Yes, but aren't infrastructure improvements, tech and otherwise, needed to accommodate guests who come to Disney world for rides?
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My Magic + details ...
- Thread starter WDW1974
- Start date
RSoxNo1
Well-Known Member
Yes, they absolutely are. But infrastructure improvements will not drive attendance. However, Disney is looking for these infrastructure improvements to at least drive some revenue. It doesn't seem like that's the case either.
Yes, with the infrastructure improvements Disney will be in a better position for larger crowds, should they come. However, they will need to build aggressively in order to have those larger crowds. More importantly, they'll need to prove that the data mining aspects and the over planning are not a deterrent for guests.
Agreed.
ford91exploder
Resident Curmudgeon
Correct
ford91exploder
Resident Curmudgeon
You buy a RFID development kit which includes a reader, The cards are either 190 Khz or 13.2 Mhz cards and most readers support both. I would be really suprised (and pleased) if the cards support encryption but
I would be really suprised if they do especially since they use them for door control which means the key would need to be distributed to EVERY door lock and if compromised all locks would need to be updated and the locks have no link any centralized controller. So this means that effectively EVERY maintenance worker has access to the key, Not my idea of a secure key distribution system.
Further I can't see TDO purchasing the secure keys for simple cost reasons knowing how cheap they are and besides the sales critter on the golf course told the executives that RFID is perfectly secure, After all would a fraternity brother lie to you... (Technology is magic right...)
maxairmike
Well-Known Member
Here's the catch; Iger and co. apparently believe that the theme parks are a "mature," business, which is why they're doing this. They don't see the growth potential that would be the catalyst for building grand new attractions, they see a flatlining resort that needs a way to continue to show increasing revenue numbers while having little/no (or even negative) physical growth. While they certainly needed some infrastructure improvements, that wasn't the driver behind NextGen, and if they could have pulled off parts of MM+ well enough without some of these major infrastructure upgrades, they likely would have (cheaper is better, and leads to larger bonuses, after all!). The ideal outcomes of MM+ could actually provide better results with negative attendance growth by driving out low value consumers and keeping your high value, heavy spending consumers and having them spend more on high-margin rooms, merchandise, and food (plus easier acceptance of higher gate prices).
The problem is (and @ParentsOf4 puts this more eloquently than I probably can), many of us believe they're missing the forest for the trees and, like most investors on Wall Street, can't see beyond their quarterly and year-over-year statements to the long term picture.
ford91exploder
Resident Curmudgeon
From the FCC filings it uses
13.56 Mhz (passive RFID)
2476 and 2482 Mhz
2476 is bluetooth channel 36 2482 is just outside of the bluetooth allocation channel 39 is 2480
Look up the FCC compliance report using the FCC ID
https://apps.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/repo...e=N&application_id=204647&fcc_id=Q3E-XPD-R1G1
Weather_Lady
Well-Known Member
I would respectfully submit that many guests will not see My Magic+ as an improvement, but as an unnecessary complication. I agree with you that most guests come for the rides, but they, too, will suffer from this "improvement" in that their now-virtually-unlimited ability to skip long lines via Fastpass will be markedly diminished with Fastpass+, to just 3 attractions in a single park.
You are very correct. Many may not see it as an improvement. But conversely, many may. I saw a mother just this weekend carting two kids around at MK at a beverage cart. She had a magic band on. She was telling the CM how great it was that she didn't have to put the kid down, go into her purse, get her wallet, get her card or key, swipe it, put it back in wallet, and put it back in purse. She saw it as a convenience.
IMHO, this is how a majority of guests (read: a majority of Disney's visitors, the types who do not post here) will view this project. I could be wrong. It happened once before back in the 90's
(I kid)
GLaDOS
Well-Known Member
IMHO, this is how a majority of guests (read: a majority of Disney's visitors, the types who do not post here) will view this project. I could be wrong. It happened once before back in the 90's
The charging is about the only thing that's gone over well in the tests (when it actually works).
