danv3
Well-Known Member
Pass...
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My Magic + details ...
- Thread starter WDW1974
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Pass...
ddrongowski
Well-Known Member
So if WDW went completely cashless, (what I was responding to). Then everyone is going to have to at the hotel desk. That will be a mighty fine line.
For those that say keep up with it, I am on vacation and not going to excel my purchases... I am on vacation. I was pointing out a possible flaw of WDW going cashless. Yes now imagine everyone calling their hotels to get this handled, or showing up at the desk. How many cast members are there again? But again my reply was to WDW going cashless and a possible issue it might cause. Also as I mentioned what do teens that do not have a CC that live nearby do? WDW will always take Federal Reserve Notes, as long as the citizens of the U.S. have faith in them.
flynnibus
Premium Member
So if WDW went completely cashless, (what I was responding to). Then everyone is going to have to at the hotel desk. That will be a mighty fine line.
But you draw a line about something that is easily fixed. The reason they stop you is because you have a line of credit that hasn't been paid. You're comparing 'charging to my room account' to 'charging to my card on file' - these are actually different models. The first is to build a tab, the second is to substitute the card with a token.
These models can overlap, but they are not the same thing.. each has different advantages/constraints.. which is why an ultimate solution is probably a hybrid. You allow a tab up to a limit.. but then simply flush the card when limits are hit (or make it a guest preference that defaults to flushing the account automatically) this helps
- gives people a buffer for fraudulant charges
- gives flexibility for those who have weird payment methods to settle their account
- reduces disney's per-transaction fees on cards
And the auto-flush preference avoids the work-load required to have everyone get over the limit.
An Auto-flush could be based on length of time (automatically charge anything older than 5 days) or limit based (automatically charge when a limit is hit).
In short... your concern is based on the CURRENT implementation... and is not necessarily representative of how things are actually constrained from BEING.
ddrongowski
Well-Known Member
Incorrect, you misunderstand, my KTTW have and are always linked to my American Express card (no spending limit as it has to be paid off monthly). "WDW" Puts a $2000 cap on it for some reason, and I have to wait until it hits it until I can have them up it. I have asked many times over the last 12 years if they can just put it at $4000 and they say I have to wait until I hit the $2000 limit.
Here is the original post you replied to (notice I had already highlighted in red the dc/cc linking).
Hello, new to this board.
I'm still trying to understand what the payback is for the huge dollar investment of My Magic +.
Will this allow more people per day in the parks by spreading out the admissions?
Shouldn't we expect Disney to start charging for more FPs per day? Universal already charges for front of the line access.
This might be the first step toward totally cashless parks. Every transaction would just go thru your wristband which is linked to a debit/credit card. Should save operating costs without having cash drawers all over the place. Some airlines only take plastic on flights for extra purchases.
Here is a catch on that. They limit the amount you can charge. Once you hit that limit you have to go to guest relations or you hotel to get it increased. This happens to us every year. The process from getting into the line at guest relations to being done averages 20 minutes. So yes it is an inconvenience, but how we work around it is to have our CC with us so when it happens we are able to finish our purchase. If I was had to go all the way to guest relations to increase it and then go back to finish the purchase, screw it, I can live without the purchase. Also not everyone has a CC so if Disney makes it a requirement lots of non CC teens will not be making purchases.
PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
.... Yeah.... This is where I'm going to have to deal with you doing that and you're going to have to deal with me making fun of it.....
Computer Magic
Well-Known Member
I would sit a half day at Little Mermaid if my wife would let me. A/C, good music, a little mist, what a way to unwind from the crowd.
ddrongowski
Well-Known Member
That's funny, and that brings this thought to my brain (actually thought of this the first time I saw google glasses). If you observe people using their smart phones/pads to take snapshots, they like to hold them over their heads. The logic I figure is to not have the person in front of them not block/impair/infringe their snapshot. That said imagine all the google glasses wearers jumping as high as they can, so they can get that same snapshot. Lots of developed legs those google glass wearers will have.
I used to play halo a long time ago, when it was only available on pc's. A main tactic was to constantly jump when moving, and it always seemed strange to me (as I imagined that if these people where in the real military) and did this they would be very very very tired.
flynnibus
Premium Member
No, you misunderstand the specifics of the situation. You have a card on file - it is not actually linked to your activity. You are billing things to a house account.. which Disney puts a limit on. You gave Disney the card as form of guarantee that you will pay - it is not in fact how you must pay, the card is only a form of guarantee because you authorize Disney to charge the card if you have a unpaid balance. Then you go about the world.. charging things to your room account... and eventually you hit the house limit. Disney requires you to to pay your balance before you can charge more... and one of your options (but not your only option) is to charge your balance to your card on file.. and your house balance is now reset.. and you can charge again.
You are running up a tab... and then you authorize Disney to charge your balance to your card.
This is different than using a token substitution... which would mean every transaction you run, immediately gets billed to your card. In this scenario, you don't have a house account for charging.. just a billing profile which charges your card as you use the token.
