Spirited News and Observations and Opinions ...

[Rasvar]

I'll be disappointed if Disney doesn't come out with a major expansion announcement before the end of MagicBand beta test.

For several reasons, MagicBand has not been received as warmly as Disney had hoped. Like anything in advertising, you put together what you think will be a winning ad campaign but, no matter how many surveys and focus groups you conduct, it's still difficult to gauge how a product will be received by the mass market.

IMHO, Disney needs to change the story and refocus public attention on something else. Disney needs to take a lesson from the movie Up and get the public thinking:

Squirrel!​

The funny thing about the MagicBand is that there might be someone who thinks that could be a huge selling point. It is a nice operational feature. Save the hassle of fumbling for that room card/ticket. It seems most handy at a waterpark. Now they just have to convert the lockers to RFID and Typhoon Lagoon/Blizzard Beach could be hands free. They have done a poor job of explaining what the back end of the system is doing and what the bands are doing. But, that is what happens when you try to sell a system that is merely a massive operational infrastructure improvement project/data mining analytics system as a positive to the guest.

 

[JenniferS]

Lets play a game, how many E Tickets does it take to make us forget about MyMagic+?

8 - 2/park, but not this C+/D stuff being passed off as E's. AND a full demo of Dinorama.
All will be forgiven and forgotten.

 

[flynnibus]

To be fair, sometimes you have to sit on information that eventually comes out. I can't say that is the case there, but if you wanted to give the dude benefit of the doubt....

A search would probably reveal that it's been discussed here for a while.

Exactly...

Any wdwmagic member could have made a similar comment.. even if we hadn't posted about it prior. We read wdwmagic

 

[Goofyernmost]

Rumors of Baxter 'leaving soon' have been going on for ages.. fueled mostly by our local spirit. It's always been a question of 'when' and under what terms.

That's the beauty of making predictions like that, you know, the ones that you know will come true one way or the other eventually. You can make the prediction and if you wait long enough you will be proven correct and you can say...I told you that would happen! Love it!

 

[Virtual Toad]

Yeah, the parks are always improving but I was there in 1971. You had meet and greets. it was just a little more spontaneous. No specific place to go. No real lines to queue up in. At the same time, all of Main Street wasn't a store. There were tons of surprises. Surprises now are all advertised or listed in a program. I may be one of the few who sorely misses all of the old style games in the Penny Arcade. I miss the Mickey Mouse Review and at the same time recognize that it would have gone the way of Flight to the Moon by now. WDW as a whole seems to lack that little bit of magic that anything could happen instead of something that seems regimented and corporate. I also know, that a kid can still experience that magic. Maybe not being a kid changes something but I was still able to feel some of that intangible magic in the 80's and 90's when I was no longer a kid. It just seems like going to WDW is now more like planning a corporate meeting than going to a place where the unexpected happens. Maybe that is where the "dumbing down" seems to be. In making the trip a check list of things to do instead of going and seeing what happens. Well, that and all the lawyers. The bombarding of safety signs, system and spiels (just look at the joke the parking lot trams have become) make it more annoying and a reminder of the real world. I guess I just liked the simpler days when a 12 year old boy could just wander WDW resorts and parks with money and tickets in his pockets as long as he was back to the campsite/hotel/meeting spot at a certain time. Not sure how many 12 year olds are free to roam these days. Too many worries.

Extraordinarily well said. There is something missing. Spontaneity, the ability to explore the Magic at your own pace without worrying about keeping to a regimented schedule you've had to brood over for the six minths prior to your visit.

The Penny Arcade and much of Main Street, as well as other minor attractions long since forgotten, allowed an ebb and flow to the experience which made the major E-Tickets more satisfying. Now everything comes pre-packaged with the Disney Magic(tm) included in doses approved in the boardroom, not the drawing board. When the entire experience races along at the same harried pace the end effect is often exhaustion, not exhileration.

