Spirited News and Observations and Opinions ...

[Bolna]

And so it begins with the politicos:
http://thehill.com/blogs/hillicon-v...over-disney-plan-to-track-kids-with-bracelets

Ok, it says that this article has been recently updated with a statement from Disney:

In an emailed statement, Angela Bliss, a Disney spokeswoman, emphasized that the MyMagic+ program is completely optional.
"Disney’s privacy policies and practices are fully transparent and guests can choose whether or not to participate in MyMagic+. In addition, guests control whether their personal information is used for promotional purposes and no data collected is ever used to market to children," she said.

However, this still does not answer the question of what happens when you opt out - which disadvantages will you have.

Also, it does not address another very valid point that Mr Markey has brought up in question 7.c. about whether consumer will have the ability to know which data Disney stores about them and have it deleted.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Good timing @Bolna!
Wanted to bring this really great post up from a while back.

As it now stands, the characters don't know any of the kids by name, unless they're wearing a name tag or birthday button, etc. But when NextGEN begins and the characters start addressing the kids by name without any visible prompting... what happens to little Susie or Billy when they're not addressed by name, like the kids in front of them were, when it's their turn? All because their parents aren't participating in the technology so the characters have no idea who they are.

You don't think these kids are gonna be crushed when their favorite Princess or Hero calls the other kids by name, but not them? If that were me at that age, I would have been devastated. And how exactly do the parents explain why the characters didn't know their names, but knew the other kids by name? Seriously, this is a recipe for disaster. It will lead to unnecessary tearful evenings back in the resort rooms that will needlessly stress out the kids and their parents and put a damper on the whole family vacation.

Kids want to be treated just like the other kids. If they perceive that some other kid is getting special treatment over them, like their favorite Princess or Hero not knowing who they are but knowing other kids, that's bad. Very bad. This is where young kids live in Disney parks. It's a really big deal. And something like that is going to hit them emotionally, very hard.

What's so effn magical about that?

Disney will play emotional hostage taker to get parents to let their kids use the MagicBands. They really have to address this issue the way @BlueSkyDriveBy illustrated it in the above post.

 

[Bolna]

Eh this is will be no big deal to derail the bands. There is no GPS in the bands and the parents decide if they want thier children's info on them as they make that decision for various other things in a child's life.

The only thing disney may have to answer is if they are keeping a record of the personal information if and after the trip is over.

There might not be GPS in the bands, but they do have the technical ability to track people through the active RFID chip (at least that's how I understand it). Someone else, who appears to be much more knowledgeable about the technology aspect of this, explained it quite well a few pages back:

There is limited value in putting it up and far away like that. They can be hidden right nearby.. just like speakers are done today. A painted panel in a wall and you'd never know it was there.

The 'beacon' in the tags can be picked up without line of sight.. all that matters is the signal strength and antenna directions. The bracelet is likely an omnidirectional antenna.. meaning all I need to be is within range without blocking interference between the receiver and the band. These things can be hidden virtually right in sight without people noticing them too..

So - you just need to put enough panels like this in doorways, queues etc. and you can get a very good picture of how someone is moving around. You won't be able to track someone at any given point in time, but you can get enough points to get a pretty good picture of their whereabouts.

 

[Bolna]

Good timing @Bolna!
Wanted to bring this really great post up from a while back.

Disney will play emotional hostage taker to get parents to let their kids use the MagicBands. They really have to address this issue the way @BlueSkyDriveBy illustrated it in the above post.

There were a number of people who asked the question of the consequences of the opt out repeatedly (I remember @Lee doing this).

The thing that still boggles my mind though is have they considered the consequences for those people who might not voluntarily opt out, but never get a true opportunity to opt in. Like guests from foreign countries who don't speak English very well?

Iger just talked about how foreign visitors helped the numbers at WDW. The British should be able to figure out how to use this complicated system. But what about the family from Japan, Germany, Italy or Brazil? Those people who are the reason why WDW has park maps in many different languages and even offers the Ears to the World. How are they ever going to be able to participate?

I have watched (and helped) enough tourists who were trying to buy public transportation tickets from a vending machine in the city I lived in before they started to have larger screens where you could choose a language, to know how difficult the simplest things are in another language. Will those new fastpass kiosks come in many different languages? The current fastpass machines don't require any further translation besides the simple explanation that is in the (foreign language) guide maps.

 

[njDizFan]

Wow - so many questions he asks. And most of them are things that we have discussed on here. I think they are all legitimate and are things that any consumer ought to have a right to get an answer to before opting into using this band. I am glad that someone who has a certain standing asks them.

Whatever the answer might be - it will tell us something. If it is being evasive we do know that Disney is not willing to take the Co-Chairman of the Congressional Bi-Partisan Privacy Caucus serious. How would one as a guest then be able to ever again think that one is taken seriously?

One of the most important questions to me is 1.b.:


This one question really is about whether "opting out" is a real option - or more like "the freedom to sleep under the bridges of Paris".

Exactly..the "you can always opt-out" line given by disney has to be countered. Sure Disney will let you opt out but I'm sure they arre bettting very few will since that customer will be a great disadvantage..

I am so glad the Rep. added that clause into his letter

 

[Lee]

It's happened, huh, Bob?

 

[Monty]

I guess the idea that privacy concerns regarding the RFID bracelets were not some crazy conspiracy? Maybe there are legitimate concerns here? Regardless of how loudly and often they are shouted down.

Nah, it's still crazy.

 

[xdan0920]

Exactly..the "you can always opt-out" line given by disney has to be countered. Sure Disney will let you opt out but I'm sure they arre bettting very few will since that customer will be a great disadvantage..

