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

[Gabe1]

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

Yep. They are not short on bad ideas are they. They are drowning so their answer for now is to pour in more water,

 

[WDWDad13]

This pretty much sums it up right here for all MM+ naysayers

We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. - Walt Disney

 

[Jane Doe]

This pretty much sums it up right here for all MM+ naysayers

We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. - Walt Disney

On all the cruises I've been on I've been given a card which allows me to enter the ship, open my stateroom door, charge drinks and souvenirs to my account and recently I've been allowed to prebook shows and activities before I left home. But strangely enough all I talk about when I get asked how my holiday went is the food I ate, the entertainment on board, the places I visited and the people I met. I couldn't give two hoots about the card because it doesn't matter, and if the card was changed for a wristband it would be just as irrelevant to my overall enjoyment.

 

[Buried20KLeague]

You know... Now that I think about it...

They could have EASILY used one of the ships in the DCL to test thus and see if it effected guest spending, if that's what they really believed it could do. The ships already have a "no cash, swipe only" mentality. Changing to bands there, they could have seen what happened to the spend numbers easily, and if the different kinetic of a band changed numbers (which I think is a load of BS). It would have cost less to implement because of small scale too.

True, that wouldn't have involved FP, for example... But let's be honest... They want this to increase guest spend, which certainly could have been tested as a proof of concept in a closed environment like that.

Seriously... Take away FP and a lot of this could have been adapted for use on a ship for testing purposes.

Wow. If they did that , maybe we wouldn't even BE in all this mess at this point.

 

[SJN1279]

This pretty much sums it up right here for all MM+ naysayers

We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. - Walt Disney

Amen!

 

[Clowd Nyne]

Stay Calm
And
Keep Waiting

There is no way they canceled everything. Where is the official Disney announcement to the shareholders? All i saw was a doomsday anti MM+ rise of the planet of fanboys article on Micechat.

 

[Buried20KLeague]

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.

I think one of the critical errors in their applying this thought process to the parks is that those spending decisions are usually made by increasingly drunk patrons. Inhibition levels are lowered. That's not the case 90% of the time at WDW... F&W is the exception, and we all know the cash cow that festival is (for largely that same reasoning).

 

[Buried20KLeague]

So Imagineer Jason Surrell tweeted the following:

He should stick to writing books.

 

[PeterAlt]

There was also another commonly quoted study that challenged that thought. It studied the long term impact of adding attractions and their impact on attendance (the idea of a spike vs long term gains, etc).

'Keep adding' isn't a sustainable model in itself either because you must get enough gain AND KEEP IT to ensure revenues keep pace with expenses.

It should be noted, your regional amusement park relies on the 'we need new attractions' every summer model.. and they ultimately flatline too and need the new attractions to keep from LOSING attendance.

The real answer is far more complex.

Here's the part I don't get. If someone gets it, please explain it. Why tear down a $100 million attraction (Horizons) and replace it with another $100 million attraction (M:S)? If operating cost was the reason with Horizons, why replace it with another attraction with such a high cost to operate?

I mean when you call in the wrecking ball, you're tearing down real work and real money spent (not to mention the cost of tearing it down itself) and then you have to duplicate much of that work to replace it.

It's like war. A conquering army destroys structures in order to occupy it. Then, to occupy it, it must rebuild the structures it detroyed in the first place.

Newish hotels are constantly being demolished in Las Vegas to make room for even newer ones. It seems like a whole lot of waste, if you ask me...

 

[JenniferS]

You know... Now that I think about it...

They could have EASILY used one of the ships in the DCL to test thus and see if it effected guest spending, if that's what they really believed it could do. The ships already have a "no cash, swipe only" mentality. Changing to bands there, they could have seen what happened to the spend numbers easily, and if the different kinetic of a band changed numbers (which I think is a load of BS). It would have cost less to implement because of small scale too.

True, that wouldn't have involved FP, for example... But let's be honest... They want this to increase guest spend, which certainly could have been tested as a proof of concept in a closed environment like that.

Seriously... Take away FP and a lot of this could have been adapted for use on a ship for testing purposes.

Wow. If they did that , maybe we wouldn't even BE in all this mess at this point.

Take away FP+ ... and the bands don't actually suck.

Keep the bands; junk FP+ and its required uber-planning; build some new attractions; bring back unique, gotta have it merchandise ... and you will have increased guest satisfaction, higher turnstile numbers and enhanced merch. sales.

C'mom people, it's not rocket science. It's Roller Coaster/Theme Park Tycoon 101. So simple, an 8 year old can do it!

 

[Skibum1970]

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.

The only problem is that executives get pride in the way and are unwilling to admit mistakes. Especially ones along the magnitude of this (if it turns out to be the mistake we think it is). I've seen projects go way over budget and not be implemented fully just so management could sign off that it was finished. Humility is not a virtue for many of these types.

