MyMagic+ Efficiency Update

[Patrick Moore]

If the company in question is renown for customer service, and that customer service is known to revolve around vacations at their resort, you may not expect their "test" to turn your $10,000 vacation into a marathon of suckage...

I agree with everyone's concerns, heck I feel the same when I think about how is this all going to work, because first and foremost MDE is clearly not a stable app yet (not on web or as an app). Also concerned about ride capacity/availability from FP+ becoming as destabilized in the real world as MDE is in the virtual world, whether or not we choose to use MDE and MM+.
But whose $10K WDW vacation has been turned into a marathon of suckage yet, at this present day? I want to believe MDE and MM+ and all those other "plusses", these things alone I won't let it make my whole vacation suck.
All this NextGen stuff may change how I tour the parks, might hit some more rope drops and use touring plans strategies more. Falling back on FP less often, maybe not relying on it much at all.

 

[ectomaster]

Did you have to pay to beta test the game? If so how much did you pay them, to test their product? I am not trying to be arrogant, but point out that these people that are doing the testing, paid a lot of money to be at WDW and are not getting their ROI. And then being told lousy answers, that make it look like the customer is at fault. Bad show....

$15 a month and have been paying that for 9 years so yes, I had to pay and have an active account in order to beta test.

Again, you cannot fault the ones who are working. THEY did not choose who or when to do the beta. THEY did not ask to be placed in a position with little to no power. They are in the SAME boat as the ones who are testing, just unfortunately on the other side of the persons "wrath" (for lack of a better word). The ones who decide who get the beta testing or not are NOT even in the resort itself. No one sits backstage at the resorts and goes "This one! We'll do this one!". So to blame the CM's on hand is...irrational (again lack of a better word). It's not their fault, how can it be? They can only do so much with whatever information is given to them. If the only information given is "It's a known error" then that's all they can share. Could they do more? Sure, they can try but are limited by whatever program/rules they have to follow. If the word is to do ABC but not to do DEF then they can't do DEF. Is it crummy? Yeah it is. Does it suck? Sure does. Is there a whole lot that can be done? Who knows, that is up to those that are in a position to do what they can with what they have. But to sit here and to say they have bad show for not knowing the answers to the questions with a new thing that isn't even given to the general public en masse when there isn't a lot of information about it to begin with...I just don't know what everyone would expect. It's a new system that hasn't been fully implemented let alone integrated and yet the expectation is that it's going to run smoothly right out of the gate, with every issue being fixed instantaneously.

It's new, bugs need to be reported, fixed and applied. That takes time. Rome wasn't built in a day. Or more appropriate, we gotta get through Vista before we get to 7.

 

[Gabe1]

To be fair, George, Disney has been paying guests off left and right with comps, free upgrades to higher caliber resorts, gift cards, meals, swag.

I think that like everything else at WDW, it depends on how loud and demanding you are.If you opt to play nice they will screw you like an 18-year-old fanboi at Vista Way.

I agree. While most of days at WDW with our kids, a couple hundred days or so over a couple decades most of our experiences have been perfectly fine, most not over the top glorious though. Yet we have had several experiences that have made me see purple. Roaches crawling on my infants baby bottle in our room at a brand new resort, (I got an upgrade and a one on one CM to facilitate packing and moving and a massive gift basket) messed up Halloween party reservations, comp'd and dinner, upgraded from POR to AKL for lack of room being available, $400 in Disney Gift Cards for Walt Disney Travel Company overbooking our flight with an airline, huge stuffed animals for the kids when CM at Discovery Island wouldn't get off phone (personal call, what they were going to do tonight) while my DD was bleeding on the sidewalk, free dining after evil CM told us no reservations available at Boatright and 1/3 of the tables were empty and when inquiring at Concierge desk what was available they had lots of Boat ressies available. In my mind I wanted to smack the hostess just for messing with guests.

Now that sounds like a lot of complaining and it isn't, a lot of comp's but not really. We have spent over 2/3 of a year collectively at WDW and when they mess up they should attempt to compensate. The thing that burns me consistently is how lousy the transportation has become. I know many drive but seriously that isn't fixing transportation, plus driving at high times isn't a pleasure either, the car is hot and frankly the parking lot security isn't that stellar either. If Disney can't figure out their transportation how are they going to pull of My Experience tech, they can't freak'n schedule buses anymore, not even touching the monorail...

