Spirited News and Observations and Opinions ...

[Disneyhead'71]

I spotted this post in another thread, but thought it was worthy to move over and comment on here (hey, if @Eddie Sotto can do it, so can I!)

<<I love the way this board speculates so much before things happen and get themselves wound up over peoples "theories".
Just let things happen, and then complain once things are in place and people are upset, no point in getting wound up over speculating what you think may or may not happen.

In Mouse we trust!>> ... the above is from Mickey1984 on Martin's thread.

It couldn't be more timely or relevant, which is why I brought it here.

I would draw the distinction between a theory and leaked information (AKA facts). Particularly when the alleged 'theories' are responded to within days if not hours confirming, sometimes point by point, the facts positioned on the forum by TWDC.

As for the 'In Mouse we trust' ... that's just chum in these waters. And the sharks be a' swimming tonight.

Spirit, my friend, you have info. And you have theories based on that info. But no one can ever claim that you aren't clear on what you are presenting. Unfortunately, your theories almost always, ok, just always, seem to pan out.

 

[Lee]

As for the 'In Mouse we trust' ... that's just chum in these waters. And the sharks be a' swimming tonight.

"Farewell and adieu to you fair Spanish ladies..."

 

[Disneyhead'71]

"Farewell and adieu to you fair Spanish ladies..."

Gottta love a Jaws quote!

 

[WDW1974]

What makes you say this?

You can't direct market to a child..
The child has no direct buying power..

Children are influencers (why we have TV ads and magazine ads) but those are 'broadcast' advertising rather than direct advertising.

Knowing Johnny is part of Family ABC's group is important.. but to get to Johnny I still need to reach Johnny through things Johnny initiates.. else I'm still just going through Johnny Sr. I want to know Johnny Sr has kids, and what kind, and influence Johnny Sr's buying. But all of that is done by getting Johnny Sr's demographics.. not Johnny Jr. I need to know how to tap Johnny Jr's market potential.. and that is still through Johnny Sr (which has Johnny Jr's things rolled up into it)

OK, so I missed a few (hundred?) posts while dealing with business matters and setting up a new high-tech telecom center in the Spirit Cave. But I am wading back in to try and catch up on posts that require further discussion. Like the above.

TWDC is leveraging the entire Disney BRAND with its NEXT GEN initiative. @flynnibus has been nothing if not steadfast and admirable in his defense of Disney's data-mining, even as a parent himself, and the justification for an expenditure that is almost certain to eclipse the price of every theme park Disney has ever built in the states.

Right now, it already surpasses DAK and Disney-MGM combined in $$$ laid out.

In his effort to sell everyone on the 'trust in the Mouse' and 'technology is your friend' (do I recall a shark in Finding Nemo saying the same thing?), our pal has stumbled onto what's a major challenge and the goal of NEXT GEN. Now, if I told y'all that what's quoted above contains in it what is known to TWDC as the potential undoing of the entire project, would you believe me? Ah ... c'mon ... I just delivered my old pal Georgie K back to WDW for you and I kinda have a record of getting things right. It's not coincidence, my charm or roguish good looks.

In fact, you can just put aside that thought and continue reading.

Point was.. how do you directly REACH the child. Cell Phones and email addresses are in that age group.. but are still not dominate. Reaching that age group DIRECTLY is tough because they generally only have direct contact with the remote control and what they read.

Remember something called COPPA? Remember the piece of legislation the Spirit told you to look to for answers as to what could derail this? Analyze the words above in the context I've given.

Know this, Disney is dedicated to going down this path. Yeah, beyond the '$2 billion tag' ... my pal flynn is really good at giving what sorta sound like MBA-ish talking points on something highly technical. Not being a techie myself (anyone who has had to deal with me by phone this week understands this pefectly!) I understand why he may stay away from the tech aspects (like the fact that much of the datamining and tracking will come from the very toys you choose to bring with you to the ultimate toybox). I can see why he would stay away from the tech specs behind the bracelets, the chiptix, the room keys (@danlb_2000 has tackled some of these issues in another thread and appears to be a go to person on that front as has @Lil Fort too!) ...

It can't be ignored, though. We all know that. Whether he knew it or not, what Flynnibus posted is causing the building held up by the Seven Dwarfs to shake, rattle and roll like a little jolt under the San Andreas.