There are lots of reasons Disney does it it this way.. vs just directly charging your card for every transaction. Disney has to balance guest satisfaction with limiting their liabilities and optimizing their costs. But in the scenario where people may hit the limit frequently (as you suggest) then Disney can easily reorganize the model to fit the new needs. I gave two examples of how it can be done while still maintaining the house accounts.
PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
That's funny, and that brings this thought to my brain (actually thought of this the first time I saw google glasses). If you observe people using their smart phones/pads to take snapshots, they like to hold them over their heads. The logic I figure is to not have the person in front of them not block/impair/infringe their snapshot. That said imagine all the google glasses wearers jumping as high as they can, so they can get that same snapshot. Lots of developed legs those google glass wearers will have.
I've seen google glass wearing people at the parks. Yeah, makes the iPad crowd facetiming a parade look tame.
I had a lifestyler once keep blocking me because they had to facetime the parade with his mom back home.
(Side thought - How the hell can you get a signal to transmit during a parade? I have trouble sending texts during a parade!)
ddrongowski
Well-Known Member
I see what you are meaning now, so I have a better solution, I will just purchase using my AMEX card, and then I do not have to deal with the limit.
ddrongowski
Well-Known Member
Simple..... PAY MORE MONEY TO DISNEY!!!!!!!!
BigThunderMatt
Well-Known Member
I doubt they will ever get to the point of charging outright for it. The fact that they are currently able to say that FastPass is included in the cost of all park tickets is a huge selling point to them because they can essentially say "We're not Universal, we don't charge you for this service."
My theory is that everybody will have 3 FP+, bare minimum. On-site, off-site, day guest, AP. Everyone will get 3. I think where the system will have perks and benefits for a premium will be tossed in later but in an indirect way. Rather than the guest's having to pay a flat rate to access the system, I believe that down the road guests who are staying on-site at deluxe and DVC resorts will automatically be granted additional FP+ just for staying at the resort (re: paying more money). Disney could then use this as a selling point for upgrading to a more expensive resort.
Oh you're staying at Pop Century? Well unfortunately, you only get 3 FP+ options a day. Upgrade to Caribbean Beach and you can get 5. Upgrade to Grand Floridian and get 7 AND the ability to book FP+ at multiple parks in the same day.
In this way, Disney could still market the FP+ system itself as "free" to all guests. Which, in a way, is true. You're never handing over money in any one transaction for the right to use FP+, however, the money you're handing over in other transactions across property could very likely determine the overall FP+ experience you have.
Buried20KLeague
Well-Known Member
71jason
Well-Known Member
I think (hope?) this might be the case for MK, which truly has a variety of top tier rides. Let's say top tier is the three mountains and Pan or Dumbo. Maximum number of Fastpasses is roughly 25% of daily capacity (probably a bit less, given people who don't understand the system or for whatever reason give up on their FP). Should bring lines down closer to pre-FP levels. Same argument should apply to a DHS with Cars and Star Wars E-tickets in addition to RnRC, ToT and TSM.
Of course, the popular "second tier" attractions will suddenly have to deal with FP and the increased lines. Just my instinct, but I think Mansion will be the worst example of this. Also, during the truly busy weeks, when there are still 20,000 FPs for Space Mountain, this all goes out the window. But those weeks will be crazy no matter.
On the flip side is EPCOT/AK. Only two top tier attractions (probably throw in the river ride for AK but realistically a lot of people are going to skip that, especially in Winter). And guests using FP+ are going to expect to get at least one. I can see Soarin' and Test Track being overwhelmed by FP+.
Texas84
Well-Known Member
Not exactly. You have a limit. They just don't tell you what it is.
Lord_Vader
Join me, together we can rule the galaxy.
Most texting uses SMS bandwidth which is a mobile device side-band while Facetime uses either 3G/LTE or WiFi data.
PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
I was referring to iMessage that uses 3G/LTE or Wifi data.
Lord_Vader
Join me, together we can rule the galaxy.
Different carrier, really no clue then?
ParentsOf4
Well-Known Member
Disney should keep the initial rollout of FP+ pretty simple. They first need to get it up-and-running, get guests familiar with it, happy using it, etc., before they start getting more sophisticated with its use. They also need to start collecting usage data to determine which assumptions built into their model are correct and which need to be reworked.
For the foreseeable future, expect WDW to stick with the rumored 60 + 10 days booking window for onsite guests. For onsite guests who are really into planning, this should be a good enough competitive advantage to making the "good" FP+ selections and, at least initially, enough of an incentive to book onsite.
I'm guessing 95% of WDW visitors are not as savvy as most regular visitors to these threads. Therefore, my gut is telling me many onsite guests won't understand the system well enough to use their extra 10 days to their full advantage, leaving plenty of offsite guests with chances to make "good" FP+ selections at the 60-day mark. This is just a hunch though.
Long term, FP+ provides corporate Disney with all sorts of potential revenue streams. Since it's algorithms are virtual, it's relatively easy for Disney to tweak these over time to determine which algorithm generates the greatest profits.