Spirited News and Observations and Opinions ...

[SeaCastle]

I can't help but think of Martin Sheen's character in Oliver Stone's Wall Street, "Stop going for the easy buck and start producing something with your life. Create, instead of living off of the buying and selling of others."

It still does not make sense to me that even in the face of Universal and SeaWorld upping their game beyond precedent, Disney pursues - spending more money that Uni/SW will - a data mining program that not only won't affect or add to the guest experience, but pursue a business model with unproven success (i.e. Facebook) and apply it to a theme park and hospitality business. It would be another business altogether if Disney operated in the same market as Facebook or Google but they are not. As Lee pointed out, how valuable could data mining theme park visitors actually be?

For such a fiscally conservative company (at least for Walt Disney World), spending so much money on something so nebulous seems out of character. Management would drop a cool two billion for this, but not for something as basic as maintenance or re-investment in current assets? It's not as if the company doesn't have money to spend. Kevin Yee pointed out the inexcusable state of Splash Mountain, noting that this wasn't a company on the verge of bankruptcy, yet it treats its parks as such. Simply baffling.

 

[ParentsOf4]

The amount the park will make off the data collected and used within the park will not even come close to the money invested in this project.

No corporation invests $1.5B lightly. I am confident they have a strategy in place to recover significantly more than $1.5B.

No doubt, Disney has already invested thousands of hours in NextGen's strategy alone. There are a lot of extremely well-paid executuves who have been tasked to generate a plan that will succeed. The question is: Will it?

IMHO, the only way their strategy won't work is if the general public reacts negatively. Disney is aware of this and, I'm equally sure, already has an extensive PR campaign (many more thousands of hours invested) and legal plan (more thousands of hours) in place. With a $1.5B price tag, this is not a battle a company even the size of Disney wants to lose.

What I cannot understand is why Iger approved this. Assuming he intends to run for public office, he could be branded as the modern personification of "Big Brother", destroying any political career. Why risk it? He's already an extemely wealthy man and doesn't need the few extra million this might generate for him personally. It doesn't make sense.

 

[TalkingHead]

I am still of the opinion that Disney didn't spend this ridiculous amount of money for no reason. I believe that they will sell the data, but will stand to make more selling the entire system to other parks, museums, zoos, malls, retail giants, and even maybe government agencies.

The amount the park will make off the data collected and used within the park will not even come close to the money invested in this project.

Bingo. It's not Big Brother you gotta worry about, it's Big Mickey.

 

[jt04]

That was the quote that jumped out at me, too. We've known that Disney wants to track guest spending habits through NextGen. But now they can sell your data to other companies -- AND, according to the post, sell the NextGen technology to other corporations...

Wowwee. Imagine if every big box store you entered had a similar "program" -- Target, Walmart, department stores tracking you...

Makes me a little queasy.

That will be the least of it. Heaven forbid you have contrary opinions from how you are 'expected' to think. That is what shoud make you queasy. Glad to see more people waking up though. The danger is very real. Now the pod people will accuse me of tin foil hat paranoia. That is their template. They have nothing else but that. So sad.

 

[jt04]

Bingo. It's not Big Brother you gotta worry about, it's Big Mickey.

Big Mickey has been assimilated.

 

[RSoxNo1]

As envisioned and implemented by Disney, NextGen is not merely the application of existing technology to bring its parks and resorts...up to date from a technology standpoint, it is the most extreme and thorough application of mandatory, craftily cultivated and dynamically applied surveillance ever undertaken by a corporation in one, highly specific location.
Central to the engagement of the initiative is the tagging and tracking of every guest. Each visitor will be expressly and explicitly profiled through the mandatory use of GPS-enabled RFID technology. This is incorporated, specifically, in the bracelets Disney has received several patents for as well as room keys and passes (the last to address a still in dispute phase-in for passholders to include annuals and seasonals as well as day buy-ins). To reach the profit targets and overarching design goals set for this project, as well as export the technology and its fruit to other companies, Disney understood early on that there could be no opt-out for any guest. Application of an 'opt-out mode' would remove the control and thereby defeat the financial gains required of such a massive capital outlay defined publicly devoid of detail.
NextGen "tagging" is a requirement even for those individuals paying with cash and those visiting just for the day. Making it so has been presented in typical corporate fashion as being nothing but an enhancer of the customer or "guest" experience. Disney, as sold to the masses, will streamline and personalize your experience based on highly specific information about each member of your party. The information will be partly tendered under the guise of a voluntary "itinerary builder" to help the guest pre-plan nearly every aspect of a Disney Parks vacation. Names, birth dates, gender and real and virtual addresses (email, Twitter, Facebook, and the like) will be gathered.

