Spirited News and Observations and Opinions ...

[EPCOTCenterLover]

I take Disney's content as it comes, just as I do with any company. I do not inherently trust or distrust any company, just some men and women who run them. Do I like the idea of NextGen? Not at all. I enjoy my privacy while I am on vacation. And I value my spontaneity as well.

 

[JenniferS]

I guess I am just looking at this from my own point of view. I would never, ever allow a 9 year old to go to the parks alone despite what Disney officially allows. I have 2 sons who are much younger now so maybe that changes once they get closer to 9.

I doubt your opinion will change once they reach 9.
Really Disney - 9? In Ontario, you cannot leave a child at home alone until he/she is 10, and he/she cannot babysit another child until the age of 12.
I didn't let my boys loose in the parks until they were 12 & 13, and then only in the same park that we were in (preferably the same land) with a strict "meet up" time and location. Also, I kept hold of their KTTK cards, so they could not hop on the monorail and head to another park or back to the resort (not that they would), and they had to reconnect with us to eat. And teenage boys like to eat!

 

[flynnibus]

Is it time for a sticky where all suspected Disney social media plants, past & present are listed?

Senator McCarthy, can I show you to your office?

 

[Cody5242]

Someone needs to go on the WDW Lines app and tell them how bad of a state WDW currently is. Someone posted this weeks LTM event and they said my be a little bit dissapointing but its still Disney! So I went on and told them how much better DL LTM events have been then WDW and how far they have been falling behind their competition and now everyone has labeled me as a troll... Where's the spirit when you need him

 

[dhall]

The reason I really am on the fence about this is because technically I've already given disney the majority of the info that the magic band collects. They already know what I've spent on if I have a credit card tied to my room. They already know the size of my family and age of my children due to reservations. They already know where I am the majority of the time due to park tickets and where I use my kttw. They know what toy preferences my kids have due to charges. They know what rides I frequent due to fast pass, they even know if I abuse fast pass by getting them and not returning. I know there are privacy issues, but the majority of us here have been in the system a long time. Now do I like fast pass+ no, not a fan I like to be spontaneous on a vacation, having teenagers doesn't help planning either.

A couple of minor clarifications: they don't know which non-fast pass rides you frequent, and they probably don't know about the fast pass returns (they'd have to be tracking the individual fast pass return tickets, and I think its far more likely that they're simply throwing those away).

In general, tho, you're right -- they've had most of the sensitive data for years now. IMO, the biggest set of data they're getting in the new system is where you spend time between financial transactions. Personally, this doesn't bother me very much.

 

[NDdon]

I doubt your opinion will change once they reach 9.
Really Disney - 9? In Ontario, you cannot leave a child at home alone until he/she is 10, and he/she cannot babysit another child until the age of 12.
I didn't let my boys loose in the parks until they were 12 & 13, and then only in the same park that we were in (preferably the same land) with a strict "meet up" time and location. Also, I kept hold of their KTTK cards, so they could not hop on the monorail and head to another park or back to the resort (not that they would), and they had to reconnect with us to eat. And teenage boys like to eat!

Not everyone is as protective as you are. I know when I was 10 I never had a baby sitter, I was free to go to and from the parks by myself at anytime. But I grew up back before the media used to make everyone fear their neighbors. There is a South Park episode that explains the paranoia that I am seeing.

 

[dhall]

But you have to "tap" the reader, most folks won't be looking to tap the reader and its seem obvious that the MagicBand readers will just be installed where guests can use them, i.e. restaurants, paying for stuff, rides. I'm pretty sure Disney won't put the readers into door frames to track people out of the hope that they will tap them!

The tracking thing presumes that Disney will use the smart phone app to do this . . . doubt it, unless people want this and agree to it.

