Spirited News and Observations and Opinions ...

[RSoxNo1]

Some more Spirited information as MyMagic+ moves (limps?) forward using information I've been provided and extrapolating a bit, but just a bit.

MyMagic+, or the guest side of NEXT GEN, is clearly intended to create a tiered system of product access and delivery many here have already raised. From everything I have heard it will be sweeping and, as @ParentsOf4 has posted on, it will introduce a layered WDW experience with a base price from which TWDC is determined to build.

(The base, of course, being your admission.)

For Burbank, it has to work as proposed because all of the revenue raising elements rest in converting and integrating something far more akin to a pay-as-you-go system closely tethered to a 'because our metrics tell us you can' model. This is what TWDC was sold on.

Repeatedly, I have heard the word 'pairing' used to align a credit card to MyMagic+. As I reported here (and Nick Franklin's team later confirmed), Disney will be phasing in this technology for all visitors. Annuals will have it, resort guests will have it, and day guests will have it. Whether by room keys, chiptix or bracelets.

This is in your future ... this IS your future, if you are planning a visit to WDW.

Why is pairing an issue? I've been told it has to do with the difference between simple linking or attaching a method of payment to the technology and this model, or perhaps more accurately described as a scheme, Disney has invested in. After all, we are used to giving a credit card to be 'on account' when we check in at WDW and all over when staying at hotels/resorts where it is likely you will be signing for items at various POS locations on the property of the hotel or resort. Pairing, however, I've been schooled, in the context of NEXT GEN, is different.

Disney wants to create distinct financial profiles of each guest to go along with that guest's specific behavior in the parks/on Disney property. Simply put, they want to know what your daughter is spending your money on and where and when (and why?), and they want to know the what, when and how of her grandmother's spending too. Now, TWDC can separate grandma's spending habits with great certainty from granddaughter's.

You will be 'asked' to 'pair' a credit card with that admission media of yours, no matter the type. No card offered, you can align that pass with a MyMagic+ account -- AKA a Disney gift card designed much like a preloaded credit card. Say no ... just go ahead ... and MyMagic+ is closed to you and your party. Along with it, well ... so much of the theme park experience you were used to that NEXT GEN has reengineered in a poorly thought out incredibly pricey plan of reinventing the whole experience of visiting WDW (wouldn't cutting edge immersive well-maintained attractions and amazing shows, parades and pyro have done the trick?)


The bottom line here, your access and experience will be tied directly to money spent or projected to be spent AFTER you have already bought-in to the park/resort/WDW vacation. Many folks have speculated that if you pay to stay at the Grand Floridian, you will likely get more FastPasses or better ones. Except, it won't stop there. And, for each guest staying with you at the Grand Floridian, the product experienced will be different based on data points and profiling.


To those who have made the argument that if a guest pays for such an accommodation, he/she should receive the best Disney has to offer ... well, maybe the Grand Floridian should simply do what other properties of its caliber or at its price points do -- deliver that product for everyone. As for extending this stay to mean that guest should be treated better or have an enhanced experience in the parks, that is what will happen should MyMagic+ be fully integrated.


It's not what should happen, and no one here should argue that it is. This allows Disney to provide a diminished product at all levels while charging even more for less.

Think about it this way, when you go to a restaurant or movie, you expect (rightfully) the same experience every other guest of that restaurant or movie theater is paying for. Disney as envisioned by NEXT GEN will provide each guest with a different one, some will get a decidedly 'less than' experience. Regardless of the amount that person has spent for a MAGICal WDW vacation.


This dynamic element is what to watch. It is key to whether Disney can successfully implement the all-important revenue raising elements of NEXT GEN. The ones a certain Spirit told you about last year.


Once more, I simply can't see how this is going to be anything but a nightmare for guests and CMs and lead to some very ugly incidents ... Pay to play, right? Oh, what, you thought you already were? No, what has always been (yes, even with FP) a largely level playing field will tilt dramatically now in favor of the biggest spenders ...