 

[WDW1974]

Oh, and what's the latest news from WDW's Ops front?

The same as it was a year ago: ''This dog ain't never gonna hunt'' ...

 

[WDW1974]

But seriously spirit what do you see as Georges first move as he comes in, one start intensive park repairs if bugets allow or 2) try to spin Next Gen to the Masses?

He'll do #1 if the funds are there. They've already been doing much. As someone reminded me earlier, all of MSUSA has had (or will) major work done (of course, it was rotting away).

But I absolutely believe he'll be selling NEXT GEN to the masses and appearing on podcasts and giving interviews to every social media that the CPSMC can arrange.

 

[WDW1974]

1)I would love to hear your ending...
2)I am scared ... what positives does Danny Cockerell even have ... the guy he took over from as DHS who demanded an addition to the park - he should at least get more chances than to be relegated to fix the dining fiasco on property...I pray every night that when Iger is gone Snider invites Matt Ouimet back to run P&R and ...

1.) Not happening because I may seriously do so at some point in the future; and
2.) I can't give you any positives because I am not a fan of his ... and I wouldn't count on Snider coming to Disney and Ouimet likely will never return (although anything's possible).

 

[WDW1974]

It is quite feastible that Disney could do very detailed tracking of your movements with this technology. Not saying that they will, but you can't dismiss it as a possibility. Personally, if they did, I wouldn't care but I know some people would.

I bet more people would care than wouldn't ... just like people who think it's fine for the government to spy on citizens because 'I have nothing to hide' until the time comes.

 

[WDW1974]

Oh, and there is icing on our cake, Golden Horseshoe Review in Disneyland is playing for the Limited Time Magic during our next DVC stay at the Villas Of the Grand California.

Please don't remind me. The one and only event of this ridiculous marketing event I cared about and they made it in Anaheim with less than three weeks notice.

1.5 billion keeps me from getting a Fastpass + at Tower Of Terror at DHS, yet 1.5 billion gives me Buena Vista Street/ Paradise Garden/ Carsland at the Disneyland Resort?

That is such an interesting and so effing true way of putting it.

 

[TP2000]

Oh, and what's the latest news from WDW's Ops front?

The same as it was a year ago: ''This dog ain't never gonna hunt'' ...

I think that's the key here.

The happy-shiny reports on MyMagic+ have all come from Executive Vice Presidents like Nick Franklin who can't even put on a sport coat much less a necktie for major media interviews, or Chairman Staggs who has to pretend to like everything his communications assistant posts on his blog for him.

The weak link here is the front line operations teams. If the Ops guys on the ground in WDW aren't buying into it, and/or can still identify a half dozen glaring problems with it 30 days from implementation, then Orlando, We Have A Problem.

That's not a concept exclusive to Disney; it's something that plays out every day in the worst of corporate America and I've seen it before, where the corner offices far removed from the operation gush over some new initiative but the guys out on the floor dealing with the flesh and blood customers 16 hours per day know instinctively it's doomed. And if the Ops guys think it's doomed, then it's almost always doomed.

What's sad is that the men (and a few token women in pantsuits) in the corner offices never bother to ask the Ops teams about this in advance, and they never listen to them six months out when they still have time to abort or radically change the whole thing.

Any industry that deals directly with paying customers like Disney theme parks do should be listening to their Ops teams as if they were the voice of God. It doesn't appear that the executive suits responsible for MyMagic+ actually bothered to ask any front line Operations Cast Members or low level management anything about this when they had the chance. That could be a Billion dollar mistake for them.

 

[stlphil]

I think that's the key here.

The happy-shiny reports on MyMagic+ have all come from Executive Vice Presidents like Nick Franklin who can't even put on a sport coat much less a necktie for major media interviews, or Chairman Staggs who has to pretend to like everything his communications assistant posts on his blog for him.

The weak link here is the front line operations teams. If the Ops guys on the ground in WDW aren't buying into it, and/or can still identify a half dozen glaring problems with it 30 days from implementation, then Orlando, We Have A Problem.

That's not a concept exclusive to Disney; it's something that plays out every day in the worst of corporate America and I've seen it before, where the corner offices far removed from the operation gush over some new initiative but the guys out on the floor dealing with the flesh and blood customers 16 hours per day know instinctively it's doomed. And if the Ops guys think it's doomed, then it's almost always doomed.