No you don't. At every Best Buy (for example), they have passive RFID tags on every expensive piece of electronics they sell. A reader at the register lets the system know that a specific item has been paid for (and those have to have very short range so that items that simply pass by don't get accidentally registered as 'paid for'). A pair of readers is just inside the exit such that every customer passes through them. If a tag passes through the exit that was not read at a cash register, the alarm goes off. A passive RFID is all that's necessary: those are very inexpensive and could be included on paper ticket media - I'm fairly certain that the bracelet has it built in.

 

[JenniferS]

Not everyone is as protective as you are. I know when I was 10 I never had a baby sitter, I was free to go to and from the parks by myself at anytime. But I grew up back before the media used to make everyone fear their neighbors. There is a South Park episode that explains the paranoia that I am seeing.

Where I live it's the law - 10 to be left alone, 12 to baby-sit.
I'm 45 now, but when I was a kid, I was baby-sitting my 3 younger brothers by the age of 9. Different laws and sensibilities then.
Also, I might be a little more protective in Disney, as the US is a foreign country for me, and one is never as comfortable traveling as at home.

 

[NDdon]

Where I live it's the law - 10 to be left alone, 12 to baby-sit.
I'm 45 now, but when I was a kid, I was baby-sitting my 3 younger brothers by the age of 9. Different laws and sensibilities then.
Also, I might be a little more protective in Disney, as the US is a foreign country for me, and one is never as comfortable traveling as at home.

That is interesting about the law, now I am curious about my area.

I agree 100% with your last line. I might be a little less worried in Canada since it is so close and more friendly than say Mexico but I understand completely.

 

[dhall]

I've got a quick question. Is there knowledge or speculation why there are 2 separate passive tags (in addition to the active radio)? Or put another way, why can't they tie everything to a single tag? (I get why they need the separate active radio.)

I don't know why there would be 2 passive tags and the radio: I hadn't heard that that's the mix (I'm not sure that any of the technical specs are really public at this time). I expect its 1 passive and 1 active tag, along with a wi-fi device. I think it's something along these lines:

A passive RFID doesn't need to be tapped on anything and doesn't require power -- it can be read from several feet away, and is easy to read with some precision when a pair of readers is used. The theft control systems at most major retailers work this way. This is what's most likely used for general guest movement.

An active system uses power to transmit for some distance. The larger the distance, the more power is required. Transmitting to a distance of 3-6 inches doesn't take very much power, so small batteries could, in theory, last quite a while. This is probably the system they're using for point-of-sale and fast pass returns.

The wi-fi is probably a check system -- they can check via wi-fi to ensure that the active RFID is really in the location where the transaction is taking place.

 

[WDW1974]

Wow ... you go away for a night and you just SENSE that pages were wasted on SENSELESS debate.
I don't, unfortunately, have much time to spend here this afternoon, but wanted to throw some info out and see what happens. And, please, let's be vigilant on trolls ... Disney really doesn't want this discussion taking place, which is exactly why it needs to (yes ... to all my critics who aren't reading what is written but going all drama queen because they don't like the message ... IT' S FOR THE CHILDREN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

 

[WDW1974]

First up: After the NY Times story ran on 1/7 on Page B1, this little gem was added three days later. As it appears Brooks in his rush to get the story in (for whom? for his editors? for his audience? for his momma? or his pal Bruce Vaughn who also could lose his job if this thing is the fiasco it is shaping up to be?)

You see, for all you critics of journalism out there, it does still exist. And the NY Times doesn't do PR for companies, but somebody screwed the pooch on this one ...)


Editors' Note: January 10, 2013

A picture on Monday with an article about a new MagicBand technology that Walt Disney World plans to introduce in the coming months showed people wearing rubber bracelets that will be used with the technology. The people in the picture, which was provided by Disney, are actually models posing to demonstrate the new system, not Disney World customers. Such a posed picture should not have been used to illustrate the article.

 

[WDW1974]

For all the folks who want to discuss tech (and I am swearing off it beyond what my sources tell me because I don't work for a company like Cisco and am still trying to get my VCR to stop showing all zeros as it has since 1996), so you can have at it. I'm going to discuss what I know so I don't put out misinformation.