(And, no, that doesn't necessarily mean those who have spent lots in the past because Disney wasn't able to track that spending as it can now ... what if you visit 42 days a year, but stay with Aunt Martha in Clermont? What if you have been visiting since 1977, but paying/staying under a different name since a divorce? The what-ifs are endless, almost like the privacy issues, and Disney can't take the chance of giving you top tier service. Someone who never visited until 2006 and stays, plays, dines and shops all with Disney at deluxe resorts? That's someone who's gonna be lavished with top tier status ... but more to come on that front ...)

Thanks for the info. I was on Test Track today and several of the card readers weren't working correctly (some converted to the DOS screen on Windows before resetting). Then, none of our vehicles were syncing properly with our designed vehicles. I suspect that the motivation to fix this will be far less than the motivation to fix MyMagic+ issues that can more directly be tied to profit. This is a problem.

I'm a big fan of Adam Carolla and one of his biggest complaints is Chicken S&%# parking and j-walking tickets in LA and the surrounding areas. His complaint is fueled largely by the other crime that exists in the area that is far less of a concern because working to prevent that crime doesn't generate revenue the same way that parking tickets do.

I see this is a very similar issue. There are reasons why people view Disneyland as better than Disney World, and there are reasons why people see Universal as an ever increasing threat to Disney's turf in Central Florida. There are less gimmicks going on in Disneyland and Universal. Sure, you can create a meal plan but that meal plan shouldn't dictate prices or food quality at all the restaurants. Next Gen is looking like the Disney Dining Plan for your entire vacation.

 

[Lee]

Some more Spirited information as MyMagic+ moves (limps?) forward using information I've been provided and extrapolating a bit, but just a bit.

Ugh...
I'm liking this less and less all the time.

I fully intend to not link a card to my ticket. Now I want to know what that will mean for me.
I fully expect, at this point, to see a diminished park experience.
Not liking this at all...

So basically, keeping in mind that I'm much more educated than you about how this works...

Or are you suggesting that Space Mountain will stop at the brake run and boot off the lowly value resort folks.

Yes. That is exactly what he's saying.

 

[SirOinksALot]

Thanks for the info. I was on Test Track today and several of the card readers weren't working correctly (some converted to the DOS screen on Windows before resetting). Then, none of our vehicles were syncing properly with our designed vehicles. I suspect that the motivation to fix this will be far less than the motivation to fix MyMagic+ issues that can more directly be tied to profit. This is a problem.

Saying that "several" weren't working is probably being generous. This doesn't even touch on the whole scoring concept being dumb. I'm still trying to figure out what that small city before the "scan" room is supposed to be.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

 

[SirOinksALot]

Yes. That is exactly what he's saying.

Yeah man, I'm totally working at 12:20am on a Friday

Don't you think it's a bit harsh calling me the plant when 74's posting here hundreds of times on behalf of people who want this killed? Based on my PM volume, many are starting to see this thread for what it is which is 74 obsessing over trying to stoke fear after fear.

 

[M.rudolf]

We've always known the Wicked Witch of the West was Mila Kunis so this doesn't surprise me. I fear this would be just like Alice in Wonderland.

I hate to disagree the majority of the public didn't know yet, that's why none of the marketing materials, trailers or tv spots have shown her yet. You, the Disney fanboys and myself may have known but the general public didn't. The reveal was supposed to be secret on the sixth sense level

 

[M.rudolf]

Yeah man, I'm totally working at 12:20am on a Friday

Don't you think it's a bit harsh calling me the plant when 74's posting here hundreds of times on behalf of people who want this killed? Based on my PM volume, many are starting to see this thread for what it is which is 74 obsessing over trying to stoke fear after fear.

Oinks I will say it again, plain and simple your a plant. 74 is just like everyone here he has an agenda, but if you believe that he's sitting there conspiring with people to kill nexgen you really are an idiot. He's simply stating the facts and his take on what the outcome is. Will there be a pay tier system you bet, I've seen the materials and the ways they are trying to tie this into you personal data and credit/debit card info. I've also seen the pay tier and the fact that this will be what replaces dining next year as the incentive. Say what you will but the facts are the facts and its funny that so much of 74s statements have been proven and very little if any of yours have

 

[M.rudolf]

Have you heard anything new about the future of Universal Orlando (Jurassic Park, Kidzone, further expansion, etc.)