What's sad is that the men (and a few token women in pantsuits) in the corner offices never bother to ask the Ops teams about this in advance, and they never listen to them six months out when they still have time to abort or radically change the whole thing.

Any industry that deals directly with paying customers like Disney theme parks do should be listening to their Ops teams as if they were the voice of God. It doesn't appear that the executive suits responsible for MyMagic+ actually bothered to ask any front line Operations Cast Members or low level management anything about this when they had the chance. That could be a Billion dollar mistake for them.

With NextGen it is critical to look at the big picture. And the big picture is that while it has a multitude of end effects both from the point of view of the guest and of DIS, at its heart it is simply a big and complex IT infrastructure project.

At a company I used to work for as part of the due diligence with going forward with a big IT initiative, we found that the track record for big IT infrastructure projects across all industries isn't so great- well more than half of them ended up being considered at least partial failures (and a lot of them complete failures). And what was typically the main reason for failure? It was not obtaining the direct early input and buy-in of the front line staff who had to make it all work once it was implemented. If you can't show the people in the trenches who are critical to make it work what is in it for them (how it makes their job or processes better) early on in the development life-cycle of the project, you are almost certainly doomed to failure, because they will sabotage it, albeit mostly subconsciously. Sprinkling pixie dust over NextGen won't make DIS immune from this behavior.

 

[Longhairbear]

As far as I am concerned, My Magic Fuss, can go.
I'd really love to ask for a non electronic handcuff, or ticket, and see what I am offered.
What if a guest just wants a room key card, and not all the wristband stuff? Have they considered that?

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Hot off the press
From the LA Times:
http://latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-73991614/

When will the digital pixie dust -- MyMagic+ -- get to Disneyland?

Disney has unveiled plans to roll out a revolutionary new digital reservation system at its four Florida theme parks allowing visitors to pre-book rides, shows, parades, restaurants and character meet-and-greets months before a vacation.

So when will this latest dose of pixie dust spread to Disneyland and other parks in the theme park chain?

Disney officials won't divulge an expansion timeline, but mouse-watchers say the new MyMagic+ vacation management system rolling out this spring at Walt Disney World could debut at Anaheim's two theme parks as early as next year.

How does MyMagic+ work? After signing up online for perks and reservations, visitors will receive a MagicBand radio frequency identification (RFID) bracelet that functions in the Orlando parks as a digital wallet filled with their hotel room key, park ticket, FastPass vouchers, souvenir photos, dinner reservations and credit card information -- all available at the flick of the wrist.

Let's say you want to snap a picture with Cinderella, redeem your FastPass for Space Mountain, purchase some Mickey Mouse ears, chow down on a corn dog, sip on a Dole Whip, hop from one park to another, pop into your hotel room or check in for dinner. Simply wave your MagicBand over a sensor and -- voila -- the transaction is complete. No need to carry cash, credit, tickets or room keys.

On-the-fly changes to FastPass or dinner reservations can be made via a smartphone app, which will also provide real-time ride wait times and FastPass availability at the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom.

The MyMagic+ service and the MagicBand bracelets will be free to Disney hotel guests and annual pass-holders. Day visitors who arrive by car or stay at off-site hotels will be issued an RFID card. Custom MagicBands will be available for purchase.

The MyMagic+/MagicBand initiative is part of a larger $1-billion NextGen project designed to introduce more technology-enabled interactions into the Disney vacation empire.

NextGen enhancements have already turned up in interactive ride queues in Florida (Haunted Mansion, Test Track and Dumbo), the illuminating Glow with the Show ears that work in concert with the "World of Color" show in Anaheim, the enchanted artwork that comes to life aboard Disney cruise ships and the smartphone-enabled treasure hunts at Hawaii's Aulani resort.

The futuristic changes promise to fundamentally transform the theme park experience for both good and bad.

Critics have been quick to point out the MagicBands are nothing more than Orwellian tracking devices loaded with personal data and capable of recording your every movement and purchase.

At the same time, MyMagic+ has the potential to establish a two-tier caste system of haves and have-nots. Will day visitors and annual pass-holders find that deep-pocketed Disney hotel guests have virtually snapped up every FastPass voucher, restaurant reservation and parade seat before the parks open each day?

While the day-to-day realities of the new system remain to be seen, history tells us Disney is meticulous about visitor experience and making adjustments based on customer reactions. Expect Disney World to address any concerns and iron out all the wrinkles during the initial test-and-adjust phase.

