Spirited News and Observations and Opinions ...

[WDW1974]

I think the committee issuing just a vague note of concern, (and asking questions that a six-year-old could answer and probably are mocked by Disney lawyers), are just playing politics by focusing on anything besides the crumbling economy which never recovered.

I think that's just naive thinking.

There are issues beyond the economy ... and Wall Street is certainly recovered ... it closed Friday at levels not seen since 2007 (S&P) ... unemployment is inching downward (even if it's because people are giving up on life).

But you can't focus on just one thing.

And Disney's lawyers are not mocking this, even if some of its fans are.

 

[Nemo14]

@ParentsOf4 posted something about those implanted chips causing cancer 100 or so pages back. Not worth the risk for a few FP+ reservations

Well, maybe not to you, but others may feel differently. Isn't there a pretty strong connection between smoking and cancer?

 

[WDW1974]

Maybe the iPhone 6 will have, RFID credit card transactions are supposed to be pretty safe, though obviously they'll need to have encryption and safeguards to prevent hacking. If RFID catches on outside of WDW, then it is kind of neat that WDW is sort of pioneering its use.

Um ... wrong again.

RFID tech has been used all over the world for years. People who get all warm in their privates because of RFID door locks have obviously not traveled much.

Disney isn't pioneering anything except datamining and trip planning on a scale that no company has been able to do yet ... and target the under-13s in its actions.

 

[WDW1974]

Outside of special occasions, I never wear a watch. Sometimes if I don't want to use my iPhone, I'll use a sports watch for running, but that is fairly rare nowadays with Nike+.

The other issue beyond using smart phones for the time ... is the fact that many young people are growing up today without being used to having things on their arms. I remember when I used to go to regional amusement parks as a kid and have to wear a wristband and hated it. Hell, I was uncomfortable wearing the plastic MVMCP band last month. ... I wonder how many kids (and adults) are going to have an issue with wearing one for 12 days straight.

 

[SirLink]

Um ... wrong again.

RFID tech has been used all over the world for years. People who get all warm in their privates because of RFID door locks have obviously not traveled much.

Disney isn't pioneering anything except datamining and trip planning on a scale that no company has been able to do yet ... and target the under-13s in its actions.

You forgot to add the ability to better to manage their workforce, basically MyMagic+ is the Kings New Clothes of guest experience - nothing of this system benefits the guest just improves Disney's costs and margins...

 

[WDW1974]

While this could make things faster than guests paying with cash I don't see it being much faster than paying with a credit card. As far as it being less secure, isn't it about the same? If someone gets a hold of my credit card they could rack up charges on it just like they could with the wrist band. Having a pin for purchases over $50 seems reasonable. Most places don't even make you sign for a credit card purchase under $25. Same concept. It does make a psychological difference though. For a lot of people swiping the band will be much more tempting than paying cash. I know people who won't even have a credit card because they don't have the self disipline to not go crazy on spending. Tapping into that type of guest is lucrative.

THIS!!! ... Disney loves the Pixie Dust addics and the OCDers who have to buy the same pin seven times because there's one for every day of the week etc ... many of them will ring up hundreds if not thousands of dollars more because they don't view a swipe of a wrist (that lights up a MAGICal Mickey) as the same as passing a KTTW card or CC or Debit card or cash.

I've said it before, but Disney knows many of its guests are ... well, mentally ill to some degree ... and they know exactly how to take advantage.

 

[WDW1974]

And don't forget virtual queue type stuff. Tap the ole' MagicWand at CBJ, and maybe one day you can walk around outside until it chimes to notify you that it is time for your show!

No more having to stop and give a CM your fast pass and wait while they read/scrutinize it, you just tap and you ride.

I think your view is quite simplistic.

Having FP+ isn't going to speed up the loading and dispatch times of boats and coaster cars and Doombuggies at all. If it did, it would be increasing capacity on every attraction.

That's not happening. PoC isn't going to have more throughput every day because FP+ exists.

So, no, you don't just tap and ride. You tap and wait, which when you think about it isn't at all different from handing a FP to someone and waiting.

 

[WDW1974]

I don't see the MagicCuff as more convenient. Carrying a wallet has never been some major problem for me.

Clearly, there's something wrong with you!

 

[the.dreamfinder]

I can't wait to see the clusterf@%# when a ride goes down under FP+...

 

[WDW1974]

I can only comprehend it as some sort of detachment - The comp packages negotiated by Eisner's clan were just obscene.. and I guess once someone becomes numb to it.. it just perpetuates.

I finally finished reading Disney War a few weeks back.. and the way they handled each other's comp plans was particularly vile to me.

