Spirited News and Observations and Opinions ...

[flynnibus]

"Hey Billy, Happy Birthday. Why don't come with me for a special Birthday treat? You like Mickey Ice Cream Bars don't you?"

What could possibly go wrong.

I guess they should have kept those Birthday buttons away from anyone under 13 all those years too...

Or forbid parents from spending that extra money on embroidering those mickey ears for their kids...

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

. The idea of virtual queuing is not about a new attraction, but changing your experience during your visit. .

Which is just as well really is it not? Lets face it with nothing new of note across property all they are left with is smoke and mirrors to try and deflect attention from the reality of meet n greets, insufficient dining space and the pressure on ageing attractions.
Perhaps they will have a feature for allocated stroller parking slots.

 

[Pentacat]

Sure there are - people just keep picking on the flavor of the day vs looking at the whole thing. Example, the personalization options. Attractions or characters being able to interact with you in new ways is just one example they will roll out with this new platform that they have announced.

And 'experience' doesn't mean just 'attractions'. Experience includes HOW you vacation, what you get out of it, etc. The idea of virtual queuing is not about a new attraction, but changing your experience during your visit. Same with charge systems, etc.

No one is going around clambering 'DAMN!!! I wish Disney still used physical keys for all their hotel rooms!' - or I bet you would be put off if during check-in, you were forced to fill out by hand all types of paperwork of information you've already provided previously. These are examples of systems that alter the experience of vacationing at WDW. If successful, they ultimately alter your baseline expectation of services and entertainment. Then, when others can not match those new baselines... a gap is perceived by the guest.

Where you see benefit I see the death of spontaneous actions.....no more surprise and delight.

As far as interacting with characters...how do you think this is going to change or benefit anyone? How is a character on Main Street going to know my name or where I'm from? Will he have some terminator style screen inside his costume? What perceived value is that to me? How does a character knowing that I have a reservation at 8:30 at Le Chefs D' France going to benefit my experience? Will Belle hand me a menu?

You call it a "gap" but what if this ponderous system is nothing more than a distraction? A way to cater to the high paying guests while shutting out the proletariat "day guests".

You're right about one thing, it WILL change HOW I vacation.

 

[flynnibus]

As far as interacting with characters...how do you think this is going to change or benefit anyone?

Are you angry when the employee at the hotel or resturant addresses you by name too? Or do you see it as a level of courtesy?

Do you not think your child eyes will go wild when the character of their dream treats them individually and personally as the only person that matters right now? Are they not going to be awed the first time they get individualized treatment by people they idolize?

I'm sorry.. you're right. We should all just go back to the days where we used stone tablets and scribes to help us communicate and share ideas. The world was just so much simplier then when only the few knew how to read and write.. and we didn't have to burden everyone with the capability.

You call it a "gap" but what if this ponderous system is nothing more than a distraction? A way to cater to the high paying guests while shutting out the proletariat "day guests".

Just more crap people are assuming vs knowing...

Everyone is freaking out because of things they are USED to they think will continue (like Fastpasses running out...) vs understanding what WAS doesn't mean that's what it will BE going forward.

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

We assume you know I take it.

 

[TalkingHead]

Do you not think your child eyes will go wild when the character of their dream treats them individually and personally as the only person that matters right now? Are they not going to be awed the first time they get individualized treatment by people they idolize?

Do they not think that already? I mean, they're dumb enraptured enough to believe that Ariel is really Ariel and Belle is really Belle. I doubt they notice that the characters don't know their names.

And by your reasoning, what happens when Belle mispronounces sweet little Malikiandaoup's name?

That's gonna crush little Malikiandaoup's sensitive, fragile spirit.

She might even weep.

"BELLE DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO SAY MY NAME!" *waaaaaaaaaaahhhh*

Tragic Kingdom, man. No one wants that.

 

[flynnibus]

And by your reasoning, what happens when Belle mispronounces sweet little Malikiandaoup's name?

That's gonna crush little Malikiandaoup's sensitive, fragile spirit.

I shouldn't even respond to this trolling... but I'm a sucker some days.