As for MagicBands at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure?

Disneyland officials will only say they are waiting to see how MyMagic+ and MagicBands work with Walt Disney World's 47 million annual visitors before deciding whether to implement the system in Anaheim.

"This is rolling out at Walt Disney World and we don't yet know how it will look at other parks," Disneyland spokeswoman Suzi Brown said in a statement. "The way we think about these experiences will vary based on the unique ways guests enjoy each of our parks, resorts and other vacation experiences."

MiceChat columnist Al Lutz, the bane of Disney's existence, reports that Disneyland's MyMagic+/MagicBand will start rolling out in summer 2014 and continue into 2015.

It's a safe bet that Disney has had the foresight to future-proof new attractions like DCA's Cars Land, Disneyland's Fantasy Faire princess village opening this spring and the Shanghai Disneyland park set to debut in late 2015 or early 2016.

 

[dhall]

Point was.. how do you directly REACH the child. Cell Phones and email addresses are in that age group.. but are still not dominate. Reaching that age group DIRECTLY is tough because they generally only have direct contact with the remote control and what they read.

What that generation reads is almost entirely delivered via the web. All web advertising these days is essentially direct marketing -- they decide in real time, based on the profile they've collected, which of several ads to put into your page. It's also driving the very content of many websites: if they know that a particular user leans to the right (or left) politically, they can (and in some cases, are) chosing to emphasize certain stories over others, in order to keep that user's attention.

For kids use, based only on gender, they'll adjust the ratio of pirates to princesses. They can also ensure that any princess imagery on a pirate heavy page includes the associated prince, to make the princess imagery more palatable. There will be more (or fewer) stories about meet'n'greets, and the characters featured in such stories will be adjusted. They'll also use any information they glean from Jr's traffic to adjust the content delivered to Sr.

COPPA covers what they can directly collect from underage users -- it doesn't necessarily put limits on information that they derive from traffic patterns. COPPA enforcement is just like any other any other law enforcement -- not everyone gets caught, and the ones that don't learn from the ones that do. In this case, it won't ever be all pink pages with nothing but princesses if they know the user is a girl: that's way too blatant. Wherever the line is between what they can or can't get away with, they'll dance along it with whatever subtlety is necessary.

 

[GoofGoof]

Hot off the press
From the LA Times:
http://latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-73991614/

When will the digital pixie dust -- MyMagic+ -- get to Disneyland?

Disney has unveiled plans to roll out a revolutionary new digital reservation system at its four Florida theme parks allowing visitors to pre-book rides, shows, parades, restaurants and character meet-and-greets months before a vacation.

So when will this latest dose of pixie dust spread to Disneyland and other parks in the theme park chain?

Disney officials won't divulge an expansion timeline, but mouse-watchers say the new MyMagic+ vacation management system rolling out this spring at Walt Disney World could debut at Anaheim's two theme parks as early as next year.

How does MyMagic+ work? After signing up online for perks and reservations, visitors will receive a MagicBand radio frequency identification (RFID) bracelet that functions in the Orlando parks as a digital wallet filled with their hotel room key, park ticket, FastPass vouchers, souvenir photos, dinner reservations and credit card information -- all available at the flick of the wrist.

Let's say you want to snap a picture with Cinderella, redeem your FastPass for Space Mountain, purchase some Mickey Mouse ears, chow down on a corn dog, sip on a Dole Whip, hop from one park to another, pop into your hotel room or check in for dinner. Simply wave your MagicBand over a sensor and -- voila -- the transaction is complete. No need to carry cash, credit, tickets or room keys.

On-the-fly changes to FastPass or dinner reservations can be made via a smartphone app, which will also provide real-time ride wait times and FastPass availability at the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios and Disney's Animal Kingdom.

The MyMagic+ service and the MagicBand bracelets will be free to Disney hotel guests and annual pass-holders. Day visitors who arrive by car or stay at off-site hotels will be issued an RFID card. Custom MagicBands will be available for purchase.

The MyMagic+/MagicBand initiative is part of a larger $1-billion NextGen project designed to introduce more technology-enabled interactions into the Disney vacation empire.