I am so glad the Rep. added that clause into his letter

The opt-out option needs to be discussed. The truth is, WDW has you up against a wall. Opt out, and you are at a major disadvantage. What they need to offer is some way to opt out of the tracking aspect. But still be able to use FP+.

 

[xdan0920]

Nah, it's still crazy.

Wanting answers to these questions isn't crazy. Unless it is, but I dont feel crazy. Unless, I'm so crazy I dont even know I am crazy.

 

[xdan0920]

They haven't been shouted down largely here. There have been some folks with 'I don't have anything to hide' mindset that is used whenever the government spies on us or does things not in our interests ... and that see Disney as far less of a threat (which is reasonable).

But what Disney is attempting to do has never been done before and unlike multiplane cameras or AAs or the hundreds of new technologies employed when EPCOT Center debutted, datamining is a whole different way to change the Disney Parks going experience.

Note to @PhotoDave219, I absolutely want to discuss your signature Disney dining experience and my feelings toward what you wrote, but this is a bit more pressing. But I will.

There has been a fair amount of shouting down here. But, there has also been plenty of healthy debate. Very curious to see where this goes.

 

[John]

There might not be GPS in the bands, but they do have the technical ability to track people through the active RFID chip (at least that's how I understand it). Someone else, who appears to be much more knowledgeable about the technology aspect of this, explained it quite well a few pages back:



So - you just need to put enough panels like this in doorways, queues etc. and you can get a very good picture of how someone is moving around. You won't be able to track someone at any given point in time, but you can get enough points to get a pretty good picture of their whereabouts.

Wait a minute, I thought one of the great features of this was the ability to find a lost child? So how are you going to find a child if they are not being tracked?

 

[prfctlyximprct]

Uh-O Disney

 

[Funmeister]

Nope.

Just business as usual. WDW travels to every corner of the globe to bring in what is basically 'slave labor' ... because Wall Street won't allow them (that's the excuse anyway) to spend some of their record profits on Americans by paying better wages and hiring folks who are competent and might even speak English.

COME ON WDW1974! You cannot tell me overpriced cous cous does not taste better when it is served by an underpaid CM from Morocco? It is so authentic...what is there not to like? Believe it or not there was/is a push to hire many CM's from China in hopes that they will go back and work in the parks in HK and Shanghai.

Useless labor tidbit of info for today: Disney was almost fined heavily during the construction of DAK because they brought in people from Africa to construct and build the buildings with thatch roofing. The workers use their bare feet to work with the thatch which is a huge OSHA violation. Rules were bent, policies were watered down which is why you have the beautiful thatch buildings in the Africa section of the park today!

Anyway...great post...deserves its own thread...I believe the WDW College Program began in the late 1980's. The living quarters were based out of Snow White Village which used to be next to (or part of) the old KOA Campground on Hwy 192/Irlo Bronson Memorial Hwy./Vine Street/Main St.

 

[WDW1974]

I had to 'borrow' the following quote/post from @TP2000 because I saw it and it is the direction I am headed in:

<<This is a puffed up congressman ruffling his feathers for the hometown voters and bored CSPAN viewers. As most congressmen do.

That said, this is a PR nightmare for Disney. After being a Disney watcher for a few decades, they absolutely hate losing control of their message, and their MyMagic+ message is slipping away from them quickly. The prospect of a sitting Disney CEO being called before a congressional committee, even if only in written format, to answer questions about a new theme park initiative that cost the company 1+ Billion dollars is disastrous. The press will jump on this, condense it into an 8 second sound bite and 45 second vapid "story" for the brain-impaired viewers at home, and the whole MyMagic+ thing becomes tainted goods worse than DCA circa 2001.

Disney is losing control of their message on MyMagic+, and for Disney that means complete disaster. It's a grey and rainy day today in Burbank, and you can bet a cold wind has blown down the halls of the executive suites with this little congressional bombshell.>>

Disney loves absolute control. That sorta is part of the MyMagic+ plan to begin with. Today, they completely and utterly lost that control. ... And once you lose that, it's very hard to get it back. The message is now in the hand of other Spirits.

That said, the comments regarding Markey are off-track. No matter your political views, the man has made a cornerstone of his career protecting children and their privacy rights. He should be lauded for that. ... Disney is actively looking for a way to get around the law and exploit kids. Disney wants to do what Google and Facebook haven't been allowed to do. ... and they're leveraging the BRAND on it.

It is shameful.

 

[ParentsOf4]

Rep. Markey can be contacted here:

http://markey.house.gov/contact-rep-markey

Now's your chance to write to Rep. Markey and let him know exactly what you think of Disney's plan to track and collect information on your children.

 

[Hakunamatata]

Aren't we supposed to keep politics out of the discussion?

 

[unkadug]

Aren't we supposed to keep politics out of the discussion?

This isn't politics...it's government. There is a difference (although a very fine line) !

 

[ParentsOf4]

This isn't politics...it's government. There is a difference (although a very fine line) !

It's not about politics and it's not about government, it's about Walt Disney World. If Rep. Markey sent his letter to Google or Facebook, discussing it might be inappropriate for this site. Since it's about perhaps the most controversial change in WDW's history, it very much is appropriate for this site (IMHO).

 

[unkadug]

It's not about politics and it's not about government, it's about Walt Disney World. If Rep. Markey sent his letter to Google or Facebook, discussing it might be inappropriate for this site. Since it's about perhaps the most controversial change in WDW's history, it very much is appropriate for this site (IMHO).

Exactly. It makes no difference what his political party is. He is representing the government.

Whether or not you think the government has any business delving into the business of an amusement park is irrelevant. When it comes to what Disney is doing they are already knee deep in this mess.

 

[unkadug]

It looks to me like Disney just wasted 2 billion dollars. Just think what they COULD have done with that money.