The other thing I think is missing, and I've said this time and again, is *whimsy*. That's what I was talking about on the bus thread by pointing out the old logo was more fun and dynamic. How dare they put the logo at a slant and use purple in the design! But it spoke volumes about how Disney World was supposed to be fun.

Perhaps the presence of whimsy at WDW in the 70s and 80s was the result of a precious few legendary artists and imagineers who "got it." Marc Davis' wonderful, whimsical scenes and characters in Pirates and the Country Bears. Tony Baxter's Journey Into Imagination. John Hench. George McGinnis.

Perhaps Disney thinks Americans consider themselves too macho (is there a better term?) for whimsy and is making the parks more testosterone-laden with the introduction of low-brow comedy, Avatar lands and Avenger monorails. That's the way it seems sometimes. We're not supposed to be silly anymore, we're just encouraged to behave ourselves, spend plenty of money on merchandise and willing participate in the Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging (thanks Mr. Gabriel!) Shame, really.

 

[Goofyernmost]

The funny thing about the MagicBand is that there might be someone who thinks that could be a huge selling point. It is a nice operational feature. Save the hassle of fumbling for that room card/ticket. It seems most handy at a waterpark. Now they just have to convert the lockers to RFID and Typhoon Lagoon/Blizzard Beach could be hands free. They have done a poor job of explaining what the back end of the system is doing and what the bands are doing. But, that is what happens when you try to sell a system that is merely a massive operational infrastructure improvement project/data mining analytics system as a positive to the guest.

I have mentioned the upcoming setup to a number of sane Disney Fans. By sane, I mean they like the place a lot, but you will never find them reading or participating in discussion boards ever. Anyway, there first reaction is one of genuine excitement. They love the idea. Of course, they haven't and probably won't spend a great deal of time over thinking the situation. They think only of how it benefits them, personally and upfront, and not in what sneaky thing Disney is trying to pull over on us. To them it doesn't matter. If they benefit from it then they are in favor. It's too bad we can't all look at stuff in that manner, it would save on ulcer treatments.

 

[MattM]

I have mentioned the upcoming setup to a number of sane Disney Fans. By sane, I mean they like the place a lot, but you will never find them reading or participating in discussion boards ever. Anyway, there first reaction is one of genuine excitement. They love the idea. Of course, they haven't and probably won't spend a great deal of time over thinking the situation. They think only of how it benefits them, personally and upfront, and not in what sneaky thing Disney is trying to pull over on us. To them it doesn't matter. If they benefit from it then they are in favor. It's too bad we can't all look at stuff in that manner, it would save on ulcer treatments.

Oh, then no worries. It'll be great!

Of course, I won't ask you anything about your sample, methodology, questioning, etc

 

[flynnibus]

That's the beauty of making predictions like that, you know, the ones that you know will come true one way or the other eventually. You can make the prediction and if you wait long enough you will be proven correct and you can say...I told you that would happen! Love it!

Pfft.. you know it was a far more specific claim then that.

There is a difference between saying 'Bill is on life support and has months to live' vs 'Bill will die eventually'. We all die eventually (akin to your comment) - but claiming Bill is terminally ill is vastly different than pointing out the obvious that humans are mortal.

The tidbits shared previously were more about Tony's position, his morale, his future with the company, and where ultimately that was leading to (a seperation). This has been seen in Tony's comments over the last year as well.

While timing has been of question (I even called @WDW1974 to the mat about this previously).. the fact we are even discussing this as it it were 'stating the obvious' or 'inevitable' is getting ridiculous.

I called him on it last summer - see the thread (with some quotes) here - http://forums.wdwmagic.com/threads/...ects-on-that-scale.839906/page-3#post-5008117

Because he was originally calling for this to happen two years ago. Read the posts.

But my challenge in those posts was nothing like saying 'duh, well it was always gonna happen sometime' or other claims being made here.. which are pretty sad criticisms.

