Spirited News and Observations and Opinions ...

[Jakester]

Why do you feel FP+ is the greater 'evil'?

Its installed at rides that don't need it, I can see it at the headliners, but Magic Carpets .. Seriously.

 

[rioriz]

Most of this discussion has covered a gamut of issues. It started with my trip observations (did everyone forget the terrible Cosmic Ray's food or how much I loved the new Celebrate the Magic projection show?) and morphed like a great conversation among friends at a party. ... So, we can talk about whatever you wish, I am not setting the agenda.

Just to be clear, though, I am anti-armband and anti-FP+ (that part could change, but doubt it!)

Why do you feel FP+ is the greater 'evil'?

Honestly I wish your original post was still the topic but hard to stay away from FP+ these days.

I don't think it is the greater evil but the one that could cost the most disruption. The thing is I have experienced the armband and it wasn't bad but fairly great. So for me I know what to expect as far as that and have already accepted it. FP+ I have not experienced so therefore have no definitive position on it.

You seem to be fairly consistent with your opposition to information sharing not only in WDW but Gov't and other entities so it seems it is an idealogical issue for yourself. Plus the fact billions seem "wasted" on this other than keeping up with a far superior product elsewhere.

Myself, I recognize my ideological opposion to information sharing when it comes to the Gov't but I see WDW and Great Wolf Lodge as ants compared to the US Gov't. The worst I can get is junk mail from Disney, the Gov't, skies the limit

 

[WDW1974]

You, Lee, Parent and Kuhio are a good read but enough of this sappy crap! I actually wanted to ask you if you heard anything on a potential name change to DHS and the hat removal? I heard it from someone yesterday but don't really trust the accuracy.

I like sappy crap ... sentimental crap too.

Hat removal talk goes back to 2010 (when I heard it was coming down). I do think you can read a bit into some of the merchandise showing the Earful Tower again that it will be down sooner rather than later. It is coming down in virtually every plan for TPFKaTD-MGMS' makeover. ... I have heard nothing at all about a name change and can't imagine that they'd do one after changing it what ... five years ago? You can't just keep doing that and I see no reason for it, even if I don't like the current name.

 

[Kuhio]

... then again, most Asians are smarter than Americans to begin with....

I am glad you said 'most, Expo ... I can tell you there are always exceptions to any rule!

I know a hillbilly (we'll call him Mr. Li) and he loves technology, especially phones. Has a hot wife too!

Is this "Mr. Li" an example of one of those Asians? (Just how many hillbilly Asians are there, anyway?)

Apropos of this topic, Shang's dad from Mulan (General Li) kind of has the same name as Bo and Luke's car from The Dukes of Hazzard, when you think about it!

The most amusing thing about what your suggesting is that in reality most people who know me feel that I am what some here might call a fanboi foamer when it comes to WDW.

Ironic, since you're only a fanboi foamer when it comes to TDR.

 

[Kuhio]

You, Lee, Parent and Kuhio are a good read but enough of this sappy crap!

Some of us can't help being sappy. We tend toward inherent sentimentality, even when we aren't under the influence of a couple of margaritas (with pomegranate liqueur floater, of course) from the Mexico pavilion margarita stand!

 

[Darth Sidious]

I like sappy crap ... sentimental crap too.

Hat removal talk goes back to 2010 (when I heard it was coming down). I do think you can read a bit into some of the merchandise showing the Earful Tower again that it will be down sooner rather than later. It is coming down in virtually every plan for TPFKaTD-MGMS' makeover. ... I have heard nothing at all about a name change and can't imagine that they'd do one after changing it what ... five years ago? You can't just keep doing that and I see no reason for it, even if I don't like the current name.

Yeah I posted what I heard in that 2010 thread (well it got moved there because I never searched :/).

 

[Darth Sidious]

Some of us can't help being sappy. We tend toward inherent sentimentality, even when we aren't under the influence of a couple of margaritas (with pomegranate liqueur floater, of course) from the Mexico pavilion margarita stand!

I out sappy-ed that post five minutes later anyway.

 

[WDW1974]

Is this "Mr. Li" an example of one of those Asians? (Just how many hillbilly Asians are there, anyway?)

Apropos of this topic, Shang's dad from Mulan (General Li) kind of has the same name as Bo and Luke's car from The Dukes of Hazzard, when you think about it!