It's not just Disney ... it's ingrained in the Wall Street culture ... and it peters down to dumb Americans who don't want taxes rasied on the one percent because living in their trailers with morbidly obese mom just back from her shift at the Walmart thinks that one day she'll be making more than $11,143 a year and wouldn't want the evil government taking her money.

It's a twisted view that allowed Wall Street to start a worldwide economic collapse in 2007-08 that to this day I don't believe we've 'recovered' from.

But execs make absurd sums. Iger has made about $110 million over the last three years give or take a few million. And he has workers who are living out of cars or sharing old hotel rooms with 2-3-4 others.

 

[SirLink]

I can't wait to see the clusterf@%# when a ride goes down under FP+...

I can't wait to see when the wifi and web services go down that I would videotape it....

 

[asianway]

The other issue beyond using smart phones for the time ... is the fact that many young people are growing up today without being used to having things on their arms. I remember when I used to go to regional amusement parks as a kid and have to wear a wristband and hated it. Hell, I was uncomfortable wearing the plastic MVMCP band last month. ... I wonder how many kids (and adults) are going to have an issue with wearing one for 12 days straight.

Ever had to sleep with a Coast to Coast wristband on? Blech

PS: before you let your charter lapse, can you grandfather me in as a same sex domestic partner???

 

[Goofyernmost]

The other issue beyond using smart phones for the time ... is the fact that many young people are growing up today without being used to having things on their arms. I remember when I used to go to regional amusement parks as a kid and have to wear a wristband and hated it. Hell, I was uncomfortable wearing the plastic MVMCP band last month. ... I wonder how many kids (and adults) are going to have an issue with wearing one for 12 days straight.

That could be because you, Spirit, are getting older than dirt yourself. You cannot swing a dead cat around (no cats were harmed in this post) without hitting someone wearing one of the "many causes" wrist bands. They have them for everything, breast cancer, gay rights, NRA, military, animal cruelty, end diarrhea...you name it there's a wrist band for it. It has almost become a fashion accessory now. Before long you will be wearing a "Support your Local Spirit" wrist band yourself and will be proud to show it to everyone.

 

[WDW1974]

End of March. But considering the lack of attention about COPPA in general... and the built in image most people have of Disney (blind trust).. I'm not expecting much ado... Heck if the detriot CEOs managed to dodge the bullets after that train wreck, this should be a cake walk.

Ah, you really know where to strike. Exactly where does this notion of COPPA not receiving attention come from? When people repeatedly shine a light, just on this forum, your response seems to be 'what's everybody looking at?' (a nod to Ace and Gary here!)

You are correct though that Disney is considered to be, by most people, a trusted BRAND. And that is why the NEXT GEN initiative was green lit to begin with.

COPPA is nothing more than a side-show, right? Ah ... that's why Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook following a long line of other 'new media' companies have dared not to go after children under the age of 13. Again, Disney's target demo here.

So, no comparison to Detroit ... and nobody's going to be eating cake except, perhaps, morbidly obese Disney Lifestylers.

 

[danlb_2000]

That could be because you, Spirit, are getting older than dirt yourself. You cannot swing a dead cat around (no cats were harmed in this post) without hitting someone wearing one of the "many causes" wrist bands. They have them for everything, breast cancer, gay rights, NRA, military, animal cruelty, end diarrhea...you name it there's a wrist band for it. It has almost become a fashion accessory now. Before long you will be wearing a "Support your Local Spirit" wrist band yourself and will be proud to show it to everyone.

Can we get wrist bands for people who object to wearing MagicBands at Disney?

 

[dhall]

O_O Oh HECK no. No way, I pray it doesn't come to California. I don't think the majority of SoCal citizens/passholders would welcome this, at all. Do you know how many complaints guest services would receive?

I think it's inevitable in California, but it may not look anything like Orlando's version. The differences will only be skin deep, though -- most of the stuff they really want will be there.

This isn't about wearing something nifty looking in the park. This is about the entire system. This system is designed for major vacation planners, it looks like.

That's only part of the public face of the system, and one of the easiest features to drop. The system is really about trying to get a statistically significant subset of the visitors to drop a few extra dollars, mostly by studying the usage patterns of large groups and putting things in their path that they're likely to want.

Is Anaheim really losing all that much sleep over resales of multi-day tickets? Enough that they are reconfiguring the entry gates, adding paid staff hours, and slowing down guests on their way into the park, wallets in hand? I think that whole photo-process they're adding at the gates is just a cover: create the perception of a problem and a solution that's inconvenient for guests. After about 6-12 months, guess what? They've come up with a new "SmarTicket" plan that uses a chip (none of that evil RFID stuff, you see, just a chip) embedded right in the ticket, just like they do in all kinds of places in Europe & Asia. Pretty soon, they've replaced all the ticket media with something that's almost as trackable as the bracelet.