Jurassic park expansion is a go

 

[M.rudolf]

So basically, keeping in mind that I'm much more educated than you about how this works, you're saying that Deluxe resort guests could get a few more FP and talking Mickey will talk to them. Or are you suggesting that Space Mountain will stop at the brake run and boot off the lowly value resort folks. And you butchered the credit card linking bit, as if the details of what gets charged to a room is somehow a new concept. Not sure I agree with any of that, but meh.

Less inflammatory language though, so I'll rate that post a 4 out of 10.

A kid working on the college program. Do you honestly think that they've given you all the keys to the kingdom. And sorry this isnt American idol or so you think you can dance, we don't rate posts here use the like system it's easier and more respectful

 

[Longhairbear]

Some more Spirited information as MyMagic+ moves (limps?) forward using information I've been provided and extrapolating a bit, but just a bit.

MyMagic+, or the guest side of NEXT GEN, is clearly intended to create a tiered system of product access and delivery many here have already raised. From everything I have heard it will be sweeping and, as @ParentsOf4 has posted on, it will introduce a layered WDW experience with a base price from which TWDC is determined to build.

(The base, of course, being your admission.)

For Burbank, it has to work as proposed because all of the revenue raising elements rest in converting and integrating something far more akin to a pay-as-you-go system closely tethered to a 'because our metrics tell us you can' model. This is what TWDC was sold on.

Repeatedly, I have heard the word 'pairing' used to align a credit card to MyMagic+. As I reported here (and Nick Franklin's team later confirmed), Disney will be phasing in this technology for all visitors. Annuals will have it, resort guests will have it, and day guests will have it. Whether by room keys, chiptix or bracelets.

This is in your future ... this IS your future, if you are planning a visit to WDW.

Why is pairing an issue? I've been told it has to do with the difference between simple linking or attaching a method of payment to the technology and this model, or perhaps more accurately described as a scheme, Disney has invested in. After all, we are used to giving a credit card to be 'on account' when we check in at WDW and all over when staying at hotels/resorts where it is likely you will be signing for items at various POS locations on the property of the hotel or resort. Pairing, however, I've been schooled, in the context of NEXT GEN, is different.

Disney wants to create distinct financial profiles of each guest to go along with that guest's specific behavior in the parks/on Disney property. Simply put, they want to know what your daughter is spending your money on and where and when (and why?), and they want to know the what, when and how of her grandmother's spending too. Now, TWDC can separate grandma's spending habits with great certainty from granddaughter's.

You will be 'asked' to 'pair' a credit card with that admission media of yours, no matter the type. No card offered, you can align that pass with a MyMagic+ account -- AKA a Disney gift card designed much like a preloaded credit card. Say no ... just go ahead ... and MyMagic+ is closed to you and your party. Along with it, well ... so much of the theme park experience you were used to that NEXT GEN has reengineered in a poorly thought out incredibly pricey plan of reinventing the whole experience of visiting WDW (wouldn't cutting edge immersive well-maintained attractions and amazing shows, parades and pyro have done the trick?)


The bottom line here, your access and experience will be tied directly to money spent or projected to be spent AFTER you have already bought-in to the park/resort/WDW vacation. Many folks have speculated that if you pay to stay at the Grand Floridian, you will likely get more FastPasses or better ones. Except, it won't stop there. And, for each guest staying with you at the Grand Floridian, the product experienced will be different based on data points and profiling.


To those who have made the argument that if a guest pays for such an accommodation, he/she should receive the best Disney has to offer ... well, maybe the Grand Floridian should simply do what other properties of its caliber or at its price points do -- deliver that product for everyone. As for extending this stay to mean that guest should be treated better or have an enhanced experience in the parks, that is what will happen should MyMagic+ be fully integrated.


It's not what should happen, and no one here should argue that it is. This allows Disney to provide a diminished product at all levels while charging even more for less.