I feel like it would be an invasion of Mr. Li's privacy (a topic that we've sorta been talking 'bout in these parts ... along with how nasty all those directors looked last night when Affleck won for Argo ...OK, we haven't been talking about that, but we could if things get slow this week, which I don't expect) to discuss his nationality/heritage.

You ask an amusing question. I don't know how many Asians would ... say go to Denny's and order every item off the Hobbit menu or buy a bacon hot fudge sundae at BK ... but where there's one, there's more.

As to your comparison, I can say that I have never thought about that before. ... Mulan was really a great film, though. And created at WDFA-FLA!

Ironic, since you're only a fanboi foamer when it comes to TDR.

Not true and YOU know it. I also foam about Disney cruises ... and DL ... and DLP ... and HKDL ... and what's left of EPCOT and ... DAK ... and DCA ... (how much more of this do I have to do?)

 

[WDW1974]

Some of us can't help being sappy. We tend toward inherent sentimentality, even when we aren't under the influence of a couple of margaritas (with pomegranate liqueur floater, of course) from the Mexico pavilion margarita stand!

True ... but those drinks make crashing EMH at the MK so much more MAGICal!

 

[flynnibus]

For a minute, I thought Flynn had fallen off the Grid. Good to see you back in the discussion.

I have a backlog of things to reply to from the end of last week.. but have been busy at home/family for a bit. Oh.. and watching my Ravens kick two different horses in the teeth!

But let's be upfront, there is no security that can't be breached

Certainly - but that's worlds different from inferring because the data exists, every Moe, Dick, and Larry Disney chooses to hire to clean their toilets will have access to the data. It's disingenuous, and intended only to support one's campaign rather than bear any resemblance to objective thought. That is what I was responding too (and no, I didn't see that in your post.. so no confusion there).

It doesn't take a genius to know you should only expose info when and to whom its needed, and for several types of info there should be actual gating ensuring the need actually exists vs just relying on someone's previously established access. Example: Require something from the authorized party, not just the CM's role, to access sensitive information. RFID actually makes this easier. Imagine if you wanted to allow someone to know the location of a child.. instead of letting the CM look it up on their own, require the authorized user's tag also be presented and validated before the information is presented to the CM. Now you have two factor authentication, not just trusting the CM's access level.

So I'm not too concerned about Disney on that front. Hacking.. as I have previously stated, this opens new attack vectors which increases risk.. but the data at risk is basically the same data as before. I think Disney is far more scared of bad PR than they are of me b#$#ching if my data is compromised... so I expect due diligence there as well.

Where it does take a 'genius' - is making all this robust, scale, and rolling it all out successfully (and keeping customers happy at the same time!). I'm more concerned on that front.. and having vacations impaired due to technology failures than I am about Disney CM's molesting my children or stalking me or them. But hey.. who am I to try to stop the FUD train??

 

[Cosmic Commando]

Sure. People are slobs more now than ever before. Wearing PJ bottoms or sweats onto flights. Lawyers appearing in court with jackets they got at second-hand stores. No one enforcing dress codes at Disney's 'fine dining' locales.

That's still no excuse to give into it.

And when Nick has BB's record, I'll excuse his appearance.

But Nick Franklin doesn't get to play the Bills twice every year!

 

[SirLink]

Many guests don't. Those guests, even if they wind up staying at a Disney resort, will be well behind everyone else in this New World Order that MyMagic+ is creating. You have to do hours of research and planning or you'll be spending far more time frustrated and standing in crowds.

Well the only positive is they have catchy theme music...

 

[Cosmic Commando]

What happens when the entire NexGen crashes? It is going to make everything a mess when everything depends on it. It already has happpened once and not only did it disable all the RFID readers it also took down Test Track and the Be Our Guest restaurant.