 

[John]

This pretty much sums it up right here for all MM+ naysayers

We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths. - Walt Disney

That's a nice thought....but Walt has been dead for almost 50 years. Name the last attraction that was built and considered it "going down a new path"? All these quotes are nice for nostalgia reasons but they are just that when they are not applied.

 

[Skibum1970]

Here's the part I don't get. If someone gets it, please explain it. Why tear down a $100 million attraction (Horizons) and replace it with another $100 million attraction (M:S)? If operating cost was the reason with Horizons, why replace it with another attraction with such a high cost to operate?

I mean when you call in the wrecking ball, you're tearing down real work and real money spent (not to mention the cost of tearing it down itself) and then you have to duplicate much of that work to replace it.

It's like war. A conquering army destroys structures in order to occupy it. Then, to occupy it, it must rebuild the structures it detroyed in the first place.

Newish hotels are constantly being demolished in Las Vegas to make room for even newer ones. It seems like a whole lot of waste, if you ask me...

Didn't you know, newer is ALWAYS better.

It usually depends on draw and upkeep. In Vegas, the old hotels weren't as nice and didn't have the same visual draw. I can't remember Horizons for some reason (probably because I only went once to EPCOT prior to 2002). I miss the Wonders of Life pavilion about our body with the great simulator (at least, I liked the ride). However, either Horizons was an upkeep nightmare, was losing popularity, or management felt that Mission: Space was a better draw. It appears that they might have been wrong.

Aside from that, I got nothing for you.

 

[PeterAlt]

Didn't you know, newer is ALWAYS better.

It usually depends on draw and upkeep. In Vegas, the old hotels weren't as nice and didn't have the same visual draw. I can't remember Horizons for some reason (probably because I only went once to EPCOT prior to 2002). I miss the Wonders of Life pavilion about our body with the great simulator (at least, I liked the ride). However, either Horizons was an upkeep nightmare, was losing popularity, or management felt that Mission: Space was a better draw. It appears that they might have been wrong.

Aside from that, I got nothing for you.

Horizons and M:S are two totally different types of attractions. Horizons had a part that used an Omnimax screen that completely enveloped the Omnimover (same ride system as Haunted Mansion) that was moving through it. It was the most (the word meaning to be surrounded by - I'm brain dead right now) experience I have ever experienced. Once you experience how they did that, the experience of the Body Wars simulator isn't so impressive.

They did do a good job with M:S. There just should have been more to it, such as a post show space playground to explore.

 

[WDWDad13]

That's a nice thought....but Walt has been dead for almost 50 years. Name the last attraction that was built and considered it "going down a new path"? All these quotes are nice for nostalgia reasons but they are just that when they are not applied.

Well let's see...Snow White coaster...story time with belle, etc

 

[SJN1279]

That's a nice thought....but Walt has been dead for almost 50 years. Name the last attraction that was built and considered it "going down a new path"? All these quotes are nice for nostalgia reasons but they are just that when they are not applied.

Star Tours 2.0 was the first attraction to have random sequencing so you never(or rarely) get the same ride twice.

 

[Skibum1970]

Horizons and M:S are two totally different types of attractions. Horizons had a part that used an Omnimax screen that completely enveloped the Omnimover (same ride system as Haunted Mansion) that was moving through it. It was the most (the word meaning to be surrounded by - I'm brain dead right now) experience I have ever experienced. Once you experience how they did that, the experience of the Body Wars simulator isn't so impressive.

They did do a good job with M:S. There just should have been more to it, such as a post show space playground to explore.

Is the word, "immersive" what you're looking for?

 

[PeterAlt]

Is the word, "immersive" what you're looking for?

Yes, thank you!

 

[BrerJon]

Star Tours 2.0 was the first attraction to have random sequencing so you never(or rarely) get the same ride twice.

Nope, Indiana Jones at Disneyland and Tower of Terror both have had random ride functionality built-in since the start. One of the big marketing gimmicks when Indy arrived was that it would never be exactly the same twice.

 

[danlb_2000]

Here's the part I don't get. If someone gets it, please explain it. Why tear down a $100 million attraction (Horizons) and replace it with another $100 million attraction (M:S)? If operating cost was the reason with Horizons, why replace it with another attraction with such a high cost to operate?

I mean when you call in the wrecking ball, you're tearing down real work and real money spent (not to mention the cost of tearing it down itself) and then you have to duplicate much of that work to replace it.

It's like war. A conquering army destroys structures in order to occupy it. Then, to occupy it, it must rebuild the structures it detroyed in the first place.

Newish hotels are constantly being demolished in Las Vegas to make room for even newer ones. It seems like a whole lot of waste, if you ask me...

I think it is the same reason that regional parks often replace old rides, particularly coasters, with new ones. It allows the park to offer something new without increasing total operating costs.