Its no different anywhere else... customer service people know how to dance around names they can't pronouce and there are other options they can interact with.

But yeah.. keep pounding that drum that everything is aweful and every cornercase is unsolvable..

 

[Pumbas Nakasak]

Is that soo different from hypothesising that everything will be magical and wondrous?

 

[flynnibus]

Is that soo different from hypothesising that everything will be magical and wondrous?

Yes - because saying something 'can't' be done is a conclusion... vs acknowledging there is more than one way things can go - which is not a finite conclusion but acknowledging there is more than one answer possible.

 

[TalkingHead]

I shouldn't even respond to this trolling... but I'm a sucker some days.

Its no different anywhere else... customer service people know how to dance around names they can't pronouce and there are other options they can interact with.

But yeah.. keep pounding that drum that everything is aweful and every cornercase is unsolvable..

Are you implying that the child's eyes don't "go wild when the character of their dream" meets them at the current Meet-and-Greets?

Kids like meeting the characters. How many of them notice that the characters don't know their names? They believe there's one Belle, one Mickey, etc.

My exaggeration was no less ridiculous than your exaggeration.

 

[flynnibus]

Kids like meeting the characters. How many of them notice that the characters don't know their names? They believe there's one Belle, one Mickey, etc.

So now you are saying we should only strive to go as far as the child assumes should happen? We should limit our creativity and imagination by what the child expects to happen?

Rubbish.

 

[BlueSkyDriveBy]

Kids like meeting the characters. How many of them notice that the characters don't know their names?

There will be an unintended consequence of this new technology that isn't a problem now, that will most likely become a problem in the future, that no one is currently addressing. So I will.

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?

 

[djlaosc]

Won't some of the guest "benefits" of FP+ also spill over onto employees? Won't WDW management be able to use this system to super micro manage the CMs as well? As soon as the entire site can be mapped out in terms of guest movement then they should be able to reduce staff in sparsely populated areas accordingly. Or know that drone 232 takes 30 minutes longer to sweep the same area as drone 563. Sorry drone 232....you'll be missed (not really, drone 7765 is coming along nicely.)

Interesting point - I wonder if they'll put RFID trackers in employee cards (they may be there already for all I know) so they will be able to see where their employees are all the time?

 

[Cosmic Commando]

This all feels like WDW really wants to be UPS. We are all just packages to be sorted in some kind of logical fashion. They will tag us all just like packages and find ways to "encourage" us to be spread evenly an efficiently across their vast Kingdom.

I would've said FedEx, but to each their own, I guess.

 

[Goofyernmost]

That is a bit different - because the Grocery systems are more geared towards targeted advertisement facilitated by the same group that is collecting the data. Your buying patterns leads to the store giving you certain promos or ads. The company sells that position to advertisers by doesn't sell the data itself. Example: 'Hi Mr Coca Cola, as safeway, I can help you boost sales by ensuring every customer that buys your competitors product can get a coupon you decide upon, handed directly to them, as a way of trying to entice them to YOUR product for their next purchase'. That's fundamentally different than saying 'Mr Coca Cola, would you like a marketing list of all the people that bought Pepsi?'. The first is selling targeted impressions, the second is selling bulk demographic data. The first is an advertiser, the second is a data collector. The first doesn't need a privacy policy saying they share data, only that they collect said data to use for advertising purposes. The second should disclose they share data.

But the grey area is 'joint marketed' - and this is where the Test Track example comes in. There are arguments that can be made by entering the pavilion of products.. you've consented that you have shown interest in the product itself (not just Test Track) and hence further marketing about the cars.. wouldn't be an external disclosure of collected data. There are many nebulous ways companies argue that you've agreed to, or requested participation in a subject area. This is why it's hopeless to be able to determine who really shared your info with your consent or not.

I think that is where our thinking about this splits. You are looking at it as one interconnected system that would only work for Disney. I am seeing it as a multilayered set up. It is a system primarily to accumulate patterns and habits of customers (OK, Guests at Disney in their case), then there other layers that can be added that operate a room key, allow you into a park, record and spit out your "extra" Fastpasses, and so on. They don't have to sell that later part to anyone, but they can sell the actual system of tracking to other places without compromising whatever advantage that Disney might glean from such a system. Then other business could add their own layers based on their needs. If Disney is successful in making this work, they will have a demand for their product, simple as that. Will they sell the parts that don't interfere with what Disney uses it for? In a heartbeat!