RSoxNo1
Well-Known Member
Right, there's a misconception in Disney's offices that the Theme Parks are mature. They reached that conclusion when IOA failed to bring in the crowds initially. I wrote about it fairly recently:
http://micechat.com/36201-throwing-in-the-towel/
They concluded that nothing would result in anything more than marginal attendance increases so every effort was made to get more money per guest. That's the driver of My Magic +. The problem is, so much of what My Magic + is based upon is a misinterpretation of the market. It's not mature.
I remember Jim Hill saying that Disney would build something substantial every 3.75 years because the average guest returned every 3.75 years. My question there is which came first? Was it the build cycle or the guest return?
If Disney was opening a Star Wars land and Mysterious Island in 2014 they wouldn't have to worry about any Universal park passing them in attendance. However, all Disney has done is create a large web of snap bracelet driven technology that at first glance is buggier than a site.
asianway
Well-Known Member
Youre doing a disservice to some of the fine adult sites out there.
Buried20KLeague
Well-Known Member
Clearly they have their priorities in line.
dnylla
New Member
I agree with you that they will see it as an unnecessary complication, with the exception of those who are handling multiple, or even one
, young kid, like the mother mentioned a couple posts above mine. But I do not think that the average, casual visitor (not the posters here) will be bothered so much by the fact they are limited to 3 fast passes. Instead what I think will affect them is the fact that more experienced and/or tech-savvy visitors will have booked the E ticket rides at the start of their window and as a result the casual visitor will have longer lines or may even be unable to ride the E tickets rides. I just had to walk my grandma through downloading an attachment over the phone. There is no way she could book FP+ on the computer, and I could see this change impacting once in a lifetime trips (for grandkids using my example above, but really for anyone) which would really be a shame
flynnibus
Premium Member
The market is mature. Are we seeing the orlando market growing by double digits year after year? no
I think the word you really mean is 'saturated'. Adding more things is a diminishing return... So instead increase your take that you get with the existing.
They weren't extending people's vacations and adding more to do would raise fears of simply cannabalizing themselves.
But where Disney turned for the worse was when they decided to stop investing in refreshes in addition to the theories above. So that how you get stale and declining value.
Don't know if this is the correct place for this, but i saw that Florida CM's will now get new Main Entrance Passes to use with MM+. Any idea if non-Florida cast members (ESPN) will get something similar to use or will they just not be able to participate? Again, sorry if this isn't the right place for this.
1023
Provocateur, Rancanteur, Plaisanter, du Jour
You are very correct. Many may not see it as an improvement. But conversely, many may. I saw a mother just this weekend carting two kids around at MK at a beverage cart. She had a magic band on. She was telling the CM how great it was that she didn't have to put the kid down, go into her purse, get her wallet, get her card or key, swipe it, put it back in wallet, and put it back in purse. She saw it as a convenience.
IMHO, this is how a majority of guests (read: a majority of Disney's visitors, the types who do not post here) will view this project. I could be wrong. It happened once before back in the 90's
Wow... I like this as an example of convenience and it seems to match everything they tout in press materials. That mother got an intended customer benefit, as will I. I like taping my plastic to pay for things. It saves time. The Disney benefit is other than a receipt, she has nothing tangible to remind her she spent money after the sodas are gone. She will probably spend more and that's good for business. (I also have no problem with businesses making or increasing profit.)
The place where the consumer loses is in overall value. At least with what's been published and verified, the FPP arm of the MM+ is a net loss with all consumers. Whether they are aware of that loss or not, Disney is delivering less than before. Perhaps creating the illusion of demand for certain attractions will change perceived value. But is that real?
*1023*
FigmentJedi
Well-Known Member
Maybe if your family are return visitors who have met her before, but I think it's kinda creepy for Cinderella to be omniscient like that. That's the job of Merlin/Fairy Godmother/Blue Fairy or whatever.
The fact that FPs for popular rides get spread around among more people makes FP+ a net GAIN for customers. It is a loss for the few of us who now get multiple FPs for these rides each day, but that doesn't make it a net loss for all guests.