You obviously don't have a clue how these kinds of things work. A major company like The Walt Disney Corporation thoroughly tests every aspect of their new systems under the most challenging scenarios, utilizes the most stringent security standards in the industry and has hundreds of highly-trained IT professionals on duty 24 hours per day to deliver a worry-free experience to tens of thousands of guests every day. Just watch this video for proof:

 

[Cosmic Commando]

I was listening to the Puck Podcast yesterday, and a listener wrote in with an e-mail about his mixed feelings regarding the end of the lockout. I've transcribed part of it below. It reminded me of some of the discussion here. Just switch the hockey words for theme park words and it's a pretty close match:

"I would like to say that I will turn my back on the NHL, but out of principle, I cannot. I love the game too much and I still want to see so many things from the NHL in my lifetime, like a "pants trick" [editor's note: four goals in a game]. When it comes back, I will be there, but things will be different. Though it won't have any monetary effect on the NHL, I will no longer hold the league or its players on the pedestal I once did. Hockey is a business to both sides and this lockout has shown me that again and again. Whether I want it or not, I saw it. And with every game I watch, I will unconsciously harbor resentment and pessimism, having an acute awareness of money changing hands. I hate feeling this way about something I love so much."

 

[Tod&BigMamaOdie]

I give almost nothing to social networking because I DO realize that it's largely a tool that has been weaponized for the benefit of corporate interests at the expense of the individual. I also don't really care what the people I went to high school are doing beyond those who are still close to me. The rest would likely be shocked at what direction my life took. ... and I never call my ultility companies.

Disney, though, isn't playing catch up. They're trying to invent a whole new game by taking what exists and turn a patchwork (what most companies have) into a tapestry. And Disney's target? Tomorrow's child ... no, I wish that would work, but it doesn't @EPCOT Explorer ... sorry. No, the target is squarely on today's.

Maybe it's just me, but I'm very uncomfortable seeing the words 'detect' and 'exploit' in materials relating to the subject at hand. Even if it were not Disney, I think I would recoil a bit. The people in the know who work in datamining tell me this is common vernacular. But to see it with Disney just ... makes my stomach churn like a meal at Cosmic Ray's.

Yes, but did Sonny put on a good show?!...

 

[danlb_2000]

The new band is exactly what it is it's a radio on a frequency that only works around the 40+ square miles of the wdwr. I took one of them and allowed my brother to dissect it. He said if there were some serious identity thrives who were willing to pay the ticket price and be able to hack into the frequency it would be easy to attain thousands of credit card accounts each and every day. Plus personal info. Yes as many of you have Said it is not full proof that I am worried. No because you always can say no and opt out.

I don't see how this would be possible. The band contains an ID number that only has value to Disney, it does not contain credit card numbers or personal information so no one could access this information by "hacking the frequency". Someone could obviously clone the ID number, but they still wouldn't be able to use it for payments since you are required to enter a pin code. Someone could also hack Disney servers, but NextGen doesn't really make that any more of a risk then it already is.

 

[flynnibus]

The new band is exactly what it is it's a radio on a frequency that only works around the 40+ square miles of the wdwr. I took one of them and allowed my brother to dissect it. He said if there were some serious identity thrives who were willing to pay the ticket price and be able to hack into the frequency it would be easy to attain thousands of credit card accounts each and every day. Plus personal info. Yes as many of you have Said it is not full proof that I am worried. No because you always can say no and opt out.

You're brother sounds as reliable as you are...

 

[lspicknall]

One thing I have not seen mentioned (but it may have been somewhere), are the FP+ times selectable ? When on vacation we tend to sleep in, move slow and not hit the parks until after lunch somedays. If I were to book FP+ ahead of time, would I be able to select the time or would be take what is available.

 

[Darth Sidious]

You're brother sounds as reliable as you are...

While anything can theoretically be hacked... The risk of being hacked didn't go up since the database is the same. Plus RFID has been used by law enforcement for quite some time and I see no problems with its security there.

EDIT: I quoted you but I don't mean for it to seem like I'm directing that at you. I know where you stand, generally speaking that is.

 

[openendedsky]

I'm sorry I left out Spider-Man? I think Spider-Man is better than star tours. I just think their marvel land can be so much more. The hulk is in terrible shape but I haven't been there in a year so maybe they fixed it up. I do think Disney has been on the decline but I still think the current Disney is still better than universal. I always spend a full day in HS so thats my point. Citywalk is nice but you have to pay to get in. I was at splitsville two nights ago and I spent the whole night there. It's a great establishment and its something citywalk doesn't have

I feel like other than going to get drunk, there isn't much "to do" at CityWalk at night. I'm a PAP and have DisneyQuest and now Splitsville, among other things.