sshindel
The Epcot Manifesto
I disagree!!! Have at you! To the death!!!
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MyMagic+ article from Fast Company magazine
- Thread starter AustinC
- Start date
BrerJon
Well-Known Member
Fascinating article that explains a lot, thanks for writing it Austin and answering questions here.
It's nice to see a professional well-researched piece from someone who's clearly a Disney fan and understands the parks, and isn't just going to buy the party line but is also open to all viewpoints. I'm no fan of MyMagic to put it mildly, my personal 'intent to return' metric has pretty much dropped to zero because of my experience of it last time, but I felt the article was nicely balanced and miles better than the unquestioning Wired piece.
Also given the article was for a Fast Company audience, and not a Disney fan site, I understand why coverage of the numerous outages, unpopularity of Fastpass+ and long lines at guest relations weren't appropriate in an article documenting the creation process, instead of concentrating on how how the implementation panned out. Maybe a follow-up might be in the future? (Maybe take a break first though!).
The Disneyland thing is interesting too - One of the reasons I hate MyMagic is I'm a casual day visitor and it just doesn't suit how I tour, and reading the justification why Disneyland probably wont get the bands made me realise the way I do WDW is probably the way Disneyland locals do their park, which is why it's a bad fit for me. So Disney admitting that it wouldn't work in Anaheim, and thus - contrary to the arrogant hubris that has dominated the publicity so far - MyMagic *isn't* a one-size fits all solution for all guests, is at least some progress which gives a little cause for hope.
It's nice to see a professional well-researched piece from someone who's clearly a Disney fan and understands the parks, and isn't just going to buy the party line but is also open to all viewpoints. I'm no fan of MyMagic to put it mildly, my personal 'intent to return' metric has pretty much dropped to zero because of my experience of it last time, but I felt the article was nicely balanced and miles better than the unquestioning Wired piece.
Also given the article was for a Fast Company audience, and not a Disney fan site, I understand why coverage of the numerous outages, unpopularity of Fastpass+ and long lines at guest relations weren't appropriate in an article documenting the creation process, instead of concentrating on how how the implementation panned out. Maybe a follow-up might be in the future? (Maybe take a break first though!).
The Disneyland thing is interesting too - One of the reasons I hate MyMagic is I'm a casual day visitor and it just doesn't suit how I tour, and reading the justification why Disneyland probably wont get the bands made me realise the way I do WDW is probably the way Disneyland locals do their park, which is why it's a bad fit for me. So Disney admitting that it wouldn't work in Anaheim, and thus - contrary to the arrogant hubris that has dominated the publicity so far - MyMagic *isn't* a one-size fits all solution for all guests, is at least some progress which gives a little cause for hope.
Apologies, he did respond to a few posts this early this morning. Not much after that until his response to 74. Please odnt
Apologies, he did answer a few questions early this morning.
WDW1974
Well-Known Member
Um, Disney has basically sat still for the entire 21st century, investing a pittance in WDW in terms of real reasons for people to visit. I don't have the pie charts and graphs, but @ParentsOf4 does, I'm sure.
flyerjab
Well-Known Member
Welcome! Very good article on how this all came to be. For the record, I don't consider it a puff piece in the slightest - looking at you @ford91exploder! You are my bud, and I agree that he didn't necessarily seem to capture a consensus from a large number of current users, but I thought that the part of MM+ that was covered was very balanced. There is definitely some negative parts that were reported. This article is nothing like that other one published recently. That was a praise piece if there ever was one.
What is amusing to me about @WDW1974's response is that it is not acceptable to write a jaded or biased article (an article that wasn't even read at the time), BUT, it apparently is acceptable to have a jaded or biased opinion about said article prior to having even read it.
Regarding the hysteria that pervades the forum, let it not be said that the most passionate WDW fans reside elsewhere. The best diehards exist on this site. As well as the best insiders, including @WDW1974. I may chide him, but he has contacts that run deep within the BRAND (I only capitalized this cause he likes capitalizing stuff).
Regarding this expensive project, the opinion I have formed is simple. A lot of the park guests (including forum members here) with a long history of visiting WDW since the 70s and 80s do not like, and for the most part will never like, MM+. At best they will suffer it, as WDW still holds a special place in their hearts even though they are not in favor of the CHANGE. Much newer visitors, that were not familiar with old FP or how WDW was years ago, seem more comfortable with this mode of park-going. The younger millennial generation, and/or those in their twenties, well, this is how the world interacts with them now. I work with many in that twenty-something range, and they couldn't imagine going anywhere without their phones. A lot of posters here always say that they go on vacation to get away from their phones. I bet there aren't a lot of people saying that in their twenties (there might be some but not many). To me, Disney is changing because the world is changing. How we interact with our created environments changes and evolves. And there are always those for the change, some against it, and some that are simply 'meh' about it.
