MyMagic+ article from Fast Company magazine

[LuvtheGoof]

I actually booked a FP for TSMM yesterday, for today. What's missing from "available" is that for my party of 2, I was given the option of 2 times. 12:25-1:25, or 5:50-6:50. I took the earlier, because we wouldn't be in the park that late. If you had a dining reservation that conflicted, it would be straight back into "you get the time we give you" territory of legacy. If you had a larger party, I wonder how "available" it was. And our "Yay, I don't have to run back and forth through the park 'benefit'" to get times in the mid-afternoon, ended up meaning we went Star Tours, ToT, TSMM...so we were going back and forth through the park. Thankfully, Studios is small. To really get the times to work out, the closer you can book to 60 days, the better. Yes, TSMM times can be available later, but you end up planning your entire day around that window.

Our point is that unless you got to rope drop and hurried to TSMM, you weren't going to get any FP at all, or something late in the day. If you got something late in the day, well, you then had to plan your day around that return time. Please advise on how that is different than what you just stated with the new system. And what if you had ADRs at EPCOT for that return time? Since you used FP+, you get to do BOTH. Under the old system, it was one or the other. And yet you STILL say that it isn't an improvement???

 

[hopemax]

Our point is that unless you got to rope drop and hurried to TSMM, you weren't going to get any FP at all, or something late in the day. If you got something late in the day, well, you then had to plan your day around that return time. Please advise on how that is different than what you just stated with the new system. And what if you had ADRs at EPCOT for that return time? Since you used FP+, you get to do BOTH. Under the old system, it was one or the other. And yet you STILL say that it isn't an improvement???

The point I was responding to was that the person stated that you could still book 'good fastpasses the "day of."' My experience was that I could not select any time for TSMM this morning pre-park opening, when I tried to change mine to a more convenient time. And the one I got the day before was not necessarily a "good" time...it was "a" time but that's about it, and yes, that's exactly how it was under the old system you got "a" time. His anecdotal evidence said "not a big problem." Mine was, "yeah, actually it was." The old way, may have been worse, but that does not make this way good, or no problem.

 

[Lord_Vader]

I don't believe they will ever recover the full cost. Most large IT projects do not.

Cost recovery may come in many forms, in the terms of MDE it looks like it will come from a variety of sources:

1. Labor costs, knowing where and when you guests will be saves unnecessary labor.
2. Resort room nights, if the resorts stay full b/c of MDE/MM+/FP+ then they will recover a lot of money fast
3. PGS, if guests are happy they spend more in the parks too
4. Return guests and word of mouth. If guests leave happy they tell friends who decide to visit too.
5. WiFi allows guests to seamlessly send pictures & videos of their vacation to all their friends via Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/.etc instantly which results in free advertising for WDW which results in more guests
6. Guest profiling in the backoffice allows WDW to create special profiles for return trip offers, dining discounts and other opportunities to spend more $$$

 

[BJones82]

1. Labor costs, knowing where and when you guests will be saves unnecessary labor.
2. Resort room nights, if the resorts stay full b/c of MDE/MM+/FP+ then they will recover a lot of money fast
3. PGS, if guests are happy they spend more in the parks too
4. Return guests and word of mouth. If guests leave happy they tell friends who decide to visit too.
5. WiFi allows guests to seamlessly send pictures & videos of their vacation to all their friends via Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/.etc instantly which results in free advertising for WDW which results in more guests
6. Guest profiling in the backoffice allows WDW to create special profiles for return trip offers, dining discounts and other opportunities to spend more $$$

All of these are great points!!!

 

[Lord_Vader]

My bigger question is "Why wasnt this integrated from the start?"

Because when new systems rolled out they would have been much more complex to do in an integrated fashion or the technology didn't even come close to existing when the systems were designed most likely.

Why didn't your first mobile phone also have email and internet access?

 

[LuvtheGoof]

The point I was responding to was that the person stated that you could still book 'good fastpasses the "day of."' My experience was that I could not select any time for TSMM this morning pre-park opening, when I tried to change mine to a more convenient time. And the one I got the day before was not necessarily a "good" time...it was "a" time but that's about it, and yes, that's exactly how it was under the old system you got "a" time. His anecdotal evidence said "not a big problem." Mine was, "yeah, actually it was." The old way, may have been worse, but that does not make this way good, or no problem.