From there, the collection of information will grow in a dynamic and organic manner...to be first rolled-out at Walt Disney World beginning in early 2013, once you arrive your personalized NextGen bracelet or room key or pass will gather or mine every data point consistent with 24 hour surveillance. (Note: handheld devices, smartphone and tablets, are a supplemental feature that is, by design, a distraction from the actual intent of NextGen that feeds on society's familiarity with this ubiquitous technology.) Cash will remain an accepted form of payment; however, for resorts guests, cash will only be allowed to settle accounts prior to departure much like as a credit card is required prior to boarding and for all purchases on cruise ships.

Unlike most currently utilized RFID products, Disney's tags or profilers will not require the tapping or waving of the guests' bracelet or other embedded tagger for the vast data-mining the passive element of NextGen introduces. No push, tap or swipe is required as readers now blanket Walt Disney World to extract every possible piece of information or data from the guest in their GPS-enabled device. Any concerns over the right of Disney to acquire, compile and export for their profit and the profit of corporate partners aside, grave concerns over guest safety and the actual legality of this project have been raised.

Well... that's a whole lot of terrifying.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

What I cannot understand is why Iger approved this. Assuming he intends to run for public office as, he could be branded as the modern personification of "Big Brother", destroying any political career. Why risk it? He's already an extemely wealthy man and doesn't need the few extra million this might generate for him personally. It doesn't make sense.

Yeah, I really don't understand how someone who wants to be in politics would approve such a massive and expensive data mining/surveillance program. The EFF and ACLU and anyone he's going to be facing in an election will be all over this. Iger's political career will be over before it even starts.

 

[marni1971]

For those thinking that they will just take the wristband off, Jim Hill has discussed the hurdle of keeping the wristband on people for the entirety of the visit. What if taking off the wristband destroys it and your ability to gain admission to the parks?

Simple. Refuse to wear the band due to it ruining your suntan. Then tell City Hall for $100 a day (or over 2 billion!) they can flipping well sort it out.

 

[RSoxNo1]

Simple. Refuse to wear the band due to it ruining your suntan. Then tell City Hall for $100 a day (or over 2 billion!) they can flipping well sort it out.

Demand to have the chip implanted in your neck.

 

[TP2000]

Wowwee. Imagine if every big box store you entered had a similar "program" -- Target, Walmart, department stores tracking you...

Makes me a little queasy.

The big box stores already have that program, and have for years. Do you not shop at big box stores?

Every time I go to Target the clerk spits out a collection of coupons just for me, coupons for exact products I have bought in the past but didn't buy that day. That way, I have a reason to come back. They are tracking everything you purchase and then marketing offers for you specifically based on your history with them.

I don't use the Target Red Card for my purchases, just my basic bank card, but if I did start using the Target Red Card I imagine the offers and marketing would get even more specific and start showing up at my email or on my iPhone # that I would have to give them to get the Red Card.

I also get targeted coupons/catalogs in the mail from Nordstrom and Macy's, based on my past purchases.

This is common practice in big box retail, and has been for years. Disney didn't invent it.

 

[GoofGoof]

That was the quote that jumped out at me, too. We've known that Disney wants to track guest spending habits through NextGen. But now they can sell your data to other companies -- AND, according to the post, sell the NextGen technology to other corporations...

Wowwee. Imagine if every big box store you entered had a similar "program" -- Target, Walmart, department stores tracking you...

Makes me a little queasy.

I am curious who exactly they would be selling the data to? So they know my every move at WDW, they aren't selling the data to Universal or a competing theme park so who else would care? I don't see selling data as a big motivation to the project. Seems far fetched to me. Selling the technology to others, that seems possible.

Don't kid yourself if you think big box stores aren't tracking your moves. Do you know how many cameras are in those places. It's happening all over. The Internet is even worse.

 

[Tigger1988]

The big box stores already have that program, and have for years. Do you not shop at big box stores?

It's common practice in big box retail, and has been for years.

I also hope the people who are scared about this never shop online, use google, use facebook, use Amazon...pretty much go anywhere online. You're being tracked and if you aren't already aware of that, you should be.