The last thing I will leave you with is some instructional video as to how we sometimes discuss things in these forums. Enjoy.
WDW1974
Well-Known Member
Asking questions isn't the same as anything you describe above. But you probably know that.
PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
Great article.
Word from sources that I trust explicitly is that Bob and Willow got HuffPo to create a magazine called Fast Company way back in the 90s. They funded it all these years until they could bribe Lou Mongello with free orders of those cheap pressed chicken nuggets they serve now to write this "news" article. He used a pseudonym of "Austin Carr" (insiders will get that joke..wink wink) and threw in a few unflattering comments because he didn't want to jeopardize his behind the scenes employment at TDO, but it's Lou.
Highly placed people at USC and relatives of the Redstones are very upset, but I expect they will be silenced by the Mouse unless they are braver than Soup and Salad Sandy. Only a Wal-Mart shopping, poorly dressed rubes who have never done business in China would doubt that. Hey, why does my font keep switching between Helvetica and Wing Ding? Bob, I know what you're doing, trying to get in my computer and head like a fanboi gets in the pockets of my cargo shorts!
Edited to change cargo ports to cargo shorts, but I'm not sure the edit is an improvement.
Highly placed people at USC and relatives of the Redstones are very upset, but I expect they will be silenced by the Mouse unless they are braver than Soup and Salad Sandy. Only a Wal-Mart shopping, poorly dressed rubes who have never done business in China would doubt that. Hey, why does my font keep switching between Helvetica and Wing Ding? Bob, I know what you're doing, trying to get in my computer and head like a fanboi gets in the pockets of my cargo shorts!
Edited to change cargo ports to cargo shorts, but I'm not sure the edit is an improvement.
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WDW1974
Well-Known Member
To be clear, even though my thoughts aren't mine and individuals here (especially on the PML) seem to know my intentions better than I do, I asked questions because I had them and, specifically said that I hadn't read the story yet and that my opinions might change (some did, some absolutely did not).
I am savvy enough about how TWDC operates to know if a story got that type of cooperation from the company on such a delicate topic that being cautious was wise.
If that counts for being jaded or biased, so be it. The reality is I'm just being realistic.
Some people here truly believe Disney is run by wonderful people who care about each and every one of you and Walt's Legacy.
PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
I dont view it as a puff piece whatsoever.
I view it as something that confirms & sums up certain tid-bits I was told and couldn't repeat (internal politics) and really leaves me walking away wondering "So exactly what was the point of doing this in the first place?"
TalkingHead
Well-Known Member
Throw another few logs on the fire.
-Why did Disney agree to grant access for this article? One wonders whether Disney's cooperation was related to the periodical's routine coverage of technology, which would suggest a favorable review of MM+.
-Were Disney's execs questioned about Universal Orlando's success in adding groundbreaking attractions, or were WDW and NGE analyzed in a bubble?
-Is the photo timeline meant to be ironic, or what? The captions are an odd mix of snark (Captain EO is "an awful short film") and misinformation (1982's caption refers to the "PeopleMover, America's first daily operating monorail"?). Then the "highlights" of the previous ten years offer almost nothing in the way of theme park attractions. Is that supposed to highlight the fact that WDW's getting out of the new rides business?
Other stray observations:
-Overall, the story fits comfortably in the tradition of mythologizing technological achievements. For that reason alone, it's a slanted presentation of MM+. The final interview with Staggs says it all: this is a success that will lead to bigger and better things in the future. Full stop.
-The descriptions of Disney execs is part of that mythmaking: one guy looks like Woody from Toy Story, Staggs is Midwestern (code for "All-American"). They're the good Disney guys. Rohde's famous earring is even mentioned. The implications seem to be that the creatives are weird and cautious about this tech; the business guys are the heroes in this story. Even the "carping" of employees (is that frontline CMs, too?) fades before this wonderful new technology.
-"I love leaving my hotel without worrying if I forgot my wallet, or even my phone..." Is this a problem for most people? Forgetting their wallet in their hotel room? I dunno, seems like something most adults manage pretty easily.
-The paean to Test Track is funny when you think about it. Other parks are debuting ride experiences that you can't replicate on a Smartphone, but thanks to your MagicBand you can make a commercial with your Test Track vehicle. Ok.
