacation will be more like work, and working on vacation is the last thing I want to do.

And then there will be others who simply don't want to be bothered with the technology, standing in long lines and feeling they've been cheated.

I don't know about you, but I think I'll head to the beach instead.