Think about it this way, when you go to a restaurant or movie, you expect (rightfully) the same experience every other guest of that restaurant or movie theater is paying for. Disney as envisioned by NEXT GEN will provide each guest with a different one, some will get a decidedly 'less than' experience. Regardless of the amount that person has spent for a MAGICal WDW vacation.


This dynamic element is what to watch. It is key to whether Disney can successfully implement the all-important revenue raising elements of NEXT GEN. The ones a certain Spirit told you about last year.


Once more, I simply can't see how this is going to be anything but a nightmare for guests and CMs and lead to some very ugly incidents ... Pay to play, right? Oh, what, you thought you already were? No, what has always been (yes, even with FP) a largely level playing field will tilt dramatically now in favor of the biggest spenders ...

(And, no, that doesn't necessarily mean those who have spent lots in the past because Disney wasn't able to track that spending as it can now ... what if you visit 42 days a year, but stay with Aunt Martha in Clermont? What if you have been visiting since 1977, but paying/staying under a different name since a divorce? The what-ifs are endless, almost like the privacy issues, and Disney can't take the chance of giving you top tier service. Someone who never visited until 2006 and stays, plays, dines and shops all with Disney at deluxe resorts? That's someone who's gonna be lavished with top tier status ... but more to come on that front ...)

So DVC members that actually buy groceries offsite, and cook in are not what they want at all. But when we do eat at Disney, we spend good money for 1 or 2 dinners. Am I even, or is my goose cooked?

 

[M.rudolf]

So basically, keeping in mind that I'm much more educated than you about how this works, you're saying that Deluxe resort guests could get a few more FP and talking Mickey will talk to them. Or are you suggesting that Space Mountain will stop at the brake run and boot off the lowly value resort folks. And you butchered the credit card linking bit, as if the details of what gets charged to a room is somehow a new concept. Not sure I agree with any of that, but meh.

Less inflammatory language though, so I'll rate that post a 4 out of 10.

Oinks even your name spells out plant. A cute little disney piggie. As for you working so late everyone needs overtime, every once in a while

 

[unkadug]

Yeah man, I'm totally working at 12:20am on a Friday

Don't you think it's a bit harsh calling me the plant when 74's posting here hundreds of times on behalf of people who want this killed? Based on my PM volume, many are starting to see this thread for what it is which is 74 obsessing over trying to stoke fear after fear.

Sorry, quoting your PM volume is not valid proof for any argument, as it cannot be substantiated by anyone but yourself. That's like saying "I'm right because I said I'm right." Even Wikipedia provides better backup.

Of your 43 posts on this forum, 25 on them have been on this thread alone. You really cannot even start to compare yourself to 74.

 

[John]

There is a fatal flaw in this so called "pay as you go" tierd system. The offerings and experiences they are offering are the same tired low maintence experiences everyone else recieves. The same illtrained CM's will be manning them. They will have to eat the same crappy food. You will just get a special seat to see the twenty year old parade....etc. Its a scam, a flam. The old "lipstick on a pig"

I have been around the blue pages long enough to see how it worls. Every six months we get a new round of "rumors" on new projects. New announcements comming . Then......nothing. So this whole project means that those profiled as giving those who spend more extra FP's to rides that need TLC and resturants that are no better then the local TGIF.....I say whooopdedooo. This is aprogram thaat is said to improve your park experience....to make it easier to navigate the same tired product. Great!

Judge Flynni brings up excellent points in his support of the program, where I differ is not in the program but what we are actually recieving as an end product....isnt that what being a consumer is about. People dont look at visiting WDW as a product but as some kind of high priced privledge.....Disney knows this. So they are taking advantage of it. I think that program is a genious stroke of work. For paying more you recieve the same thing you got before.Something you recieved for free. Service that Disney prided themselves on. This system tells those who stay at a value resort......your not as important to us.None of this aspect of the program has anyhting to do with FP's or privacy issues. This is the meat of the program....how Disney will actually make a ROI off of it. The real reason behind the program. Pay more and get more....more what?

 

[alissafalco]

Some more Spirited information as MyMagic+ moves (limps?) forward using information I've been provided and extrapolating a bit, but just a bit.