NextGen enhancements have already turned up in interactive ride queues in Florida (Haunted Mansion, Test Track and Dumbo), the illuminating Glow with the Show ears that work in concert with the "World of Color" show in Anaheim, the enchanted artwork that comes to life aboard Disney cruise ships and the smartphone-enabled treasure hunts at Hawaii's Aulani resort.

The futuristic changes promise to fundamentally transform the theme park experience for both good and bad.

Critics have been quick to point out the MagicBands are nothing more than Orwellian tracking devices loaded with personal data and capable of recording your every movement and purchase.

At the same time, MyMagic+ has the potential to establish a two-tier caste system of haves and have-nots. Will day visitors and annual pass-holders find that deep-pocketed Disney hotel guests have virtually snapped up every FastPass voucher, restaurant reservation and parade seat before the parks open each day?

While the day-to-day realities of the new system remain to be seen, history tells us Disney is meticulous about visitor experience and making adjustments based on customer reactions. Expect Disney World to address any concerns and iron out all the wrinkles during the initial test-and-adjust phase.

As for MagicBands at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure?

Disneyland officials will only say they are waiting to see how MyMagic+ and MagicBands work with Walt Disney World's 47 million annual visitors before deciding whether to implement the system in Anaheim.

"This is rolling out at Walt Disney World and we don't yet know how it will look at other parks," Disneyland spokeswoman Suzi Brown said in a statement. "The way we think about these experiences will vary based on the unique ways guests enjoy each of our parks, resorts and other vacation experiences."

MiceChat columnist Al Lutz, the bane of Disney's existence, reports that Disneyland's MyMagic+/MagicBand will start rolling out in summer 2014 and continue into 2015.

It's a safe bet that Disney has had the foresight to future-proof new attractions like DCA's Cars Land, Disneyland's Fantasy Faire princess village opening this spring and the Shanghai Disneyland park set to debut in late 2015 or early 2016.

Interesting article. I wonder if some of this $2B is actually being spent outside of WDW. The article talked about interactive elements on cruise ships and in CA. It seems Nextgen Might be rolled out worldwide.

 

[TP2000]

Interesting article. I wonder if some of this $2B is actually being spent outside of WDW. The article talked about interactive elements on cruise ships and in CA. It seems Nextgen Might be rolled out worldwide.

Al Lutz, "the bane of Disney's existence" according to the Los Angeles Times this morning, has stated several times that the NextGen project at Disneyland is about 18 months behind the WDW timetable. Al Lutz has also said in his recent updates that queues and facilities under construction like Princess Fantasy Faire and the new Fantasyland Theater in Disneyland are being built now with NextGen connectivity to be turned on and used at a later date.

Al Lutz had also stated in an update last year (or maybe even in late 2011) that the Cars Land rides and facilities were in the pipeline too late to get NextGen infrastructure installed there. So they'd need to go back and redo Cars Land for that. The queue for Radiator Springs Racers, in particular, is nicely themed but very standard in its staging and physical space. If they were going to add NextGen queue games to it, I can think of one or two little corners where stuff could be added. But it's fairly obvious to any of us who have waited in that long Racers line that no one thought of NextGen when building the Cars Land ride queues.

 

[Clever Name]

It seems Nextgen Might be rolled out worldwide.

That's a forgone conclusion despite what some people may think.

 

[Darth Sidious]

Interesting article. I wonder if some of this $2B is actually being spent outside of WDW. The article talked about interactive elements on cruise ships and in CA. It seems Nextgen Might be rolled out worldwide.

It would probably be a safe bet that they spent some money on installing some hardware in other locations.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

It would probably be a safe bet that they spent some money on installing some hardware in other locations.

I do wonder how much of the tech was made/developed in house? The NYT article quoted the CEO of Lo Que, maker of Six Flags' Flash Pass, whose site has a device that looks awfully similar to the Magic Band. A post from the middle to end of last year had suggested that the IT firm CA was doing consulting work.

 

[Darth Sidious]

I do wonder how much of the tech was made/developed in house? The NYT article quoted the CEO of Lo Que, maker of Six Flags' Flash Pass, whose site has a device that looks awfully similar to the Magic Band. A post from the middle to end of last year had suggested that the IT firm CA was doing consulting work.

Could you link me to this, I am interested to read more on it. I could see Disney selling certain parts of the tech if necessary to recoup some investment costs. Although, I am not sure they made it but the cost sure seems like they did.