Since most guests pay for their tickets with a credit card, they'll be able to link each group of tickets to a household (they just won't have direct access to the demographics of the household, but they can buy that). For AP's & resort guests, they'll have the demographics from those systems. There's a small number of people who will use multiple cards while visiting -- they can tie some of those to tickets, but it's not reliable. Anyone using cash will be mostly untrackable via the tickets, but that's probably not statistically significant.

But to the public, it won't be NextGen: there's no bracelets, no pre-planning web applications to sign up for, and probably no WiFi access either, for the time being -- by itself that will make SmarTicket so much cheaper than NextGen that they won't feel the need to discuss the budget publicly.

 

[flynnibus]

Ah, you really know where to strike. Exactly where does this notion of COPPA not receiving attention come from? When people repeatedly shine a light, just on this forum, your response seems to be 'what's everybody looking at?' (a nod to Ace and Gary here!)

I'm talking outside the Disney bubble. The amended 2012 version of COPPA, has rolled out with narely a peep from the average joe. It's a formality for most sites, and a structure the child focused sites have learned to deal with long ago. It doesn't really protect anyone - its just technicalities people must design in. Sites like Facebook etc just turn a blind eye to the underaged people on their sites and hide behind the technicalities. The amended version should tighten some of these joke consent structures we've had for a decade plus.. but it really doesn't stand to change much.

While you may shine the spotlight on something.. it's glow is still only seen very much within the daily fan circles. Stories are being written.. but they aren't going anywhere.. and the steam is not building (yet?). I'm not dismissing those things you brought up - just keeping perspective of their scale and reach.

 

[Californian Elitist]

I think it's inevitable in California, but it may not look anything like Orlando's version. The differences will only be skin deep, though -- most of the stuff they really want will be there.



That's only part of the public face of the system, and one of the easiest features to drop. The system is really about trying to get a statistically significant subset of the visitors to drop a few extra dollars, mostly by studying the usage patterns of large groups and putting things in their path that they're likely to want.

Is Anaheim really losing all that much sleep over resales of multi-day tickets? Enough that they are reconfiguring the entry gates, adding paid staff hours, and slowing down guests on their way into the park, wallets in hand? I think that whole photo-process they're adding at the gates is just a cover: create the perception of a problem and a solution that's inconvenient for guests. After about 6-12 months, guess what? They've come up with a new "SmarTicket" plan that uses a chip (none of that evil RFID stuff, you see, just a chip) embedded right in the ticket, just like they do in all kinds of places in Europe & Asia. Pretty soon, they've replaced all the ticket media with something that's almost as trackable as the bracelet.

Since most guests pay for their tickets with a credit card, they'll be able to link each group of tickets to a household (they just won't have direct access to the demographics of the household, but they can buy that). For AP's & resort guests, they'll have the demographics from those systems. There's a small number of people who will use multiple cards while visiting -- they can tie some of those to tickets, but it's not reliable. Anyone using cash will be mostly untrackable via the tickets, but that's probably not statistically significant.

But to the public, it won't be NextGen: there's no bracelets, no pre-planning web applications to sign up for, and probably no WiFi access either, for the time being -- by itself that will make SmarTicket so much cheaper than NextGen that they won't feel the need to discuss the budget publicly.

I still say it won't work like it will in Florida, considering EVERYTHING. I'll say it again, I'm praying it's not considered for California.

 

[flynnibus]

I can't wait to see the clusterf@%# when a ride goes down under FP+...

Why? Those runnings smartphones could even be notified proactively that their ride is down and offer a new suggestion.. and do so in scale.. without waiting for the guest to get to the greeter to be turned away.

The system is actually MORE accomodating to this problem than the old one was. They could possibly tell the system to automatically credit everyone an additional token or similar.. or even the equivalent of a 'readmission' pass that has override rights compared to normal FP+ distributions, etc.

The biggest issue is simply allowing a large volume of people access to their FP+ schedules in a short period of time. A possible solution to this would be to require the people to actually 'cash in' their FP+ reservation and simply hand them a paper readmission pass. Problem solved.

This isn't a new problem for Disney.. and FP+ really doesn't change it much either.

 

[awoogala]

Oh, just wondering for my social media experiment ... but how many folks here actually wear a watch daily? And your children? Serious question.

nope. hate them. my kids and I are all sensory sensitive- won't even wear a zipper, a watch??? hahaha. not a chance. I will have to carry all the arm bands on a carbiner if this comes to pass..