 

[JenniferS]

I have mentioned the upcoming setup to a number of sane Disney Fans. By sane, I mean they like the place a lot, but you will never find them reading or participating in discussion boards ever. Anyway, there first reaction is one of genuine excitement. They love the idea. Of course, they haven't and probably won't spend a great deal of time over thinking the situation. They think only of how it benefits them, personally and upfront, and not in what sneaky thing Disney is trying to pull over on us. To them it doesn't matter. If they benefit from it then they are in favor. It's too bad we can't all look at stuff in that manner, it would save on ulcer treatments.

I kind of feel the same way.
My husband, who has not been exposed to all the varying levels of Magic Band hate on this (and other) Boards, thinks it's a great idea.
Time will tell.

 

[Goofyernmost]

The other thing I think is missing, and I've said this time and again, is *whimsy*. That's what I was talking about on the bus thread by pointing out the old logo was more fun and dynamic. How dare they put the logo at a slant and use purple in the design! But it spoke volumes about how Disney World was supposed to be fun.

Perhaps the presence of whimsy at WDW in the 70s and 80s was the result of a precious few legendary artists and imagineers who "got it." Marc Davis' wonderful, whimsical scenes and characters in Pirates and the Country Bears. Tony Baxter's Journey Into Imagination. John Hench. George McGinnis.

Perhaps Disney thinks Americans consider themselves too macho (is there a better term?) for whimsy and is making the parks more testosterone-laden with the introduction of low-brow comedy, Avatar lands and Avenger monorails. That's the way it seems sometimes. We're not supposed to be silly anymore, we're just encouraged to behave ourselves, spend plenty of money on merchandise and willing participate in the Grand Parade of Lifeless Packaging (thanks Mr. Gabriel!) Shame, really.

Well there you have it. Whimsy...that is what made Disney what it was...good old Whimsy! However, I'm not going to blame Disney for losing it, I am going to blame the anally retentive public so bent on political correctness that WE have lost the ability to laugh at ourselves or to be anything but careful and sincere. We cannot accept whimsy...it might offend someone even though it is so totally obvious that it wasn't the intent. I'm amazed that The Haunted Mansion is still in place. I mean, I'm sure that someone just had a loved one pass away...how can they poke fun at something as serious and final as death. Slowly, all the stuff that might skip back and forth across the line of PC, will be removed, replaced or redesigned to not be as comical or whimsical as it was originally intended. It only reflects the emotional state of the current time we live in. It is logical that the buses would have the straight from the accounting ledger uniformity and straight line look. It's how we think today. Spreadsheets to plan a vacation, for heavens sake, doesn't that tell it all?

 

[MattM]

That's the beauty of making predictions like that, you know, the ones that you know will come true one way or the other eventually. You can make the prediction and if you wait long enough you will be proven correct and you can say...I told you that would happen! Love it!

The only time this may not apply is by saying, "The Cubs are going to win the World Series again"

 

[Goofyernmost]

Pfft.. you know it was a far more specific claim then that.

There is a difference between saying 'Bill is on life support and has months to live' vs 'Bill will die eventually'. We all die eventually (akin to your comment) - but claiming Bill is terminally ill is vastly different than pointing out the obvious that humans are mortal.

The tidbits shared previously were more about Tony's position, his moral, his future with the company, and where ultimately that was leading to (a seperation). This has been seen in Tony's comments over the last year as well.

While timing has been of question (I even called @WDW1974 to the mat about this previously).. the fact we are even discussing this as it it were 'stating the obvious' or 'inevitable' is getting ridiculous.

Yes, I know it was more specific, but it really isn't is it. Tony is going to retire or consulting now instead, isn't a hard thing to predict eventually. He's not 22 years old, he's relatively rich, he's somewhat frustrated with his role, he doesn't need anymore money, the time is right. Not a crystal ball needed in that prediction.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Oh, then no worries. It'll be great!

Of course, I won't ask you anything about your sample, methodology, questioning, etc

That's good because then I would have to get righteously angry on your butt! Not to mention insulted!