Honestly, based on what we know, there is no other way to recoup 1.5 Billion with this thing. At least no guaranteed way. Disney has done some pretty silly things in the past, but that really would ultimately cause the downfall of a lot of high paid people. There is a lot on this line.

 

[danlb_2000]

I think that is where our thinking about this splits. You are looking at it as one interconnected system that would only work for Disney. I am seeing it as a multilayered set up. It is a system primarily to accumulate patterns and habits of customers (OK, Guests at Disney in their case), then there other layers that can be added that operate a room key, allow you into a park, record and spit out your "extra" Fastpasses, and so on. They don't have to sell that later part to anyone, but they can sell the actual system of tracking to other places without compromising whatever advantage that Disney might glean from such a system. Then other business could add their own layers based on their needs. If Disney is successful in making this work, they will have a demand for their product, simple as that. Will they sell the parts that don't interfere with what Disney uses it for? In a heartbeat!

Honestly, based on what we know, there is no other way to recoup 1.5 Billion with this thing. At least no guaranteed way. Disney has done some pretty silly things in the past, but that really would ultimately cause the downfall of a lot of high paid people. There is a lot on this line.

But there is very little value in the parts, that value is in the system and making everything work together. Other companies don't need Disney's help to do RFID door locks on their hotel rooms, RFID payment terminals in their stores, or even RFID for entry, these are easy things to do. Trying it all together into a single system is the hard part and Disney isn't likely to sell that. They also aren't likely to sell the analytical tools because that's something that adds real value to the system that they wouldn't want others to have.

 

[flynnibus]

They don't have to sell that later part to anyone, but they can sell the actual system of tracking to other places without compromising whatever advantage that Disney might glean from such a system. Then other business could add their own layers based on their needs

The hardware side of this is going to be mostly off the shelf stuff - there is no value in Disney trying to sell that stuff because all the value is in the 'connecting tissue' which is the software of the system. Such complex systems are modular, but always built to a customer. This is heavy duty IT consulting work - something that even Disney is unlikely doing themselves. Disney may own the IP as the work is being done for them, but Disney wouldn't have the resources or capabilities to repackage it, sell, and redesign it for other customers. It's so far out of Disney's core competency it makes no sense what so ever to believe they would be in that game.

Now where it it would be feasible - is for Disney to license the work back to the IT firm who is doing the core software work for them, so the IT company can then in turn sell to new customers and pay Disney royalties. While this is feasible - I don't see it happening. There is just so little to gain from Disney selling this IP vs holding the IP as it's own competitive edge. Imagine Disney licenses the technology.. and scores 500,000 in royalties from Accenture selling to two new clients each year. Compare that to trying to increase revenue of WDW just 1% from advantages of NextGen. Domestic Park revenues were 10.3 BILLION last year. Even nudging that number a small percentage is so much more valuable than possible software royalties that if taken would actually weaken your own investment.

 

[flynnibus]

Interesting point - I wonder if they'll put RFID trackers in employee cards (they may be there already for all I know) so they will be able to see where their employees are all the time?

While I imagine they will put tags in all the IDs (if they haven't already) - I doubt they would have any of the active beacons on their employees. Ironically... tracking their employees this way would likely cause far more legal and labor issues for them than worrying about tagging their customers.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

financial coercion and emotional hostage taking

Sounds like a good definition of NextGen to me.

 

[michmousefan]

There will be an unintended consequence of this new technology that isn't a problem now, that will most likely become a problem in the future, that no one is currently addressing. So I will.

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.

Another possible consequence will be that now the CMs will HAVE to address each kid that is in the NextGen system... woe be to the CM who neglects to address a kid by name and a parent spends an hour in line at Guest Relations to complain about how their "wristband experience" wasn't magical enough.

I'm a big supporter of technology, but this system seems riddled with holes.