MyMagic+, or the guest side of NEXT GEN, is clearly intended to create a tiered system of product access and delivery many here have already raised. From everything I have heard it will be sweeping and, as @ParentsOf4 has posted on, it will introduce a layered WDW experience with a base price from which TWDC is determined to build.

(The base, of course, being your admission.)

For Burbank, it has to work as proposed because all of the revenue raising elements rest in converting and integrating something far more akin to a pay-as-you-go system closely tethered to a 'because our metrics tell us you can' model. This is what TWDC was sold on.

Repeatedly, I have heard the word 'pairing' used to align a credit card to MyMagic+. As I reported here (and Nick Franklin's team later confirmed), Disney will be phasing in this technology for all visitors. Annuals will have it, resort guests will have it, and day guests will have it. Whether by room keys, chiptix or bracelets.

This is in your future ... this IS your future, if you are planning a visit to WDW.

Why is pairing an issue? I've been told it has to do with the difference between simple linking or attaching a method of payment to the technology and this model, or perhaps more accurately described as a scheme, Disney has invested in. After all, we are used to giving a credit card to be 'on account' when we check in at WDW and all over when staying at hotels/resorts where it is likely you will be signing for items at various POS locations on the property of the hotel or resort. Pairing, however, I've been schooled, in the context of NEXT GEN, is different.

Disney wants to create distinct financial profiles of each guest to go along with that guest's specific behavior in the parks/on Disney property. Simply put, they want to know what your daughter is spending your money on and where and when (and why?), and they want to know the what, when and how of her grandmother's spending too. Now, TWDC can separate grandma's spending habits with great certainty from granddaughter's.

You will be 'asked' to 'pair' a credit card with that admission media of yours, no matter the type. No card offered, you can align that pass with a MyMagic+ account -- AKA a Disney gift card designed much like a preloaded credit card. Say no ... just go ahead ... and MyMagic+ is closed to you and your party. Along with it, well ... so much of the theme park experience you were used to that NEXT GEN has reengineered in a poorly thought out incredibly pricey plan of reinventing the whole experience of visiting WDW (wouldn't cutting edge immersive well-maintained attractions and amazing shows, parades and pyro have done the trick?)


The bottom line here, your access and experience will be tied directly to money spent or projected to be spent AFTER you have already bought-in to the park/resort/WDW vacation. Many folks have speculated that if you pay to stay at the Grand Floridian, you will likely get more FastPasses or better ones. Except, it won't stop there. And, for each guest staying with you at the Grand Floridian, the product experienced will be different based on data points and profiling.


To those who have made the argument that if a guest pays for such an accommodation, he/she should receive the best Disney has to offer ... well, maybe the Grand Floridian should simply do what other properties of its caliber or at its price points do -- deliver that product for everyone. As for extending this stay to mean that guest should be treated better or have an enhanced experience in the parks, that is what will happen should MyMagic+ be fully integrated.


It's not what should happen, and no one here should argue that it is. This allows Disney to provide a diminished product at all levels while charging even more for less.

Think about it this way, when you go to a restaurant or movie, you expect (rightfully) the same experience every other guest of that restaurant or movie theater is paying for. Disney as envisioned by NEXT GEN will provide each guest with a different one, some will get a decidedly 'less than' experience. Regardless of the amount that person has spent for a MAGICal WDW vacation.


This dynamic element is what to watch. It is key to whether Disney can successfully implement the all-important revenue raising elements of NEXT GEN. The ones a certain Spirit told you about last year.


Once more, I simply can't see how this is going to be anything but a nightmare for guests and CMs and lead to some very ugly incidents ... Pay to play, right? Oh, what, you thought you already were? No, what has always been (yes, even with FP) a largely level playing field will tilt dramatically now in favor of the biggest spenders ...

(And, no, that doesn't necessarily mean those who have spent lots in the past because Disney wasn't able to track that spending as it can now ... what if you visit 42 days a year, but stay with Aunt Martha in Clermont? What if you have been visiting since 1977, but paying/staying under a different name since a divorce? The what-ifs are endless, almost like the privacy issues, and Disney can't take the chance of giving you top tier service. Someone who never visited until 2006 and stays, plays, dines and shops all with Disney at deluxe resorts? That's someone who's gonna be lavished with top tier status ... but more to come on that front ...)

