Motley Fool reports lots and lots spent on My Magic+ in 2013

[LuvtheGoof]

I guess I'm wondering when the heck did the Motley Fool become any kind of authoritative source for anything?

 

[LuvtheGoof]

so are you saying the old system was obsolete and needed to be replaced?

Oh no, the old system was perfect and should never have been changed. sarcasm for those that don't get it

 

[ford91exploder]

so are you saying the old system was obsolete and needed to be replaced?

There's the rub, ALL computer systems need constant replacement unless they have an unlimited budget like the federal government as an example IBM has a special production line which makes replacement parts for the early 70's mainframe which runs the social security system.

Because of hardware dependencies in the code itself where much of the source has been LOST SSA cannot simply do what most mainframe operators do and move the code into a MVS instance.

Heck there thousands of organizations running code developed on IBM 1400 series systems in the 60's running on Z series mainframes with the Z series also supporting Linux VM's for modern code.

FAA has a similar problem as the 'Next Generation ATC' system is dependent upon 1990's era Apollo workstations (aka HP 9000 series) there are several federal contractors who do nothing but rebuild these workstations and scour the globe looking for HP 9000 systems to cannibalize.

Unfortunately Disney bought 'shiny objects' instead of a well thought out systems upgrade, Disney STILL has many incompatible systems kind of glued together with HADOOP. If this had been a well thought out platform upgrade the REST of the parks would have adopted it in a NY Minute.

Unfortunately those 'Shiny Objects' written in the the hot language of 2011 need ongoing support which will get progressively more expensive and they will not be able to depend on body shops like Cognizant to maintain them as body shops are only interested in supporting the most widely deployed toolchains.

In the end Disney probably would have been wiser to stick with existing systems and created new front ends and data sharing architectures because while mainframes are not sexy they are not going anywhere and support resources will always be available at a reasonable price. Disney on the other hand built themselves an expensive white elephant.

 

[WondersOfLife]

Do you think the Magic Bands are free for Disney to make? I doubt they're saving much on making hotel keys when every guest is given a band that has to cost a lot more. Plus, they're mailed out to everyone - another cost. It's actually quite wasteful. My family of 4 now has about 30 bands or so.

Um... Was this meant to go to me? I was talking about the convenience for WDW guests, not how much it costs for Disney to distribute them.

 

[nor'easter]

Oh no, the old system was perfect and should never have been changed. sarcasm for those that don't get it

And the new one is just perfect for the a**l, book your ride on the mine train at 9 am on Monday months in advance crowd who are happy to give Disney a roadmap of which bathrooms they visited, and so what that bazillions was spent on a system that frequently crashes...you can still get to purchase a wrist band in pretty colours. (Sarcasm for those that don't get it)

 

[danlb_2000]

I guess I'm wondering when the heck did the Motley Fool become any kind of authoritative source for anything?

They article is actually just quoting numbers from Disney financial statements, and despite what it says in the title of this thread, the article say NOTHING about what MyMagic+ cost. I am not trying to defend Disney or Motley, but we have enough things to cause heated debates around here, we don't need make up new things.

 

[wdisney9000]

Just makingcounter observations here, not being argumentative in any fashion...

No physical products or hardware has to be purchased or maintained.

The magic bands are physical products, and im sure they are cheap to make, but I dont think TWDC gets them for free. And Hardware and software are very much needed to keep NGE up and running in terms of software upgrades/updates and new equipment to handle the constant changes in tech. and I dont know what the cost is, but it cant be cheap.

I believe each station had 1-2 CM's throughout the day. Those positions are gone as well as the maintenance staff for the FP machines.

True, there were CM's at each station (usually, not always) but consider tis...there were only a handful of attractions that utilized Legacy FP compared to nearly every attraction now having FP+, and those same CM's that helped at Legacy stations are now replaced by CM's at guest releations who must handle all FP+ issues, and there are plenty of those than were problems with Legacy.

The park entry system is also simplified. No moving parts or turnstiles. Another reduction in maintenance.

The mickey head scanners break down and require maintenance. And I see more CM's than ever before at park entrance, the ones with the ipads that have to deal with errors with MB's not scanning properly. Thats additonal staff that they did not require prior to this.

This part I am just taking a stab at. I did a poll awhile back, and the folks here on the forum voted about 75% that MM+ is an improvement over the old ways. I still think the entire system is generally improving guest experience at the parks. If you have happier customers, they are more inclined to spend money.

We have had good and bad experiences with MM+. MDE was a winner, but booking FP+ 60 days out is no big game changer (for us at least). I think many people approved of it because it was simply something new and involves technology and somehow we now live in a world that people feel if it isnt high tech, its not cool. And again, Im only making counter points here, Im not trying to be a smart azz. I just dont think they are saving money at all. The fact that they laid off so many IT workers for cheaper employess who were brought in from overseas kinda proves they were looking to save any money they could. Why would they cut the employess who knew and helped build the very system that so many claim is saving them so much money? And Iger and co. definitely seem to skirt around the issue of profit when NGE is ever mentioned by the BOD. Just my 2 cents

 

[Disneyhead'71]

Comcast in the habit of giving out Disney park tickets these days?

I work for one of Comcast's direct competitors.

 

[RoysCabin]

When my girlfriend and I went down last August, we did our whole vacation booking very last minute, basically decided to go and had everything settled within a few days. This meant no time for wristbands, so we got cards at the International Gateway when we walked up to EPCOT on our first day. Kind of preferred that way, I'm not entirely comfortable having everything on the wristband.

Didn't mind the app, was kind of nice to have wait times listed and whatnot, but maybe it was because we were there in August but we didn't need it much for things like meal reservations or what have you; just didn't have much of an impact on our trip.

My main complaints about the whole thing have been the insane amount of money it cost (and all the dashed dreams of possible attractions that were undoubtedly waylaid) and the fact that now every attraction has a FP line, even attractions where the FP line reall hurt the design, theming, and layout of the queue.

Does make me think of going down there on high school trips, though; my friends and I would get to MGM for our day there, start the day out on Tower of Terror, get a Rock n' Roller Coaster paper FP, then ride things like Star Tours, Muppet Vision, and Movie Ride, then use the Roller Coaster FP...then get out of the ride and immediately get another FP for it. Then another. I think in one trip we did that one about 5 or 6 times. Can't get away with that anymore.