 

[spacemt354]

yeah, he'd probably be laughing at some of the comments on this board about all the doom and gloom of WDW

Actually to be quite honest, I'm pretty sure Walt Disney would be more frustrated with your comments claiming there is nothing wrong, giving excuses for failures and managerial mishaps while using the umbrella of "testing phase" to excuse the issues. Disneyland did not open up to stellar reviews, but I didn't see Walt Disney making excuses or pinning the blame back on the guests (ex: hey they should have known that the pavement could melt in the sun and their shoes would be ruined)He listened to the guests and their feedback, and rather than simply throwing them a little compensation for their troubles, he instead went above and beyond to solve the problems.

He was the one that always enforced the notion to never rest on your laurels. This thread is not doom and gloom. This is constructive criticism of a system that management does not fully understand and that they are rolling out without regard to the condition it could leave once in a lifetime vacations in. And more importantly, this is reality.

I could never see Walt Disney, or any other old time imagineers, supporting this NGE and MyMagic+ (see the tony Baxter d23 interview thread) Nor could I ever seen them "laughing" at guests with legitimate concerns about the state of their parks and resorts.

Earlier you had sarcastically mentioned that when you buy your park passes a cast member should warn you of all the mishaps you may encounter (rain, ride break down, even getting pooped on)

Lets say the mine train soft opens even though the ride operators do not understand the fundamental ride mechanisms and the track is unsteady.

When you arrive at the entrance, would you be tempted to ride if the cast member tells you that there is a chance the cars might fly off the tracks?

Because that is the equivalent disclaimer of MyMagic+ testing. Not that it's simply a test and glitches can happen here or there, but that your entire vacation could be compromised.

 

[WDWDad13]

Actually to be quite honest, I'm pretty sure Walt Disney would be more frustrated with your comments claiming there is nothing wrong, giving excuses for failures and managerial mishaps while using the umbrella of "testing phase" to excuse the issues. Disneyland did not open up to stellar reviews, but I didn't see Walt Disney making excuses or pinning the blame back on the guests (ex: hey they should have known that the pavement could melt in the sun and their shoes would be ruined)He listened to the guests and their feedback, and rather than simply throwing them a little compensation for their troubles, he instead went above and beyond to solve the problems.

He was the one that always enforced the notion to never rest on your laurels. This thread is not doom and gloom. This is constructive criticism of a system that management does not fully understand and that they are rolling out without regard to the condition it could leave once in a lifetime vacations in. And more importantly, this is reality.

I could never see Walt Disney, or any other old time imagineers, supporting this NGE and MyMagic+ (see the tony Baxter d23 interview thread) Nor could I ever seen them "laughing" at guests with legitimate concerns about the state of their parks and resorts.

Earlier you had sarcastically mentioned that when you buy your park passes a cast member should warn you of all the mishaps you may encounter (rain, ride break down, even getting pooped on)

Lets say the mine train soft opens even though the ride operators do not understand the fundamental ride mechanisms and the track is unsteady.

When you arrive at the entrance, would you be tempted to ride if the cast member tells you that there is a chance the cars might fly off the tracks?

Because that is the equivalent disclaimer of MyMagic+ testing. Not that it's simply a test and glitches can happen here or there, but that your entire vacation could be compromised.

LOL!!!!

So now we're comparing MyMagic+ testing issues to potential death on the new Snow White coaster and of course Tony Baxter and Walt Disney would never support emerging technology that will open up new doors to guest experiences???

wow

Let me guess....Walt would also be an annual pass holder at Uni because that's where all the good stuff is that Disney can no longer do right?



Criticism of wdw stagnation is fine and I agree, but to bash MyMagic+ in testing phase not realizing the potential when they get it right and many thinking Uni is and will become top dog in Orlando is just ludicrous (not the rapper either) and are likely drunk on geek wizard boy's butterbeer

 

[ford91exploder]

LOL!!!!