So you just aren't willing to concede any point of it at all. I get it. Just because you couldn't get one pre-park opening, or change a current one makes the system suck. Well, you couldn't get one AT ALL pre-park opening before. That sucked for me.

I just checked, and I can get a FP+ for TSMM for 9:25 - 10:25 tomorrow morning - a Saturday. Now I don't have to be there at rope drop to hurry to TSMM to get a FP that might not be good until 6 or 7pm tomorrow night, when I'm having my dinner at the Cali Grill. I don't EVER run, so the chances of us ever getting a FP to work there for us are pretty much nil.

And you still say that it isn't better?

 

[Lord_Vader]

Apple pay is something which Apple developed from NFC and is essentially the same though it uses different APIs. That being said anywhere you go where it is now excepted it was not an easy roll out because it was the first widely excepted form of NFC payment.

Partially correct, ApplePay is also the entire back-end authorization system fully integrated with member banks. Google Wallet was much more about a new way to pass your CC information to a terminal device that provided no incentive to retailers to use whereas ApplePay is end-to-end transactional model and has brought banks along with the product to entice retailers to join in.

 

[Lord_Vader]

Sorry, but have to heartily disagree with you on this one. I think the percentages would be reversed, as I believe most people would love it. I know that we would, and we're older adults! You are simply to much of a curmudgeon to see how awesome something like that would be to most. JMHO, of course, and you are certainly entitled to yours.

I think you are correct, much of todays generation of young adults post just about everything they do on social media open for the world to see so really wouldn't get bent out of shape if Cinderella walked up to DD and said good morning so and so. Most would be more interested in their child's reaction to being referred to by name.

Creepy would be Santa telling you that all those Churro's and cupcakes you ate while on vacation aren't good for you and to eat more apples.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

Cost recovery may come in many forms, in the terms of MDE it looks like it will come from a variety of sources:

1. Labor costs, knowing where and when you guests will be saves unnecessary labor.
2. Resort room nights, if the resorts stay full b/c of MDE/MM+/FP+ then they will recover a lot of money fast
3. PGS, if guests are happy they spend more in the parks too
4. Return guests and word of mouth. If guests leave happy they tell friends who decide to visit too.
5. WiFi allows guests to seamlessly send pictures & videos of their vacation to all their friends via Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/.etc instantly which results in free advertising for WDW which results in more guests
6. Guest profiling in the backoffice allows WDW to create special profiles for return trip offers, dining discounts and other opportunities to spend more $$$

All true. And Disney might point to some of that as ROI as well. Having been in IT for over 35 years, and part of many huge projects, a true monetized ROI is almost impossible to state. You simply cannot say that we made X amount of dollars because we saw a rise of 2% occupancy in our resorts, and that is directly attributable to MM+. You can infer that, but you cannot prove that.

 

[Shaman]

The key to Universal's interactive success is YOU interact with the environment if YOU choose, Disney is looking at more of a a PUSH model where the environment interacts with you and YOU have no choice in the matter.

I don't WANT characters to know my name unless I choose to share it with them (ie a button or something similar).

Successful companies, change consumer behaviors. For example, Apple was successful at changing the way people consume media and how they used their phones. The iPod, iPhone, and the iPad changed the game. Disney has created an infrastructure to build upon. When someone is in line today for Soarin they can change their FPs for later that same day. Forget to buy those onride and park photos? Buy them when you get home. Royal Caribbean recently introduced their own bands when they launched their most recent ships. Disney is ahead of the game. It may not have an immediate flashy and tangible ROI, but it keeps the theme park experience relevant in this age of apps, clouds, and augmented reality. The parks themselves no doubt need work though.

 

[hopemax]

So you just aren't willing to concede any point of it at all. I get it. Just because you couldn't get one pre-park opening, or change a current one makes the system suck. Well, you couldn't get one AT ALL pre-park opening before. That sucked for me.

I just checked, and I can get a FP+ for TSMM for 9:25 - 10:25 tomorrow morning - a Saturday. Now I don't have to be there at rope drop to hurry to TSMM to get a FP that might not be good until 6 or 7pm tomorrow night, when I'm having my dinner at the Cali Grill. I don't EVER run, so the chances of us ever getting a FP to work there for us are pretty much nil.