This whole thing is disgusting. I hope this is the biggest flop in WDW history and that it goes away as soon as possible.

 

[Cosmic Commando]

Sounds like it. Will they have free cocktail service too?

Might help them sell the DVC...

 

[Cosmic Commando]

I hate to disagree the majority of the public didn't know yet, that's why none of the marketing materials, trailers or tv spots have shown her yet. You, the Disney fanboys and myself may have known but the general public didn't. The reveal was supposed to be secret on the sixth sense level

Then the people making this movie are dumb. Female star in the Oz prequel... going to be the witch.

 

[danlb_2000]

Some more Spirited information as MyMagic+ moves (limps?) forward using information I've been provided and extrapolating a bit, but just a bit.

The bottom line here, your access and experience will be tied directly to money spent or projected to be spent AFTER you have already bought-in to the park/resort/WDW vacation. Many folks have speculated that if you pay to stay at the Grand Floridian, you will likely get more FastPasses or better ones. Except, it won't stop there. And, for each guest staying with you at the Grand Floridian, the product experienced will be different based on data points and profiling.

I can just see it now, the "you must be this tall to ride" signs will be joined by "you must have spent this much to ride" signs.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Saying that "several" weren't working is probably being generous. This doesn't even touch on the whole scoring concept being dumb. I'm still trying to figure out what that small city before the "scan" room is supposed to be.

I thought the small city looked cool. I will say that the narrative on the original Test Track was more thorough, but the scenery in the current version is a substantial improvement.

 

[GoofGoof]

Here's what I don't really get. If this is a tiered program intended to reward the "whales" of WDW can't they come up with better rewards than extra fast passes. To go back to Flynnibus's casino card example, if I play enough slot machines I get a free buffet, if I step up to $15 blackjack for a night I get a free room, if I play $100 craps for a weekend I get a suite with my own butler and if I'm a true whale they pick me up in a private jet and fly me there and lavish me with pretty much anything I want. Flash over to the WDW system. If I spend top dollar at the Grand Floridian for 2 weeks and book all signature dinners I get...an extra fast pass or 2. If they want to do this right they should use the info to offer room discounts, merchandise discounts, free character meals, unique merchandise (imagine something truly unique that you can't buy in any store, only earn by being a big spender), free or discounted unique experiences like the AK trek thing or backstage tours, special meet and greet opportunities for smaller groups with more direct interaction. I could go on for a while. My point is that extra fast pass reservations are not going to be enough to get me to shell out a serious upgrade of cash. It is like offering the casino whale a free buffet instead of the private jet. I agree with the idea that all park guests should get the same basic park experience (including use of fastpass+) but, I don't have a problem with offering higher spending guests some perks, it happens already with transportation to and from the parks. I'm just not sure that FP+ is the ideal carrot to hang in front of them.

 

[rael ramone]

In addition to the reasons already posted by lazyboy97o and MarkTwain, the Marvel acquisition does nothing for WDW. Do to Marvel's contractual limitations with Universal, TWDC essentially spent a lot of management focus and company money on something that can't help WDW. It, along with other moves, implies TWDC senior management considers WDW to be low priority. When it comes to these threads, I believe most people's #1 Disney passion is WDW. Sure, we like other Disney properties as well but, ultimately, this is a WDW fansite.

Since the Lucas Film acquisition could be used to eventually improve WDW, I get the impression that people on this site generally are supportive of that move.

Here's a wild theory.... those with more knowledge on this feel free to shoot this down.

(And for the record I think Marvel is just fine where it's current address is in the East Coast).

If the TWDC changes the name of Marvel to 'Disney-Marvel', would IOA have to display that in their parks (or anywhere they wish to advertise the fact that the Marvel IP resides in their park)? Would IOA be allowed to just use the characters without any reference to it's parent? If these questions are answered in TWDC's favor, could this be an attempt to add a 'poison pill' to the agreement, hoping that they just walk away from the IP? (of course, 'Disney-Marvel' would be a poison pill to the Marvel fanbase....