So now we're comparing MyMagic+ testing issues to potential death on the new Snow White coaster and of course Tony Baxter and Walt Disney would never support emerging technology that will open up new doors to guest experiences???

wow

Let me guess....Walt would also be an annual pass holder at Uni because that's where all the good stuff is that Disney can no longer do right?



Criticism of wdw stagnation is fine and I agree, but to bash MyMagic+ in testing phase not realizing the potential when they get it right and many thinking Uni is and will become top dog in Orlando is just ludicrous (not the rapper either) and are likely drunk on geek wizard boy's butterbeer

Success in business is simple, Create a product people WANT to buy, OBSESS on customer service and keep expenses in line with revenues. NGE does none of these things, Universal will become top dog IF Disney stays on its current trajectory, Universal is constantly upgrading SHOW they may be upgrading tech but the best tech is invisible to the user,

Disney could have built a NEW PARK for what they have blown on NGE or expanded all the existing ones and that would have excited the customers

 

[spacemt354]

LOL!!!!

So now we're comparing MyMagic+ testing issues to potential death on the new Snow White coaster and of course Tony Baxter and Walt Disney would never support emerging technology that will open up new doors to guest experiences???

wow

Let me guess....Walt would also be an annual pass holder at Uni because that's where all the good stuff is that Disney can no longer do right?



Criticism of wdw stagnation is fine and I agree, but to bash MyMagic+ in testing phase not realizing the potential when they get it right and many thinking Uni is and will become top dog in Orlando is just ludicrous (not the rapper either) and are likely drunk on geek wizard boy's butterbeer

It's apparent you read what you want to read...

Cars flying off the tracks was a metaphor for an attraction soft opening and equivalent testing condition MyMagic+ was in during my stay. The point of mentioning it? Was that the testing should not be open to guests if fundamental disastrous errors are occurring, and their sugar coated letter never disclaimed these problems to their well paying guests. I hope they fix the issues. I hope they know what they are doing. And I hope that the billions of dollars invested into all this proves to be worth it. But speaking from a person who since my joining of this site, has had the philosophy that disney isn't as bad as everyone says and that this site (or at least this section) was just anti-disney, after my last trip I've come to a realization.

Dude, it is that bad. People have very real concerns that you are brushing off. You have a right to your opinion and i respect your views, but that doesn't mean you're correct.

And now you're putting words in my mouth, which I don't appreciate.

Where in this did I say Uni would be the top dog? And where oh where.. did I even mention Uni? You brought both of those notions up.

What is the difference between bashing and criticizing? I don't see reporting Disney's mishaps with their new product as "bashing". It's constructive criticism of their philosophies. In fact, I went into the vacation hoping for MyMagic+ to succeed.

I understand I'm not going to change your views now, but I assure you, these views of mine didn't change because the maids forgot make our room towels into animals. No, it was big, company wide errors that altered my view and made me understand where others are coming from. I only hope that one day others can realize it too, but it's clear that some just don't want to realize it.

 

[ford91exploder]

$15 a month and have been paying that for 9 years so yes, I had to pay and have an active account in order to beta test.

Again, you cannot fault the ones who are working. THEY did not choose who or when to do the beta. THEY did not ask to be placed in a position with little to no power. They are in the SAME boat as the ones who are testing, just unfortunately on the other side of the persons "wrath" (for lack of a better word). The ones who decide who get the beta testing or not are NOT even in the resort itself. No one sits backstage at the resorts and goes "This one! We'll do this one!". So to blame the CM's on hand is...irrational (again lack of a better word). It's not their fault, how can it be? They can only do so much with whatever information is given to them. If the only information given is "It's a known error" then that's all they can share. Could they do more? Sure, they can try but are limited by whatever program/rules they have to follow. If the word is to do ABC but not to do DEF then they can't do DEF. Is it crummy? Yeah it is. Does it suck? Sure does. Is there a whole lot that can be done? Who knows, that is up to those that are in a position to do what they can with what they have. But to sit here and to say they have bad show for not knowing the answers to the questions with a new thing that isn't even given to the general public en masse when there isn't a lot of information about it to begin with...I just don't know what everyone would expect. It's a new system that hasn't been fully implemented let alone integrated and yet the expectation is that it's going to run smoothly right out of the gate, with every issue being fixed instantaneously.