 

[WDW1974]

OK, for all those who are interested in going back and forth on COPPA (think of the CHILDRENNNNNNNN!!!!)

Here's a nice long summation of what was changed with regard to the act last month: (if you're going to read it, please do so with NEXT GEN in mind)


http://www.kelleydrye.com/publications/client_advisories/0783

 

[SirLink]

So is there any way that this gets scaled back ... and real attractions ... or do we have to go through the cycle of push back, profit falls, re-evaluate and then finally more panic...or could they please sell it off to OLC and the Saudi Prince please?

 

[NDdon]

OK, for all those who are interested in going back and forth on COPPA (think of the CHILDRENNNNNNNN!!!!)

Here's a nice long summation of what was changed with regard to the act last month: (if you're going to read it, please do so with NEXT GEN in mind)


[URL='http://www.kelleydrye.com/publications/client_advisories/0783[/quote']http://www.kelleydrye.com/publications/client_advisories/0783[/URL]

Quick Question, it consistently talks about online, and since no one under 18 can make a reservation on the Disney website. How does something that only deals with online sources have to do with Next Gen and wristbands?

 

[WDW1974]

Before I type this ... am I the only one that has trouble pasting documents, even simple email into this site without it shutting me down and logging me out? Just wondering ... the next post is going to take longer than the 60 seconds I hoped because I'm going to have to type it, but it will be worth it!!!

 

[unkadug]

Before I type this ... am I the only one that has trouble pasting documents, even simple email into this site without it shutting me down and logging me out? Just wondering ... the next post is going to take longer than the 60 seconds I hoped because I'm going to have to type it, but it will be worth it!!!

Highlight selected text hit Control "C" to copy Control "V" to paste.


Some programs don't like that though, if that doesn't work for you ..."Control" "Insert" will copy "Shift" "Insert" will paste.

 

[Monty]

Quick Question, it consistently talks about online, and since no one under 18 can make a reservation on the Disney website. How does something that only deals with online sources have to do with Next Gen and wristbands?

The way I read the information at the link provided it doesn't have anything to do with NextGen and the wristbands. The COPPA rules apply only to personal information collected from children under 13. Anything provided by their parents or with their parents verified consent is not covered by COPPA. The new changes don't change that basic fact.

 

[WDW1974]

I have been sitting on this info for months because I really thought that it would come up somewhere here. Maybe not in this thread ... maybe? Who knows? But because I am into conspiracy theories and all (right, @Monty? are you out building a snow Canuck again?) and because I have not seen or heard one person mention this, I figure why not put it out there as well.

No talking sensors in doorways or WDW being the Pedophile's Kingdom of the World or such ... let's go to another topic at least briefly.

It involves the woman married to the dude who doesn't know how to dress for bigtime professional appearances. Weird, especially, given Nick Franklin's pre-Disney career at Goldman Sachs (doesn't it always wind up with a tie to the Street?)

Yes, @TP2000 ... your pal who needs a personal shopper from South Coast Plaza or the Beverly Center (think he lives in Santa Monica, so that would be closer) has a very interesting wife as well. One with her own past at TWDC.

Kathy Franklin worked for Disney from 1998 until 2009 when she left, albeit with a healthy consulting contract.

I'll just read you (and retype, due to my computer's 'funny' relationship with the WDWMAGIC.com site) a quote from THR on 8/9/11.

''Tapped to build the Avatar brand, Kathy Franklin has been named president of franchise development at James Cameron and Jon Landau's Lighstorm [sic] Entertainment. The hire signifies Lightstorm's commmitment, in collaboration with 20th Century Fox, to grow the Avatar name beyond the traditional licensing and merchandising avenues.''

Avatar at DAK was announced on 9/20/11.

Now ... anyone think this was a 'present' for Nick to thank him for this huge new revenue stream he had helped concoct for TWDC?

Y'all discuss. It's a beautiful day in paradise and I'm going out to enjoy!