 

[ChrisFL]

After the beta test of wrist bands, here's the next step

...and if you wander over to Universal or Sea World, BOOM! you explode

 

[GoofGoof]

Anyone upset about the Big Brother aspect of this is missing the big picture. It is/was a colossal waste of capital. That's what people should be upset about.

 

[flynnibus]

The huge difference is that Disney will require me to carry an RFID device tracking my every movement, like a released criminal being monitored with an electronic device.

What makes it huge? What does that expose that you don't want people to know? The reality is sharing your phone number and email is far more impactful to you and your life than Disney monitoring where you visited. And that kind of info 'leak' is happening all over so Disney isn't really exposing something new. Disney's value will not be in your tracking, but your demographic data and spending - stuff you can't really get much info from mortgages, utilities, USPS, etc

 

[TalkingHead]

The big box stores already have that program, and have for years. Do you not shop at big box stores?

Every time I go to Target the clerk spits out a collection of coupons just for me, coupons for exact products I have bought in the past but didn't buy that day. That way, I have a reason to come back. They are tracking everything you purchase and then marketing offers for you specifically based on your history with them.

I don't use the Target Red Card for my purchases, just my basic bank card, but if I did start using the Target Red Card I imagine the offers and marketing would get even more specific and start showing up at my email or on my iPhone # that I would have to give them to get the Red Card.

It's common practice in big box retail, and has been for years.

No, I don't have a membership card at any store.

But if what you say is true, then what prospect would Disney have to sell this technology to other companies?

It would seem that there is something different about NextGen that makes it more advanced than the current big box retail programs.

For that matter, why would Disney need to invest $2 billion to set this up, if a similar program has already been instituted in the big boxes around the world?

Or does Disney think their similar technology might be more marketable to other companies because Disney is associated with all-American wholesomeness?

 

[DocMcHulk]

On a side note: Google already knows everything I do. Google knows more about me than Disney ever will.

 

[Jane Doe]

I also hope the people who are scared about this never shop online, use google, use facebook, use Amazon...pretty much go anywhere online. You're being tracked and if you aren't already aware of that, you should be.

The only device I own which could track my movements is my cell phone, I have an unregistered pay-as-you-go cell phone which takes care of that problem. If I roll up to WDW with a multi day pass from my off site hotel and am told that I have to leave my wrist band on for my entire two weeks in Orlando they can shove the wrist band where the sun doesn't shine (which seems to be Lancashire at the moment). Online shopping is profiling, nothing more. Tracking your movements is a step too far.

 

[Lee]

I am curious who exactly they would be selling the data to? So they know my every move at WDW, they aren't selling the data to Universal or a competing theme park so who else would care?

They could sell it to any number of people.
Like a retailer for example. Disney could say, "Here is info on the Smith family. Mother, father and two kids, a boy of 6 and a girl of 9. They buy lots of DVDs, like fast food, and drink Sprite. The kids seem to enjoy Disney characters and toys. The father is a golfer who enjoys a beer or two after a round. The mother drinks coffee, and enjoys high-end dining. They rented a car while traveling, and stayed in a deluxe resort. They have two small dogs who enjoy canned dog food."
And it could go on and on. Providing information to help other companies target the Smith family.

Anyone upset about the Big Brother aspect of this is missing the big picture. It is/was a colossal waste of capital. That's what people should be upset about.

It certainly should be a point if interest, for sure.

 

[GoofGoof]

No, I don't have a membership card at any store.

But if what you say is true, then what prospect would Disney have to sell this technology to other companies?

It would seem that there is something different about NextGen that makes it more advanced than the current big box retail programs.

For that matter, why would Disney need to invest $2 billion to set this up, if a similar program has already been instituted in the big boxes around the world?

Or does Disney think their similar technology might be more marketable to other companies because Disney is associated with all-American wholesomeness?

This is my question too. I still think Disney would gain more value from using the data themselves over selling it.

I have a Harrah' (Ceasars now) total rewards card. When I go to a Harrahs casino I use it and they send me room offers, offers to enter poker tournaments or blackjack tournaments or even comp dollars that I can redeem if I go on a random Tuesday. I can see Disney using the data for targeted advertising like this to get you to come back, spend more while you are there or possibly buy merchandise related to your favorite rides. For example, if you ride Peter Pan 3 times they send you an offer to buy the deluxe limited time Blue Ray they just released.