It's new, bugs need to be reported, fixed and applied. That takes time. Rome wasn't built in a day. Or more appropriate, we gotta get through Vista before we get to 7.

Actually you don't NGE is a classic example of the 'Second System Effect' described by Fred Brooks in the 'Mythical Man Month', A team has created a successful 'small' system (Think Online ADR's) now they get overambitious and create a GOD system which does everything including the kitchen sink. Poor or non-existent specifications are written, unrealistic timelines are created and the system flops, Now we add people to the team and the project slows down even more.

Key to this is proper thought and planning were never done in NGE as NGE should have been rolled out in stages, ie. Get the magic bands out there as replacement for KTTW card, Now add games like 'sorcerers' or 'agent p', Learn from this get scaling numbers, transaction counts - then go on to the stuff you WANTED to do in the first place.

THIS IS HOW A WORKING SYSTEM IS CREATED.

 

[luv]

OP, were you told this was a test oR was it all presented to you as the way things are down?

 

[spacemt354]

OP, were you told this was a test oR was it all presented to you as the way things are down?

I'm not too sure what you mean, but I will say the only time the word "test" was spoken by Disney employees was when things went wrong. Other than those instances, and the original pamphlet, they didn't bring up the word.

 

[lazyboy97o]

OP, were you told this was a test oR was it all presented to you as the way things are down?

If the device you typed this on started bugging you to upgrade your OS to a preview version would you expect something full of bugs?

 

[luv]

I'm not too sure what you mean, but I will say the only time the word "test" was spoken by Disney employees was when things went wrong. Other than those instances, and the original pamphlet, they didn't bring up the word.

I'm sorry. I put two different questions into one sentence. I know that is difficult to answer!

The question I should have asked is, "Were you told this was a test?" I'm trying to figure out if you knew you'd agreed to be part of a test.

 

[luv]

If the device you typed this on started bugging you to upgrade your OS to a preview version would you expect something full of bugs?

Absolutely. I do not upgrade to preview versions, lol. More headaches than I care to deal with. I understand why people who are into that stuff do it, though. They can't wait to try out new technology. It's their thing. I get that.

I don't even buy tech that is new, lol. Much as I wanted one, I waited for iPad 2.

 

[Jekyll_Baker]

For what it may be worth, I just got back from 4 days staying at Pop (8/12-8/15), and we too were in the 'test'. Didn't have any real problems. I and my partner are AP holders, and had done the online check-in. AP info was linked to our MagicBands, and charging privileges were in place before we had even checked into the resort (we got to WDW in early afternoon and went to AK first, to use the FastPass+ we had already set up for that day). Check-in at the hotel was quickly done by a CM with a tablet, where she gave us our info pack and room keycards. She did say that everything should be working on the bands, but to keep the keycards on hand just in case, especially if we were going to take advantage of any Extra Magic hours, because she didn't know if they were accepting the bands as i.d. for those yet.
Only had two minor problems. First we had to get the PIN on my partner's band reset. We thought we had set it on the Disney website, but it didn't seem to work. A quick visit to the front desk and that was rectified by another CM with a tablet. And second, was on Thursday (8/15). A few days before our vacation started, I had received an offer from Be Our Guest to make FastPass+ reservations for lunch, as well as pre-order our meals. I did so and thought everything was ok. Only thing that was odd was that it never showed up on either of our MyDisneyExperience apps, like other FastPass+ or reservations. Checked in on Thursday at Be Our Guest - they did have to search a little bit for the res, but did find it. Got to the point to pay for the meal, and the meal selections were not there, so just had to re-order. Not a big problem, just a slight hindrance.
Also BTW, on Thursday we did take advantage of the early EMH at MK - we showed our room card, and one of the CMs did mention that having the wristband was enough.
In my opinion, the whole MyMagic+ went well. Really enjoyed the FastPass+ (I've never been a fan of FP in the past, mainly because of having to run around to get them), and the fact that everything was linked together on the band and the app (AP, room keycard, charging, reservations, etc) made things more convenient and less cumbersome.