And you still say that it isn't better?

A system that plays "musical chairs" with guests is not inherently better. I get that the old way sucked for you, but you getting a convenient time, does not change that for the next guest the "available" may be a difficult or unworkable time. Again, my point was that someone threw out that yesterday TSMM was "available." I was simply expanding on what "available" truly meant. I don't want people to have the wrong idea, that you can wait until the "day of" or the night before and get a workable time. The reality for "random guest" is your options might very well be limited. So you can get a 9:25 FP tomorrow...what was the party size, what other times were available, because that does little good if it was for a party of 1, and a family of 6 with a 9:00AM reservation at Cape May is looking for times. This system is still a PITA depending on ones circumstances. FYI - I just checked for party of 4 and got no times, dropped it to 2, still no times, now 1, then I can select TSMM. To really make a difference for Disney, it needs to be better than a sprinkling of options for small parties (I really wonder what this does to last minute day trip guests, do they not get what they want and then stay home or go to Universal instead? And it's hard to survey people that don't come, so they aren't going to show up in satisfaction, intent to return surveys). A truly better system would be one where a range of party sizes has a range of times to chose from.

The system sucks because Disney does not have enough park or attraction capacity to meet the demand and changes to distribution doesn't affect that one bit. All it has done is changed the faces of the people sitting down when the music stopped. Honestly, this is not about my personal experience other than I just happened to be looking for real yesterday, so I knew what available meant. So don't think this is about me vs you. But the option for you, who previously didn't ride, to sit, on a ride that wasn't running with extra open capacity, and had no change to its capacity, means that some unknown random guest didn't ride; the expected outcome of musical chairs, and so on Disney's balance sheet of happy to unhappy guest, is it better? I don't think the needle moved at all. The old way didn't cost a billion(?) dollars though. Someday, the Studios and Epcot may reach a point where a system like this works (it does work far better in AK and MK where demand vs capacity is better aligned) but that day is not now, and I would never tell anyone, "TSMM, Soarin, they will be available day of, or night before." I would tell them, "you may get a choice of one or two times, but you might not or they may not work for you, and you need to be prepared to break your party up into small groups."

 

[LuvtheGoof]

You're still completely missing my point, but that's OK. We are going to agree to disagree on this one. No problem.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Because when new systems rolled out they would have been much more complex to do in an integrated fashion or the technology didn't even come close to existing when the systems were designed most likely.

Why didn't your first mobile phone also have email and internet access?

But isn't Disney supposed to be the shining example of how things are done?

 

[sshindel]

But isn't Disney supposed to be the shining example of how things are done?

In theme parks, yes.
Under the covers, not really. That would be Google, Apple, etc. Tech companies.

 

[PhotoDave219]

In theme parks, yes.
Under the covers, not really. That would be Google, Apple, etc. Tech companies.

Just thinking... wishing I suppose..... that the behind the scenes Disney people would be the visionaries worthy of the legacy of their company. You would think that someone would have the foresight to simply build onto systems as they're created. Be foreward thinking that way, leaving room for expansion.

Isnt that the things the Disney Institute teaches?

 

[flynnibus]

ugh... another FP+ rathole with people only focusing on how they consume it as a customer. wonderful

 

[wdisney9000]

So you just aren't willing to concede any point of it at all. I get it. Just because you couldn't get one pre-park opening, or change a current one makes the system suck. Well, you couldn't get one AT ALL pre-park opening before. That sucked for me.

I just checked, and I can get a FP+ for TSMM for 9:25 - 10:25 tomorrow morning - a Saturday. Now I don't have to be there at rope drop to hurry to TSMM to get a FP that might not be good until 6 or 7pm tomorrow night, when I'm having my dinner at the Cali Grill. I don't EVER run, so the chances of us ever getting a FP to work there for us are pretty much nil.

And you still say that it isn't better?

Just to be fair, I just checked and I can get TSMM tomorrow for 1 person. I tried for 2 people and there is no availability at all. So unless you plan on leaving your family at the room while you go have fun, good luck. Same thing at MK. No availability for 7DMT, Jungle Cruise, FoF, A&E.