-Staggs: "We help ourselves by being less precious, [like] ‘Gee, we invented this MagicBand, we’ve got to use that everywhere,’ ” Staggs says. “We’ll use it everywhere it makes sense. But we don’t want to let something we think is cool and cutting edge become a legacy item that we’re trying to drag along." Which is what the parks have become. Legacy items that are dragged along to sell timeshares, hotel rooms, and MagicBands. Funny stuff.
-Why did Disney agree to grant access for this article? One wonders whether Disney's cooperation was related to the periodical's routine coverage of technology, which would suggest a favorable review of MM+.
-Were Disney's execs questioned about Universal Orlando's success in adding groundbreaking attractions, or were WDW and NGE analyzed in a bubble?
-Is the photo timeline meant to be ironic, or what? The captions are an odd mix of snark (Captain EO is "an awful short film") and misinformation (1982's caption refers to the "PeopleMover, America's first daily operating monorail"?). Then the "highlights" of the previous ten years offer almost nothing in the way of theme park attractions. Is that supposed to highlight the fact that WDW's getting out of the new rides business?
Other stray observations:
-Overall, the story fits comfortably in the tradition of mythologizing technological achievements. For that reason alone, it's a slanted presentation of MM+. The final interview with Staggs says it all: this is a success that will lead to bigger and better things in the future. Full stop.
-The descriptions of Disney execs is part of that mythmaking: one guy looks like Woody from Toy Story, Staggs is Midwestern (code for "All-American"). They're the good Disney guys. Rohde's famous earring is even mentioned. The implications seem to be that the creatives are weird and cautious about this tech; the business guys are the heroes in this story. Even the "carping" of employees (is that frontline CMs, too?) fades before this wonderful new technology.
-"I love leaving my hotel without worrying if I forgot my wallet, or even my phone..." Is this a problem for most people? Forgetting their wallet in their hotel room? I dunno, seems like something most adults manage pretty easily.
-The paean to Test Track is funny when you think about it. Other parks are debuting ride experiences that you can't replicate on a Smartphone, but thanks to your MagicBand you can make a commercial with your Test Track vehicle. Ok.
-Staggs: "We help ourselves by being less precious, [like] ‘Gee, we invented this MagicBand, we’ve got to use that everywhere,’ ” Staggs says. “We’ll use it everywhere it makes sense. But we don’t want to let something we think is cool and cutting edge become a legacy item that we’re trying to drag along." Which is what the parks have become. Legacy items that are dragged along to sell timeshares, hotel rooms, and MagicBands. Funny stuff.
sshindel
The Epcot Manifesto
It is a fine point you make to say "real reasons for people to visit", because that may or may not be true based on personal opinions of the additions.
They have invested, and heavily, into the park in the past 5 years however, and all of that is, as you point out, not going to be shown to be successful until quite a bit in the future.
To another point, ask a parent of a child of Dumbo riding age of the tent was a valid spend of money. More often than not you'll get a positive response. It was not targeted at everyone, but to those of us who spent 45 minutes in the Florida sun to ride a spinner for little junior, it was a very worthy investment.
And I find censorship hilarious personally. My voice is silenced all the time around my house and at work. I'm guessing that there are a lot of people who wish it was silenced here as well. I just personally have found the reaction to the disappearance of the article rather overdone. But again, that is a personal opinion, so I've tried my best to stay out of the conversation in your thread, which I enjoy when on a topic I find interesting, to let the discussion continue. I typically don't find any topic that is not worth a bad joke either, so don't take that personally.
PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
There's a man behind the curtain who's off site and watching via CCTV & Microphones.
WDW1974
Well-Known Member
That's a very good point.
There have been huge property-wide failures of this product multiple times, including over busy holiday weekends as it was basically built without any backup ... which is sorta begging for disaster.
PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
I dunno about that..... I heard the same $2.1B figure from people in the know.
I mean, all those team-building BBQs, dinners and lunches cost a lot. As well as upgrading every POS position on property. All the guest room locks. Setting up Wi-Fi for every park and resort and DTD.
Plus all the contractors who worked on IT.
I sense you're getting spun on the numbers there. Sounds like some accounting tricks are going on.
TalkingHead
Well-Known Member
I've never sat down and counted them. More than DHS and DAK, fewer than DL.
WDW1974
Well-Known Member
There are many journalists and ex-journalists and other media members regularly reading and posting here on MAGIC. I think about the only thing we all agree on beyond water being wet and reality TV sucking is that journalism isn't nearly what it used to be.
PhotoDave219
Well-Known Member
Nooooooooooope.
TalkingHead
Well-Known Member
Seems like self-promotion. Not saying that's bad, but it's hardly altruistic of him to drum up interest in his article.