 

[pmaljr]

We were there and didn't do the magicband/fastpass test. However, everybody we talked to that was doing the band/fastpass+ "test" while we were there over the last week thought that, although it was a little hassle to get setup, it was way more than worth the trouble. They really enjoyed the magic bands themselves, the fastpass+ they had, and they could use their KTW card to get other, regular fastpasses as well. So, they loved it and said they wouldn't want to go back to the way we were doing everything. We did use the My Disney Experience to link our tickets and reservations, and the app on my android phone so all my reservation stuff was in one place and the CMs at the front desk and at Concierge desk that we were staying at commented about how easy it was to look up our info now that we were using the new stuff and they were very happy with the new system. (They looked up and printed our Spirit of Aloha tix, reset our pin #, etc.) Anyway, that's my comments for now.

 

[Thessair]

We were there and didn't do the magicband/fastpass test. However, everybody we talked to that was doing the band/fastpass+ "test" while we were there over the last week thought that, although it was a little hassle to get setup, it was way more than worth the trouble. They really enjoyed the magic bands themselves, the fastpass+ they had, and they could use their KTW card to get other, regular fastpasses as well. So, they loved it and said they wouldn't want to go back to the way we were doing everything. We did use the My Disney Experience to link our tickets and reservations, and the app on my android phone so all my reservation stuff was in one place and the CMs at the front desk and at Concierge desk that we were staying at commented about how easy it was to look up our info now that we were using the new stuff and they were very happy with the new system. (They looked up and printed our Spirit of Aloha tix, reset our pin #, etc.) Anyway, that's my comments for now.

The ability to get regular fast passes will no longer be an option when FP+ goes live, correct? I wonder if people are being informed of that fact. If they aren't, I'd imagine it might skew opinions a bit.

 

[Realtronica]

What really boggles my mind is a company the size of Disney can't deploy NFC wristbands. For those of you not up to speed on the technology it is near field communications that Disney has embedded into the waterproof wristbands. What I think is really happening is their IT infrastructure I bet is the main cause for service distruption. "Beta testing" a new product or service should never amount to an 80% fail rate. The technology they are using are found in all of the recent smartphones that are out there today. Just my 2 cents.

 

[CaptainShortty]

What really boggles my mind is a company the size of Disney can't deploy NFC wristbands. For those of you not up to speed on the technology it is near field communications that Disney has embedded into the waterproof wristbands. What I think is really happening is their IT infrastructure I bet is the main cause for service distruption. "Beta testing" a new product or service should never amount to an 80% fail rate. The technology they are using are found in all of the recent smartphones that are out there today. Just my 2 cents.

Not sure where you're getting the 80% fail rate of the beta test. Only about 5% of guests are having problems that are "causing a major disruption" to their vacation and these guests I assure you are being taken care of at the resort. They are also being encouraged to take the many surveys about the test and to tell us what went wrong. Their reservations are also being studied to figure out what went wrong and to make sure that it gets fixed ASAP.

 

[TrolleyFollower91]

While I agree for the most part, I will say that if you are participating in the MyMagic+ test, you don't get to use both Fastpass+ and standard Fastpass options. We had to chose between those options, we did not get both. At least that is what the manager had told us at the front desk.

Just wanted to let you know that I used the MagicBands from Aug 3-11, and we could get paper Fastpasses in addition to our MM+ reservation. We didn't ask anyone, just stuck our card ticket in the machine and out popped a valid FP.

Also, I'm sorry for your problems, but I can report we had few issues with the system (besides the terrible MyDisneyExperience app...urgh!). We switched from AKL to the Poly, so we could not use our MagicBands to open our door or use as a room charge when we were at the Poly since it hasn't gone live yet. We were able to use our bands to "tap to pay" in AK gift shops/counter service and also at our table in Boma. I'm not a huge fan of wearing the band, but I can honestly say I enjoyed FP+. And we received an exit survey, FYI.

 

[Reade's Dad]

My trip for December is showing in My Disney Experience app, but man...has it got things messed up! I have tried correcting it myself, but it won't let me...is there Anne number I can call?