So by your reasoning, the new system is ok if your travelling solo. If there is more than 1 person, forget it, unless you wanna get there at rope drop which is no better than legacy.

While legacy did require you to be there at rope drop, at least you knew for sure you would get a FP for TSMM and then ride another attraction with little or no wait or just ride TSMM and then ride it again with your FP and even get another FP for it, or another attraction. Same goes for an attraction like A&E meet and greet at MK. Its booked solid for the next few days. But with legacy, you could just get there at rope drop tomorrow and know that you would be able to see them. What if your kid decides he/she really wants to see them one more time before you leave? Good luck with FP+, it aint gonna happen. With legacy, no sweat, you just have to wake up a little earlier.

Im not saying either one is better, but you keep saying "You still dont think its better", Im just pointing out that FP+ does have draw backs.

 

[fillerup]

Just to be fair, I just checked and I can get TSMM tomorrow for 1 person. I tried for 2 people and there is no availability at all. So unless you plan on leaving your family at the room while you go have fun, good luck. Same thing at MK. No availability for 7DMT, Jungle Cruise, FoF, A&E.

I was curious, but not doubting you, after reading your post and went to select FPs at DHS (I've done FP+ rarely).

I got TSMM for 2, Star Tours and something else. I hit the back button to make a change and big red letters over TSMM saying "Fast Pass Selection has ended for this date". When I went forward again the TSMM had changed to something else. Kind of odd I thought that I'd get them when you couldn't and then they vanished.

Then I went to MK and got two mountains and Peter Pan. All of this for tomorrow.

 

[wdisney9000]

I was curious, but not doubting you, after reading your post and went to select FPs at DHS (I've done FP+ rarely).

I got TSMM for 2, Star Tours and something else. I hit the back button to make a change and big red letters over TSMM saying "Fast Pass Selection has ended for this date". When I went forward again the TSMM had changed to something else. Kind of odd I thought that I'd get them when you couldn't and then they vanished.

Then I went to MK and got two mountains and Peter Pan. All of this for tomorrow.

Ya, I just logged in again, and couldnt get 2. I backed out and tried again and got em, then tried again and they were gone. Weird. Still full for A&E, FoF, Jungle Cruise and 7DMT at MK.

Like I said, Im not saying either system i better or worse. They have both have advantages and drawbacks and thats all there is to it.

 

[sshindel]

Just thinking... wishing I suppose..... that the behind the scenes Disney people would be the visionaries worthy of the legacy of their company. You would think that someone would have the foresight to simply build onto systems as they're created. Be foreward thinking that way, leaving room for expansion.

Isnt that the things the Disney Institute teaches?

Those are just unrealistic expectations. IT systems have never been thought of as anything more than just a tool to do one specific job. In companies that have been around as long as Disney there is no way the system would ever be thought of as doing more than one purpose prior to a handful of years ago.

It's that way in every company that I've ever had experience working with. Business people do not see technology as more than something like a stapler. It is a tool to do a job. At the time most of the systems were designed by Disney, thinking about them as a whole system together is just like saying that Disney should've anticipated smart phones the day that cellular technology was invented.
I've never worked for a company that is newer then say 50 years old so I can't speak to newer corporations, but I can tell you that I have never once seen an organization develop an integrated system from out the outset. Even in today's world it's nearly impossible to convince a large organization that the investment it would take to integrate their systems together in a correct way is worth the money. Even if a system looks integrated there is probably a 98% chance that it is a disparate system held together by a system of Band-Aids.

Maybe others who work in the IT industry have worked for companies that have come up in the last 5 to 10 years and have seen a company forward thinking enough to do integration at the same time as they're doing new system development. I've just never seen it personally. I've fought the fight on many occasions to try to convince people to work towards an integrated system, but I've lost those battles. It is typically too costly to throw away existing systems and design new ones and it's a lot cheaper to try to slap something together to make it work.
I don't know when Disney was really building their first IT systems but I can guarantee that almost nobody in the world was thinking about developing an overall integrated system for a company as large and diverse as Disney. The expectation that they would somehow be thinking about this back in the 70s or 80s is way beyond anything horizons tried to guess at for the future.

If I'm over speaking myself here some of you IT folks please feel free to correct me I'd love to hear about it. @flynnibus or @ford91exploder @senor_jorge @Bob