 

[flynnibus]

Yes, I know it was more specific, but it really isn't is it. Tony is going to retire or consulting now instead, isn't a hard thing to predict eventually. He's not 22 years old, he's relatively rich, he's somewhat frustrated with his role, he doesn't need anymore money, the time is right. Not a crystal ball needed in that prediction.

Ok - read words.. miss the message. I'm not going to hold your hand.

 

[WDW1974]

OK, so it's 2/1 ... HAPPY GAK DAY EVERYONE!!!

I admit I have been busy all morning and afternoon and while I should be heading for lunch, I thought I'd check in here and it sure seems quiet. I'm guessing Disney didn't put out any release on Tony Baxter because it's too early in the day and they like to bury bad news. ... But where's all the hoopla on the exec shuffle? Things have been quite quiet on that front.

No big blog posts and videos of Blondie interviewing Georgie at the Contemporary and talking about his months long stint as a teen busboy? ... Do I have to teach them everything?

And while I don't like to dwell on truly tragic news, I did get a confirmation that the suicide at CP was a longtime Disney Institute CM who was married and had kids and had been very unhappy (obviously) with the company and his job. I'm still sorta amazed that was buried in the media. Suicides aren't routinely covered, but more prominent ones or ones in the workplace certainly are.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Ok - read words.. miss the message. I'm not going to hold your hand.

I can't tell you how happy I am to hear that! But, apparently I'm missing something in what your saying or we are talking about two different things, either way the earth will not change rotation because of it. I never said you were wrong, I just see it differently. I am also talking in general terms and you are being specific. No big deal either way.

 

[Goofyernmost]

OK, so it's 2/1 ... HAPPY GAK DAY EVERYONE!!!

I admit I have been busy all morning and afternoon and while I should be heading for lunch, I thought I'd check in here and it sure seems quiet. I'm guessing Disney didn't put out any release on Tony Baxter because it's too early in the day and they like to bury bad news. ... But where's all the hoopla on the exec shuffle? Things have been quite quiet on that front.

No big blog posts and videos of Blondie interviewing Georgie at the Contemporary and talking about his months long stint as a teen busboy? ... Do I have to teach them everything?

And while I don't like to dwell on truly tragic news, I did get a confirmation that the suicide at CP was a longtime Disney Institute CM who was married and had kids and had been very unhappy (obviously) with the company and his job. I'm still sorta amazed that was buried in the media. Suicides aren't routinely covered, but more prominent ones or ones in the workplace certainly are.

There is a better than even chance that his suicide was not job related, they usually aren't. They stem from much deeper routes and not something that is widely distributed to the public.

 

[asianway]

OK, so it's 2/1 ... HAPPY GAK DAY EVERYONE!!!

I admit I have been busy all morning and afternoon and while I should be heading for lunch, I thought I'd check in here and it sure seems quiet. I'm guessing Disney didn't put out any release on Tony Baxter because it's too early in the day and they like to bury bad news. ... But where's all the hoopla on the exec shuffle? Things have been quite quiet on that front.

No big blog posts and videos of Blondie interviewing Georgie at the Contemporary and talking about his months long stint as a teen busboy? ... Do I have to teach them everything?

And while I don't like to dwell on truly tragic news, I did get a confirmation that the suicide at CP was a longtime Disney Institute CM who was married and had kids and had been very unhappy (obviously) with the company and his job. I'm still sorta amazed that was buried in the media. Suicides aren't routinely covered, but more prominent ones or ones in the workplace certainly are.

Theyre rushing to the MK for the Super Bowl preparade.

 

[WDW1974]

This may be a silly question and I know I'm rather behind... But I was hoping someone could explain to me why EMH have been reduced?

EMHs are being phased out entirely as part of MyMagic+.

No, it hasn't been officially announced beyond, but they have already started cutting them back and they intend on eliminating them entirely.

 

[MattM]

That's good because then I would have to get righteously angry on your butt! Not to mention insulted!

haha, well then, it's a classic win-win